I spat out the cigarette from my mouth.

“I can’t let you teach these two, Alaric,” I said, “You were worse than I thought you were. Magic can be a joyous thing. I can’t let you ruin that for them with unfair expectations,” I stared at the horizon before us, “There’s an entire world out there. Magic is a given requirement to travel with any coherence. Barring merchants, of course, but even they don’t go very far from their networks.”

I pointed at Alaric.

“Look at him,” I said, “An ordinary mage… yet able to travel the world to a place like this village… far away from any urban area. Only mages can be so aloof,” I looked at Lea, and then at Nix, “If someone is going to teach you magic… it’ll be me--someone who knows the peaks and the lows of magic. Alaric only knows the good. That’s why he can’t teach you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Alaric asked.

“Your last name,” I pressed, “What is it?”

“Thundercry,” Alaric Thundercry responded.

“A magic family, huh? See?” I shook my head, “This is why he’s no good,” I shifted focus, “Alaric,” I looked over, “Where did you learn magic?”

“With my family,” Alaric answered.

“And the truth is laid bare,” I said, “Magic was just handed to Alaric. He knows nothing of the bad of it.”

“You’re not from a magic family?” Alaric narrowed his eyes.

“When did I say that?” I said, a strong challenging gaze directed toward Alaric.

“If you’re from a magic family,” Alaric approached me, “Then certainly,” he pressed a finger to my chest, “You can’t claim you learned on your own. They must have taught you,” he said. It would have been alright if he stopped there… but Alaric continued slightly, “You should be thankful to them.”

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Alaric hit a sore spot of mine. One of the things I hated most… was my own achievements being attributed to my family. They did nothing but drag me down.

I swatted Alaric’s hand away, “This is why I can’t bring myself to like you, Alaric. You can do nothing but make assumptions,” my eyes narrowed, “You know nothing about me.”

A screw was turned loose inside my head. The atmosphere of the conversation seemed to sink into the depths.

I looked up to the shining sky--which meaninglessly lit up this darkening conversation. Nix looked up with me, trying to see what I saw. He didn’t see what I saw. His eyes saw the radiant sun. I saw a blinding light.

I looked back down, and pointed up. Lea scrunched her eyebrows trying to decipher my intentions. She cocked her head, thinking that I had suddenly begun acting strange.

In mere moments, the sunshine-ridden field became night. With just the slightest effort on my part, the surroundings around the four of us were instantly dimmed, shaping the environment, mood, and the piercing impact of my words. Lea’s mouth went agape. Nix’s head was swiveling, trying to gauge the true extent of the phenomena. And Alaric… was staring into my eyes, matching my gaze. The green grass around us… wasn’t so vibrant anymore--under the night sky, it looked dead.

Under this field of night, there was a sun above us. A sun whose light could no longer reach us. Like I had done many times before, I had rejected the light of hope. I was the master of my own self. To claim to know me… to be so certain about me… Alaric was wrong, beyond the extent that I could accept.

Alaric was ignorant, blinded by his own naivety. I’ll wipe that facade of importance off his face even if it meant exerting myself. There was a long moment between the sudden shade and my next words.

I put a hand forward, guiding my next utterances.

“Since you know nothing about me,” I said eerily, “Shall I show you?”

The field was enveloped by an illusion--a scene that didn’t exist in reality--crawling from the edges of my feet to envelop the three others around me. I would show them a scene from my past… that would certainly disillusion them. Ironic… using illusions to disillusion.

“I’ll show you a false version of the truth of magic,” I said paradoxically.

An illusion formed from my unstable memory. How would it turn out? I had never done such a thing before.