Over the week that followed since the formation of my first layer of mana in my rune, my life sped up drastically.
With three months to go till my third birthday and my first real meeting with my father, there was plenty for me to prepare for.
Firstly, I obviously wanted to win over the favour of my father and get in his good books. It seems my father is quite the hard working man and so I decided I could only respond in kind. Give him a son who could prove himself. I felt it was only fair as well, given that once the old man will have to retire, I should at least prove myself capable of stepping up and inheriting the family once that time comes. This almost trial of sort was necessary, not just for him, but for myself.
Secondly, I wanted to quickly develop and continue training myself with mana and the limits of magic. In my old world, I had mastered and acquired a number of skills that will surely come in handy for me even in this world, but my driving edge that will propel me past everyone in my age range and above and allow me to stand tall will depend on my mastery of mana and the strength of my magic.
Skills and experiences are incredibly valuable and necessary for any individual who wants to grow, but in the face of absolute strength, those skills and that experience become folly for those who can overpower you before you can invoke any of it. That is why, in principle, I would prefer to wield strength over skill.
Fortunately for me, I had skill. Earned from my young years as a mercenary, to a soldier in an attack squad, to a knight so powerful he didn't align himself with any kingdom and remained neutral and finally, a high class man who could thrive in society and the highest echelons of class.
This naturally left me with just power and knowledge left for me to pursue in this world before I could settle in a calm life with my family.
With that, the first month of my training consisted of Mary "educating" me in literature, writing and arithmetic. And whilst I say educating, I mostly theorised the different things I could do start doing with mana whilst Mary thoughtfully rambled about things I had already a great grasp on.
She also began helping me get my small body some physical training without mana. Simple things like jogging, push-ups, sit ups, squats, but even those small tasks pushed my body to the extreme. Jogging was difficult not entirely because of stamina, but rather because of my my core and my legs still being a little shaky. This resulted in me face planting more times than I'm proud to admit.
However, my mother soon informed me that this was the furthest Mary could assist me in my training. The rest of what I learnt over the next three months would all have to come from me. And the best way for me to do that is magic.
And so, just like every afternoon for the past seven days, I was consumed in the knowledge of the book I had been reading for months whilst cultivating my first layer in the library.
"Mana manipulation...mana manipulation. Where, oh where are you hiding?" I muttered to myself, an infectious smile on my face as I flicked through the coarse yellow pages of the book.
"Ah! There it is!" I exclaimed as I arrived at the intended chapter.
The basics of mana manipulation:
'Mana in its rawest form is extremely hard for any person to shape, control, manipulate and craft externally or to influence the direct environment around them. This is because raw mana in and of itself only exists in the rune after being ridden of its elements and stored purely; raw mana can then be outputted into the surroundings by taking on the form of one of the four elemental attributes of mana that the world is crafted from. The four main elements of mana that exist in this world are fire, water, earth and wind.'
*flip*
'Upon awakening, mages have set elemental affinities that they can naturally conjure. This is due to the ambient mana of each of these elements surrounding you and directly influencing the formation of your first layer as well as the rune on your body itself. Almost like the mana is leaving a direct imprint on you as a whole. Most mages will have at least two elemental affinities, but it hasn't been unheard of for a mage to have as little as one and as many as all four, though such people are extremely rare, appearing roughly only once every 30,000 mages that awaken. And awakening as a mage is roughly up to chance and talent, the spiritual connection and understanding between person and mana, roughly having 1 in every 150 people manifest their first layer.'
*flip*
'Affinities can be established by the mage through the process of pouring out mana and trying to mould it into a set element. If your mana gains the attributes and appearance of said element, say for example fire induced mana will be much hotter and will seem like its flickering, it will naturally be one of your, hopefully, many affinities.'
I tore away my gaze from the page for a moment, overwhelmed by the information.
"I think I'll stop here for now and finish the rest of chapter once I've established my affinities. Too much information could be detrimental to me at this stage." I mused to myself aloud, my eyes drawn by the noticeably pleasant weather beyond the space of this library and the glass window intercepting it.
***
Stepping out into the garden outside of our manor, I followed a narrow cobbled path which was wedged at either side by pebbles scattered in the stretching shallow trenches. A clear blue sky faltered along, but in the distance the ash clouds marched abreast. It wouldn't be long until it rained.
"I guess I should hurry up."
As I finished my muttering and began stirring my feet into a light jog, I arrived at the last stretch of the path, leading to thin but stretching steps that connected the path and the elevated platform under a shielding obsidian tiled roof.
The pavilion was quite a large and free space, only small benches around its pentagons edges, sliding in-between the opaque burgundy pillars supporting the obsidian roof. A clear view of everything around you made this a pleasant site to simply gawk at the wonders of our large and extensive garden, teeming with the different plants and trees directly under the strict and attentive care of the servants working here.
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But in fact, today I would not use it for that purpose. This was also the perfect place where mana was plentiful and where all the main four integral elements were to collide, no matter how vaguely.
Standing there in the centre, a figure stood. Her posture comfortably slouched, yet still retained good posture as she looked on at the surroundings with delight. Her long, silky gold hair bounced at the sides of her frilly white dress that sparkled in the light of the lazy sun.
Our eyes locked intensely and I paused before the pavilion steps, but soon her frown turned upside down and and she beckoned me over.
I quickly paced up the steps and joined my mother in the centre.
"So what did my dear son call me all the way out here for?" Her voice seeped sarcasm as her gaze darkened. She crossed her arms as her eyes looked at me with sadness, but faint shimmers of hope lingered behind hoping I'd summoned her here for a different purpose.
I didn't want to disappoint my mother. Not purposefully anyway.
"Ehehe..." I laughed awkwardly, "I called you here since I wanted some guidance through my mana training." My voice slowly dimmed in volume the longer I talked, my eyes frightened at the menacing gleam in my mothers eyes as her sharp onyx gaze drilled into me.
"Heh~? You only call me over when you need something, don't ya?" A silly accent began to infiltrate my mothers usually refined speech, most likely from anger at my question.
"In the first place, you're not supposed to be receiving guidance in anything more that's necessary." She continued, her figure looming over me.
"I-I realise this, mother. But I just want you to oversee my training. Plus, it's not like a little bit of guidance will really be cheating now, will it?" I countered reasonably, in my humble opinion. However, my mother seemingly didn't enjoy my argument.
Though, her eyes softened and she looked at me with melancholy. Her brows furrowed and her chin creased as surprisingly, she began to bawl her eyes out. "Ahhhh! My son is so heartless, he's so heartless! He won't even ask how his mother is! What have they done to my baby boy!?"
"Eh? EH!? M-mother, don't cry! I-I'm sorry!" Panicked, I began rampantly apologising. I have never made a woman cry in my previous life, but just at the age of two I had already done just that and to my mother of all the women it could have been. Am I heartless monster?
"Ow!" I yelped, suddenly hurt by a fist smacking me across the head. My mothers composure returned as if she never began crying in the first place.
"You better mean it!" She scowled, her body language directed away from me as if she was revolted by simply being in close proximity to me.
A shiver ran down my spin, astonished at my mothers acting abilities.
Women are frightening.
Gradually, she reset herself back into "usual" mother mode as she confronted my request.
"I can look over you and at most give you a few clues if need be, but I will not support you more than that." She sighed, still disappointed with my intentions.
"Looking over me will be just fine!" I agreed to her proposal immediately.
Taking in a controlled and deep breath, I settled on the stiff floor assuming a cross-legged position.
My mother observed me closely, a vague sense of her mana leaking as she began to inspect me for changes.
"Keep in mind, Lucian. You need to have a clear image of the element in your head. The rest will happen on its own." Her advice was brief and she soon fell silent again.
"Now...which element should I try first?"
As I mused aloud, nostalgia filled my mind of my process of utilising and working Vi into the realms of my combat. This feeling I harboured here, the sweet fluttering in my heart as I sit on the floor made my toes curl in angst. Once I had incorporated Vi, it took me years to remaster the combat sense I've built without its astronomical augmentations to my body whilst I wore the armour. I wonder if it'll be similar with mana? Though, it probably won't be since I'll be using mana as a part of my everyday life from such a young age. It should... it will come naturally.
I shook my head at my thoughts, dismissing them at will as I drew in my focus on the first layer of my mana sitting directly over my rune.
Motes of clear white permeated my being with a placid heat. I felt my temperature grow as my rune set atingle with a static buzz, my body vitalised with the now coursing essence of mana running directly through my body. My senses grew more aware of the tempered ambience shaping the world as my breaths filled with air I imagined to now be cleaner. I crept my eyes open to fully ingest the vibrancy practically spilling out at me.
The sensation of mana willing my being and allowing me to connect with the world through this bewildering connection still constantly gave me a high. A thrill of superiority danced within me, returning me my commanding presence I exuded from in my previous life with the weapon of Vi.
Gradually, mana seeped out from my Sigil as the energy collided with the rich atmosphere. A faint aura of gold flickered around me, weaving almost like a lion's mane in the wind.
Now which element do I start with first, I thought again.
I started forming the images of each element and their direct qualities as I deliberated the choice, reviewing each elements uses for mages described to me in the book.
Fire is known for its destructive force especially out of all the four elements. With its blistering heat that torches the environment mercilessly and its erratic flame that draws all eyes to it, fire is the element preferred for hand to hand combat mostly.
Then there's water with its infinitely malleable form, capable of both defence and offense making it the perfect balance for mages. Usually, the element of water is preferred for long distance encounters rather than close quarters.
Third, we have earth. The element most suited for defence and its ability to shape surrounding terrain to best suit its mage. A capable and strong element.
Finally, we have wind. The element with I would argue has the most untapped potential. For most mages, the element of wind is used for attacking fiercely and aggressively.
"..T-This can't be...happening." I reopened my eyes and settled on the figure of my mother, remaining perfectly still and unmoved.
Her mouth gaped and her eyes went wide with shock. The colour from her face drained and her mana signature grew unstable, beating out faster and more potently. Her hands trembled at her sides as I continued to look at her with confusion.
"Lucian...carefully, but look around you." Her eyes insisted I follow her suggestion and I complied. The roaring golden mane around me flowed arrogantly, but not in its undisturbed gold as previously. Multiple different hues warped around me, each commanding their properties I had envisioned.
In that moment, I understood my mothers flabbergasted face. I too, became awe-stricken by my potential.
My potential with Vi was as high as everyone else's. But with mana? With the elements I possess? My potential would surely be limitless.
I carefully receded the mana around and deactivated my rune which returned to its dull black colour.
My mother quickly swooped down onto her knees and embraced me tightly.
"How are you feeling?" She said, still clinging to me with worry as sweat trickled down her forehead.
"I'm fine, mother. I promise." She slowly pulled away from me, looking at me straightforwardly.
I smiled at her and raised my voice so she could hear me over the wind. "Its a nice day, isn't it mother?"
Eventually, she broke into an innocent giggle before replying. "You sure do talk like an old man. Anyways, I was wondering if you'd like to spend some time with your mother? I understand you're busy preparing, but I thought I could ask..." Her onyx eyes shone as she fiddled with her hands.
"Lets take it easy..." I whispered to myself, my hands clenched by their sides as I felt a conflicting tug at my string.
This was the first time I had a real family. I should cherish it. The rest of training can wait.
"I'd love to!" I snapped back, a warm blush filling her cheeks as I did so.
She jumped ecstatically from her spot and ran down the pavilion steps and onto the path. Her heels clicked along the stone as she turned, almost as if in slow motion. "I'll be waiting for you!"
I lingered at the spot I sat on the floor of the pavilion as I smiled at myself. "Taking it easy..."