9

I listened with a distracted ear, the sound of the flute. My mother played in the small living room which served as an entrance hall, library and dining room. Our quarters weren't the most luxurious, but that didn't bother us because there were only two of us. I tried to read, but continued to stare longingly at the sunlight streaming through my bedroom window. I tossed and turned in my bed, crumpling the blue covers. If I stayed in this room for long, I would end up like the old man.

I thought about continuing the process of absorption, but my room was not the ideal place. I had to be close to the element I wanted to absorb. That didn't stop me from feeling the breeze inside me. The air was an interesting element.

If we had to make a hierarchy of the elements, water was the easiest element to absorb, followed by air, earth and fire. For water, air and earth, it was enough to sit in a river, to feel the wind, to touch the ground or the trees. The fire was more problematic because it was circumstantial, the fire of a chimney, of a forge, of a volcano. The absorption of the elements of water and earth were encouraged by the parents. They were more pragmatic, water and earth initially seemed more useful, and their children had a better chance of finding a spirit and becoming a mage. But there were always more apprentice mages than mages. Because summoning a spirit was expensive. So the type of element found between commoners and nobles was different. If villagers, for example, thought that one of their own was really talented, they could contribute and ask for a small grant from their lord to prepare an invocation. But the chosen candidate was only given one chance, what was he going to choose a water or earth spirit that can help the villagers or an air spirit that does not have the same usefulness and could waste the money spent by not appearing. While for the nobles who had the means, the invocations multiplied. Not having a mage in a family was seen as a shame. In addition, nobles were more likely to master several elements and have more spirits. The element of fire was a special case. It was the element that was really the least used, because not only was the invocation dangerous and could be fatal, but it was also very expensive even for noble families who would have to shell out money to ensure that protections had been put in place. This element was therefore found mainly among royalty and the high nobility.

The magic of the four elements predominated, however it was not the only form of magic. Forms of magic considered rare were healing magic, and illusion magic. Rarer still was the ability to erect wards. there were also legendary magics because they had not been seen for centuries, for example spatial magic and clairvoyance. To conclude, a form of magic was considered totally illegal, necromancy.

The sound of the door being opened jolted me out of my thoughts.

"How long are you going to be sulking in your room?" asked my mother

“Until you or father have the decency to release me from this prison. I say with a note of humor.

“Sometimes you can be as dramatic as your father. »

"Please don't compare me to him." I say trembling

"He doesn't just have flaws." she said with a sweet smile

“Then why doesn’t he train me to fight himself? He doesn't trust any of his soldiers, but won't help me. »

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“If your father trained you, you would die. »

A long silence followed.

“And then he would anger his other wives by playing favorites. No, my son, you will find a trainer when the time comes. »

"And you were an assassin, can't you train me. »

She looked surprised, but also proud.

"Aren't you afraid to ask a woman to train you? »

I gave him a surprised look, before remembering that in all his years I had failed to reveal an important detail to them.

“Mom…I was a girl in my last life. »

" Oh "

She stared at me for a moment, as if trying to imagine me with more feminine features. Then put his hand on my head.

“Good luck, my son. At least you will have a unique understanding of feminine nature. Women will find you charming and you will certainly have many wives. "

I felt an intense sense of irritation at his words.

“I will never have a harem mother, I will only marry one woman or I will marry no one.” I affirmed

I refused to be in the same situation as my father. That idiot, having a single relationship was hard enough.

“You are only the fifth son of your father, but you have obligations. »

“I refuse to do like him. »

It would be the only conversation we would have about it before my tumultuous teenage years.

“So will you train me? I asked again

My mother sighed before sitting down next to me on the bed.

"I can't train you for combat, I have assassin training, that's not what you should be looking for. But even if I can't teach you how to fight, I know things that could be useful to you. »

I shivered as I saw a mischievous smile form on her lips.

What had I done...

“There is nothing different in this room” I say for the umpteenth time to my mother.

" Are you sure ? she asked from the small living room where she was reading lying on her sofa.

I gave him an exasperated look. I hadn't expected this type of training when she offered it to me. “You are a noble Taylor, you must have a keen sense of observation.” she told me

So she had spent the last two days subtly altering things in the bedrooms and the living room, and asking me to find the differences.

So far I haven't found any. What was different in my room. Always the same bed and the same blankets, a dresser on which was placed a pile of books: Magical Theories, The Essence in all its states, Invocations, The Adventures of a Solitary Mage. There was nothing different.

I frowned and looked at my pile of books again before rushing to remove the intruder.

"Mother, did you add this thing to my pile of books?" »

“Ah, so there was a difference. » she says with humor

She knew I hated this book and would spot it immediately. I had nothing against fiction, but the protagonist was an arrogant idiot who had extraordinary powers without making a single effort, and left the most difficult tasks to his teammates, and came at the last moment to deliver the killing blow, often while completely drunk. He was famous while these teammates stayed in his shadow, and were happy to stay there. In short, I hated this book. If I ever met the author named C.Lide, I would hit him with his own book. I returned to the small living room, to put this book back without delay in its place in the library. It was then that I saw the space being occupied by a copy of the same book. I then turned in the direction of my mother who was still busy reading.

“I didn't want it to be too easy. she explained

“Do you have any other surprises like that? »

“You have three more changes to find. But I'll give you a little hint. You didn't find everything I made in your room.

It took me another day to find the fake cobweb in the corner of my bedroom window, the comb that sat on top of the wardrobe in my mother's bedroom, the sheet of paper subtly hidden under a fruit basket in the living room.

When I told her that I had found everything she had modified. She told me that now that I had started to pay more attention, it was time to start the real training.

I had come to the end of the first week of training to wonder if the stain that was on the wall had been there the day before. When she showed me the strings of her harp and asked me to find the one that had been changed most recently, I wanted to scream.