6

Time passes quickly and sometimes it feels like you can hold it for a moment with your fingertips, but it escapes like grains of sand. Since my first year on the continent of Eteryddyn, I have seen other winters. I was now 6 and my feet were dangling as the chair was too high for me to reach the floor. At least that's what I told myself regularly. I was not small, it was all these objects that were too big.

My head was buried in a history book. The librarian had walked past me several times and looked at me suspiciously. It was not the first time. I was only six years old and yet my favorite books were not fiction books, but books on history, geography, magic and everything that came to hand. But he did not admire me for my precocity but looked at me with contempt and threw me out on the pretext that I had damaged a book after two hours. I knew why he was doing this, he hoped to gain the favors of the Duchess Dalanne or the second wife Lidiane. These witches kept ruining my mother's life and mine. If my father hadn't given me access to the library, I would have had to sneak in at night. The librarian thought he was respecting my father's wishes and showing his support for the Duchess by only allowing him to stay for a limited time.

But he did not know that I had told my father about it. Liamon was an idiot with too many women but he loved me and my mother. Whenever there was a book that interested me, he would order a guard to deliver a copy to me. I really only went to the library for the books that were only in one copy.

I had half an hour of reading left and I wasn't going to leave just because I was bothering this little sycophant.

“Balt the first became a duke at the age of 10 after his father's sudden death during the Third War. Balt had become the Duke of Woodskin in one day, but also the commander of the armies of Her Majesty Queen Elinia. Despite his young age, he managed to repel the human invaders and dispel a rebellion in his duchy when the starving populations tried to burn down the castle. When he had just won the war, he managed to transport hundreds of carts to feed the population. He obtained from the queen that a reform be put in place so that reserves are established throughout the kingdom so that in case of extreme emergency the populations do not fear hunger. Balt the First will go down in history as a generous elf and an unfailing weapon of war. »

I had many ancestors but I wanted to know them all and learn from them.

Unfortunately my thoughts were interrupted by a voice I had grown to hate.

“It's the commoner. Do you think these books will really teach you how to be a real noble? »

That mocking voice belonged to my half-brother Ilawen. He was the Duchess's fourth son. He was a young man of barely 12 years old but he was already an apprentice mage. Over the years I had learned the theoretical bases of magic. If Eteryddyn's magic were to be explained, only one term could represent it: nature. Living beings at birth did not carry magic within them, but had the ability to absorb it. So the body was a reservoir that ingested previously unknown energy. It took at least two months to adapt to it. At the age of 8 children began to absorb small quantities of magic. When their body was ready, they absorbed more. It usually took a year for the body imbued with magic to learn to produce its own like a child learning to walk. However, to become a good mage, you had to achieve a balance between absorption and production. Never stopped absorbing, never stopped producing. The natural energy was called Essence, in the body was the Core which absorbed and produced its own essence called Physical essence. The absorbed essence increased over time and allowed the core to produce more physical essence. However, everyone reached the peak of absorption one day. From this day on, they are called : Apprentices . To leave this peak and obtain the status of Mage, it was necessary to successfully summon a spirit.

I had met my first spirit at one year old. He was an earth spirit, loyal to the Woodskin family. He was protecting our lands, but that was his only job. A spirit was intended to bind to the summoner's core and strengthen it. This reinforcement had an impact on the absorption rate of the Essence, but also on the body of the mage who could then decide to use part of his physical essence to transform his body, to strengthen it, to make it more agile for example. This specialization was often found among army officers. A soldier could be an apprentice, but an officer had to be a mage.

Summoning a spirit was not easy. As a child the apprentice mage absorbed the essence. But certain type of Essence was easier to integrate than others, fire, earth, water, air. These four energies were in abundance. When the apprentice mage tried to summon a spirit, he had to choose an element. But each element had its particularities. In the case of my half-brother it was the air spirit. They were not easy spirits, as they favored the personality of their summoner unlike the water spirit which was calmer and less observant. In short, my arrogant brother had better come across such an egocentric spirit or he would never become a mage. He didn't seem to realize the difficulty of his summoning, or he was hiding his worries well.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"I'm nothing to prove to you Illawen. Don't you have some research to do. I have read that the spirit of the air is very capricious. I'm not sure you'll meet his demands. I say without looking up from my book.

I didn't have to look at him to know I had upset him. I enjoyed putting my brother in his place. But I knew it would be short-lived because our weapons were not equal.

"Shouldn't you have started training for sparring. I remember now. You haven't found a master. Nobody wants to teach a commoner like you. They would be too ashamed. A son of a duke who can't fight, how can he measure up to an apprentice mage and a warrior. One day you may learn your place. Edrec, I would like to study in peace, could you ask him out. His commoner smell makes my heart ache. »

"As You Wish Sir Illawen"

I saw the librarian approach me but without looking at him I took my notes and my bag.

"Don't bother, I'm leaving. There is not enough space in this library for a head as big as yours brother. I wish you luck with your summoning, what a shame it would be if you never became a mage. I say as I leave

“Go away! he exclaimed

I left the library with a smile on my face. Maybe I didn't have the same weapons as my brothers and sisters. But I knew my enemy more and more.

I had little power in this castle and only my father's love for me allowed me to come and go as I wished. I didn't have a combat teacher, not because no one wanted to teach me, but because my father refused to let me look for one among the soldiers. After all how can you trust a spy. He would teach me the bad postures which when the time came would lead me to my death.

But learning to fight was not my highest concern. I had unknowingly started the first phase to become an apprentice when I was a child. But my parents had forbidden me to continue the process until I was 8 years old. A mistake in the first phase could be fatal. Because the dosage was very important. Using too much essence created a core quickly, but being unstable, it exploded soon after. For this reason the first phase was always supervised.

What I was about to do was suicidal. However, I did not see any other solution to gain strength. If I became a mage quickly, I could protect my mother more. That was my main reason, but I also wanted to do magic.

Preparations for invocations were the only time a family had to put aside their disagreements. We were talking about Summoning Truce. The moment was risky for the summoner, so he had to ensure a healthy environment. I almost felt guilty for making fun of my brother, but the guilt just as quickly disappeared into nothingness. During these preparations everyone was busy and no one paid attention to the child who had hidden at dawn in a merchant's cart. I got off before he had time to realize that I had stolen an apple from him and disappeared into the forest. I had never really had the opportunity to explore these woods. But the wind that passed between the leaves created a melodious and melancholy song. In other circumstances I would have sat under a tree to listen to this natural symphony which gave its name to the Duchy of Singing Woods. I passed by a house. It was amazing to see one so far from the village of Woodskin. She seemed isolated. It was barely visible with its wooden walls and green roof, colors that blended harmoniously with the surrounding forest. The house must have been warm for a time, since I glimpsed the barrier of what was certainly one day, a family garden. It was an Elvish custom. Before getting married, the future husband built a house and a garden for his new wife. The first morning after the wedding, she buried in the garden the sheet which was to bear the signs of her lost virginity and sowed a seed which she would have carefully chosen next to it. It was a prayer for a fruitful and lasting union. A tree was growing then and if the marriage was really strong then a earth spirit could appear there and protect the earth and the family. When a child was born, they offered the first drop of the newborn's blood to the tree to present it to the spirit. If he survived to his first birthday, they prayed that he would give him a name. Like my dad did with me. The tradition would have been born from my ancestors and would then have spread to the other elves. But I couldn't see any trees in this garden and the house seemed to have been abandoned. It was not yet uninhabitable, but the weeds were invading it.

I walked around her and made sure no one was looking at me. I had found the perfect place I thought when the trees parted to make way for a clearing. My gaze fell on a tree in the middle of the clearing below which fruit had been placed in a basket and doll. It was a grave.

Maybe I should choose another place. I didn't mean to disrespect the dead. An elf was always buried under a tree, to give back to the earth what it had taken and take its place in the natural cycle. The offerings nourished the souls until they were ready to be reincarnated. An elf's grave was always tragic to see. An elf would not die of disease or old age, but could be killed or starve to death. Losing his magic could also be fatal after a certain number of years.

I walked over to the grave and bowed.

“May your next life be long and prosperous. I said as my mother had taught me. I hesitated for a moment, before placing the apple I had stolen near the other offerings.

The wind caressed my face as the earth I sat on warmed me comfortably. With my eyes closed, I searched for tingles, which I understood to be a sign that I had begun to absorb the essence.

"Small amount, small amount" I whispered

I felt the essence slowly enter my body. Was it… air? I was surprised because I had chosen this place to be closer to Earth. Because taking the Earth essence was easier for an elf and especially for my family.

But strangely, the air had touched me first. I smile.

“Thank you” I murmured without really knowing why I was talking to the natural essence. I immediately regretted my decision. Since suddenly the absorbed energy increased against my will. I felt like a whirlwind had just penetrated under my skin.

“No, stop immediately! I heard

But those words were lost in the pain that assaulted my body. I felt like something was trying to tear me apart inside.

I felt a pair of arms lift me before I lost consciousness completely.