The heroes left the classroom, deflated and worried. Davos called in a group of servants to clean up the mess. Lucy's head was downcast in shame, only brightening upon seeing Peter's glowing smile. "Come on, Lucy, it's alright, they didn't hold it against you," he comforted.

Despite the hesitation, Lucy's nerves calmed and then settled "I nearly set the place on fire.," she protested, trying to keep her voice soft.

Peter could see she was ashamed and summoned a torrent of infectious positivity. "It was epic. You're a badass fire starter." He attempted to reassure her, glancing at a nearby guard. "Hey guard, dude, this has to be a typical thing, right?" He asked, his voice wavering slightly, though he tried to hide it.

The left guard turned to appraise his saviours. "You are right, young man, an old pal of mine was a novice fire spiritus. He and his familiar nearly lit the academy on fire." The guard grinned, tapping his compatriot on the shoulder.

The second guard turned sheepishly, revealing a healed burn mark on his left temple. "You will be alright kid; it is common for novices to light a few things on fire." He reassured.

Beneath his armour, a creature slipped out of a crack and rested on his shoulder. Wreathed in flame, it glowed softly, resembling a solitary candle in the dim light. Lucy leaned in, her curiosity piqued, and inspected the creature. Surprisingly, she saw a tiny orange lizard beneath the sparking flames.

Its forked tongue licked the air, dispersing tiny sparks. The fire-lizard turned back to look at her. Once their eyes met, it jumped up and down. Excited, the lizard hopped up and down like a child on sugar, happily spitting fire.

The guard frowned, his eyes narrowed as he traced the lizard's unblinking gaze. "This is Zeraph, my familiar. He is a Cinderian Reptilis from the ashen mountains," he said, his voice steady as he raised his left palm. The lizard, its scales shimmering with mesmerising orange hues, licked the air, its glistening eyes glued to Lucy.

The group stayed behind to gawk at the exchange between a young girl and a fire lizard. Lucy and the guard grinned sheepishly, both enraptured by the creature's joyful antics. Every time Zeraph leapt into the air, he released a trail of sparks, tickling the guard's palm.

Peter and Jasmine leaned in, their eyes affixed to the guard's outstretched palm, which seemed utterly bare. "What are we looking at? His hand is empty?" The pair exchanged glances, utterly confused and trying to puzzle out what the others were seeing.

The guard smiled widely, a chuckle escaping his lips. While explaining, "Unless you have a connection with the spirit of the flame, you cannot perceive his children if they don't want you to," he gently stroked the air where the fire lizard was perched, invisible to others.

Gradually, a shimmering outline emerged and the lizard's vibrant scales came into full view. The two heroes gasped, their eyebrows shooting up as the figure solidified before them, surrounded by iridescent flames.

The pair leaned in, their eyes wide with curiosity as they studied the creature. Lucy gently patted Zeraph's head, and the lizard let out a soft purr of enjoyment. Despite the open flames, she felt no heat, only a soothing warmth. The group dawdled for a time, and the guard brought his familiar back to his shoulder.

Bidding their farewells, some more heartfelt than others. Lucy had to be dragged from the creature she wanted to pet. The bond the two instantly shared was otherworldly and the heroic pair suspecting it had something to do with her blessing of fire.

After several twists and turns, they reached a doorway. The finely crafted double door depicted the four elements arrayed in a square-like configuration. Approaching it, the guards swung it open, directing the three to enter.

They entered one by one as the door closed behind them. What greeted them was more than likely a training room. It reminded Peter of a dojo. In the centre were three people, standing side by side as if waiting for the new arrivals.

Between the two was the figure of Master Rita, still wearing her elegant robe and a warm smile. To her left was a young man in his early twenties, with short blonde hair that caught the light like spun gold. His bright emerald eyes radiated confidence and a hint of mischief. Clad in a dark surcoat that contrasted with his rugged brown boots, he carried a sheathed ornamental rapier. The weapon hinted at sophistication, but also a readiness for adventure.

To the right was a middle-aged woman in her early thirties, with long silver hair cascading down her neck and her dark brown eyes bordering on black, holding a depth of wisdom. They settled upon the heroes with a keen interest, judging every move they made.

The three entered and approached the opposite trinity, and stood before them, puzzled. Once arrived, Rita spoke. "Welcome heroes for your first day in training to become competent spirit magi." Gesturing with her hands outstretched, she welcomed them happily.

Peter tilted his head, blinking rapidly as he tried to parse the information. "Spirit, Magi?" he asked, his brow furrowing. "I thought it was called Spiritus or something?" He wondered aloud.

"Spirit Magi is the common term, while Spiritus is an ancient name for our people, before the time of the empire." Turning to the side, she walked over to a small desk, opened a drawer, and pulled out a leather-bound book.

Returning, she presented the first page. "The Spiritus were the ancient contractors and is thus considered the formal title." Passing over a few pages, she looked up, taking the hero's measure. "Spirit Magi became the more modern term, since the modernisation of spirit arts and the induction of wizard magic."

The three heroes nodded in unison, with only Peter getting distracted. Rita cleared her throat, prompting the distracted hero to stiffen like a student scolded by a teacher. Continuing with her lesson, she flipped through the pages. "I take a practical approach to learning, so we will begin with that." Closing the book with a soft thud.

She glided across the room with fluid grace; her robe billowing from the slight breeze. Reaching her destination, she took the measure of her prospective students. Eyeing them with a glint in her eye.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"These two shall be your instructors in areas I am not familiar with." Casting her gaze to the younger woman to her left.

Nodding with enthusiasm, the young lady introduced herself in a soft, melodic tone. "Greetings heroes, my name is Elisara of House Dimontes." With a flourish, she flung her hands out in an exaggerated pose, her eyes radiating a mix of confidence and playfulness.

Once her formal greeting was done, she spoke again. "I am a practising witch and spirit magi of water." With another flourish of her left hand, the act produced a stream of water that quickly solidified into ice and then evaporated.

The group of heroes watched in awe of the display. Peter let out a shrill sound of amusement that echoed through the room. "Cool." he said, excited well before the embarrassment set in.

Jasmine and Lucy turned to him, puzzled looks in their glistening eyes. "Thank you, Lady Elisara," Rita spoke with a slight nod, turning to the young man to her right.

With not a second to spare, he stood up straight, stiffening his body. "I am Halmar Uchena of House Yorik." Lifting his chin as he spoke, pride swelling.

Immediately, he clasped his hands together and gestured them forward with a quick bow. "I am a spirit magi of the air element." He declared, steady and proud. As he spoke, a powerful air current swirled around him, sending a soft whoosh around the room.

Rita frowned at Halmar, showing off, turned back to the heroes and introduced herself. "I am Rita, spirit magi of both fire and earth elements, respectively." She spoke in a formal tone, not even flinching or adding fanfare.

Silence descended before Rita spoke up again. "Alright, we shall begin today's lesson. Peter, you shall pair with Elisara." She directed to the now smiling hero.

Once they had moved away, she shifted to Jasmine and Lucy. Eyeing them inquisitively, she spoke. "I believe I can instruct you, particularly with a lesson in control." Glancing down at her with a half-smile tracing across her lips, her gaze had Lucy turn downcast. She reddened in embarrassment.

"How are you with that sword?" Jasmine abruptly added, gesturing towards the rapier at Halmar's hip.

He was initially taken aback, but reclaimed his composure easily enough. Tapping the hilt of his ornamental blade, he smirked. "Better than most." Replying with a strange mixture of humility and confidence.

Rita noticed the exchange. "Are you skilled in the sword?" Rita asked, confounded expression; she quickly received a nod from the hero.

Rita grinned, her eyes glistening with interest, directed to the edge of the room and several racks of practice weapons. Contemplating, she nodded a few times, concluding. "Then how about you and Halmar begin with a friendly spar? It should be a useful lesson."

The two faced each other, both assessing each other with steely intensity. Neither betrayed any emotion. Their expressions were cold and focused. With a nod, they moved to the centre of the room, poised and ready for a clash.

The first strike came from Jasmine, lunging at Halmar's sternum. The move was quick and efficient. Despite the apparent grace, Halmar parried it with little effort. But before Halmar could perform a counter riposte, Jasmine retreated to a defensive posture, her blade thrust forward and her body side face.

Tilting his head to the side, Halmar assessed the form, and a curious glint in his eye. Immediately, he lunged forward, sending a single strike to test her guard. She parried the blade to the side after it smacked against the wood. Halmar adjusted his grip and sliced across, turning his blade back towards her neck.

Anticipating the change, she turned her blade to the side, slamming against it with all her impulsive might. The moment of impact shattered the two weapons, splinters flew off in every direction. Jasmine reacted by shielding her face with her off-hand, and several splinters of wood flew towards her.

Halmar raised a wind barrier to envelop him and they bounced off harmlessly. Instead of piercing Jasmine's soft flesh, they plummeted to the ground as if they had met a solid wall. She inspected what should have been her wounds, her eyes widened in shock, and her body was untouched by the assault.

She flexed her fingers, truly inspecting her body and the inexplicable sturdiness of what had been fragile flesh. She couldn't quite say she felt stronger, but she indeed could sense the density of her body had changed drastically. Her form was solid, and she had only just noticed.

Her senses returned, and she inspected the broken blade in her hand, finding it shattered into many pieces and strewn across the ground. Noticing Halmar, his amused face almost mocking her before the smile faded.

"If that's how you want to play it, perhaps a different game is in order." Once spoken, he raised his hand and a gust of wind manifested around him.

The air shimmered as it streamed towards the sword rack, lifting two more practice swords into the air. With a swift motion, they floated effortlessly across the room. One landed gracefully in Halmar's dominant hand and the other flew over to Jasmine. Despite the strange circumstance, she felt exhilarated, as if she had unleashed something within her.

Power radiated throughout her form, lending energy to every appendage. She could feel as if she was monstrous and could crush anything in her path. The feeling extended to every aspect of her form, solidifying them to a steel-like density.

The reverie lasted but a moment before she regained her wits and caught the blade. Grinning with a weapon in hand. Her eyes looked at her enemy, gripping the blade even tighter than before. The weapon strained under her new strength. She leapt forward. All grace and propriety went away during that split second. The etiquette of a formal duel went by the wayside as the ground shook from her first step.

Bounding forward, she went straight for her enemy, performing a downward slice. A split second before it assailed him, he vanished into an afterimage. The weapon descended, ready to desecrate the ground, but stopped just short.

Looking up, she felt a slight breeze behind her and spun around to block the incoming attack. Faster than she had ever seen before, Halmar moved as if gliding in the air, striking down with his blade.

She raised her own to block the incoming strike, repelling his weight backwards with a sudden push. His form glided back before stationed himself in a defensive posture. With both now opposite to each other, the spectators crowded around to observe.

"Kick his ass!" Peter yelled at the top of his lungs. Elisara shushed him as if his manner was entirely improper. Peter shrank back sheepishly and with a reddened face.

Halmar stood there, assessing his opponent before speaking up. "You fight well, albeit strangely. What technique is that?" He asked.

"Fencing. My father taught me he wanted a boy," she said, her voice steady and devoid of emotion.

Nodding a few times, Halmar raised his weapon and aimed it. "Boy or girl, you fight well. Let's test how well." Making his last declaration, he prepared for round two.