Four months had passed and Heidi was deeply impressed. No. Impressed was an understatement. She was fascinated. It felt like she was watching history unfold. Elise was a genius. She still couldn’t use true magic. That, however, had a simple reason. Elise was by far too young to unlock her node. Yet she was able to understand the theory behind magic. It was as if she was a natural. She was good enough to qualify as an apprentice to a scholar and maybe even work in an academy.

But Elise had to learn more. There were things Heidi could not teach her. Most people of higher status, mages included, had to know many things and be an expert in various fields. This ranged from simple things like mathematics to more complex things such as understanding world history or how a country functioned. This was something Heidi did not trust herself to teach. It was complex, and she was too old to have a student. Besides, the exams at the academy were always designed with what was currently known about magic in mind. Her knowledge was simply too outdated and books were far too expensive.

“Granny,” the girl said, her voice full of energy, “When will we ask for a Seer to come? I want to unlock my first node! Spewing magic from my hands is still cool but shooting light from my fingers is even cooler.”

They had received a new book. A book about a photomancer and since then Elise had taken a liking to photomancy. Unfortunately, photomancy was a rather rare magic that not many possessed and even fewer mastered. It was quite weak, limited in its usability and mastering it took years or decades.

Heidi sighed, it perhaps had been a bad idea to allow her to read all the stories. Most of them were works of fiction. Those that were based on reality often portrayed reality wrongly. It was possible to do all the feats the heroes in these stories had been capable of… but only if someone trained diligently for a long time and mastered magic. Something most people rarely did.

“You will be able to do that… but only if you train and learn diligently,” she therefore sternly told the girl and Elise’s smile faltered for a moment, “But don’t worry. Until the Seer comes, we can learn the basics.”

“The basics?” Elise asked, “I thought that I already had learned the basics with you?”

“We have… learned theory. Didn’t we read about the types of magic?” she asked with a smile.

“Wild magic, true magic and divine magic?” Elise asked, “Yes. But aren’t they almost the same?”

“Indeed. But there is one important difference. Wild magic is not connected to any nodes while the other types of magic need a node to work. That means?”

Elise’s mood visibly improved. She quickly answered, “That means that I can learn wild magic?”

Heidi sighed, "Yes. But learning magic is difficult. Even worse, most people don't really learn it because other kinds of magic are much easier to learn and more versatile. The only requirement is that you are strong, or more often, old enough for a node. Not all nodes give you magic, but most do in one form or another."

“But why isn’t mommy able to use magic?” Elise innocently asked.

Heidi shrugged, "I don't know. Your kind is as connected to magic as the dwarves or elves and so it's a rarity that she can't use magic."

“Maybe she just doesn’t want to use it?” Elise loudly wondered, “But magic is so wonderful. Talking with animals is such an amazing thing.”

Heidi really wondered why Elise’s expectations of magic varied that wildly. Maybe the many books were to blame? She halted for a moment and nodded, yes, that was the case.

“Maybe,” Heidi replied and took a deep breath, “So, do you want to learn wild magic? I know a few spells and you can try to learn them until the Seer comes.”

Elise’s eyes widened in surprise, “But you told me that the Seer would come when I am old enough. Am I old enough?”

Elise was certainly, at least currently, not old enough. She was almost eight years old and seemed to mature faster than a human. However, the supposed age limit was twelve, at least for humans. Yet the young girl had talent, enough talent that Heidi had tried everything to find out what potential she had. But ... no matter what she had tried, she had found nothing.

Maybe the library in Aschen or the archives in Königsfeld had more information, but Heidi couldn't visit them. It was simply impossible, she was only a healer and not a mage or noblewoman. Nevertheless, she had been forced to tell the Lord of Aschen about Elise's uncertain potential. The laws of the Empire dictated that anyone who possessed a certain level of potential had to be reported to the authorities. The nobles argued that this was to guarantee safety and that a mage could only thrive under proper guidance. But Heidi knew this was not true. After all, a mage was as good as a contingent of soldiers and they were subsequently quite important.

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"I spoke to your mother and you two will be leaving in eight months," Heidi began. It was a bad time to talk about the fact that they would probably never see each other again. But she really didn't want the child to remain clueless. Fiona still hadn't spoken to her, her reasons remained unknown to Heidi.

“Why?” Elise only managed to ask before she started sobbing, “I want to live with you, grandpa and mommy.”

Heidi got closer to Elise and patted her back, “There is no need to cry. You just will move to Aschen. It is a city very close to Wolfsteyn. And once a month a merchant caravan comes from Aschen to Wolfsteyn. If you want, you can still visit us.”

That seemed to improve her mood a little, but the girl was still sad. Heidi stood up and walked towards the only bookshelf on the first floor. It was a relic from when she had been young. A gift Heinz had given her before they had married. She smiled and took out a thin, leather-bound book. It was the only book on wild magic she owned, and the only book her teacher had been willing to give her. He had been a stingy old elf who had never allowed anyone to touch his tools and books.

Armed with the book in her left hand and an apple in her right, she approached the table again. She handed the apple to Elise and the girl grabbed it without hesitation. The young girl had a sweet tooth, and apples were the only affordable sweet food Wolfsteyn had.

She smiled. If Fiona's new job as a maid to a nobleman paid well enough, they would have more money to spend. Aschen was first and foremost a city of delicacies. That it was one of the few trading centres and part of one of the largest domains in the empire played some part. But, more importantly, everyone in the Lord of Aschen's family also had a sweet tooth.

There was his youngest daughter, Jacobina van Aschen. She was young, just one year older than Elise, but rumoured to be a talented mage. Heidi had not measured her talent. But she had heard from several of her old friends that Jacobina’s Potential was the highest that had ever been measured in the van Aschen house.

So Heidi knew roughly what her Potential was. Jacobina had an older sister, Selena. She was a Grand Knight and Heidi had personally measured her talent. The result was a Black Cross. That was one of the highest Potentials she had measured. It meant that Jacobina's Potential was above it, which meant that her soul had been measured at birth with the platinum rank.

Yet Heidi was proud. The at birth sick and weak Selena was now a powerful knight. She also had been awarded the Grand Cross due to her recent accomplishments in a campaign far north and in her vital role in the chaotic winter, a time Heidi wanted to forget but couldn’t. Many people had been injured by monsters and demonic beings and even more had died.

Furthermore, she also knew of the lord's oldest son. He was a man as humble as his father but less eccentric. He was, so had Lucius told her twenty years ago, an instructor at the academy. If his father were to step down, he would become the next Lord of Aschen. But his Potential was merely a rank better than that of his father which meant that his soul was of the Silver rank.

The Lord had a handful of other children, but they were already independent and had their own families. Some were in the capital, while others served as emissaries in foreign lands. It was a noble family that did not really seem to fit into the empire, but had served it since its foundation many centuries ago. Unfortunately, she did not know the potential of his other children.

“So Elise,” she started and opened the book, “We will start with the first spell. It is called Sight and…”

And so many hours passed. But even as a genius, Elise did not learn the spell. It was simply too much to expect a small child to learn wild magic after just one day. Heidi yawned and decided to end their lesson. It was already dawn and she had to prepare dinner for all four of them.

While working in the kitchen, Heidi thought about Elise. The young girl was quite the bundle of energy and filled the inn with liveliness. It made her feel ... Proud? She didn't know a better word to describe her feelings. Heidi started to hum a song and without noticing it another hour passed before she was done with dinner.