“What was that about?” Helena asked after I left the room.

“She wants me to test for more affinities. I am supposed to meet her tonight in a practice room.”

“She thinks you have another affinity? That would be cool! I don’t know what works well with death magic. Earth enhancement magic maybe?”

“Umm… I don’t know. I never thought about having even more magic.” I admitted.

“We're gonna make an awesome team together with Skadi! Hm. Do you think we can form a group with someone in a different class? How big will team exercises be?”

I shrugged. It seemed that Helena managed to distract herself with her thoughts. She always liked to imagine epic fights with us in the centre.

The remaining day went by quickly. And soon I found myself walking towards the practice area. Irene was already waiting.

“Good, you are on time. Follow me.” She said,

The room we entered was similar to the one where I had learned venting. As she closed the door some runes flared to life.

“We should be able to talk freely here. There are enchantments to dampen the sound. In theory we have them because certain spells are quite noisy but they are good if you want some privacy too.”

I was slightly nervous. I knew some people wanted to kill me. But I doubted it would be an instructor. Was I wrong?

“What do you know about your race?” Irene asked.

Huh? Not a question I had expected. “Um, I am foxkin. Like all beastkin we are physically stronger than humans. And foxes are known for magic.”

“Anything else?”

“My senses are better, I think. I can see in the dark…”

“Did you know that there are different kinds of foxkin?”

“Uh… I mean there are different colours for our furry parts…”

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“It goes beyond that. Foxes are not native to our continent. Although there are certainly some who have settled here. Most foxes have a light affinity, which makes them popular in Ilestria. Dark foxkin are rare and usually not seen outside of Kitara. Which means there is very little information about them. Many people don’t even know they exist. Well, most people just think all foxkin are the same.”

There was a lot of excitement in her eyes. She looked at me like I was a rare treat. It made me slightly uncomfortable but at least I got a lot of information from her.

“So, why are we here?” I wondered.

“Oh, I do want to see if you have more affinities. Even my knowledge about your kind is limited. Studying... I mean observing you will be fascinating! While I do not have an affinity for death magic, I have fought with and against necromancers. Do you know what a dual affinity can achieve?”

“No.”

“Undead can be empowered. Burning skeletons are a possibility, if the mage creating them has both affinities. Of course there is a drawback…”

“Mana?” I guessed.

“Correct! Creating undead is taxing and you need a huge core to create an army. Empowering them further with a second element takes some skill, the right affinity and a lot of mana.”

Now that was something I had. My core was already big and it would grow further over time. She certainly had me excited now. Hopefully I did have a second affinity!

“Here are the elemental runes.” She handed me five sheets of paper. “Sit down, concentrate on them for a bit and see if one of them triggers something.”

I nodded, took the sheets and sat down. First I went with light. Nothing happened. Next, I went for fire. Burning undead would be cool. Unfortunately, the rune refused to form in my mind. Air and earth did not get a reaction either. The last rune was water. As I concentrated on it I felt something…

It all made sense. The rune just flowed into being. Water mana filled my body. I had another affinity! But it was water. The same as Helena. Oh no… would… would she be mad? Would she feel useless if I could do the same as her?

I stopped the rune and vented the elemental mana I had created. I had mixed feelings about this discovery. Irene had been watching closely.

“Ah, water! Interesting. Not the most helpful. Undead do not breathe, nor do they freeze to death. Augmenting them with water will not grant them more resistances. Although I suppose some form of water shield would help against fire…” Irene paused, thinking. “You know, it could lead to aquatic undead. A bit of a niche case. It could also help them move in snowy terrain.”

I perked up at that thought. Could they synergize better with Helena? If I concentrated on making an army I would not be able to cast large scale spells anyway. Maybe she would even be excited about it. It also meant we had something in common and could take water magic together. I started feeling better about the whole situation.

“Well, it is late. I am happy that my hunch was right. I even teach the advanced water class. I highly recommend you take it.”

“Your affinity is water?” I asked.

“And fire.”

Maybe I imagined it. But her red eye seemed to burn and her turquoise eye showed signs of frost as she answered. A mischievous smile formed on her lips as I stared.

“Well, off to bed with you!”

“Yes Ma'am!”

I quickly made my way back to the dorms. I was not sure what to think of Irene. Was I a research project? A fascinating specimen? An asset for the military? Or a gifted student she wanted to support?

The halls were empty as I returned. It was already 22:34. It had taken quite a bit of time to find my second element. Although learning the rune was properly fast by the standards of most mages.

As I arrived at my room I tried to be silent. I did not want to wake Helena. Which turned out to be a wasted effort. She was still up, reading. As I entered she threw the book away and jumped out of her bed.

“What did you learn? Do you have another affinity? Tell me everything!”

I recounted tonight’s events. I told her what I had learned about foxes and my second affinity.

“Water? You will be in the same class as me! This will be great! We will have an undead frost army! We shall become the queens of ice and snow! Muahahah.”

I think my friendship with Helena would be just fine.