Sandra laughed when Dominant finished telling her about the fight. She shook her head, then patted him on the shoulder. “You did good enough. Most people wouldn’t have even gotten out of their chair, but you fought, you lost, and you learned something about yourself. Next time, maybe you’ll win a match or two, and the day you come back with the fire is the day you graduate training.”
Dominant frowned. “But I lost.”
“Of course you lost. The fights there aren’t about winning, they’re about learning.”
Dominant didn’t understand. “How will fighting there help me learn anything?” He asked. It sounded completely insane to him. It didn’t make any sense. “I can’t even use magic, how am I supposed to fight them?”
Sandra shrugged and said, “You have to figure that out for yourself. You can’t use magic, but that doesn’t mean you can’t fight. You just have to find a way to make it work.”
Dominant sighed. He felt like he had wasted his time, but he knew he had to try again. If nothing else, maybe he could at least prove that he wasn’t a loser.
Sandra went on, “Look at it as a special type of training to teach you to overcome disadvantages and stronger foes without magic.”
Dominant thought about that. Maybe she was right. Maybe he could learn something from the experience. He didn’t feel any better about the idea, but at least now he had a goal. He nodded and said, “I’ll try.”
Sandra smiled and said, “Good, now, go clean yourself up and get some rest.”
Dominant went back to his room. He was exhausted and his body ached, but he was also feeling a strange sense of pride. Even though he had lost the fight, he was still alive, and that was something.
He took off his shirt and looked at himself in the mirror. His injuries were healed already, but the pain was a reminder of what he had gone through and how far he had come. He didn’t think could win the fire yet, but he was determined to keep trying.
***
Over the next few months, Dominant trained hard. He practiced every day, refining his skills, and learning to fight without magic. The key was to be quick, efficient, and always three steps ahead of his opponent. The hard part was learning how to read someone at a glance and guess what sort of mage they were and how they might try to attack him.
He learned to dodge and weave, and to strike quickly and accurately. He was learning how to take advantage of his opponents’ weaknesses and how to exploit their mistakes. Sandra brought in random magistrates, and servants to train with him each day, something she said would help him to develop a sense for people.
Once a week he went back to Kluchter’s, but he only watched the fights. The mages there were a higher caliber than he could compete with simply by dodging and they wouldn’t hold back just because he couldn’t use magic. Even using a barrier wasn’t enough. He needed a way to counter or maybe even cancel out their magic.
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The high lord also insisted he work with doctor Alsin to find a cure for his condition. That required running various tests, taking samples and even casting magic while hooked up to various monitors and machines. None of the treatments or experiments helped, but he didn’t mind. It was a break from the routine of training and studying.
His training kept him so busy that he hadn’t seen Mila at all. He’d seen Talent nearly everyday, but had not found time to apologize between their rigorous training requirements. He wasn’t sure what he would even say to Talent. Sandra was still teaching him, but it was mostly for the purpose of giving critiques of his fights and she rarely showed him new techniques or forms anymore.
It seemed to him like Sandra was always with him. She even attended his exams.
“Have you figured out a solution to your problem?” Sandra asked as they made their way towards the lab doctor Alsin set up to study him.
He shrugged. “Not yet, but I’m sure I’ll figure something out eventually.”
Sandra smiled, “That’s a good attitude. I’m sure you will.”
They entered the lab and found doctor Alsin waiting for him. “Ah, you made it. Please, take a seat.” He gestured to a chair near a large machine that was hooked up to a series of tubes and wires. “Now, today we will be trying a new technique. You will have to focus on a single spell and cast it over and over, something simple like uh….fireball.”
Dominant didn’t see the purpose in that, but he nodded and sat down. It took a few minutes for the doctor to connect a series of probes and wires to him. The machine started humming and the lights flickered.
Doctor Alsin said, “Begin when you’re ready.”
Dominant took a deep breath and focused on the spell, then cast it. The fireball shot out of his hand and hit the wall behind the machine. Nothing notable happened on the monitor so Dominant repeated the spell. Again, nothing happened on the monitor.
Dominant tried again, and again, and again. After the fifth attempt, something finally changed on the screen, but nothing else occurred. Doctor Alsin turned from his screen to look at Dominant, saying, “Again!”
Dominant released another spell, but instead of a fireball, a stone bullet shot into the wall.
“Ha, ha! I was right,” the doctor declared.
“Right about what?” Sandra and Dominant asked in unison.
Waving his hands Garnold replied, “Nothing, nothing, it’s too soon to say for sure.” He moved to his desk pressing several buttons before turning back to Dominant. “Again, please, and keep going until I say stop.”
Dominant nodded and continued casting the spell, but after the seventh fireball, a snowball burst forth. Doctor Alsin turned to the machine and began typing away, his eyes fixed on the screen as he worked. Dominant stopped, but the doctor shouted, “No, don’t stop, keep going!”
Dominant did as he was told and continued to cast. Twelve shots later, his fire ball became lightning.
“What’s happening,” Sandra asked. “Is it just a coincidence or is his magic—”
“He’s a human leach crystal!” Garnold shouted excitedly.
Dominant stopped and asked, “A…A…what?”
The doctor looked at him, then smiled and said, “You, my boy, are a living mana leach crystal.” After a brief pause he added, “Well, not literally. But your body seems to work in a similar fashion. As you cast magic and draw in mana your body attunes to the mana you’re drawing in.”
“How is that possible?” Sandra asked.
“I don’t know, but it’s damn amazing!” Garnold exclaimed.
Dominant felt a sense of relief, but it was short-lived. He still couldn’t use magic when it mattered most and he still didn’t know how to control it. He was no closer to solving his problem. “It’s not, it means instead of if the question when I’ll blow myself up next.”
“True.” Sandra admitted.
Doctor Alsin turned back to the machine. “I can’t do much for your magic right now. But at least we now have a way to track it. I may even be able to develop some sort of training regimen to help you control it. Or a tool, or… I need to study the data some, but knowing what’s happening is a huge step towards finding a solution.”
It was a small comfort, but Dominant was glad to have it. He was also glad to have the support of the doctor. He was a strange man, but he was brilliant and he cared. Maybe this could be the start of a new way forward.