Today was the day. I had prepared myself for my first lesson with Niloticus. Most of my time was spent in the library. I had collected questions about topics that interest me or topics where our library couldn't deliver a thorough answer. My first questions were related to magic and the others about the history of our world.
At the moment I was sitting under a tree in the garden. My sisters played with Cerberus. Cerberus was their last year birthday present. He was a white hamster, who is capable of a bit of magic and one of his favourite activities was to bite me in the toe if he catches me barefoot. Next to me was mom who read a story to Silas who in turn giggled and babbled at the pictures and mom's voice.
A quick look up to the sky told me, that it was time to head to lake Lacus. Niloticus wanted to meet me there for our first lesson on magic. He would also test my affinity for different schools of magic. How do you test someone's magic capabilities?
"Mom it's time for my lesson. I will be back before noon", I told mother, and she waved me away with a smile.
"Take your time Lucius, if you have any questions about the things you learn, speak with me or your father. Have fun and come back safe", mother gave me a kiss on the forehead. And I said my goodbyes to my siblings.
I took my backpack, filled with notes, paper, pencils and provision for the day, and headed to lake Lacus. Two guards of our house followed closely.
The view which greeted me at my arrival was peculiar but not as surprising and terrifying as my first encounter with my teacher. Niloticus laid near the shore of the lake, in his transformed form. He basked in the sun as a real crocodile would. As Niloticus noticed me he changed back. His clothes reappeared on him. How does that work? Magic?
"Good morning spawn. Sit down and let us start our first lesson", and just as he spoke a table and two chairs rose from the ground. All formed out of roots. A giant backpack was spat out by the ground right next to Niloticus. It landed on the table and the contents spilled out. Stones in different colours.
"Are those ... stones?", I asked him.
"No. They are magic stones!", Niloticus exclaimed with raised arms. I looked sceptical at the supposed ancient and wise man. He coughed awkwardly before continuing. "Come sit down. Those can help us find out if you have a special aptitude for the main branches of magic."
I sat down across from my teacher and inspected the black stone. There really wasn't anything particular about the stone. Nothing that I could identify at least.
"This is water, earth, fire, air and light. The one in your hand is darkness. There are more categories, but they are rare and can't be obtained by normal means. Also, most other schools of magic rely on one or several of the six basic magic types. Close your hand around it and try to concentrate", Niloticus sat back into his chair. The object shifted according to his sitting position.
I looked at the black one in my hand and decided to do what he had instructed. My hand closed and I concentrated on it. After minutes of trying to feel anything, I looked back up to my teacher.
"I don't feel anything. What exactly do you want me to do? Nothing happens if I concentrate", I remarked and he slowly nodded and mumbled something to himself.
"Try to grasp the feeling of the stone. Think about its temperature, the surface and edges of this stone and the element associated with it. Then add something from yourself which matches that feeling. Memories always work the best for starters", Niloticus explained and urged me to try again.
Rough, sharp surface and a cold temperature. Darkness an element of corruption, deceit and disease. Sadness and Despair. I tried to add a memory of myself to it, but that turned out harder than expected. I found an early memory. The burial of a family member, my cousin. I was young and didn't understand what had happened, but the atmosphere that day fit the element.
I forced myself to remember the raw emotions expressed on that day by my family. The tears of my parents and the crushing silence of uncle Duran. My heart rate accelerated as I felt a pull from my hand. Those memories and feelings became stronger and clearer. Overwhelming sadness filled me as I let go of the rock.
"13 minutes on your first try. Try to keep more control over your emotions. Elements influence and reinforce feelings", Niloticus said and examined the shrinking light of the stone.
"You should have warned me". I said through gritted teeth. My heart still ran marathon as I tried to regain my calm. Never have I felt such a powerful form of emotions. It felt so pure, raw and had something ancient about it. Something I couldn't put into words.
"You could have asked. This is the best way to learn for somebody like you", teacher remarked as he put the stone down. "Low affinity for the darkness element. The dead won't serve you anytime soon."
"What do you mean somebody like me? And what dead people?", I asked. Feeling angry and curious at the same time.
"Necromancers, the masters of darkness magic, they can enslave souls and bound them to dead materials. Those masters have long disappeared, but rumours say there are still some roaming our world. Evading the ones who seek to hunt them. And for your first question, you are a sheltered child and it is time to change that", Niloticus explained with a smile.
"I am not sheltered and will tell my parents if you cross the line", I threatened. Nobody should dare to look down on me or my house.
"Do that and become like all those failed historic figures. Silencing the critics doesn't solve the problem. Now pick up the next stone", he said nonchalantly.
My mouth closed several times just to close again. I couldn't come up with a counter. Not one that didn't contain my position and house. He was right. I took the next stone. A white one with crystals, the light element.
"What feelings are linked to light?", I asked.
"See you are already learning", he said. I frowned, he smirked. "Light is hope and faith. That's why most light mages are some kind of priests or shamans."
I matched this stone with memories from visits to temples in Napule. This time I was ready for the outburst of my emotions and managed to suppress the influence. It shone weakly in my hand.
"Low affinity for the light element. Interesting", teacher said and wrote something down. "Next."
I tried the red one, fire. Connected to anger and fury. Then the blue one, water. Associated with change and dedication. The transparent one, air. Representing calmness and pride. And the last one was brown, earth. Patience and perseverance, determination. All of them shone lightly.
"Does that mean I can't become a mage?", I asked. My disappointment audible.
"Let's see. To be a proper mage you would need a high affinity anyway", he said and threw two more rocks on the table. "Try those, life and death. The beginning and the end."
I picked the green one, life, first and got a weak light again. The black one looked like the stone was decaying. I took it into my hand. It made me gasp and I let it fall down on the table. It shone lightly, but my concerns lay elsewhere.
"What was that? I felt like … like I was dying?", I mumbled quietly.
"Death, the end of all. Most powerful magic, but deathly for its user as well", teacher answered and put down the notebook he had been writing in. "Let's test something else. You won't become a mage, but there is always more to magic."
I was disappointed and watched the half-crocodile clean up the table with little enthusiasm. He placed down a seed and the green life stone.
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"Now try the following. Concentrate on the feeling you got earlier from the life stone in your eyes. Or at least near them. Then observe the stone and seed closely. This might take a bit of time", he instructed and I followed his guidance.
I didn't see anything nor felt the feeling from earlier change much. The feeling just wandered from my hand near my eyes. Then I saw the seed sprout small roots. They grew slowly but surely.
I rubbed my eyes when I started to see threads leaving the stone and entering the seed.
"I can see blue threads entering the seed", I informed my teacher.
"Try to see further. Imagine following those threads", he encouraged and I tried to do it.
My head throbbed as I focussed on those threads. Ignoring the pain, I pressed on. I wasn't sheltered, I could do this! The seed turned into a construct of hundreds of blue threads. My eyes closed as a surging pain reached them and my head.
"Try to not overexert your abilities too much. There is a reason why we feel pain", he remarked. "What did you see?"
"The seed. It turned into a construct of threads. I saw around a hundred, I guess", rubbing my eyes diminished the pain a bit. I heard his pen move on paper.
"Interesting. I might have found something to teach you after all. Those blue threads are mana by the way", teacher announced. "Everybody can train to see it, but the scope and details to be seen are limited by your abilities. Just so that you know, everything contains mana. Sometimes it is just too little to be seen."
"What does that mean for me?", I asked and finally reopened my eyes. Blinking a few times.
"Mana eyes, mana sight or holy guidance. This ability has and had many names. You seem to have an adequate amount of talent to receive training in it", Niloticus informed.
"And what can I do with it?", I asked further. He should get to the point.
"You will be able to understand what your enemy is casting. Runes' mysteries will lay bare before your eyes. To put it simply, magic combat against you is like playing cards against somebody who knows your hand", he explained.
"And I can just find out all those things by looking at my enemy?", I asked excitedly. This ability sounded awesome and strong.
"No, more training will allow you to see just more threads. You will have to learn the structures of many spells and runes. Then you can estimate what they will do", teacher corrected and my joy dwindled. This didn't sound so strong anymore.
"So does that mean I have to read books?", I inquired carefully.
"Yes. In fact, most of our first year will be you learning magic theory and the creation of runes", Niloticus answered with a smile. Several thick tomes were pulled out of his backpack. "You will enjoy reading those."
I gulped at the eight thick tomes. It would take a long long long while to read through all of them.
"Does that mean I will just read for a year?", I asked. Please say no, please say no.
"No"
"Yes!"
"What?"
He stared at me. Seemingly a bit confused about my exclamation. "You will read a lot, but that can be done at your home. I will give you tasks related to the books and you will solve them. During our lessons we will focus instead on your martial training", teacher explained. Still, it meant I wouldn't need to solely read through those tomes.
"Can't I combine my low-affinity magic with a weapon? A sword for example. I could be a magic swordsman", I asked.
"No that would at least require medium affinity. You will need to learn to fight without magic. And against people who can use it", Niloticus crushed any remaining dreams I had about magic combat. He tapped on the table with one of his fingers.
"One thing you need to learn is to deal with the resources given to you. You won't become a mage, but you can at least focus on your mana sight", he reprimanded.
"I understand. I will master my mana sight!", I proclaimed and got a nod from my teacher.
"Good. Always aim high", he said. "We will start with a month of theory and then test your abilities with different kinds of weapons. Spell countering could be difficult for you, but I may find a workaround for that."
"How do you counter spells? Is it very powerful?", I asked eagerly.
"With magic, which makes it hard for you to do it. Spell countering is powerful. There was once a magus leading a legion into enemy territory. All his spells were countered by his talented enemy", teacher explained.
"What is a magus?", I further inquired.
"Powerful mages who used to serve the empire. Most not even human, but the abundant rewards for their service were enough to slaughter their own kin. An enemy elf managed to counter all of the magus' spells and won the battle through it. Killing the magus in the end", Niloticus said.
"What can a magus do with his magic?", I wanted to know more.
"Enough about history for now. I will answer your questions next time. I will be gone for a while to get some things for your training", teacher said. "I think you should understand most of the book's contents after a month."
"A month! I would need a year for them at least", I protested but was cut short by my chair disappearing beneath me.
"You don't need to understand the whole book, but try to understand at least the gist of it. And stop talking back to me. I know a thing or two about teaching", he corrected me.
"Father said it was your first time teaching somebody", I remarked and Niloticus coughed a few times as he tried to explain himself.
"I have teached before. It just was a long time ago", he said.
We spoke a bit about the things I should focus on when reading those books. Basic spells for each of the six magic types should be recognized by me when teacher returns. Then we would train more practically and train my martial abilities as well as magic combat. Niloticus had an idea on how to let me use magic without using spells.
We had also a bit of small talk. I told him about Cerberus, and he laughed a while once I told him that Cerberus is a hamster. He would tell me another time why that is funny and blasphemy for a few religions. He told me about a tavern woman he meet, Martha and made me promise to keep that information away from my father. I wonder how father will react to that information?
I asked some of my questions and got answers till I reached the tenth. Niloticus said he would answer the rest another time.
I went home after writing down some notes and said my goodbyes to the half-crocodile. The next time we see us would be in around a month probably.
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I was welcomed by my sisters once I reached home. They asked me what I learned today. I did try to explain to them what I did, but they only continued to stare at me with baffled expressions. No use in trying to explain it to them, if I don't really understand all of it either. They wanted to play hide-and-seek before dinner and I used that chance to train my mana eyes while seeking the little devils.
I was surprised by the view I got. I could see some lines of mana in the air, water and plants of the garden. Once I was inside the house I couldn't see any lines, except some in the portraits of my family. I should ask Niloticus the next time why that is the case. I searched for my sisters, but couldn't find them in the garden or basement.
As I searched a bedroom, I heard a noise in the bathroom next door. The door to the bathroom was opened by me, there was a noise, something had closed. The closets and chests were empty. I sighed and looked at the cupboard over the wash bin. I got the bathroom stool and looked into it.
"Hi, Lucius. You have found me", said Ivy and rolled out of the cupboard. Ouch, that is going to hurt. I prepared to catch my sister. We landed on the floor and Ivy giggled and laughed while I suppressed a groan. That is going to leave a bruise. Now with reinforcements, in the form of Ivy, the search for Iris began.
I couldn't find her. My mana eyes were unable to help me and Ivy was strangely quiet. She knows something, doesn't she?
"Hey Ivy, why don't you tell me at least in which room Iris is?", I asked my little sister.
"No", she answered and pouted. "I won't betray sister. I have honour."
"Not even if I share half of my dessert with you?", I offered Ivy, knowing that she loved today's dessert, chocolate pudding.
"All of it or no deal", answered my sister with a grin and an outstretched hand. Where did your honour go? I accepted the deal with a handshake. Ivy let me into the living room. Mom was still sitting on the couch under a blanket with Silas in her arm. She read him a children story. I searched the room again, but couldn't find Ivy. I looked around with mana eyes and only saw a few lines in the book that mom held. Interested I walked to mom and stood beside her.
"What kind of books is that?", I asked mom.
"A children book, want to read with us?", answered mom.
"No, I didn't mean that. I can see mana lines in the book", I explained to mother. An exchange of questions and answers followed.
"Mana eyes, yes? Is that what Niloticus is going to teach you first?"
"Yes! And combat training as well."
"And how about the rest of your magic?"
"Low affinity for the six basic schools", I looked down. Feeling that I disappointed mom a bit. Mom, seeing my expression, gave me a small hug and a peck on my forehead. Ivy followed mom's example and hugged me as well. Her serious expression and her attempt to stand on her toes made me smile again.
"Lucius to become mage is also a matter of luck. We are not disappointed with you. We would be proud of you regardless of your magic achievements, okay?", mother looked at me with an encouraging expression.
"Yeah big brother is still big brother even if he can't be a magician", Iri's head popped out under the blanket on the couch. Silas giggled when he saw Iris head coming out. Iris realized her mistake and quickly moved back under the blanket. I was happy that nobody had a problem with my lack of magic affinities. I walked to the bulged place on the couch and poked Iris.
"Found you, Iris"
"No, you didn't. I'm not Iris", came the answer of the couch monster.
I pulled the blanket away and mom had to catch Silas who nearly fell because of that.
"Sorry, forgot Silas was there", I apologized. A short lecture about being more careful, if my little siblings are around followed. Still, in the end, we sat all on the couch and read the book for Silas together. While I was sitting I tried to practice my mana eyes but didn't manage to make significant progress.
Dinner came quickly and Ivy's mood soured when mom forbade her from eating my pudding as well. She had to split the second portion with everybody. Except me. Ivy said I didn't earn my portion of the pudding.
I headed to my room and organized my question and notes on my training. Next time I would ask Niloticus about the problems which I encountered. So many things to ask and try out during the coming years with my teacher.