Elyza was walking through the forest she grew up in. The trees were covered with moss, giving out an ethereal and unnatural green glow as the few rays of the sun that got through the cover of leaves struck them. She relished the crunch of the leaves under her with each step. Elyza felt at peace for the first time in a while.
Then the ground started to shake, lasting for a short while. Though accustomed to the occasional tremors in the vicinity of the forest, something about this one felt off. The shaking came back, unnaturally stronger this time, refusing to end. The ground, once stable beneath her feet, started to splinter, as if the very foundation of the planet was unravelling. Her body seized up, as the ground cracked open, and the once familiar terrain transformed into a chaotic maw, consuming her whole.
She woke up in Alex’s guest room, her sweat soaked into the bed, which seemed to be gently swaying side to side. But her still slumbering mind thought that the dream was coming true, so she burst out into the hallway, trying to get out of the house before it became her coffin. As she rushed toward the door, she entered the combined kitchen and living room to find Alex calmly seated, sipping from a cup. The sight of him, calm in such a situation, sent enough of a shock to her system for her mind to wake up. The wood under her feet was solid, unmoving. There was no earthquake.
Alex had spent the better part of the night visiting all the friends and acquaintances he knew, ‘borrowing’ an assortment of items essential for Elyza’s training. All the furniture pushed to the periphery, an array of spears, axes, and intricate mechanisms scattered haphazardly. The dining table was stacked with columns of books, some from the house’s own library, some from Alex’s personal collection, some stolen from various institutions. The cumulative effect of multiple trips and frequent teleportation left Alex physically drained. As he completed his preparations, the first light of dawn began to paint the sky in shades of blue. So, he instructed the house to wake up its guest, brewing some tea to relax himself in the meantime.
As soon as he sat down with a cup, Elyza ran into the room, panic evident on her face. They both looked at each other and after a moment, her demeanour shifted back to normal, realising where she was. Knowing the reason for her behaviour, Alex chose to not acknowledge it, greeting her normally, “You’re finally awake. Would you like a cup of tea before we begin?” Gesturing towards the mess in front of him
Elyza cleared her throat, trying to get the early morning gruff out of her voice, before replying, “Yes, I would like that.”
Motioning with the cup towards her room, Alex continued, “Good. Do you want to change into fresher clothes while I pour you one?”
“I do not own any other apparels.” Elyza confessed.
Sighing in response, Alex, uncertain of how to elaborate, cryptically said, “Just check inside the cupboard.”
Elyza followed his words into her room, opening the cupboard facing the foot of the bed. As she opened its doors, she was met with rows of clothes, ranging from vibrant multicoloured cloaks to more subdued grey-scale undergarments. A peculiar stack in the corner caught her attention, seemingly comprised of the clothes she was currently wearing. Elyza tossed most of the clothes onto the bed, uncertain about which ones would fit. However, as she tried them on, she noticed something unusual – every piece fit perfectly. Feeling uneasy about the precise fit, she decided to choose the stack from the corner and returned to the living room.
As soon as she entered, Alex handed her a mug of steaming liquid and pushed her into the centre of the room. Elyza took notice of the surrounding chaos, marvelling at the mass of weapons and books strewn about. Taking a sip of the jasmine-scented tea, she asked, “What is all this?”
“Those books over there,” Alex pointed towards the table, “are your study materials for the next six months.” He gestured to the row of weapons on the ground, “These weapons are what you’ll be using to spar with me. And finally, the items behind you are designed to help you discover your limits,” pointing towards the pile of machines, artefacts, and slabs behind her.“And what you’re currently standing in is a circle designed to measure your affinities. So, gulp down that mug and let’s get to work.”
Elyza swiftly sipped down the tea, handing the mug back before voicing her doubts, “I have already told you what I can wield. Is this all really necessary?”
“No, no,” he clarified, “You’ve told me only what you are good at. I want to know all of what you are able to do. So, chop-chop, sit down and pour some in.”
“Pour what in?” Elyza obliviously asked.
Alex remembered who he was talking to, “Sit down, cross-legged, and try to focus and circulate mana around your body. The circle will sap away some of it, and depending on its properties, the corners of the pentagon within it will glow. Their brightness will indicate your proficiency in the,” he sighed at what he had to say next, “five base affinities that most academics have agreed upon; Fire, Water, Earth, Lightning, and Wind.”
Elyza tuned out Alex’s explanation once he gave her the instructions. It reminded her of a similar practice she had with her mother during her childhood. Closing her eyes, she focused on relaxing. Sensations of her own blood coursing through her body were heightened as she delved deeper. Pressure started to build up near her heart as mana built up in her body. Slowly shifting the point around as per Alex’s instructions, she expected to feel something steal her power, but no sort of feeling came. Elyza wondered if she was doing something wrong.
“That’s enough,” Alex’s voice seemed to corroborate her train of thought. Even through her shut eyelids, she could figure out that something bright had appeared in the room. Her eyes were blinded as soon as they opened. It took her a moment to adjust to the glow, but before she could see her own results, Alex was already announcing them.
“We both knew that Wind would be the brightest. Fire, Lightning, Water; you have minimal affinity in all of them. But the big surprise is that you should be quite decent in Earth magic.” Alex said, cross-referencing the glow levels with the circle’s instructions.
Elyza wasn’t sure she heard him properly, “Earth? That can’t be right; my mother only told me I could use wind.”
He seemed surprised, “You’ve done this before? When?”
“When I was six.”
“Mana develops with time, sometimes you can gain affinity, sometimes you can lose some, that’s why it’s standard to measure it at least once every five years. By standard, I mean recommended by stuck-up pricks. Truth is, you’re probably not going to suddenly be able to use a whole new type unless you actively practise to do so.” Alex clarified, addressing her doubts.
“But I have never trained to ever use earth magic,” she declared.
“A theory of mine is that Druidic magic is more connected to earth than it previously was thought to be,” Alex lied, he knew there was no other explanation, but they had to get through a lot more, so he deflected the conversation. Walking to the table, he picked up some books.
Hopeful, Elyza said, “Are those the ones I have to study.”
“No, they’re the ones you don’t,” Alex clarified, dropping them on the ground. “I told you already, you’re going to be studying every single book on the table.”
Elyza looked at the still massive stack on the table, sighing at the mountain she had to conquer, “Fine, what do you want me to read first.”
“Oh, no,” Alex replied, “I’m going to be testing your affinity for everything I can possibly think of. Because as sadistic as I can be, even I couldn’t get through that pile in six months. So, hurry up and pick up some stone slabs from behind you. We have a lot to get through.”
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Alex prepared Elyza’s results as she lay exhausted on the sofa. He had anticipated this outcome; no one could be expected to stay awake after completely depleting their reserves. Surprisingly, this time, she managed to stay conscious, evident from the loud groans escaping her as her body worked to restore her mana. Fortunately, it wouldn’t take as long to do so compared to if she was outside. In the confines of the house, for reasons he couldn’t explain, mana seemed to be much more concentrated than it should be.
Elyza, on the other hand, was ruing the day she had agreed to train under him. After subjecting her to tests in countless types of magic, he had her fill up some peculiar crystals with mana until she collapsed. Then he had the audacity to wake her up an hour later and do it all again. Thankfully, Elyza managed to stay conscious this time, though the downside was an overwhelming sensation of her entire body being wrung out while hot coals circulated through her veins.
With the results now finalised, Alex could finally stretch his arms. “Up and at them! Finally finished calculating your results, aren’t you excited?” He addressed the groaning log in the room.
“Fuck off,” she shot back, her voice muffled through the cushions.
“So uncreative.” Alex joked before declaring the results anyway, “Unfortunately, other than your affinity with earth, there were no other surprises that stood. You can technically use strengthening magic, although I’m quite apprehensive if it would actually be useful.”
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Elyza still didn’t want to hear what he had to say, but she was unable to control her curiosity. Alex was waiting for a response, and took her eye peeking out from the cushion to be one. “The amount of mana you can hold is quite high, especially since you don’t appear to have super-absorptive blood. However, the rate of mana regeneration is only slightly above average,” he disclosed. “Now, let’s move on to what classes of spells you’ll be able to fully utilise. In regard to Wind, you have the innate ability to use it – you can control it naturally – and use Incantations, you know, Spoken magic. I’m ninety-nine percent sure attempting to learn runes for wind magic would be entirely too much work, so you’re skipping that. No need to worry about Earth magic; doesn’t seem to be worth it. Finally, we have Druidcraft, which is always a mix of runic and spoken magic, so I didn’t actually need to test it.”
“Wait,” Elyza interrupted his explanation, now sitting up, interested, “I understand why knowing my mana capacity and regeneration speed would be helpful in training. But I fail to see the importance of testing the class of spells I can use.”
Alex sighed, recognizing that explaining a concept he loathed was inevitable. “Firstly, Spoken magic, Innate magic, and Runic magic, as you may have gathered, are not distinct types of magic. Rather, the three refer to what type of medium is used to transform mana into spells. They classify spells under which medium yields the most effective or, more likely, powerful version of the spell. Innate involves using your body as a medium, Spoken entails words or prayers, and Runic encompasses spells where a physical structure or item, such as a magic circle, acts as the medium.”
“Why call them ‘magic’ if the classifications are based on the medium of transmission?” she questioned.
“Oh, I’d like to ask the old forgotten pricks who came up with this idiotic system the same question,” He replied, struggling not to rant. “It is said that it was because they thought the public was too dumb to notice the difference. I mean, they are the same people who decided to replace the old system. A system, for your information, that classified spells under its magic family i.e. Fireballs would be put under Fire Magic, and not fucking Spoken magi…” He suddenly stopped, realising he had failed.
Trying to regain composure, he continued, a hint of residual anger lingering in his words. “Forgive me, I almost lost myself. While this classification system is clearly unfavoured by the younger arcanists, I reluctantly have to admit, it has some merit. It allows anyone, Once you understand what medium your mana prefers for a specific affinity, of course,” inadvertently rolling his eyes as he spoke, “to know what spells they can quickly learn, and more importantly, excel at. So, you can focus on learning spells that are much more likely to be of use to you.”
He could see that Elyza was still unsure that her being tested for hundreds of affinities was truly necessary, so in a desperate attempt, Alex pointed towards the books, “Meaning, that pile over there got reduced by a quarter.”
Elyza remained unconvinced, but she had another topic of conversation she wanted to get to. “Why were you so excited when you learned that I can use Druidic magic?”
With a knowing grin, Alex raised a finger, his other hand disappearing into the depths of his shadow. After a brief rummage, he emerged with two leather-bound notebooks. “Unlike other assassins, most of my time is spent doing research, whether it’s on people, the location where I have to go, or simply because I’m bored. I believe it’s always better to know something rather than nothing about whatever you’re trying to do. You’re also going to learn how to gather information as fast as you can, be it from libraries, or from people. It’ll include how to recognise structural weakness, possible infiltration points, how to eavesdrop without revealing yourself, and…”
“Get to the point.” Elyza reminded him.
“Of course.” Alex refocused, “After I got my ass handed to me by a Druidcraft-wielding barbarian. I tried to learn more about a type of magic I had never seen before. Problem was, once I actually started to try to study it, Every. Single. Book, that everyone said would tell me how it worked, contradicted each other in spectacular fashion. I thought, in my endless naivety, that if I started to look at historical documents, decaying magic scrolls, ancient tomes, and even paintings. Surely, I thought, one of them would have some information, scrolls, maybe even some spells I can work backwards for, or at least some records of tribes or people who wielded it. However, the more I delved into the thousands of years’ worth of material at my disposal, the more it seemed that no one had tried to actually study how Druidcraft functioned.”
“Do you know what ‘Get to the point’ means?” Genuine concern emanating from Elyza’s voice.
Ignoring her, Alex continued, “I was absolutely livid at the fact that I had spent actual months trying to research something that had no existing legitimate records. So, in a rage-filled madness, I swore to Ath— I mean Minerva, that I would write the most comprehensive book documenting Druidcraft. Unfortunately for me, she heard me, and is now holding me to my word.”
“What?!” Elyza exclaimed.
“As a result, I’ve spent years theorising what kind of spells come under Druidcraft, how they work, the magic’s origins, blah, blah, blah. In short, I’m pretty sure my knowledge of it is second only to those who have mastered the magic itself. However, I do have a substantial problem. My theories remain theories, because I can’t find anyone who can actually use Druidcraft.”
“Hold on a moment,” Elyza exclaimed, her disbelief escalating at a revelation more startling than Alex being threatened by a goddess. “In the, if I remember correctly, years you have spent researching, you have never met anyone who can wield Druidcraft magic. Forgive me, but believing a jester might be easier than accepting that.”
“Technically, I have met people who can wield it,” Alex explained, “but most of them have tried to kill me. And the ones who don’t, tend to be not as skilled as those who do. Add the fact that most people aren’t privy to the differences between chlorokinesis and Druidcraft, and it is almost unnaturally difficult trying to find someone capable of answering my questions. I even attempted to seek out Druids themselves in the hope that they could assist me, but, for some inexplicable reason, whenever I encounter one, they…” Alex paused, not knowing how to phrase the following, “…run away.”
“Run away.” Elyza reiterated.
Alex threw his arms up, “Your guess is as good as mine. One of them did say something about me carrying the stench of death? Honestly, I had given up any hope of actually proving any of my theories and began working purely on assumptions. Till I met you, that is.” Grinning as he concluded.
Elyza became silent, trying to absorb everything he had just said. Though outlandish, there was an earnestness in his narrative that hinted at sincerity. Satisfied with his explanation, posed another question, “Why do you consistently emphasise that Druidcraft and chlorokinesis are distinct? Are they not both fundamentally about controlling plants?”
“They are, but the way they achieve that control differs,” Alex elaborated. “Chlorokinesis is the ability to control plants with your mind, involving no transference of mana, which technically means it’s not magic. Druidcraft magic, on the other hand, manipulates nature itself, and requires the use of both spoken and runic mediums for any spells to succeed. Since chlorokinesis is a psychic ability, its limit is set by the wielder’s willpower. In Druidcraft, the limit is determined by the size of the magic circle your mana can sustain and the amount you possess. In simpler terms, think of chlorokinesis as a knife and Druidcraft as an axe. Both can perform the tasks the other is designed for with proper training, but Druidcraft excels at controlling multiple types of plants simultaneously and on a much grander scale. I’m talking about turning an entire forest against your enemies.”
“Interesting,” Elyza remarked, maintaining her concise manner. She had never imagined that she could wield such potentially powerful magic. The most she had seen it used for was to create temporary platforms or supports, or to accelerate their crops’ growth back at home.
“Glad to see you’re as excited as always,” Alex joked, strangely amused at her response to the hoard of information he had dumped on her.
“I have a final question,” Elyza stated. He nodded for her to continue, and she asked, pointing towards the mountain of books on the table behind him, “How much of that do I have to study?”
Alex was taken aback; he had expected something related to the previous topic. But his response shocked Elyza even more. “All of them.”
“All of them?” Elyza repeated, a trace of disbelief evident in her voice. “But I thought you were going to remove a quarter off the table.”
“I already have.”
“That’s the reduced mountain.” she stated, not believing it for a second. “Okay. Then, what will I be studying?”