Ravina found herself in a lovely room deep within the magical tower. It was white, clean, and clear like everything in the tower. It resembled an office, but there was a certain awe to it that made it more like an awefice.It was here that she would test her magical power. This was Kevin’s office, a space he held on the 37th floor of the 300-floor tower. He seemed to favor the color green, as everything was dyed in its shade. Or lack thereof.
He himself was sitting on a green couch just opposite Ravina, who sat on a green loveseat. His two shadows, the men who accompanied him before, acted as his hands while he explained how the magical assessment would happen. Of course, there couldn't be a magic test without a crystal ball. This delicate object was gently placed quite lovingly on a purple cloth, over a fluffy pillow on the table before the pair of them.
"This," Kevin said as he gave the ball a soft tap with his finger, "is a Wyrd Stone, a device that can measure the strength of magic circulation in one's body. How it works is you feed it magic energy from your left hand and absorb magical energy back into your right hand. It sounds complicated, but it's pretty automatic. The left hand is known for losing energy of a magical nature, and the right hand is known to absorb it.
He continued, “This is something we will go into greater detail about when you begin your studies in earnest, but for now, simply understand that all it takes is a nice deep breath." Kevin took a deep breath as he held out his hands between the crystal ball. "Let nature do its thing," he said, placing both hands on the crystal ball. A faint light began to sparkle from within the surface. Soon enough, from his left hand, a green-like energy emanated and began to drift lazily to his right. This current continued until the crystal ball had a faint green light swirling inside it. Kevin smiled at himself, nodding.
"As you can see, I myself have a tremendous amount of potential according to this little guy here." He seemed a little smug, but considering the glow of the light, perhaps he had every reason to be. Although Ravina had no idea what would determine the standard. Removing his hands, the energy in the ball quickly faded. By the time he spoke again, the ball was empty once more.
"All right, my lady," he offered. "As I said, it is a simple procedure. You've seen me do it. There's nothing to it. Please allow us to test your magical affinity."
Ravina stepped forward, feeling a little nervous at the prospect of finally seeing the power inside her. She knew she would pass this exam. She knew it would not be on the same level as a hero or a saintess, but she would be able to discover her true power. To start her story. Her own story…
Her hands trembled slightly as she raised them to the ball. She held them there for a moment before, with a deep breath, she touched the cool surface of the glass ball. She waited, her breath caught in her throat as she felt her heart pounding in her chest.
It beat and beat rapidly and it beat fast. It was a strong pulse and it continued. On and on. And on. There was no reaction. No matter how much her heart pounded, there was no energy, no display of grandeur or power. She felt something, perhaps a surge of power, but it felt more like her muscles were twisting and relaxing in sync---perhaps due to her nerves. Witch frayed as more time passed. Her right hand was completely fine. There was no current of energy, not even a trace of it. The world remained still.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
Nervously, Ravina looked up, starting with an "um" as she found the other three looking back at her. She swallowed.
"Very interesting," Kevin remarked as he stepped forward. "Very interesting indeed." Hope fluttered in her heart once more.
"Quite so," he repeated. "You see, magic energy is intertwined within everyone. As such, everybody has it. So even if you don't have any affinity for magic, you would still have an affinity for mana. Thus, this crystal ball would display it. It would change color slightly, and it wouldn't be as brilliant as my performance,” she smiled at his own words as he continued, “but it would be there. There are a few individuals out there, however, who have this unique ability, an endless ability, you see. It's an unquantifiable thing, but at the same time, there are very strict laws which guide its unseen hand.”
The man stammard a bit as he kept talking, as if trying to find a correct way to describe it. “The easiest way to explain this is with green, red, and blue. While I, a green mage, can manipulate the forces of wind and sound, a red mage can control fire, and a blue mage can control water. While we can manipulate each other's fields, it takes much more effort."
"For example," Kevin continued, taking his hands to his head and whispering, "if I wanted to have my voice over here," Ravina jumped as she heard a slight whisper behind her. She turned around, hearing the whisper, and then Kevin dropped his hands and continued, his voice returning to normal, coming from his own lips. "Then it would take me no effort at all, as it is my affinity. I am a green mage.”
Ravina looked between the two places that his voice came from. “Fascinating.” she whispered.
“Isn't it so!” he laughed. “While there are many shades of green, we'll worry about that later. For now, I know that a water mage would not be able to do such a thing as expertly as me, nor would I be able to manipulate their magic so well. It's possible but not easy."
There was a familiarity to his words, something in the back of Ravina's mind that she had understood before but couldn't quite place. No, that wasn't it—she didn't want to place it.
"That being said," Kevin continued, sitting back down on the couch and offering her a seat as well, "there are some individuals who have a unique affinity for every affinity. There is no limit to what these mages can do in terms of ability. They can whisper into the wind as much as they want while boiling water from the air and igniting it in a fire."
He turned to the two men behind him. "Can red mages ignite water into fire? I don't think that's possible." Again, they offered no words and expecting this Kavin turned back to her and shrugged, and Ravina herself became very concerned about their ability to think for themselves.
Waving his hand as if swatting away the notion, he began again. "Yes, anyway, colorless mages are boundless. You, my dear Ravina Ravenshield, are boundless."
"So I'm this colorless mage?" Ravina asked to confirm. The answer seemed obvious, but for some reason, she needed to hear the word.
Kevin gave her what she wanted. "Yes, my lady. You are a colorless mage."