Sean Brynor

I sighed, twiddling the fresh grass that had just grown from the start of spring. The snow had finally started melting, only small patches of powder still resting on the ground. It had been a very harsh and long winter, but that could have been my own excitement making the wait longer. Today was finally the start of our magic lessons, and I was ecstatic. However, I wasn’t enjoying having to wait in the guards training grounds for Blair to finish his morning exercises. It was rather boring. I was just watching him swing a sword, waiting for the time to go by and him to finish.

“Please! Please help me! My baby!” a woman yelled from outside the complex.

I watched as Cade and two other men ran to her, the woman now on her knees with her hands against her face. She was rather old, perhaps in her late fifties, with long gray hair tied back in a ponytail. I could see Cade asking her questions, trying to get her to calm down, but I couldn’t hear his or her words. The other guards helped the woman to her feet, which were shaking, making it hard for her to stand on her own, though it could simply have been her age that caused this. They carted her off into the keep inside the training grounds, and I was left to stew with what had happened.

I didn't get a lot of time to think about it though, as soon after I felt a snowball slam across my back. I turned to see Hector, both of his hands out in front of him like he was pushing something. “Did you see that Sean! I can do magic now too! Isn’t that awesome! I can come now too, right?”

I smirked and let out a half pitying chuckle. Walking over and peering behind him, I found Lennox hiding there, her hands covered in snow. Brown curls bounced atop her head as she looked up at me, flashing a sheepish smile while holding back her laughs.

“Sorry Hector, but I don’t think Lennox is magic. Though her throw is pretty good.”

Lennox laughed and grabbed onto my arm to help herself up. “Hector really wants to go with. I'd like to go as well,” she said, putting on her cutest ‘begging’ face.

“Sorry,” I answered, giving her a slight bonk to the head, much like I would to an alarm clock, so that she would stop begging, “But it’s not up to me whether you can come or not. Besides, I’ve already tried to teach both of you. Not everyone can do magic.”

I looked over to a downcast Hector. Tears were pulling at the edges of his eyes. The kid was annoying. He was so insufferable sometimes that I wanted to wring his neck, but I felt bad for him. He had a dream, one that I ignited by first showing him magic, and he was struggling to accept that it would never come true. I counted myself lucky in that regard. I probably wouldn’t have ever left my house if it wasn’t for my ability to do magic.

“Hector,” I called out to him, “My father is a city guard, and I know a few of them too. I know it’s not magic, but maybe I could talk to some of them. I’ll see if maybe they’ll start training you early. That way, if you ever feel like becoming a swordsman, you’ll be ahead of all the other trainees.”

I thought about maybe asking Morrison to teach him, just to torment the young guard a bit, but figured he’d probably say no. Cade on the other hand might just accept. Hector looked up at me, clearly not excited about sword fighting, but he nodded anyway.

“Thanks Sean. I’ll try it I guess,” he said with a shrug.

“Okay you two, it’s time for you to leave,” Blair called out from behind me.

“Finished already? I was excited to wait longer,” I said, not bothering to turn towards him.

“How terrible of me to ruin your fun. Sorry Hector, Lennox, but you two have to go. You both aren’t supposed to be here anyways.”

Hector stuck his tongue out at Blair and started to run off, but not before giving me a wave. Lennox gave me a tight squeeze before letting go, then gave a bashful smile in Blair’s direction and said, “Bye Lord Blair. Hang out with us next time, okay?”

“Just Blair, Lennox. And I’ll think about it,” Blair responded.

She then quickly ran out after Hector.

“I think she likes you,” I gave Blair a nudge.

“She’s six, Sean,” He said stone faced, “And you're the one she hugged. And after all I did to set you up with Senga, here you are cheating on her.”

I groaned as Senga’s smug face flashed in my mind, “Don’t remind me of her. Man, am I glad I’ve barely seen her since the Frost Feast. She’d probably call me gross compared to you, despite the fact that you’ve been training all morning.”

“True, but that’s just how she shows affection.”

Before I could offer my rebuttal, I noticed two figures down the road. One of them looked like Morrison, but he was laughing, a hand on his stomach as if it was hurting. My first thought was that I’d been mistaken, but it was very clearly the grouchy guard, just much less grouchy. Next to him was a man I hadn’t seen since the Frost Festival, Mr. Restivus. I felt butterflies in my stomach as they drew nearer, the excitement and nervousness for this day all hitting me at once. I watched as Morrison handed a small silver container over to Restivus, who quickly took a drink from it.

“Morrison’s flask,” Blair said, shaking his head.

I let out a long, exhausted sigh, but not out of surprise. Hearing that Morrison had a problem with alcohol wasn’t anything crazy, but watching what was supposed to be my magic teacher get drunk before a lesson wasn’t exactly thrilling. The two of them stopped when they caught sight of us, both of their faces turning into scowls. They walked up to us and Restivus quickly passed the flask back over to Morrison.

“Why are you drinking?” I said, my disdain clear in my voice and on my face.

Restivus looked over to Morrison, and both of them let out a small chuckle.

“It loosens me up kid. You’re not the only nervous one here. After all, it is my first day of teaching,” Restivus said, his whole body visibly shivering as he said ‘teaching’.

Several guards ran past us and out of the training grounds. Others were shouting orders to those that were still training, calling them to action. The whole square seemed to light up with commotion. Through the confusion, I saw Cade heading towards us from where he had led the woman earlier.

“What happened Cade? Is there something going on in the city?” Morrison asked, doing his best to not slur his words.

“I’ve never seen all the guards scramble like that,” Blair added.

“It’s nothing we need to be concerned about,” Cade responded, his face stern.

“Didn’t seem like nothing,” Restivus scratched his dark beard as he spoke.

“It’s just a disturbance in the outer city. Anyways, we have more important things right now. Mr. Restivus, I believe you requested the training to take place outside the city? Please, lead the way.”

We began our way out the city gates, headed towards a path that led up the mountain Dousindor castle was carved in. Cade’s unusually serious attitude was quickly lost as we exited the city, putting me more at ease. I was definitely curious about what put the guards in such an uproar, but I was sure I would hear about it from Father when I got home.

The climb to the top of the mountain was terrible. Everyone, including Blair, was having an easy time making their way up the steep paths, many of which required scaling a small cliff face or a field of loose rocks. Cade seemed to have the occasional difficulty keeping his balance, but Morrison was always there to catch him when need be. Blair’s movements were efficient and planned. He never lost his footing, and even when the rock he had chosen to step on shook, his balance remained perfect. Surprisingly, Restivus was actually the most impressive climber. He was swift, almost as if he wasn’t even paying attention to where he was stepping, but if this was true he would most certainly fall down from stepping on a loose rock. He never did. Restivus moved in an irregular pattern as well. He rarely went straight, choosing instead to curve around and take a longer route, which would seem faster by the way he moved, almost like he had climbed the mountain everyday since he was a little boy. It was incredible, especially since he was drunk. I ,however, did not do so well on the climb. By the time we made it to the top of the mountain I was exhausted and had scrapes and bruises all over my body.

“Get used to that,” Restivus said, “As you’ll be doing that climb everyday from now on.”

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“What,” I barely let out a gasp.

“Enough talk. One hundred push-ups, now!”

Blair immediately moved into position and started. I stayed on the ground and didn’t move, prompting Restivus to raise his brow in my direction.

“What does any of this have to do with magic?” I asked through heavy breaths.

“Does it matter? I asked you to do something. I’m your teacher. You should listen.”

I responded by doing nothing and continuing to lay on the floor. Restivus came up and gave me a soft kick against my thigh. I let the energy enter my Soul, connecting me to the little patch of snow that rested behind him, and flung my arm upwards, causing the snow to fly towards his back. With a single gesture, almost like he was swatting a fly, Restivus flicked his wrist and the snow flew around him and smothered me. I wiped the melting powder off my face and prepared my counter attack, but stopped when I saw Restivus’ face. He looked stunned, like he was the one that just got hit by a mound of snow.

“Impressive,” he said, collecting himself, “They way the Nex flowed to you, it was like watching a master. Though, your control and precision was abysmal.”

“Nex? What is—“

“Okay, I think it’s teaching time. Short one, enough with the push ups. Follow me.”

The four of us followed him until we were met with a large lake that rested just atop the mountain. In the middle was an island where a single tree sat. Almost as if it was nothing, Restivus parted the water so that a path appeared, allowing us to walk easily over to the island. It was incredible the way the water seemed to fold back over itself rather than pour into the path, as if the current was still flowing despite the fact it’d been split in two. He was a drunk and a grouch, but Restivus was a surprisingly adept mage, performing feats I never even thought of, like how he turned the ceiling into an ocean at the Frost Feast. Restivus walked over and leaned against the tree, then released his spell when we were all safe and on the land.

“That was… amazing,” Cade said, his eyes still on the water.

“You two, over here,” Restivus gestured to the grass, and me and Blair sat down in front of him.

Reativius took a small black stone out of his bag and held it out in front of him. Gesturing with his other arm, a stream of water came out from the lake and circled around him. “Magic comes in four kinds. Water,” he said, nodding at the stream. “Earth,” the stream moved and pushed the stone in his hand, causing it to ride the stream. “Air,” the stream changed direction and began circling the trees canopy, causing the leaves to rustle as if the wind was blowing hard. “And fire,” The stream dissipated, the water returning to the lake, while the black stone it was carrying fell onto another stone on the ground, causing sparks to fly when they connected. “Magic is a very loose term. What we call ‘magic’ is really just our Souls influencing the world around us. The Soul isn’t able to be seen or physically touched, but we know it exists because we can feel it. It’s what connects us to the outer world.”

“What’s Nex?” I asked, still thinking about how he called me a master.

“Nex, as you heard me mention earlier, is what gives our Souls strength and energy. Without it, you would be incapable of magic. Nex is everywhere, and quite abundant. It’s almost like air, just existing and filling the empty space around us. Your Soul is connected to water, just like mine, so when you moved the snow earlier, I felt the water Nex around us flood into you. You had a much stronger pull on it than I expected,” Restivus said, his eyes studying me as he did so.

“Why can we only influence one specific element of magic?” Blair asked before I had even taken in all the information.

“Didn't I just explain that? There are four kinds of magic, therefore there are four different types of Nex. Souls seem to be pretty choosy when it comes to Nex, only ever being compatible with one. As far as I know, it’s impossible to use a different kind of magic without endangering your own Soul and body. Which brings me to probably your most important lesson, Soul Strain.”

“I think I’m gonna take a nap,” Morrison said, letting out a yawn and laying down near the edge of the water,

“When you're stupid, decide you’re somehow special, and think you’re above everyone else, you’ll try to take in a different type of Nex. You’d feel the difference in how it moves through your Soul, and likely pain as well. The Nex will begin ripping your Soul to shreds, and clogging it, impairing, or even completely removing, your ability to do magic. That is Soul Strain. Never try to use a different type of magic that your Soul is incompatible with.”

“So why the huge climb and the push-ups?” I asked, my legs still sore.

“Blond one, do some magic.”

“What? Answer my—“

“Listen! Do!”

Grumbling, I let the Nex fill my Soul, the entire lake becoming a part of me as I did so. I could feel the fresh vegetation floating at the bottom, the fish swimming through the currents, and the waves pushing and pulling on the shores. I pushed out with my Soul, my hand reaching out as if I was pointing towards where I wanted it to go. I grabbed a ball of water and brought it into the air, throwing it towards Restivus. He stopped it midair, turning it ninety degrees and sending it back into the lake. I felt my arm cramp up quickly after, the pain subsiding only a few minutes later.

“That,” Restives pointed at me, “Is why. Magic takes a toll on the physical body as well. If you're weak and get tired quickly, magic will become much more strenuous. The short one already seems to be in shape, but you’ve got a long way to go before those cramps and that fatigue after using magic go away. Now I’ve seen enough of you. Little Lord, please show me what you can do.”

Blair stood and reached out with one hand. The black stone Restivus had pulled from his bag earlier gently lifted into the air, then Blair pulled his arm downwards, slamming the rock against the ground and sending sparks flying. The black stone shattered into multiple pieces, a frown appearing on Restivus’ face.

“I’d rather you didn’t break my things, but good I guess. You two are really strange, you know that? Kids your age shouldn’t even be able to do magic, let alone commune with Nex like you do.”

“Maybe we're just special,” I said, a smirk growing on my face.

“Yea, maybe,” Blair agreed.

“If you are then I should be getting paid more. Now, blonde one, make another water ball.”

I did as he asked, holding the ball of water just in front of me, doing my best to control it so that it wouldn’t splash all over me.

“I want you to shape it into something different, perhaps as if it was in a glass or something.”

I nodded and turned my focus back to the water, attempting to shape it. My Soul surrounded it like a blanket, holding it into its ball form. I had practiced molding the water into this shape hundreds of times, but attempting to alter its form from this was something I never tried. Not because I haven’t thought of it, but because I thought it would be impossible. Just forming my Soul around the ball of water was taxing and took most of my focus, so changing it seemed too difficult, but I wasn’t about to let Restivus think I wasn’t worth teaching. I tightened my Soul around the sphere of water, changing its shape into more of a cylinder. A bit of water spilled out onto me, but I didn’t let it break my focus. Slowly, the water bent to my will, and shaped itself into a cylinder.

My breath was heavy and sweat started dripping down the side of my face when Restivus said, “Good. Now try something else. A bit more difficult this time. How about… um… a bird maybe?”

“A bird? You expect me to make something as complicated as an animal?”

“I do. Now, while you work on that, I have another student to attend to.”

Restivus led Blair away from me, leaving me and Cade alone.

“Well,” Cade said, “You might as well give it a try. I’m hoping to see you make it fly.”

“I can’t wait to see you splash yourself with a ton of water when you fail. Gah!” Morrison yelped when I pulled a wave onto shore and drenched him.

He began cursing and stomping towards me, but Cade put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head. Morrison grumbled then started walking off towards the other side of the island. I sighed, forming another water ball in front of myself.

I had no idea where to start. I thought about trying to make the head first, which ended up splashing water all over myself when I lost focus on the complicated structure. I then tried just making the beak, which ended up drenching myself again. Finally, I tried crafting the wing first, but the water ball broke again, sending a burst of water straight onto my face.

“This is so stupid!” I yelled out in frustration while glaring at Restivus.

Blair turned towards me, causing the stone he was using magic on to fall to the ground when he lost focus on it. He gave me a thumbs up for encouragement, but I kept my eyes on our drunk of a teacher. He wasn’t looking at me, instead opting to stare out at the lake, but a genuine smile was sketched on his face, like he found my struggle to be amusing. I wanted to charge and tackle the grumpy old codger, but Cade rested a hand on my shoulder. “Perhaps you're trying to do too much?” he said while scratching his beard.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you only just started doing what you’re doing, so maybe you should start smaller. Rather than trying to craft some amazing sculpture of a bird that rivals the Frosta’s work, you should try something easier. Still a bird, but more like… this,” Cade gestured with his hands, flapping them around as if they were a bird.

I thought about this, then nodded to Cade, who took a few steps back to avoid the splash zone. I created another water ball, then started to flatten it out into a rectangular sheet. It took a few tries, but eventually I was able to stabilize the sheet of water. Slowly and carefully, I started to bend the middle of the sheet downwards. Then, after I had manage to create a ‘V’ like shape, I bent the two ends down as well, creating what looked to be a widened ‘M.’ It looked nothing like a bird, it's only resemblance was to the birds grade schoolers would draw back in my old world. Even so, I felt accomplished. I had done it.

“See. Now, just like this,” Cade said, making a bird with his hand again and flapping its wings.

Slowly, I started moving the wings of my ‘bird,’ flying it over towards Restivus. Just when he caught notice of it, my spell broke, and water splashed all over him. “Well done,” he said, waving his hand in front of him and sending all the water that just drenched him off of his body and into the lake.

He performed a similar spell on me, leaving me completely dry as well. Blair turned and nodded in my direction, his face strained as he did his best to retain the stone creation he was working on.

“How about a wolf this time? I think that would be rather neat.” Restivus said.

“You want me to do it again?”

“Yes. Now hop to it.”

I let myself fall backwards onto the grass, the strain and tiredness from using so much magic starting to catch up with me. “I hate you,” I said to Restivus.

“I hate you too,” He said back, a slight chuckle coming out with the words.