Sean Brynor
“Well done Sean! Beautiful water spout! I can’t believe you attacked at the same time too! I expected much less from you honestly,” Restivus said, his hand stroking his beard like he did when he was thinking.
Blair stood and dusted off the dirt from his pants. I had tried to get most of the water out of his clothes, but they still seemed a bit damp, so the dirt just rubbed into his trousers rather than falling off. His head stayed low to the ground, and I began to wonder what had him so down. Sure, I had just won against him, but he lost all the time in duels. He would even lose a few sword fights when he was training in the guard’s yard. It had to be something else. I was about to ask him about it, but then I saw Restivus walking over to us. “Let’s hurry and get started, shall we? I’d rather we get this done sooner than later.”
He turned back around and waved his hand, gesturing for me to follow. The lake parted as Restivus hand rose, and I could feel the amount of Nex in the air begin to thin as he did so. His negative attitude and grumpy demeanor gave Restivus a sort of “angry chihuahua” vibe, but in reality, his skill was masterful.
“Where are we headed?” I asked.
“Somewhere that we can get rid of a nasty habit of yours. You three, stay here! This lesson will be for Sean only!”
As we walked, the parted lake began to close in behind us with each step, blocking the pathway for the others.
“I doubt they’d follow us. Heck, I barely want to follow you.”
“Shut it child. Do you wish for me to teach you or not? I doubt the two buffoons you call guards would care, but the little lord might try to follow us. If Blair were to take this lesson, it may hinder his own magical skill.”
“How would learning more hinder someone?”
Restivus stopped moving, but the water behind us continued to force itself over the path. I gave my teacher a confused blink, then instinctively channeled Nex through my Soul. I felt the crashing waves and grabbed hold of them, forcing the water to hold still. After my duel with Blair, I was feeling a bit strained, and stopping the lake from crashing in on me and Restivus took the rest of the energy I had left. I could feel the sweat flowing down the side of my face as I tried to hold the many tons of water back. When I couldn't feel my arms anymore, my magic released, and the water flowed at us with a terrifying amount of force. Just as it was about to crash into us, I saw Restivus’ arms begin to move, and the water flowed upwards rather than at us, then crashed back into the lake at our side.
“What was that about?” I yelled.
“I was simply confirming something. It appears I was right.”
“What was so important to confirm that you nearly got me killed?”
Restivus simply looked at me with an exhausted stare rather than answer my question, then he turned and continued walking. I wanted to yell, scream, and punch the old geezer, but the water behind us began closing in on the path again, so I chose just to follow him instead. We were headed to the opposite side of the lake from where we normally climbed up. As we came to the shore, I realized that a small river flowed out of the lake and into the forest, down the mountain. Rewstivus began to follow it, and I followed him.
“To answer your original question, magic comes in all different types,” Restivus began, “I taught you this on the very first day, did I not?” I nodded, “Good. I’m glad you remember. All different types of magic are inherently different, and the way mages use magic is different too. A fire mage is calm and majestic, but also violent and furious. An earth mage is strong and sturdy, but also stubborn and immovable. Tell me Sean, what do you think a water mage is?”
“A grouchy old man.”
Restivus quickly moved water out of the stream and created a whip-like spell, smacking me on the side with it. “Take this seriously for once. I’m tired of you, have been for a long time, but I’m actually trying to properly teach you. Now, answer me.”
I thought for a bit while we walked. I couldn’t really understand what he was asking me. For so long, magic was just magic to me. Ever since I had opened up my Soul to Nex, water had become a part of me. Moving it, shaping it, and manipulating it had become innate in my mind. I could barely remember a time before I could do so. There was no gimmick or specific thing I had to do before doing magic, I just simply did it. So when asked what water magic is, I couldn’t come up with an answer. It just was.
“Today's lesson is about answering that question,” Restivus said as he pushed us both into a clearing.
What I saw before my eyes was unbelievable. Even the impressiveness of the city of Dousin was pale in comparison to the sight I was now seeing. Compared to this, Dousin looked like a dreary old stone with cracks in it. For what looked like several kilometers, a giant waterway flowed down the mountain and towards the north. The stream next to us flowed directly off a cliff, becoming a waterfall and falling into a small lake just below. Then that lake flowed into another, then another, all the way down the mountain. The river system split the forest in two, cutting it like a knife and leaving a beautiful blue scar where it carved its path.
If I had stayed inside, this is what I could have missed. The beauty of this world’s nature never failed to astound me, and if I continued to be controlled by my forgotten memories, I would have never seen it. To be honest, the few memories I had regained had begun to fade. All that I had experienced in this world crushed them down in my mind, pushing them away. Seeing this sight made me wonder for the first time in a long time what really could have caused me to be so afraid of the world. If things like this had existed in my previous life, then I could never understand how my past self shut himself away. I truly was glad I had decided to go outside.
Restivus led me down a path that took us around the waterfall and to the first lake below. Just to experience it, I let Nex flow through me. I felt how deep it went, felt the fish swimming through it, and even the dancing plants at the bottom. I wanted to jump in, connecting myself to the water even more, but Restivus kept moving, taking me around the lake and down towards the stream that led into the second lake.
“Listen very carefully,” he said, turning back to face me, “I want you to split this stream in half. However, when you do so, I want you to make it continue to flow while also keeping the two lakes separate.”
“You… what?”
“Do not interrupt the flow of the stream, but split it in half.”
“How the hell would I even do that? That makes no sense!”
Restivus shrugged, “Figure it out,” Then walked over to a nearby patch of grass and layed down, “Wake me up when you have something to show me.”
Frustrated, I kicked my foot into the dirt, then manipulated the water to fly towards the old man. Without even opening his eyes, Restivus flicked his wrist and the stream of water heading towards his face made a sharp right turn and spilled into the lake.
“Lashing out in anger will get you nowhere.”
I let out a grunt, then turned to the stream. After a few minutes of thinking, I decided to just split the river, then figure out what to do next. Waving my arm to the side, I placed my Soul in between the river, creating a barrier that stopped the water from flowing. As I did so, it began to pool just in front of my barrier, while the other side of the stream began to dry. A small pond began to form, pushing hard against the barrier, making my arms strain from the strength I needed to hold it there. After expending so much energy earlier, I had almost none left, and I was forced to release my magic, causing the water to quickly crash down into the lake below.
I sat, having to take a break from the overexertion. I had hoped my efforts would bring on some kind of revelation, but nothing came to mind during or after my first try. The stream had expanded from the sudden release of a large amount of water, but it was slowly going back to its original state. Eventually, most of the excess water had flowed down into the second lake, allowing the stream to move back to how it was before. With no new insight, and my muscles and Soul feeling stronger, I got up to try again.
I repeated what I had done the first time, creating another pool of water just at the top of my barrier. This time, however, I examined the riverbed. It had dried up almost completely, and I could see the indent the water had carved into the ground. I remembered how the excess water had moved past these boundaries, and I came up with an idea. Manipulating the barrier, I changed it into a wedge, so that rather than completely blocking off the flow, it would have two separate paths to flow downwards into the next lake. As the water passed the barrier, the two halves quickly reformed, causing me to extend the barrier downwards to keep them separate. Two slim, flowing streams were created by my efforts, but Restivus’ last condition still hadn’t been met. How was I supposed to make the river flow without having the lakes connected? Exhausted, I released the barrier and fell onto the ground. The two rivers reforming into one, undoing all my hard work.
After a bit of rest, I tried once again, repeating the same process. Again, I crashed onto the ground exhausted. I continued, though, and each time I would end up the same way. There was just no way for me to make the stream both flow and to keep the water where it was at the same time.
“Having a bit of trouble, are you?” Restivus peered down at my almost lifeless body.
“Your test is stupid.”
“Is the test stupid, or are you stupid?”
I waved my hand, feigning a spell even though I was too exhausted to actually form one.
“I’ll give you a hint,” he said with a smirk.
Restivus formed a water ball that floated just above his right hand. It swiftly began changing, much like how it would when I was creating the animal sculptures with my water balls. The ball took on the form of a donut, and Restivus leaned down to me.
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“Examine this closely.”
I stared at the water, but there was nothing remarkable about it at all. All it did was make me hungry, but that was probably from all the exercise I had been doing.
“So what? It’s just water. Nothing crazy about that.”
“Fool. Pay attention to the entire thing. Look at its surface.”
I stared at it again, and finally noticed what he was trying to show me. The donut was flowing. The water was moving rapidly like a river would, but it retained its shape perfectly, not piling or rebelling from Restivus’ magic.
“Water is a fighting element. It refuses to be contained, fighting back against the barriers we create. This ball flows, yet no new water is entering to feed the river inside. Use this to complete this stupid test.”
I thought about this as the old mage went back to his rest. A river that feeds itself. It didn’t make sense, yet I had seen it with my own eyes. There was no need for it to flow out and away from its source. It suddenly all clicked then. It was simple, yet I had wasted so much time trying to figure it out my way without even considering other options, even ones that were right in front of me the whole time. After I rested, I got up and prepared myself for the last time.
Reaching my right hand out, I connected myself to the stream. Rather than creating a barrier, I pushed the water so that it curved upwards, away from its path. I kept pushing it, curving it until it eventually flowed into the lake that was feeding it. With my left hand, I connected myself to the second, lower lake. Pulling with all my might against one of the waves, the water flowed outwards and into the dried riverbed. Then, I curved it slightly and gravity caused it to feed back into the lake I pushed it out of. Two rivers, completely independent of one another and still flowing, all while keeping the lakes separate from one another.
I held the two rivers there, waiting for Restivus to come and see my success. After a minute, I called out to him.
“Just hold it like that for a little while, I’m resting,” he said tiredly.
“Are you serious! I’m already exhausted and this is a lot of work!”
“Just trust me. It’s part of the test. Now let me sleep.”
Despite my anger, I held onto the streams, keeping their flow steady and pushing more water through it when they started to falter. After a few minutes, I expected my arms to grow tired and the tightness in my chest to start, but neither of those pains came. I felt great, actually. As if I hadn’t been performing any magic whatsoever. I had always lacked the physical strength to hold onto my magic for long periods of time, even with my training, but performing this spell wasn’t taxing at all. I held it for a half hour, but no pain came. It wasn’t until I had been standing there for an hour that my arms began to hurt. I released the spell, but didn’t fall onto the ground. I was tired, but not completely wiped out like I usually was after using magic for a few minutes. I stared at my hands in disbelief at the feat.
“Do you understand why I had you do this now?” Restivus asked, not even looking up from the grass pillow he rested his head on.
“I do, but I don’t understand how this worked. What changed with my magic? Why was it so much easier?”
“Do you remember my hint? Water loves to flow; to spread out everywhere as much as it can. When we contain it with our Soul, it fights back against us. The way you use magic is strong. You grab hold of the element and force it to bend to your will, but this is how an earth mage should act. You are water. Water is free, not meant to be kept in a cage. It’s push and pull, not hold and force. Treating water as if it’s earth, or a solid, is incredibly taxing on our Souls and bodies, even when performing the smallest of spells, like forming a water ball. You would make no progress if you kept doing this. So my final lesson to you is to keep progressing.”
I sat down in the grass beside him. I had forgotten that this was the last time he would teach me something. I hated him. He was a grouchy old man that pushed every single button I had, but he had taught me so many things. From how to form spells to how Nex worked, all of magic itself. I would still be struggling to lift a patch of snow or form a water ball if it wasn’t for him.
“What do I do from here? What do I do when you're gone?”
One of his eyes opened and stared at me, “I have no idea, honestly. You're adept in your magic. Most kids your age wouldn’t be able to perform half the spells you do, but what you do with that power is up to you. As for me, I’m headed for Hono-Kia.”
“What’s that? It sounds… strange.”
“Below Aishya, in a dense forest, is a small country. They’ve been at peace with Vistaria and Aishya since their birth. They’re a society of mages, all of them. They accept some of us, but only if some fancy royal recommends us or if we pay them an absurd amount of money. With the Frosta’s money, I can finally go.”
“You’ve been trying to get there for a long time?”
“Ever since I learned about them,” Restivus said, his voice a bit strained.
“Is money the only reason you came to Dousin? Seems a weird place to go, especially since it’s so far north.”
“No, I had other reasons. Which reminds me. I have a gift for you. Think of it as a final goodbye to our strange, and rather annoying, relationship.”
Restivus reached into the side of his cloak and pulled out an oval shaped rock that was sharper on one end from his cloak. It was a pale blue in color, and had an iridescence about it when the sun’s light struck it. He handed it to me, then stood and began walking back up the path we came from.
“Wait! What is this thing?”
“You haven’t noticed yet?”
I touched the hard yet strangely pliable stone, and felt it. It was as if the rock was made of Nex itself. “How is this possible?” I asked.
“That is the reason I came here. Nex is still a complete mystery to mages. We see it as a source of power. The fuel that gives us the ability to use magic. I thought it could be more. During my time at the magic tower in the City of Marble, I read about those stones in the library. So I came to Dousin. The sad part is, even after four years, I’m still not quite sure how it works. I thought maybe you could figure it out. Besides, I have another one, so I can keep my research going as well.”
I didn’t know what to say. My focus was split both on Restivus’ words and the stone in front of me. Finally, I just said, “Thank you.”
“Yeah. You're welcome,” Restivus paused for a moment, then continued, “If you ever make enough money, or somehow con a rich man into sponsoring you, maybe come find me in Hono-Kia.”
I thought for a moment on how to respond. At first I wanted to make fun of him, tell him I didn’t really want to see him again, but I stopped myself. I simply said, “I will,” and we started making our way back to the lake.
After we made it back, Restivus took Blair away for his lesson, leading him towards the path we had climbed on our way up here. Cade was allowed to follow, since either him or Morrison had to be with him at all times when he was out of the castle in Dousin, which left me and Morrison alone on the island. I thought about following them, perhaps trying out Restivus’ water splitting spell, but I hesitated. I remembered what he had told me, how certain lessons could hinder a mage. Given how I had spent so much time performing water magic in the wrong way, I didn’t want to observe Blair’s lesson and fall back into my old way of thinking. So instead, I examined the stone Restivus had given me.
The smoothness of the oval shaped stone was magnificent. It almost felt soft and rough at the same time. It was as hard as I exepected a rock to be, but I could easily bend it slightly without cracking it at all. When I allowed Nex to flow through my Soul, I could feel how incredibly potent the rock was. It felt like it had ten times the amount of Nex that was in the air around me, if not more. Curious, I placed my hand flat against it. I tried to absorb some of its power, but that was either impossible or I just didn’t know how to. Nex naturally flowed through me. All I had to do was open up the barriers and let it in. I had never tried to pull it out of the air before, just limited the amount I allowed to flow. After a few tries, I conceded to the stone, and layed out in the grass taking a rest, feeling exhausted from my attempts.
“Fancy looking rock you got there,” Morrison called from the tree he was laying under.
“Thank you. I made it myself.”
“Yeah, sure. You and your little creations. What a wonderful piece of art.”
“I haven’t finished it yet. Perhaps you’d like to experience my art firsthand?” I waved my arm and a splash of water came up and hit Morrison in the face.
Morrison didn’t react at all. Not a single noise escaped his mouth, which worried me more than if he had blown up in anger. I opened my mouth to speak, but Morrison beat me to it, “Be careful out there Sean. I’m talking about if you ever leave the city. You saw what happened today. Beasts can come out of nowhere, and they’re dangerous. With the way you are, I’m sure you’ll piss them off somehow too.”
I turned to face him, confused at his words. Morrison had a face I had never seen him wear before. It was strange how solemn he looked, like the world had thrown everything it had at him. “I will,” I said.
“Good.”
The two of us remained silent until the other three returned, and it was finally time to go home. There was no sad goodbye or heartfelt sharing of memories. I simply waved to my now former teacher as he walked into the castle with the others. After all, we already said our real goodbye. By the time I had made it to Baird’s shop, he was already closing up.
“Damn you're late, kid! Are you trying to get me killed!” He yelled as I walked in.
The old man proceeded to tell me about some annoying customer, but I wasn’t listening. All I was thinking about was the lesson I had learned and the stone in my jacket pocket. I couldn’t wait to unravel all of its mysteries. Arriving at home I was met with a familiar sight. Father was yelling something about wanting to be left alone, but Mother for some reason kept trying to break through to him, which never worked.
“Please Aaron! Just tell me what happened!” my mother pleaded.
“We’ll talk about it later. Just leave me be for tonight.”
“It’s best to leave them be,” Baird whispered in my ear, then went to greet Ailisa in his room.
I walked up the stairs to our family's part of the house, and watched in exhaustion as Father slowly walked away from my mother in disdain.
“You can’t keep doing this Aaron!” Mother cried, “Were you even thinking about us!”
Father turned, “All I do is think about you and Sean! Every night I lie sleepless, thinking what would happen if they got in the city! If the Aishyans came and took the both of you away! If they did to you what they did to me! There is never a day where the two of you aren’t on my mind. Sometimes I wish you weren’t, just so that I may be able to sleep, but then the thoughts only increase, thinking about how I could protect you if I didn't have those thoughts! That is all I think about and that’s why this happened!”
Silence was all that followed his screaming, trembling voice. The three of us just stared at one another for a while, taking in his words.
“I love you, Aaron. I love and know that you love us” Mother finally responded, “But how will we survive? What will we do now that they fired you?”