“All of the magically inclined races have one basic element they are not aligned with. They can only use the magic corresponding to it using a crystal of that element.
Demonkin have no affinities with water;
Dendrin cannot use fire;
Drakkar have not been able to utilize ground magic;
Elvin don’t use dark magics;
Nazjar have no access to magic belonging to the air element.
Humans have been observed to be able to use all basic elements of magic (although very few of them have an affinity towards more than two of the basic elements), the versatility making up for their naturally low talent.”
̶ An Introduction to Magical Studies, Julian Carell, 1200 AS
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I move on to the next crystal, it being brown in color. I take it into my hand, pressing it hard against my palms, as if pressure would make it light up of a sudden. No such thing happens, the crystal retaining its dull brown colouring. I sulk a bit, my expectations taking a small hit after the initial success.
“Don’t worry; it’s not a big deal if you don’t have an affinity for an element. It’s completely normal to have only two or three elemental affinities, four or more are a real rarity, even I could probably count people with five or more on the fingers of my hand. For six or seven, I think my legs would be enough.”
I proceed to the other elemental crystals. Air and water crystals yield the same results as the ground one, their brightness not changing within my grasp.
At this point, I am dejected, begging to receive at least one more affinity. Even darkness would be better than nothing at this point.
The black crystal doesn’t change its colour when I hold it, Cerolus not showing any kinds of emotion on his face, remaining stout and neutral towards my despair.
Finally, I take the milky white gem in my hands. A shine immediately surges out from the crystal, illuminating the table below me. I put the crystal down, my despair somewhat lessened.
“So, fire and light, see, it’s not all that bad. Most Humans I’ve observed had two affinities, so don’t feel so down. Your fire affinity seems strong as well; I sense you could really become really proficient in it, given time.”
He then puts the remaining two crystals in front of me.
“And now for the non-elemental affinities, although I already know the results.”
I take the transparent crystal in my one of my hands, and wait a bit. A small light shines from the inside, irradiating the crystal in various colors.
“It’s a bit small, but it’s definitely there.” Cerolus nods cheeringly; I can’t help but be emboldened by his smile.
The last one is the purplish crystal, for the disturbance affinity. The crystal lightens as soon as I touch it, not even needing to be held for the effects to be seen.
“So, a small arcane affinity and quite a bit of a disturbance one. Not bad, not bad at all.” He seems in deep thought over the results presented to him. Maybe he is thinking of the best way to start?
“Well then I should probably start with explaining exactly what arcane and disturbance mean first, as you are probably wondering about that anyway.” I slowly nod in agreement, realization dawning upon me. I mean, I can guess what the elemental ones do, but arcane and disturbance mean absolutely nothing to me at the moment.
“To put it as simple as possible, arcane allows you to cast the element directly into the world, something like I’ve shown you with the fire earlier, it basically means you can create and manipulate various objects made of the element. Light for example, would allow you to blind or heal a person, among several other things.
Disturbance on the other hand, allows you to enhance or impart an object or a thing with a quality presented by an element. For example, fire disturbance magic could make your blade be able to corrode and melt some metals, greatly enhancing your deadliness in sword fighting.
You have a larger affinity for disturbance, so you won’t be able to do flashy things, but your magic would still be useful nonetheless. Your necklace is made using extremely large amounts of disturbance magic, for example.”
So, I’ll be able to do magical sword fighting is what he is basically saying? The prospect of using a sword to melt through armor excites me a bit, my lifelong obsession of combat coming through.
“Now that we have covered the basic introduction, your training can officially begin. Since I myself have affinities towards fire, darkness and light, as well as arcane and disturbance, I can teach you magic all by myself, if you are alright with having me as your teacher, that is.”
The thought of spending so much time around Cerolus is… calming, weirdly. Have I started warming up to him? Do I consider him someone who can keep me happy and safe? He is so different from me, but he has been really nice towards me all this time. Will that change? Will he become harsher over time, only luring me in at the start? Will he turn out completely different in a few days? I guess there is really no reason for him to suddenly change. Hide something from me, maybe; but not change. He is older, he must have some secrets he doesn’t want me to learn, but that doesn’t really make him a bad person now, does it?
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“Sophia? You alright over there? Do you want to continue another time?” I find myself completely absorbed in thought, barely noticing him staring at me with a look of curiosity on his face.
“I’m fine, really. I’d like to start, I am really looking forward to learning from you.”
Cerolus shows a big bright smile at my words, a loud thumping in my chest showing up again.
“Alright, let’s start with it slowly.” He suddenly gains a serious demeanor, a slight chill grasping the air around me.
“First thing you have to learn is to detect mana channels inside of you, and the mana around your immediate surroundings. This will be easiest if I pour some of my own mana inside of your body, letting you feel the change that happens, Humans seem to be less sensitive to the mana around them than Demons. So I would first like you to calm down, breathe slowly and close your eyes.”
I do what he says, trying to empty my thoughts, that being ridiculously hard. It’s hard not to think about anything; even the mere concept of not thinking about something makes you think. It’s frustrating to be completely honest with myself.
I hear him move behind me, putting his hands on my shoulders. His palms are so warm, his touch is so strong and yet gentle at the same time, it makes me sleepy all of a sudden, as if all my worries were to be carried away.
“Try to just relax and feel the energy running through your body, I will slowly put some of my mana, and you just tell me when you feel anything at all.” I try to remain calm and silent, but I can’t feel anything beyond the touch of his hands, nothing is changing inside. I try to imagine looking at myself in the mirror, as if that would somehow help me notice anything different about me all of the sudden.
I look at myself in my mind, this ‘me’ not wearing any clothes, but otherwise looking the same, nothing is different, nothing at all. Am I hopeless at magic, will I ever be able to learn it? Is this all for nothing, all my hopes remaining just that?
I try to concentrate on the mental image of me harder, maybe that will produce some better results. I can feel sweat forming on my face, exhaustion suddenly taking hold of me, as if I’ve been running for the past several minutes.
I can still only feel his hands on my shoulders, and nothing else entirely, my exhaustion and frustration only making it worse to concentrate.
I open my eyes.
“It isn’t working, I can’t feel anything.”
Cerolus raises his hands. “Don’t worry much about it, it doesn’t happen immediately, almost no one can do it at their first try, it’s completely normal.”
But what if it isn’t? What if I will never be able to do magic? What if I’m simply a failure, my only purpose to be a wife of a Demon in order to end a war between our races? My cheeks are wet now, visible tears on my face. Cerolus kneels on the ground looking me in the face with a small smile.
“Look there is nothing to worry about. It’s completely normal to not succeed at first. It’s how we learn, mistakes and failures can only make us stronger in the long run. Let’s stop for now, get you something to eat and get you rested, I know the first times can be extremely exhausting on the mind, and I have talked quite a bit today, I’m a bit scared you’ll forget it all.” His smile slowly calms me down.
I wipe my tears away and stand up slowly, the exhaustion catching up with me as I stand. I almost lose balance, but Cerolus takes hold of me, not letting me fall down. “Easy now, we wouldn’t want you to hurt yourself on your first day of training, now would we? What would that say of me as a teacher?” I smile at his words, the sadness in my mind slowly fading away.
We walk down to the dining room, the Sun has almost already set, my feeling of time almost completely gone while I was concentrating earlier.
We eat slowly, in silence, me occasionally stealing some glances at his face while he is feeding Fluffy. He looks so caring at times; you can almost forget he is not a Human.
We finish our meal and go to his room. Well I guess it can be considered my room as well.
I lie in the bed and fall asleep instantly.
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She’s slowly warming up to me, I can feel it.
She has tried so hard today, I guess she really does feel like she is weak; but that is not true.
She has been taken away from home, dropped into a different land, next to unknown people. And she’s slowly getting used to it. It takes bravery to do that.
She looks so pretty while she sleeps, her fair skin illuminated by the light of the night sky. It’s mesmerizing. I take off her shoes and slowly move her towards the middle of the bed, she’s already in deep sleep. I remove everything but my pants, getting ready for sleep as well.
I lie down next to her, my chest behind her small back, and put my left hand over her hip. She unconsciously grabs it with her own.
I slowly drift to sleep, it has been a long day.