Ryan waited for Tyler to pack a few things for the beach, then allowed his servant to take his arm and guide him to the shore, the sounds of the ocean growing louder as they drew nearer. For his first experience on a beach, Ryan wanted to lay on a towel rather than a beach chair, so when they arrived, he waited for Tyler to spread a towel out.

"You can enjoy the beach," Ryan told Tyler. "I am going to relax here."

"It would not do for-"

"Tyler," Ryan said. "Screw what other people think of you enjoying the beach. I'm sure you've wanted to do this for awhile. I'm near enough to the shore that you shouldn't have an issue with being too far away."

"Sir," Tyler began.

"Tyler," Ryan spoke firmly. "Practice water magics if you want to feel like you are doing your job. I know it's night, but you can still enjoy the beach. I want to listen to the sounds of the ocean, and I won't mind the sounds of you training. Okay? Just relax and enjoy yourself. You'll be close enough that it won't be an issue if something happens."

He heard his servant sigh.

"Yes, sir," Tyler said.

"Now go," Ryan lay on the towel. "Enjoy yourself."

The sound of Tyler walking barefoot on the sand after removing his shoes was an interesting one to Ryan, who then removed his own shoes and moved them next to Tyler's, before laying back down.

For several minutes, he listened to the sounds of the waves splashing against the shores of the island, a gull which called out every now and then, and some splashing in the water, which he assumed was his servant's training. Some new sounds, some old.

The feel of the sand beneath the towel was a strange one to Ryan. He had never before lay on a surface which shifted so readily to his movements yet wasn't soft or plush as well. It wasn't an unpleasant feeling, but not one he thought was pleasant. At the same time, he enjoyed the sensation.

With his natural curiosity of new things, Ryan soon found himself climbing off the blanket and laying beside it, on the sand directly. The sand was grainy and rubbed at his skin. Not quite comfortable, yet something he enjoyed. A new texture, one unlike the soft, fine sands in the zen garden at the main estate. Ryan wasn't a fan of the zen garden, and had only felt its sands with his hands before. One of the main reasons a zen garden worked was because of its look and the calmness that rose from changing that look. Something which didn't work for him.

The teen's curiosity growing even more, he began scooping sand up with a hand and dumping it on himself, first on his legs, working until they and his feet were completely covered. He resorted to magic for it, pulling the sand with magic to bring it from further away. At first, he used telekinesis, but that was tedious. Rather than being able to simply grab an item and move it, he had to create a telekinetic scoop, aim it, scoop it, then move it, over and over.

So he began working on manipulating the sand. He removed his sense of air and added in his sense of earth, allowing him to sense every grain of sand within his ten-foot range. From there, he focused on manipulating the sand, his first attempt at actually using an element beyond for just his senses.

Doing so took him a few minutes, but once he did, gathering up the sand to pour on himself became easier. Several times, he created a small wave of sand, pulling from as far as he could sense. As he drew near completion of his quest, Ryan manipulated the sand beneath his head to form into a pillow, so that his head was elevated a little. He let his head rest on there, then finished covering himself up through his neck in sand.

It wasn't until he finished that he realized Tyler hadn't made a comment at all during it. Either his servant had noticed and didn't say anything, or his servant had listened to his commands and was enjoying the beach to the point that he was no longer paying attention to Ryan.

Either answer pleased him.

Ryan decided he didn't quite like the feel of the grains of sand around him, but he did enjoy being entombed in it. It was a strange feeling, to not be able to move much of his body. Breathing had become more difficult, as he needed to force bigger breaths. He began to reshape the sand on torso to create a small space between his tomb and his chest and stomach.

When he did, he found that the sand just sank back down onto him. That didn't deter him, however. Ryan was a Novar and a Divine in all elements. If there was a way for him to create that small space, he would succeed.

So, for the next hour, he worked, playing around with earth magic until he succeeded in his goal. While he came up with several solutions, the one he found most viable was to simply sustain a hold on the sand with his magic, rather than anything else he attempted or thought up. Not only was it the most feasible one for the task which he found, but it would help him train his magic, which was part of the reason he was on the islands.

Why only focus on water magics simply because that was what he traveled there to train?

As Ryan waited for his servant to finish whatever the other teen was doing, he noticed something entering the range of his elemental senses a few times. A water elemental, though he couldn't be certain if it was the same one or not. It would come to around nine feet of him, then drift away. Then come back on another side of him a few seconds later.

That continued for several minutes, the elemental drawing closer little by little with each return, and then Ryan realized that it was definitely several elementals. They began traveling close to him two at a time.

Hoping the elementals were just curious, he reached out with his empathy. He had sensed a mind in the one before, but hadn't paid attention to what it was feeling. If the elementals were hostile, aggravated, angry, or something similar, he wanted to know.

What he found instead was an emptiness. While he could sense their minds, it couldn't find a read on their emotions. When he attempted to use telepathy to read their thoughts, that failed as well. The elementals had minds, but there was nothing there.

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Or was his failure simply because of other reasons? They had no physical brain – at least, not in the sense that animals did. Was it possible that their minds were simply incompatible with each other?

The elementals continued to draw nearer and nearer to Ryan, and he finally managed to count six of them. They formed a ring around him and began to spin around, and he noticed them creating small fluctuations in their water as they did.

Not just on one side, but throughout. Elementals were three-dimensional forces of an element, and the strange changes to their water seemed to occur in groups within an elemental, but all over them. On the outside, on the inside, above and below – all over.

Something only someone who could sense the element would notice, as they would be the only one able to notice all shifts at once, including the ones hidden within them. The only ones able to see actual patterns, rather than just repeated forms in a spot or two.

That intrigued him, and he wanted to know the reason for that. It resembled some of what the elemental he first met did. In fact, it almost resembled…

Language.

Ryan began to pay attention to all of the elementals, his physical adaptation to his new senses allowing him to process everything going on all around him the same as a human would process what they could see. When he did, he confirmed they were communicating through the shifts in water.

It took him time, but he began to track the conversation, even if he couldn't understand it. They were talking simultaneously, but he was able to tell responses by how quickly they formed in an elemental after another did something.

He knew it was possible he was imagining the conversation, and that the shifts in their water, the formations they created and absorbed back in, could mean absolutely nothing. But he hoped he was right, if for no other reason than being right.

If the elementals could speak, then he could learn their language. If he could learn their language, then he could learn from them on a level no one else could. He could ask them for guidance, for help.

He could ask for their help in turning him into a master of the elements in addition to a master of high magics. Another step on his way to becoming the second Gray Mage.

Eventually, the elementals did what he felt was a strange, yet giddy dance, then left, leaving him baffled. They all performed the same shifts to their waters at the same time before leaving, something which only increased his theory they were communicating. Their movements made him think of laughter, and they did it together.

"Sir!" Ryan heard Tyler's panicked voice as footsteps slapped at the sand, drawing closer. "Sir! Are you okay? Did the elementals do this to you?"

"No," Ryan answered. "I did this to me. That was the most amazing experience I have ever had before, though. Never in my entire life did I think that elementals would do a ritual dance around me. I wonder who they were planning on offering me to. Do they have gods?"

His servant sighed, and Ryan snorted. He could sense through his sense of water Tyler putting his hand to his forehead even before he heard the light touch.

"So that is what a facepalm looks like."

"Yes," Tyler snorted, his hand quickly jerking away from his head. "That is a facepalm, sir. You did this to yourself?"

"You only now noticed?" Ryan asked. "I thought you were busy keeping an eye on me?"

"I-sorry," Ryan felt his servant's embarrassment and shame. "I failed in my duties, Ryan."

"Tyler," Ryan said. "I effectively put you on break. You didn't fail in your duties, you weren't required to perform them at the time. Though I do wonder who they were planning on sacrificing me to. How long before they left did you notice?"

"Right before," Tyler answered. "I happened to look over, notice you weren't on the towel, then noticed them. A few seconds later, they left."

In other words, the elementals did their strange dance at the end once Tyler saw them, then left. If his theory about them was correct, then the elementals were probably laughing at how long it had taken Tyler to notice. Or it could just be coincidence, or they were acting like mischievous kids who got caught and were running away in panic.

Any number of things, but Ryan favored the idea of them laughing at Tyler taking so long to notice, then running away. It was something he would do, if he could.

"Are you able to breathe okay?" Tyler asked. "That's a lot of sand on your chest."

"Not much," Ryan said. "And I'm supporting it with earth magics. That's how I managed to coat myself. Want me to do the same to you? It is very strange, Tyler. Rather than sensing a solid block beneath me and around me, I am sensing every last grain of sand."

"Sand?" Tyler asked as Ryan sensed his servant's confusion. He watched his servant's head move around, checking for someone nearby before looking back to Ryan. "Sir, you said your sense was for water. Are you saying you can sense all elements?"

"Yes," Ryan answered. "I trust you not to share this secret. I do have to actively sustain the spell, however. I can manage two at once for an indefinite period of time. I've gone for up to six hours without rest. It does cause a mild headache. I can also manage three at once, but only for around ten minutes, then I need to rest for around twenty before I can do it again. I plan on building up my sensing stamina while we're here. Are you sure you don't wish to join me as a sacrifice to the elementals' gods?"

"No, sir," Tyler responded. "Thank you for the offer, though."

"Okay," Ryan said. "Did you enjoy the last couple of hours?"

"Yes, sir," Tyler answered, and Ryan could sense a slight elevation in his servant's happiness. "I did a bit of swimming, but mostly practiced my water magics. I suppose I got too into it after awhile, to not notice… things."

"It's quite alright," Ryan smiled. "You were having fun, which matters to me, Tyler. You don't get any real breaks often. Much of while we're here, if I'm just relaxing, you can take a break from your work as well. Expect us to be at the beach a lot. I might call upon you, but you'll have plenty of time to enjoy yourself. This is as much my treat as it is yours."

"Thank you, sir," Tyler said, and Ryan yawned. "Should we be heading back?"

"Let's," Ryan responded. "Sustaining this spell for so long after such a long day, I'll probably pass out as soon as I lie down."

Ryan shifted the sand off of him, then waited for Tyler to grab their things. They walked to an outdoor shower to wash the sand off, then stepped onto the path and walked back to their guest house. The pair decided not to put their shoes back on, and Ryan enjoyed the feel of the cool stone path beneath his feet.

In their guest house, Ryan took a shower to actually get himself clean from the beach, and after he was dry, pulled on his night clothes, then told Tyler to take a shower. As much as he enjoyed his servant's presence, he had become quite aware of the smell of the ocean. Of salt, fish, and something strange that he couldn't quite place.

"Yes, sir," Tyler responded. "I'll try to hurry, but if I do not make it out before you're asleep, enjoy your dreams."

"You as well," Ryan said. "I'm going to dream of something sweet, soft, and supple."

He felt his servant's discomfort and grinned, then made his way to the bed, climbed onto it, and laid down, pulling the covers over himself. He released his empathy, then traded his earth sense for air, adding in his sense of fire as well. Stretching the three elemental senses to their limits, Ryan wondered if he would need to reset earlier than planned.

Despite not wanting to tell people what he could do, he had told his father and his servant. Both were people he trusted, though, so his doubts were quickly dismissed as he focused on pushing his limits even further, passing out moments after the three spells ended, their limits reached.