Athan started to speak softly.

"Before I tell you what the elemental spirits are, I will tell you about their origin first. "

"Okay!" Coy said excitedly.

In the dark room, where the only source of light was the candle on the desk, Athan began his storytelling.

"Ahem. Far in the past, in a time when all species were yet on sight: and when I say all, I meant all of them, the dragons included. There floated in the space a rock that was large beyond our comprehension. We called it Mundus."

"You see, Mundus back then was just a big rock and nothing else. But that changed when another similar rock slammed to it! Mundus and that rock collided into each other, merging to become a bigger rock," Athan said, as he brought his hands closer to each other, joining them.

"That newly formed rock inherited Mundus' name, and was also called as such. But it was very different from its predecessor, because this one transformed into one that could host living species. And its first guests were the elemental spirits." Athan introduced the first species to the story as the candle in the room flickered.

"Are you following me?" He asked, thinking that whatever he just said probably went over Coy's head.

"Yup!" Replied Coy.

"Good. Anyway, these elemental spirits were beings of different nature. Some were fire, others water, etc."

"After an eon passed by, the beings we know as dragons came to be. The elemental spirits and the dragons came into a mutual agreement and became species who could co-exist together. The dragons would ask the elemental spirits of their affinities for favours or even simple things like a cool breeze and other small needs. Both of them, to this day, are still allies and friends." Athan ended his story with a smile.

"Woah, how nice of them. But how do you speak to the elemental spirits? You didn't mention it on your story," Coy thought out loud as he tilted his head to his right.

"Not a patient one are you? But it's fine," chuckled Athan

With swift movements, he stood up from his chair and walked closer to the candle.

"Look at this candle Coy. And don't be surprised about what's going to happen after that."

Coy nodded when he heard that and fixed his gaze at the candle.

Athan slightly leaned close to the candle and whispered, "Oh the ones who reside within my shadow, veil this candle from this space thoroughly." Almost instantly, the room went dark as the source of light, the candle: was gone from their sight.

Coy didn't expect such phenomena but remembering his father's words, he calmed down.

"Father, what happened to the candle?" Coy asked as he faced where his father was standing right before the light went out.

Silence.

Utter silence invaded the whole space as only Coy's breathing could be heard. Not a second later, the surface of his skin felt a chilly breeze pass by, giving Coy the goosebumps.

For as long as Coy could remember, he was never a fan of thrilling situations,

And the most peculiar part about what was happening was that Coy could not even catch his father's scent. It was almost as if he was not in the room from the very beginning!

"Father!" Called out Coy once again.

Seeing that he was getting no response, Coy tried to stand up from his chair: but all of a sudden, he heard a low yet clear whisper in his right ear.

"Boo.."

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"AAH!"

Coy yelled as he missed his steps, hitting the ground with his buttocks. Frightened. Sweat could be seen rolling down his face. As if on cue, the room brightened up as the candle was now visible, and Athan's leisure figure came into view.

Athan who had a playful smile on his face was now sitting on his chair.

"Surprised?"

Speechless.

Coy couldn't think of any other word besides that.

"You were still in the room?" He asked with doubt written all over his face.

"Indeed. All this time I have been here with you."Said Athan.

"A- and what was that whisper behind me?" Coy said, pointing at the back of his chair.

"Oh, that was Hatitosa. She is a dark spirit of mine. Did she scare you that much?" Said Athan as he placed his hand on his mouth. Hiding a chuckle.

"Hmph, She didn't!" Coy said. He stood up and dusted his pants and coat. He then sat down at his chair with a grumpy face.

"Haha, I thought that was a funny move from her. Right Hatitosa?" Said Athan as he looked at his shadow.

Parting from the shadow was a silhouette of a lady with long hair. She appeared to be agreeing with Athan as she gave a thumbs up.

Coy was bewildered as he looked at his father's strange shadow.

"Now let's get back to business. How was it Coy?" Asked Athan.

"Huh? You mean the earlier trick you did? That was awesome, how do you do it!" Coy asked as he sat on the edge of his seat, eager to learn. Seemingly forgetting the embarrassment he went through earlier.

Seeing how interested Coy was, made Athan

happy as he nodded.

"Good question. Elemental spirits can be used by almost anyone who has an affinity to Fire, water, earth, wind, light, dark, space and time. Affinities have 4 grades: Low, intermediate, high, and peak. But those are the ones we know of, the possibility of there being higher grades isn't entirely non-existent.. Do you understand?" Said Athan in one breath.

"Yes!"

"Now, to use the elemental spirits, you need to

at least have an intermediate grade affinity. Because, low affinity to an element won't be much of a help for you except seeking company from low ranked spirits, and yes: spirits have ranks. But that's for another day." Athan said when he saw Coy's questioning eyes.

Coy was upset about that, but he remained quiet and continued listening to his Father.

"To make contact with the spirits, you must first deepen the mastery of your elements. Majority of the people take approximately 5 years or above to achieve initial contact with a spirit. But you don't have to be concerned about that. If we take your talent into account, you simply need two months or so."

"In my case, it took me 4 months to make initial contact with a dark spirit, and that was Hatitosa. But aside from dark spirits, I also have fire spirits. Can you notice where they are?" Athan asked, crossing his arms.

'Hmm… Could it be?' Thought coy as his looked at the only source of fire around him.

"The candle?" Coy said.

"That was a close one, son. But they are actually inside my body itself. "

Athan then raised his index above the candle as a small cut appeared on it, dropping a single drop of blood. As the droplet of blood fell on the candle, the little fire skyrocketed, illuminating the whole library!

"That's too bright, father!" Coy said while he closed his eyes with the back of his hand.

The light slowly subsided down as the room returned into its past state.

Coy opened his eyes and looked at his father, his face filled with questions.

"I thought elemental spirits could only exist outside of our bodies; how did they end up inside your body? And this time you didn't speak like before when the room became dark! How was that possible?" Coy peppered his father with questions.

"The elemental spirits don't have a physical form, so they could be in every place except one place. One that's fortified with mana. But, they prefer to be in an environment where they could be comfortable at, like how dark spirits are in my shadow, and fire spirits in my body, especially in the blood." Athan answered the first question professionally.

"Oh, so that's why. Then what about the incantation part?"

"Incantation is only used when you have poor imagination, or control over your mana. And yes, you use your mana when you want the spirits to assist you. As the saying goes, every action has its price, whether it would be paid by you, or someone else… But, certain people don't use mana or incantation. It's because they have a deep relationship with their contracted spirit." Athan said.

Coy noticed how his father's tone changed when he mentioned about paying a price for every action you do, making him don on a serious expression.

"Any other questions you have?" Athan said.

"Oh! How big are the effects of using spirits? When Luna used it, her whole body became swift, but you only hid the candle. "

Coy asked.

"Hehe, I only did that because I was showing you an example. Your father is quite strong, Coy. Strong to the point of affecting our whole dukedom itself. "

"What! That's awesome, father!" Coy exclaimed.

"It is. But there are others stronger than your father, such as our king. If he were to use the spirits to his limit, he could affect 10 times the size of our dukedom…but" Athan trailed with his words.

"But? Father, don't leave me in the dark," Coy said with anticipation visible in his tone.

"There's a being who is far more powerful than our king, where there is no comparison whatsoever. He could affect half of the world if he so desires to." Said Athan.

Coy's eyes bulged with shock when he heard that.

Athan looked at Coy with a serious countenance. "That just shows you how powerful you could aspire to be. Affecting the whole world is not a dream if you train hard enough. But understand that the elemental spirits are only there for assistance. It's your strength that defines who you are! Only your strength will be there for you whenever you need it, remember that."

Coy's mind was filled with fantasies when he heard his father's words. Him heroically defending his family, as he stooped down on the very earth itself with utmost dominance!

Oh how he couldn't wait for the future to arrive…