The two followed Irae into the lush garden behind the temple. Ivy covered crosshatched wood that formed a small outdoor classroom. Planters of flowers, vegetables, and fruits decorated the outer wall of the class.
“Good morning, class!” Irae cleared her throat as she moved a hanging vine out of the way, “Healer Gimma, is there enough room for two more?”
“Oh Zrud,” Gima rubbed her forehead, “Mira, you know the rules. Take your acquaintance to a table and don’t disrupt the class.”
“Acquaintance?” Jonen furrowed his brow.
“I am not allowed friends,” She nodded, “I told them to refer to you as my acquaintance.”
“I see,” He smiled, “Well, happy to be your acquaintance.”
The older human stood behind over a dozen girls barely old enough to leave home alone. Tella, by far, was the youngest amongst them. The other girls were closer to Pallik’s age. That was the age Jonen knew most normally explored their magical talents.
“I will be his partner,” Mira bowed lightly before she walked to a table.
“Much appreciated,” He followed her.
“Good morning, everyone!” Irae pleasantly greeted the group of girls, “Today, we are going to explore some basic healing affinity tests and techniques. I know some of you have more experience than others, but I don’t think any have handled the herbalist side of healing here. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to raise your hand.”
Mira raised her hand.
“Mira, if you have any questions, please direct them to Healer Gimma,” Irae grinned, “They may be a bit advanced for our class.”
The older woman walked over and placed a piece of paper and quill in front of Mira, “Write them down and ask me after class. I’ll stop by to see if its applicable if we aren’t busy.”
Jonen chuckled as she lowered her hand.
“As all of you know, not everyone has magic talents. Those of us that do may have a hard time finding our specific talents for quite a while. Goddess gives all of us trials to conquer and find our calling. Healing may not be yours,” Irae plucked a flower from a bush and held it up to the sunlight, “I did not think it was mine. I was trained as a water elementalist by my mother.”
Irae lifted her hand above a bucket of water and wiggled her fingers to summon the water upwards. The water followed to her hand, and she playfully splashed a few sprinkles at the group of girls. They squealed and giggled at the misty rain. The ease of her magic surprised Jonen. Not many mages could move water that fluidly outside of Vanora –let alone do so openly and flamboyantly.
“Even if you don’t have much talent in healing, it’s always good to know a few spells,” She winked as the water flowed up her arm and surrounded the gentle pink flower in her hand, “Learn as much as you can today. We’re starting with basic water spells and will add onto it as our lessons progress. Now, watch closely.”
Irae controlled the small strand of water to reach the flower. It moved surrounded the delicate petals in a swirling orb. It trickled back to the bush the flower was plucked from. As Irae opened her hand, the petals opened wider. When the healer closed her hand firmly, the water fell to the ground and the flower fused to the bush again. The group of girls clapped.
“Studying how water moves is extremely beneficial for healing. Our blood moves constantly, like water can. If we can concentrate and keep it from leaving any openings, we can save patients from blood loss,” Irae picked up a box from under the table, “That’s something every healer needs to pay attention to.”
Inside the box, a collection of small bowls rested gently against jars of water. She motioned for everyone to grab a pair and return to a table with a partner.
“For the first part of class, I want everyone to grab a flower,” She motioned to the garden around them, “The ones I have excluded from the lesson are marked so. Please, grab one and bring it back to your table.”
“Mira, why don’t you pick it?” Jonen leaned over to whisper.
She nodded and followed Tella to a bush of beautiful white lilies. Mira plucked one and brought it back to their table.
“Now, pluck the petals from your flower,” Irae smiled, “Today, we will focus on using the water to bring the petals back together. You can touch the water to move it, but you cannot swirl it with your fingers. Push your energy into the water to swirl it.”
Mira plucked the flower’s petals as Jonen poured water into the small bowl. She motioned for him to attempt first. Irae waited until each pair was ready, then continued.
“Remember, push your magic into the water. Imagine waves moving the petals around,” She encouraged, “And when you think you’re ready, say the spell’s name: Alavala.”
Jonen dipped his fingers into the cold water and focused his energy. He was taught to push as much of his energy out as possible, but the effects from that spell usually led to damage. He reigned in the surge of power in his chest and repeated the word.
“Alavala,” He spoke barely above a whisper.
The elven word for dance seemed fitting for moving water. Most water spells were elven in nature, as they were strongly connected to the original water elemental, Vanora.
A small wave formed in the bowl and traveled around its side. The small whirlpool swirled the petals into the center of the bowl. It wasn’t as fancy as Irae’s spell, but he managed to do something. Jonen couldn’t keep his hands from shaking with excitement as he spoke the word aloud again. The water flicked the petals around easily. He grinned and looked at Mira who studied the spell.
“Not everyone needs to use the words,” Irae walked between the tables to study their progress, “Those that have a stronger affinity can move the water without speaking. It’s all about control. If you are uncomfortable, rely on the words.”
Jonen tried the spell without saying a word, but the water barely moved. He shrugged his shoulders and looked at Mira.
“Do you want to try?”
She nodded. He slid the bowl across the table and in front of her. Mira cautiously dipped her fingers into the bowl. She studied the small, delicate petals as they sunk to the bottom of the bowl. She raised her other hand to grab Gimma’s attention. The older healer walked over and waited for Mira’s question.
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“Should I attempt the spell?” She whispered.
Her hesitation caught Jonen’s attention. He noticed her hand trembling in the water and the other on her neck as the slowly growing black tendrils surfaced.
“You are not healing another. It shouldn’t break your rules,” Gimma responded in a hushed town, “This is just water movement. You’re studying, right?”
Mira breathed a sigh of relief, and she steadied her hand. Her fingers moved gently in the water, and she looked to Jonen, unsure if she should attempt the spell.
“Alavala,” He repeated softly, “Think of the petals dancing in the water.”
Mira nodded and understood what he meant, “Alaval—”
Before the word left her lips, the bowl of water exploded. The shattered pieces of the small bowl rested on the table as the water splashed against the table. Mira’s hand slammed against the surface in frustration and the white flash of her eyes subsided. Jonen blinked in surprise at the power in the spell. As water dripped from her hair, the petals perfectly twisted into a lock of curls. Irae silently brought another bowl and jar of water to the frustrated Mira as she took calming breaths.
“You did great,” She whispered and plucked the flower from her hair, “See?”
Mira’s fingers brushed the petals lightly, “How?”
“Sometimes, if our magic doesn’t mix well with the spells we attempt to cast, it can have violent reactions,” Irae brought the classes attention to Mira, “Mira specializes in battle magic. Gentler magic, like water and healing, will be harder for her to master. But, as you can see, the petals did arrange back into a flower in her hair.”
“Apologies, healers and trainees,” Mira stepped to the side of the table and bowed.
Mira sat and placed her head against the table. Jonen would have laughed if he didn’t sense of despair coming from her. Gimma patted her shoulder before walking to the next table of students.
“Is everything—”
“I am not well-suited for healing,” Mira cut his question short without looking up, “Please, continue the lesson while I try to reassess my approach to the spell.”
Jonen looked between her and the jar of water at the front of her table. He thought she must feel ridiculous covered in water. He decided to try and cheer her up. He grabbed the jar and poured water over himself and firmly placed his head against the table. Mira looked at him with scrunched, concerned eyes.
“There, now we both look ridiculous,” He grinned.
“I don’t understand,” She tilted her head thoughtfully.
“Well, you can’t expect to master everything on your first try, right?” He moved a lock of wet hair from her face, “It takes practice.”
She studied him for a moment before she laughed. He grinned and kept trying to cheer her up. She stood and pulled her hair behind her.
“My master demanded I master things as quickly as possible,” She placed her hands fingers in the bowl of water again, “I am… not used to failure being taken so lightly.”
A squeal from a few tables away caught their attention. Tella happily paraded her completely healed flower in her hair.
“Goddess,” Jonen shook his head, “She’s brilliant.”
Mira proudly smiled, “Yes. She will make an excellent healer.”
“How’d you even know about her talents?” Jonen poured more water into the bowl for Mira to try again.
“When I found her and Pallik, they were badly injured,” She whispered, “When Pallik’s arm bent awkwardly, she screamed. The blast of power knocked me back and fused his arm back together.”
“Many young mages can have strong results,” Irae smiled to a small dwarven girl and tapped her cracked bowl, “Your petals move just fine. Try to focus on them instead of the water, now. Less force will keep your bowl from cracking.”
“Are you ready to try again?” Jonen elbowed her lightly, “This has been an exciting class for me, at least.”
“This is very different from the private tutoring I’ve received,” Mira scrunched her nose as she dipped her fingers back in the water, “What about you? How is this different than training with the knights?”
“I’m used to being yelled at for doing wrong,” He chuckled sadly, “This is a good common ground, don’t you think?”
“Are you always this optimistic?” She lifted an eyebrow as she studied the petals in the bowl.
“It’s a nice day. I don’t feel sick, I can walk again… and I’m no longer a burden on you,” Jonen snuck his hand over hers and placed his fingertips into the bowl, “It’s nice, don’t you think?”
She didn’t look up and kept her gaze on his hand over hers. He intertwined their fingers in the bowl and prepared for her to say the spell. Mira was too entranced by how softly he touched her hand. When she didn’t speak, he decided to try the spell again.
“Alavala.”
The petals swirled in the water. She felt his mana spread into the water. Then, the color bled from the petals into the water itself. The translucent petals spun in the milky white water as they pulled their hands from the bowl.
Mira moved her fingers to her mouth to taste it, “It’s sweet… How did you do that?”
“I’m not entirely sure,” He tasted the water on his fingertips.
The sweetness was faint, but noticeable. Gimma walked to a group of older girls and strictly had them pronounce the word.
“It’s an elven word,” She grunted, “I know you dwarves have a hard time pronouncing – Mira put your hand down. Try again, focus on the word.”
She lowered her hand without a word. She wrote the question down on the paper and looked back at their table. Jonen reached above them and picked another white flower from the trellis. He plucked the petals into the bowl. Mira concentrated her energy into her fingertips as she touched the water.
If she could harness great energy, slaughter her enemies, and turn bright daylight into shadow – then she could form a silly flower from petals.
Jonen watched as she mouthed the words to herself. Then her face contorted to anger as she looked down at the bowl. He saw the fully formed flower, and her fingers, frozen in a block of ice. He tried to stifle his laughter, but she glared at him before he could. His shoulders shook as he tried not to laugh. She raised her freed hand patiently.
“Now, what you don’t want to see is any damage to the petals. This is a simple exercise but thinking of it as working on someone’s skin. You don’t want to hurt the healthy parts of your patients,” Gimma looked between the other students, “We are here to heal, not to –Mira, put your – Oh, for Zrud’s sake! Is your hand frozen in that?”
She lowered her head and quietly confirmed, “Yes.”
“That is new,” Irae looked over to her.
“Am I allowed to use flame magic to thaw the ice?”
“Yes,” Gimma’s hands pulled the skin taunt on her face, “Just don’t burn down the garden.”
Mira lifted the chunk of ice from the bowl. The bowl rested perfectly on the table as she lifted her hand above it. She closed her eyes and concentrated on burning everything away. She focused on controlling the flame to not spread past her fingertips. Then, Jonen’s hand touched her shoulder. The momentary distraction caused the water to run down her arm and the frozen flower to fall onto the table.
“Try to relax, okay?” Jonen grabbed the flower and put it in the bowl, “Maybe this magic isn’t for you. That’s perfectly fine. You’re allowed to be bad at it.”
Mira didn’t like the thought. As she studied his soft gaze, his sapphire eyes gave her a moment of hesitation. She didn’t try to argue. Irae swiftly stepped pass the table and filled the bowl with water again. Jonen plucked a different flower and practiced the spell again. He had difficulties with getting the petals fuse together, but nothing as drastic as her mishaps.
“Alavala,” His words caused the petals to jump in the bowl, “See? I’m having trouble too.”
The victorious cheers of the other students caught her attention. Mira tapped into the deep powers that connected her and the wraith. If all it took was a mask to transform, surely, she could manage this spell on her own. She pulled her auburn curls behind her shoulders and closed her eyes. She placed one finger in the water and concentrated on the petals in the bowl. If they could be fused again, she would do it.
Her hand wrapped around her mother’s amulet, and she took a deep breath, “Alavala.”
Flames erupted form the bowl as water burned away from an invisible fire. Mira’s rage stewed at her own actions. She tried to remain calm and focus on the petals dancing along the boiling water’s surface. When the last one connected, she yanked her hand from the bowl.
The water calmed as the flower burst into flames. She watched as the water fully evaporated, and the ashes of the flower settled to the bottom of the empty bowl. The ashes displayed a delicate flower in black against an otherwise white bowl.
“Excuse me,” Mira quietly walked from the edge of the garden.
The students looked to him with wide eyes at her spell. Irae and Tella moved to follow her, but Jonen held his hand up to stop them.
“You two stay here. I’ll go talk to her.”