Vincent couldn't understand what he had to do, it was easy to say "hey, you, go control fire or water", but was it possible? He started feeling like all of this was just an elaborate joke to humiliate him; how else would you feel if someone came and paid you to lift a truck with your mind.
In a last-ditch attempt, he tried humouring the spectators by acting according to their whims; "Rise!" he ordered the fire, "Stop!" he commanded the wind, "turn into ice!" he demanded from the water. Finally, in an exasperated attempt, he asked the earth to stay still, which worked.
It worked so well the colosseum exploded in another boisterous laugh. The humiliation caused his pale cheeks to turn red, as smart and detached he was from the world, he still had only a 15 years old boy experience.
As the cheers died down, he gave a deathly stare to the elements around him as if noticing it, they seemed to squirm away or die down under his surprised eyes. Just when he thought that he had succeeded, the woman's voice came back.
"As fun as it was, unfortunately, you do not possess the elemental aptitude; therefore, you failed your examination. A guide will bring you home in a moment." the voice carried a disappointed tone, unknown to him, he had been selected as one of the more promising candidates.
Disappointment struck him like a wave, just as he thought a hope dawned on him, in the form of a door to a new world, it had been mercilessly shut down in front of him.
The disappointment turned into anger. Was it all just a big cruel joke? Did they bring him there just to lighten the mood and get a laugh or two out of humiliating a sick kid?
At that moment, another question surfaced, were they even able to heal me in the first place? He had unconsciously thought that being accepted into this school could fix all his problems, but was it true?
Vincent raised his head and looked right ahead of him, a little higher on the wall, stood a pavilion of sorts with luxurious purple curtains. He thought that if the woman was anywhere, it had to be there.
Gathering air in his lungs, he yelled: "Wait! Had I been accepted, would you have been able to heal my neurodegenerative disease?" the voice travelled far, however not far enough to reach the Pavillon, especially with all the noise from the spectators.
Nevertheless, an icy feeling penetrated his body and moved up to his head where it stopped, soon after a reply came. "Yes." such a simple response worked like the tiniest of sparkles in a forest, lighting the fire of hope inside Vincent.
He fell to his knees, his head hard on the ground. "Please!" he pleaded, "I'll do anything, give me another chance!" he supplicated with his head down. "please, it's too soon, there are still many things I want to see, I don't want to die," he added in a quieter voice he himself almost couldn't hear.
A sigh travelled to his ears. "Elemental aptitude is not everything. However, your path will be much harder than others. Also, the second test is many times harder, and you could even lose your life, are you still willing?" she asked in a troubled tone that didn't betray her worry.
With unwavering confidence, he agreed immediately, what was to even think about. Difficulties in his studies? Mortal danger? Puah! was was more difficult and dangerous than your brain melting from overwork.
"So be it, this is the only support you will receive." a page flew from the pavilion and into his hands, the paper was yellow and rough with intricate blue inscriptions. "The rules are simple, find the exit of the maze in less than one hour."
Before he could reply, walls emerged from the ground surrounding him, in the blink of an eye, he was surrounded on all sides by towering ancient walls and, to his dismay albeit slowly, the roof was closing as well.
From the speed, he could observe, it would take around ten minutes for it to close down and trap him in darkness.
"Calm down, let's think. She told me I have one hour, but the roof will close way earlier, it means there is something I have to do in those ten minutes," he raised the old manuscript to his face and frowned, "this should be the solution, but..."
As his eyes scanned the page, it only consisted of many commas forming an X inside a circle. He couldn't understand, was it a map? A clue to something he had to find?
He breathed deeply to calm his mind and started to reflect. "Apparently magic exists, so I need to think outside the box on this. An old parchment makes me think of some kind of secret, maybe a spell."
Hs stared intensely at the symbol, feeling like his attention was being sucked, he tried to look away; however, his eyes couldn't move. Fear gripped him tight as his breathing stopped, something had coiled around his neck, strangling him.
His migraine flared adding to the difficulty, he now realized that the parchment was a trap and he fell for it.
Was this how he was going to die?
.
..
...
"NO!" something exploded inside Vincent's mind. A crack appeared in his mind, and then another. Like a dam slowly being torn apart, a web of cracks expanded and grew until the wall couldn't hold any longer and collapsed.
His mind felt free for the first time in ages, the migraine that had accompanied him for so long disappeared replaced by a refreshing feeling, as if someone had poured cold water inside his skull.
His eyes darted to the sigil on the parchment which started shaking left and right, under his intense gaze its symbols lost cohesion and fell apart disappearing like an illusion.
In their place, lines of text and a few geometrical shapes surfaced from the paper-like ruins from the sand.
Instead of checking the loot obtained after risking his life, Vincent sat down and examined his consciousness. As something he had done many times in the past to fight headaches, he expertly took a cross-legged position and regulated his breathing to calm down.
As his breathing slowed down, he submerged in his mind, he could feel it was different and the same at the same time, Vincent could think clearer than before, and he felt newfound energy coursing through his body.
He tried tweaking with the energy, altering the course however he immediately felt a sharp pain that forced him to give up. "whatever, I will have more time to examine my condition in the future, but for now..." he grabbed the parchment from his legs and started reading.
Focus: Novice level enchantment
Upkeep: 1u/m
Range: 10m.
Effects: creates an oxygen burning candle light.
Temperature range: 800-1400 Celsius.
Introduction: The focus enchantment is one of the easiest spells to learn and master, while its effects are not earth shattering, its low upkeep and great utility make it one of the most used spells even at higher levels.
As he kept reading his excitement grew, "This is real magic!" he thought reading the instructions on how to use it; without wasting time he followed the instructions and, using a pebble on the ground, etched the rune on the palm of his left hand.
The rune looked like five squirmy lines pointing to the same point. Without even a little grunt of pain, he quickly finished cutting his skin deep enough for tiny drops of blood to come out, according to the guide, blood would serve as the price for creating the rune.
The second step consisted of a short incantation. Kneeling down Vincent looked at the closing roof, only a sliver of light still entered from above, and soon he would find himself in a kingdom of shadows if unsuccessful.
"Nasci focus ex ignea scintilla" He chanted slowly while holding up his left hand, while outside he looked calm a great sense of expectation burned inside him.
The moment he spoke the last word, a spark flew out of his palm and exploded above his palm turning into a hovering dark red flame, the gorgeous light reflected on Vincent's green eyes making him appear like a mad man.
The flame emitted an incredible heat scorching even his own hand because of how hot it was, he tried moving the hand away, but as if an invisible candle had its base on his palm, the flame kept following. Afraid of burning himself, he killed the spell by closing his hand and saying: "extingui."
Taking a breath of relief seeing the flame collapse on itself, Vincent ripped a piece of his shirt; grabbed a handful of sand and used the strip of cloth to keep the sand in his hand, then recasted the spell.
This time the heat, mostly blocked by the cloth and the sand, didn't harm him. Rejoicing at his DIY solution, he didn't even look at the ceiling closing on itself and shutting off all sources of light except his little flame.
Finally, tired of staying on the ground, he stood up and walked forward, why forward? Because he could see the flame moving forward, that meant the presence of wind, ergo, the exit.
He looked at the long corridors in front ready to swallow him in their darkness and smirked. "I'll become a mage and there is nothing in this world that can stop me." Shadows danced like demons behind him as he spoke, and thus the adventure of a new mage started.