"Wait, what?"- I asked, ever perplexed.
"The images you see, the things you hear, it's all real. Well, possibly. That crest on your hand, it's a family mark. Your family is well know for very powerful mages, know as Telepaths. They are a very rare mage to appear, even in your family. Their specialty lies in all sorts of mind magic."
"So, that haze I have always felt in my mind is not just my imagination?" - I was struggling to keep up with all these new things Barus, or better, Garim has been spewing - "I am a what, a Telepath? And ming magic, what even is that?"
"So, first lesson. Magic encompasses this world. Mana flows in every part of nature. Some humans and more rarely, animals, can channel this mana. Think of mana as a manifestation of magic. Be ever respectful of it, or it may come to bite you later."
"So a flower has mana?" - I asked, quizically.
"Yes, but it may not be able to channel mana on it's own and different flowers may hold different quantities of mana." - Garim said, with a compassionate smile, as if understanding the confusion I was going through.
"Yesterday someone spoke to you, am I right? Someone from the Razi family?"
"They did, they called themselves... wait, should I even say the name?" - I asked Garim, remembering what I had been told the night before.
"Fast learner. No, you really shouldnt invoke a mage's name for nothing. Especially not one from the Razi family, as you will soon learn why that is so."
"I called you a noble mage, now I should tell you why. I reckon you should be curious as well to know why I had said that?" - Garim asked, with an amused expression.
"Settle down, this will be a long one. So, you know there's a selection each year in every village or town, where they take the young adults to either the army or the academies right?"
I nodded, not knowing where Garim was going with this but interested none the less.
"Usually, everyone gets branded with what people would call a curse right? And now their lies will get etched on their skin?"
"Isn't that what distinguishes mages from normal people though?" - I asked, quite perplexed with why he was even talking about such trivial things.
"Well, yes and no. It essentially is a rune that reacts to mana forcibly, resulting in the averse effect you know, the lies you tell getting branded on your body, if you don't possess enough mana or innate skill to channel it."
"Technically speaking, had people not been branded, everyone would be a mage, just not a very powerful or apt one. You see, magic, as I already told you, flows in everything, even the most common of things. Not that "they" would ever tell you or admit it." - Garim spoke, quite harshly
"Who's they?" - I questioned, to which Garim just shook his head.
"Telling you now would do you only harm. You must grow stronger before you face the truth."- Garim aptly avoided the question.
"Fortunately, you were born with the noble blood of Razi, so you don't have to worry about not having the innate skill, it's just that your family's magic is quite... peculiar, one might say. Their motto is not only for show."
"So the whole in control of the mind is that important for them?"
"Indeed it is so. Whilst you've seen me channel simple spells such as the one last night, any higher tiered spells would require catalysts, runes and so much more to them that you wouldn't even begin to comprehend them."
"Yet, your family needs none of it. Your mind is strong enough to project runes in itself, making you special, Rubius... Yet, it is both a blessing and a curse. I remember you told me someone from the Razi family spoke to you yesterday? Did they tell you anything about getting tracked or someone tracking you?"
"Yes, they did speak to me. They also left before anyone could sense them, or so they said? Something about me only having awakened recently or something like that. They also said they could sense me due to fear."
"So indeed, they already have recognised you. You must have bled profusely during the connection? Burnt blood, probably clogged nose with it?" - Garim mentioned, with a child-like interest in the situation.
I nodded, and I was about to question how'd he know about it when he told me.
"Listen well, Rubius. You must never, under any circumstance, tell any Imperial, mage or not, that you are from the Razi family. Trust me on this one, you'll do a favor to yourself if you keep that to yourself. About the blood, it's the repercussion of using magic without controlling it, your magic was devouring your blood as a way to fuel it's mana needs."
"Control is everything to a Telepath. If you fail to limit yourself, your mind will consume you. Only as a last resort measure should you remove that limit, Rubius. Blood magic is strong, but it's hard to control, unpredictable."
"You must learn to channel your mana, and unfortunately, there's no way to teach it other than preventing you from making stupid mistakes, as I'm not a Telepath. All I can do is prevent you from hurting yourself and give general tips on magic as a whole."
"Now, let's start. First, clear everything from your mind, no useless distractions. You can sit down, if you'd like to." - Garim got up from his leaning position against a tree and placed his hand on my solar plexus.
I sat down, and looked at Garim expectantly, waiting for instructions.
"What should I do? Do I say anything? Mages use incantations, right? Atleast in the folk tales they do..." - I asked, not knowing if what I was saying even made sense. Garim let out a giggle, then spoke.
"Imagine a spark, not a violent fire. You need only to spark the target, not destroy it. Control and limit your power, you are far stronger than you believe." - Garim said, trying to encourage me.
I did. I did my best to imagine a spark, the spark that would light the target on fire.
Nothing happened.
After what felt like an hour went by.
"Focus, Rubius, there's no rush. Take your time, feel your mana. Make it obey you." - Garim said, as he looked at me.
"I don't even know how to do that." - I said, frustrated.
"Oh dear, you're right. My old age is getting to me. You are correct, how should I expect you to cast a spell if you can't even manifest your mana? Okay, scratch that. Lesson zero, the basics on mana and mana manipulation."
"Nature is ever-changing, and that reflects the mana around it." - He said, as he drew a circle with seven different inscriptions, five in the outer ring and two in the middle.
"Remember this circle, it will be your best friend when learning magic."
"There are five different base types of mana, and two very special kinds of mana. Base ones are Fire, Water, Earth, Wind and Lightning. Usually know as elemental mana, they make most of the magical population work. They are the ones represented in the outside of the circle."
"What are the ones in the middle? Why are they not connected to the outside, but connect to each other?"
"They are Light and Darkness, polar opposites that formed in the origin of the world we live in right now, Huttzar. It only appears in primordial beings, usually."
"Remember me telling you about the noble families?"
I nodded, trying to keep up.
"There's three of them. Razi, Barus and Zolos."
"So you're one of them?"
He nodded and smiled, showing his back with great pride.
"Barus mages control Light magic, which is also the reason why when I cast magic it shines so brightly, my mana is Light- based. Very powerful, very useful."
Garim looked proud, happy, something I had never seen him look like. He had lost his usual pale, sickly appearance that I had continuously connected to him. He looked younger and very much alive, contrary to his usual self, when he spoke about magic.
"Zolos mages control Darkness magic, scary fellows."
"And what about my family? Where do we slot in?" - I tried to make sense of the circle, expecting an answer like we controlled both light and darkness.
"Razi family members are, as I said, special. They are mages of great power, especially Telepaths. Not every member of the family is one, actually, rarely are they one."
"Problem is, they dont control any type of mana. Their specialty is what the noble families have called "Void"."
"So what is void? Why is it not in the circle?"
"As I said before, Telepaths are rare. Like, centuries can go by and none is born. So, due to their rare nature, Void was excluded from the Mana ring, this circle on the ground. Void is a type of mana that appears when Planes or worlds are born and when they start to collapse. It's what brings Death to Nature, but also Life. Void mages can absorb any type of mana, and use it to cast their spells."
"How do you even know all this stuff, Garim? Aren't Telepaths really rare? How do you even know how to recognise my family crest?"- I prodded, trying to make any sense of it.
"Mages live long lives, Rubius. The ability to channel mana makes us near immortal to the passage of time, and it would be wise not to judge a book by it's cover." - He said, as if the question made almost no sense to him.
"So, how old are you?"
"Oh you know, who keeps track of it? Last I checked, let me see... Seven thousand years old? Give or take a few centuries? My memory is not what it used to be." - Garim said, as if being as old as a rock was a normal thing.
Huh. I'm talking to a someone who's lived for that long. Yet, he still behaves like a child.
"Point is, Rubius, you will have to learn an elemental magic before the mages come by the town, or very bad things will happen to you. I promise, the day before you are taken to an academy I will explain everything, so please. 'Till then, promise me you'll do your best to learn an elemental type of magic." - Garim asked, almost as if it was his dying wish.
"I promise."
And so began my training as an elemental mage.