"I Umphrey Marcellus, welcome you to the Royal Mage society!" He said joyously as he shook my hand vigorously.
They had explained to me that nobody had ever broken the orb before and that I was a magical genius and that with the right training I could become one of the greatest mages ever. The fame and the glamour they kept talking about sounded good, but the only reason I had these powers was to help others and I was quite pleased to just do that.
I also decided to confide in them and told them that I was able to use all the different types of magic. Cornelius and Alice seemed shocked, but Umphrey said he expected as much if I was able to break the orb.
Over the course of the next few weeks (this world has a six-day week), they schooled me and trained me in magic: the history of magic, the use of magic now, the future of magic. By the end of it, I was up to my ears in magic. I learned a lot about the kingdom and the social structures, and I understood magic a lot better.
Firstly, the concept of dark magic was cleared up for me. Dark magic was the least documented and least understood type of magic for two reasons: dark magic was the rarest form of magic for a person to posses (nobody knew why that's just how it was), and dark magic had subcategories of magic, and since very few people could use dark magic in the first place, there wasn't much documentation on how to utilise the even rarer sub-category power.
The subcategories of Dark magic were: Healing magic, Spatial magic and Algorithmic magic. All of which I had seen on the text message from the Gods. Over the course of the week, I worked on those three the hardest. By the end of the week, I had reached a magic level of 100 for those three and increased all of my other magic by ten points.
I also learned that there are two ways to practice magic: First is by using spells (this was the more popular method in Girannon because it didn't require that you had any understanding of how the magic worked, it just required that you had enough magic and control over your magic to do the spell), the second type was through visualisation (the less popular type because it required an understanding of science or what they call alchemy in order to do the spells, and since the theories of alchemy weren't very well known, the visualisation method wasn't very popular).
I think it was because I took chemistry and physics in high school that I found the visualisation method easier, also if I didn't understand a principle I could just look up on my phone and visualise it and then apply it to magic, whereas with spells I had to remember wordy incantations, some of which weren't in English. So, I just learned the necessary ones and the rest of the time I stuck to visualisation.
The point of all this training wasn't just for the sake of learning. In two day's time, on the day of Wind, Alice and I, and all the young mages of the Royal Mage Society would compete in a magical tournament where we would use our powers and tried to defeat our opponents. The tournament was to be held publicly. The reasoning for this was, on one hand, to help the students develop under real combat situations, and the other was to give the general public of Girannon a good show and to remind the people of the magical might of Girannon.
Alice and I had decided that we would go and have a bit of fun in town; do some shopping, do some site-seeing, just have a good time, after the training of the past few weeks.
Alice and I had become great friends over the course of the past few weeks. Not only was she ridiculously beautiful (proven by the bunches of flowers left at the gates every day, addressed to her) but she was smart and quick-witted and also a triple-user.
"What should we do first?" I asked as we left the mansion, arms linked and walked down the street.
"I say we do the shopping first. I can't wait to doll you up in the latest fashion!" She laughed.
I grumbled knowing that she would make me stand in the shop for hours trying on clothes. She only grinned at my look of disdain.
"After that, we can go have lunch at the training grounds." She said happily.
"The training grounds. You want to watch bloody sweaty men battle it out as we eat?" I laughed and made a disgusted face.
"Ughhh!" she grumbled back at me, "Don't pull your face like that, you will get wrinkles!" she laughed back at me nudging me to stop. "There is a method to my madness..." she began, "There is all this talk among my circle of friends of the newest member of the Knight's Order. Apparently, he is a commoner but is exceptionally talented and is a triple-user like me. And if the reports I heard are truthful, he is supposedly devastatingly handsome." She whispered slyly into my ear.
I scrunched up my face thinking that this person sounded a little bit similar to...
"What was his name now? Lucius? Ludwin? Luc..." she said frowning, trying to recall my friend's name.
"Do you mean Lucian by any chance?" I grinned. So Lucian was already making a name for himself. I was so proud.
"Don't tell me you know him!" She exclaimed shocked.
"Well, yes I do. Remember I told you that when I woke up in the woods I found an injured young man lying against a tree... Well, that was Lucian."
"Heaven's above!" She breathed out. "Well please introduce us, when we see him at the training grounds. I plan to be all the envy of the other noble young ladies." She grinned slyly. Alice had a bad habit of teasing and poking fun at the other noble young ladies, even if they were a bit pompous and silly, she didn't need to make fun of them.
"You really are bad," I told her trying to keep a straight face.
"Yes, I know. I'll keep the teasing to a minimum. I am so happy that you are the way you are, and not pretentious like the other girls." She sighed, leaning on me slightly.
"If you just gave them a chance, I'm sure you would like them," I told her. She simply shook her head and we carried on walking. I sensed that there was a deeper scar behind that nonchalant face, but I decided to leave it for now and ask about it another day.
When we reached the shop, we were greeted warmly by the staff, and we were given some tea and biscuits to snack.
"What are the young ladies looking for today?" asked a very thin elderly woman with perfect posture Who was wearing a simple yet expensive looking royal blue gown. She also had a very pointed nose with round-rimmed glasses that sat on the end of it.
Alice spoke up, "Today we are both looking for ball gowns to wear to the Royal Mage Society ball that will be held after the tournament on the day of Wind. And she," she said pointing at me, "... is looking for some suitable dresses for a young woman of noble status as well as the gown."
"I see, it will only take but a moment. Which lady would like to try on first?" Asked the woman.
This time I spoke up, "You try on first Alice." She nodded and smiled at me and then she left for the dressing room. When she came out, I almost choked on my biscuit. She looked insanely beautiful.
The dress was a dirty-blush colour with intricate silvery patterns on it. The way the material was cut made every inch of the dress seems so elegant and simple, yet extravagant ad gorgeous.
"How do I look?" She asked as she stepped in front of the mirror.
"Perfect," I replied.
She smiled shyly back at me agreeing that the dress suited her, and I saw her smile as she turned and looked at her body from all her angles, admiring the work of this dress shop.
I started to think about the number of flowers that would appear at the front gate of the Marcellus house. The average number was about twenty flowers, perhaps after the ball, there would be about forty, maybe even fifty.
"And would this lady like to tell me her preference in types of dresses for more casual days..." suggested the woman.
"Oh well, I move around a lot so preferably something light and easy to wear..." I suggested.
"But also something elegant and eye-catching!" Alice interjected as the lady went to go and pick out casual dresses for me.
I loved everything that she had me try on. Alice was a bit more selective and helped me edit out my choices. But in the end, I settled on seven casual dresses from the stores cheaper collection since I couldn't afford anything from the regular section.
They felt comfortable and were light and flowed gracefully, so I decided to get them.
All that was left was to find a more extravagant gown for the ball. Alice immediately brought out a pale blue frock that was really my style, the same flowing material and more simple shape.
And they all agreed that the light blue colour made my dark hair look very striking.
I was really taking a liking to the half renaissance half medieval fashion they had in Girannon.
We finished up at the shop and I had to hand over two golden coins for all the dresses that I had bought. It was painful to hand it over but it was worth it. Especially since the wages for the Royal mages was ten gold pieces a month. So I knew I would soon make up for the money soon.
Alice and I strolled down the street happily chatting away until we reached the training barracks at the far west of the palace grounds.
Alice immediately spotted Cornelius fighting with another knight. Their swords clashed ferociously as the knights swung and dodged and fought with each other. It was so strange to see Cornelius so serious and focused. When he was at the house he was a happy, friendly guy who was always laughing and goofing around, but here his eyes were narrowed and his brow creased with concentration. He sent off a menacing aura that I hadn't realized in him. But in a way, this side of him made sense, I mean who else without such seriousness and devotion could literally fling themselves in front of the prince to save him from an attack. There was more to Cornelius than what meets the eyes.
Dong!
Then we heard the sound of a loud gong, and someone shouted at the group of Knights to take a rest.
Alice then called out, "Brother!" He turned and saw us and then the same goofy smile lit up his face. He then jogged over to us.
"At your service ladies!" He chimed. We both giggled in response.
"And what brings you to here?" He asked eyeing us suspiciously.
"We're here to see you, of course, dear brother." She said sarcastically back to him. "However if we mysteriously run into the famous Lucian Briar, our trip here would be truly worthwhile." She said lifting her gaze over her brother's shoulder, trying to get a glimpse of the mystery man.
"Typical Alice." He shook his head.
"There he is!" I pointed at him as I spotted him amongst a group of knights. He must have also been participating in the fighting because he was sweating lightly, his hair looked damp and there was a light sheen coating his skin. His eyes were still as vibrant and bright as ever as he conversed with the bunch of knights around him. He fitted in so well, I was happy for him.
"My, My isn't he dashing..." Commented Alice sounding pleased with what she saw.
"I'll go and get him." Cornelius jogged off to go and call him.
<-----------------<<<
Lucian had worked hard during the training and had become very skilled with the sword and spear. Many of the knights around him sensed his talent for combat, thus he made many friends and gained popularity quickly in the Knights Order, one of his best friends being Cornelius.
Cornelius jogged over to Lucian, who was speaking with Antony and Fitz. Fitz had been telling them the story about the first time he had used lighting magic and he had accidentally electrocuted his sister.
"Lucian you have some ladies wishing to speak to you." Cornelius loved to tease Lucian about the number of young ladies that came to the training barracks to come and watch him.
"What! more ladies?" Blurted out Fitz, "Why don't the ladies ever come for me?" He whined.
"They're probably afraid that you'll electrocute them." Laughed Antony.
"How rude!" Replied Fitz indignantly.
"Who is it, Cornelius?" Asked Lucian ignoring the banter of his two friends.
Cornelius pointed to the opposite side of the training field. Lucian saw two women standing there. Suddenly his heart raced and his eyes lit up as he saw Riley waving at him from across the field. he had been worrying about her for the past few weeks, but Cornelius had been kind enough to keep him informed of her well being seeing as he got to see her every day when he went home.
Immediately he ran over to her.
"Riley..." He greeted her with a smile, "How have you been."
"I'm doing very well thank you. And I can see that you are doing well too." She smiled up at him. "Oh I wanted to introduce you to my friend!" she gushed almost forgetting that Alice wanted to be introduced to him. "Lucian, this is Lady Alice Marcellus. Alice this is Lucian Briar." She introduced them. Lucian bowed to her, "Pleased to meet you milady."
"Please don't stand on ceremony, just call me Alice." She told him smiling.
"Thank you." He smiled back. Riley grinned feeling the sparks starting to fly between the two.
From behind them, Fitz and Antony gawked at the two beautiful ladies talking to Lucian.
"Who are they?" Antony asked, awestruck by both ladies. His friend had such luck with ladies. To be greeted by two beautiful women, and having other ladies come and watch him train at the barracks. he was the envy of all the knights.
Soon the other knights started noticing that Lucian was talking to the two beautiful ladies. Cornelius seized the opportunity and spoke up so that everybody could hear him.
"The lady on the right is my sister, Lady Alice Marcellus. Even though I am her brother I must admit that she is indeed very beautiful. At last years banquet, she was named one of the most beautiful ladies in Girannon." He said smugly. All the knights in the group gazed over her again, she was absolutely beautiful with her long peachy copper hair and a beautiful small face and smooth alabaster skin. "Not only is she beautiful but she is gifted in many arts, not to mention her fire style is famous even among the nobles."
The crowd murmured excitedly at her report.
"And the other lady! Who is the other lady?" Asked Antony, his curiosity was killing him.
"Ahh, the mysterious madam Riley Delton..." He began.
"What an unusual name." Antony murmured.
"Yes, it is. She has recently been taken in by family on the account of her outstanding magical ability. Not only is she beautiful but she is a magical genius." Cornelius was intentionally promoting them. He was just waiting for the right moment to deliver the punch line.
"Could she possibly be a triple-user like Lucian?" Fitz asked now fully focused on the dark-haired maiden.
"Indeed she is." The crowd of knights gasped. Another triple user was in the kingdom. This was shocking to them.
"unbelievable!"
"Shocking!"
"Why have I never heard of her before?" Aksed Fitz enthralled with the idea of a lady triple-user.
"Well if any of you do not believe me and wish to witness her power for yourself..." He began finally getting to the point of his obvious promotion of Riley.
"Yes! yes! The Mage tournament is coming up on the day of Wind! Is she participating by any chance?" Asked Antony excitedly.
"Yes, indeed she is." Cornelius smiled widely, knowing that they had all fallen into his trap: The more supporters that came to watch the tournament, the more rewards the King would give to the Royal Mage society. Whether it be resources or money or status, Cornelius was determined to get more people coming to watch the match, and Riley would be the main attraction. not to mention it would be a wonderful opportunity to debut her to the kingdom. he had grown fond of her and saw her as his sister and wanted to help her in any way that he could.
He grinned at the excited murmurs of the knights behind him. All he needed was for them to spread the word, and soon the biggest crowd in history would gather to watch the tournament.