"Now Amun," Grandfather said after guiding me to a shadow cast from the external walls of our estate.
And after gaining my bearings, I took a moment to turn my gaze upwards take in the view.
It was a moonless night; if there was any moon at all. Strikingly leaving an immense emptiness to the night sky. There were no galaxies, nebula, or star clusters to be found in the unpolluted sky. Only a few celestial bodies that may or may not have been faraway stars. Somewhere around a dozen of them, from what I could see. A far cry from the vibrant universe I saw resting in Telin's hand.
I wanted to ask but was cautious due to the possibility that humanity had no concept of stars in this realm. Being a gifted, genius child was one thing. Having knowledge of things I had no business knowing was another.
So I set aside my questions for later and lowered my gaze to rest on the winter wonderland around me. In the gray tones of the night, I could see only a towering woodline of meters-wide trees that were spaced far enough apart to allow their smaller cousins to grab root in and form pillars for creeping vines and shrubs taller than my Grandpa to gather around and sprout through the knee-high snow. There was hardly a sound or smell that fell into my senses from where I stood. Only the range of smells leaking from the trees and the ever so quiet pitter-patter of snow that fell into my elven ears.
No traces of fauna and no noise, no trails or indication that any animal lived here at all. Not even humans, if one were to ignore that large slate wall at our backs.
"Before we begin, you must be aware of how dangerous it is to wield death." Grandpa Lich explained, standing before me. "Death magic stems from the Underworld. Its energy is detrimental to life itself. As Sorcerers born with an affinity for death magic, we are immune to necrotic energies. All other living creatures share no such strength. As such, death magic will never distinguish between friend or foe. Regardless of your will or intention, it will affect all who come into contact with it. But that isn't to say it'll kill whoever touches it."
"I understand." I nodded.
"Good." He grunted. Then began pacing as he usually did. "Death magic is the culmination of the dark arts. Poison, decay, darkness; to name a few. As such, its power is akin to a spectrum. On the lower end, it can be used to do as little as induce fear or inflict wounds; conversely, on the higher end, it can indeed kill something with but a touch. But it can also be used to return souls from the Under.
"Now." He stopped pacing to once again stand proudly before my tiny frame. "Any questions before we begin?"
"Yes." I quickly nodded. "What are the passive abilities granted by a death affinity?"
"Excellent question!" He beamed with the clap of his hands. "Having an affinity with death makes us immune to disease; first and foremost, but to cold temperature extremes as well, as the underworld is frigid beyond measure. The only other notable benefit is that our natural talent in necromancy causes the denizens of the underworld to view us as sovereigns. Under no circumstances will any lesser undead attack you. They wouldn't dream of it, in fact."
"I see." I nodded. "So, no immortality?"
That got a boisterous kick out of him. But he quickly recovered his composure. "Have you forgotten the nickname you've given me already?" He laughed. "No, immortality is not a passive spell. I became a lich through other means."
"Such as?"
"I'll tell you when you're older." He grinned. "If in the event that you make it into the mage academy."
"Why?"
"Because you are an inept Sorcerer. That's why." He spat. "You must first master the shadows before attempting to master death. And after that, there are many things you must accomplish before you attempt to become undead. Most of those steps you'll have taken come your second or third year at the academy. So, I'll tell you then."
"Very well." I sighed with more than visible frustration.
"VeRy WeLl!" My grandfather quickly mocked me before laughing to himself. "Not as if you have a choice, Amun."
"How old are you?" I scoffed, fighting back the urge to roll my eyes.
"478! But that's beside the point." He grunted out a chuckle before pointing to a nearby willow-like tree. "Now, use a small amount of death magic and throw it at that tree."
After taking a deep breath to calm my nerves, I faced the target in question before starting to pull mana from my well. While the tree itself was still large, it wasn't as large as the sequoia-like trees that dominated the forest. It was easily what an Earthling or Saturnian would consider unremarkable in comparison to what they'd usually see. If not for the ice-blue leaves and long waving branches that were covered in a smooth gray-white bark like that of birch.
I truly had doubts that a tiny bit of death mana would be enough to kill it, but I chose to trust my grandfather for the time being withdrawing mana and watching it fall through my affinity core, past the layer of shadow magic and into the necrotic core within like a worm digging towards the core of an apple. I ceased the flow of mana just as it began to be changed into a necrotic attribute and began guiding the energy up my arm and towards my hand to be gathered between my middle finger and thumb.
And after the small sum of energy ceased flowing and amassed in my fingers, I flicked the tiny ball of energy towards the tree and eagerly waited for the outcome.
Like a small wad of wet paper, the spell cleanly arced through the air before landing onto the smooth bark and splattering like a water droplet. And in the very next moment, the tree the entire thing just sort of… deflated. Wilted on the spot. Its leaves immediately lost their luster and faded to an ashen gray. Followed by the tree's mass withdrawing on itself, causing the bark to crack off from and scatter to dust on the snow.
"This is the power of death, Amun." Grandfather said warningly. "Always use it in moderation."
I had to admit, I was a bit shaken after seeing the results of my Death Bullet. If even the smallest touch was enough to negate life then I could take no chances with this type of magic around my comrades. Spells would have to be carefully developed and collateral dangerous would have to be heavily considered before it was used.
Excepting necromancy, I supposed.
'If that's the case.'
I prepared my fingers again before withdrawing mana from my well. Only this time, I allowed the mana to flow through the entirety of my affinity core.
And instead of the dense coldness of shadow magic or the intense aura of death; the abyssal magic that gathered in my hand had remarkably no feeling to it at all from an external perspective. No aura of energy leaked from it, not even mana. Besides the empty region of space held between my fingers, there was no indication that I was preparing a spell at all. Simply, nothing.
I noticed my grandfather was staring intently at me, and so I flicked the bullet towards the dead tree's neighbor and intently watched for the results.
It was slow and tiny; about the same size as the death bullet but twice as slow. The stark difference, however, was that when it reached its target, it just sort of… stopped in place.
The tree didn't even move; at first. The sphere of emptiness only appeared to fuse with the bark and come to rest halfway inside it.
Then, the sound of creaking, cracking, and splintering wood began ringing throughout the forest.
I could see the tree tilting on its side as I watched. Falling faster and faster over the ball of void magic as the seconds passed. And as it did, a large gash of neatly cut wood appeared from the trunk tilting away from the newly formed stump, causing the cut to spread, and eventually saw the tree in two as it keeled over on its side.
The following crash ripped the surrounding snow lose from the ground. Causing a temporary blizzard to blast over us and douse me with snow. My grandfather, however, activated his Wrath Form in time and was spared the worst of it.
After taking a few seconds to activate mine, the snow just fell through my body and onto the ground. And I floated forth to assess the damage.
Even after the snow settled, the Void bullet was still there. Floating. Waiting. Hoping for something to cross its horizon and be erased from existence without so much as a sound.
"Incredible." I heard grandfather gasp.
"Yeah." I sighed in horrific admiration. 'It may be a while until I can learn to use this freely.'
After a few moments of silence, Grandpa seemed to have awakened from his stupor and knelt beside me to give me a prideful pat on the shoulders. "In all honesty." He sighed. "I never thought teaching you magic would have been this easy, Amun. You are truly a gifted child, blessed by mana and natural-born genius. I have nothing left to teach you, son."
"My training is over?" I somewhat dejectedly asked.
"Only you can train yourself, for now." Grandpa smiled. "Once you turn 15, you'll attend the awakening ceremony and be screened to see if you're capable of attending the academy. So until then, continue training and developing your spells. I'll return sometime before you come of age to check on your progress."
"When are you leaving?" I asked blankly.
"In a few weeks." He grunted. "Before I do, I'll be introducing you to your first vassals. One has been trained as a knight page, and the other has started an education in politics and finance. They will be moved here to continue their education and serve as your wings; your left and right hand. Make sure you treat them well. And better than that, teach them how they should best serve you."
'Oh, I will.' I grinned to myself. 'I most certainly will.'