"Bend to my will," Theo spoke as a very large and bright blue light came from his hands. "And form to my will, magic, I call upon this energy to invoke my will, I call upon the waters of the naiads," He said as water began to form in front of him.
"Spirits of the water, allow my will to flow unto you, allow me to see beyond you and use your power, mimic the waves of the ocean and hit my target, tidal flow." Theo finished the chant causing the water that formed to rush at the flaming target that has a hole through the center with great force, destroying the rest of it.
"Theodore, you too, are now an elite mage! Congratulations!" He said as he revealed the other staff he was holding from behind his back. "I present to you, your first mage staff." He said. Theo nodded.
"Thank you. I am thankful for the gift." Theo said. 'I might as well make it formal since he's saying the entirety of my name.' Theo thought. Pierre nodded approvingly.
"Now, let's head back, your mother should be nearly done cooking." Pierre said as he turned around and faced away from the two. 'To think they've accomplished such a thing at such a young age. I remember when I became an Elite mage. I was twenty-three, it was a good day.' He thought to himself with pride on his face.
After getting home, they ate dinner and everyone spoke for a while, then the night came to an end and everyone went to their rooms. In the morning, Pierre said his goodbyes and set off.
(Two years later)
'I can't believe I'm being made to do this...' Theo thought as he approached a small group of children around his age.
He looked back at his mom who has a smile on her face as well as an aura of, 'if you don't do this, I will force you.'
"H-hi..." Theo said reluctantly as he looked back at the group and gave a nervous wave.
"Hi!" One of the children said as they walked over to him. "What's your name?" He asked as he looked at him up close.
"Theo." He said nervously. 'Too close! Too close!' He thought as he took a step back.
"Wanna play tag with us? We were gonna look for another person anyway." The kid said.
"Sure... What's your name?" Theo asked.
"Oli!" He said proudly.
"Nice to meet you..." Theo said. Oli nodded, then pulled Theo to the group.
"Theo's playing!" He said. Theo then spent the afternoon playing tag with the kids in the town.
'That felt so awkward... I'm mentally thirty-six, after all...' Theo thought to himself as he walked back home after the game.
"Did you have fun?" His mom asked as he approached the door.
"I-I guess..." He said quietly.
"Well, at least try to interact with them some more, okay? It's not good to stay cooped up all the time." She said.
'I was a neet! What do you expect!?' Theo thought to himself. Kendra sighed.
"Alright, I think your sister wanted to play with you, she's in your room." she said. Theo nodded and went to his room.
"Theo!" She said upon him entering. "Your sword." She said as she tossed the wooden sword to him. Theo fumbled to catch it.
"What's happening?" He asked.
"Follow me." She said as she picked up her sword that was leaning against the wall, then left the room.
"Alright?" Theo said with a confused tone as he followed her. After walking outside to the front yard, she stopped and faced Theo, sword pointed at him.
"Theo, fight back." She said, then began swinging her sword with precision, stepping forward as Theo stepped back and blocked her.
"What do you mean!?" He asked as he tried to focus on blocking.
"I won't be holding back like I" She started as she hit his upper thigh. "normally do!" She finished.
"Ow! That hurt!" Theo said.
"Then fight back!" She said angrily.
'Why does she seem so angry!? I don't understand!' Theo thought to himself as he tried his best to block the incoming attacks, failing at most of them.
"You need to fight back!" She yelled as she hit his side, knocking the wind out of him, she stopped for a moment to let him catch his breath.
'Damn! That one hurt.' He thought. "Phoenix... Flame..." He said through his heavier breaths causing healing flames to go over his body and heal his wounds and such.
"You're good at magic, you can even shorten chants. But when it comes to swords you're terrible. You need to get better." She said. "Get up." She said.
"I've barely even caught my breath." Theo said.
"Get. Up." She said intimatingly.
"Alright! Fine!" Theo yelled as he stood up, causing the healing flames to dissipate. 'Something tells me she'll hit me while I'm down if I don't listen. and if I run... I don't want to know...' He thought with fear.
"Now. Fight. Back." She said with an angry tone as she started swinging again, Theo barely blocking while looking for an opening.
"How!?" He asked as he got hit again.
"Don't look for the opening! Feel it!" She yelled as she jabbed his stomach.
"Ack, what does that mean!?" He asked as he took a few steps back. They continued sparring for another few moments. 'Wait, fuck, there was an opening, I missed it!' He thought as he missed an opportunity to attack due to hesitation. 'Wait, is that what she means?' He wondered.
"Why won't you hit back!?" She asked angrily as she hit his shoulder with the sword, knocking him off balance and to the ground. "Up." She said. Theo got back up.
"I think I might kinda get it now." Theo mumbled.
"Then show me!" She yelled as she went on the offensive.
'Now!' He thought as he moved his sword without thinking to jab at Sydney's stomach. Sydney dodged.
"Like that! Keep going!" She said happily as she started to move faster.
'Fuck! How is that fair!?' He wondered as he tried to predict where she would hit next. 'Now?' He wondered as he hit without any follow-through.
"Follow through!" Sydney yelled as she hit his sword away and used the sword as a guide to his throat, stepping in and stopping right before she hit him. "You're getting it. Slowly." She said calmly. She sighed. "We'll spar again tomorrow. Keep what you learned today in mind, otherwise, you'll have to repeat today." She said.
'I still don't understand why she did this though...' Theo thought to himself as he considered whether or not to ask her.
"I know you don't understand why I did this, but you will soon... It's something I heard mom and dad talk about... So please, do your best." Sydney said as she walked up to Theo. "Flames, bend to my will, phoenix flame." She said as she cast a healing spell. She gave him a hug.
'What? This is a major mood shift... Was she forcing herself to be angry?' Theo wondered.
"I don't want you to leave..." She mumbled with a quiver in her voice.