It took six weeks for Xavier to finish cutting down the infested trees and cut them down small enough to burn. During all those weeks he also attended his lessons as well as the physical education he received at the hands of his mother. After all that work, he had gained an inch in height and nearly ten pounds in muscle. He was faster and stronger than he'd ever been. It was well worth it.
More importantly now that his punishment was over, he would be allowed to begin to practice with magic. Xavier flew through his lessons that day. He was so eager that he made it to his last lesson of the day, mathematics, a full ten minutes early. Even Mr. Mortenson wasn't there yet.
At last, Mr. Mortenson walked in and started in surprise to see Xavier already sitting there. "Well now, somebody seems to be eager."
Xavier nodded quickly. "Yes Mr. Mortenson. I'm really excited to be learning formations again."
"Formations are indeed fascinating but first, math. Math is after all the basis for all formations. You can't learn one without the other." Mr. Mortenson wrote out several complex equations on the white board.
Xavier groaned aloud. These equations seemed much more complex than normal. Mr. Mortenson heard his groan and turned to face him with a smile. "These are the level of equations you'll be needing to be considered at the intermediate level of formations. Since you already modified the awakening formation, I expect you to be able to reach this level by the end of this month. If you cannot I won't be teaching you anything new until you do plus one more month as punishment. Any extra explanations you may need can be found in this notebook."
Mr. Mortenson handed him a composite notebook. Inside he found all the pages covered in equations and explanations in Mr. Mortenson's handwriting. Xavier threw himself eagerly into it. He found several insights that allowed him to make a good deal of progress on several of the problems presented by his tutor.
At last, he had made enough progress that Mr. Mortenson took out another notebook. This one was filled with information on the development of formations. Most of it was about elementary formations like the awakening formation he had already mastered. Mr. Mortenson spoke, "Since I've given you a month to master the mathematics, I'll continue to teach you formations in that time. These formations will give you a broader base of knowledge from which to draw from. You need as solid a foundation as you can get if you truly wish to master something."
Xavier nodded and studied the notebook intensely. Xavier was quite dismayed that he had to put the book away so that he could go to the obstacle course. There he found a surprise waiting for him.
Not only was his mother there but so was his father. As Xavier walked up to them both of them turned at the same time to regard him. The intensity of their gazes nearly stole Xavier's breath. He had heard of this before. A mage could release the aura of their cultivation to intimidate lower leveled beings. That was what he was feeling now. The suppression coming from being in the presence of beings who could unquestionably kill him if they so desired.
Xavier stopped several feet away from them. For the longest time he stood there waiting for the malevolent aura to dissipate. When it didn't, he realized his parents were doing it intentionally to test his mettle.
Xavier gritted his teeth and steeled his will before stepping forward. Each step he took nearly caused him to collapse on the spot. Finally, he arrived before them. The auras spiked causing Xavier's vision to blur. Suddenly, Xavier felt something inside him break. A sound like tinkling glass seemed to be echoing inside of him. Now it was much easier to take the last step and stand solidly in his parent's presence.
His parents waited a few more seconds as the pressure from their auras built before finally concealing them. His father smiled. "That was well done, Xavier. You have taken the first step in training your spacial magic."
Xavier cocked his head confused. "What do you mean? What did me withstanding your aura have to do with training my spacial magic?"
His mother was the one who answered. "Spacial magic cannot be enhanced like elemental magic such as fire magic. There are certain kinds of magic, like spacial magic, that are influenced by the will of the user. There are several levels to this. The first three levels are considered elementary levels, the next three are intermediate, and so on and so forth. At the second level of the elementary stage a spacial magic user can create magical force equivalent to a tier three basic spell. If you really want to be able to use spacial magic in combat this is the minimum requirement to do so."
His father began to speak. "We released our auras on you to help you train your will. We were confident with the other training you've had that you would only need a small push to reach the second level in the elementary stage. Did you? Most people describe the ascendance of will as being accompanied by a sound in their head. Like wind chimes or breaking glass."
Xavier nodded his head. "Yeah. I heard it. So what comes first then?"
His parents both sat down on the ground in a meditation position. His father gestured. "Join us." Xavier took the same position as they had. "The first thing you must work on is constructing a star path."
Xavier cocked his head to the side and was about to ask what his father meant when his father gestured for him to be silent. "Listen first, ask questions later. Now I want you to meditate. Calm yourself and look inward to your spiritual world."
Xavier did as he was told. He closed his eyes and began to control his breathing using the technique he had been taught since he began lessons. Soon he could 'see' his spiritual world. Xavier had been able to enter his spiritual world since he was six but it always been empty. Now as he entered it he encountered two masses of what looked like swirling dust. One mass was silver while the other was somehow clear but visible.
Xavier's mother began to speak. "You should be able to see the star dust in your spiritual world now, right?" Xavier nodded. "That star dust is the magical energy of your elements, and before you ask why we call it stardust or relate things of magic to stars, all I can say is that people are whimsical."
His father coughed. "Err, right. So, anyway, you should be able to enter the stardust, yes?" Xavier found himself drifting into the silver stardust. "Can you see the stars inside it?"
Inside the stardust there was a muted silver glow all about him. Looking around he saw seven stars. They were immense points of light and energy floating around the stardust. Xavier nodded to his father that he could see them.
"Good. Now in order to cast magic all you have to do is arrange those stars into the star path. There should be spots in the stardust that feel incomplete. Move the stars that belong to those spots into them and it'll activate the basic spell for your magic." Xavier frowned and approached the first star.
His father went on, "There's also a specific order it should be done in. You'll be able to feel it." Xavier switched to the star that felt like it should be first and began to try to move it to its spot.
The star refused to budge. Xavier put more effort into it. After trying several times he opened his eyes to give his father a frustrated look.
His father smiled at him. "Did you think it would be so easy? There's more to magic than just making the stars line up. You have to resonant with them."
His father headed off his question by going on. "Different elements have different personalities. That's why you'll find that a mage's first element tells you a lot about their attitude. For instance, my lightning element is very imperious. The first time I was really able to use it was because I was feeling a righteous anger. That feeling resonated with the stars and allowed me to form the star path."
His mother began to speak. "For me it was a sort of calm fury. That was how I first used my ice magic. You'll have to find what resonates with your spacial magic best." She pulled out a small pocket book. "We acquired this from a mage who woke spacial magic as his primary element. You should take a look at it before trying again."
Xavier grabbed the book and eagerly began to read. He didn't want to waste a second more.