It was time for my first ever magic lesson. Nobels will usually instruct their children in the arts of magic before schoolstarts. It's so that there won't be any embarrassing moments like some higher up not knowing what affinity they have or not feeling magic at all. Another motive is that talented children can be discovered earlier and given adequate support to make their magic bloom.
My teacher is a rather older man who was known to be one of the best teachers in the kingdom. Gerald Renault is his name and his affinity is air which makes him adequate to teach me all about this type of magic, as I probably also have air affinity as most of those born in the Braathen house. My teacher can also use fire and lightning, quite powerful I might add.
"I will try my best to guide you in your journey of learning magic, Miss!" he said with a gentle smile on his lips.
"I am honoured to be able to learn from such a powerful and knowledgeable teacher like you and will also try my best to reach your expectations!" I replied with a smile also, although I knew that there wasn't any hope to become really powerful here. I mean, at this stage, making some leaves float is the best one can hope for.
"First we will start with the basics. As you might already know, we are given our powers from the spirits around us. Most people inherit their family magic affinity, but there are also cases when children have another affinity than that of the parents. Before testing your affinity, there is something you should first read. We can continue with the rest after."
There was a relatively short text with information about different types of magic that are usually based on different elements, like earth, water, air, fire, lightning and healing magic or a fuse between two of them. Most people who finished school can manipulate at least 2 elements, but have an affinity to only one. Some can also learn to manipulate more, but no one was ever able to manipulate all of them. The biggest difference between all of those who can use magic is their magical power, how well they can gather and channel it. There was a picture which showed how we can gather magic from the spirits around us and release it to our advantage. The spirits were very powerful, just a small percent of their power was lent to us. Only a handful of people are able to seal contracts with spirits and increase their magic. If a normal level person will have a contracted spirit, with work and dedication, they can surpass one born with powerful magic.
There was also an explanation about how the affinity testing will be done. In order to facilitate the first conscious use of magic, the ones tested should use a special liquid on their hands and try to extract the type of power that feels nearest to them. After I read the whole paper, I raised my eyes and nodded to my teacher that I was ready.
"Perfect!" Gerald exclaimed and went on "I'd like you to take this and try to break it in your hand. Then reach out your hand and try to envision your magic in your hand, while feeling the environment around you."
I took the little ball which was like a very small balloon filled with some liquid. When I closed my hand, it immediately burst in my hand which I was already reaching out in front of me. I tried to concentrate, but nothing happened. I looked at my teacher rather frustrated.
"It can take some time." he said "It can take anywhere from a few minutes to a few days to first be able to make something appear around your hand. That liquid will speed up the process, but it can still take at least hours. Don't worry Miss, if nothing happens today, we can try again tomorrow and the day after and so on." He smiled while saying this.
Days? I knew that some things just take time, but days seemed too much for something that should be considered simple. If I concentrate hard, soon something will happen. I had to concentrate on the spirits around us. How do they look? Some people are lucky enough to contract a spirit and improve their magic. Those people probably can see them too!
Concentrate, Fredrika! If you concentrate enough, soon your magic will appear. You just have to work hard! Don't let your mind wander around!
That being said, after 2 hours nothing happened. I sighed, but my teacher assured me that he actually didn't expect me to be able to do this today.
"Whaaat?" I said surprised, raising my voice unknowingly. Both my teacher's and Mia's, who was serving tea, eyes grew bigger with shock. That's now how a lady should behave. "I'm sorry!" I added fast.
"You shouldn't exhaust yourself, Miss. You can try again tomorrow." Said Mr. Gerald.
"Please let me try again. Could I have another balloon?" I pleaded and he gave me another one full of liquid..
I tried again and again, with my eyes closed, and I concentrated on the air around me, the heat of the sun coming through the window, the leaves of the tree outside. I thought of the grass and how it bends when the wind blows, how it can be torn apart by it. Although I was feeling like I was meditating and felt something inside me, a kind of force which wanted to come out, to burst from inside, my hand was still and nothing happened.
When was it that I could sense magic? What happened then? I started thinking about the times when I thought it was too hot outside and wished that the wind would blow. Maybe it's not enough to feel the magic, but distribute it in some way, like wishing for the wind. The moment I thought that, I felt like something was blowing my hand away and when I opened my eyes I could see winds forming in the palm of my hand, like a little tornado. It spun and spun and I was fascinated by it, by how I could have a tiny tornado in my hand. And the feel of spirits' magic running through my body was astonishing. The power that was kept inside and wanted to get out was now channeled into my hand. I raised my head smiling brightly to my teacher.
He was surprised, but he also had a little smile on his face when he started clapping his hands. "Well done, Miss! Very impressive! What concentration to have to make a tornado! Well done!" His smile was warm and I could feel that he really was glad for me and that the praise was genuine. The tornado disappeared and I gave him an even bigger smile. "It's all thanks to your guidance!", I said.
"Thank you for such words, but it's actually unexpected for someone inexperienced to be able to focus their magic to such a degree. It's usually something much smaller, like small winds blowing around the hand and feeling chills from it, or if the magic is really strong, it may blow a more powerful wind which can be felt by those around as well. What I'm most impressed about is the fact that you could control such powerful magic in your palm and not let it go beyond that zone. It's one thing to be able to use magic and have it bursting in smaller or bigger artifacts, but to be able to have full control and concentrate it to this degree is more extraordinary." He looked me in the eyes and continued "I look forward to seeing how you develop this magic. I think that you will be able to produce great things in the future. You have your parents' talent, it seems!"
My father was really talented when it came to magic, and could use, besides air magic, fire and earth magic as well. My mom, on the other hand, came from a family which has an affinity to fire magic and, although she can also use healing magic, she is stronger in using the first. Her healing ability was very handy everytime I would injure myself when running outside like a wild beast, as she called me, or climbing trees.
I was astonished by these praise and felt that my body itself would float any minute. I thanked Mr. Gerald for the lesson and looked forward to our next one which will be in three days. I will be having lessons with him two or three times per week, depending on my program which was pretty busy. After I left the library, I went directly to dinner as I jumped over lunch and my stomach was rumbling. I could not wait to tell my parents about what happened today! I was so glad that I could also be as strong as them.
During my meal and the rest of the evening, I couldn't hold myself and told everyone how my teacher thinks I am talented and how my magic might beautifully blossom in the future. In the end, it was Mia who brought me back to Earth by reminding me that I should pay attention to my other lessons, especially the piano ones, where my efforts haven't bear any fruits yet. Well, one can't be talented at all, it's good that I'm talented at magic. I just shouldn't let mum know my priorities.