"Be you a man of fire, a man of lightning, a man of water, whatever elemental ability you obtain, you should know this. No matter how massive, or how intense of an attack is shot at you, as long as it is one of your power, you should be able to absorb it."
"It might be too strong for you to handle and might become extremely painful. Still, absorbing it saves you from death." Pacing back and forth, Agnar lectured his sons. They sat on the grass, sweating profusely and breathing heavily. Parts of their clothes were burnt revealing scorch marks on their bodies. They looked to have just ended another round of brutal training with their father. At least they thought they had.
"Get up," Agnar ordered showing nonchalance to his son's state. Groaning, Kiyan, and Raten rose to their feet.
"Can't we do this tomorrow? I, I don't think I can keep going." Kiyan complained in-between gasps of air.
"Can you stop in the middle of a battle, a war, and tell them to do it tomorrow?" Agnar retorted with a question. Kiyan had his head hung low averting his father's intense stare. "Whether you can keep going or not does not matter. What matters in the end is who ends up as the victor. Unless you want to wind up dead, go on, take a break."
"But, but, this isn't a battle or a war, it's just tr-training. Can't we just..." Raten wanted to counter but was cut short by condensed lightning bolts. Two went past his face grazing his skin and causing injuries, and a slightly larger one striking midsection stunning him in an instant. Immense pain shot through his body as it went limp. He fell to the ground with his eyes rolled back.
Kiyan widened his eyes in shock as he stared at his brother. He certainly did not expect what had happened.
"See, if you knew how to absorb it and perhaps send it back, you won't be on the ground right now," Agnar spoke with a somewhat distant look in his eyes. Lowering his gaze on his sons, he said, "Shall we start?"
Kiyan nodded and moved off a little distance with his father leaving Raten on the ground. Looking back at his brother, Kiyan could see Demas try to help Raten, but what much could he do against the effect of the lightning bolt on the little boy?
"Get up!" Agnar suddenly yelled startling Kiyan. It was obvious who he was talking to.
"Give these boys a break Agnar," Demas pleaded having a bit of empathy for the young lads.
"Get up and come here," Agnar spoke once more completely ignoring the words of his relative.
Raten's chest kept palpitating as he breathed heavily and blinked a few times. He felt better and could now move courtesy to his cousin, still his body was sore. Knowing better than to make his father repeat himself, he begrudgingly lifted his body off the ground.
His legs were wobbly and he fell to his knees a few times. Still, he made it to where his father and brother stood.
"To be able to absorb an attack of the manner I earlier stated," Agnar began, and in his hands formed a large ball of fire. Flying off at full speed a few feet away from the Teferi's, the fireball hovered in the air burning vehemently.
"You need to focus on the energy inside of you. As wizards, you have the power to access the large pool of mana existing in this world." He continued. "All you need to do is feel the power flow inside of you, and around you." He closed his eyes indicating the twins would need focus to achieve this.
"Understand the power you possess. Fire?" The large fireball then moved from its position fast at Agnar who still had his eyes closed. His sins watching intently noticed bits of flames appearing in his hand.
"Feel its energy, control it, and take it in." He opened his eyes abruptly and stretched forth his arm. The fireball hit his arm and dispersed into nothing. "As simple as that." He said. "For now, we begin with absorbing using one part of your body."
His sons began to practice absorbing powers. It was harder than it looked as they struggled to get it right. They failed repeatedly and would get hit by the attacks laid out.
They went on and on till their bodies gave in. They were so exhausted that it was hard to retain consciousness.
"We will do this again tomorrow. You may leave." Their father, Agnar dismissed them. They heaved a sigh of relief as they could now rest. Taking a few feet forward, their legs gave in and they fell to the floor.
They both were passed out on the grass but looked at ease and more peaceful than ever.
Agnar sat on the ground with his legs folded and his eyes closed. He was visibly sweating and he breathed uneasily. It was clear the constant use of magic was taking a toll on him. Demas knowing this was his cue, picked up a small vase and walked up to him.
He first glanced at the two boys who were lying on the grass and shook his head slowly. He knew what Agnar did was for their good, he couldn't stop himself from thinking he may be taking it too far.
"You should take it easy with these children if you don't want them dead," Demas spoke as he neared Agnar. The other gave no reaction and still had his eyes closed.
"Every one of my words is disregarded, I heal, I reverse," Demas spoke, his brows furrowed, his lips curved downwards into a frown. He dipped his hand into the vase and pulled out a blue powdery substance.
"I am supposed to be a relative. But, I feel more like a slave."
********
His eyes twitched and his breathing hitched. Lying on dead leaves on a land that looked barely alive. Raten was in pain. "He said it would hurt, I didn't think it would hurt this much."
At the moment, he needed to get up for the battle between himself and three bird-like beasts was not over. The birds watched him closely to see if he was dead but dared not to go close to him to finish him off or perhaps munch him down their throats due to the constant streaks of lightning that trailed all over Raten's skin.
"I am bearing this pain because of you." Raten kissed his teeth in anger as he pushed himself up with his hands. His body being so weak fell back to the ground repeatedly. Still, he tried to rise to his feet. As he moved, lightning bolts would escape his body and travel in different parts of the woods, causing the birds to jump back a few times.
Resting his one hand on the knee he managed to get up, Raten glared at the three almost-dead creatures. His eyes were devoid of pupils as they only showed white. "You have to die." He stated.
He breathed heavily as he rose to both feet. His body shook violently as if not being able to contain what was inside of it. His hairs stood on ends and streaks of lightning moved around his skin even more ferocious than before. His feet were being lifted off the ground slowly when suddenly everything froze.
The lightning streaks were no longer moving, Raten's body was stagnant, and his hair just hovered in the air not wavering to the wind. His body then emitted purple and white colours. The white colour shone brightly and before the birds could react, a single large lightning bolt struck out of Raten at the birds, wiping them out in an instant.
The bolt went further destroying parts of the forest and chucking up parts of the earth. The colour on his body faded and the lightning bolt vanished.
Colour had returned to Raten's face, his pupils were visible once more as he stared at the scenery in front of him. It was mostly destroyed.
He then took in a deep breath before letting his body fall to the ground. He sat looking around with a smile on his face. "I did it."
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Author here,
Sorry for the slow updates, I've been busy with exams.
More chapters dropping soon.
You can as well motivate me to get bonus chapters. Your comments and reviews will be highly appreciated.
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