"I would rather not choose one of you if I can be students of all of you. Is this acceptable?"
Master Trapper, thoughtful in her critique, pointed out, "Mental magic demands concentration and discipline. Constantly shifting focus might hinder the depth of Von's exploration. A scattered approach could compromise the profound connection required for mastery, however, at the same time," a twinkle in her eye, giving away the thought she might actually embrace the idea. "The mind does thrive on diversity. Exploring mental magic alongside other disciplines could awaken latent abilities. Von might discover a harmony in the convergence of intellect and magical prowess. It's an opportunity for holistic growth."
The elven mistress of choromancy also weighed both sides of the coin as gracefully considering the negatives, stated, "Spatial magic involves delicate manipulations. Jumping between spatial dimensions could lead to unforeseen consequences. Von might struggle to maintain control, risking unintended consequences in his magical experiments."
As she considered the words of Eve, she continued, her demeanor ethereal, but more positive. "Admittedly, spatial magic holds the wonders of interconnected dimensions. Integrating it with other schools could unveil the cosmic symphony of magic. He might find greater inspiration in the boundless possibilities of space and dimension and combine them with the other schools wielding results beyond our imagination."
Alden, though supportive, voiced a concern. "While diversity is enriching, mastering an elemental school requires focused dedication. Jumping between too many elements might dilute the depth of understanding. It took me a number of centuries to reach the level of mastery I have achieved in four areas of magic. It is likely the boy will risk spreading himself too thin without achieving true mastery of any of the subjects."
"However," he continued radiating with enthusiasm, as he saw the positive potential in the boy's proposal as the others had done. "This is a chance for Von to embrace the basic essence of each school. Water, earth, air – he can witness the beauty of elemental magic firsthand, and some protective magics. It might spark a connection with one element that resonates deeply within him which drives him to focus on it in his future. If the boy will be leaving us in about a week, there is no way for him to master any one skill to begin with, but there is a chance to instill a sense of responsibility for each of our talents, so he won't destroy himself accidently by trying everything himself. I would not be against it despite wishing we had more time with the boy."
Poralis also considered the worse and the best. With a cautionary tone, he added, "Time is both a guide and a challenge. Rushing through different magical paths within a week might create dissonance within his abilities. Von could experience an unsettling clash of energies, disrupting the fluidity of his magical exploration. Yet at the same time, I must agree with Alden," using his talent as the voice of wisdom, he acknowledged, "In the fluidity of time, a week is a brief yet potent span. Von could glimpse the temporal nuances within the various magical paths available to him. Unlike the rest of us, he has a unique opportunity to dance across various disciplines during his lifetime, and we may be allowed to witness his successes and failures and learn from them, both as we instruct him and as we watch him grow and venture into the world."
Turning to the elven wizard to his left, "Imaging, Alendoria, if, from where you stand, you had the capability to see not just across the country, but into yesterday as well. Someone with such a gift could be the ultimate ruler or judge. He could see the crime committed, witness the perpetrator, lead to his capture, then know the correct person was punished with no fear of making a mistake. Add to this Mistress Eve's talent for probing one's mind, he could determine if the perpetrator was under someone else's influence or determine if it was an act of necessity. Perhaps the bread was stolen to assuage the hunger of orphans. He could find himself lenient and take it upon himself to then aid the orphans. As a leader or advisor to a leader, he would have the potential to spot assassination attempts before they happened. Consider the possibilities of such a master...."
The wise Alden continued the trail of thinking. "As such an advisor, he could see the future as well and groom the leader away from evil thoughts or deeds making this leader a benevolent one, or seeing no way of preventing an evil leadership, he could alter the future to ensure the safety and well-being of the people. Having listened to this discussion and weighed both the boons and the detrimental aspects of this endeavor, I believe the benefits should significantly outweigh the detriments. I will do my best to impart my knowledge of magics to the hatchling."
"Poralis," the myalomancer inquired, "is it possible for you to look into the boy's future and see the outcomes of our instruction and compare it against a future in which we force the boy to choose one of us, or none of us?"
"A splendid idea," he said clapping his hands. With this, the entire room came to a standstill except the four wizards, Eve, Alendoria, Oren, and Alden. Small movements could be seen coming from Von's aura and the temporal waves surrounding him as he innately fought the effect, but it didn't look like he would be able to resist the effect at this time. "I have already looked into his future, and in any event, it is not him who could become a problem." At that moment, he looked to the small dark blone-haired girl sitting beside Brook. The future holds many things for the boy, but in every case, his actions are spurred by the girl beside him. Their friendship will determine almost every outcome I have seen. Whether he becomes a benevolent king or aids the fell in destroying our world or retires in peace at the top of Frost Mountain with the grandchildren of his friend. The girl is the worry, not the boy."
The four of them looked in her direction as he continued, "In a few outcomes, he gains skill with several magics, but chooses to retire a smith after the kindness of Master Moonrise and the other smiths. Should we choose not to train him, in a number of outcomes, he becomes a knight with little magic and falls before an onslaught of fell demons. Some of these, he learns on his own, but become cruel after fate is set against him. In others he becomes a folk hero and retires again to Frost Mountain where he dabbles at learning magic for as far as I have been able to see."
"What.... about.... if.... we.... do.... instruct.... him?" Asked Alden, slowly but with deep thought in every word.
Poralis clasped his hands together and placed his forefingers to his upper lip in though before continuing. "In every case, he still attempts to become a knight. In some, he dies early, creating chaos as the girl discovers then masters agnomancy—the magic of chaos and she tears the fabric of the world allowing fell rifts to open in many places before my visions stop. In others, he becomes a knight and advises his king wisely before retiring. In some, he is only a wizard of minor skill, and his future stops in a few years."
A puzzled look then crosses the man's face as he speaks. "The strangest visions are the ones which his future become so tangled shortly after he leaves here, I am unable to unravel the possibilities and become overwhelmed. In a few others, his skill surpasses mine and he attunes with the great demon lord-heart hourglass in the tower made from the corrupted heart of an ancient time dragon. He not only attunes with it, but when we try to wrest it from him, he absorbs it into his being and disappears from my vision and the abilities of any of the four of us to follow him. This outcome occurs in several futures when we don't train him as in his anger, he finds a way to teleport it to himself before leaving Sungrove. In most futures, he simply absorbs the focus to which he is already attuned before becoming lost to my sight. In all of these futures, I can't tell you anything about either of the two children."
""I guess, I should ask," said the older human woman, "In which are the outcomes worse? Does the number of grim futures exceed the good when we train him, or in those we don't? Is there a determinable ratio one way or the other? The last I recall; you could use you magics to divine outcomes by communing with the temporal currents, correct?"
"In many cases, yes." He nodded. "However, an innate ability with strong chronomancers is the currents of time behave strangely around them allowing for a butterfly effect when we try to divine their futures this way. If one is strong enough, it will such divination will fail every time. For example, there are none enrolled in the academy who could use the time currents to discover what I will have for breakfast in the morning, as when they would attempt it, something would inform me to something being amiss and I might choose to skip breakfast altogether. If I were significantly stronger than the chronomancer, they would only see the currents as if they were an eddy around a boulder in the river of time. Once the boy attuned to the emperor beast heart hourglass, this is what happens with Von. His potential is greater than mine, thus I can try to watch his future, but I can't try to divine it. Were you able to fathom what's in the depths of his mind, Eve?"
Taking a deep breath, the woman twisted her fingers before replying, "I attempted to probe his mind, but the boy was able to form a mental helmet blocking my attempt. This is normally a skill they don't learn until they are an expert and even then, my probe would be able to move around and wend its way around its edges and I would still be able to probe what is within them undetected. Before then, they may form a rudimentary shield blocking a probe from a direction, but his was a complete bubble protecting him. As I attempted to read the girl's mind, he was able to shift this bubble to surround her mind like flinging his helmet onto her preventing my attempt as though he were already a master myalomancer attempting to fight or worse, test me!" She huffed in frustration. "Furthermore...."
At that moment, while the others sitting and standing around remained frozen in place, Von visibly scrunched his face and leaned forward putting his hands on the table. He blurted out, "I wasn't trying to anger you. I just didn't want to be attacked, and I didn't know it wasn't an attack. Your probe was coming straight at my head, and I didn't know what it was."
Silence crashed upon those unaffected by the time lock.