Flipping through the pages slowly, Gwen hummed to herself. Curiosity and frustration had been eating away at her ever since Klein brought her back at her uncles palace last week. The guards were on high alert, following her everywhere and she rarely got any time for herself. Her parents had pretty much locked her inside and threw away the key and she couldn't find what she needed no matter how hard she looked. She wanted to go to the book store or better yet, the mages shops. She needed to find out how to do what Klein did- how to make magic.
"Is everything alright, my dear?"
She jumped, turning to see her grandfather leaning against his cane, having just emerged from around the other side of the book cases in their family library. She quickly shut the book and stuck it back on the shelf, nodding.
"Yes Opa. I'm just…trying to cure the boredom."
She turned and put her hands behind her back, slowly walking away as she perused the shelves, as though she were innocently wandering.
"Ah…by reading Fesdives introduction to musical Aether?" She glanced back and saw that he was holding the book she had just set down, his gray hair combed back over the bald spot forming atop his head and fingers shimmering with two rings of their house. "If you're interested in music, I can introduce you to a tutor, you know." He set the book back and looked at her knowingly her past the monocle over the purple eye of their house. "Though yesterday, I seemed to notice 'Field of Flight' and 'Magic in mechanics' open on the desk. Is there something in particular you are looking for, Gwen?"
She chewed her lip and looked at the ground. She knew if she told her parents or her uncle this, it was likely to cause an uproar- learning magic was dangerous and could cause issues with growth, health or other some such excuses her family liked to peddle. She didn't see her grandfather too often, as he and her grandmother lived on the other side of the territory and making the trip was hard on them. But when they did visit…talking to them was one of her favorite things. Or at least, it used to be.
"I….mwan learn magee"
He chuckled and leaned forward.
"Speak up, dear. Old ears, and all."
She turned back ground quickly, clasping her hands in front of her.
"I want to learn magic, Opa!" Her grandfather cocked a brow but didn't answer and she continued. " While I was….gone…everyone and their mother seemed to use magic. I was saved by a little boy and he could do stuff I'd never heard of. I want to learn to do that too!"
Her grandfather hummed to himself, stroking the coarse stubble of a beard that graced his chin. He turned and slowly moved over to the table she had been reading at the last several days. He took a seat there and hummed.
"Great mages used to be a part of the Van Nellis household, you know. Once, a very long time ago, one of the Duke's was born without the gift and was ridiculed so harshly for it that when he finally took over, he forbid continued use of magic. His prejudice has carried on in different ways to this day but mostly in that nobody really thought to attempt practicing it." He leaned back, looking at the big googly sparkling eyes of his granddaughter and let out a growl.
"That look is the true sorcery, she devil." He sighed. "Very well. I know of someone who will teach you….assuming you have the gift."
She quickly moved around the table and leapt into his arms, wrapping her own around him with a giggle.
"Thank you Opa!"
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"Bwaaahhhh…whew…" Finishing his yawn, the man asked- "So, tell me….what are the seven types of magic that Aether can be manipulated into?"
Gwen frowned, concentrating. She was standing on a stone ball that the mage before her had created after conferring with her grandfather. She'd spent the last two weeks standing on it, crouching on it, jumping up and down on it. She was exhausted, her muscles ached but still…she tried her hardest to keep her cool and answer the question.
"Earth, Fire, Wind, Water, Light, Dark, Holy."
The man standing in front of her had hunched shoulders and long, greesy brown hair. His eyes were half lidded as though he had just awoken from a long nap and that didn't seem to change no matter how long he'd slept. His face was mostly obscured by his hair but what she had seen of him when he moved, she seemed quite handsome. His body was lithe, his face was long and his eyes were a hearty brown.
"Good. And tell me…which states of the world does each allow you to manipulate?"
She grunted as the ball wobbled but quickly got herself back into position.
"E-earth allows you to manipulate solid matter of a non-living variety like Earth, metal, precious gems and more. Fire allows you to manipulate temperature and heat, even to start flames and change its forms. Wind allows you…t-to manipulate the air around you and its many gaseous forms. Water allows you to manipulate liquid substances which contain water itself- anything from an ocean, a lake or even the blood in someones veins. Light…allows you to manipulate particles of light whether from mage stones, the sun or even light given off of other spells. Dark….manipulates the world of Lights absence but its theorized to hold much more such as spacial manipulation, spirit summoning and necromancy. Holy-"
She finally brought her other foot down and stumbled off the ball, falling to her hands and knees. She'd been standing on it on one leg for nearly an hour, balancing the books she loved to read on her head. She didn't understand what this had to do with magic. Why did her grandfather have to summon this foolish, lazy man? He clearly knew nothing of magic and she was sure that Klein or any other mage would eat him alive for lying about his abilities to such an extent that her grandfather thought he could help. She pounded the mat.
"Holy manipulates energy and Aether in the body to heal the injured, grow living things or destroy demons of the darkness. Why am I still doing this?"
The man yawned again.
"Finally…yawww….you ask a question? Weeks into training? And what good do you think the answer would do to a talentless little child like you?" She blinked, looking at him with face like she'd been slapped. He didn't stop there, however. "Your weak little body couldn't handle magic even if you had a speck of talent for sensing Aether- you're just a paycheck, kid. I promised your fool of a grandpap I'd try for a month so useless as you are you'll need to get used to-"
His eyes went slightly wide and a brow cocked, watching the girl as she snapped.
WOOAMMM-
A humming pulse hit the air, ruffling his greasy locks a little as a very mild green aura began vibrating around Gwens body.
"Do…NOT call my Grandpa a fool!"
He stared for several seconds, then held up a hand.
"I'm sorry." She had tears in her eyes as she looked up from the ground to his face almost confused. She hadn't expected him to apologize just like that, almost non-chalantly. "In fact…turns out your grandpa is a pretty smart dude. Congrats on sensing Aether for the first time Gwen."
The green flow around her completely vanished as a rather stupified look came over her face.
"W-wait what?"
The mage looked back at the door as her grandfather opened it, stepping inside and hobbling over with his cane. The lights came back on and he was grinning from ear to ear. He'd obviously heard it all as the mage scratched his head. "Well done, lad, well done! Can't say I really approve of the method but whether you like it or not….I won our bet!" Laughing, the mage handed the cane bearer something in a little sack which was quickly pocketed before they both turned to her.
She blinked.
"Um…bet?" Her grandfather moved over, nodding as he answered. "Yes…you see most children get a feel for Aether between fourteen and sixteen years of age. So…I made a bet with Archmage Stahl here that you would get it before your birthday and look at that…only two weeks!" She looked from her laughing grandpa to the one he'd "Archmage Stahl. She swallowed, having had no idea of who it was that taught her.
"Y-your an Archmage?"
He brought up a hand and seemed like he was going to wave but instead the hand was limp, waggling at her as though saying "Shoo shoo" but he didn't seem to noticed.
"Yes yes…Hello, I'm Darwin Stahl. Pleasure and all that."
No wonder he always said nothing when she'd asked his name. She'd just taken to calling him sir all the time. He stretched.
"The last couple weeks of stress on your body and mind did the trick- and now that you have felt Aether you'll be able to do it again pretty easily. You'll understand my instructions much more easily on how to do so. To feel Aether at your age is no small achievement, too. Barely later than Lyrael and she was a prodigy. I dare say you'll become one yourself, with nearly two years to train." Gwen looked up at Darwin as the man brought a hand up, combing back his hair with his fingers as he brought his locks into a man bun. Water was coursing through his follicles, cleaning him behind dropping to the ground behind as he finished putting it in place. He had circles under his eyes but otherwise was devilishly handsome, looking like a prince or a model.
"Stop looking at me like that, girl. You've got a long way to go but worry not- you have the ability and I have the knowledge. As my apprentice, I'll forge you into the greatest mage in the world, mark my words."
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"I see…so Darwin Stahl is your teacher. Does that mean you're Gwen Van Stahl, now?" Kael asked, having listened to her tale about learning magic over the last few years under the second Archmage of Aumber Vale. She shook her head in response.
"We're a Dukes house. My birthright as a noble trumps the requirements of a mage unless I specifically ask for it to be changed. And I'd rather die than have that bastards name." Kael cocked a brow, uncertain how to broach that bit but she did it for him. She held up her hands, shaking him off the route he was taking mentally by explaining. "S-sorry, I don't like, hate him or anything. I'm actually grateful. His training was just…psychotic." She shuddered, as though she was dealing with some significant PTSD.
"Right….can't be any worse than the torture of dealing with a sub-five foot elvish gremlin and a sword wielding ogre for two years."
She grinned.
"Maybe not.You were…so amazing, back then. When you saved me and my brother. I can't wait to see what you can do now against some real competition. And I don't mean Tawar." She grinned, jamming a thumb behind her. "I know a few of these guys and they're no joke. Way better than that uppity prick. So you better not get overconfident and lose before I kick your ass, got it?"
As she said that, the bells sounded again, and she shook out her long ponytail, walking past him to head outside.
"Make sure you watch my match- you'll see how my training paid off!"
Over the loudspeaker came the announcers voice as Kael jogged inside to find one of the magical screens they could watch the match on.
"In our second round, we have Guinevere Van Nellis against Jian Glass. Lets begin!"