The morning air was crisp as Kael made his way to the outskirts of the village, where Elder Thalor always sat beneath the gnarled old oak. His muscles still ached from the previous day's training with Garrick, but his mind was too preoccupied to care. Today, he had a different goal.
He spotted Thalor in his usual place, leaning on his staff, eyes half-closed as if listening to something only he could hear. The old man barely acknowledged Kael's presence as he approached.
"Elder Thalor," Kael began, his voice steady despite his nerves. "I want you to teach me Gaianis."
Thalor's lips curled into a knowing smirk, but he didn't open his eyes. "Gaianis, you say? Hah! And here I thought you'd be satisfied swinging that sword of yours."
Kael crossed his arms. "I want to do more than just swing a sword. I want to combine Gaianis and Inveris. To be a warrior who uses both."
At that, Thalor chuckled, finally opening his eyes. They glimmered with something unreadable, curiosity or perhaps amusement. "A sword magician? Now that's not something you hear every day. Few attempt such a thing, even fewer succeed. You'd be walking a path filled with hardship, boy."
"I'm not afraid of hardship."
Thalor studied him for a long moment before exhaling through his nose. "Fine. I'll teach you. Not because I think you'll succeed, but because I want to see if you do."
Kael's chest swelled with excitement, but he forced himself to stay calm. "Where do we start?"
"Before you can use Gaianis," Thalor began, "you must understand how it works. Unlike Inveris, which strengthens your own body, Gaianis draws power from the world around you. And to do that, you must first find your affinity."
Kael frowned. "Affinity?"
"Every person aligns naturally with one of the four fundamental elements—water, fire, earth, or air. But Gaianis isn't about forcing power; it's about connection. The element you're attuned to will determine how you use magic."
Kael nodded, processing the information. "And how do I find my affinity?"
"By listening," Thalor said simply. "Magic is all around us. It lingers in the air, the ground, the rivers. Some call it essence, others call it flow, but I name it Ascen. It is the fabric of the world, the energy from which all Gaianis is woven."
Kael nodded. Ascen. He rolled the word over in his mind, committing it to memory. It had a certain weight to it, a sense of something fundamental.
"Every element has its own Ascen, and yours will call to you. But be warned—if your affinity is water, you may still be able to learn to control air and earth with time and effort. However, fire will be beyond your reach. It is the nature of balance. Mastering an element's opposite is something only a handful of people in history have ever accomplished."
Kael exhaled through his nose, accepting the challenge in his mind.
"But there is more to Gaianis than just the four fundamentals," Thalor continued, tapping his staff against the ground. "For those who master their affinity, the world opens in ways most cannot imagine."
Kael leaned in. "What do you mean?"
"Elements do not exist in isolation. They blend, merge, transform. But how they do so depends entirely on the individual and their understanding of Gaianis. The combination of air and water, for instance, can manifest in vastly different ways depending on how it is wielded. Some may conjure dense fog to obscure their movements, others may create razor-sharp shards of ice that cut through their enemies, while a select few may harness the very currents of the sky to shape devastating storms."
He glanced at Kael. "And just as air and water can merge into various forms, so too can any of the elements. The possibilities are endless, but only those with deep knowledge and mastery can uncover them."
Kael swallowed hard, his mind racing with the possibilities.
Thalor planted his staff into the ground. "Now that you understand the foundations, let's begin."
Kael straightened. "How?"
"You must listen to the Ascen within you. Sit. Close your eyes. Feel it."
Kael obeyed, lowering himself onto the earth. The ground beneath him was firm but cool, the breeze gentle against his skin. He took a deep breath, shutting out the world, focusing inward.
Silence.
Something faint, a whisper at the edges of his senses. A presence, subtle yet unmistakable, brushing against his awareness.
His breath caught.
His pulse quickened as he reached for it, his fingers twitching against the soil, anticipation building.
Thalor watched him carefully, waiting.
Kael remained still, listening, feeling, searching for the force that called to him.
And then—
End of Chapter 9