The initial excitement from Giean’s announcement quickly wears off as he begins his lecture on magic theory. The first one to fall asleep is Arthur, the lecture boring enough to overpower the allure of a baby dragon. When France’s eyelids begin to drupe Lilly decides it is time for them to get back to work.
That leaves me alone with Giean, since his suction cup hands prevent me from leaving as well. Jill brought lunch at one point and served Giean, FORK TO MOUTH. It is at this point Giean informs me that if he takes his hands off my back I will die.
I DID NOT SIGN UP FOR THIS! Being forced to sit here dying while a pretty girl feeds a handsome, powerful, rich guy behind my back. I don’t care that he is saving my life that is just too unfair. The rare time Jill looks at me her eyes are filled with disdain, what did I do to deserve this.
One she finishes feeding Giean, she puts my food in my lap, tosses might be more accurate, and leaves me alone again with Giean and his ramblings. My mind wonders as I question if it is possible to die from boredom. Yet as Giean talks I can hear the excitement in his melodic voice.
How magic works in the body, External and internal magic, elemental affinities, mana manipulation, elemental manipulation, mana/spirt vasculature. Those are just some of the words I could catch. It feels like he was trying to fit a life time of magic knowledge into my head. I have never had formal schooling; I can’t even read beyond my own name. how am I suppose to absorb all this?
I stare at the gently swaying grass in front of me as I listen to the timbre of Giean’s voice. I can not place what gives his voice such a quality. I have heard about seductive accents but Giean’s is something different. So subtle it is barely noticeable in conversation, yet it still set you at ease, encourages you to lean in so you can hear him better. It turns his every word into the lyric of the most beautiful song. So soothing.
I wake suddenly feeling the water drip off my chin. I look up to see Jill staring at me, her face impassive, her eyes burning with anger.
“It is quite impertinent of you to fall asleep while the master is taking the time to teach you.” She keeps her tone polite but I can feel the venom dripping from her words.
I am not sure how to respond, partly from fear of how she will react, but mainly because I don’t know what impertinent means.
Giean let out a sigh from behind me, “I told you not to call me-.”
Instead of finishing his sentence Giean just let out another sigh. I guess the master thing is a daily argument. Personally, I don’t see what so bad about it.
“Go easy on him Jill. Thinking about it I was treating him the same way I treat Tril.”
“She is only 10 Master; this boy should be around 14. It doesn’t seem unreasonable.”
“Who is Tril?” I ask jumping into the conversation.
The look Jill shoot me make me wish I hadn’t, “Lady Tril-”
“Is my younger sister,” Giean interrupts. I prepare myself for Jills explosion, interrupted twice in one conversation. However, she just folded her hands in front of her and keeps quiet. Not even a stink eye. “she may be 10 but she has had the best schooling in magic, anatomy, medicine, literature, combat and zoology since she was 4. Ken can you read?”
The question catches me off guard but Jill seems more surprised. The look on her face as I shake my head no makes it that much harder.
“best estimates but the literacy race in Botorance at 5%. Here in Flouse we are no better sitting at 7%. As a result, your look of surprise Jill is really unnecessary.” Giean says his voice harsh,
At Giean’s words Jill put back on what I will call her maid mask. A small but pleasant smile devoid of any sense of person.
“I have been teaching Ken assuming a level of knowledge far above what he would learn as a simple hunter.”
I take offense at the word simple, only I can call myself simple. But I have no rebuttal, not with a guy who can never be called simple.
“Sadly, this does mean I will have to awaken the dormant mana inside you the adventure way. It will hurt a lot and while it will allow you to control mana and perform magic it does not provide you with the understanding to properly strengthen your mana vasculature.”
I know he is trying to dumb it down for me but his words still go over my head. I have heard that there are two ways to become a mage. The one the nobility took, using meditation and study eventually allowing the person to feel and manipulate mana. The other is the poor way, convincing a magic using adventure to force your mana to become active. But doing this is dangerous, most people die.
“Can’t that kill me?” I ask.
“I could point out you’re dying already,” his voice doesn’t sound sarcastic but his words feel it. I do not need sarcasm right now. “But no, my control over mana is top notch, you will be fine. It will just hurt. A lot. I mean A LOT.”
I sigh, I look at Jill who was still wearing her maid mask. I saw no sympathy in her eyes, what a heartless angel.
“You need to make up your mind; the sun is already setting.”
I look pass Jill to see the sun already dipping below the cliff edge painting the sky in a brilliant pink. I slept for longer then I thought. During all that time Giean sat there trying to teach me, doing everything he can to keep me alive. I am anchoring him to this spot and the longer it takes me to learn magic the longer he will be stuck here.
“Do it.” I say with as much conviction as I can muster.
…
Giean is good, while still controlling the flow of mana from my pact he inserts mana into my body pressing on channels. His mana flows through my vasculature with just enough force not to kill me or cause me to pass out.
I am certain my scream could have been heard at the bottom of the beast wall. I have broken my leg before, eaten poison mushrooms, been kicked by a horse, even run down by a bore. I know all this because my life flashed before my eyes as the pain hit.
Imagine how bad being torn apart is, to awful to imagine right. Well I can tell you being pushed apart from the inside is a thousand times worse. As Giean’s mana flooded into my mana vasculature it felt like my entire body was trying to expand. With no where to go it tried to shatter but it couldn’t do that either.
“Press back against it,” Giean instructs, “not with your hands or your body. With your mind.”
When Giean stops I sit there panting, my heart pounding in my ears. Every fiber of my being hurts; I have never felt so exhausted in my life. I am not sure how much time pass but it was not enough before Giean said that awful word.
“Again.”
I cannot tell you much about the experience aside from the pain. Time losses meaning as I sit there in hell. Each time Giean applies pressure to my mana vasculature my entire body is wracked with pain. However, each time it seems less then before as I focus solely on the task of pushing back against the pressure with my mind. I am briefly aware of the sky growing dark and I look up to see an endless blanket of twinkling stars shining in the night sky. Then the pain returns and I am forced back to my mental exercise.
…
The moon shines brilliantly over head, its face full of surprise, its mouth wide open. That is the first thing I notice when the pain disappears. I can still feel the pressure but it is no longer pushing against my insides. It is inside the mana vasculature pushing against my own force. I explore my body feeling the entirety of my mana vasculature. The shape reminds me of butchering animals. From my heart it follows two channels that split into 5, flowing to my legs, arms and head. The mana returns back to my heart following identical separate channels, the entire thing an enclosed loop.
I feel it as Giean stops applying pressure directly and lessens his control of the mana flowing through my vasculature. The pressure momentarily disappears before returning slightly as my mana tries to escape the channels. I apply the mental pressure and feel the mana respond. If I push hard the mana flows faster through my vasculature, too little pressure and it tries to break free. Applying pressure correctly, I can even force the mana to pool a little. I move the mana to the palm of my hand trying to make it pool there. I wave my hand over the nearby grass and watch as it sways away as if pushed by a gentle breeze in the still night air.
“Wind attribute.” Giean says, more a statement of fact then anything else.
Now that I am able to sense and control my mana to some degree Giean has me move it around my body. Starting in my head he has me move it to my right arm then my left, then my left leg followed by my right. He has me do this for no more then ten minutes before he says enough.
“Sleep, we will continue your training in the morning. For now, you need to recover your strength.”
How am I suppose to sleep like this, every part of my body is sore to the point of throbbing. Before I can complain Bu jumps onto my shoulder, ruffling her wings a little bit before sitting down, tucking her head in.
I felt the tension and stiffness in my body begin to ease. Next the soreness in my joins. I might not know what is happening but I got the feeling it is thanks to Bu.
“Thank you, Bu.” I say as the starry sky fades to black.
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