"Alright, where do I start?" Tameka said, "Um, do you know about the three Ages of Magic?"

"The three Ages of Magic?" Andrew replied, completely clueless.

"The three Ages of Magic," Tameka repeated, "It's a... prophecy of sorts about magic in the world. Back in my time, it was kinda a bedtime story for children."

"What is it?" Andrew asked.

"See, there was this woman - a really old lady called the Oracle," Tameka continued, "She gives out prophecies. I mean, they're vague, but they're true - to a certain degree, at least. So she, uh, prophesied about what people call the three Ages of Magic," Tameka said as she began singing Andrew a poem of sorts.

First came The Golden Age,

Brimming, vigorous, vivacious beauty.

Then came a silver mist,

Consuming darkness, slowly but deadly.

At last, the Salvation,

An age of joy and love,

Yet always beware the silver mist,

For it is creeping close behind.

"That was... creepy," Andrew commented after Tameka finished the poem (or was it a song?).

"Eh," Tameka shrugged, "It's just how the prophecies are."

"So... three Ages of Magic?" Andrew asked.

Tameka nodded, "It's one of the few prophecies of the Oracle's that people in my time haven't deciphered."

"Well, I have never heard of a silver mist of any kind," Andrew said.

"Understandable," replied Tameka, "It's not often her prophecies pay off in a short time."

Andrew and Tameka sat side by side, looking at the flat and peaceful pond in front of them.

"Wait, how old are you again?" Tameka suddenly questioned Andrew.

"Uh, what for?" he replied.

"Oh, it's nothing," Tameka said, "It's just that you mentioned that you used mana to activate the monolith, but I've never seen anybody this young that can activate a monolith."

"Am I... weird?" Andrew asked innocently.

"No," Tameka laughed, "You're talented, little Andrew. You're special, not weird. If only you were able to conjure at least a few spells, then maybe I can give you some pointers on how to use magic."

"Conjure?" Andrew asked as he summoned a small fireball in his hands.

Tameka dropped her jaw witnessing Andrew using magic.

"... How?" she asked.

"Well, I just reimagine heat and fire," Andrew replied, "And then I focus it into a ball. Am I doing it wrong?"

"No, no, no," Tameka shook her head. She looked at Andrew as a wide grin slowly crept up her face, "This is gonna be fun."

In the following weeks after Andrew got stuck in the cave, Tameka started training him to live on a specific schedule every day: in the morning, they would go around the cave, picking berries and catching fish as they explored the massive caverns around the cave.

The caverns were magnificent like nothing Andrew had seen before. Despite being underground, the caverns were bright and seemingly brimming with life. He could see large pools of steaming hot lava everywhere as well as massive lakes full of fish. He never would've expected this at first, but what seemed to be a lifeless and dark space when he first arrived turned out to be a place that could at least sustain life for a whole village for at least years. The caves were endless, too. It was just cavern into large and dark spirals of tuff and andesite into even larger, deeper, more spectacular caverns.

Andrew wouldn't have been able to even go around to pick berries in those massive caverns without Tameka, who would use her air magic to pick both her and Andrew up as they would occasionally fly around these caverns, admiring the magnificent beauties of their world.

But they weren't just goofing around every day either. After hours of exploring and admiring the gigantic caverns around them, Tameka would start teaching Andrew how to control his magic.

"So, little Andrew, what do you know about magic?" Tameka began.

"Uh... There are two types of magic?" said Andrew, "Augmentation and casting?"

"Hmm... Not exactly," said Tameka, "Magic is actually a very diverse and complicated subject. You can't really fully understand it. But generally, magic comes in 'elements'. Granted, non-elemental magic does exist, but it's much more difficult to use than elemental magic.

"Elemental magic has many types, but there are a few main building blocks: fire, water, air and earth. Of course, these aren't the only elements there are, but most other elements are easier to use if you have mastered these four. Another thing to keep in mind is that no element is more powerful than another.

"For example, if you have mastered water and air, you can try to use these two to create ice. See, you may think that ice is kind of the superior form of water, but this can't be further from the truth. You see, while ice is definitely sturdier and 'stronger',"  Tameka said sarcastically, "But water is much more versatile. For instance,  imagine you're battling another mage and they're getting the better of you, so you want to create a shield surrounding yourself. Now if you use the element of ice, you'll have to create a full shield covering everywhere on your body, which takes a lot of mana to achieve. Alternatively, you can also just form a small patch of water and control it to move wherever your enemy's attacking. Magic is versatile and you need to be able to improvise to use it in any situation. Now, let's try it. You can use fire magic right now, right?"

Andrew nodded.

"Then your assignment is to be able to catch me," Tameka said as she suddenly dashed at Andrew, poking his head lightly with a stick, "Looks like you failed this time," she grinned.

Andrew backed off of Tameka as he formed a small fireball. Tameka lunged at him once more, but not before Andrew was able to launch the fireball at her face point-blank, thinking that he had completed the assignment.

He couldn't be more wrong.

Despite the fireball seemingly being right next to Tameka's face, she somehow dodged it and once again dashed at him with superhuman speeds. But Andrew wasn't about to give up. When facing Tameka, he somehow felt like battling the Juggernaut all over again. He wasn't sure what to do, but somehow Andrew still felt like running headfirst into danger as he formed four extra fireballs and launched them all at Tameka. As he had expected, Tameka was able to dodge them all easily, but he didn't expect those fireballs to do anything to her in the first place. He simply leapt forward at Tameka as they clashed mid-air. Tameka grabbed his leg and tried to use her size advantage against Andrew, but he was quick enough to grab her wrist and he summoned a close-up fireball which caused a small explosion on Tameka's arm, causing her to back up. Andrew, using the occasion, immediately dashed forward, trying to utilize his hard-fought advantage right before he clumsily tripped onto a small rock as he fell on his face.

"Ooh," Tameka said, chuckling, "That must've hurt."

Andrew stood up wearily as Tameka offered him her hand and helped him up.

"That was much better than I had expected," she said, "But can you use any other type of magic, or is it just fire magic?"

"It's just fire magic, I guess," Andrew replied.

"I see," Tameka nodded, "Are you able to use lightning magic yet?"

"Light... Lightning?"

"Yes," she repeated, "Lightning. It's easier to use if you already mastered fire magic, and I think it fits your combat style quite nicely. You can form complicated spells with it from a distance, but it also relies on speed and strength, so I think it'll be a great fit."

"Well, at least it sounds cool," Andrew grinned.

"Good," Tameka said, "You should have that attitude. I hope you can keep it though," Tameka whispered under her breath, "Then I guess it's time for your training," she said as a small spark of lightning zapped between her fingers.