“Before we begin, I just want you to know that the Warrior Mage academies were set up by some of our greatest Archons long before the Union was ever created. I have nothing against other races, but none of you are good enough to be here. It is political maneuvering and nothing else. I accept it, but I see it for what it is.
“When the school was first founded, the lowest acceptable Harmony level was 12! The same as it is to become a mage! We were rare! Now it is 11, and quite frankly, I find that abhorrent. We are no longer special. We are diluted, and if the Xeo do return, we will suffer for this.”
I tried not to gawp. I probably failed. “Wow. You’d have loved Hitler. But just so I’m clear, the Xeo, are they the ones who kicked your privileged arses from one side of the universe to another? You had to join forces with the Velorian Empire to survive?”
She looked for all the world like she wanted to kill me, which was impressive considering her expression hadn’t changed apart from a twitch in her jaw and a hardening of her eyes.
“I see your Velorian roommate has given you the Velorian version of events. I wouldn’t put too much faith in her words. Velorians are naturally bitter because of our martial superiority.”
I realized I really didn’t want to talk to this woman anymore. Being beautiful wasn’t enough to make up for the rest of the package. “If that’s how you feel, then why the hell did you agree to help me?”
“For that exact reason. I want our teachers training Archons to become the best they can be so that they can fight for the Empire.”
“Empire? And here I thought it was called the Union.”
“The Archon Empire is within the Union. It preceded the Union, and it will outlive the Union, providing we have soldiers with adequate skill to fight the fights that need to be fought.”
“Can I ask you a personal question?”
She straightened like she had a stick up her backside. “That depends entirely on what that question is.”
“Are you intentionally running this lesson on with me by talking nonsense so that I don’t learn the Flame Blast skill and prove to everyone that I’m not as useless as you say I am?”
“A typical Velorian suspicion. You would do well not to allow their poisonous mentality corrupt you if it’s not too late.” Her face remained impassive, but I could feel the smugness in her words. “Now, on to Flame Blast. It might help us tap into the power if I knew what skill you already have?”
“Seems like something you could use against me,” I replied slowly. “And you’ve already proven you have no love for anyone who isn’t an Archon. I think you need to try without knowing.”
“Interesting,” she said, raising an eyebrow. “You intend to make this as hard as possible for yourself.”
I shrugged. “Seems to me that if you can’t teach me after a couple of hours of one-on-one tutoring, then you’re going to look pretty bad yourself. The amazing Aeloria failed to teach the primitive with high base Harmony simple magic.”
A flush of red colored her smooth golden cheeks at my words “Oh, if you’re capable, I will drag the skill out of you. Now focus! Feel the warmth in the air.”
“Okay. Definitely feeling the heat.”
“Now draw that warmth into your core.” She placed a hand on her diaphragm. “Focus it with your mind, then let it out through your hands with intent.”
I did exactly as she instructed, concentrating on my skin from the warming sun. I absorbed it, I enjoyed it, I reveled in it. Then I tried to draw it into my core? When I had created Spirit Burst, I was barely lucid, but I tried to recall the sensation, hoping to come up with an answer.
Aeloria’s huffs and puffs were distracting, but I tightened my focus to block them out.
After following her instructions, and trying multiple times in slightly different ways to access the power, I gave up on her way, and instead recalled the sensation of Spirit Burst. Once I had it, I tried to attach the heat from the air to it before mentally condensing the energy to a tight point in my hand.
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Something clicked into place. I felt a surge of elation, just before everything went to hell. Instead of creating a ball, all the heat I’d absorbed mixed with a little spirit energy burst from my body.
Aeloria screamed and jumped back. “Are you insane! You just nearly incinerated me.”
She patted at a burning strand of hair. Thankfully, that was the only damage I’d done. Under normal circumstances I might have felt guilty, but not with this arrogant cow.
“I did the thing, though. Maybe stand further away next time?”
Her fists clenched in outrage. “No. You didn’t. You just learned Flame Burst.”
I checked my mage skills and discovered I did indeed have Flame Burst now. “That still counts though, right?”
She sneered. “Of course it doesn’t count, you imbecile. It’s the wrong power.”
“But technically,” Ressa interrupted, having wandered over while the others still practiced. “It’s harder than Flame Blast to achieve, so you should be able to pick up Flame Blast much easier now .”
Aeloria looked ready to pop. “You shouldn’t be here, Velorian. You have practice to do.”
Ressa grinned. “I increased my speed, and then doubled the size of my attacks. Master Crathinius was so happy with my development that when I offered to take over from you and free you from this awful task, he jumped at the chance. He said you can either help the others”—she pointed at the two struggling Archons—“or you can go back over so that he can stare at your backside some more.”
I officially witnessed Duchess Aeloria Besas embarrassed, angry and at a loss for words all at the same time. It was a beautiful sight. She left without reply.
I grinned at Ressa. “Thank you for that. And not a moment too soon.”
“You’re welcome. Now we just need to teach you how to not be a liability. Flame Burst is taught in year two for a reason. It’s dangerous and difficult to control.”
“Maybe. But I’ve got it in the bag and another level in the Mage class, thank you very much. At this rate, I’ll be a Level 30 Mage in no time.”
“Hardly.” She patted my shoulder. “It gets a lot harder the higher you move through the levels. New spells always bring a boost, but it becomes quite the grind even with them. Now, shall we return to producing Flame Blast? It should be easier now that you have the extra level in Mage class, and a skill in Fire Magic.”
“Sure. I don’t want to leave here without it.”
“Then focus the power. That’s all there is to it.” Her eyes flicked to the side to check on the main group and then back to me. “I know a little trick. You okay with me using it on you?”
“Sure,” I said, regretting my decision as soon as I said it.
Her hand landed on mine, and it felt cool to the touch. “Bring up Flame Burst but do not let it go.”
Sweat pin-pricked my head at the sudden tenseness of the situation. I did as she asked, but I was terrified I might accidentally hurt her.
“Okay, I’m going to create a focal point on your hand and together we’re going to carry the heat energy you’ve absorbed to that point.”
“Is this normal?” I said through gritted teeth.
“No. Not at all, and… I’m not exactly sure why I am risking myself to help you like this.”
“Then stop.”
“I can’t now, we’re linked. I pull away, and Flame Burst goes off and I burn.”
“Shit.”
“If it’s any consolation, I know why I’m doing it now.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re going to need Flame Blast in the near future.” She winked at me. “Oh, and because I hate Aeloria, and teaching you this will hurt her more than punching her in the nose.”
“That’s fair. Come on then. What do I do now?”
“Just focus on the focus point.”
I did as she asked, and when I pushed the heat to that point, it went smoothly without any fight.
Ressa stepped to one side. “Fire it at one of the targets down there,” she said, pointing and holding onto my arm to guide it. “Fire,” she hissed.
So I did. Like telling your fingers to grip and un-grip, my body seemed to know what to do and a bolt of fire shot from my palm.
Ressa quickly removed her hand and heaved a sigh of relief. “Thank the serpent that worked.”
I checked my stats again as I felt a slight change in my gut.
Name: Adam Henshaw
Title: —
Level: 16
Class: Warrior/Mage
Stats:
- Toughness: 19
- Mental Acuity: 13
- Harmony: 17
- Total: 49
Progress in Class:
- Warrior, Level 3: 15/40
- Tradesman, Level 0: 0/10
- Mage, Level 1: 10/20
Mage Skills:
Spirit Burst (AoE) Level: 1
Flame Blast (Projectile): Range 200 yards
Conjure a ball of intense flame and hurl it toward your target to create fire damage.
Flame Burst (AoE) Level 1:
Self (5-foot radius, scalable)
Unleash a burst of absorbed heat energy in the form of flames centered around yourself. Anyone within a 5-foot radius will take fire damage.
“No more points in Mage class, but I did get an upgrade in Harmony.”
“Amazing. So what are you now?”
I frowned at her. “I’ll tell you in sixty days.”
“Good to see you learning. And well done, Adam. These aren’t good circumstances to learn in.”
“Are they ever?”
She took on a dark look at that. “I suppose not. Now do it without my help, You should be able to now that the skill is active.”
I returned my gaze to the target, raised my hand and conjured another ball of fire. I grinned and let it go. Missing the target by a fair amount was no disappointment. I was learning magic!
A shout came from behind us. I turned to see the teacher walking over.
“About time! You can join the end of the line, Adam. We have fifteen minutes left to work on your aim.”