For the next ten minutes, blasts of wind from Lauren assaulted the pillar, never once getting it to fall. Aiela had made sure it wasn't physically attached to the ground, so knocking it over was certainly possible, and with the force of each blast Lauren made, it was truly almost impressive that she couldn’t do the task she’d been assigned.

  Aiela, for her part, spent the time with a flowerpot on her lap. In it rested a single, purple flower in the shape of a bell, one of many within the garden and within all of Verdeholm. She’d planted these everywhere at some point during the six years she’d been in the town with purpose. This one, however, was merely for practice. With one hand she withered the flower, and the other, she brought it life. Trapped in a constant struggle between life and death, the flower provided a perfect medium for her to practice her Death and Nature spheres.

  "Stop," Aiela finally said. "Take a few minutes to rest."

  Lauren nodded, and sat on a stone bench adjacent to Aiela’s. The girl’s breathing, even from that distance, showed signs of exhaustion. Lauren wiped sweat off her brow, arms, and legs with a towel she’d had the foresight to bring along. Aiela would have been lying if she said she couldn't see the girl's appeal, but not the same way Venza did.

  Besides, as far as athletic, good-natured girls went, Aiela had another one she preferred, if only-

  Lauren’s sudden question interrupted Aiela’s thoughts.

  “This is possible, right?” Lauren asked between heavy breaths. “You didn’t give me some impossible task for my first day to teach me humility or the value of hard work or something?”

  Despite herself, Aiela couldn’t help but grin at the remark. “If you came to me to learn humility or a good work ethic, you came to the wrong teacher.”

  Aiela willed three of her Hidden to retrieve a nearby pitcher of water and pour Lauren a glass which the fledgling mage accepted with thanks.

  “Even for an Air One mage,” Aiela said. “It’s quite doable. That pillar is purposely detached from the ground. Nothing is holding it up other than its own weight.”

  “I must be doing something wrong, then,” Lauren said. Her voice carried no sadness, merely the sound of someone stating a probable fact.

  “Oh?” Aiela spoke, brow furrowed in curiosity.

  “You said not to come to you to learn humility or good work ethic,” Lauren said, casting a curious glance at the flower that teetered to and from death between Aiela’s hands. “But there is one thing about you that I’m sure you’d want me to learn.”

  Her interest piqued, Aiela ceased torturing the poor flower for a moment. “And what might that be?”

  “Cleverness. Inventive application of knowledge,” Lauren said. “I haven’t met a lot of mages in my lifetime, but the way you use magic is different from most. Especially the way you use Nature.”

  A small, genuine smile formed on Aiela’s lips. That hadn’t been her intention at all. She’d been merely trying to gauge Lauren’s capabilities. How odd. She was used to meeting people who didn’t particularly think, but there was a sharp glint of intellect in those green eyes that Aiela had failed to notice before. “What do you think you are doing wrong, then?”

  “The mages I’ve met before,” Lauren began. “They all spoke incantations. Perhaps – No. If the incantation affected the strength, you would be handicapping yourself by casting the way you do. It’s not that, is it?”

  Aiela shook her head. In her mind’s eye, she could see the gears turning in Lauren’s head. “Anyone can cast spells of rank one without uttering a single word. A word or phrase will usually suffice for anything higher, unless you truly have difficulty visualizing, like I do with summoning elementals.”

  “It’s not that the spell is wrong, either,” Lauren said. “You knocked it down with a gust of wind, too. However- ”

  Lauren paused. Aiela could see she was fully engaged in figuring the problem out now. Perhaps it was a good thing she would be staying with them after all.

  “It’s the shape,” Lauren said. “Not that wind really has a shape. It’s air, but when you struck the pillar, it looked like a ball of compressed air, focusing on one point. It’s like-”

  Aiela blinked. Was this girl really a novice? Still, she refused to give Lauren clues, curious to see if she could puzzle it out on her own.

  “It’s like how if I were to knock that pillar down myself, with my fist, a sharp strike to the top would give me more for my effort than if I tried to push on the middle or bottom of it,” Lauren said. “How do I do that? Shape the spell like you did?”

  When Aiela shot her an expectant look, Lauren rolled her eyes and amended the statement. “Sorry. How do I do that, Master? “

  “I had this thought when I saw you kill Chad,” Aiela said. “But you’re trained in combat, aren’t you, Lauren?”

  A tense moment of silence hung in the air as Lauren’s face became difficult to read. Then, with a shrug of her shoulders, she said, “Yes. Everyone back where I’m from knows some form of self-defense. We usually learn to fight with a pair of sticks.”

  “Where is home for you? Lupa, perhaps? Our neighbors to the north?”

  “Nowhere anymore,” Lauren said, voice a little tighter than usual. “The circus was my home.”

  “Sorry,” Aiela said. The look on Lauren’s face told her she’d clearly overstepped. “I guess that makes two of us.”

  “What do you mean?” Lauren asked, quirking an eyebrow.

  “I don’t have anywhere to go back to, either,” Aiela said. “Other than here.”

  Odd. Aiela usually didn’t share feelings. Perhaps it was because Nora had recently gotten her to open up, but-

  Something about Lauren’s eyes made her want to reveal everything: The loneliness of her old existence before meeting Venza, the uncertainty of her origins, the agony of having the girl she’d loved for so long taken by someone else.

  But Aiela didn’t share any of those things. Instead, she steered the conversation elsewhere. “Even among spells, there are little techniques you can do. Here, let me show you.”

  Aiela placed the potted flower, likely glad that it had been forgotten, upon the stone bench and stood. With a stomp of her foot, she willed the ground to rise, forming another pillar of earth, taller than what she’d tasked Lauren to topple. Hand outstretched, Aiela said, “I call this one Air Cannon.”

  A blast of compressed air, stronger than any Lauren had made so far, shot out of her open palm, hitting the pillar square on its head, where the yield of effort against the load was greatest. The pillar fell, crumbling into chunks of dirt as it hit the ground.

  “You’re right,” Aiela said, now back to her role as mentor. “You can shape spells. It’s all about visualization. Gestures, hand movements, and even key words can help, but don’t rely on them too much. The unpredictability of wordless casting is its greatest strength aside from its quickness.”

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  “Incredible,” Lauren said. “It’s almost like a completely different spell.”

  “It’s not,” Aiela said. “It’s Gust, just applied a little differently. I’m not making a new spell out of thin air.”

  Lauren frowned and looked at her quizzically.

  Venza would have found that funny. Sensing that Lauren didn’t appreciate the wordplay, however, Aiela quickly pivoted. “But you can try keywords for now or gestures if that would help.”

  “The way you stomped on the ground to conjure the pillar,” Lauren muttered. “It’s like you use magic as an extension of your body. Not just the way I’ve seen other mages do it.”

  Aiela found herself smiling again. “Precisely. It’s the difference between a true mage and one who can just do magic. It’s the same as the difference between a trained soldier and a peasant picking up a sword for the first time.”

  “I’m ready to try,” Lauren said, eagerly punching her right fist into her left palm.

  Aiela made a show of inspecting the pillar Lauren had been practicing on.

  "But I think this one's a little busted up, no?” Aiela asked without really asking. “Try this one."

  She willed another pillar of earth upwards, as tall as Lauren this time. She smirked mischievously before sitting back down. She wasn't going to take her frustration with Venza out on Lauren, but making your apprentice squirm a little was part of teaching.

  Still, Aiela made her take breaks every ten minutes or so. Didn’t want her to wind up like Lady Nora.

  "Remember you can't channel Mana non-stop," Aiela warned. "Mana is toxic in large concentrations."

  "How do I know if I'm nearing my limit?" Lauren asked.

  "You get tired and feverish," Aiela said flatly. "Your body will try to shut down to spare you from lasting harm, but if you're desperate you can force your way through it and bear the consequences."

  "Is there a way to increase the limit?"

  "Comes with age," Aiela said. "Roughly tied with your body's development, though once you hit the peak, it won't go down again for as long as you live. You hit your prime and you stay in it until death."

  "That's it?" Lauren asked. "No special training?"

  "Not to increase your limit, no," Aiela said. "But the stronger you are in a Sphere, the less Mana you need to work your magic and the stronger your magic becomes. It’s why having higher spheres is so valuable. How many Gusts can you cast in a row right now? About ten?"

  "Twelve," Lauren said. "I was counting. I start to feel faint after that."

  Aiela nodded. The girl was sharper than most, she’d give her that. "Gust is an Air Rank One spell. Once you hit Air Rank Two, you can probably do another six before you get tired. Could do even more if you keep using the same spell over and over, like how Venza can seemingly cast Reach at will after six years of practice."

  “Really?” Lauren asked. “At will?”

  “I’m sure she has a limit, but I’ve never seen her rea- get to it,” Aiela said. “But Venza and Reach are an anomaly. She’s remarkably fit and Reach could be considered a Rank Zero spell with no real Sphere. I feel like her athleticism lends itself to her spellcasting, the same way I think yours does, too.”

  “It does?” Lauren asked.

  “Your capacity is definitely above average,” Aiela said. “Most people, as far as I know, would tire after six castings of Gust at your level.”

  "With all due respect, then, Master Aiela, wouldn't it be better for me to practice a more useful spell?" Lauren asked.

  Aiela smirked. "Such as?"

  "I don't know," Lauren admitted. "Venza said Air Magic included the ability to fling lightning."

  "Ah, yes," Aiela said, letting distaste color her tone. "Bolt. A favorite of those with no imagination."

  Lauren chuckled. Aiela had to admit she found the sound rather pleasant.

  "She did say you had opinions about lightning magic," Lauren said.

  "Excuse you, I only have one opinion on Bolt," Aiela said. "And that opinion is that it's bad, unless you're already an Air Two mage, unlike most of its practitioners. But even then, you have other options."

  "What exactly makes it so bad?" Lauren asked.

  Aiela counted off on her fingers. "Unless you are already adept at using it, it only shoots in a straight line, has a limited range, is easily countered by certain spells you can find in Earth, Air, and Nature. It's dangerous to use it when the area's wet, too. Oh, and the fact that while it is technically an Air One spell, you can only shoot off one or two at most."

  "Well, when you put it that way…" Lauren trailed off.

  "Now, it has its uses," Aiela admitted. "It's fast, nearly instant, really. An unprotected, unprepared target will be rendered unable to fight, at the very least. If they don't die outright, the lightning will mess up their ability to act so badly they'll be taken out of the fight more often than not."

  "I see," Lauren said.

  Aiela nodded, and continuted. "Mage corps with large enough numbers of Air Mages can rotate their members between volleys to mitigate the downside. But for just you and me, it's a waste of Mana. If you and I reach our limits from taking five or six people out with Bolt, we're doomed."

  "What does Gust offer, then?" Lauren asked. "It just seems like a weak attack spell."

  In answer, Aiela shot a Gust in Lauren’s direction, nearly knocking her off of her feet.

  “Hey!” Lauren protested.

  "Gust is quick, nearly invisible, and done correctly, strong enough to blow a person to the ground where you can easily dispatch them," Aiela said. "Remember, you don't have to rely solely on magic. If you can get the jump on someone with Gust and stab them in the neck, you just took an enemy out with a very small portion of your magic used up. You can do twelve Gusts? That can be at least twelve enemies taken out all by your lonesome.”

  That was a lesson Vosmer had drilled into her when she was younger. It was one of the reasons why she continued sparring with Venza to this day.

  “I see,” Lauren said.

  Aiela nodded, continuing. “The strong wind can even throw off enemy spells and arrows. You can also use it to blow people off high places and let gravity do the dirty work."

  At the mention of sending people toppling off to their death, a frown creased Lauren’s features.

  "Does it bother you?" Aiela asked.

  "Does what bother me?" Lauren asked.

  "The idea you're learning magic with the goal of killing."

  Lauren bit her lip, breaking eye contact. "I've killed already."

  "That oaf who tried to break your spirit," Aiela began. "Was he the first person you've killed?"

  Lauren nodded. "I've hunted animals before, but Chad was the first person I- I took out, yes."

  "You are free to reconsider, you know," Aiela told her. "We need Tom for the Mud Drakes and he kind of owes us, but you're free to go if you prefer."

  "I know, but-" the acrobat paused, seemed to consider her words. "You saved me."

  "We saved a lot of townsfolk, too," Aiela reminded her. "Do you see any of them in this garden practicing magic?"

  "Well, it's not just that I owe you," Lauren said. “I have my own reasons for wanting to get stronger.”

  “Such as?” Aiela asked.

  “I’m looking for my father,” Lauren said. An odd coldness tinged her voice as she said it. And then, as quickly as it appeared, it was gone. “And I think perhaps if I stay with you two, I’ll have a better chance than without you.”

  “If you’re looking for someone with an information network,” Aiela began. “You’ve come to the wrong noble house. House Greyfield probably has the worst spy network among the noble houses in the empire.”

  “I didn’t mean it like that,” Lauren said. “I just meant that if I go with you on your adventures, I might be able to run into him. If not, then whatever. That snake will show up someday, I’m sure of it.”

  Aiela nodded, no longer particularly interested. This household had enough family drama going on for her to start caring about Lauren’s, too.

  “And you’re willing to shed blood, both yours and others’, just to find him?” Aiela asked. “You’re sure?’

  “I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but I noticed none of the other men who’d kidnapped me are dead,” Lauren pointed out. “Only Chad died. So I don’t think you two are particularly keen on killing people either.”

  “Venza does go out of her way to prevent casualties,” Aiela admitted. “But make no mistake. She’s killed before, and will likely kill again. It’s only a matter of time before she replaces that staff of hers with a spear or glaive.”

  “Could’ve fooled me,” Lauren said.

  “Her approach is that killing someone in battle can’t be helped sometimes,” Aiela explained. “But she’d never allow anyone under her command to kill after the fighting is over.”

  “And what about you?” Lauren asked.

  “Do I seem like someone who particularly cares about killing people?” Aiela asked back.

  “You don’t,” Lauren said, though there was a look on her face that told Aiela there was something else Lauren wanted to say.

  “Well, are you comfortable with learning magic for killing?” Aiela asked.

  “If they’re sick monsters like Chad, yes,” Lauren said with a rather grim expression.

  “What if they weren’t? What if they were just doing their job but they pose a risk to us?”

  “Then I take Venza’s approach,” Lauren answered. “Kill if I have to, but I’d rather not.”

  “Good,” Aiela said. “Hold on to that resolve. You’ll need it for what I’m training you to do.”

  “Which is?”

  Aiela’s grin widened. “It’s better if I show you.”