Aiela

  The morning brought with it something Aiela had wanted to avoid altogether: Her training session with their new acrobat friend. It wasn’t just that Aiela was sore about Venza’s infatuation. Aiela had never trained anyone before, unless one counted the time she taught Venza how to cast Reach.

  Magic was like breathing to her, and in many ways it was. She pulled Mana from the air so easily, so naturally, that the thought of not having magic struck a deep, discordant feeling in her. The idea of being without it bothered her. And here she was, about to train someone who had never known she was an Air Mage until Aiela brought it up.

  As the appointed hour of their first session approached, Aiela’s legs, and indeed the rest of her body, floated partway over the ground. She ‘stood’ perhaps a head taller than Venza and Lauren in this manner, her feet feeling uncomfortable with the lack of firm earth beneath them. Aiela did not like floating. It made her feel as if she would float straight into the sky and fly somewhere she did not want to go.

  But for this demonstration, she endured it. On her pride as a witch and a mage, she would instill the awe of magic into the acrobat, even if it meant bearing with some discomfort.

  Eyes closed, legs crossed under her skirt, Aiela watched through her Hidden’s eyes as Lauren approached the back garden. It was about time. Aiela had been holding this pose for five minutes. Lauren wore a practical outfit with short pants and a dark-colored top that wouldn’t look so bad if she got a bit of dirt on it. When she was sure Lauren could see and hear her, Aiela finally spoke.

  “You have arrived, my apprentice,” she spoke, in as gravelly and sinister a voice as a fifteen year old girl could muster.

  “You’re flying,” Lauren said, her face a mix of intrigue and awe. Good. Aiela had the desired effect.

  “Floating, not flying,” Aiela corrected her. “Flight is an Air Three spell, and too difficult even for me.”

  With a practiced motion, Aiela set her legs straight, her shoes finally touching the ground once more as she ended the Float spell.

  “Air Three?” Lauren questioned.

  Aiela nodded. “Air Rank Three, but it’s a lot easier to just say Air Three. It means you need to have Three Air Spheres in order to cast it. You have one currently, but if you devote yourself, you could match me in Air Magic someday.”

  It went without saying that Aiela meant only in Air Magic. Aiela was far too ahead in the others for Lauren to ever catch up, but focused devotion to one path? Entirely possible.

  “Then I could fly too?” Lauren asked.

  “Eventually,” Aiela said. “Though it could take years. Shorter if you work on it every day. I’d hazard a guess that if you did your best, you could reach Rank Two within a year and float just like I did.”

  “Then I’ll do my best,” Lauren said.

  “Do your best, what?” Aiela asked.

  Lauren quirked an eyebrow at her, then her eyes lit up as she remembered. “I’ll do my best, Master,” she said with a tinge more sarcasm than Aiela would have liked.

  “Good,” Aiela said. They had previously agreed Lauren was to call her Master during training. “We’ll get you started on the absolute basics today.”

  Aiela raised her hand upwards, creating a fist. The earth of the back garden moved to follow her movement, conjuring a pillar of earth roughly Aiela’s height.

  “Gust,” Aiela spoke, even though she didn’t need to say the word. Her hand flung outwards, and a ball of compressed air shot at the flimsy pillar, knocking it to the ground.

  “You will practice this spell for today,” Aiela said as she raised a second pillar. “Simply envision a hurricane in your mind, and watch it fly out of your hand. Simple.”

  Lauren, seemingly eager, stretched out her hand, and yelled, “Gust!”

  No air blew from her outstretched palm. In fact, no air blew through the back garden at all.

  Aiela resisted her urge to heave a sigh. As she feared, the gap between a normal, burgeoning mage and her was too large. Perhaps she could say she simply could not train Lauren and that would get the acrobat to go away.

  “An interesting way to begin your training,” Lady Nora’s voice suddenly cut through the silence.

  Aiela nearly jumped out of her skin, and Lauren very much actually jumped. Neither of them had noticed the Lady Greyfield approaching, Cassie once more by her side.

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  “Lady Nora,” Aiela said, looking at the lady of the house in a jade green dress that covered most of her skin. “You look better.” A knowing grin spread on Aiela’s face. No wonder she thought she had felt Oma’s presence last night.

  “Your ladyship,” Lauren said with an elegant bow.

  “I feel better,” Nora said. “Good enough to see that you seem to be having trouble. I had thought you might have issues training a fledgling mage, given your unique upbringing.”

  “She does seem to be struggling,” Aiela said.

  Nora addressed the acrobat directly. “Tell me, Lauren, have you ever channeled Mana before?”

  “Never, my lady,” Lauren said.

  “We would appreciate any guidance you could offer,” Aiela said. Strange how easily she felt she could ask Nora for things. Venza always sounded like even speaking with Nora was a battle in itself.

  “You two are starting without incantations?” Nora said. “They are usually the foundation of one’s spellcasting.”

  “If me and Venza were able to do it, I don’t see why she can’t,” Aiela said. “Even if Venza’s repertoire is a bit smaller than most.”

  "You forget. You and Venza have monstrous affinities for magic," Nora reminded her. "Lauren has a single Air Sphere. It's unrealistic to expect her to do what you can."

  "But you must remember, my lady, that I learned how to cast wordlessly as a child myself. It's not like I had all the power I have now when I started, and my other Spheres play no part in casting whatever spell I am trying to cast. Does it matter how many Earth and Nature Spheres I have when I call upon a gentle spring breeze?"

  “Your point is taken,” Nora conceded. “Lauren, I want you to close your eyes. Imagine yourself as a drinking glass.”

  Lauren closed her eyes, and seemingly followed Nora’s instructions. “Alright. What next, your ladyship?”

  “Imagine water, blue and sparkling, pouring into you,” Nora said. She waited for Lauren to confirm before continuing. “Do you feel anything different?”

  “I feel-” Lauren paused, seeming to look for the words. “Warm, like I can feel the sun’s rays pouring harder on my body.”

  Aiela watched in silence, mentally taking notes. If she ever needed to train someone else, this might prove instructive.

  “Keep that feeling, then try the spell again,” Nora said.

  “I’ll try,” Lauren responded. Her eyes remained closed as she visualized. Then, they opened, her hand stretching out as she invoked, “Gust!”

  With wide eyed wonder and surprise, Aiela watched as a powerful blast of wind shot out of Lauren’s hand. It crashed against the earthen pillar, causing it to teeter ever so slightly to one side. In the end, however, it did not fall.

  “I’ll be damned,” Nora and Aiela said at the same time. Realizing this, the two of them shared a small, knowing smirk with each other. Clearly, neither of them had thought that would work.

  “Unbelievable,” Aiela said. “You produced such a large blast on your first try. Perhaps you’ve had your Air Sphere for longer than I thought.”

  “And I’ve never seen someone actually cast on their second attempt,” Nora added. “Let alone without an incantation.”

  Lauren, awestruck, stared at her palm. “Magic. I never thought I would be able to do it. Thank you.”

  With a smirk, Aiela said, “Don’t thank me yet, my apprentice. Our work is far from done. For the next ten minutes, you will cast Gust on that pillar until either you knock it down, or the time limit is reached, at which point you will rest. Rest is not optional.”

  “Leave it to me,” Lauren said.

  Aiela gave her a pointed look.

  “Master,” Lauren added with a slight roll of the eyes.

  “Well,” Nora said. “I think you’ve got everything in hand now. Good luck, Aiela.”

  Aiela half-smiled back at Nora. “Thank you, Lady Nora.”

  As the lady of the house retreated back into the manor with her servant, Aiela though that perhaps training Lauren wouldn’t be such a drag after all. Not if she was as talented as she seemed to be.