Black Magus

After another day of meditating and a 'lecture’ from Grandpa Lich after breakfast, I dove back into training. Back into spending the entirety of the night manipulating and familiarizing myself with water.

Like the night before, I practiced grabbing hold of larger and larger masses of water and worked on streaming the fluid back towards me; aiming to snake it around my body or have it take up any number of forms. Yet, no matter how much I tried, manipulating without the aid of at least the hands was next to impossible.

Following that, I moved to what I assumed were more advanced forms of water manipulation- siphoning water from the ambient air and plants to condense it before me. Techniques that I soon grew competent in after several hours of training; giving me more than enough confidence to move on to the next element for the last hour of training.

Surprisingly, that hour was all I needed to learn fire manipulation. Which was by far the most complicated in theory, but the simplest in practice. It only required me to condense a ball of mana as a fuel source before grinding the energy together as if it were sandpaper. Producing a small spark that would readily ignite. From there, heat and oxygen would take care of the rest.

Learning earth manipulation the following night was when I learned just how misguided Grandpa Lich's teachings were. What he taught me was more applicable to manipulating the earth than any other element I’ve manipulated. It involved reaching out with the mana as if it were a mental hand and gripping the earth with it. And much like water, molding it to the desired shape like one would with clay pottery.

I spent hours pulling pillars and walls from the grounds, platforms, and walls of the courtyard; forming small depressions or crude growths in the most inconvenient of places as I experimented with compressing and reforming different types of stone.

And of course, launching them across the yards.

Instead of running to my grandfather as soon as I got a grasp on the four elements, I spent a few more days conducting experiment after experiment until I was truly satisfied. The first and most notable takeaway from them revolved around the fact that manipulating the elements without hand or body gestures wasn’t impossible per se, but certainly too difficult to use in a combat scenario. Years- I assumed- if not decades of training were needed to get such a point. If it were even possible at all.

Fortunately, time was something I had no shortage of in this life. So I dedicated a portion of my schedule to practice this… Stoic Manipulation.

That aside, I found manipulating higher concentrations of mana made for more powerful effects; as one would expect. High-pressure water, denser rock, hotter fire. More importantly, I quickly came to realize using two elements at once was much like my attempts at learning the piano in my past life: A struggle; at first, to simultaneously play two different strings of notes with each hand.

Though I had ideas on how to take some of the elements to more complex levels, Grandpa Lich's increasingly short attitude made his impatience with my slow progress more than clear. And so, a week after my breakthrough and just over a month after my training began, I leaped into the shadow realm just before dawn to seek him out.

***

Everandus 'Necro King' Cole.

***

I’d have been lying if I said I wasn’t growing increasingly frustrated with Amun as the month passed anew. While his progress with simple elemental manipulation would have been enough for a commoner. It was abysmally slow for a royal, and not even worth mentioning for the half-elf he was.

Comprehending something was one thing. Applying it to the real world was another matter entirely. If he struggled to adapt to that fact of life now, I feared for what was ahead of him. Thus, I was less than a little optimistic when Amun came to me with news of a ‘breakthrough.’

Though, I supposed I could have been to blame for his shortcomings. I never had been the best at manipulation either. At least I worked out a solution, however.

“I may as well tell you now.” I broke the throbbing silence of the shadow realm as I turned to face the boy. “You may not have noticed, but you don’t have any friends. Besides your stalker there.” I jerked my thumb to Eved’s spider, scurrying through the halls toward the training court. “The reason for that,” I sighed, “is because your mother is very protective of you. That said, having friends is good for you. And as a royal, you’ll need vassals and a knight to support you as well. Capable people that you can trust to take care of you throughout your journeys. Before long, I will introduce you to your first vassals. They will serve you for the rest of your lives. And more.”

“Where are they from?” The boy asked the instant I finished speaking without so much as a look my way. As intelligent as he was, that intellect came with an endless torrent of questions that I embarrassingly found myself frustrated to answer time and time again. Though deep in my heart, I knew that he held no ill intent. And more so that the more knowledgeable he was in his youth, the better off he’d become in his older years.

“They’re the finest students from my academy.” I boomed proudly. “The finest boarding school in the mainland.”

While he said nothing, I knew the wheels were turning under that perpetually placid gaze of his. And I knew there’d be many questions regarding the institute at a later time. Thankfully, his thoughts were occupied with slipping through the shadow of a tree near the center platform of the training court.

“Friends are welcome.” He simply replied after returning to the physical realm. “But if you intend to have them tutor me in magic or fighting, that’s not necessary.”

‘Tch! Arrogant brat.’ I groaned internally. “This better be worthwhile! It’s past my bedtime, you know.”

Amun only stayed silent and continued looking ahead as he walked beside me. He was surely a strange one. Filled with questions; undoubtedly intelligent. But cold and devoid of emotion like the void within him. And though he was blessed by mana; judging from what I’d seen thus far, I had doubts that his blessings would bear any worthy fruit.

‘Perhaps he’ll be a great politician, like his father.’ I sighed, attempting to shy the disappointment from my eyes as Amun turned to face me with his usual uncaring demeanor. Only to squint in scrutiny ever so subtly before turning his focus to his palm.

What happened next was as remarkable as it was terrifying.

A flame appeared above the center of his palm. Small, about the size of an iceberry. Yet intense and bright enough for me to feel the heat on my palm as I shielded my eyes from the light. An insignificant thing on its own. Yet, around that small inferno, Amun guided a squall around and around and upwards at speeds that made my coattails flap loudly behind me.

Though I felt an initial push of mana against the wind after Amun conjured the flame, I could feel only the unbridled power of nature gathered in his palm. Churning and swelling and building up in volume until the surrounding trees were dwarfed and doused in the light of a blazing cyclone.

Seeing the thing rise twice as high as myself, I attempted to shout; “Enough!” Yet heard nothing but the screaming winds and raging fires mixed with the mad cackles of my great-grandson. “Amun! That’s enough!” I shouted again, forcing my way through the gale this time.

Amun seemed to notice my struggle and let the flame die out in his hand, causing the cyclone to dissipate after a few seconds.

“Well?” Amun turned to me, smiling happily for the first time since we met. “Do you still think I need a tutor?”

“No, son.” I sighed heavily in a meek attempt to quell my shame and amazement and irritation. “Not for elemental manipulation, you don’t. Excellent work. You've exceeded my expectations by leaps and bounds!”

“Thank you.” He bowed politely before standing tall and looking at me with those blank eyes. “I still need friends, though.”

Tch! “You need sleep!” I spat as I moved toward the shadow of a nearby plant. “I told you, your friends will come later. In two years. Sorcery training comes first. Your education comes after. Meet me in the realm at sundown.” I shouted over my shoulder as I stepped into the darkness to descend through the umbral expanse.

And seconds later, I heard the distant echo of Amun’s backtalk as he too entered the fell.

“Elves don’t sleep.”