The Forsaken Hero

Selena laughed at my question, giving me a genuine smile. ”Cast a spell? Sure, go ahead.”

Her face was full of mirth, like a driving instructor waiting for the student to forget the clutch. Her reaction sent an uncertain twitch through my tail, but, taking a shallow breath, I closed my eyes and reached inside. My mana was far away, but I coaxed it closer, shivering as the seductive warmth filled me from horns to tail.

Finally, got it.

As I gathered the mana in my hands, I recalled the light stones this world used for illumination. Spreading my fingers apart, I imagined a small ball of warm, glowing light growing between them. The thought of runes or chants never crossed my mind, having slipped away during the lecture.

The mana resisted, refusing to obey my will. I lost myself in the inner exertion, barely noticing the beads of sweat on my forehead. The mana wriggled stubbornly, and my brow furrowed in concentration.

After a few tense moments, Selena reached out to nudge me. ”It’s okay if you give up. It’s not like you can-”

Finally, the dam broke, and mana rushed out of me, materializing into rapidly spinning runes. The magic circle disappeared barely a breath later, replaced by a glowing orb the size of a tennis ball. As the tide of mana dispersed, my strength left me and I sagged in exhaustion. Selena stared open-mouthed, all signs of mirth gone.

”Did I do something wrong?” I asked after catching my breath, looking cautiously at the glowing sphere. Everything looked alright to me, but the elf’s expression was frozen in shock.

”Y-you...what the hell did you do?” She finally asked, rubbing her eyes and staring at the glowing ball of light

A few nearby mages came over, drawn by the commotion. My joy at casting the spell was quickly subdued by the extra attention, and my tail curled around my legs.

”I-I just tried to replicate the light crystals,” I said, looking down in embarrassment.

Selena jerked back as I apologized, clearing the stupor from her face. Her long ears twitched in agitation, and she looked at a nearby mage. He was an older human, with gray hair and dark eyes.

”Two circles?” she asked tentatively.

He nodded. ”They appeared for barely a second. I don’t even think I could cast that spell so quickly.”

Two circles? Hadn’t there only been one? I looked between the two, caught off guard by their words. Selena sighed and rubbed her forehead, looking at me with exhaustion on her face.

”Xiviyah, why didn’t you tell me you could use magic? I almost died of shock there.”

I tilted my head, not understanding her words. ”I-I’ve never done it before. That was my first spell.”

She shook her head vehemently, sending her long, blonde hair cascading around her shoulders. ”No one casts a second circle spell chantless their first time. Didn’t you listen to anything I said?”

My cheeks reddened further, and I hurriedly recalled the lecture. Although it was only a few moments ago, almost everything was lost in the excitement of using magic, and I came up blank.

”Sorry,” I apologized again, bowing my head. ”I just called my mana and imagined a ball of light, like the ones in the Chapel. It wouldn’t listen for a while, but then it finally worked.”

”You can feel your mana?” the elf asked, eyes widening. ”Awakening with the Shard usually creates a wall between a mage and their mana, which takes a bit to break down,” Selena said, scrunching her brow. ”Didn’t you just awaken?”

I hesitated, unsure of how much to share. ”Kind of, I guess. But I awakened naturally, so that might be different.”

”I see,” she said slowly. ”Mind telling me what mana feels like?”

”It’s a warm, enticing feeling, like a big hug. But when it left, I felt empty inside, and cold.”

”Is this the difference between a ninth-level caster?” Selena asked, shaking her head in disbelief. ”It took me fifty years to be able to feel what you just described, even longer to be able to cast chantless.”

”Oh.” I guess that’s pretty amazing then.

”How are you feeling? A second circle spell takes a lot of mana, so you must be feeling drained.”

”I’m a little tired, and my vision’s blurry, but otherwise okay. Also, wasn’t it only a first-circle spell?”

The elf paused, looking me deep in the eye. ”To an amateur, yes. But a second circle appeared right at the end. Stand back, and I’ll see what kind of spell you cast.”

I went back a few paces and looked closely at the floating ball of light. Selena chanted words so quickly they flowed together in an incoherent babble, and seven circles of runes appeared between her fingers. After a moment, the circles flashed and disappeared, leaving a glow in the elf’s eyes.

”Interesting,” she mused. Her brown scrunched together like she was reading the fine print on a newspaper. Her eyes widened a second later, a faint gasp escaping her lips.

”What is it?” the middle-aged mage asked.

Instead of responding, Selena quickly chanted another spell, this one a fifth circle. My insides shuddered, a thrill racing through my soul, as something left me, though I couldn’t tell exactly what. The elf raised her hand and a small magic circle appeared. She twisted it with her fingers, and the glowing orb grew dimmer. Reversing the motion, the orb shone brighter.

”Oh, so that’s how you do it,” I muttered, absently rubbing the tip of my horn.

She turned to me with wide eyes. ”Sorry for taking over your spell, but I had to be sure. We’ve been trying to figure this out for years!”

”But dimming light is a normal thing,” I said, blinking in confusion. The thought crossed my mind that perhaps this world had never even conceived the possibility. ”Don’t your lights do that?”

”Of course not! Modifying a spell like that is basically impossible,” the older mage said quickly. ”The chants would need to be modified, which requires being able to see the flow of magic. That’s a gift that’s present only a couple of times every thousand years!”

Selena nodded in agreement. ”It’s probably best if you keep your talents to yourself from here on out. If you end up being able to see mana, then even the living ninth-level mages would want to exploit you.”

Her words made sense, and I recommitted to keeping my abilities secret. Something she said caught my attention though, and I opened my mouth to ask. ”Are there many ninth-level mages?”

”There probably aren’t more than twenty in the world right now, and five are gathered at the Divine Throne. Let’s not worry about that now. Even if you can cast chantless, spend time learning the chants and magic circles for spells. I wasn’t lying about the dangers, and using chants is much more reliable, even if they don’t have the exact same results,” Selena said.

I nodded, ”Okay, I will.”

”Oh, before I forget, here’s a pass to the Divine Library. It should have plenty of spells for you to learn. Practice with first-circle spells for now, so you can get the feel of it.”

”Thank you, Selena,” I said, taking the pass in both hands. Unfortunately, my cotton dress lacked pockets, which seemed like a major oversight.

”That’s it for today. Come back tomorrow, around this time, and I’ll be here. Best not to try your luck with the other magical instructors. They’re not as... tolerant, with us lower species.”

”I will,” I promised.

I gave a small curtsey and followed some other mages back through the gardens. We’d gotten there a bit late, but practice was normally allocated an hour.

As the martial training grounds drew near, shouts and cheers filled the air, accompanied by the clash of steel.

”Is it the hero again?” one of the mages asked, quickening her step. ”I’ve got to see this!”

”I heard he’s dueling that young protege again. Maybe she’s even wearing her short skirt!”

It took me a moment to realize they were talking about Soltair, but I immediately grew as excited as the others. Soltair was the supposed leader of the heroes and claimed the title of strongest. Now would be a great chance to see what he was made of.