2 Where Am I? Part II

Sonia widened her eyes in surprise. "Are you sure that's what you felt?"

I nodded. "Why? Is that bad?"

Sonia laughed manically and shook her head. "No! That is amazing! You're a natural!"

I tilted my head in confusion. "What does that mean? It sounds good."

Sonia nodded. "Of course it's good. If you show some talent, you could probably get a scholarship to a royal academy! I knew there was something special about you."

I smiled excitedly at the path that just revealed itself. "I don't know what to say."

Sonia shook her head. "It's okay to be confused. This is a lot to process. I'm just surprised because your father had no talent in magic and your mother had a very small mana pool. I don't know where you got it from since you are definitely their kid. They would be so proud!"

I smiled but it quickly dissipated. The memory of my parents from Earth invaded my thoughts. A single tear rolled down my face.

Sonia noticed immediately and rushed to comfort me. She wrapped her left arm around me. "It's okay, sweetie. Even if they're not here, James and I will always be there for you."

She was quiet for a moment and thought to herself. She then got up and knelt in front of me, looking me straight in the eyes.

She took a deep breath as she struggled to get her words out. "I don't know if you overheard me earlier but I'm sorry. Keeping all four of us fed off of a measly guard salary has been tough. Now that I think about it, I was worrying for no reason. Your sister is starting her apprenticeship in a few months so she will be able to bring in a little more money. That will solve all of our problems."

I looked her in the eyes, doubting her words. I overheard the whole conversation from earlier so I know she was worried. Although her words were hurtful, coming clean with me made me feel as if she really did care. With that, my doubts washed away.

It finally felt right to do something for the first time. "It's okay, m- mom. I forgive you."

Those words were so hard to get out. With the memory of my mom and dad from Earth, I never thought I'd be able to think of someone else as my parents.

Upon hearing that, Sonia teared up and hugged me tightly. "I love you, Cal."

I nodded and buried my tears in her shoulder. "I love you too."

After enjoying each other's embrace for a few minutes, we separated. Sonia got up and walked over to the table. "Come and sit. There is not much I can teach you but I can at least get you started."

I nodded and got up. I walked over to the table and sat across from her. "Okay."

She smiled and pulled over a piece of parchment. She then drew a hexagon on it with a dot in the middle and at each vertice.

She slid it over to me and pointed at the center dot. "Mana is raw energy that comes from Aetheria. We naturally have it flowing through our bodies." She then pointed to the outer dots. "These six dots represent the six elemental forms of mana. We have fire, air, earth, water, lightning, and light."

I tilted my head in confusion. "There's light, but no dark?"

Sonia chuckled and shook her head. "How about you answer your own question since you're so smart. What is darkness?"

I thought for a moment before it hit me. "Darkness is the absence of light!"

Sonia nodded. "Good. Now let me tell you about each element. Fire is the element of destruction and creation. Air is the element of movement. Earth is the element of stability. Water is the element of flow. Lightning is the element of power. Lastly, light is similar to fire in that it is an element of creation but also pure destruction. And before you do, I don't know much more than that. All I learned was from my mother and she from hers."

I nodded and thought about what she said. I decided to use the feeling I had before to see if I could feel the nature of the elements around me.

Looking towards the furnace, I focused on the energy permeating from there. The mana felt violent and consuming.

I then looked towards the sink. I felt the mana of the water flowing peacefully.

I then looked around me at the air in the room. The mana felt as if it moved constantly, never ceasing to change positions.

I then looked at the ground. The smooth stone tiles lining the floor had mana that remained still.

Sonia chuckled, bringing my attention back to her. "It seems you are truly gifted. You can already feel the mana in the things around you."

I smiled and then got curious. "What elements can you use?"

Sonia sighed. "I can use water, fire, and earth. Most people can only use a few elements. The rarest one to have an affinity with is air. It isn't the most powerful but it is an important part of what is called compound magic."

I tilted my head. "What is compound magic?"

Sonia smiled and nodded. "Great question. Like its name implies, compound magic involves the combination of elements when casting. For example…" She raised her hands and summoned some water and earth in each. She then manipulated the two elements and combined them together, forming a mud like substance.

My eyes lit up. "Is that how they make bricks?"

Sonia nodded. "Magic is used in almost every part of life. Those with talent become powerful mages that protect the country and…"

She was cut off by someone busting the door open. A panicked voice yelled out. "Sonia?"

We both turned to the source of the voice. From the door came a squad of guards. James was leading them.

James saw us sitting at the table and rushed over, checking us up and down. "Sonia, Cal, are you guys alright?"

Sonia was confused. "Ummm, yeah. Why are you guys here?"

James sighed and stepped back. "There was a huge pulse on the mana radar and it originated from this location. I thought a mage was attacking you guys."

Sonia laughed and waved her injured hand, showing it to the guards. "There is no mage. I was awakening Cal and there was a little accident. There is nothing to worry about. Right Cal?"

I nodded and looked at James. "Yeah, dad. We are fine here."

On hearing that, James froze. He had never heard Cal call him "dad" before.

Some of the guards behind him began snickering. "Hehe, the captain is gonna cry."

James shook himself out of his stupor and inspected his wife's hand. "How did this happen?"

Sonia laughed nervously. "I was burned by Cal's mana. I don't know how though. This has never happened before."

James shook his head. "You should have called for me. I would have healed you." He took a deep breath and his hands began to glow. Sonia's burn began healing at a rate visible to the naked eye.

Sonia sighed. "You are working. I can't just call you every time something happens."

James scoffed. "You are my wife and nothing is more important to me than you and the kids."

Sonia smiled and gave him a quick peck on the lips. "Love you, honey."

James smiled. "Love you too, babe." He then looked towards his adopted son in curiosity. "I am going to ask the commander if he knows anything about this backlash from your awakening. Maybe he can shed some light on the situation."

I smiled and nodded. "I hope so too. It'd be nice to know if there is something wrong with me or not."

James nodded as he stood up, releasing Sonia's hand. "Well, I'd better get back to work. This town won't protect itself! See you guys later."

He then turned and left us in the house. Sonia and I looked at each other and started laughing.

I took a deep breath from laughing so much. "He's funny."

Sonia nodded and coughed. "A mage attacking us? He is way too paranoid."

I nodded in agreement and laughed again. "You can say that again."

Sonia smiled again. "Well, let us resume our lesson. Each element has different ways it can be cast. The light magic that your father used was meant for healing. You can also just emit light and illuminate a dark room. You can also remove light to create darkness. I am not sure how it works but the darkness causes things to decay and rot."

I nodded and thought for a moment. I then realized something. "If you can adjust intensity, can you also change water's phase using magic?"

Sonia tilted her head in confusion and raised her brow. "Phase? What does that mean?"

I smiled. "Things have different phases of matter. Water, for example, can be ice when it's solid, normal water when it is liquid, and then steam when it is gaseous."

Sonia's mouth was left gaping. She didn't know what to say. Only one question came to her mind. "Where did you learn that? I've never heard that before."

I immediately realized my mistake. I couldn't possibly reveal to her that I wasn't actually the Callum she thought I was. "Ummmmmm, I think I read it in a book somewhere. It was called Phases of the Elements or something like that. It was probably written by some crazy researcher haha."

Sonia shrugged. "Checks out. You have gone to the library a few times. I guess you're a genius too!"

I scratched the back of my head and laughed nervously. "Yeah, I guess so."

Sonia nodded. "Well, now that I understand the terminology, I can answer your question. The answer is yes. Watch this."

She raised her right hand and summoned some water. She then shaped it into a cylinder and then froze it before letting it drop into her hand.

She handed it to me. "Is this what you meant?"

I nodded vigorously. "I need to learn how to do that. I'd love a glass of cold water."

Sonia chuckled. "Such a simple view. Water magic has much more use than making water cold. You can do something like this."

She summoned some more water in her hand and closed her eyes. She then slowly froze it into a small, pointy object. It resembled a knife and was pointing straight up.

She then rotated her hand, having her palm face the wooden door of my bedroom. She then extended her fingers and the ice knife launched from her hand, lodging itself in the door.

I sat there in awe, a bit of drool coming out of my mouth. "THAT WAS SO COOL!"

Sonia laughed and smiled at me. "You'll learn how to do that soon. Anyways, that is enough practical training for today. How about you go to the library and do some research. It is always better if you figure stuff out yourself."