Chapter 16: Magic

The week before:

"Oh? I didn't expect to be seeing you so soon. I suppose you've heard the news," the wizard had the latest report in his hand as he spoke.

"I know you don't care enough to lie. Are they sending the sword saint up there to kill Lord Clover?"Ace demanded.

The wizard raised an eyebrow, "You think they would just send the Sword Saint? The Emperor would send a whole fleet after that master of yours. That's how much he wants your master. No, this is just to appease the court. The demons are probably long gone,"

"But the report said the likelihood of a demon Lord's involvement was high,"

The wizard glanced over, laughing derisively, "So you read the report. And you're parroting it back to me now, why?"

Ace was quiet for a moment. He felt the wizard was always trying to provoke him though he couldn't tell to what end. The wizard put a hand to his waist inspecting Ace with his usual mixture of scrutiny and impatience.

"Or maybe you were hoping to mine me for more information? Were you hoping to see Clover again? Foolish boy. Didn't I tell you how pointless that would be?"

"And yet you offered to train me. I'm sure there's something you hope to get out of it,"

"Ah, and there it is. The real reason you're here," the wizard replied mockingly, "So if I wanted something from you, what then? Did you come all this way to refuse in person?"

"No. I want you to teach me,"

"Aren't you going to ask what I want from you?"

" Whatever it is, I'm sure you'll take it one way or another. You seem like that sort of person,"

"HA! See, I like this. It's more interesting," the wizard returned with a roguish smile.

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Present-day:

The wizard acted as though the conversation the previous night had never happened. As for Albaric, he remained uncharacteristically quiet for the remainder of their journey. Ace wondered if something had transpired the night before, but decided not to ask. It didn't concern him now.

They continued their journey through the mist vale on the edge of dawn. Red clouds dissipated over the horizon and for a while brought warm sun. However, within a matter of hours, a dark rain cloud overtook the sun and brought down a midday shower.

They were at the foot of the mountain which embargoed the rest of the journey.

"We should wait till it dies down before starting the ascent," the wizard announced.

Ace expected Albaric to begin arguing. However, to his surprise, even this didn't incite him to say a word. He usually always insisted on going on regardless of the weather as he hated delay.

They decided to stop under the shelter of an ancient grove of trees. When they stopped, Ace noticed that he couldn't feel the rain falling anymore. He looked around the grove, but strangely the rain was still falling all around except where they were standing. He mentioned it to Bird who gave him a playful nudge and motioned to the wizard.

Ace stared at the wizard, who was sitting under a tree now engrossed in another book. Even when reading he could control his magic to such a degree? Wasn't that something only the sword saint was capable of?

When Ace was younger he read books about the great wizards and saints of the Empire. His books were few and read the same ones over and over. They were tales of when dragons and gods roamed the earth. There were no dragons anymore, but something of the old seemed to remain in the magic.

Ace hadn't realised how long he had been staring until the wizard caught his eyes. The wizard tilted his brown hair back with a smirk.

"Are you really so eager to start your training?"

"I didn't..." Before Ace could get the answer out, he was jettisoned back by a sudden blow to the stomach. He didn't raise where it had come from until he saw the wizard rise from his position and follow. Albaric stepped forward as he was about to intervene but then he stopped himself. Instead, he skulked off further into the forest without looking back. Bird tarried for a moment with a curious smile but was warded off by his master's gaze. He followed after Albaric with a disappointed huff.

The grass was slippery and the mud permeated through Ace's clothes as he found his way up.

"Can't you do anything nicely?" he questioned defiantly.

"You've had months of nice. Time to actually learn something," the wizard didn't move a finger, but Ace was rushed by another boom of water. This time, Ace managed to evade. However, it was short-lived.

The moment he stepped aside, another volley of liquid hit him. It was hard like the instance when you hit the surface of the water. It was also near impossible to evade as the rain itself provided the ammunition. Ace fell to one knee, he glared up at the wizard.

"What exactly can I learn from this?" he exclaimed in frustration.

"You tell me," the wizard replied coolly.

Ace tried to think. Yet with each hit, he couldn't help but believe the wizard was just trying to kill him. He was slammed against the floor of the forest where he lay for a moment trying to catch his breath. The blows were sharp at first but they didn't do any real damage. It was more the shock to the system, that cool and wet pain that made it impossible to retaliate.

Under the rain, the wizard was even more powerful. Too powerful. It was pointless to fight back. Ace closed his eyes waiting for the next hit. In its place something strange happened, a warm sensation began to build in his chest. It reminded him of the time he was healed. He could feel a barely tangible movement of energy.

All of a sudden, there was a popping sound. Ace's eyes shot open. To his surprise, his necklace was burning brightly. For a moment he was shielded from the wizard's magic. The warm feeling disappeared and even the rain was reflected from him.

Ace had never seen it react in that way. He was about to take a closer look when the wizard snatched the necklace from his neck.

"What are you doing?" Ace yelled.

The wizard wasn't listening. He was staring intently at the necklace. His eyes widening, he began to laugh.

"I knew it," he said to himself.

Ace dashed up from the ground, lunging for the necklace.

"Give it back!"

Without so much as a glance, the wizard spun around. As he did, he kicked Ace in the gut sending him flying back. This time the pain was real. Ace slammed into a tree and cradled his stomach. He never imagined the wizard had any real fighting prowess, after all, he hardly ever left his office.

All the same, the kick informed him otherwise. Ace's plight appeared to go unnoticed for several moments as the wizard continued a frantic survey of the necklace. Finally, he turned an unrepentant eye to Ace, apparently satisfied.

"Get up," the wizard instructed, "come here,"

Ace struggled to pull himself and glared at the wizard irate, his eyes not leaving the necklace.

"Keep your hands to yourself," he added as Ace approached.

Ace gritted his teeth as he reached the wizard's side.

"Will you give it back to me?" he demanded.

The wizard looked him over but simply placed the necklace in his pocket.

"What are you doing?!" Ace's voice rose.

"Patience," the wizard returned condescendingly. He held out his hands.

"Give me your hands,"

Ace stared at the wizard distrustfully. He half expected to receive another kick the moment he took the wizard's hands. However, his hesitation was met by the wizard hastily grabbing his hands.

"Now close your eyes and focus," the wizard commanded.

Ace shut his eyes sceptical of what the wizard had in store for him this time. At first, all was dark and he could still hear the rain falling around them. Then his mind began to wander. He found himself at a place that felt strangely familiar but that he no memory of.

Ace was standing by a shore looking out on a flat horizon as the sun eclipsed the sea. He suddenly became aware of another person standing beside who he had never seen before. It was a wrinkled old man with eyes burned yellow by the sun. His hair was brown and his skin was a leathery olive.

Ace couldn't help but stare at this strange old man standing beside him.

"Again!" the old man bellowed.

Ace jumped slightly out of surprise. He looked behind to see who the old man was addressing. A boy no older than ten stood adjacent from them. He had the same swarthy complexion as the old man. It might have been a son but the boy seemed too young.

As Ace looked at the boy's resentful and sullen eyes, he was immediately reminded of the wizard. Before Ace could investigate further, the boy suddenly thrust out his hand to the sea. At that time, a small wave was bounding over the sand. The instant the boy released his hand, the waves froze in place. It only lasted a moment and then they crashed back down against the shore.

The old man gave a grunt of annoyance.

"Useless!" he spat. He pivoted on his heels and stormed off leaving the child standing alone on the white sand.

Ace turned back to the child. His instinct was to offer some comfort. However, as he turned, the boy let out a scream of rage. This time, the waves were forced back beyond the shoreline. They formed a concave around the boy. A hollow dome filled where the water had been. The boy turned away angrily, his fist balled. He took no notice of Ace. He marched away with a look of unparalleled anger.

The moment the waves fell, Ace felt the splash across his face. He spluttered and coughed. His eyes were forced back to the mud lapped forest. He came to start and stumbled back. The wizard was still standing over him. His expression was unreadable as he observed Ace.

"What... just happened?" Ace stammered.

"Magic," the wizard smiled.