Chapter Six

"Magic originates from your inner self. The trigger is different for everyone. Rielen, you will learn this in your individual studies." Mr. Rend pulled down a chart and pointed at a silhouette of a human body.

"Researchers claim that your magic, or mana, is stored at the center of your abdomen. Here. The nature of magic you use is based on the type of mana you have. 

Fiore has fire magic, so we distinguish this as her having red mana. It helps to envision the mana you have as a color. There are some instances where people have more than one type of mana."

He continued, "It can be hard to detect. What will manifest first is the type of mana you have more of. Mages can often go years before realizing that more than one type of mana exists within themselves. While all mages can do basic type spells."

Mr. Rend went on, "The way in which they work is different based on the type of mana you possess. While fire mages can simply wish fire into being, a nature mage can simply warm the wick of a candle to start a fire. It is more difficult for the nature mage, but not impossible.

It is important to realize that many tasks can be accomplished by many types of mana. It's about understanding how they are accomplished that will allow you to have the edge you need if you ever find yourself in battle. In this class, we study all the different types of mana, and how they work."

He told the class, "So that you can be prepared in any situation. In your individual studies, you will practice the use of your magic. Provided you're creative enough, you can do almost any task with your mana alone."

Mr. Rend gave the girls examples of each of the different types of mana. The other girls were answering his questions easily, while Rielen was floundering just to understand it all.

When he was done lecturing, Mr. Rend assigned them reading and a small paper to write for the next day. They had thirty minutes before the next bell. 

Rielen managed to finish reading and writing her essay before she had to leave for Exercise. She packed as many of the books as she could into her bag and lifted the rest in her arms.

'When am I going to find time to read all of this?' she wondered.

The attendants were waiting at the door for each of the girls. 

Hyla took the bag and books, and the girls were led to their rooms, where uniforms were laid out for them. Hyla pinned Rielen's hair down to her head and helped her change.

Once again, Trina was waiting for her, and they headed to a courtyard outside the East Wing. 

This time, their instructor was a young man, dressed in the palace guard uniform. They started out with stretches.

They were difficult for Rielen, as she had little to no experience with exercise, aside from running in the woods with Eon. 

They were to run laps after stretching. She soon found herself out of breath, trying to keep pace with the other girls. Trina noticed the trailing pace and slowed her pace down to match Rielen's.

"I promise it gets easier." She gave a side smile and helped her stretch again when they had finished laps. 

The Exercise Instructor said, "You can call me Cal. I am just here to see your physical training. We need to assess your physical skills." 

With that, he led Rielen through several exercises.

'I am definitely going to feel this in the morning.' However, she still managed to do everything he asked, though with some difficulty. 

The entire time they were working through the exercises, Cal was writing down things on a piece of paper he had produced out of his pocket.

"Ok. Each of you, pair off," he said, before turning in her direction. "Rielen, you are with me." 

She stared curiously at the other girls as they began to spar with each other.

"Learning to train yourself physically is important to the amount of mana you can produce," Cal told her.

"Some mages will be deployed to the military. So we train all Selected in the art of combat. You girls get extensive training because of the difference we find when it comes to strength." 

Rielen gritted her teeth at that comment. It was true. The boys from her town had often been much stronger. 

The training today dealt heavily with being able to use her legs. They ached with each kick.

She was slowly being covered in bruises. Just as she thought she couldn't handle it anymore, the bell rang. 

"Do stretches before bed, and after you get up," Cal said, then left them quickly, as if he was never really there, to begin with. 

Trina led Rielen to her room. Hyla whistled at the quickly blooming bruises left on her body from Cal's harsh training.

"I am glad I procured herbs for your afternoon bath." 

She helped Rielen peel off her Exercise uniform and gently put her into the bath. She gasped at the burning sensation caused by the herbs being used to help improve circulation. 

Hyla helped her wash. She pulled out a tub of ointment and rubbed it into Rielen's bruises. Numbness took over, for which she was grateful.

"It has been spelled to heal light wounds," Hyla murmured to her. 

Bruises that had already turned a dark purple began fading almost instantly.

'I wonder what kind of magic made this ointment,' Rielen mused.

'Thinking back on the lecture from this morning, Mr. Rend hadn't mentioned anything about healing magic. Most of the lecture was on combat magic. I wonder if I will learn about it in my individual studies?'

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