9 CHAPTER 9: Clay

A dull yellow, striped Currtor arrived at the servants quarters 2 hours after Emblaze had left. Alexa Claire reluctantly handed over the letter to Wolfe who was excited beyond imagination.

Soon after Emblaze had left, Wolfe had explained the situation to his parents who, to his surprise, were immediately on board. Their only request was that Wolfe doesn't get into any trouble while he was there since it would spell doom for the rest of the family, and possibly for every other servant.

Wolfe couldn't help but break into tears at the thought of leaving his parents for 4 years. He still had a month to enjoy their company, but it felt way too less compared to the time he would spend away. Zychs allowed its students to take a month-long vacation twice a year, but Wolfe couldn't afford the travel and would have to stay back in his dorm. His only chance of coming back to meet his parents was if Haik sponsored his travel expenses. But Wolfe had a feeling that requesting Haik for that would not go very well.

The instructions laid out in the letter were clear as day. Wolfe would report outside of the Vilhorm mansion at 5:45 A.M. sharp and meet up with Emblaze. He would then run for 15 minutes without a break to develop his stamina.

After a 5 minute break, Emblaze would begin the day's lesson, which would end at 2 P.M. after which Wolfe would return to his room and bathe. He would then continue with his usual mansion duties.

Each week would be used to raise Wolfe to the successive rank. A total of four major techniques would be taught along with greater mastery over his element.

Night fell upon Zodia and Wolfe finally fell asleep after a long day of wondering what the upcoming month would be like. Even as sleep took him, the bizarre series of events that took place that day did not leave his mind.

A hen's call signaled that it was 5 A.M., awakening many of Zodia's citizens. Wolfe slept until 5:15 before getting out of bed. He cast a small flame atop his hand to guide him through the dark room since the sun hadn't risen yet. Carefully making his way through the room, he changed clothes and freshened up before leaving the building at 5:30 A.M.

Wolfe arrived at the designated spot 5 minutes prior to the appointed time. Emblaze arrived at 5:45 sharp just like he had mentioned in the letter. The two ran at a slow pace before picking up their speed during the last 5 minutes. Emblaze, a few metres ahead of the staggering Wolfe who nearly fell with every step.

By the time they reached the training spot, Wolfe was sweating more than he ever had before. His arms and legs burned with searing fatigue as he lay down on the muddy ground while breathing heavily. A sharp pain stabbed at his lungs as the cold air entered through his nose and spread through his body.

Emblaze laughed gleefully at the pitiable site of Wolfe, and Wolfe couldn't help but reciprocate the feeling since he knew Emblaze wasn't laughing mockingly, but rather in an oddly encouraging manner. The five minute break was quickly burnt through and the two stood face to face, Wolfe's perking ears ready to take in any wisdom thrown at him.

"For the first week we will focus on increasing the output of your firepower so show me the maximum you can muster up right now."

With clear instructions and an even clearer goal in mind, Wolfe concentrated his will into his palm. Since he had to show the limit of his power he decided not to focus on controlling the spread of the flame. He let go of any barricades he had set for himself in his mind, and manifested a flame greater than he ever had.

Emblaze couldn't help but exclaim at the alarming size of the blaze before him as it lit up its surroundings.

The flame that rose out of Wolfe's palm extended only up to a measly one and a half feet. Wolfe, who had expected a larger flame, looked down in embarrassment. He had set such high expectations for himself but had forgotten that he had never really used his flames in such a way. The flux of emotion caused the flame to waver and eventually extinguish.

Seeing the defeated nature exude from Wolfe, Emblaze remarked. "Just as expected."

Wolfe felt attacked by this statement, but waited for Emblaze to continue before making any assumptions.

"From the story you told me, your firepower was originally much greater than it currently is. The only plausible reason for this drastic decrease could be the fact that you weren't trained to use your powers as a child.

"Imagine the magical powers are a mound of hot moldable clay. When a child manifests them for the first time, the heat within the clay is at its maximum. This allows one to influence the magic very easily and that is why many children see sudden growth in their abilities at early stages. But this excess heat can also cause the molded piece to melt, which is what happens when the child's training is stopped at an early point. This plasticity is lost as one grows older and to conceptualise just think of the clay losing heat and solidifying. Since you never practiced as a child, your 'clay' has been losing its heat at a constant rate and is close to going cold.

"Luckily you're only 16," Emblaze retorted as he watched Wolfe's expression go grim. "Your 'clay' is still fairly warm and can be molded quite a bit." Relief washed over Wolfe as Emblaze paused.

"Now that you understand this, it's time for us to work on the issue at hand. The first problem is letting go of any doubt. The core antagonist to one's growth is the malicious self-doubt that can easily plague their mind. While it may sound easy, letting go of all your anxiety and uncertainty can be really difficult for many people since they themselves don't understand why such feelings plague them.

"An easier way of visualising it is to think about all the impurities that reside within your 'clay'. Let's say that these impurities are small rocks or pebbles. Removing them will make it easier for us to work with the clay and easily shape it into what we want."

Wolfe understood clearly. The clay analogy helped him picture Emblaze's words quicker than he would have without it. "But even if I'm able to identify these feelings, how do I get rid of them? It's one thing to understand why you feel some way, but a completely different thing to somehow come to terms with it."

Emblaze smiled at Wolfe's query. He was hoping the boy would question him.

"How about you figure that out by yourself? I give you 3 days to find the answer by yourself. If you do, then I'll reward you handsomely. But if you don't, then I'll just give it to you, but it will cost you a pretty penny. If you can't pay for the answer, then I'll step down as your teacher."

Wolfe was flabbergasted at the unfair proposal,and reluctantly decided to give it a shot. Like he had any other option anyways. This sense of pseudo-determination did not go unnoticed by Emblaze, who had an expression of insanity plastered over him.

"Yes, Wolfe." Emblaze thought to himself as his curious nature quickly took over his insane mind. "Show me what you're capable of. Show me what great mind lies beneath that frail physique of yours."