Dual Innate Elements

Xavier was sent to his room to rest after the ordeal he'd experienced. The next day he went to his lessons feeling a sense of restlessness. Being grounded from using his magic was not sitting well with him. He was tempted to try to learn the use of his magic secretly but remembering his father's face he knew he had been serious about sealing his magic until he was eighteen. A month or two was a lot less time than eleven years.

Soon Xavier arrived at his mathematics lesson. Mr. Mortenson looked up at him as he entered the room. As soon as Xavier saw Mr. Mortenson's face, he knew that his father told his tutor what he had done.

"You didn't listen to my warning. I know that your father already told you the potential consequences you could have experienced had anything gone wrong. I won't repeat any of that but in addition to your father's restrictions on your magic use I also won't be teaching you any more about formations for the same amount of time." Mr. Mortenson silently wrote a series of math problems for Xavier to solve.

Xavier went through the problems rather quickly. Mr. Mortenson sent him away without a word. Xavier found his tutor's disappointment worse than his father's anger. At least with his father he knew that he would forgive him eventually. Being his father, he had to. His tutor didn't have to forgive him and that's what worried Xavier most.

Xavier went to the obstacle course with dread going through him. If his tutor had been made aware of what he'd done then his mother most certainly had. He arrived at the obstacle course to find his mother there in a new battle suit. The obstacle course behind her had been remodeled to have a small sparring stage at the end of the course.

"The rules are the same. You have fifteen minutes to get to the end of the course. A new rule has been added though. At the end of the course, you will now have to face me in hand-to-hand combat. Until you've gotten to the point where you can finish the course in the prescribed time and defeat me in hand to hand, you'll do this every day until you can." Xavier's mother's voice was ice cold. He had never heard his mother's voice sound so chilling, so enraged.

Her brows came together. "What are waiting for? Get going !" His mother's voice spurred Xavier to begin sprinting through the obstacle course.

At the end of the course Xavier stepped into the sparring ring to find his mother waiting with a bo staff. "You will be considered to have won if you can disarm me, force me out of this ring, or force me to admit defeat." With that as the only sign of warning Xavier's mother attacked.

Nearly an hour later Xavier's mother took pity on him and allowed him to leave the ring. He was battered, bruised, and barely able to walk. He made his way into the bathroom and started a much-needed hot shower. Finally, he made his way into the dining hall for dinner. Both his mother and father were already there waiting on him.

"Sit down and join us Xavier. We've been just been talking about you." His father gestured for him to sit down.

His mother remained silent as the servant's set dinner in front of them. Xavier looked at his mother. "Are you planning to hate me forever mother?"

"Hate you? Is that what you think I'm feeling right now? You're wrong. What I'm feeling at the moment is extreme aggravation. I love you and that's why from now on I'll be pushing you as hard as I can in your training." His mother smiled at him in a way that made him nervous.

"You have to understand that this is an immensely dangerous world. Part of my role as your mother is to prepare you for it." She smiled, "As unforgiving as this world is, I find that I'm going to have to be particularly harsh to you to properly prepare you for it."

Xavier frowned in response. "I thought that a mother's role was just to love their child."

She laughed. "I suppose so. In a way though you can see my teaching you as the ultimate form of love. I'm teaching you to defend yourself so that you'll survive. Just think of it this way, the more I love you the harder I'll push you."

Xavier was stunned by his mother's response. "That doesn't sound rational at all."

His father smiled at the side. "I think that you'll find a parent's love for their child is defined as an irrational feeling of protectiveness for their offspring. The key word there being irrational. Don't expect there to be logic in our actions to prepare you for the world. You won't understand until you become a parent yourself."

"Let's move on from this. I've told your mother about your dual innate elements. I'm thinking of telling Mr. Mortenson as well. He's been a friend to our family for nearly a century. What do you think?" His father asked him.

Xavier hesitated. From what his father had said last night his dual innate elements was a pretty major talent to have. After all intermediate mages who had two elements made up the rank and file of the world's military mages. They had only two elements at their disposal. It was their versatility that gave them the real edge in combat.

Xavier already had this advantage. There were many cases of primary mages who took a full decade of training to achieve the intermediate level. Xavier was skipping a decade's worth of training and once he did make it to the intermediate level he would have as many elements as an advanced mage. Advanced mages were generally majors or colonels in the army. Really outstanding advanced mages might even be promoted to general.

Xavier's dual innate elements was therefore a rare occurrence that many forces would be ecstatic to control. All that extra power and only having to put forth half of the effort. Considering the lengths some might go to for such a talent telling someone else was an enormous risk. Xavier thought about if for some time before he finally nodded. From what he knew Mr. Mortenson may as well be family at this point.

"I think that it would be a very good idea. Mr. Mortenson is linked to our family's very beginning. I think we can trust him with this as well." Xavier nodded his head in finality.

His father smiled and nodded in return. "I'm glad you think so too. I just wish you would put some forethought like that in all of your actions rather than just this one. You should get some rest. Tomorrow you'll add your punishment into your regiment."