Survived

Alexander awoke in his bed, feeling grogginess and dizziness. 'My head is killing me. What happened last night?" Thought, trying to revive the diluted memories. Kahawai's hand blazing heat and cold water rushing over his body. His hand shot to his left shoulder, feeling nothing but skin and cloth.

"Breakfast is ready, Lex." Seraphinas voice sweetly sounded through his bedroom door. " You've been asleep this whole time. It's twelve o'clock. Didn't you have training with that Akamai guy. You were really adamant about it last night."

'Akamai? Kahawai or Kalani? Why would I train with them? Strange night, I must have been drugged at that bonfire.'

Alexander got dressed and finished his breakfast, telling his siblings by circumstance about the strange night. They laughed and agreed he was a little wacky when he came home.

A knock at the door paused their conversation. They weren't expecting anyone, and their caretaker was out doing shopping and things. They wouldn't be back for some time.

"Master Mortem?" He spoke through the door clearly and with a gravitas of a well trained butler. "I am Sir, Geralt, from the Akamai household. I have been sent to escort you to the residence. If you would be so kind as to accompany me."

A shocked expression appeared on Alexanders face. He was in no attire to greet a visitor, and his hair was messy from the night. But he stood up, wondering if this was a joke, and opened the door.

A grey haired gentleman with a serious countenance of a seasoned warrior greeted him. A wrinkly smile and kind eyes quickly took over as he recognized the youth. "Good, I had assumed I arrived at the wrong residence. An orphanage was the last thing I expected in the middle of the city."

"We all say the same, Mr, Sir Geralt," Seraphina said, sneaking under Alexanders arm.

"Oh my, aren't you adorable. Those eyes are quite spectacular, young miss. May I take this young man for the day?" He asked particularly for the protective glare in her eyes. He used as much charm as he could.

"How much?" She asked seriously. "If you want my approval, it takes capital."

"My, how, Cute. Extortion at such a young age. Here, it's all I have at the moment."

"Alexander, go with the man, will you. Be safe, and don't stay out too late," She said, shoving him out the door in his shorts and grey shirt, still counting the bills in her hand.

"Family," Alexander spat in exasperation.

"Shall we, Master Mortem? We are, some what, on a deadline." Geralt motioned towards the very expensive vehicle.

They arrived at a large Cliffside manor, built modern, with the latest in Greene Corp security. They drove through the gate, and Alexander was lead to a large dining hall. Five individuals ate a plethora of dishes made for them. Tea was served on silver, and food was served on gold.

Alexander sat, and Geralt excused himself to his duties as head butler.

Alexander had just eaten, but now he was suddenly hungry. Sausages, flapjacks, biscuits, and more sat on his plate. He ate a good portion before he was stuffed. 'Man being rich should be the standard.'

Max Greene watched Alexander with a unique curiosity. As the smartest kid in their class, he was astounded by this small pale kid, shoveling kilograms of food down. His watch beeped as he began inputting notes on Alexanders document.

'Subject has extraordinary stomach elasticity. Flag for further study.'

Kahawai strode in from a backdoor and happily escorted everyone to the open field behind the mansion. A large training field stretched in front of a nicely taken care of the forest. Training gear sat across the field, and weapons sat in nice rows under a dugout.

"This will be our training center. For the six of us, we will continue our own training. Alexander, I want you to train with the First Elder. He will start your foundation for magic, and then you will train with us later. Let's all remember what we're here for. Let's go!"

Kahawai showed him where the elder would arrive, and he sat down, relaxing himself. 'What happened last night for them to be so happy about helping me? Well, even though everyone is in gym gear. I still feel out of place. At least I'm learning magic from an actual teacher. Xavier was a great school, but they didn't teach anything beyond zero tier magic. This is my chance.'

"Alexander Mortem, as I live an breath. It's sort of an event destined by the spirits that we meet this day." Kelani, the great Elder of the Akamai, greeted Alexander. His dark long hair flowed with past his shoulders, spruced with grey, bronze skin marked with tattoos dipicting great battles, and symbols covered his body.

"Elder Kelani? It's an honor teacher." He clasped his hand and was pulled into an embrace.

"Call me Kelani. I've been looking forward to talking to the lad, who knocked my grandson out cold. That little so and so needed a peg taken out of him. Ever since he was meant to be royalty and having it denied him, he's handed a Kaokao stick shoved so far up his hidden cove that he's forgotten how to be a kid..."

'What did he say? I knocked who out?' Alexander questioned everything after a flash of a spell shot forward, dark and smoky, smacking against a shield of fire and light, blowing someone away.

"Well, let's see what we have here. Let's try and focus your energy on your core. You do know what a core is, right? It is the center of your magical abilities. A centering of the gathering of mana within your body, if that makes sense. Just focus on breathing in and visualize the five elements of mana entering your body."

A short time passed when Alexander felt the first incling of mana, fire, water, earth, air, light, and darkness swilred around his insides and settled as he breathed. He felt a space in his body that was empty, and he placed the swirlg mana there along his spine and next to his heart. He created his core innately,

"Good! Very good. It took Kahawai a week to make one. We may have a natural born. Here, see how I make the wind blow, and this fire spring from my fingertips. This is everyday magic. Everyone uses this like we breathe air and drink water. But when we force magic from our core, the wind turns into a gale, or the spark into a ferocious flame. The amount of mana we use matters, and to get their we need a large core."

Kelani demonstrated how to stretch and elongate his core. It would take years to get a large core, years that Kahawai and the rest have been practicing for years. He watched as he practiced his breathing and then sent him to train with the rest. Physical exercises are important to produce strong cores as well.

Alexanders physique had the tensile strength of paper, failing easily to Nakamuras faints and simple attacks. Over again, he ended on the ground.

Nakamura, the ever silent teacher, continued to practice as he got back up again and again. This was a first for Alexander. He felt happy to train seriously with them, his mind clear as he learned to fight with a sword.

'Left then right, block, step, step, and..ouch. I'm getting it, I'm somehow learning his moves. It's like a vision or simulation. The trajectory and angles are clear, and the moves are being engraved into my mind. I must be born for this!'

"That's it for today guys, good work. Everyone to the team room."

The team made their way to a sauna type room full of pillows and stayed a comfortable temperature. As soon as Alexander stayed in the room, the mana within him moved and accumulated in his core quicker.

"You feel it, right. That's the enchantments and the wood of the ancient forest. This room accumulates the mana flowing around, creating this effect." Max explained.

The effects were strong, the healing powers of light, warmth of fire, coolness of water, sturdiness of earth, rejuvenation of air, and the darkness surged, allowing his senses to hightan extreme. So strong was the effects of the room that he felt something other than darkness.

Memories flooded back to him as he took control of the mass. He was attacked, dumped into the sea, and brought back somehow.

He looked at the people around him and realized he was surrounded by lions, and he was as weak as any prey.

'I will survive.'