Plans in Motion Pt.2

Lenard Geldstein, Month 10, Day 17, Year A.F 652. The city of Rosalia, Kingdom of Rosalia.

The morning sun bears down at me as I stood within training halls the castle has, I huff heavily as I raise my arm erecting a barrier of stone, I brace for impact as the explosion erupts in front of me, flinging me backwards

Dammit, there's such a huge gap between us. I look to Bishop Orvin as he gives me a small smile, "If you cannot take a spell head-on, it is best to dodge on the side."

I spit out blood as I stood up, I look at him in question, "How are you this good while being younger than me."

He folds his arm together as he spoke in a matter of fact tone, "The Church of Deia takes talented children all throughout the continent."

He summons water to his hand, "They teach us magic, from the moment we reach the age of four, we will invest countless hours and resources in refining our magic."

A smile graces his lips, "My proficiency in magic was gained in such a way that, it would seem inhumane to those that are unable to understand our methods."

I cough in shock, the Church of Deia has always been an enigma within the continent of Brieslin. Perhaps, we should have left it that way, certainly with the way they seem to practice their religion.

I shake my head at the thought. No, the Devus believers look down on anything that isn't a demon. It is only the Church of Deia that allows a certain degree of freedom to those that are non-demon, half-breeds like me.

A few coughs after, I decide to stand up once more, readying my sword for another bout of battle. He smirks as he waves his hand, ten fireballs blasts towards me.

I dodge to the side as a fireball explodes where I stood, I raise my arm in a flourish with water blocking my right side, mitigating the blast of air the explosion did.

He prepares another volley, seeing this chance, I dash forward. He notices my movement and he blasts away with air, I summon a fireball to follow him up the air.

He smirks as slashes his hand down, summoning a downdraft. My fireball exploded in front of me, blasting me away.

I look up at the sky as I allow the dizziness to dissipate. How am I supposed to win against this? I sat up as I spoke, "How exactly do you lose?"

He lowers down to the ground, his expression crunched in a fit of confusion, he shakes his head before he spoke, "Exhaustion, surprise and melee combat, those are perhaps my greatest weaknesses."

I nod my head in thought before shouting, "So I'm not gonna win then!?"

I shout in frustration, it's been two years since this training started. All I've been doing was gaining experience in fighting against him. Despite all that, I barely scratched the surface.

Orvin chuckles, "You will, after all, the ArchBishop has agreed in allowing you to learn Deia's ways. and with the experience you have gained, you are more than capable of using it effectively."

That sounds like a lot of trouble, but with the rate this kingdom is going, I'll probably need all the help that I can get. Helps from one of its greatest powers, despite his lack of showing it. Though I better know what I'm getting into, there are only a few weeks till my marriage, Id rather not have any mishaps by then.

"What exactly are Deia's ways?"

He taps his chin in thought as he mutters to himself, "How do I explain this."

His eyes shine in amusement and I feel my stomach sink, "That could perhaps work,"

Orvin then raises his finger, acting as if a teacher and a student, I roll my eyes before he spoke, "Now listen well, my student."

He raises his hand, "There are three things that gauge a person's capability in magic,"

He raises an eyebrow as he looks to me in question, "I'm sure you've learned of this? Right?"

I shrug, a bit curious of Eriva's view on magic, "I'd rather hear it from you again."

"OK, as you wish."

He raises a finger, "The First gauge of magic is a person's total capacity. The amount of magic a person has within them, this is where us demons are exceptional."

A gust of air blew as he reaches his hand forward, the air blowing at his command, "Demons are the ones with the largest capacity for magic. This can be increased with age and training, but the training tends to be more effective, the younger one is."

Then that means, there's no way I can increase my capacity in any meaningful way, at least on the time I have left, before disaster strikes.

Another finger was raised, "The second is the total magic one can effectively put out,"

He walks to the ground, "This can be determined by how much magical output, you can throw out."

With a flourish, ten fireballs appear behind him, "For example me, I can put out hundreds of fireballs right now, but with my capacity, a few thousand is possible."

"Yet, I cannot." He looks at me with a smile.

A thousand? that is enough firepower to burn this capital into the ground. I sigh in frustration, after all, how can a king protect his kingdom, if men like this exist.

He notices this and misunderstood my frustration before he spoke, "It only means, you haven't trained enough to do so."

A weight presses upon me as the realization of what the training could entail.

The third finger was raised, "Now, for the last one would be the magic's effectiveness."

The words capture my attention, I admit that I have heard of the first two, yet the third one seems to be something never taught, even by the best scholars of Rosalia.

"This one is control and speed,"

I listen intently, as he continued, "A magic is only useful once it hits its target. Each barrage a waste, if you miss."

He then orders the fireballs around him to spin, the atmosphere turns hot and heavy as he walked towards me, "The control and accuracy can only be improved through a method, methods which countless families have created and perfected.

He points to me, "A method the Church of Deia has deigned to teach you."

I swallow dryly as the weight of his bare down on me, they plan on teaching me a method the Church of Deia has hidden for centuries, which means they plan on investing more into this than I originally thought.

Orvin steps back, "Now, which time do you wish to start?"

I look to him in confusion, "Start in what?"

"Training, of course."

"And what exactly does this training entail."

A grin crawls up his lip before he immediately hides it away, something which I didn't fail to notice. What training is it going to be if he gets this excited?

"Apologies, this might be hard for you, but I shall try to extend you a hand."

His word makes me stop as a thousand thoughts flow through my mind and I spoke with worry, "What will I have to prepare."

He shakes his head, "I shall make all the preparation, you should instead prepare your will, for it shall be tested."

"Cant you at least tell me, what you're going to make me do."

His expression turns sombre, "You are going to expose yourself to the elements,"

I look at him in shock and confusion, "Excuse me?"

"It is as I said, you will be exposed to the elements," he closes his eyes, seemingly imagining his own training, "You will walk through flames, feeling it lick you."

His eyes turns steely, "You will walk through Ice, each step a freezing nightmare."

"You are to fall from the sky, feeling the wisps of air, passing through every inch of your skin." He spoke with resolution as he walks away.

"And you shall be buried beneath the earth, crawling your way out as a Demon with enough power to control the element in mere thought."

The words freeze me in fear, each one a seeming death sentence. He walks away and I shout to him, "Are you serious!?"

"Unfortunately, yes." His sombre tone, expressing his own experience in it.

I laid back down to the dirt arena and I wonder if any of this will ever be worth it. Then again, I don't have much choice in the matter now.

"Um, My Prince, there are still appointments in regard to your wedding preparations."

Albert's voice pulls me out of my reverie as I stood back up, a day has to move on.

"Yeah, have a bath prepared, then send the seamstress to me."

"Yes, My Prince."

I look back to Orvin to see him walking to Father's office. I resolve myself as I continue on, ready to finish my preparations

"Oh, and Albert have the plans been going smoothly?"