The Beginning Ch. 13-14

"You're drawing too much Power." Swati interjected, "Everyone does at first. Try tapering some of it off, till you feel like you have a better handle on it."

I did as she suggested, imagining myself walking out of the pool, till only my feet were in it. The raging river of energy slowly dropped in intensity, till it was nothing more than a thin stream, like something out of a barely-open faucet. It was much easier for me to control now, and I felt like I could direct it where I wanted it to go.

Focusing on my right hand, I pushed the energy into my right palm. As it gathered there, I became aware of something foreign right above it. It felt like a blank spot, a vacuum waiting to be filled. Focusing on that, I tried to push the Power into it, gasping as the vacuum started feeding on my magic.

The pebble in my hand started glowing brighter and brighter, and I smiled widely.

"I'm doing it!" I exclaimed, feeding it more magic, "I'm Wielding!"

All of a sudden, the pebble started heating up. It went from being cool to searing hot in an instant, and I hissed and dropped it as it burned my hand. Losing contact with the pebble didn't break the flow of magic, however, and it continued growing brighter and hotter, sizzling from its place on the forest floor.

"Like I told you," Swati said, "magic cannot violate the laws of the universe. Where there is light, there must be heat. As your Wielding grows more nuanced, you'll be able to use additional spells to counteract some of these effects. For example, a simple air spell could siphon off that excess heat, or even create a small buffer of air between your skin and the pebble."

I nodded my understanding, nursing my burnt palm.

"Now," Swati said, just as I was about to fire off a retort about how she should have warned me that could happen, "I want you to cut off the flow of magic to the pebble, and use it to heal your hand."

My brows furrowed as I considered how I would heal my hand, but since she didn't seem like she was going to tell me more, I sighed and closed my eyes. Focusing on the trickle of magic running through my body, I grabbed ahold of it, and yanked it away from the pebble. There was a little bit of resistance before the spell was cut off, the Power returning to rest in my palm.

While it was there, a sense of uneasiness, of wrongness prevailed, and I noticed that I somehow knew how to rectify it. Letting my instincts take over, I watched as the magic seemed to pull up what I could only call a "template" of the area it was gathered in, and superimpose it over my palm. As I fed more magic into it, the burn on my palm slowly faded away, returning to normal.

"Excellent!" Swati praised me, as I opened my eyes and showed her my healed palm. "Healing ourselves is the only way 'wild magic' can still be cast. Since it's within our bodies, the Seals don't seem to have an effect. You can heal minor injuries yourself, but more complex ones usually require a Healer to step in. Go ahead and check your pool of Power now."

"It's almost empty!" I exclaimed, shocked to see that most of the golden liquid was gone, barely any remaining at center of the pool.

"Healing yourself is expensive." Swati explained, "Don't worry about it too much, though. Your pool should fill back up after you eat and sleep. The longer you rest, the more time you have to accumulate more Power."

I nodded, relieved. Some part of me knew that my supply of magic couldn't be finite, but seeing the pool almost empty filled me with panic and despair.

"Let's head back." Swati said, turning around to lead the way, "We'll drop you home for today, and I'll help you power up what you need if you don't have the magic to do so. Don't get used to this, though; from tomorrow on, I'll expect you to manage how much Power you use, and to leave yourself with enough to run your household. Going to bed hungry or having to bathe in cold water is squarely on you, if you fail to do so."

I nodded my acceptance, even though I knew she couldn't see me over her shoulder. It was like Mr. Ray and Vaishnavi had said: Swati was tough, but fair. I knew she was going to be a hard teacher, but I welcomed it.

There was a lot I had to learn, but the sooner I did it, the sooner I could hunt down the last Dark who had attacked us, and end her.

"I will avenge you." I softly swore, as the forest swallowed us up again, "No matter what it takes, I will avenge you."

Chapter 14- A Dinner Date

13^th February, 2013

7:16 p.m.

Forest around the Academy

It was pitch black by the time we stepped onto the lit path through the forest again. I had no idea how Swati knew her way through the rest of the dark forest, but she'd somehow managed to lead us back to the path more travelled. We continued walking in silence, occasionally passing other people, a lot of whom greeted her cordially, a few others in white even stopping to give her a reverent bow.

To my surprise, not everybody we passed looked like they were of Indian heritage. As we got closer to the residential area, we encountered an increasing number of people, and the true scale of how diverse the population of the Academy really was, began to sink in. While a majority of the people were clearly of Asian descent, a number of other races were represented, too. I commented as much, and Swati looked at me quizzically.

"Did you really think everybody here would be Indian?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

"I guess not." I replied, "I mean, I knew that my parents were raised and trained here, as was Mr. Ray, so I guess I knew at some level that people of other ethnicities would be here, as well. I suppose I was just thrown off since everybody I've actually met since getting here has been Indian."

"To be fair," she said, "most of the people you've met have been from the same family."

"How so?" I asked, confused.

"You've met the Dean, Rishi Vashistha, his granddaughter, Vaishnavi, and his great-grandkids, Rahul and Sneha. The only other people you've interacted with are myself and Vince, though meeting him was more of an accident."

"Umm, what? Vaishnavi is the Dean's granddaughter? How... I mean, I know how, obviously, but isn't he like a sage? Aren't sages and priests barred from having kids? Also, isn't he like ancient? How is Vaishnavi that young, then?"

"Oh, look," Vince commented, shooting me a sneer, "more questions from the child."

His constant derision was starting to really get on my nerves. I could feel the rage boiling up inside me, but, before I could do anything stupid, I felt a hand clasp my shoulder. Turning around, I saw Mr. Ray standing behind me, smiling widely as he squeezed my shoulder.

"How did today go, Swati?" he asked, "As someone who's taught young Chris here, I know he can be a bit of a handful as a student." He winked at me, and I smiled back at him, wondering when I'd ever given him trouble in his class.

"It went as expected, Acharya." Swati answered, inclining her head.

"How could you have taught Acharya Swati?" I asked Mr. Ray, "I thought only Tier 1 Wielders could train potential Tier 1s."

"The tier system is far from perfect," he replied. "It's based on comparative strengths, so some people can initially be assigned to a different tier, but be reassigned later. Most Tier 1 Wielders start off in Tier 3 or Tier 2, only rising up to Tier 1 as they unlock the full extent of their magic. There have only been a handful of Wielders throughout history, who have clearly been Tier 1s from the very beginning.

"As for Vaishnavi and Rishi Vashisth, sages in India are allowed to marry and have children. Rishiji has fathered over a dozen children over the course of his life, with Vaishnavi being his youngest granddaughter. Any other questions you have, you can ask her yourself. We've been invited to her house for dinner. Swati, Vince, you're welcome to join in, as well."

"Thank you, Acharya," Swati said, "but we'll take a rainchecks on that."

"Very well." Mr. Ray responded, turning to me, "Shall we head out, Chris?"

I nodded, though I was left a little confused when he turned around to head back towards the forest. Waving goodbye to Swati and Vince, I hurried after him, walking briskly to catch up.

"Umm, Mr. Ray-"

"Chris, please, call me 'Ronald'. You're not in my classroom any longer, and considering everything you now know about my relationship with your father, I hope you can understand that I see you as family. I know that we don't have much of a relationship yet, but I hope that we can work together to change that during your time here, and that, in time, you come to consider me the same way."

To say that I was taken aback, would be a massive understatement. Deep down, there was a part of me that had accepted the fact that my parents, my only family was dead and gone, and that I was all alone in the world. Knowing that Randal and Mathias were still a part of that world tempered the despair that caused, sure, but even with our shared past, thinking of them as family wasn't something I had even remotely considered. Hearing Mr. Ray— Ronald— say that forced me to reconsider that line of thought, shaking me to my core.

"Are you alright, Chris?" he asked, concernedly, breaking through my internal monologue.

"I am." I said, with a morose smile, "You've just given me a lot to think about."

We walked in silence for a while, before I realized that we were heading farther and farther away from the residential area.

"Ronald," I called, a little awkwardly, unused to referring to him by name, "where are we going? The residences are back that way, aren't they?"

"Vaishnavi doesn't live within the Academy." he replied, which was all I got out of him.

We walked through the forest in comfortable silence for some time, passing fewer and fewer people as we moved farther away from the residences, and off the illuminated path. As the noise from the humans started to die down, the sounds of the forest slowly crept in. Though I'd been a "city boy" all my life, and the mere mention of a camping trip would have seen me barricading myself in my room, a scant three weeks ago, I was suddenly enchanted by all of it.

Leaves rustling in the wind; crickets chirping all around me; the faint sound of running water carrying through the trees; slivers of moonlight breaking through the canopy, sending shadows dancing through the night; the smell of wet soil and green; the cool, slightly humid air brushing across my skin; the forest completely dominated my senses, and contrary to expectation, I loved it. I felt oddly peaceful, a slow warmth building in my chest and spreading across my body.

"Chris!" Mr. Ray suddenly cried, "You need to stop!"

"Huh?" I slurred, slightly groggy and unfocused for some reason, "What do I need to stop?"

"Chris," Mr. Ray said, suddenly holding my face and forcing me to look him in the eye, "I need you to listen to me very carefully. You've started draining the life out of everything around you. You need to realize what you're doing and stop."

It was getting increasingly harder for me to understand what he was saying. My train of thought was like a slippery eel, and it seemed like the world was spinning around me.

"Chris," Mr. Ray said, again, slower this time, "can you understand what I'm saying?"

I nodded, the sensation of the calluses on his palms rubbing across my smooth cheeks causing me to giggle.

"Good." he continued, "I need you to go to the source of your magic."

"Cave pool!" I exclaimed, giddily.

"Yes, your 'cave pool'." he said, a hint of fear coloring his voice, "I need you to go there and tell me what you see. Can you do that?"

I nodded again, my brain somehow comprehending what he wanted me to do. Trudging through the treacle of my thoughts, I somehow managed to envision myself in my "cave of Power". As soon as I found myself standing in there, I sobered up, my thoughts clear and unhindered once more.

"Mr.- Ronald!" I shouted, hoping he could hear me, even though we weren't in a shared mindscape, "I'm at the pool!"

"Good," his voice resounded around me, "now tell me what you see."

I looked around, unsure of what he expected me to see. Everything looked normal, except—

"There's a thick glowing line," I called, "like a pipe, running through the cave and into the pool. It— it seems to be refilling the pool, refilling my magical reserves. The pool is overflowing! How is that possible?!"

"I'll explain everything later." he replied, "Just follow the pipe and try to shut it off."

Taking one last look at the pool and the "water" spilling out of it and seeping across the cave, I figuratively set off, following the glowing pipe. As soon as my focus shifted away from my core, the fogginess returned. Battling it, I continued following the pipe, which led to the lower half of my body and, I surmised, to my feet.

Focusing my attention there, I could sense Power flowing into my body from the outside.

I tried willing it to stop, but that didn't work. Remembering that visualization was key, I imagined a blade of some sort cleaving through the pipe. Other than a slight bit of resistance, I cut straight through the pipe.

The flow of magic abruptly stopped, and I felt myself flying through the air. I had a strong flash of déjà vu as I slammed into a tree, my eyes popping open as the air whooshed out of my lungs.

"Are you okay?" Mr. Ray asked, running over and helping me up, a bright light-stone hovering behind him.

"I think so." I wheezed, standing up shakily, still a little unsteady on my feet. Looking around, I noticed that the forest to either side of the path we'd taken seemed dull, the grass along our path brown and dead. "What happened?"

"I think we just discovered one of your Gifts," he answered, "'Pan's Bounty'. It allows a Wielder to absorb the life force of the flora around them, and use it to bolster their own Power reserves. It's a rare Gift, one that isn't shared by any living Wielder, to the best of my knowledge. What's most surprising about you having it, is that it's a Gift that's only ever manifested within the Greek lineage."

"I don't understand."

"Neither do I, Chris. Your grandmother on your mother's side was of Greek lineage, but your mother was an Indian Wielder, as are you. Your manifestation of Pan's Bounty is either a fluke, or our entire understanding of Gifts is flawed."

"Is tipsiness a side effect of the Gift?" I asked, still wobbly on my feet.

"No, you're literally drunk on Power." he said, handing me a smooth oval stone, "Channel the excess magic into this, and you should be alright."

Closing my eyes, I pushed through the vertigo and returned to my core. Like before, the cotton stuffing my head dissipated as soon as I was in the cave. Due to the influx of Power, I didn't even have to step into the pool in order to tap into my magic. It was also easier for me to sense the stone in my hand.

Unlike the pebble Swati had made me power up earlier, this one felt stronger, like it could hold a lot more magic. I started funneling Power into it, but nothing happened. The stone absorbed my magic, yes, but there was no effect that I could sense. In a matter of seconds, the stone ate up all excess Power within me, and I slowly cut off the flow. My pool was almost full now, so I opened my eyes, looking at Mr. Ray inquisitively.

"That's a battery." he said, pointing at the stone in my hand, "Certain materials can absorb and store Power for varying durations. Warriors often use them, storing a bit of Power everyday over a long period of time. That way, they can draw on them while in battle, if their own internal reserves ever run too low. All of our abodes have them as well, which is how everything inside runs."

"Thank you," I replied, moving to return the stone to him, "I feel okay, again. That was an... interesting experience."

"Keep it." he said, curling my fingers around the stone, "Once a Wielder uses a battery, nobody else can use it until it's drained. This one should hold any excess Power you pick up until you learn to get Pan's Bounty under control. I'll appraise Swati of the situation as well."

"What if you hadn't been here to stop me?" I asked.

"Just like low reserves of Power are dangerous," he answered, "so is an excess of Power. If you'd continued absorbing it, you would have exploded. Literally."

"Okay," I winced, "I need to get a handle on that, as soon as I can!"

He nodded reassuringly, and after checking that I was alright to continue, we resumed walking. Mr. Ray showed me how to create a small pouch on the inside of the waistband on my pants, which served as a great place to store the battery, as well as any future casting media I created.

A short while later, we were standing in front of a set of massive, unadorned gates. Towering over everything around them, they were one solid expanse wrought out of a black metal, a thin, barely visible line the only indication that they were two halves of a whole. I could feel the magic radiating off them.

When opened, they'd allow twenty people to walk through abreast, but there was a smaller door, a manway, set into the right gate. We made a beeline for that door.

"These gates are the only way into and out of this dimension." he explained.

As we neared the manway, I saw that there was some sort of free-standing panel off to the left of it. On closer inspection, I saw that the panel had three buttons. The first two sported the insignias of the Greek and Roman Academies, respectively, and the third featured a motif of the Earth.

"This is how you pick where you'd like to go," Mr. Ray continued, "though you only have three options. The first button takes you to the Greek Academy, the second to the Roman, and the third to the point on Earth this dimension is anchored to."

"I expected magical portals or teleportation spells to be a thing," I said. "This seems rather mundane, in the grand scheme of things."

"Magic can't supersede reality, remember?" he reminded me. "Portals and teleportation are phenomena that simply don't exist. They have been conceptualized, sure, and some scientists theorize that wormholes instantaneously connect two points across space, and numerous other workarounds like faster-than-light travel do exist in the realm of theory, but so far, no Wielders have managed to actually perform these feats.

"That being said, new spells are being discovered or invented every day, so there's nothing stopping us from having those spells in the future. Who knows, you may even be the one to discover them!"

"What about something like the spell that our plates are enchanted with?" I asked, "How is something like that within the realm of reality?"

"Oh, now that's one complex spell!" Mr. Ray exclaimed, "I genuinely have no idea how your mother even figured it out! It uses all four elements in a mind-bending combination that somehow reads over a million molecules that are embedded into the same medium as the spell— usually an iron disc— and uses them to reconfigure more ambient molecules to form your food.

"What's even more ingenious about it is that while a similarly intricate spell would usually drain a Tier 1 Wielder— even one as strong as Vaishnavi— your mother devised a workaround that stores all the energy produced by the spell itself, in a perfect battery that's embedded in the same disc. Thanks to that, each disc is a massive Power drain the first time, yes, but after that, they require about as much Power as levitating a pebble. No crazy explosions of energy, no massive drains of magic, and a spell that everybody can use!"

"I wish I'd known her back then, and dad, too." I murmured, looking off into the distance as I thought about how little I know about my parents.