Elevation of Mana Chapter 13 Training Montage

I had several days of what could only be described as frustrating training. Elaya, for all that she kept an eye on me, and made sure that I wasn't doing anything stupid, was pretty bad at answering questions. She didn't know where magic came from, or how it worked, or why, or any of the stuff that I really needed to know. At the very least she didn't pretend to know things she didn't, which was refreshing having had a public school education.

"So, you need to observe the fire and how it moves. See how it goes up, always seeing higher places. See how it needs fuel and air to grow. By learning all we can about it our magic using fire will get stronger. You must focus on how fire works when you use it in your magic."

"Why?" I asked.

"Why what? Why does fire do these things? I'm not sure," Elaya said.

"No, why is it that we need to think about how fire is for us to use it better?" I clarified.

"Oh, I don't know. There are a few people who've tried to figure that out, but so far as I know none has come with a good reason. It isn't like that for everyone though, people like your mother and father use a very different method."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, your mother needs to do what she thinks is right, but she can only change things that are alive," Elaya told me. "And your father needs to... feel it, understand it more through feeling and sensation than thought."

"But why?" I continued.

She shrugged. "I don't know. Your mother is a Believer, and your father a Performer, and that's just how they are. We on the other hand are Thinkers, at least that's how I name things. In other places they're called other things."

"I want to know how it all works though, and why us," I complained.

"Then try to find out later, I'd like to know to, so if you figure it out come and tell me. Back to fire now though," she continued on.

There wasn't a lot for her to teach me about things like fire. I understood it very well, the chemical reactions and why it moved up, and what it was. All this was basic science, and she was quite frankly just ignorant about some things, particularly the whys.

"And you know the most important thing about fire?" She asked after her explanation was done.

"To not play with it unless there's an adult around?" I asked, remembering my ear twisting from last night and her lecture.

"I was going to say that it's dangerous and you should never play with it, but that works."

"So what is next?" I asked.

"We need to get some lunch. I'll show you how to gather a few things."

"Not hunt something, or get fish from the creek?" I asked.

"No, not with two of us little man. Learning where to get easy food may seem like a girl thing to you, but you still need to know." She turned and led the way into the woods.

Gathering was mostly what the women in our village did, and there was a sharp division in labor. Never did the men join for their sessions, nor did they women seem to go hunting. Sometimes the boys would help the women by climbing trees to shake them or something, but that was about it. Even the games were more sex-divided. I didn't mind though, knowing what berries were ripe and easy picking might well prove useful one day.

"Why don't your or mom ever go hunting? With how strong you are you'd be pretty useful right?" I asked when she'd shown me what plants had the roots we'd be digging to munch on for lunch.

"You've already seen the answer to that question, no?" At my look she sighed. "If your mother and I had not been there how many of the women would that monster have killed? What about other monsters? Anyway the two of us are really helpful for gathering too, as I know you've seen."

She wasn't wrong. I supposed that was a decent enough reason, and perhaps the women in our village just didn't want to, I honestly didn't know.

"Do you want to though? Go hunting?" I asked, trying to get her opinion on the tradition.

Elaya thought for a few moments. "No, I don't personally like wandering through the woods, and with my abilities I bring more food back than any of the men can, even if they try." I had to snort at her answer, she wasn't wrong, and since food was often enough used as a form of value she was doing very well for herself.

"Does doing this bother you?" I indicated our place right now.

"Not at all, you'll be very useful once you're trained, and I'm sure you'll remember who taught you, won't you Elian?" She grinned evilly.

I looked at her and squinted. "What do you get out of this?" I asked.

She just laughed in response, sounding more like a cackle than anything else.

After lunch we covered air in the use of magic. She knew that air was a thing, a stuff. That was surprising, since I got the feeling from most of my history classes that a lot of people in the past didn't quite get that. Then again she had magic to test against, things which were right worked better it seemed.

"So you can see the stuff which makes up air floats, and will move to above water and earth when it can," she said as she pointed out the bubbles.

We had several days of this, spending most of our time going over various bits of her knowledge.  She didn't even let me cast any magic during that time, but always kept a tight eye on me.

"When will I be allowed to actually do magic?"  I finally asked on the fourth day.

Elaya laughed, "Do you think you're prepared then?  That you can control it?"

"Yes,"

"Alright then, show me, fire first."

I moved beside our fire pit and reached my hand towards it before looking up.  She nodded and I let a small fire pour out to fill the pit.  I was careful not to put too much out at one, slowly feeding the flames on magic as I kept them steady.

"Make it higher, and to look like a tree," she instructed.

I was given shapes, lines, balls, flows like water, and even more esoteric ways.  I spent nearly an hour working the flame in different ways before I finally stopped.

"I'm tired," I declared.

"One more, can you change the color?"  She said, looking on.

"I could, but I'm tired."  I wasn't going to budge.

"Do you not want to push yourself?  Try new things?"

"When I am not tired, now it would just make me pass out.  I don't want to.  Mom said to tell you you'd have to deal with her if you pushed too hard."  I was done for now unless there was some emergency.

Elaya laughed.  "You must have been born older than I am little man.  You're right, don't let anyone push you if you don't want to do something."

"Sometimes you're a really good teacher, but sometimes you're really irritating," I finally declared.

"Perhaps, but if you can't figure these things out on your own I will eventually tell you," was  her response.  "I want you to learn by doing first if you can though."

Over the next few days I got to try out one spell after another, mostly creating and manipulating things like air or water.  I could make water, but not stone or dirt, which was weird, but quite normal I was informed.  Elaya liked to go from one subject to another, trying to get me to learn a little bit of everything.  That meant that I never got really good with anything, but rather a small smattering of abilities.

On the tenth day of training we made our way back to the village.  It was slow, and a general waste of time, but mother had declared that if we didn't come back enough she'd be coming to us, and I had no desire for that.

"No magic in the village, at all, do you hear me?"  Elaya said.

"Yes, I understand."

We were descended upon when we arrived by the children.  It was later in the evening that either of us would have liked, but that was the thing about traveling through woodlands, it took time to go not all that far.  The boys and girls nearest me in age all wanted  stories about what was going on, the rumors flying.  Mother just looked on, letting Elaya come over to her so they could talk.

The boy's mother wasn't happy when I motioned her to join me, but she could see he was fine.  She'd surely be asking him about things later, but for now we could talk.

"Your son was born old," I declared.

"What?"

"He doesn't get mad or lash out at all, even when I push him.  At worst he just tells me to stop."

Adia stared.  We both knew that training, mine in particular was... not fun for any child involved, and normally left them rather disliking me.  That was fine, I needed to know what they could do, and if they were dangerous.  I needed to know if they'd lash out if someone pushed them hard, and I was the best equipped in the village to stop them if they did.

"Nothing?  I know what you're like when you want to irritate Elaya, and at his age... he never has been prone to tantrums though..."  She seemed surprised.  "But that's good, it means he can come back."

"I've still got a few basic things to run him through dear, just so that he knows how to use his light.  I also want to see how he responds to danger.  We'll ask Larus to help with keeping an eye on it, no accidents, but I want to pull something small to test him."

Adia gave me a cold look.  "If my son comes to harm..."

"He won't, calm down.  That's why I want Larus to help dear, or your love Eduan, just in case."

"Why not me?"  She intoned, clearly irritated.

"Because you dote on the child too much.  His father will want to see his training, as will Larus.  You'd just stop anything from happening at all, and that would ruin the whole surprise."  I knew she meant well, but she really was too protective.

"I'll get both to go."  At my look she continued.  "They will if I ask; when do you want them?"

"Three more days, then send them.  We'll talk when they get there."

I got to spend the night with my family again, which was great.  Auntie Atie was still churning out pots, and was steadily improving her skills.  About half of them still broke when she baked them, but it was an improvement, and she showed me her newest work.

Everyone wanted stories, but I didn't really have any good ones.  Our training had been mostly boring.  At that explanation a few more asked to see my magic, but relented when I told them I wasn't allowed to do it in the village.

A few days later and we were back at the cave.  It was nice enough I guessed, and decidedly cooler than the huts normally were.  Elaya had stepped out to use the lavatory and I knew better than to follow the sometimes irritating teacher.

So I decided to give a quick look around the cave.  We only ever used the front part, and the back was blocked off by another boulder.  With a look behind me to check that my ear wasn't going to be twisted again I made another light to check it out.

The rock at the back was tight, but not nearly as much so as the one at the front, and while no adult could have possibly through the little hole there to the left side I was quite a bit smaller.  Surely it'd be fine if I just saw what was back there, right?