Chapter 4: Strength
"Alright Titania," Sivo said in his most professional voice. "What are the six basic elements of magic?"
"Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Lighting, and Spirit," She moaned.
"Good… Now how do these six elements differ from each other?"
"Sigh… do I have to do this?"
Sivo gave his best impersonation of her death glare as he explained.
"Yes actually, and if you don't. No. Cake. For. You."
"Hey! Heler that decides that, not you."
"Titania…" Sivo said looking smug. "Who was it that demanded that I teach them the basics of magic?"
"Me," Titania said, knowing where this was going.
"And why did you beg me to teach you magic?"
"Because I'm tired of always getting beat by you when you cheat!"
Sivo looked at her as if she had just stated that she had been born a boy. "Really then… who is it that is always the first to resort to magic when she slips up or is about to be beat?"
Titania just grumbled.
"I'm sorry, I didn't quite hear."
"Me…"
"Right, and that's ok. Magic is there to cover everything our physical bodies cannot by themselves and vice versa. Which is why it's important for a wizard to train both physical and magical attributes. And you Titania!" he said pointing to her. "Are lacking in both. And since I'm the one Heler put in charge that means…?"
"Sigh… That the six magical elements effect the world in different ways when used by wizards of different levels. Fire magic focuses on explosive force at its most basic level but a wizard of higher skill can change the properties of the flame. These changes can make the flame act like a living creature, make the flame more resistant to water, and even make the flame harmless to the touch."
Sivo motioned the girl on as he took a seat and watched.
"Water and earth magic are more formative, making them perfect for creation type magics. Water magic is more flexible and easier to form on the move. Masters of water magic can change and manipulate water quickly into even quicker attacks that use the waters density to damage their opponents. Earth magic is physically stronger than all other types of magic, but it's slow and inflexible in comparison with the others. Most wizards can only use earth magic when the wizard is physically touching the ground and cannot move when casting, leaving the wizard more vulnerable to quick attacks," Titania droned on, obviously bored with having to recite the long explanation. "Can't I finish this after we have some cake, or maybe we could spar some more?"
"You're almost done Titania, after this we get to the fun stuff!"
Titania groaned, knowing what the boy considered fun as far as magic went. She continued on anyway because if nothing else, Sivo was always true to his word "Lightning and wind magics are almost undodgeable at any level, but are the physically weakest of the elements. Maters of these magics are usually very mobile and excel at close quarter combat. Finally Spirit magic is considered to be the glue that holds binds a wizard to each of the different elements. It's the person's raw magic power before the mastery of the other elements. Wizards that specialize in Spirit magic are very versatile but are often much weaker than those who master a specific element."
"Good… you may have your cake now," Sivo said as he pulled out a piece of Death by Chocolate cake.
"But it's not strawberry…" Titania said, giving her best puppy dog eyes and forcing herself to tear up a bit.
"Titania, stop... you don't do adorable well."
"Fine then!" She growled grabbing the plate from Sivo. She cut out a daintily small piece and took a bite. She forced down a squeal of delight as the rich hearty sweetness took root in her mouth. It would be poor taste to show the boy how much she was enjoying the cake after putting up a fuss about not getting her favorite.
After several minutes of watching Titania carefully savor each bite, Sivo became impatient. He smiled as he thought of the perfect spell that would make her hurry up. A small magic circle appeared between his thumb and finger as he cast it, waiting for the moment just before Titania bit into her next piece. He released the spell and sat back and watched the show.
Titania bit into the piece expecting the same sweetness to grace her tongue, but something was... off. Later she would find out that Sivo had changed the flavor of the cake to resemble something called wasabi. Right now though, she just wanted to stop the fire that had ignited in her mouth and was spreading throughout her entire body. Sivo laughed for a good three minutes as she ran to the nearby sink and guzzled down as much water as she could. Sivo sighed and released the spell from the cake, taking away the illusion of unbearable heat from her mouth.
"WHAT WAS THAT FOR!" she said spitting out the piece of cake.
"You were taking too long and I don't want to spend all day watching you eat cake."
Titania gulped down the rest of her cake in one bite. "You… You ruined a perfectly happy moment for me… AND YOU'RE GOING TO PAY!"
Sivo soon found the empty plate being thrown at him like a shurikin. A fist size silver magic circle appeared in front of him, marred by what looked like a bloodstain splattered across it, and caught the plate in a magical grip. "Since you're so eager to start the more practical aspect of training, why not work on your ability with telekinesis."
Sivo threw the plate back, though at a much slower speed, causing the enraged Titania to leap out of the way. "Not bad…" he said as he brought the plate back around. "But let's see what you can do with that magic power of yours."
The plate picked up speed making it harder and harder for Titania to dodge the projectile. Titania's anger gave way to make room for more serious concentration as she summoned her power. Serving trays, silverware, chairs, and even tables rose off the ground as her own scarlet magic circle appeared underneath her feet. They slowly moved to defend the girl from the offending dishware, allowing the plate to gently graze her shoulder as it weaved through mass of items.
"You're using too many items Titania. Cut back on a few dozen so that you have better control over them," Sivo said as sweat began to pour down his face.
Titania's magic circle shrunk slightly as a third of what she was holding dropped on the ground. Sivo winced as a few of the items broke, knowing that somehow they'd have to pay for the damages. Still, it was impressive how much raw talent the girl had. Her mass of items were now easily keeping up with the single plate, leaving no sign of an opening for Sivo, who was tiring quickly.
"Damn," he thought to himself. "The difference between us in power is like comparing a spark to a bonfire." And soon, his little spark flickered and died, to be consumed by the overwhelming power that Titania wielded effortlessly.
"Good… Job… Tita…nia," he panted, now drenched in sweat.
"Thanks, you didn't answer my question though…" she said with an evil smile, not dropping the mass of object she had gathered back to the floor. "WHY DID YOU RUIN MY CAKE!"
Sivo started laughing hysterically at the furious young girl, his exhaustion and natural wise-assness crowding out the small part of him that was genuinely afraid for his life. "You know… you're almost cute when you're trying to kill me."
"GAAAH!" she screamed as she threw every single item she had under her control with deadly force.
"Earth Make: Stone Sheild"
A large stone wall came in between the girl and her target, bouncing harmlessly off of the newly made wall. Off to the side Heler could be seen fumeing.
"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU TWO!" he shouted.
Titania froze solid as all of the items fell to the floor in a loud crash. "I'm, he, well… HE ruined my cake!"
"Earth Make: Grand Entrapment!" he said, stomping his now bare feet on the ground as several large hands shot out and threw the girl to the ground. "That is no reason to go BERSERK!"
"Heler," Sivo said still laughing. "It's all my fault, I wanted to see if Titania could stay in control of her spells when mad. Apparently she can."
Heler looked at the boy, his left eye twitching slightly. "What did you do?"
"Made a piece of cake taste like wasabi, and the face she made was sooooo worth it."
"Earth Make: Sink Hole!" The ground underneath Sivo suddenly became liquid and he quickly slid down into the ground until only his head remained above the surface. "Still think it was worth it?" he said.
"Yep!"
Titania looked at the two and suddenly realized something. "Wait, when did you become an Earth Wizard!?" she shouted.
"Hm?" Heler said turning back to the girl. "That's right, you've never seen me use magic before. I've always had a talent for Earth Magic and I've trained in it since I was your age."
"Yeah he's actually amazingly good," Sivo said. "Oh, do you think that you can let me out now, it's getting hard to breath underneath all of this dirt."
Heler planted his foot on Sivo's mouth, shutting the boy up again.
"Really?" Titania said, ignoring the fact that Sivo was now trying to gnaw Heler's shoe off in order to breath better. "What you can do with magic is amazing!"
"Thank you Titania," Heler said as the magical hand released the girl and dusted her off. "My style of magic is called Creation Magic. It a style of magic that allows the wizard using it to use one of the elements to make both tools and weapons to use in battle. More specifically I specialize in Active Creation Magic, where the things I create can move on their own after I cast the spell allowing me more maneuverability in combat. Though what I create tends to be a weaker than just static creations, though as an Earth Wizard that's not saying much."
Sivo finally managed to chew through enough of the shoe to get to the man's foot, electing a rather feminine shriek from Heler as he launched himself away from the boy. "What's wrong with you Sivo!? You could have bitten off one of my toes!"
"Then let me out of here! Seriously, it's getting hard to breath down here!"
"Sigh… maybe after you actually feel bad about how you've treated Titania today," Heler said rubbing his temples.
"Why? Our Master did far worse to us as we trained," Sivo said.
Heler sighed again and let the boy loose. "Perhaps… but this girl isn't going to be your apprentice, and you're nowhere near as skilled as The Master yet."
"I know, don't mean I can't try!" Sivo said smiling. "Well, I better get ready."
And with that he bounded off before Titania could pounce on him again.
"Slow down Titania," Heler said, putting his arm out to stop her following. "For all of his faults, he really is a good teacher."
"Sigh… I know, but he's just so frustrating. He's always pulling pranks on me and ruining my fun!" Titania moaned.
"Fun? What is this fun thing you talk about?" Heler joked. "Since the day you've arrived you've been continually pushing yourself to your mental and physical limits. Sivo isn't that kind of kid, he likes to goof off whenever he can and will take every opportunity to do so. Especially with someone as serious as you."
"Hmph, shouldn't my 'teacher' be happy that he has such a serious student?"
"No, not in this case Titania," Heler said, his face becoming serious. "I think it's time to explain to you one of the fundamental differences between you and Sivo."
"…Is this going to be a talk about how babies are made? I really don't really need or want to have that talk again."
"No, no," Heler laughed. "The difference is much simpler than that. First, I need to ask you something though. Have you noticed how much of a difference there is between yours and Sivo's power?"
"Well…," Titania said thinking. In all honesty she had, in just about everything from swordplay to magic, Titania had noticed that she was clearly the stronger of the two. But why then could the boy so easily best her when he got serious.
"There's no need to be polite Titania," Heler said, interrupting her thoughts. "Sivo, is a wizard so weak that he will forever be limited to the most basic of spells. While you already are displaying power equal to wizards three times your age, even if you tend to destroy the room you're in."
One of Titania's veins in her forehead visibly bulged as she reigned in her rage, she was still quite mad at the boy and wasn't willing to take comments about her temper well. "So why then does he continue to beat me whenever we spar?"
"I knew that you were too mad to notice. Titania… you did beat him, badly actually. Though I'm afraid not at his own game." Heler took pleasure in watching Titania's face writhe in confusion at his words. "What you don't realize yet, is that strength has nothing to do with the word power."
Heler smiled at how the statement seemed to confuse her, her brows furrowed in deep concentration for a few minuet. "Your wrong…" she said when she was done. "Gaining power has everything to do with strength, with enough power you can protect anything, gain anything. So I think you're wrong."
The bells of the small church that resided in the town began to cry out in warning. Titania looked out one of the windows to see several large ships making their way towards the town. She recognized the emblem on their sails, they were the same ships that had destroyed her home and taken her freedom.
"Ah… I thought that you would recognize those colors, don't worry" Heler said upon seeing Titania's fear. "Jack's about to show you the difference between your power and his strength."
Sivo scrambled up the church's tower as fast as his little body could carry him, he had seen the small fleet of warships after he had left Titania and Heler in the ruined hospital room.
"Damn loli's probably trying to put the moves on her too," he laughed as he reached the spire and sat down. "Now, let the show begin."
