9. Apprentice

Summary: Nuriel, having just woken up from his unconsciousness, tries to cope with the conflict between himself and Therius earlier. Yurick decides to talk with him about the Shadow, having heard about the fight and Nuriel's condition, and figures out a way to possibly help Nuriel-by making him his apprentice in magic.

Characters: Nuriel, Nuriel's Shadow, Yurick, Arlyn (mentioned), Therius (mentioned), Tahirah

Pairings: None


As soon as Nuriel opened his eyes, he remembered instantly what happened before he fell unconscious.

He had fought with and hurt Therius. And Tahirah. And Arlyn, too. All because of that Shadow's influence.

Well, it was mostly his fault, he supposed. Letting the Shadow take control of his emotions like that-That was not what he intended. He honestly was just shocked that Therius had finally seen through Arlyn's fake identity. The Shadow morphed that shock into anger.

Before he could continue with his train of thought, there was a knock at the door before it opened. Stepping into the room was a male much younger than him, perhaps in his late teens. He was shorter than Nuriel (obviously) and his hair was white, going down to his shoulders. A black eye patch covered his right eye as well. One light blue eye looked at Nuriel carefully, before speaking.

"I'm glad you're awake now." He commented. "Tahirah and Arlyn were worried about you. Therius, too." Nuriel sat up and turned to face him as the white-haired teen's annotation continued. "I probably should introduce myself. I'm Yurick. And I know you're Nuriel. Tahirah told me about you earlier."

"That's good to know that you already know who I am." Nuriel responded, nodding once. He paused, before speaking again. "...You probably know about...?"

"I know about what happened earlier, and about your condition. Tahirah told me." Yurick replied, crossing his arms. "I find it odd that the Shadow can supply so much power. From how Therius described it to me, it sounds like you mastered magic. But in reality...You haven't had enough training to get even halfway close to that level, have you?"

"That is true." The older man admitted, letting out a sigh. "I can only do the basics without the Shadow's power."

"You can actually control whether you want to use the Shadow's power or not?" Yurick asked. "Interesting..."

"I can, most of the time. Unless, of course, it takes control of me first." Nuriel let a few flames flicker from his right hand, and he showed it to the teen. "With my own power, I could probably make a really small fireball and then throw it at someone easily. But I can't do much besides that, making me nothing but a good lighter for fireplaces and candlesticks." He let out a small chuckle at that remark, before continuing. "If I use the Shadow's power, though..." His hand suddenly lit up with much larger, brighter flames. "I can do much more than what I am able to do...Perhaps as much power as you hold."

Yurick nodded, understanding the explanation, before he spoke up. "I know what it's like to depend on something else to gain power, rather than yourself." The teen took a deep breath, before lifting a hand up to his eye patch and removing it completely.

Nuriel stared at what was revealed. It was a golden-stone, not an eye, that was settled in that right eye socket.

"...It must have hurt to put that in." That was all Nuriel could think up to say in response to this.

"I used it to strengthen my own power in the past." Yurick explained quietly, pointing to the stone. "Before using it, I found that I wasn't any good at magic, so that was why I decided to use the stone. Of course, I eventually realized that besides it just simply giving me power, it was encouraging me to unleash magic so strong that I doubt too many people could surpass it."

"So it turned into a benefit for you in the end."

"Once I could control it, yes." The teen bluntly responded. "You have no idea how long it took me to control that power. Of course, that is my case, and yours is different. Instead of a benefit for you, the Shadow is a crutch in a sense, considering that it could possibly break out anytime soon."

"True." Nuriel replied quickly. He paused, before speaking again. "Do you have anything that is stewing in your mind that could possibly help me, or did you just come here to try to give me consolation over my situation?"

"Technically both, I suppose." Yurick paused, before finishing. "Considering that your magic is so weak when not using the Shadow, and that you haven't had any proper training, perhaps I could try to help you strengthen your magic."

"You mean...I would be your apprentice?" The fire-wielding bodyguard asked, standing. If...I can strengthen my magic without the use of the Shadow, maybe it could help repel it faster...Or something like that. It might be weird being an apprentice to this young one, but if it's going to help me...

"Yes." Yurick responded, letting out a sigh. "But, I tell you this. I never wanted an apprentice. I find apprentices to be a nuisance, and I'm only doing this for you if you do as I say during training without question, period. Is that clear?"

Nuriel nodded, extending a hand towards the teen. "It is clear, Master Yurick." He responded, unable to help but smile a bit.

"Don't call me 'Master.' Just call me Yurick." The teen responded, shaking hands with him. Despite the blunt reply, Nuriel noticed the teen trying to suppress a small smile.

Behind the door, Tahirah couldn't help but smile. An interesting master-apprentice relationship had formed, and she was sure things would definitely get interesting.