I'd like to say thank you to Chaka and Insane Child for reviewing again, along with LadyMercy, who has just reviewed for the first time. (Wild Cheers) In addition, I'd like to say that LadyMercy has a great fanfic that is well worth reading. Anyway, you've all waited for it, and now it's here: Ria's finally getting some training.

Chapter 14: Training

Lulu and Ria stood alone on the outskirts of Bevelle. The black mage promised to give the sorceress from Earth some training in her wayward magical abilities, and was now making good on that vow.

"Before we begin, I need to know if anyone else has tried to give you any training in your abilities," Lulu said, watching Ria carefully to gauge her answers.

The young woman looked up at the mage and replied, "Auron's been trying to help me."

"I see…" her teacher trailed off, red eyes thoughtful. "Auron is not a mage and Bob is a fiend, so neither one of them was able to show you what you needed to see before, correct?"

When Ria nodded, Lulu continued, "So what we need to do first is go back to the basics, and see what you do and do not know about magic. What has Auron told you about magic?"

"He told me that there are eight elements: Fire, Ice, Lightning, Water, Wind, Earth, Holy, and Gravity. He also told me that the pairs, like Fire and Ice, oppose each other, so when you battle a fiend that uses one kind of element, then you should use the one opposite of the enemy's magic," the young woman's eyes were tightly closed as she salvaged the memories of that night spent north of Mobile.

"Very good, but did he tell you about the non-elemental spells?"

Ria's eyes flew open at that. "No, he decided to spring it on me in the middle of a battle with a monster named Ruby. Rikku and I were nearly eaten before I accidentally pulled off an Ultima spell."

Lulu smacked her forehead and sighed, "Well, I guess that was to be expected, but the simple fact that you managed to use Ultima, even in your untrained state, shows that you have the potential to be a powerful mage."

"Lulu, can I ask you something before we get started?"

"What is it?"

"Why do I have magic anyway? I mean, I'm not from Spira, and the only magics we have on Earth are either trickery, or spells that don't really have any visible consequences." Ria balled her hands up in frustration. "And it's damned difficult to deal with this when it's something that you've never been acquainted with."

The mage didn't say anything at first, but finally answered, "No one really knows why anyone has magic, but I believe that it's a force that exists within us all. Fiends, people, plants…all of these things have at least a little bit of what we call 'magic' within them. It's just that the power emerges on its own in some, and has to be coaxed out in others. You and I are just members of the former, and I do understand where you're coming from: you've spent you're whole life as a normal person, and finally you have something, which by your world's laws, shouldn't exist dropped into your lap. Magic is a big responsibility, but I think that you are more than able to handle it."

The young woman grinned and said, "You know, you sound a lot like some of the Wiccan books that I used to read back home. They said the same thing about magic being in everything."

Lulu chuckled at that. "You see, Earth and Spira do have some things in common. Now let's get started."

A little while later, Ria, with Lulu's help, had gotten down the basics of consciously calling her magic. "Hey, it's kind of like I open and close a little door inside my head," Ria said when she finally dispersed her aura.

"It IS like that," Lulu agreed, as a creepy-looking Sahagin crawled out of the nearby river. "But now let's see you use your magic in battle."

The fishy fiend flung itself at the women, and Ria flicked her hand and shouted 'Thundara', instead of a bolt of lightning, a wave of flame exploded out of the ground and set the hem of Lulu's dress ablaze. "Oh, my God! Lulu, I'm SO sorry!" the sorceress shouted while dousing the burning skirt.

The black mage made a curt gesture, and this time a thunderbolt struck the Sahagin, killing it instantly. "What were you thinking? Don't you know how to aim…or call the right element?"

"Not really. I call the power, and it just sort of pops out," was Ria's sheepish reply.

"That's extremely dangerous! You could get, not just yourself, but your comrades killed doing things that way!"

The young woman hung her head. "I know…there's no excuse for it. Let me try again."

"No, we need to take a look at your problem from a different perspective. Let me ask you this: do you see colors whenever you call your magic?"

Ria fervently nodded. "Yes, I see all kinds of colors, but I didn't really think that it meant anything. Sometimes, I'll just see one color, but mostly it's one big jumble."

Lulu looked at her with unfeigned astonishment, but she quickly composed herself. "Okay, you already know about the names of the spells, but what you haven't been told is that all spells have colors."

"Why didn't you tell me before?"

"Well, it's rare for a mage to be able to see the colors associated with the magic. For me, just the word of invocation is enough to make a spell work. I think the fact that you see the colors is the main reason why your spells have gone awry, but I'm going to help you with that right now."

They spent the next half hour discussing the various colors of the spells. In that time, Ria learned that the major colors were red, blue, purple, indigo, gold, silver, white, black, orange, and green. When she got that straight, Lulu asked her, "Are you ready to try it again?"

When Ria nodded, she said, "Good, because here comes another fiend."

This time, a huge beige and rose-colored bird flew toward the two mages, thinking that it had an easy meal. "That looks like a Zu," Ria said, watching the monster's approach.

"It's a cousin called a Garuda," Lulu explained. "Now show me what you've learned."

Ria closed her eyes, letting the image of the Garuda fill her mind, along with the color of the spell she wanted to cast. A fluorescent violet light filled her vision, and the sorceress raised her hand and shouted 'Thundaga'. Her efforts were rewarded, and a storm of bolts rained from the cloudless sky, striking down the monstrous bird. "Hell, YEAH!" she gleefully whooped as the fiend dissolved into a pyrefly swarm.

"Not bad," Lulu smiled, "But you'll still need to practice so that your speed will improve."

"Yes, ma'am," Ria replied before recommencing with her triumphant cheering.

The two of them reentered Bevelle, where they found Rikku chasing Bob up and down the street, while Auron watched the two with barely concealed amusement. "Ria, you're back!" Bob shouted, happily hugging the sorceress' legs when he saw that she'd returned.

"So, how did your training go?" Rikku asked, full of curiosity.

"I need to practice, but I think I'll be okay now," Ria replied.

Then Auron walked up to the group and gave the sorceress a long look. "Ria, I'm…happy for you," he said, with a sincere look on his face.

"Thank you," was her quiet response.

A little while later, the four of them prepared to leave the city to head for Macalania Woods. "Lulu, don't you want to come with us? We might find Wakka and Yunie," Rikku said with a pleading look.

The black mage shook her head. "No, I will stay and help defend Bevelle from any new fiends that may show up." She smiled at Ria, "Besides, you already have a competent mage in your group."

The young woman bowed in appreciation, then said, "Thank you, but if it wasn't for your training, then eventually I would have gotten someone killed."

They started to leave, but Lulu caught up with them and pressed an elaborately decorated bracelet into Ria's hand. "What is this?" the sorceress asked, staring at the jewelry.

It was a broad band of woven silver wire, and had a ruby, a sapphire, an opal, and an amethyst all in a cluster in the center. "This is a Tetra Bangle," Lulu told her. "It protects the wearer from Fire, Ice, Lightning, and Water spells."

"But why would you give this to me?"

"I wore it during Yuna's pilgrimage, and now I want you to wear it on yours."

Ria blinked back the tears that threatened to overwhelm her. "I'll treasure it always," she whispered.

Lulu gave Ria a fierce, sisterly hug, and the two of them parted ways: one heading back to Bevelle, the other toward Macalania, where new dangers await.

Finally, Ria has gotten some training! I know all of you are saying that it's about time, but give her a break. Auron may be an awesome swordsman, but I don't think that he'd know too much about magic. I hope you all liked my use of colors in magic, and the whole Tetra Bangle thing. Anyway, keep those reviews coming and I'll see you next time.