Apprentice of the Mystics
I decided to take a break from offensive spells for a while to teach Janus how to teleport. I'd teach him the great Dark Matter spell later. I wasn't actually very good at it, a fact that I would need to hide from him. He wanted very much to learn to shapeshift, but he hadn't had any luck with it so far. Instead, we were working on teleporting. I had to do it for him at first, but he was slowly improving. It was wearing him out, but he was determined to learn it as fast as possible.
"Okay, we'll just try one more run," I said.
"…If it's successful," the boy finished, determinedly.
"…Or if it's not. You don't have the energy to do any more without passing out," I noted critically. He glared at me. "…Yes, yes, you hate me, shut up, all that. I know."
"…Just tell me where to go," he muttered resentfully.
"Okay! Hmm…" I thought for a moment. "…Okay, I told you when you learned to do this, you could go to my room. So IF you can manage it, you can go there."
Janus's face lit up in pleased surprise. "Really?"
"Sure. All right, now it's directly above us, just through the ceiling and floor and stuff. I'll go first, just follow me. And concentrate harder this time," I instructed him, and then I disappeared to wait for him in my room.
I stood in the middle of the room for about five minutes. Then I yawned and flopped down on my bed. I stayed there for about ten minutes, rolling over every so often, before I felt a shift in the air and heard heavy breathing. I sat up to see the boy standing in the middle of the room, panting and sweating.
"Hey! Nice job!" I congratulated him, flipping off the bed to go pat his head. "I didn't think you'd be able to do it with as tired as you are. You surprise me sometimes!"
"I… told you… I would," he said, trying to catch his breath.
"So you did," I conceded.
"So what's next?" he asked, still breathing a little heavily, but almost smiling at his achievement.
"Now? That's it for now. You're spent." He scowled darkly at me. "…Well you are! But later… I think it'll be time to teach you the Dark Matter."
"…Dark Matter…" his eyes grew in anticipation. "The strongest shadow spell!" He smirked proudly. "…Can you show it to me now?"
"Who would I cast it on?" I asked, deflecting him easily. "You couldn't take it right now."
He frowned, and looked around at my room for the first time. The walls hung with deep red and orange scarves and tapestries revealed no answers to him, nor did the large maroon four-poster bed with its gauzy veil, or the numerous shelves, wardrobes, and drawers. "Can't you cast it on an object?"
"Nope. It needs to center on something living," I sighed. "Just be patient. I'll show you tomorrow."
"Hmph, you'd better…"
"And I will.
…………………………………………………………………
The next day, as promised, we met in the large basement often used as a dungeon. I found some living skeletons to practice on. I faced them as Janus stood to the side, watching eagerly.
Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and muttered under my breath, calling out to the shadows, the darkness in my opponents' beings, and the night sky to answer me, as I had explained to the child. They came a little slower than I would have liked, but it wasn't too bad considering that my specialties were fire and confusion, not shadow magic. The shadows gathered, darker and darker, until the center of where they met became so dark it shined with light. My triangle of light flashed and swirled inside my star-filled triangle of darkness. The skeletons never stood a chance. I paused to steady my breathing for a moment before turning to the boy.
"I… tried to go slow for you. It isn't an easy thing to call up, and even harder to maintain," I said. "…What do you think?"
"…It makes sense, with your explanation. Just call the shadows, and make them so dark that they become light."
"Yes, but not all of them. It can be hard to find that balance. Do you want to try it?"
"Yes…" he said, with a slight smile. I nodded and looked around, then headed over to a sparkling record keeper I knew to be a monster in disguise. I poked it, making it separate and advance on us.
"All right, go for it," I encouraged him. He didn't need to be told twice. Shutting his eyes, he called out to the shadows. They answered him quicker than they had me. He struggled to control and bend them to his will for a moment, then light flashed as he completed the spell. The glittering enemies fizzled out.
"Hey, that was great," I congratulated him. "You catch on fast!"
"It… wasn't hard," he said, trying to catch his breath. "Just… took a lot of effort…"
"Yeah, it'll do that to you," I said sympathetically. "But you'll get used to it. …How's your fighting going, by the way?"
He blinked at the change of subject, then smirked. "Very well."
"Hmm… Show me, when you catch your breath."
"All right… But why?" he asked, taking a deep breath and summoning his scythe, a nicer one than the one he had started with, to him.
"…Because I want to see just how good you are. And where you are in general." …He had already caught up to me, magic-wise. I wasn't sure how he'd do against Slash with a weapon, but I was willing to bet he was close to being a match for him, too. Then, I could just about picture him challenging Ozzie for leadership of the Mystics… I was pleased with that thought. Though it also uncovered a bit of sadness. My little princey would have to move on and leave everything behind to grow into his command.
"…Ready?" he asked, breaking me out of my introspection. I smirked slightly at him.
"Of course. Come on!" I hopped into the air to float before him, ready to face the Magus I'd created.
