A few weeks later, Rynu followed Tam through the cold stone hallways of the building until they had arrived in a room filled with exotic flowers and vines. The same red banner with a black serpent decorated the wall as the rest of the building- though he didn't know what it meant.
"You're so young." Tam sighed in dismay, turning around and looking down at Rynu. "How old are you?"
Rynu looked up at him, his jaw set stubbornly. "I'm 13 now. Old enough to learn magic." He said defiantly- these people weren't rejecting him too, were they?
"Aye, old enough to learn magic." Tam sighed, running a hand through his wildly red hair. "Not old enough to know better, though. I'll teach you the basics if you promise me one thing." Tam looked down at him with green eyes, his expression suddenly turning grim.
Rynu nodded, wondering what was so serious.
"You must promise to never hurt anyone you love with the magic I teach you- no matter what happens, never ever use earth magic to hurt or kill someone who is not attacking you first."
Oh- well that was easy enough. Conintor had already given him that lecture. Rynu nodded, watching Tam's eyes fill with relief.
"Maybe you'll be different than the rest of them, then." He sighed. "Alright- first things first. What can you do already?"
Rynu looked over at one of the vines, putting a hand above it and letting it grow large and thorny underneath his palm. He returned it back to normal and looked over to Tam to see his reaction.
"Oh, a plant weaver. Alright, well that will make things easier. First we'll start with how to grow a vine from a seed in the ground- they're everywhere, so it's pretty useful…"
Rynu walked into Conintor's cabin, closing the door behind him gently. He turned around to see a blond man with long hair sitting in one of Conintor's plush chairs, his legs crossed and the top leg swinging around idly.
"Hey, kiddo." The man waved. "What have you been up to?"
"Nothing much, Novilo." Rynu shrugged. He still hadn't told anyone where he was learning magic- they probably just thought he was roaming the streets for hours on end.
"Ah, I see." Novilo's purple eyes glinted as he smiled. "Con's over in the other room fixing Pheona and her little friend lunch. You should go get some too if you want."
Rynu nodded, watching the man as he whistled and made a small paper fold into a hummingbird and fly around the room on a breeze. Rynu rolled his eyes- Novilo was always showing off.
"Hey Pheona." Rynu said, walking into the kitchen to see Conintor making sandwiches for everyone.
"Rynu! I was wondering where you'd gone." Pheona turned around and smiled to him. "I wanted to introduce you to a new friend of mine." She motioned to the girl behind her, who turned around curiously.
Rynu faltered at the sight of her- she was completely different from him- cyan colored eyes watched him intently, her long white hair falling down her back.
"Her name is Marina. She's a water magi." Pheona said happily, patting Marina on the shoulder.
"I'm Rynu." He said simply- he couldn't say he was an earth magi. Not when he didn't have any training.
"Nice to meet you. You guys have such a nice house!" Marina looked around the room, which was decorated in deep shades of green- as was the rest of the cabin.
"I do try, thank you." Conintor said gruffly beside them, handing Rynu a ham sandwich.
"Coooon-boooon! We're going to be late!" Novilo shouted from the other room. He poked his head in the doorway, looking at the three children.
"I hope you kids will be okay by yourselves for just a bit. It's Con's birthday- so I wanted to bring him out for lunch."
"It's your birthday?" Pheona said in excitement, turning to Conintor as he groaned in pain.
"Oh Novi, why did you have to tell them? Yes it is, but I really didn't want to make a big deal out of it."
"Well too bad." Novi said with a wry grin. He grabbed Conintor by the wrist and started dragging him out of the room. "See you kids, try not to burn the place down while we're gone, 'kay?" Novi said over his shoulder as he pushed Conintor out the door.
"Wait-what?" Conintor shouted in horror before the door closed behind him on a gust of wind.
"Those two are funny." Marina chuckled.
Rynu smiled, nodding in agreement. Even if it was a little unorthodox, this home was a good one.
Two years later, Tam sighed while watching as Rynu went through the steps he had taught him. The kid learned quickly. Too quickly.
"Well… that's about all I can teach you, then." He said when Rynu had finished successfully. Rynu looked up at him with a happy grin, the 15 year old looking more mature every day. It had taken him two years to learn the basic arts of vine-weaving, and the more intricate arts of learning how to grow specific plants.
"So… what now?" Rynu said in confusion, looking up at the man he had become friends with.
"Now Demetre teaches you." Tam sighed in dismay. He had been dreading this day for years now…
"Is that a bad thing?" Rynu watched Tam's reaction in confusion- it was like the man didn't want him anywhere near Demetre. Every time he came to the castle to learn magic, Tam met him and the door and quickly walked with him back to this room.
"It depends on your viewpoint. He'll make you stronger, but there's a price to every magic. You'll learn that soon enough." Tam said, standing with a sigh and rubbing his shoulder. Rynu noticed the motion- Tam rubbed his left shoulder often, as if the serpent that moved on his arm caused him pain.
"Alright, let's get going, then. We'll get this over with and move on." Tam said, talking more to himself than Rynu. He stood and led Rynu out of the room, walking back into the large main hall of the castle, where Demetre stood talking with Carlile. Tam suddenly turned around before they entered the hall, taking out something wrapped in a brown cloth from behind his back.
"Before this happens, I want to give you something to celebrate you learning your basics." Tam said, handing Rynu the object. Rynu smiled up to the man in thanks and unwrapped the cloth, a large curved dagger showing through the cloth. Its outside edge had a wicked set of serrated spikes, the dagger itself nearly as long as his forearm.
"May it keep you safe when things turn… ugly." Tam said, smiling down at Rynu softly.
"Thanks, Tam." Rynu smiled, holding the dagger and its hilt in his hands to examine it before sheathing the dagger again.
"I suggest putting it against your back. That way people won't see it, and it won't be uncomfortable." Tam said, motioning to the outline of his own dagger against the spine of his back.
Rynu nodded and put the dagger against his own back, tying the leather string that held it in place around his waist.
"Okay- now let's go see Demetre." Tam said, sounding uneasy again as he pulled Rynu's shirt down over the dagger to hide it, then turned around to walk over to Demetre.