A/N: Chapter 15 of Mystical Eye of a Savage Hound. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters except my own OC. Revenge of the Sword Clan's Hound belongs to the rightful owner.
Chapter 15: Research and Test
Outside on the training grounds...
"Students! Today for your combat class you will be participating in ten to twenty minute mock battles, and it's not just a measly one or two fights. Since this class isn't terribly large everyone will get a chance to fight against each other until the class is over, meaning there will be plenty of chances to learn from each other. Maybe you'll pick up a couple of tricks to integrate into your own fighting styles if you pay attention." The instructor spoke to his class against the early morning breeze, all the kids lined up in perfect rows.
"How do they expect us to all fight in this space? There's only so much room for us to move without bumping into one another." One of the students grumbled under his breath, shivering and rubbing his arms to keep somewhat warm. All the kids were wearing short-sleeved shirts and thigh-length shorts instead of their usual uniforms. "Not to mention what if one of us aren't careful and misfires?"
"Don't underestimate our instructor, he'll be able to jump in when something bad happens."
"He isn't an elite level magician for nothing."
"Like he was oh so helpful during our lord's match when we were joint training with the dogs. Yeah, he sure showed us how capable he is when things go sideways. If he was such an elite level magician, he should've moved quicker. His inaction to do anything to help our lord reflects poorly on the other elites that represented our clan on that day." The first student who spoke said his words sarcastically, making the students around him jostle nervously. "Had it not been for our guest over there we would've looked like absolute losers."
"Quiet down! I can see how restless you all are, so get to stretching and warm ups. I will get the stage situated when you are all done." The instructor spoke, his eyes immediately honing in on the male student who spoke badly about him. He thrust a threatening finger in the boy's direction and barked, "And you! Come here so we can have a chat!"
"Look at all those eyes honing in on you like hungry predators, princess. You're the juicy piece of meat everyone wants to sink their teeth into." I spoke gleefully since Camus purposefully choose to stand close to me while she stretched her body, sitting on the ground with my legs folded underneath. Looking at her I added, "Let me guess, you never had a losing streak before in your class."
"And I don't plan on getting a loss for as long as I live. Our match does not count as a loss in this context by the way."
"I wasn't going to say anything about that."
"Liar, I felt you had that quip comment sitting right on the tip of your tongue ready to roll out."
"Well you got me there. I may or may not have thought about bringing up your loss in our fight." I drawled out.
"Ha, I knew it. Regardless I'm feeling exceptionally great today and my body feels great too!" The daughter of the Morgue clan head stated with absolute confidence, squatting down to stretch out her legs one limb at a time. The shorts she was wearing rode up slightly when she deepened her stretch so I was greeted to some very toned legs and a little bit more. Sensing that something was off, she looked over her shoulder and narrowed her eyes into a glare. "Pervert dog, where or what do you think you're staring at with such a shameless expression?"
"I'm just staring at the only sight that matters to get me through the morning." the response came out very smoothly and I smiled to maintain a little innocence. She just snorted in disbelief and changed positions so she wouldn't give me another full view. To be fair I could've looked anywhere else than Camus' fair skin and ass, but I wager I'd give her a small incentive. I called out to her after a few minutes of silence, "Would you like some assistance with your stretching? There's only so much one person can do by themselves and I heard there's a couple good partner stretches that can help your body."
"Uh huh, so leering at my ass and legs wasn't your sole intention. You wanted a more hands on approach and so you waited for your chance, you sly dog." She teased as she leaned her body forward to touch her toes. Getting to my feet and patting down the back of my pants, I walked over and knelt behind her, gently putting my hands on her back. Camus tensed up slightly but relaxed and nodded her head, giving me permission to slowly push her forward so she could get a good stretch and managing to touch her toes.
"Feel good?" I questioned as she held the position for a few minutes. She nodded her head before gesturing for me to let up, and she straighten her back when my hands retreated. We kept this stretch going until she had enough and we went about doing a variety of other partner stretches.
"Hnng! With all these...haaa...stretching, I don't think I'll be...hnnrgg...worrying about injuries!" Camus huffed lightly as I pulled her across my back, gently gripping her arms as I pulled.
"Perhaps the only thing you'll worry about is an overly strained muscle or two." I responded before letting her back on her feet, my arms held out when she stumbled a little. "You alright?"
"Yeah yeah, just a bit wobbly from all the stretches."
"Here, sit down and let me see. Take off your shoes and socks." I gestured and she allowed me to help her sit before removing her shoes and socks as I had requested. With her legs out I started off with the right leg, my hands roaming from the tips of her toes to her calves and finally up her thigh; when I felt the muscles tighten and clench under my fingers I carefully squeezed and massaged until they relax. Then I move on to the next spot and repeat the process.
"W-Watch your hands." Camus grumbles when my hands neared the edge of her shorts. She had been watching me attentively as I continued to work, mostly keeping silent but sometimes letting out small noises whenever I hit a tender spot.
"Ok, princess." I said, pulling my hands back before placing them on the ground still between her legs. She let out a small yip before I leaned close and teased, "Satisfied now?"
"You can be pretty distracting you know that...and bold to be doing this when others are around." The red-haired princess was trying to scold me for my daring behavior, but there was a small smug expression on her face. Clearly she is enjoying this interaction as much as I am, save for the slightly red color on her face. "But yeah, I'm pretty satisfied for now."
"Lord Camus! Have you finished your stretches and warm up?" The instructor's voice caught our attention and we turned our heads to see him and the rest of the class waiting for her; turns out we were so lost in our own world that we didn't realize that everyone else had finished. He raised an eyebrow at our current position and added, "Young Baskerville guest, I highly advise not to interfere too much in the lord's practice. Everyone here will be on their own during their trials, it would be detrimental if they end up relying on an outside source when things go wrong."
"Careful, don't stand up too suddenly. When you're ready, walk to them and don't start off running. You'll be doing a lot of that during your mock battles." I ignored the instructor's words and rose to my feet first and held out my hands, grinning when she took them and pulled her to her feet.
"Yes mother." Camus replies sarcastically, slowly walked around and nodded when she didn't feel any pain in her legs or anywhere else on her body. Giving me one last look over her shoulder she went to join the rest of the class, signaling to the instructor that she was ready. Nodding his head the instructor allowed the students to split up among themselves and soon all sorts of magic started flying without constraint.
I sat on the sidelines with my eyes darting between the many bouts of matches as the young magicians either fired off offensive spells or defensive spells or dodged when they didn't have time to do either. I kept my eyes off of Camus because I already know what she's capable of, to a certain extent. I figured I could learn some things from the others who weren't exactly geniuses like Camus and I. Since this class was still filled with lower level magicians a majority of them stuck with elemental spells so I was able to observe battle tactics or how to best use each spell.
The first thing I noticed off the top of my head were that the four best element spells the Morgues love to fire off are fire, earth, water, and lightning. No one that I saw fired off any air or nature spells which could have been excellent support spells. The second thing I noticed was that Camus loves to start off her battles with quadruple casting, the same technique she showed me when we sparred. It's almost as though it was her signature move which she abuses relentlessly because any inexperienced foe would be destroyed in a matter of minutes if they get hit, which is why she keeps relying on it. I kept telling her that she should think about casting each spell one at a time for more accuracy, but to none of our surprise she blatantly ignores my suggestion.
I can see that you're continuing to watch the young ones battle, obviously it is quite different from how Baskerville does their training. I do not sense the feeling of boredom at all coming from you. Raspane's voice entered my head and I tuned myself to listen to her voice. How long do you plan on sitting there on the tough ground watching them fight?
"Don't know really, perhaps until I feel like I can't learn anything else from anyone here." I responded nonchalantly, knowing that the clan's matriarch could hear me talking even when we can't physically see each other. "Camus did tell me that you wanted my time for research purposes."
You sound like you couldn't care less if you stay or leave from where you're sitting. Do you not want to know more about that special eye of yours?" Raspane's voice was full of curiosity like a child's, no doubt trying to persuade me to forgo watching the matches and join her instead. "I have a couple of trials we can go through that may be worth your while. Perhaps you'll get to learn about a whole new side of yourself.
"Well, when you put it that way how could I possibly refuse? I'll be right over then." Frankly I was quite intrigued with what the clan head had in store for me, but I would never admit it out loud. Getting to my feet I walked to the instructor who was observing everyone's matches and making sure no one got seriously injured. I strode up to him and said, "I am being summoned by the clan head so I'll be taking my leave."
"Get going then, don't let me stop you." He waved me off with a hand, not bothering to spare a glance because he had to deflect a wayward spell that came shooting in our direction. Once he made sure there were no more stray spells, he made a comment, "I can tell that Lord Camus is slightly...off her game whenever you're around, like she's distracted by trying to impress a certain somebody. Well it depends actually, sometimes she's very focus and getting excellent results which I'm always left astonished by her progress after every lesson. When she's not as focused she tends to make small errors and judgment mistakes that she shouldn't be making."
"There's no such thing as a perfect being who doesn't make mistakes unless you're referring to a God. Making mistakes is what makes us human."
"Mmmmm I never took you to be a philosophical expert. To each their own on how they view this world and wish to live their lives. It's not up to me to say or judge...in fact it was never up to mere mortals to be both judges and executors. But that's neither here nor there, if our Clan head has asked for you then I shouldn't keep you waiting." The instructor then turned to look at me and whispered, "But between you and I, the only student I have an inkling of 'hope' to pass the Rite of Passage would be our lord. Everyone else for that matter...well, I'll just leave their fates up to their own merits and skills. Whatever happens happens, I can only do so much as their instructor."
I nodded my head at his words and left the training grounds, the sounds of battles soon disappearing in the distance. I made my way to the clan head's chamber not running into any other of the members, especially not Rose who I had a suspicious feeling will do her best to corner me again. Before I had a chance to raise my hand and knock, the Morgue clan head's voice came through.
Come in. Door's open.
"Clan head." I greeted when I saw her standing by the table and not sitting on the throne like I would normally see her. Raspane had forgone her militaristic garment and donned a uniform that screamed researcher. Her crimson hair that would be down her back was pulled up and worked into a glorious bun. On her face she wore a pair of glasses and much like the librarian she had it place on the bridge of her nose. I blinked before saying, "You look good when you aren't wearing your uniform."
"Why thank you for your words. Now, enough of the niceties, prepare yourself. We've got a lot of stuff to do." She brought me over to a nice wide area and had me go through a couple of breathing exercises; Raspane told me that the most important thing for a magician is to circulate their mana properly within their bodies, to keep the flow as smooth and fluid as possible. Any disruption within the flow could lead to slow casting or spells coming out wrong and backfire on the chanter.
Once the breathing exercises were complete – she monitored the flow of mana in my body very carefully and under intense scrutiny. As a researcher she was very thorough in getting accurate results...is the quick explanation she gave me – she had me cast a couple of small basic spells as a warm up. She asked me questions as I went through a couple spells, things such as how do I efficiently swap between them or which one would give off the biggest reaction or how much mana I was outputting between them. The last one I gave her a leveled stare because I knew she already knew the numbers and was just toying with me.
"How would you like to try dual casting for the first time?" Now that caught my attention and she smiled knowingly looking at my sparkling expression. If I had a pair of canine ears and a tail they would be perked up and wagging respectively like there was no tomorrow. "Look at you so eager and full of energy like a newborn pup. Definitely reminds me of when my daughter looked at me when I started teaching her."
Hah...the princess? Eager and full of energy? I couldn't quite picture it perfectly no matter how hard I tried to imagine a rambunctious red-head. She ended up being the studious, serious type, always striving to be the best or find new paths. Like when was the last time I saw her crack a smile on her own? Not from a joke or hanging out with either Rose or I or anything...
"Hahaha, it seems like you're trying to imagine my little girl running around with a big smile upon her face. It's the cutest sight you'll ever experience." I slightly flinched at Raspane's words, knowingly that she hit the nail on the head with that assessment. "And from your reaction it seems like I read you like an open book."
"...am I that bad with wearing my heart on my sleeve?"
"Actually you've been the hardest book I've attempted to crack, so I was taking a guess at what you were thinking so hard about." She waves her hand at my question as she made her way to an area about a good ten to twenty feet away from her bed post. Whispering an incantation under her breath and I saw a glistening color aura raising from her hand, slipping through the walls easily. Raspane continued to feed the wall the aura before she stopped moving her lips, ending the spell. There was a small but audible 'click' and then a rumble as weird patterns, letters, and symbols appeared on the wall before it crumbled away, exposing the secret behind.
"Whoa..." I breathed as I was staring at what appears to be a tunnel that led to somewhere deeper within the clan head's chamber. Makes me wonder if Hugo had something similar back within his own room, or perhaps other secrets unknown to the rest of the family. "Where does that lead?"
"Come and see for yourself." Raspane nodded her head before leading me through the well-lit passage with hands folded in front. I trailed a bit behind to try and find something interesting but all I saw were pure white walls. How boringly dull. We finally reached the end and the clan head ushered me into what seemed to be a control room. There was only one leather chair and a large control desk filled with buttons and other machines ready to record data. There was even a microphone for conversation. "This is my underground chamber when I need to do more...exaggerated experimentation with very high-level spells, it's better to contain any errors here instead of letting the entire Morgue Clan to fall. Besides it's safe to say I never allow any outsiders here so be honored for being the first and probably the last."
"Hmmmm...and what's behind the large glass pane?" I walked over and looked in, my eyes taking in a large square arena surrounded by pure metal walls. "I see. I'm guessing you want me to be down there while you stay up here."
"Good guess, now hop to it. The door to the elevator's over there, you can ride that down to the lower level. Once you are there wait for my signal of course, can't have you throwing spells without order."
"Wouldn't it be faster for magicians to use magic to get down there instead?"
"You can't be too careful about enemies slipping in using anti-magic equipment, not that they could even get through the front gate and make it to here. The elevator is mainly used by younger members who aren't proficient in manipulating the air yet so that's why I had it installed; oh don't be so surprised, I sometimes take a few of my students if they need extra guidance or some of my best researchers to make new spells." was her reply.
I made my way to the elevator which opened its door once it detected movement. There weren't any buttons to press, but the door closed shut and I felt the vibrations underneath my feet as the lift began its descent. I assumed it would take me awhile before I reached the lower level but it didn't take too much time, around three to five minutes if I bothered to count. Once the doors opened I walked out and took in my surrounding.
All around me were four solid metal walls, maybe it is also coated with a high-level magic spell that I am currently unable to detect, but perhaps someone with a higher sensitivity to magic detection is able to see it. Putting that idea into the back of my mind to ask Raspane later, I glanced up to see that there were little grooves running along the ceiling tiles. I thought to myself that there were some sort of mechanism hidden for spells that produce either noxious gasses or even a change in air pressure. But those hypothesis will only be answered with what I would be doing.
"Check check, check check, hmmm...seems like my voice is coming through just fine. Microphone seems to be in very good condition as well." Raspane's voice came through a speaker embedded near the ceiling in the corner that I didn't think to take into account. "Don't worry about holding back, this glass has survived and stood firm even from the worst of the worst casters. Now, it'll take a long time to go through all the combinations known in this clan, so let's start with a single element and do combinations with it."
"I'm surprise you didn't use magic to amplify your voice in this room." I commented to her.
"Why waste mana when I can just rely on this simple technology?" She calmly answered me back. "Of course someone of my stature is able to control the mana flow to be as optimal as possible, without waste. However, I just don't feel like using my mana for something so trivial."
"Well in that case...any recommendations on what spells I should start off with?"
"Fire would be a good start, and the combinations you can do with it aren't too vast. Who knows, maybe we'll be done by the time dinner rolls around." There was amusement in Raspane's voice.
"You Morgues sure love to start fights with fire spells. Even the young ones out on the training grounds love that element, and if that continues to be the pattern then all it takes is a simple water spell to cancel it out." said I.
"Who wouldn't? Fire can be such a dangerous element to wield because it relies on the user's raw emotions and channels it into pure primal power. However, when done right, it is extraordinary. Of course you aren't wrong, a water spell can cancel out a fire spell, but even a powerful magician knows how to counter spells using the elements or continue to fight head on."
"Is it possible for a fire spell to counter a water spell?"
"Yes, if the caster is smart enough and be strategic for that kind scenario. Even if the counter doesn't work, one could turn the result in to favor." Raspane chuckled at what she perceived as a perplexed expression on my face. "In fact, why don't I let you experience that for yourself. Prepare to combine a simple fire and water spell please, something on a beginner's level so it shouldn't eat up too much of your mana. Both spells are simple enough and once you complete that we'll move on to others."
Keeping my breath steady I conjured a water spell with my right hand while the fire spell appeared with my left, my lips moving as I did my best to maintain both spells. Beads of sweat appeared on the surface of my skin as I slowly put my hands close to one another, keeping my eyes on both. There was a soft hissing sound when both spells touched each other, and soon I began to see small almost light wisps of white rise in the air. I recognized it as steam, pure water vapor produced by boiling the pure element.
"Good. Good! That's enough, that's what I expected you to produce. As you can see, a water spell combined with a fire spell produces steam. Any magician will probably wait until the steam settles down or dodge to not get burnt, but a smart and cunning magician will utilize that reaction to their advantage when the opportunity presents itself. What that opportunity may be...well, I can't exactly tell you, I leave it up to the magician's judgment." Raspane's voice spoke through and I canceled out both spells immediately, resting against my knees trying to get my breath back. "You know it's not often I give out praises but for you to produce a descent amount of steam on your first try, not bad at all. The amount of concentration needed to make sure everything aligns properly and timing the merge perfectly takes a lot more than one would realize."
"Huff...huff...huff...thanks for your praise...Clan head..." Lord it feels like I was about to pass out for a minute there once the spells touched each other...I got to get my breathing back under control, get the flow within my body under control. The mana within my body is slightly off, c'mon...breathe in and breathe out. In and out. In. Out.
"Hmmmm, perhaps we should limit the testing to two or three today, you don't look very well." There was concern in her voice as she said it to me. She must have detected something was wrong, so she observed my behavior as I got my breathing under control and the machines from up in the control room. "Or do you want to call it a day now and I can send you off for some self study with Joanna, knowing her she'll let you get away with eating lunch in the library so make a quick stop by the cafeteria. It's your choice."
"I can...I can keep going, my mana flow is stabilized and under control now." I assured her, making one last check myself to make sure I can handle what is about to come next. "We'll aim for three spells...and if that becomes too much, then you'll have to step in to make sure nothing bad happens."
"I won't allow anything bad to happen to an esteem guest such as yourself, especially one who is betrothed to my daughter. Now put this on for the next test." I looked as a mask and what looked like an oxygen tank materialized before me out of thin air. I fiddled with the equipment and slipped the mask over my face, the oxygen tank strapped securely over my back. "For this next reaction you'll be making some very dense smoke. When I say dense I mean it will be so dense that you need the equipment I have provided to not black out immediately. Prepare a fire spell and then add to it a wind spell."
I began to cast said spells with both hands, murmuring the words as the elements came to life. Much like the first test I slowly moved my hands closer together, brows furrowed in concentration to time the merging perfectly. First there was a small smolder and then it grew bigger and thicker. The whole room was soon shrouded and blanketed with the condense dark mater of billowing ash, blocking Raspane's vision as she looked through the glass. I couldn't hear very well much less see an inch in front of my face, but I maintained my focus to keep the spells running until I was ordered to stop.
I resisted the urge to breath heavily because I only had one tank of oxygen, didn't even have a chance to ask if the tank was magically limitless. With that in mind I was starting to become light-headed because I was limiting the amount of oxygen that came into my body. A throbbing pain started to well up in my eye, and in that moment I flinched which caused my mana flow to hiccup and fluctuate. Because of that disruption I don't know which spell took advantage of the change, but the glowing orange of flames reared up through the dark trying to consume the dark smoke; it was close enough that I thought a miniature explosion happened right in front of my face.
"That's enough! Stop the test!" The clan head of Morgue's voice thundered through the speakers and I cut off the spells immediately, lowering my arms to my side. My breathing was quite heavy and even with the mask covering most of my face, I could still feel the remaining sting and heat from the fire spell. There was a small noise somewhere way above my head, like something unlocking and opening up, and then I watched as the smoke begin to funnel upward as though it was being sucked and filtered through a giant vacuum.
"So that's what those were, multiple air vents." I murmured to myself when I saw the grates in an open position instead of a closed position like I had seen when I first stepped into the room. At the rate the smoke was quickly filtered through my guess is that Raspane was using her magic to speed up the process, the openings weren't big to begin with. Soon I was able to see through the mask and I looked up to see the clan head giving me a solid thumbs up. So I removed the equipment and took in short but quick gulps of fresh air into my deprived lungs.
"How are you feeling?" Her voice was calm and soft, no longer amplified and kept at a low volume to not make me feel any worse. "Can you keep going?"
"I feel like I want to pass out any minute now, was trying to not let the oxygen in the tank run out but because of that I wasn't feeding any into my brain." I commented before wincing and bringing a hand up to my face. The pain slightly ebbed away once I canceled the spells but it didn't completely go away. "And my eye is giving me problems now, but I should be good to go."
"Hmmmm, well keep a pin on that and I'll monitor anything weird from up here. Let's get the last test started then..." There was a pause as though she was thinking about what I should perform, her eyebrows knitted slightly and tapping her chin with a gloved finger. "How about a flare?"
"Flare?" I questioned since it was the first time I've heard of it. I don't even recall any of the members using such a high ranking spell, so it's probably something to use under special circumstances. "What's that?"
"It's a golden-white flame. Some of the teenagers here in Morgue learn this spell and its quite useful when we go out on excursions and camp outside; I have yet to permit its usage in a fight so of course you wouldn't be exposed to it, although you may get lucky to witness a basic holy spell being fired. We could use the most basic fire spells to light up torches, but the most elite ranking mages know that relying on the holy light and illuminate dark areas consume less mana. Besides, if a large gust of wind blows through a cavern or if it rains outside then those fire spells are null." Raspane explained to me.
"What's the percentage of members who are proficient on using holy magic?" I asked her out of curiosity.
"Hmmm, well...I'd wager somewhere between thirty and fifty percent? Which is quite high given how low the element is used, therefore not everyone wants to practice using that kind of element." The clan head said as she did some calculations inside her head and gave a quick estimate. "The percentage is even lower for those who really delve deeper into the holy studies. Therefore those who end up learning and utilizing holy magic are deemed irreplaceable and important; in fact most of the medical staff in our ward are proficient in holy magic because they're healers and holy attributes are most commonly associated as such."
"So I can make an assumption that holy magic is mostly used as support magic?"
"Well, it depends on the caster and the situation." Raspane was smiling by now as she tells me some more about how the members of Morgue operate. "Any form of magic can be used for offensive, defensive, and supportive situations. Magicians, unlike swordsmen, are very versatile units depending on the depths of their knowledge and the range of their spells."
"But that kind of versatility may leave the casters defenseless and that what makes the opponents go for them first." I could hear her clicking her tongue and make a small 'tsk' noise within her mouth and I frowned. "What? Explain to me how that's a wrong statement."
"A well-versed magician knows when to switch between spell types, therefore he or she would be able to cover all their bases while also lasting longer in fights; however, there are moments where there is a lapse of misjudgment in a fight. I have been stressing to my members since the day they were conceived that they should always prioritize their lives as well as the lives of their peers over the success of the missions."
That mentality is by far different and the complete opposite than those of Baskerville. Hugo would never have allowed missions to go unfinished, aborted or completed with a lot of mistakes; in his eyes any mistakes by one hound reflected poorly on the Baskerville Clan, so he takes the training very seriously – I guess that's one thing in common between the two clan heads. If Hugo heard all about the mistakes committed, it's usually jotted down in a lengthy report that crosses his desk the very next day, the clan head would be ruthless in re-training his hounds. Hugo makes sure that the same mistakes were never recreated and everyone learned from the mistake of the individual. It has always been a public learning experience that was intended to scare the new hounds and reaffirm the teachings of the old.
"And that is the beauty and art of versatility! Simply exquisite!" I blinked and realized that I had completely zoned out of the clan head's monologue, any thoughts that ended up with me comparing the Hugo of then to the Hugo of now always ate up a bunch of my time. Shaking my head to dispel anything else, I gave Raspane my full attention. "Well that's enough reminiscing about that. Let us continue. Please prepare to cast your spells to produce a Flare."
Wiping the palms of my hands on my pants after noticing that they were a bit clammy, I began casting. Soon I felt that the mana circulation flow was going a bit more aggressively towards the hand that was handling the fire magic. My thought was because the holy attribute was one I was not accustomed too as oppose to the fire attribute, the familiar one would take advantage and eat more of the resources. Noting this I tried to balance it out by only allowing the required amount of mana to go to the fire attribute, and increasing the flow towards the holy attribute.
Once I was able to level out both attributes I pushed both together and watched as a small but perfect golden-white flame shined through. It was as gorgeous as Raspane had described but actually holding it in the palm of my hands, words died before they could even form within my throat. It started out small then I slowly poured a little more mana to make the fire blossom, I increased incrementally to allow the fire have time to adjust to the energy I was providing it.
"How marvelous!" Raspane's voice came through the speakers. "Never before have I witness such a pure flame and maintained at this size. Your numbers look really good, dear, perhaps even better than most of the kids your age or higher. It always make my skin crawl with goosebumps when I'm in the presence of another genius. Hmmmm, there's a small warning that showed up but I think you'll be fine. For now it's a test of endurance and how long you can hold out." I was about to respond when a sudden throbbing pain reared its ugly head and I knew exactly where its epicenter was. The Eye of Chroma was definitely stirred and agitated whenever I used too much magic.
This pain is starting up again, thought it would show up earlier than expected...and it's really fighting to be unleashed and unconstrained! God this feels worse than when I first experienced it... I bared my teeth and held back any noise of discomfort as the Eye of Chroma began to break out because of how long I have been keeping the spell going. The most important thing now is to maintain the circulation of mana to be constantly stable, any disruptions would cause a reaction that neither I nor Raspane could imagine – although I already hypothesized that it'd be a very uncomfortable blast for everyone involved. The ball of white fire was burning so bright that I was hesitant to close my eyes fully, but to protect my retinas I had no choice and shut off my vision completely.
"Clan head...!" I yelled to her immediately, feeling a bit hesitant in continuing this research to the end. "I think...I think we need to cut off this test here! If we go any further...!"
"Just a bit more, you're nearly there! Don't you dare stop!" Her voice responded steely, leaving no room for negotiations. She really is using her authoritative voice on me. "Keep it as is! Fight through it!"
Beads of sweat began to form and roll down my face, their destinations unknown as I felt the strain throughout my body. Deep down I was honestly proud of how I was still standing, barely, and utilizing my gift with only the Morgue head present. If anything I need to use my time here in the Morgue Clan wisely because I don't want to showcase any of this talent in the presence of other Baskerville members. Especially not in front of Hugo because this is a surprise for him. So the best way of honing and improving these skills would be using them continuously within Morgue territory. What's even better is that I am being personally trained by the clan head herself and by extension her daughter Camus.
The pain flaring up within my eye grabbed at my attention once more, this time so forcefully that I nearly broke off the spells right then and there. But if Raspane told me that I was nearly there and that I should hold on, the stubbornness within me refused to yield. However, there was a cold feeling that began to take a hold of my being, my breath coming out in small hitches. This feeling of anxiousness or perhaps the feeling that blossomed from fearing the unknown I felt that had my heart within its grasp was one I had never known existed until now. Is this what it feels like when I'm on the brink of failure? When I will become labeled unusable, unneeded and finally discarded for another dog to take my place?
"I...I think I'm approaching the limit!" Words I never would have uttered in my life came out of my mouth and I could only imagine how Hugo of the past would've reacted to them. A man not known for acknowledging or accepting any form of weakness would no doubt have me put down. No questions asked. But I am not in Baskerville territory, and the person behind the screen is not Hugo. I am in a place where I am able to voice my opinions without worrying about the repercussions of my words, within reason; I'm not entirely sure how Morgue Clan handles traitors or defectors but it shouldn't be immediate execution on the spot.
"Don't be confined by the so-called 'limits'. Those restraints are only created and maintained within the mind as a way of preventing humans from achieving their truest potentials. If you continue to live by those restraints you place upon yourself, then you'll never know what you're capable of. " The clan head told me with an excited tone in her voice and an elated expression on her face that I could only imagine. The magical quill pen hovering nearby was scribbling at lightning speed, there's no doubt in my mind that she's documenting everything down to the microscopic level. "It is indeed possible to reach levels unseen in this world and you are the perfect embodiment of that!"
"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" One last push and in my haste to finish the test, I pushed the output of magic mana way beyond the optimal line. There was a slow waning noise that pierce my ears as the only warning before an explosion of mixed fire and light knocked me off my feet, my body slamming harshly into the back wall as the magical pressure was released. I couldn't breathe from the collision, and it felt as though something large was pressing down on my chest.
Managing to peel myself off the wall, leaving a good-sized imprint behind, I crawled and dragged myself to the elevator for refuge. The magic pressure was neutralized once I got inside – I deduced that Raspane had put some fail-safe protocols in place that makes the elevator operational in times of crisis – so I was able to get to my feet, albeit slowly and with care. The Eye of Chroma throbbed and pulsated with annoyance as I shakily pressed the button to go back to the upper level.
"O-Ow!" I grunted once I had disembarked from the lift and blinked a couple of times as though there was an eyelash in my eye or any other offending particle of dirt or dust that got in; I even had to raise a hand to rub a bit when just blinking didn't get the pain to go away. When blinking didn't work I attempted to generate some tears to cry out whatever it was that was irritating my eye. The magical pressure had finally died down completely and left behind a deafening silence, well almost deafening silence as Raspane was muttering something under her breath as she jotted down some last minute thoughts.
"Well...that was quite the experiment. Don't really know what I was expecting or feeling, but it is far from disappointment. No no no, in fact I was absolutely blown away! I mean, look at this glass window, there's finally a freaking crack in it! Astounding! What we witnessed was merely a fraction of the eye's power. I wonder if it'll increase as you become more and more proficient in magic...does that mean I'll have to think about bending the rules a bit and let you see more high-level spells?" The last part was spoken mostly to herself as she glanced over and noticed that I was still rubbing my eye quite harshly. The clan head frowned at the action and said, "Dear, come here. Let me take a look before you rub your eye to oblivion and ruin your sight."
I waddled over and sat down in one of the many chairs, lowering my hand to let her take control. She gently took my face in her hand and inspected my eye, observing how I tried to keep it open but kept wincing a lot so it looked as though I was winking at her. She could also see the attempt of crying, but it seems like it was a futile effort. With a look of sympathy, Raspane held a calm hand near my eye and moved her lips as she began to whisper a spell under her breath. A cool and gentle warmth began flowing into my eye and its effect was immediate, soothing the pain away till I was able to keep both eyes open.
"There, all better for the time being. Perhaps a side-effect because you used too many spells which your body found as a foreign aspect, but that's just my speculation. We could test it out but it would be a burden on you to endure the pain." said Raspane as she withdrew her hands, letting her arms to drape at her side. "Overtime I wager a guess that you'll become more accustomed and familiarized with your magic to the point where the pain won't be an issue, or it would even go away. For now we'll focus on the baby steps, you're still learning how to dual cast for the first time. Now that I think about it, you are the second child I've oversaw practicing at this age."
"Let me guess...Camus was the first?"
"The one and only. She's not called a genius for nothing, honestly blew my mind the moment she came into my chambers hollering about how she could chant four spells at once." The clan head took a seat herself before folding one leg over the other. She had a faraway look on her face as she reminiscence of the memory. "I thought for sure Rose was going to be the second child after Camus to try and learn dual casting since she's ahead of her peers in terms of curriculum...but I never would have accounted for the genius of the other clan to show up before me with something so valuable. Now I have to rethink things through..."
"I mean I'm not Morgue born so technically Rose will still be second in line when she becomes of age." I told her.
"Though that may be true, there's no rule that said I couldn't think about throwing you into the mix. It has led to very fascinating results and before I knew it I've integrated you in everything I think about." She tilted her head to the side and said, "If you ever think about deserting the Baskerville Clan for whatever reason, Morgue will welcome you with open arms."
"Please don't make jokes like that. Someone will take it the wrong way if they heard those words." So the clan head can also have these thoughts too. Now I can see where or rather who the princess gets her wild ideas from. I kept that thought to myself as Raspane escorted me to the door, stating that I should take the rest of the day to recover after experiencing the fastest depletion in magical energy coupled with the throbbing pain in my eye.
"I shall be seeing you same time and place for our continued research for the duration of your stay here, may have to rethink how we test so you don't experience something like this ever again. Clan head's order so no one will dare to question it. Luckily this time shouldn't collide with any of the classes and you may have some breathing room for self study so you just hurry on over, no need to knock on the door because I know it'll be you. Pick up lunch on the way if you find you can't sit and eat, you'll need the energy regardless. If my daughter or any of her sisters ask where you're going or beg to tag along...well, you could bring them with you here, they can be persistent little busybodies when they want to be and stick like glue. I'll deal with it myself." She wished me a good night and closed the door before I could get a word in.
Later in the night...
"Tch, I was so fucking careless on the field right after you left. You know I'd thought you'd stay a bit longer to watch me win most of my matches before slinking off to Mother's chambers. One of my classmates got in a lucky strike while dodging two of my offensive spells. He closed the distance between us before I could do anything about it and fired a lightning spell at close range." Camus winced as I helped her patch up the wound on her left flank, the skin an angry red color as I spread some soothing cream on it. I came back to the room to see her struggling to hold her shirt up and apply the cream at the same time, but because she was twisting to even reach the area it further agitated her wound and she cried out in frustration.
So I had her sit at the edge of the bed and hold her shirt high enough for me to dress her wound; I went about my nightly routine and washed my hands before tending to her, didn't want to agitate the wounded skin in any way, shape or form. Once I had slathered on a generous amount of the soothing cream, I gently pressed a large cotton pad against the area and bound it snugly with bandage wraps.
"Did you block his advance?" I asked her and she looked at me as if to say, 'who do you think you're talking to?'
"Of course I did...barely...I barely blocked it properly so I still got stung before creating distance between us. That guy even had the nerve to taunt me for not throwing up a basic shield, said that even a toddler could've stopped him, but I knocked him out of the arena with my own spell in anger."
"Proud of you, but if you think about it it could have been worse. Your opponent could have fired off any other spell like a fire spell for instance and you'd get more than just irritating red skin; remember when you got blown up during our sparring match? All your clothes got burnt away but not a scratch on you, so I'm saying you were lucky." I finished bandaging her up and stepped back, taking a small amount of pride in my work. It was only the bare minimum since I was not a medic, but by Baskerville standards I may as well have achieved a gold medal. "Okay, all finished. But it would be good if you go and visit the medical ward and get a checkup with one of the staff members."
"Thanks, I'll stop by there tomorrow and see what they say. Maybe I'll get lucky and a healing spell will be all I need to get back to full strength. I really need to figure out how to best use my quadruple casting and set up defensive spells when opponents avoid being hit." She sighs in mild irritation and lowers her night shirt, covering up her bandages carefully. Slowly lifting up the blankets she crawled in before adding, "You'd think I learn my lesson after my fight with you...but clearly I have not."
"As cliché as it is, it's not too late to start making changes for yourself. Now that you got hurt because your strategy didn't work, it shouldn't be too hard figuring out a countermeasure to cover your defenses." I told her as I got into my sleeping bag and zipping it up. "And I kept telling you that using your quadruple casting from the beginning wasn't going to be a winning strategy in the long run, but your stubbornness and hardheadedness keeps you from looking into other possibilities."
"Don't fix what is not broken." She muttered.
"And what's broken is still being used, apparently. Do you really expect using this strategy repeatedly will yield different results every single time?" I replied to her offhanded comment. "As a prime example you should know that the answer is no."
"But what am I if I don't fire off a quadruple casting from the get-go when the fight starts? That's like the signature move of Camus Morgue. Usually when I do that the other side would automatically surrender to me and we'd leave without a scratch on our bodies." I really didn't want to laugh in her face for how idealistic and naive that thinking was, so I ended up letting out a hybrid between a snicker and a snort. Camus definitely heard it and snapped irritably, "You wanna say something about it?!"
"That way of thinking will land you more wounds than what you receive today during training match down the road, wounds that are more than just stinging skin." I paused for a moment before telling her, "I don't want to see you with a wound that you couldn't come back from. I want to prevent that from happening."
"Then...what should I do?"
"You're a genius so you could probably figure a solution out for yourself." was my quick response. I didn't hear anything afterwards so I assumed she wanted to sleep so I rolled over away from her and closed my eyes, but I soon felt a hand reach out to grab the back of my shirt near the neck. After a moment of silence I asked, "What's the matter, princess? Can't sleep so you feel the need to hold onto me like one of your teddy bears?"
"...no, and don't you dare compare yourself to my bears. I just...can't get my brain to quiet down after what you said." The voice was small, but with only the two of us in the room I can hear her clearly. There was some rustling which indicated that she was perhaps trying to close the distance between us but moved slow due to her wound. Sighing to myself I unzipped the sleeping bag enough for me to wiggle backwards towards her, but still kept my back turned. Once I was close enough to feel her head rest against my back, I re-zipped the sleeping bag a bit to trap in some warmth.
"Since sleep seems to be eluding us at the moment, I'm all ears. Tell me what's on your mind so that we can quiet it down." I told her and waited for her to collect her thoughts.
"I...I thought there was nothing I couldn't do, the world was at my fingertips...once I was able to perform the quadruple casting for the first time. I was so proud of myself I ran to Mother's chambers, rousing her from her sleep just to tell her what I was able to do. Of course she was skeptical because for one, no one in the Morgue Clan could perform such a feat, and number two I was quite young." She started off, making sure to give me some context. "I pestered her and persuaded that I could do such a thing until she dragged herself out of bed and we made our way to the training room. On that morning she bore witness to what is called a 'genius', and soon word spread throughout the clan.
"I was full of pride, arrogant, and cocky, seemingly putting myself above the others and thinking that I was a big know-it-all when showing off my talents. I quickly soared through my classes and separated myself from my peers. I caught the eyes of many wherever I went and because I was so far up in my head I didn't realize how much of a double-edge sword it was. While people looked at me in awe and admiration, others looked at me as though I was some other being and avoided me. At first I thought I wasn't trying hard enough to please everyone and win their approval, but then my head got real big and I relied too much on my skills to get attention and approvals from my peers. It was like I was intimidating others into submission instead of genuinely winning them over.
"Just when I thought everything was mine and I could have whatever I want because I deserved the right to, you appeared before me, just as arrogant and cocky. In front of your clan head and my uncle you stood up against me and my ideals for our rights to the Ruby mine. You remember that whole exchange so I won't delve into that. The first time I felt...like I had hit rock bottom was when we sparred and afterward. You had me all figured out, a mere mutt without an iota of magic, even making me act like a fool before members of both our clans. What I thought was an invincible strategy to unleash at the start of a match was shattered by another genius...and I couldn't do anything about it.
"When I came home after the joint training I threw myself into research, trying everything to figure out how you were able to best me. But there were words that were spoken and whispered throughout the clan from that day forward, about how a lowly, illegitimate Baskerville dog was able to win against a prestigious magician of Morgue. I had never felt so embarrassed and humiliated, other than sitting on the arena and accepting your jacket when my clothes got burnt off. I didn't go to the cafeteria and I even avoided attending my classes. I hid away in my bedroom and forbid anyone from coming in.
"It took my mother using her authority as Clan head to meet me in private and spoke to me as mother and daughter; she even brought me meals and fed me when I refused to eat myself. She told me that she would always be proud of me no matter what and that I should use my loss against you as a great learning opportunity. That was what got me out of my funk and I returned to class and ate properly. Soon the negative words disappeared and I did my best to improve in my skills and swore that I would never lose again. But... what happened in the training matches today, experiencing someone bypass my spells and get close enough to hurt me with a spell, it just brought back those feelings I felt from back then. It took everything in me to swallow the emotions down and continue to fight until the end. I refuse to make a scene before my classmates, I am the goddamn daughter of the clan head for goodness sake!"
"Princess..." I murmured, reaching over my shoulder to touch her hand, indicating that I wanted to roll over. She removed her hand and I rolled to look at her. She was on her back staring up at the ceiling, but I could see the tears threatening to drip down from the corners. The red-haired princess quickly wiped them away so they wouldn't get a chance to fall, I know that she'd rather be caught dead then cry in front of me.
"I...I was scared...and I still am even now. I'm scared that if not one but two people – one from another clan and one from my own – were able to get past the one thing that gave me a leg-up on my journey to becoming a great magician...how many more will be capable of such a feat? Everything that I've done and prepared for, I was eager to show you just how much I had improved since that day, and yet I still managed to mess up. I feel like everything I've done...has been for naught."
By this time the tears did fall and she didn't bother to hold them back anymore. Slowly I moved my hand and brushed those tears away, watching as she raised her own hand to cover mine. Rising to an elbow I helped roll her gently onto her right side so she was facing me, making sure her movements weren't jerky or sharp enough to disrupt her wound.
"You have done nothing wrong. Everything you've done has not been for naught, even if it's just baby steps." I assured her, laying back down and brought her close to me in a gentle hug, being mindful of her healing injury. She tucked her head underneath my chin in response, draping an arm over my body as well. "All you need is a bit of guidance to step on the right path."
"...is this your way of offering your services?" Her voice was a bit muffled, but I smiled briefly against her hair.
"Unless you have anyone else here that catches your eye then let me know in advance. I figured you'd want the first person to ever bested your technique to show you some tips and tricks. Besides, I have yet to thank you for your time teaching me about magic as well, whether it is theory or practical. Think of this as my way of giving back."
"But how are you going to manage your time? Between accompanying me to classes and being a guinea pig to my mother, not to mention taking breaks and eating meals...there's too many things to juggle around." She pauses and then laughs to herself, "Not to mention I have a feeling that you won't be getting away from Rose so easily like you did back in the cafeteria. She's sharp and cunning."
"I guess I'm looking forward to what that little girl has in store for me. As for what we should do, don't worry about time management because I already have an idea on how this could work."
"Really? That's awfully fast-thinking of you. What did you have in mind?"
"It's quite simple really. We can always just do our own training before bed like you do in your spare time out on your balcony when you think everyone else is fast asleep in the wee hours of the morning." I felt her body stiffen in my arms at my words, and I put on an innocent expression on my face. "Oops, did I say that part out loud? My bad."
"How'd you –?! Where you spying on me?" She pulled back to look me directly in the eye, aghast with what she heard. "I thought I was being quiet and you were sound asleep! I would know because I checked every single time before I go out!"
"Checking me out while I sleep? And you accuse me of spying, how naughty of you." I grinned at her and feigned hurt when she punched my shoulder with a fist. "Oh, and you're not as quiet as you think you are, princess. I hear the muffled squealing noises you make when you get something to work. You're lucky I'm the only one who hears them because they're very cute."
"Sh-Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! How dare you say something like that so candidly!" Her face was absolutely flushed as she tried to cover up her embarrassment. "You damn dog! I hate you so much! God you're so infuriating! Gah!" She winced as her left side throbbed from her erratic movement and instinctively covered her side with a hand.
"Careful there." I quickly showed her my sincerity and worry, placing a soothing hand over hers. As much as I enjoy teasing her it didn't feel great causing her any more pain. It was like kicking an opponent who was already on the ground and I was trained to never do that sort of ugly behavior. "Sorry, I shouldn't have riled you up too much since you're hurt."
"To think you'd be the one to comfort me like this, it feels somewhat weird." She grumbles but allowed me to pull her close once more, tucking her head under my chin. I took note that she didn't bother to move my hand from where it rested over her wound, and I smiled to myself. "But thanks for your concern."
"Any time, princess." I whispered softly as sleep soon overtook us, and our eyelids closed as we prepared to go to dreamland. "Any time."