Chapter Five

   When I awoke, it was at the break of dawn. I heard a familiar voice, but sleepiness kept me from identifying the name. I sat up, trying to get my blood flowing enough to function normally, then I realized who it was. It was Belgar.

“Ah, good, I see you are awake. We shall begin our lesson now.” Naturally, I started to protest, but he simply hushed me and said. “A sorcerer’s mind must be sharp, no matter what happens. So training early in the morning is good to develop those skills.”

I walked toward our normal spot, without any other complaints, and set the book two feet in front of me and sat quietly as he appeared.

“What is it we are going to do today?” I asked tiredly. He smiled at me; this seemed to be what he wanted to hear.

“We shall work on the most basics of Taikoas today.”

I sat for a moment, surprised. “So I am going to be working with Magic?” He nodded.

“I see no other way that you will be able to quickly learn it my dear.” He faced his palm upwards and stretched his arm out; twirling his fingers he formed a small orb made of what appeared to be fire, flames danced inside the orb just as it would if on an open fire. However, it had a soft blue glow that outlined the entire surface of the orb. He grabbed my hand and put a single finger on it, I recoiled, expecting it to be burning hot, but to my surprise it was very cool to the touch.

“When working with any Taikoa always remember, you can distinguish the nature of it simply by looking at the color along the surface. Untrained this orb looks seemed to be of fire, but if you look closely you will see it had a tint of blue. Therefore, the nature is actually of water, not fire as it appears.”

I looked with amazement and slowly reached my hand out to touch it once more. It felt as if a stream of cool water from a fresh creek was flowing across my hand.

“The basic Taikoas are Fire, Water, Air, and Life. While most can use them, very few know there true purpose. For it is limited only by your strength and imagination. When you infuse any of them with your magic, the colors will come out as: Blue"Water, Orange"Fire, Green"Life, Air, Air is tricky, for it seems invisible, but to those who have the keenest eyes, it is actually the faintest of yellows.

 This being said, Air is one of the most powerful of the basic Taikoas, for it can move any of the other elements, but keep in mind, Air is also one of the hardest to control and if you lose control at the wrong moment. The results could be disastrous. It is because of this reason that very few take up learning Air Taikoa, and of the few who wish to learn it, even fewer become masters.”

I sat, soaking up everything he told me, making sense of it all. “Now today I am going to have you work with a start spell, as a focal point.” He motioned me to stand, and moved my body into the position he desired, once he was done, my feet were separated, left arm was palm down and perpendicular with my midsection, my right arm was extended slightly in front with my palm facing upwards. “Now Syrese, focus on fire, draw it from deep within, and remember magic is a part of you, guide it, do not command it.”

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, slowly; I felt my fingertips tingle and heat up. I opened my eyes and saw in the middle of my palm a tiny flame, no bigger than a blade of grass. A smile tugged at the corner of my mouth and excitement rose in me, and then the flame slowly faded from existence. Belgar looked at me, amused, and forced me to sit.

“I want you to sit here and hold the flame for longer, remember it will take much concentration, but will become easier with time. Once you can hold it, make the flame bigger until it is of good size. You may not eat until you have completed this task.”

I started to protest, but he held up his hand and slowly faded away.

I let out a sigh and sat. As I tried to concentrate many things began to catch my attention, the sound of the nearby creek gurgling, the breeze in my face, and the feeling of tiny creatures crawling along my skin.

I stood and walked to the creek, cupping water in my hands and running it over my face and my arms, not only washing away the dirt, but washing away the tiredness that had come from lost sleep. I walked back to my spot, staring at my hand, using every bit of my will to keep on task.

I worked until well past mid-day, seeing notable progress in my concentration and the flames response. Following Belgar’s instruction, after it became easier to hold the flame I slowly began to make it larger, feeding it more energy, little by little. Once the flame had become the size of a small sapling, I held it up and whispered, “Belgar, is this what you were aiming for me to do?”

He appeared in front of me, much quicker than all the times before, and examined the flame. Suddenly, I saw a flash and I quickly turned my head to see, but kept half of my concentration on my flame. As I looked back at my flame, my flame had diminished to half of its size.

Belgar chuckled and said. “When you work with a spell, the more concentration you put into it, the stronger the spell will be. No matter the situation, this is why only the most disciplined of sorcerers can become combat sorcerers and why no one has yet to discover a combat Taikoa.”

I nodded, letting my flame disappear as my stomach bit at me with hunger. I looked at Belgar and spoke with my eyes, he nodded, understanding.

I walked to where Arthur and Keiju talked. Picking up a piece of bread and a chunk of dried meat, I sat down across where they sat. Keiju gave me his typical cheery smile and Arthur asked, “How does your training go Syrese?”

 I took a bite of meat and replied, “It seems to be going well, but it has only begun.” He nodded, and we all went on in silence.

For the rest of the day, until the stars were well in the sky, I worked on the basic Taikoas. I went from Fire, To Water, to Life. After which Belgar admitted me to sleep, I slowly walked to my bed mat and quickly fell asleep.