9 Years, Forest Clearing. The Wind rises
Brian, Ione and I are sitting on the large boulder in the middle of the forest clearing. It is noon – of the same day we found the beheaded boar. Earlier, Brian used wind magic. He agreed to explain me how he did it, back then. However, we are not at our trusted spot near the old tree trunk in the outer back village outskirts. There are two reasons for that: First, things as wind manipulation might raise suspicion of a possible observer. Second, and that reason did even beat the first in urgency, we needed a change of pace. I suggested this spot, since I know it well from the times I sat here, reading in "What is magic? The basics." and making my first attempts in heat manipulation. I originally left it because of the mercury hazard, but the poison should be gone without a trace by now.
It is cold. While it had been the whole day, fresh winds started to blow in the past few hours, diminishing the temperature to downright chilly levels. Still, the winds that envelope us are fitting to what we are trying to do. I am constantly running a self-heating spell on low power, warm enough to keep myself from freezing, but not hot enough to cause discomfort – an act that uses about a tenth of my magic coefficient. Ione and Brian had to resort to thicker clothes, they re-suited themselves earlier when they went home for a short break. Brian thought about informing his father of the fallen animal and its condition, but I talked him out off it. It would be best if nobody knew about the fact that we buried a considerably large cadaver, since questions would arise then on how we managed to achieve that feat.
"Now, look. I'm waving my hands. Can you feel it? The air blowing into your face?" Brian sits in front of me and Ione, rapidly shaking his hands in front of our faces. Ione nods, as I can see in my peripheral vision. Indeed, I feel it as well. However, that is nothing to be surprised about, it is how these things work.
"Truly, I feel it. But what is your point? How is that going to lead us any further?" I got a few hypothesises, but I want to hear it from Brian himself. Knowing him, he probably just "enhances" his hand swings with magic. I still get puzzled about what he can and what he cannot do with his power, or how exactly it works. It only seems the first category is ever so larger than the second. Personally, I like me my magic muscle. It is simple, and effective. It does not involve any childish gesturing.
"Glad that you asked, Rei! It is simple: By waving your hand, you make the air move. Now, just use magic to make a lot of air move!" Brian explains it like it is the most obvious thing in the world. Certainly, I thought that far already, and even further beyond. There was always one point where I hit a solid roadblock: How to imagine Air, and concentrate on it? Stone, yes. Water, I can see it. Air? What is it even? But, I can not blame Brian for thinking like that. Even if I would like to for him stating things I figured out months ago. Fact is, he succeeded where I failed, he accomplished what I could not.
“But how do you focus on the air? I was at that point as well, months ago. How can you direct your magic energy on the air? I do not get it.” Maybe, just maybe, I can get an intelligible explanation out of him.
“Hmm, let me think...” Brian scratches his forehead, and finally give his conclusive answer. “Think of water! When you move your hand in water, it creates ripples. I think it is the same with air! Just think you are underwater, but that it does not slow you down, and you don't drown. That is what I think of, for myself.”
I sigh. “That is not how it...” I disrupt my words mid-sentence. I spoke them before even considering his explanation. However, the more I think about it, the more sense it does make. If I think of air as a liquid, I can think of wind as a current. Who knows, that may even be close to it's true nature. I never tried to create water currents, but that is because there never was a good chance, so I never thought about it all too much. Still, it should not be all too hard.
I go through a thought experiment, starting with me accelerating a portion of air around me, focusing on this portion alone rather than the whole air. It is similar to manipulating a droplet of water opposed to the whole cup, a very basic and easy technique I mastered long time ago. If I were to accelerate this portion, it would surely push all surrounding air to the side. If you scoop through shallow water with a finger, there is a place where there is no water whatsoever. It quickly gets filled by the surrounding water, but it is there nonetheless. The same phenomenon would most likely happen with this scenario of air manipulation as well.
However, this would be a short gust, and not a continuous stream, therefore not quite what I want. It is most likely what Brian did earlier this day to blow away the fly swarm feasting on the boar flesh. Perhaps I should try to master this gust first, and focus on a stream afterwards. Normally, going this thought train all by myself, I would have done so. However, I feel like I need to correct something, a kind of broken power level. Up until now, It was always me who taught Brian, and not the other way around. I would prefer for it to stay that way on the long term as well.
To get a stream, I would need to switch focus from one air portion to another each time the current one hits the maximum range of twenty-five meters. Still, that would not be a true stream, either... more like chaining a lot of short bursts all together. It also would use up inexcusable amounts of concentration and focus.
I notice Ione's bright red hair swaying in the wind, back and forth. Indeed, it looks like sea grass in the river, swaying in the water. Only with twisted colours, red instead of green... Brian's hair is swaying as well, but a lot less since it is considerably shorter. “Reiland?” My gaze jerks abruptly back to Ione, who said my name. “Maybe consider telling us what you think?” Oh, right. It has been over a minute since I ended my sentence without finishing it, and retreating into my own mind. I wave her off, and turn around. I can not afford to be distracted now.
I suddenly have to think of my bed. Right next to it, there is a crack in the shed's wall. Sometimes, wind flows through, and blows into my face while I try to sleep. It is only sensible a short distance as it quickly loses power. Is that not the answer? Instead of accelerating a certain part of the air no matter it's place, I have to accelerate a certain place's air, no matter what specific air is inside. It does not matter what lies in before and beyond that place. Air will continue to flow, just like water in a river.
I stand up, and step into the centre of the boulder's top. I stretch out my arms to balance myself. Then, I concentrate.
On what? Air. That I all I need to know. I do not have to see something to manipulate it. I proved that much by flinging around stones eyes closed. A rectangular portion of space, right in front of me – kind of like a opened book. I know something is in that space, and I accelerate it.
Magic euphoria clouds and sharpens my mind at the same time. At first, I feel a new, all so slight wind tucking at my robe, competing with the way stronger, predominant wind that blows all the time. To further steel my concentration, I undo my body warming, exposing me to the cold, but enabling me of the usage of my full coefficient.
I slowly, but surely, increase the power put into acceleration. The tucking grows stronger, and turns into a notable grabbing. I feel my hair fluttering in the wind. I open my eyes, and part of me is surprised the rectangular space I had imagined so clearly is not visible to the bare eye. In return, its effect are not to be overseen. I feel my robe getting pressed onto my body, doing little to nothing to protect me from the wind's harsh cold, but at the same time making it indescribably more enjoyable.
Finally, I have reached my full coefficient. I initially stretched out my arms to gain stabilization, now I keep them stretched out to feel the wind even more. The wind tries its best to blow me over, but I refuse him with a secure two-foot stand. It is nowhere as strong as the gust Brian evoked earlier. However, it is still the real deal – wind manipulation, a goal I strived for for a long time, and that I always avoided because the concept of air, and having to think about it, scared me. Who would have thought that it is as easy as imagining it as water?
I try keeping the air current up as long as possible. Yet, all good has to end once it's due. My body is trembling, on touch my skin feels cold as ice. Gradually, I decrease my used coefficient, and finally cease my magic. I sit down, and reapply my warmth shielding. Like sitting down next to a gentle fire in the homely oven while a snow storm is raging outside, my body temperature stabilizes, and I can only describe my mental state as deeply serene.
The only wind left is the same that had been blowing before, but in face of the wind I called just now, it seems like nothing but a tepid breeze.
Unexpectedly, a voice emerges from behind. “Wow.” I twitch around, only to see Brian looking at me in what I learned to classify as awe. Ione has a similar look on her face, although to a way lesser extent. Right. “Oh. I had forgotten about you, for a moment.” Following a sudden urge, I continue with another sentence. “Your advice was not even half bad. Thanks for that, Brian.
“You certainly looked that part...” Ione states, probably in reply to my first sentence. Brian, on the other hand, seems delighted. “Happy to help! Now you got to explain me how that cool long wind works!”
I laugh. It was not my intention. I did not plan it, and I did not see it coming. Had I known, I would have tried to keep it inside. It is not a laugh at Brian, which I would not do, but a laugh with Brian, which I normally would do even less. It was not a bad feeling, though. And, it was a first of its kind, ever since Ione, Brian and I met.
“Sure thing! We got time, and plenty of it!” I say, unusually delighted. Even a bit of anticipation was in play here.
“I happen to be interested in that as well...”, from Ione's side.
“Let us start, then. You see, imagine a rectangle....”
Hours late, I stand right in front of my domicile. Today was a brilliant success – learning the nature of air, applying that in a very practical use... I thought it would be a matter of minutes to teach the siblings my findings. I did not even frown on the prospect of having no technique Brian is unable to use. However, I was wrong. I tried, and tried. Rectangles, cracks in the wall, water currents, streams, droplets in cups, air portions in the whole, they seem to have understood it- but are unable to put it into practice. This left a small stain on the bright day. Is it that I am a bad teacher? After all, they needed a year to learn the basics of magic under me, whereas Brian was able to explain wind manipulation, rather advanced techniques, to me in a mere few minutes. Ione was able to use wind bursts, at least. At the end, we cut the total time a bit short today.
I decide to not let that bring me down, and open the door. Mother is sitting on a wooden stool in front of the oven, a pot of stew right on top. She is noticeably not putting stress onto her ill left leg. Father is sitting at the table, counting small handful of shining iron coins – most likely nothing more than a few prim, and the occasional secun. “Rei, right in time! Dinner is ready!” My mothers clear voice echoes through the room.
I nod, and step inside. It was cold outside, but inside, it is at least fine without heating my body any further. I fold my robe, and lay it on top of my sleeping spot. Then, I sit down at the table, on a third roughly-carved stool. Almost immediately after, Father helps Mother take a seat at the table, and continues to fill the stew into three bowls, handing one of them to each of me and Mother, and keeping the third for himself.
What concerns stews, it is one of the better ones, even spiced up with some potatoes. The only way to get it here is to buy them, so Father must have taken some money to buy the ingredients of that.
“How was your day, Son? Had you and your friends fun?”
“Guess so.” I avoid talking too much. I do not want to concern them with the gruesome find we had today – Mother is burdened enough with her leg, and Father with the increased workload he has to do since Mother is unable to do any real work that requires walking.
I eat in silence, while my parents talk about life in a light manner, as if nothing of what is happening would concern them. How can they be so happy even if it looks so grim for them?
A hint of remorse floods my mind – I could easily improve our situation, would I use my time for something that helped them. Or my magic. Yet, they never asked for my help, never even gave a hint of that. Always appreciated when I brought a animal, or helped otherwise. But not once asked for my support.
Yet, perhaps I love them for exactly that.
I decide it is time to go to bed. I nod to Mother, then to Father, and then lay down to sleep.
Dream 4
Everything is bright and warm. The ground feels soft, comforting my feet as I stride upon it. I am neither hungry nor thirsty, nor do I have any complain at all. I feel fine. Things could stay that way, and I would not mind.
Silhouettes form out of the bright light, and I recognize Brian, Ione, Father, Mother, strangely even Arstibal – all them with beaming smiles on their faces. I want to be happy like them. What is keeping me?
The dark. At the horizon, mountains are towering way beyond anything I have ever seen. Over them, dark clouds have formed themselves. An urge comes to my mind, and does not leave – what is in those mountains? What is to be discovered there? It will not be as pleasant as that situation here is, that is sure. But the most important question that I ask myself is: Do I care?
I take a step towards the mountain range.
