"Back from the start." Melysa said. "Remember what I've told you about your breathing."
Damian controlled the size of his mana radiance, focusing on maintaining a steady rhythm. Earlier it had been a torrent of mana energy surging violently around him. But the moment he let go of his worries that clouded his mind, his aura flowed like smooth ripples in water. From how he first awakened his mana radiance and mana reinforcement, it was all very much the same, the fundamentals is the only way around.
With his right hand raised, he channeled magical energy through his palm and casted [Waterball].
A ball of water formed in his hand. It went from the size of a snowball, before expanding to that of a pumpkin. Damian's casting was no longer erratic, at least with this particular spell.
"Hold it for as long as you are able." Melysa instructed. "It will be physically exhausting since you're using mana and your physical stamina. But certainly it will help you build endurance over time."
Damian found his focus once more. He kept in check with his emotions that will hinder his casting. Magic itself is volatile, and by its nature it can only be controlled precisely by the wisest and most experienced mages. Archmages to be specific. Indeed it was always his goal to be one of them, and this exercise is just another step towards it.
He held the waterball for half an hour, and it remained remarkably steady. Even Melys was mildly surprised. Moments earlier he had been a startling little boy, and now his composure resembles that of a wise sage.
Melysa watched Damian closely, her eyes were still cold, but she had been watching him like this for half an hour as well. It was calculating, like scrutinizing his every movement and breathing, down to the little movements whenever he felt like slacking his arm. Damian felt her presence judge him, and he let her, because if he wanted to prove how much of a prodigy he is, then this is the exact moment to do so.
The exact purpose of this exercise was to test his level of control, and avoid spontaneous overcasting caused by sudden bursts of emotions. Fear, anxiety, and worry, if all mixed together, can create a whirlwind of effect like a tempest ready to sweep away everything on its path. After an hour had passed, Damian finally let out his first heavy exhale ever since he had done this exercise. Each breath now labored and sweat came pouring in his forehead. Yet he endured. Because he learned one thing from his father: to prioritize mind over body. The very same thing Melysa was teaching him. And so he endured for a bit longer, until…
A snap coming from behind caught his ears, and the waterball floating from his hands popped like a bubble. It splashed into his face, startling him. Melysa grabbed a handkerchief from her robe and gently wiped his cheek. It felt somewhat maternal, though she lacked the fond expression of a mother. But even so, Damian's heart was filled with warmth by such a simple gesture.
"That's enough for today," Melysa said, "You have shown a somewhat decent control and followed my instructions. I am satisfied. Not bad for our first lesson, little one."
"Uhm, thank you, Master!" Damian blurted out, bowing his head. "I'll do my best on our next lesson."
"Of course you will," Melysa replied, her finger raising his chin to meet her freezing gaze. "Because if you slack off, I will get bored, and when I get bored, I will certainly fall asleep. You wouldn't want your master dozing off in the middle of teaching her lesson, would you?"
"Never!" He said, gesturing his arm to an X while shaking his head.
"Good."
A loud, thunderous crack boomed across the castle yard. A bolt of lightning crashed down from above, landing in a safe distance between Damian and Melysa. Snow vaporized into fine mist and tiny sparks danced around the massive silhouette.
Well, that was quite an entrance… Damian thought.
As the mist faded, Damian finally had a chance to look at the figure clearly: a towering and imposing man even taller than his father, with bright auburn hair and braided beard on both sides, he stood menacingly on the cobblestone floor of the castle yard. Out of all features, the most notable one was his golden eyes that shone bright even on a clear sunny day.
It could only be the founder of Emberhall, the Duke of Aisdel—his grandfather, Ericus Vermilion, the Red Lion. He stared at Damian for a mere heartbeat before bursting into a guffaw that echoed across the battlements. It was even louder than Lord Cedric's laugh, and that was loud enough for Damian to cover his ears. His grandfather walked towards him and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"I saw what you did, boy." Ericus said with a wide grin plastered on his face. "For a boy of six, that was impressive! I even felt your mana radiance from my office while I was speaking with your father, so I stepped onto the balcony to watch. The waterball you casted, indeed, was the size of a massive boulder. And you even sent it flying upwards to make a brief rain!"
"Oh, thank you so much, my lord!" Damian said, bowing to Ericus. "Uhm, it wasn't me who sent the waterball flying, but my master. Archmage Melysa." He gestured his hand towards his master.
"Well, you have quite an excellent master." Ericus said, looking at Melysa. "To manipulate a large-scale spell independently from its original caster, could only mean a very profound understanding of the arcane. You better listen to her attentively, little cub." He ruffled Damian's hair as he guffawed.
Damian can't help but giggle at his grandfather's gesture.
"Oh, one more thing," Ericus said. "You don't need to call me "my lord", a simple grandpa or grandfather would be just fine."
"Yes, grandpa."
"Ever so polite, hm?" Ericus said. He lifted Damian off his feet and locked him in his arms. He held him for so long as he had missed his grandson so dearly. Eventually, he pulled just enough to face Damian. "The last time I saw you, ah, when was it? It was months ago, last winter, you didn't seem like the boy to be disturbed in your family's library. Have you finally been going outdoors?"
"Yes! Father had been training me in swordsmanship with Ivan."
"Or so I've heard. Training in both magic and sword, truly my grandson is a great prodigy destined for great things!"
With how things are going, everything seemed to be smooth sailing for Damian. He had everything, a loving family, potent bloodline gifts, and a powerful master to not only teach him powerful spells, but absolute control of his magic. A grand start for a future Archmage.
Later at the courtyard of castle Emberhall, Damian, still cradled in his grandfather's arms who refused to let go of him. They were already about to head home, the carriage behind them waiting, but Ericus wanted to spend more time with Damian, whom he hadn't seen for a long time. Of course, the boy was also reluctant to depart.
A cold afternoon breeze swept through. Soon, the sun will go down. Lanius insisted on riding home as quickly as he could, knowing his wife and eldest son were waiting for him at home.
"Why won't you stay for at least the night, Lanius?" said Ericus. "A single night wouldn't be so bad?"
"I need to get home as quickly as I can, Father." Lanius said as he sighed. "My wife and eldest son are waiting at home."
"Nonsense!" Ericus objected. "It is already almost going dark and I oblige you to leave at dawn, where the road is much clearer. Why the haste?"
Lanius went still for a moment, considering his father's reasoning. "Fine…" He agreed. Although he seemed reluctant as ever.
"Great!" Ericus exclaimed as his grin beamed through his cheek. "Damian, it seems we get to spend quality time together afterall."
"Okay!" Damian cheered, his energy soaring through the roof. The thought of spending more time with his grandfather, and even a living legend more on that, gave him the best grin of satisfaction.
Night fell. Damian, Lanius, Sir Robin, and Melysa gathered in Ericus's grand hall. Even though only four of them sat at his table, the food was abundant, almost like a feast. Indeed, Ericus put so much effort into making this night memorable for his grandson.
It felt like he was at the Redford manor's dinner table again, except the tales recounted by the head of House Vermilion were grander compared to Lord Cedric's bragging of his newly knighted son.
Ericus spoke of the time he crushed an entire fleet of twenty raider ships, all armed with advanced cannons, headed for Aisdel's coastal towns by himself.
With his massive greataxe and the ability to control lightning, he decimated anyone who ever tried to board on Northern land. He flew in a flash of lightning and boarded from ship to ship so he could slaughter the invaders head on. None of which survived, for he was far too strong and too fast for the raiders. Truly it was amazing, and terrifying at the same time.
One time he fought a giant Frostbear that ran astray from the Dragonspine Mountains—the great barrier bordering the Northlands from the Frostlands—which he had slain by throwing it back towards the mountains at incredidble power. It couldn't have possibly survived such a great fall from the sky, so he assumed it was dead the moment it hit the earth.
Lanius sipped his wine nonchalantly, while Sir Robin who sat next to him listened with utmost attention. With the way his eyes glimmered, looked rather fascinated upon hearing tales from a legendary man.
I never thought I'd see the stoic Green Knight listen attentively like a child. Damian mused while munching on his steak dipped in warm gravy. Sir Robin had adopted his lord's stoic demeanor, so seeing him with child-like enthussiasm made him giggle a little. He washed down the food on his throat with grape juice.
Looking near his seat, his master happily ate all the food, beef steak in particular. From what Damian can assess, she is an avid meat-eater, but she also liked eating the vegetables served on the table, so perhaps she is more of a hearty eater.
Once dinner concluded, Ericus guided them to their quarters. Lanius settled in his old bed room at the west tower, while Damian settled in the room next to his father. Julius—his father's older brother—had once occupied the chamber.
Sir Robin stayed in the bed room of middle floor. Melysa's is located at the east tower, though she was nowhere to be found. He assumed she must have wandered off around the castle; Damian decided to do the same since he couldn't sleep at all.
On his way towards the corridor, he spotted his master with a small fire ball floating beside her as a lantern She was dressed in a white sleeping robe and a red pointed nightcap. Even in the dim hallway, her light-blue eyes gleamed brightly like gemstones.
"Why aren't you in your bed?" said Melysa, striding closer to him. "Go to sleep, little one…unless you intend to follow me to the library for a night lecture?"
Damian gasped softly at being caught. "I would love to!" He blurted out, nodding eagerly.
"Hush…be quiet." Melysa said, pressing her index finger on Damian's lips. "Okay, let's head to the library."
…
Inside the library, the cold air lingered and smelled of old parchment. Melysa lifted her finger to ignite the firewood at the fireplace. Flames roared to life, filling the room with warmth and cozyness.
With a casual wave of her hand a silver magic circle opened mid-air and pulled out a massive, plush bean-shaped cushion and dropped it onto the rug. Melysa tapped the small space, urging him to sit down beside her.
Damian sat down comfortably, noting how she pulled out her big and fluffy cushion in thin-air. Spatial Magic? He mused.
"That was Spatial Magic you just saw, little one." Said Melysa as she pulled out a massive spellbook from her magic circle.
I swear she can read my mind! Damian thought.
He leaned over as she opened the book between them. Intricate gold patterns traced the borders of the cover, as well as on the title which was written in an unfamiliar language. Ancient elvish most likely.
Melysa flipped the page of her spellbook and stopped at the part that was written in westrian. She discussed the fundamentals in a low, even sequence, explaining how daily meditation quieted the mind's distractions, allowing a mage to take hold of the current of mana radiance inside their core. Once a caster was able to control that current, they can manipulate the shape, size, and power output of their spells however tbey want..
Another thing, Damian practiced using a basic waterball spell to test his control earlier and he would have to repeat the same exercise until such time he successfully controls it without fail.
"Hmm, which element are you well equipped, Damian?" Melysa asked.
"A fireball spell was the first thing I ever casted when I first awakened my mana radiance." Damian said. "But I am also able to use beginner-class earth, wind, ice and water magic."
"I see." Melysa said, shutting her heavy spellbook with a dull thud.
"At your current rate of growth, your mana radiance and casting output won't fully align until you reach the age of twelve. That is my exact calculation."
"Really?" Damian said, his shoulders slumping forward and lets out a long sigh of relief. Twelve was only six years away, afterall.
"Truly…" Melysa said. "Because my training methods will certainly push you to your limits until you could barely move a limb."
"No problem." Damian said, suppressing a joyful sound. "It is my utmost duty to be your best student."
Melysa quipped a fraction of smile on her lips. It vanished just as quickly as it appeared. She reached over and ruffled his hair before standing.
"What a brave little one…"
***
At dawn, the golden sunlight hit the earth to illuminate over the horizon after a freezing cold night. Ericus refused to give up Damian. He wrapped his arms around his small body and squeezed him, afraid that he might vanish.
"Grandpa!" Damian wheezed, giggling at his grandfather's intense hug. "You can still visit me during my birthdays, you know that?"
"Yes, but it is better if you live here, along with Ivan."
"Oh, Ivan would love to, and he will train endlessley at the training yard."
"I still cannot fathom why your father still chose to live in that old mansion in Melvor?" Ericus said. "He has everything here in Aisdel, its his birthright. Emberhall has plenty of rooms it could offer for his family."
Lanius stood near the carriagge with his arms crossed, watching them in silence. He woke up early before dawn with their trasport already prepared.
Damian squirmed in his grandfather's hold, tapping Ericus's thick shoulder. When the Duke leaned down, Damian cupped both hands around his ear and whispered a few rapid words. He casted a quick glance towards his father to ensure the wind carried his voice away.
Ericus froze for a moment, his eyebrows shooting up. A low chuckle rumbled in his chest, and he gently lowered Damian onto the pavement.
As Damian and the others settled inside the carriage, Ericus waved his hand for one final farewell.
"Let's see each other again to your seventh birthday celebration and Ivan's eighth!" Ericus said with a booming voice. "Goodbye, little cub!"
"Goodbye!" Damian cried out, looking over the window as he waved back.
As the heavy iron gates of Emberhall clanged shut behind them, Damian pressed his forehead against the cool glass, watching the mighty Emberhall shrink against the horizon.
Behind them, the city walls vanished beneath the white glare of the endless plains, leaving only the rhythmic clatter of hooves on cobblestones and the long, dark rows of ancient trees stretching toward Melvor.
After some time they crossed the Capital City roads, passing by the white stone buildings that almost blended with the snow gathered around the corner of the streets. A mile further with the main gate drawing near, they finally departed the city, headed towards their home at Melvor. Soon it disappeared in the vast plains of snow. Only the cobbled path of the northern road and the darkwood trees that were systematically placed on either side stretched ahead of them.