When Kingdom Goes

Act II - Chapter 2

The first few days of training were eye-opening to Rose. Faust had started teaching her the fundamentals of magic, expounding on what Vanessa had taught her previously.

"Now that the basics are out of the way, we'll get to spellcasting. Every spell has a pattern that must be weaved before casting it. Once you get better at using certain spells, you'll be able to weave mana in your mind instead of your hands. However, if you weave the mana incorrectly, you'll get a misfire or, in a worse case, a different spell entirely." Faust explains.

"What exactly is a misfire, and why is it better than getting a different spell?"

"In the majority of magical mishaps, a misfire is safer because it won't hurt you or anyone else if the spell misfires. Typically, the gathered mana would simply disperse itself back into nature when you misfire. In the case of accidentally casting another spell, there isn't a good way to predict what spell will cast, nor the effects of said spell."

"Yes, sir. Makes sense." Rose says as she scribbles his words onto a piece of paper.

"Good. Now I'll show you how to weave mana."

He starts by gathering a ball of mana in his hands. He touches the tips of his fingers to the ball, creating strings of light mana connecting his fingertips and the ball. He starts to weave the strings into the shape of an ax, casting the Weapon of Light spell. He grabs it, swings it around a couple of times, and then dismisses the spell, causing the ax to disperse itself.

"Your turn. Gather the mana in your hands and then imagine it changing into strings. After that, begin weaving it into the same pattern that I just did."

Rose follows his instructions as best she can, resulting in an ax made of light. This ax lacked a firm form and faded away quickly.

"Good first try, but next time, pull your threads a bit tighter."

She tries several more times, with numerous failed attempts. It wasn't until about an hour later that Faust realized something was wrong. She was troubled.

"Something on your mind?" He says while putting a hand on hers.

"No, everything's fine." She says while raising her hands, still attempting to focus on her training.

"I don't think either of us believes that. Take a break. Let's chat for a little while."

"Sure. How did you get so good at magic?" Rose says while dispersing the mana in her hands and turning to Faust.

"Hm... It's always come to me naturally. However, if I was ever baffled by anything magical, I could always ask my late master for help. I'd never gotten to see her full power, but every time I saw a glimpse of it, it was awe-inspiring. Even now, I still strive to become as great as her. She was an incredible magician and an even more incredible teacher."

"Who was your master if you don't mind me asking?"

"No use describing a person you already know."

She knew instantly. His master was one of the people she couldn't protect.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't help her either." Tears begin to well up in her eyes.

"You have nothing to apologize for."

"Yes I do! She died because I wasn't strong enough to stop Xander! I wasn't smart enough to catch on to Zero's plan! I wasn't good enough to see that Sera was a spy!" She stands up and shouts at him with tears streaming down her face.

"Everybody keeps saying everything's fine and that I shouldn't feel this way but... they just don't understand." Rose sits on a chair and puts her head down before teleporting out of the room and onto the rooftop.