Unblinded Faithful

Chapter 7: Of All Trades

"Here you go," Arlant places the dish on the table in front of the boy. It looks like a simple boiled potato dish with some sauce on the side, strangely appetising to a point.
He gulps, and slowly cutting a piece before dipping it in the sauce, he takes a single bite.
"S...so good!" puffing air from the hot food in his mouth, Aide's amazement with the dish made from such simple ingredients makes Arlant have a wide, proud grin across his face.
"I used to be a pretty good cook for my squad back when the War of Yearning was still in full swing. It's been a minute, but I'm glad I haven't lost my touch!"
The boy nods his head as he devours the dish, slightly burning his tongue as he does.
"Dad's dishes don't taste nearly as good as this, how did you make it so delicious?"
"Trade secret, kid. And stop talking with your mouth full. We're going straight out to the training yard after this."
A gleam showing in his eye, the boy jumps in his seat in excitement.
Just this morning his father had left him in Arlant Stavron's care. After having promised him that Arlant would teach him how to use magic, he has been awfully cooperative with what has been happening.
Lunch passes in a heartbeat, and they both left for the yard.
"Before we start magic training, I want to look at how far your swordsmanship has improved. Take a good swing from where you're standing at the air."
"And you'll teach me magic after, right?"
Arlant nods his head, and the boy hops in place with joy before running to the sword racks.
He rummages through them for a second before pulling out Dorothy, and, quickly unsheathing it, takes a stance.
He inhales and clutches his sword tightly before moving his right foot back a step, and turning his left foot to the side.
His arms make a cross of sorts as they hold the sword to the right side of his head, and the dazzling glimmer of the blade shoots out in all directions.
Spinning it over the leftside of his face, he swings the sword downwards, and it disturbs the calm air around them as it rapidly moves through the air and halts.
"..."
"So? How was it?"
"...Well, you suck."
The boy looks devastated.
"Haha, I kid, but you definitely don't have much talent with a sword. That might be because Gideon was never keen on swordsmanship either."
"What? Dad was bad with a sword?"
Arlant moves part of his robe to show a sword attached to his hip with a thin blade covered in a black scabbard.
"If it was just swordsmanship, I'd beat him even if we fought a hundred times over," he says, flashing a confident smirk. "But, if it was a normal fight he would certainly win..." he grumbles under his breath.
Aide tilts his head at his words, his curiosity clearly showing on his face.
Ignoring him completely, Arlant takes his sword off his hip and draws some shapes in the dirt besides his feet with the tip of the scabbard.
Not paying any mind to the pouting Aide, he starts explaining, "Now listen here. Magic is the essence of living beings, a type of energy, so to speak."
He draws a minimalistic depiction of what appears to be a cloud, a spike, a square and a wave.
"Living creatures with sentience can shape their magic in specific ways to cause changes to reality. In simpler terms, if you wanted to cut a rope for example, you'd shape a sword in your mind to cut it."
"So, these little shapes are what I have to think about to cast a spell?"
"These are the shapes of the four basic elements, air, fire, earth and water. Spells are a little more complicated than the basic form, but that won't matter for now."
"It... won't?"
Arlant smiles, and pulling out a small bead from his robe, he continues, "Take this little thing for now. You're going to cast your first spell."
Holding the clear bead in his hands, Aide looks intently at it for a few seconds before asking, "What am I supposed to do with it?"
"Hold it in your hands, and make some mental effort to cast a spell."
"And I'm supposed to think of a shape while doing this?"
He shakes his head and says, "You'll think of... nothing, while casting the spell."
"Huh...?"
"Think of water, no shape, no form, seeping through your hand and into the bead to fill it with your magic. This is called Enchantment, and at its simplest, it's essentially infusing physical material with magic. Now, go ahead and do it."
"A-alright, then," he says as he grips the bead tightly in his hand, and closing his eyes, he focuses his consciousness on it.
A few moments pass by without anything happening. And just as the boy started doubting that anything would happen...
"H-huh?" Aide suddenly loses all the strength in his legs, and his balance breaks. It's as if all the energy in his body left him at that moment.
His view starts to drop as he is falling towards the hard ground below him, but just before hitting it Arlant catches him in his arms. "Good. That's enough for today. You'll be doing this for the next month, so be prepared to experience it plenty more times."
"Was such a simple act enough to completely exhaust me?" he thought to himself, but couldn't continue the train of thought as Arlant's words are the last thing that falls on his ears before he is knocked out cold.
Arlant gently lifts him up, and the bead that was in his hand rolls away and drops on the dirt.
It's slightly glowing. He chuckles to himself and says, "So you're going to be good with magic, huh... I'm looking forward to working with you, little fella."
And the first day of Aide's magic training concludes, just as quickly as it began.