Echoes Of The Wixx

Chapter 7: Echoes Of Determination

Echoes Of The WIxx

Chapter 7: Echoes Of Determination

Alister stood tall, his sword held at the ready as he faced his father's instructor, the gruff but skilled swordmaster, Vincent. Alister's father, the Lord of the estate, stood behind Vincent, his eyes fixed on his son with a critical gaze.

"Again, Alister," Vincent growled. "Remember to keep your guard up and your footwork sharp."

Alister nodded, taking a deep breath as he launched into the attack. He had been training with Vincent for months now, but he still couldn't seem to get it right. His father's constant criticism was wearing him down, making him feel like he was never good enough.

As Alister swung his sword, he could feel his father's eyes on him, judging him. He knew he was supposed to be a skilled warrior, but he just couldn't seem to master the basics.

Vincent batted Alister's sword aside, his blade flashing in the sunlight. "You're slow and clumsy, Alister," he said, his voice dripping with disdain. "You're not worthy of wielding a sword like this one."

Alister felt a sting of humiliation as he looked down at his sword. It was a fine piece of work, but compared to Vincent's blade, it seemed dull and clumsy. His father stepped forward, his face stern. "Alister, you're wasting everyone's time here. You should have the basics down by now, but you don't."

The harsh words rang throughout Alister's mind giving him the feeling of failure.

Alister, drenched in sweat and shaking, awakes from this nightmare. He gazes around to see nothing in the dead of night. The fire was extinguished and the wood covered in white ash was illuminating a bit of orange from the timber. He looked over to the other side of the camp and saw Zephyr sleeping peacefully before lying back down on the grass below the tree.

Alister was shaken from the dream he had awakened from while recalling some of the harsh training he had to endure. It had been about two days of traveling since the pair had left the village and had set out to Alister's family's estate and so far everything was going well.

After lunch, Alister continued to train Zephyr in the arts of magic, as promised. "In order to wield magic, you must envision the element in which you want to conjure. For example, I shall conjure the flame magic in the palm of my hand by envisioning a campfire, the wood engulfed in the flames, feasting on the fuel allowing it to burn." After explaining that to Zephyr a ball of fire had appeared in his hand before shooting it at the lake that stood in front of them.

"Once you can envision it multiple times you eventually get the feel, you can then produce them at a faster rate, observe." After that four balls of fire created an arch over Alister before he sent them to be swallowed up by the lake creating enormous splashes of water which created a rainbow above the lake.

"Now, it is your turn," Alister said while looking at Zephyr. Zephyr would take a moment and a deep breath before envisioning her interpretation of fire. Homes engulfed with flames and the screams of people trapped and slaughtered rang through her mind as memories flooded back of her hometown being attacked.

"I shall use the unfortunate events in my life to fuel the hope I may bring into others' lives. The power I may obtain from magic could save lives and prevent others from having to experience what I went through." Zephyr had said while a ball of flames covered the palm of her hand.

"Now, throw it into the lake." Alister pointed to the lake while saying. Zephyr, with all her might threw it however, it only went a few feet in front of her not even getting close to the lake.

"Congratulations Zephyr, I knew with enough time and training you could do it. This is the first spell you have been able to cast, however, we will continue to work on it but for now, let's continue your training."