Lionheart

Training

"Now it is your turn Linley" Linley looked at Maud with a hint of uncertainty in his mind "Teacher, what am I supposed to do?", Maud stood up and stood behind Linley, he said "Just cross your legs, close your eyes and I will explain all the rest" Linley felt awkward at first but as he saw Maud's serious gaze fall on him, he crossed his legs and closed his eyes.

As he closed his eyes he could fell the cold breeze flow over his face, he could hear the serene sound of the water as it flowed and hear the leaves rustle as the wind blew them, he could hear the birds chirp but he could not see any of it , Maud's voice interrupted nature's silence as he said "Now listen well Linley, this is called meditation, it is a process used to infuse magic, a wise mage meditates often and stores the infused magic in his Edurna for use during a battle" Linley tried hard thinking of different ways there could be to infuse magic, he peered hard into his brain but felt nothing .

"I feel nothing teacher " said Linley, as he said so he felt and heard the sound of Maud sitting beside him and placing a hand on his head , Linley felt his hand , it was big and warm it made him feel comfortable for unknown reasons. Then Maud said "Magic is present in every living thing Linley, all you have to do is feel it, dig deep inside your body and feel where does magic reside, this is something you have to learn for yourself Linley"

Linley closed his eyes again and started concentrating, he tried and he tried. A languid look was clearly visible on his young face, he thought deep but all he felt, was emptiness and all he thought was nothing, he had no experience of magic but still he tried as hard as he could, beads of perspiration appeared on his forehead, as he exerted all his strength in an attempt to focus on any speck of magic he could find in him, but, he failed.

He opened his eyes and looked at Maud, he saw an expression on Maud's face as if he knew that this was going to happen, in a polite voice he said "Good, I am impressed that you kept going for half an hour, most of the new mages stop concentrating when they reach the fifth minute" Linley knew as he opened his eyes that Maud was impressed by his efforts, but still he was not happy with his progress, Maud looked at him and saw a look of dissatisfaction on his face , he moved his hand gently on Linley's head and said "Do not worry young man, today is just the first day, and you cannot rise until you fall ", his words made Linley feel better.

Still dissatisfied with himself he said "Once more teacher" Maud smiled and said "Very well then, prepare yourself " Linley closed his eyes and prepared himself for the search of magic again , he could feel the air and all the tantalizing features of nature around him, but to his despair he still could not feel magic anywhere inside him, he tried hard again converging all his attention to his mind as he thought, that it was the most probable place for magic to exist , he focused harder every time, as he went deeper into the deepest corners of his mind , and finally ,he found it.

He could feel the warmth, the touch and the strength of magic, it was really small in quantity but enough to overwhelm Linley, he went ahead and found the magic to be behind wards, he tried to break them but was unable to do so, as he kept trying he could feel himself getting exhausted he tried harder and harder but was unable to harm the wards even a bit.

He could feel his body giving up as he felt his muscles going limp, his head felt heavy but he did not budge he wanted to try as long as he could carry on, as he prepared himself for a final blow he felt warmth on his head, it was a familiar touch, it was Maud's hand, Linley felt power flow into him as soon as the hand was placed on his head, he could feel strength he had never felt before, prepared with the new energy that flowed through him he forced the wards and to his surprise he broke through them as if they were made of nothing but paper, he could clearly see the light in the dark corner of his mind ,a speck that it was ,it emanated from a small orb of magic forming a spectrum of colors in his mind , he admired it for a while then moved towards It and gripped it tight .

As he touched it, he felt a new power spread through him, all his exhaustion was gone, it was like he had been reborn his mind was clearer he could feel everything, his sense were amplified, he could hear the moles in the ground as the dug deep Into the ground, he could hear the flap of wings of birds as they took off from a nearby tree, he could hear the gnawing sound of an eagle as he feasted ravenously on his recent prey, he could feel the wind as it blew over the tall grass, he could smell the fresh fruits as they clung to the trees ripe.

He sat there as he felt the energy weaken and finally, diminish, he opened his eyes and had a huge smile on his face as he shouted looking at Maud

"I did it teacher, I finally found magic inside me"

Maud moved his hand on Linley's head and said in a voice full of satisfaction "Yes Linley, you have done it" Linley smiled and giggled celebrating his discovery when Maud interrupted and said "You have done well Linley, but" Maud paused with a bit gloomy look on his face and said "The magic you discovered was very little" Linley's expression dulled, he knew that Maud was right, the magic was too little, It was not enough to be used in a battle. Maud stood up and said "This is enough for today Linley, but remember, magic is not present in just one place, there are still many places yet to discover " and he started walking as he said "Practice makes a man perfect but too much practice is not good as well , Go home kid and have some rest meet me here again tomorrow ." Linley knew that he could only get better and as he walked home he stood admiring the sky and said

"So this is Magic"