The Youngest Mage [Completed]

(3) The Training Begins

They walked back together to the Efaltel mansion. Dalbreath told no one what he had done with the rock, not even his mother. They went out after breakfast the next day, and the day after, but all he was able to do was move the rock an inch or two to the left or right.

"What were you thinking that first morning you made the rock fly?" said Leanha, on the fourth day after he was able to first move the rock.

"Let's see," said Dalbreath, "I was thinking if only this bird was a rock, I mean this rock was a bird."

"No, I think the first one thought is right. Why don't you try it again, only think of it as a bird. It can't hurt. Let's try that."

"Okay," he said. So he tried it, imagining a beautiful bluebird instead of a rock. This time the effect was immediate. The rock flew out of sight under the great canopy of the Winter Tree. Dalbreath giggled as he watched it until it was out of sight. "I guess I'll never see that rock again," he said with pride.

Dalbreath looked at Leanha and smiled. "Thank you, teacher," he said.

Leanha smiled back, and said, "Why do you call me teacher?"

"Well, I've never seen a rock on the Queens Mound before, and because people never come under the Winter Tree in the morning. Most come at night when the fireflies dance beneath the canopy of the tree so magically. Also they never leave rocks there. You are a teacher, my teacher, so please teach me."

She looked satisfied. "Well if you're going to be my student you're going to have to throw away that pride of yours. Prideful people seldom make good Mages."

"I'll be good," said Dalbreath.

"You'll try," said Leanha. "Let's hope you try hard enough."
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It took nine days before Dalbreath's request to become a Mage came before the Elden, and it took them four days to reach a decision. The Tilithneaa never took any young child's request for granted, for they believed that such requests often came from the soul or other spiritual forces influencing the young one. So while wise ones deliberated on Dalbreath's future, Leanha gave him his first lessons in Magery.

It wasn't long before Dalbreath made the rocks they brought with them fly off in every direction. Then soon he was able to levitate three rocks at the same time. "Tomorrow I'm going to teach you how to shape-shift," said Leanha one morning as they walked home.

"Can I be a lionoceros?" he said.

"What's that?" she said.

"It's half lion, half rhinoceros," he said.

Leanha resisted the temptation to laugh. "How about we stick to one or the other. Lions don't eat grass and Rhinos don't eat meat. Your poor stomach wouldn't know what it wanted."

Dalbreath laughed. "I was just kidding anyway," he said.

"Oh you were?" she said, then she messed up his hair, but he just calmly took out his comb and combed it. They smiled as they walked back to the mansion in silence.
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The next morning Leanha got permission from Maurinn (Mrs. Efaltel) to take Dalbreath on a ride into Numptt Forest. The forest only reaches a little ways into the land of Rhet, for most of this old growth forest is in the land of Lirnn, and extending east all the way to the land of Rhean-Rhe. Legends say that Numptt Forest is the oldest forest on Avalon. Most of the trees there were fifteen to twenty feet thick at the base of the trunk. Of course they were all saplings compared to the Winter Tree, but even Dalbreath was in awe of Numptt Forest when first he saw it from Rubadon's back.