Chapter 18: [Duchy of Inferna][9] Archmage Evelyn
Hours had passed since Evelyn’s test began. Now, we were in the garden of her home, and she was putting me through a grueling lesson.
"No, no, novice!" Evelyn chirped. She hovered a hand’s breadth above the ground, as graceful as a lily, without a single speck of dust on her. I, on the other hand, was on one knee, panting for breath.
Drops of sweat, mingled with mud, ran down my face and stung my eyes. On Evelyn’s command, I was trying to cast two different spells at once.
With one hand, I was drawing mana from the surrounding air to form a wind shield, meant to protect me from her sudden attacks. With the other, I was attempting to create a fireball fed by my own internal mana reserves.
But it was like trying to speak two different languages at the same time. My mind was splitting, my concentration shattering, and the spells were fizzling out before they could even form.
"This is impossible," I hissed, my voice hoarse with fatigue.
Evelyn descended slowly, that conceited smile playing on her lips. "Can’t the Duke’s little favorite manage something so simple, little one? Your very existence is an anomaly. Elves command environmental mana because their bodies are a part of nature. Demons rely on internal mana because their bodies are furnaces of pure energy. You, however, have both. This isn’t a curse; it’s a gift. Your mind must become like that of a master who can perform different tasks with each hand. Defend with one, attack with the other."
She walked toward me and touched my forehead with the tip of her finger. "The problem isn’t here," she said. "It’s here." She gestured to my heart. "You’re trying to ’think’ about both powers at once. Don’t think. Feel. Feel the flow of the spring within you and the tide of the ocean without. They are a part of you. Don’t try to command them; flow with them."
Her words were simple, but for a moment, something clicked in my mind.
Until now, I had always seen mana as a force to be controlled, something to be bent to my will. What if Evelyn was right? What if I was meant to dance with it, not fight it?
Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes. I set aside all my fatigue, my anger, my doubt. Just as Evelyn had said, I focused on feeling.
The pulse of that warm, potent internal mana flowing through my veins... and the whisper of the cool, endless environmental mana that caressed my skin and rustled through the leaves of the trees...
For an instant, just a fleeting instant, everything fell into place. In my left hand, the whisper of the wind coalesced into a stable, spinning sphere. In my right palm, a small, flickering but brilliant flame was born from the energy within me. Both existed at the same time, without disrupting each other.
The image shattered within seconds, and I collapsed onto my back, utterly spent. But I had done it. Even if just for a moment, I had succeeded.
Evelyn looked down at my crumpled form, a disdainful yet faintly pleased curl at the corner of her lips. "Good. You’ve taken a small step. But being able to do it isn’t enough. Mana is not only your strength, it is also your limit. If you run out, you are finished."
I stared up at her, breathless. "What do you want me to do? I’m already giving it my all..."
Evelyn shook her head. "And that is precisely why you’re doing it wrong. Mana isn’t something to be spent with brute force. Think of it like a river: if you build a dam, the water gathers, and a single drop can do the work of a hundred. You can condense mana the same way, achieving much with little."
She snapped her fingers. A thin spark of light appeared in her palm. At first glance, it was insignificant; yet, a few heartbeats later, the spark grew, shining like a small star that lit up the sky. I flinched back in astonishment. She, however, looked as if she had exerted no effort at all.
"See? With a handful of mana, I can place a sun in the sky. Because I am not forcing it. I am not commanding it. I am simply letting it flow, but in the right direction, with the right density. You, on the other hand, are flailing it about in every direction. That’s why you tire."
Her words resonated in my mind. It was true. Every time I cast a spell, I tensed my muscles, strained my mind, trying to forcibly pull the mana with my will. Yet Evelyn did it as naturally as breathing.
"So... how do I condense it?" I asked.
Evelyn knelt, pressing her palm to the earth. Instantly, tiny sprouts pushed through the soil, blooming into flowers within seconds. "It all begins with intent. Mana responds to your emotions and thoughts. But only when you guide it. Not when you order it. You don’t need to draw in all the air to make a shield; just call upon what you need. You don’t need to burn your entire internal reserve to create a flame; just release enough to feed the spark. Remember, sometimes a single spark is all it takes to burn down a forest."
Her words echoed within me. I closed my eyes, focusing on the flow of mana inside me. Before, I had seen it as a beast bound by ship ropes; but now, it was just a river, flowing in its own bed. Instead of shouting at it, I tried whispering. And it answered.
A tiny flame appeared above my palm. It was much smaller than before, almost negligible. But Evelyn narrowed her eyes, watching it intently.
"There it is. Power lies not in size, but in efficiency. With that tiny fire, you could melt a shield if you place it correctly. Because it is made of pure, condensed mana."
A new excitement stirred in my weary body. To be able to do more while spending less mana... if I could truly learn this, I would never be depleted on the battlefield.
Evelyn stood up and offered me her hand. "Get up, novice. The real lesson begins now. It is not the spending of power, but the distilling of it into its purest form that will set you apart from the others."
The sky was beginning to bleed into the unique shades of orange and violet of sunset. The beams of light filtering through the forest cast a magical atmosphere around us. As I lay exhausted on the ground, a voice startled me.
"Cass! Are you here?"
It was Iris’s cheerful voice. A few seconds later, she emerged from between the trees, a burst of energy as bright as sunlight. Her cheeks were flushed from running, and a few leaves were caught in her hair. She stopped for a moment when she saw us, especially my wretched state.
"Oh my gods, Cass! What did this woman do to you?" she asked, rushing to my side in a flurry of concern.
Evelyn rolled her eyes. "We were studying, little canary of the Duchy. Subjects far too complex for your delicate mind to comprehend."
Ignoring Evelyn’s jab, Iris knelt beside me. "Are you okay?"
"Just a little tired," I murmured, warmed by her concern.
"Perfect! Because you don’t have time to rest," she said, grabbing my arm and trying to pull me to my feet. "Let’s go."
"Where?" I asked, confused.
"Today’s training is over. My mother said so," she added, shooting a defiant look at the Archmage.
Evelyn just shrugged. "Suits me. I’ve had enough of this specimen for one day. Be here at dawn tomorrow, little one. We won’t stop until you can turn that one moment of success into a full hour."
Iris ignored Evelyn’s threat and began pulling me toward the duchy. "Come on, Cass! Faster! We’re going to be late for dinner."
...
As the grand silhouette of the duchy began to appear in the twilight, Iris suddenly stopped. The hand holding my arm, which had been playfully tugging me along moments before, was now clenched with tension. Her usual bubbly energy had vanished, replaced by an anxious shadow that fell across her face.
"Cass," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "There’s something very important I have to tell you."
I stopped and turned to her. The last rays of the sun filtered through her hair, illuminating the worried expression on her face. "What’s wrong, Iris?"
"My grandfather... he’s returned to the duchy," she said in a single breath. "He’ll be with us at dinner tonight."