The rhythmic sound of footsteps echoed through the training field like the prelude to an imperial march. The morning, though warm, felt cold in the austere presence of Dalia Vernhardt. Her dark hair was pulled into a black braid, and her gray cloak fluttered over her shoulders like the wings of a raven. Her posture was ramrod straight, hands clasped behind her back—the very image of authority.
Elyandra walked two steps behind.
With her long hair tied back with a dark ribbon, she rejected the jewelry and frivolous garments of the nobility. She wore simple training clothes, much like her tutor, though the fineness of the linen and the impeccable stitching betrayed her high-born origins. To common eyes, she might pass for a disciplined child seeking virtue. To watchful eyes... she was a contained flame.
— We shall begin today with the basics — Dalia said, without preamble. — What do you understand of magic, Lady Valemortis?
Elyandra tilted her head slightly. Her voice was sweet and light, but it carried the cadence of a high-caste lady.
— Magic... is the art of bending mana to one's will without the use of blades or steel. A power that, if properly shaped, can build whatever the mind desires.
She smiled sweetly. "Or, at least, that's what I read in 'Treatises on Magical Manipulation,' volume two."
Dalia arched an eyebrow.
— Hmpf. You are not incorrect... but you are dangerously incomplete.
With a gesture, the tutor summoned a pale sphere of fire in the palm of her hand. It was unstable, somewhat translucent, but perfectly abnormal.
— First, understand that in the Empire, we call magic users Magic Knights. They are warriors of body and spirit, trained to conjure as much as they fight. However, this designation is ours. In other countries, they use other names: Mystics, Channelers, Rune Guards, Mages, or Celestial Warriors, depending on which nation we are talking about. Their purposes vary as well. Here, magic is a weapon. Out there, it may be faith, art... or heresy.
Elyandra watched intently. Her amber eyes captured more than light; they absorbed intention, posture, and structure.
— Magic Knights — she repeated thoughtfully. — A beautiful name for a heavy burden, isn't it?
Dalia smirked. — Fair point.
She raised her other hand. Now, a dense sphere of dark energy emerged, orbiting the first. With a snap of her fingers, they collided in the air, and the dark sphere consumed the flame.
— All humans can manipulate all magical elements. All of them. There are no natural restrictions, except for two absolute exceptions: Divine Magic and Demonic Magic. There are also specific magics, variations of the norm, but that is for another day.
Elyandra made a subtle pout, like a confused child.
— Divine magic belongs to the Saints and Priestesses, those blessed by the Goddess of Light. It is an inherited gift, not a learned one. Demonic magic is... different. It is not taught in books. It is transmitted by corrupted entities, born from places the Empire does not dare to name. Its origin is a mystery, and its practice is forbidden.
Elyandra crossed her arms.
— So it is a field... fertile for the ambitious and the greedy.
The tutor narrowed her eyes.
— But back to the living — she continued. — All other elements—fire, water, air, earth, light, darkness, shadows, metal, wind, and arcane variations—are free. However, there is a turning point called "affinity."
She began to walk around the girl while conjuring various magical elements.
— Two people can cast the same spell. One of them might have three times more mana... but if the other has an affinity for the element, their conjuration will be more powerful, faster, and more precise. Raw power without attunement is like screaming underwater.
Elyandra smiled. "So basically, it's like a class system. If I get a weapon for a class that isn't mine, I can't extract 100% of its potential. Interesting."
She took a deep breath, feeling the warm air fill her lungs. The gears of her mind—those belonging to a veteran MMORPG player—were already spinning at full speed.
— Tutor Dalia — she began, adjusting the loose strands of the bow tying her hair. — If I may ask... how exactly should someone like me work on their affinities?
The question was asked with subtlety, like an angler casting bait. Dalia didn't blink. The answer came firm, like someone who had seen more battlefields than tea parties.
— You have an affinity for Divine Magic, which was expected. This is trainable. There are methods, fundamentals, and theory. You will have access to all of it; perhaps you can even ask for help from the Sisters of the Church who also use Divine Magic...
A pause. A slight narrowing of the eyes.
— But your Spiritual affinity... that will be complicated.
Elyandra blinked. Once. Slowly. "Complicated... how?"
Dalia turned, walking toward the center of the training field. Her boots traced invisible lines in the packed earth.
— Spiritual magic is rare. And when it emerges, it usually comes accompanied by instability—emotional or existential. It is the type of power that theologians label as profane... to the point that its history has been practically erased from everywhere.
— Profane?
— Yes. — She stopped. — Many believe it is a magic that touches the edges of the beyond: the world of the dead, the astral planes, the souls. It can save. Or it can consume. And the Empire, as you may already know, does not like things it cannot control—especially a magic that practically paved the ground we walk on with blood and disorder many years ago.
Those words stuck in the little Valemortis's throat like thorns in a golden chalice. Despite her noble poise, her amber eyes revealed a micro-expression hard to hide: restlessness.
— I see... — she murmured. Her voice remained soft, but without its previous spark.
"This changes the pieces on the board. If the Empire sees Spiritual Magic as unstable... then they see me as unstable. This is a threat disguised as an opportunity. I need to master this affinity before they find out—or worse, decide to seal it or 'redirect' it."
The girl swallowed hard and sighed. Dalia noticed the sudden silence but didn't comment. She simply raised her hand.
— Time to leave philosophy aside and move to practice. Let's start with basic mana flow manipulation. Show me if you can concentrate your mana without scattering it like a child with sugar in their hands.
Elyandra walked calmly to the center of the field. She stretched her hands forward and closed her eyes. Her small body maintained impeccable posture, and even without emitting a single spark of magic, there was a palpable tension in the air. As if something about to emerge was simply... waiting.
"Visualize. Concentrate. Flow. Adjust. Release. Basically, that's what the books I've been looking at said..."
The tips of her fingers glowed with a faint aura, golden like a sunbeam through clouds. It was weak, irregular... but undeniably sacred.
And then, an oscillation. As if another factor were present.
The aura contorted for an instant. The color shifted. From gold to a pale white. And then... a slight instability, perceptible to anyone besides her.
She stepped back, breaking her concentration. The small magical spark flickered and became even more unstable. At that moment, Dalia approached, stopping in front of the girl. She saw the magical power condensing into a sphere at the girl's core. Elyandra's lost expression showed she didn't understand what was happening. Her tutor reached out and grabbed the orb. A few seconds later, a small magical explosion occurred inside Dalia's hand. Her black glove smoked. She opened her hand; the glove was burned, yet her hand was unharmed except for ashes. Her neutral gaze remained.
— Manipulating magic without knowledge is what leads many to ruin. Do you understand now? — she asked, not hiding her judgmental gaze.
Dalia crossed her arms.
— Yes.
The tutor approached and, to the girl's surprise, knelt down until they were eye-to-eye.
— You have potential. But power without control is what turns promising people into futile ones. Do not be one of them.
Elyandra cracked a small smile at the corners of her lips. Almost sweet.
— Don't worry, Tutor... I will do my best.
"I will master these affinities no matter the difficulty. It's not every day you open a chest with two legendary items."
Dalia stood up with a restrained sigh.
— We shall see.
The training field was at the back of the property, isolated by tall trees and a magical barrier made of discreet crystals that prevented noise from spreading. The ground was firm, slightly inclined, with old marks of spells and strikes carved into the earth. In the center, Elyandra adjusted her posture under Dalia's watchful eye.
— Let's start with the basics — said the tutor, her voice as straight as her posture. — Mana flow control. I want you to gather your energy in the center of your body, concentrate it into a single point, and guide it to the palms of your hands. Nothing more. No form. Just flow.
Elyandra nodded, slowly closing her eyes. Even at eight years old, her movements carried an abnormal refinement—not just from her previous training and the Ancient Blood in her veins, but from the fact that she possessed the consciousness of someone who had once been an adult.
She inhaled. The world went silent. Center... heat... tension... pull. Channel. Guide.
Her body responded, projecting an aura around her. Mana gathered at her core, circulating like an invisible current around her chest. Gradually, a faint white-gold light began to emerge from her fingertips.
— The stability of Divine mana is remarkable — Dalia commented, emotionless. — Soft, constant, obedient. Like a calm river.
Elyandra kept her eyes closed. The light wavered, then shone brighter.
— And now? — she asked with a subtle smile. — Can I shape it?
— Not yet. First, I want you to force the transition. Convert that flow to your Spiritual affinity.
The girl took a deep breath. The command bothered her. Previous contact with Spiritual magic had left a strange sensation, as if something were watching her back. But she didn't retreat.
Change the tuning. Imagine another melody. Less sacred... denser.
The change was immediate. The light lost its soft glow and condensed. It became clearer, almost translucent, but with irregular pulses. A thin hum filled the air. Elyandra shivered. It was like pulling a thin thread attached to an anvil; it felt like it could snap at any moment.
— The flow is oscillating — Elyandra warned. — It's not like the other one. This one... feels alive.
— Spiritual Magic isn't necessarily alive, Elyandra — said Dalia, crossing her arms. — It is the very representation of the soul. Of the essence beyond the flesh. That is why it became taboo, and why its users were banished or killed by the Church. But I don't believe you are weak enough to lose your mind to it, are you?
The girl opened her eyes. Her amber irises glowed intensely.
— No — she said, firm as a monolith. — I'm just... adjusting.
She clenched her fists. The spiritual aura tried to escape through the cracks of her concentration, but Elyandra contorted it, guiding it back inside. The energy trembled... but it obeyed.
The girl's aura became translucent. Her surroundings began to distort slightly from the constant approach of the magic. The ground began to crack and decompose, even though it was made of stone.
Dalia raised an eyebrow.
— Impressive. At your age, I could barely conjure common spells.
— What is your magical affinity, Tutor? — Elyandra asked, a sweet smile on her face while she clearly exerted maximum effort.
The tutor did not answer. She simply turned and walked to a pile of stone fragments scattered in the corner of the field.
— Let's move to the next stage. Directed destruction.
She tossed a piece of stone into the air.
— Hit that.
— What?! Wait a moment, just like that?!
The lack of an answer was what Elyandra understood as her true response. She swallowed hard and pointed her finger at the stone, quickly concentrating her Divine magic. A point of light formed on her index finger, taking the shape of a small, concentrated ray. With a precise movement, she released the spell. The golden ray pierced the stone like a needle through paper, cracking it mid-air.
— Well done. But now... try the same with Spiritual.
The girl hesitated. She took a deep breath. The spiritual energy emerged as a translucent, silent sphere. She threw it. Upon hitting another stone tossed by Dalia, it didn't explode.
The stone... aged. In a matter of seconds, cracks spread across its surface as if decades had passed over it. Then, with a light breath of wind, it crumbled into dust. Elyandra's eyes widened, surprised by what she had witnessed.
— Temporal decomposition — Dalia said neutrally, not particularly surprised. Her eyes followed the scene as if it were nothing out of the ordinary. — A common manifestation of Spiritual magic in its raw state. It's interesting you managed to do that instinctively. It means your mana flow is well-awakened.
Elyandra clenched her fists, looking at her own fingers.
— So if I improve this... I could, for example, age an armor. Or deconstruct magic.
— If you have enough control, yes. But if you fail... — Dalia looked directly at her. — You could consume yourself.
Silence.
— Calculated risk — Dalia said, turning her eyes back to the stone. — If you are afraid of something, then you must try it. If you think you can do something, even if you are certain, you must prepare for any and every possible error. A certain and concrete victory is much better than a temporary one.
The tutor turned back to the field.
— We will have two more hours of training today. And tomorrow, the training changes. We will cover magical resistance and the fundamentals of magical modeling. Even if you don't use it now, you need to understand how conjurers think. And at the end of the week... visitors will come.
Elyandra blinked, interested.
— Visitors? It's been a long time since anyone came here. Are they important?
— Nobles. Diplomats. The kind of people who weigh a child's value with their eyes. Be ready to be charming.
— Charming?
Dalia simply crossed her arms, while Elyandra stretched like someone who had just woken from a royal nap.
— I think it's much more interesting if we continue with the training. What do you think, Tutor?
— Who knows? — Dalia said without waiting for an answer. A presence caught her attention, and she subtly turned her eyes to the mansion's balcony, where she noticed Elyandra's mother watching the training. Her eyes held a mix of worry and restlessness. — But keep in mind: the life of a noble is not the life of a knight. I am not training you for the front lines. Remember well what kind of person you are.
"Says the woman dressed in military clothes who speaks like a war general."
— I understand, Tutor...
— Good. Back to training.