Learning

The journey back to the Hytheiem household was a blur to Eres. He recalled one of the servants asking what his Blessing was, and telling him that it was a Mage blessing. The servant relayed this to his mother and father in the other carriage and returned to tell him that books on Magic would be made available to him and he could request teachers that he desired.

That was all. No celebration, no family meal and no words of congratulation or encouragement. Eres had expected as much, but now he had the memories of Adrien and his mother it stung all the more.

He vaguely recalled his mother's and father's backs as they walked into the house ahead of him and how they both went back to their business without a care in the world, as he was led back to his room and told that by the next morning books on magic would have been moved to the study next to him. After that, the rest of the day was a blur until he collapsed into bed, head still swimming with the information that the connection had given him.

Of course, the Blessing he had been given wasn't of the Mage, it wasn't even of the Mind type. It was a Unique Blessing. As he concentrated on that link in his head that had established the moment he left that white expanse, he once again felt the presence of something new, something other in this body. He intrinsically understood the broad strokes of this new Blessing, but he didn't know exactly how it functioned just yet.

He understood that his Blessing was that of a Defender and that it increased his sensitivity to Mana, the energy that all magic was made of, as well as the strength of defensive spells and constructs. He also understood that this Mana would be conserved when creating wards, shields and other defensive spells, but he didn't understand what that meant in practice.

He had slept with all this information swimming around his head and had awoken early the next morning feeling no more rested than he had when he lay down. Still, he knew that if he didn't start to try and work out the specifics of his Blessing and Mana he would continue to feel restless, so he climbed from the warm clutches of his blankets and threw open the large drapes. The sun could barely be seen poking above the forest at the horizon, and Eres felt a deep sight escape him. It was far too early, but alas he had work to do.

Eres swiftly dressed himself in a tunic, trousers and comfortable footwear, before washing his face and tying his hair back into a ponytail. He did some simple stretches that he remembered Adrien doing to wake up in the morning, and headed into the hallway towards the closest study.

As soon as he stepped into the hallway he found himself face to face with a young maid, who nearly dropped the armful of towels she was carrying.

"Apologies for startling you, but would you be able to bring me breakfast in the study? Thank you very much," he spoke as he nimbly avoided clashing his shoulder into hers and continued down the corridor until he came to the room he had fled the day before when memories had come crashing into his brain.

Has it really been less than a day since those memories came to me? What a busy day it was.

Eres shook his head as he moved into the room and started collecting all the texts that he had left scattered on the floor. The room was as dusty as ever and clearly hadn't been cleaned since he was last here, but he bit his tongue and tidied the mess quickly, before turning to the large desk against the other wall. Standing next to this desk was a large box with various thick leather-bound tomes poking out.

They didn't even put them on the shelves? How lazy… It really will be one of those days I suppose.

He began to lift the tomes out of the box and dump them on the desk, sorting them quickly into three piles: Introductions and Beginner Lessons, Books that were far too advanced for him and finally Books in Languages he wasn't able to read either way.

During the first hour, he sorted the entire box into these three piles and started to move the foremost pile so that he could scan all the titles. Just as he began to run his fingers across the spines, he heard a gentle knock at the door. Turning his head he saw the same young maid he had almost knocked over this morning, though now she was carrying a tray of food and drink rather than an armload of towels.

"Apologies to disturb you, Young Master, but breakfast is ready. Would you like tea with it?" She spoke rather quietly, eyes downcast.

The picture-perfect maid. God, what did they do to this girl that she is already this beaten down? Eres clicked his tongue at the thought. She couldn't have been older than 16 and while he knew she was older than him, Adrien's memories were screaming at him that young people needed nutrition and rest, not to be worked to the bone.

"Yes, tea would be lovely, thanks," Adrien hopped down from the stool and walked over to a second small table near the door, "Place it there, if you wouldn't mind?"

The young girl nodded and placed the tray down swiftly, before pouring a cup of tea from the pot and placing it in front of Eres. She then took a few steps back and stood near the door, eyes still downcast.

"Are you… okay?" Eres took a sip of tea before asking this question, and it was quite delicious, so he was more than happy for her to stay but he was quite surprised. Usually, a servant would be rushing to get away from the useless third son, yet she was standing as if it was her place.

"Of course, Young Master. I apologise, does my presence bother you?" Her already tiny frame seemed to shrink into itself further, and Eres scratched his head in confusion, feeling his hair beginning to loosen.

"Not at all, I am just not used to it, most maids would rather be anywhere but here," a dark chuckle escaped him, "but I have no complaints with your presence. Your tea is quite delicious as well, so that's a bonus. May I ask your name?"

She jumped as if burned, but her eyes met his, wide and surprised, "My name is Freya, Young Master. I have been assigned as your personal maid… were you not told?"

As soon as she spoke, Freya cringed inwards again, realising that her words could be taken as an insult, but before she could correct herself Eres spoke.

"Freya was it? Wonderful, you can just call me Eres, or Master Eres if you must, Young Master is far too formal," he grinned cheekily as her mouth made a small "O" shape, "and I am just an upstart third son anyway.

"As to your other question, no one informed me, but I appreciate your help all the same. I will probably be in here for the next few days reading through these books and getting accustomed to what it all means, but you are welcome to stay," A sudden bright flash in his eyes occurred as his head swivelled back to the still baffled-looking girl. "Say, you don't happen to have any experience with Mana, do you? I know it isn't polite to ask one's blessing, but otherwise, I am sailing without a rudder!"

A moment passed before the young girl took everything in, and then she spoke tentatively, "Apologies, Master Eres, but I don't have any experience with Mana," Watching Eres' shoulders slump she continued on, "I do however have a basic understanding of Healing Magic and Divine Power. Perhaps this can be of some use to you?"

Eres jumped from his seat, sloshing tea from the cup as his face split into a large grin, "That sounds like it will be of use I am sure! Come then, I will make a start on these books… Gods, there are a lot of them."

As she watched him settle back into the seat, the breakfast neatly polished away, Freya filled Eres' cup with tea before clearing the tray away.

He is nothing like anyone said. The rest of the maids said he was useless and dull, only reading because he had nothing better to do, but he didn't feel dull. I certainly don't feel like I am talking to a 10-year-old. Perhaps this assignment won't be as stressful as I feared, Freya thought, as she moved the tray out into the hallway and started down towards the kitchens.

Eres had gone back to searching the stack of Beginners books, eventually selecting one titled "A Beginners Guide to Magic and Mana".

This should do nicely, Eres thought, thumbing the first page of the book open, and for the next few hours, he devoured the contents of the book.

He made sure to read through the entirety of the book before trying any of its exercises, so as to make sure he had an understanding of what he was trying to do. On more than one occasion he had to push down the bubbling excitement at reading of exercises to conjure fire or converse with lesser spirits, but after a full read through he understood a few key factors.

Firstly, the only prerequisite to learning magic was the ability to sense Mana and take it into your body. While those with a Mind blessing, from Mages to Summoners, were able to do this more easily, in theory, everyone could do it with varying degrees of success with practice.

Secondly, Mana was all around us. It existed in the air, in nature, even in our blood. Magic was the method by which Mana was transformed from this Energy to something more tangible.

Finally, upon channelling Mana through one's body for the first time, it could create a core within which Mana could be gathered and stockpiled. This was the method by which Mages would train their ability to cast larger and more frequent spells, by enlarging this Magic Core.

After noting these three principles down on a piece of paper, he turned to Freya.

"Would you mind closing the door? You are welcome to stay but I am going to concentrate now and would hate to be interrupted."

Freya crossed the room and closed the door with a click. She then stood in front of the door quietly and watched.

Eres sat cross-legged in the centre of the floor and took a deep breath. He knew his Blessing should make this easier than those without, but he wanted to make sure he did everything properly. Remembering the steps in the tome, he slowly centred himself until he could feel his heart beating in his chest. Then he imagined his blood moving through his body and then imagined a different blood that ran across his skin. Focusing on that imaginary feeling, he began to focus on drawing the blood surrounding him in through his skin and toward his heart.

For a few moments nothing happened, but Eres continued to concentrate. For nearly an hour he sat, slowly breathing and running through these steps again and again, until eventually, he began to feel something as he imagined the new force being dragged inside his body towards his heart. His hair began to whip about his head as he concentrated harder, imagining the blood now not only running along his skin but through the air around him. He imagined the very world itself had veins that he could feel, and he pulled that energy into him.

His eyes suddenly opened wide as he felt a rush of energy coalesce around his heart, swirling and roiling back and forth. The pressure inside his chest was immense, and he felt his heart constrict. Concentrating on that energy he pushed it down slowly until it sat in his stomach, feeling the Mana begin to harden and form into a Core before he had to release the energy, the Mana slipping from his body and back into the air around him.

The moment he stopped concentrating, he felt his mouth fill with the taste of iron and he spat a mouthful of blood onto the floor. Grinning up at Freya's shocked visage, he choked out, "Well, maybe I overdid that one," before he fell onto the floor breathless and winded.

Even as he coughed and spluttered on the floor and Freya struggled to help him sit up, he could feel the warm orb in his stomach was still present, pulsing and full of Mana.