63 Meeting again
Author's notes:
I'm really sorry for the more than a year long absence. Coming back now, after not updating for so long feels kinda embarrassing. I was definitely busy irl, but most of the reason for stopping was really just motivation.
I did some writing on the side to see if my writing quality is up to par with how it previously was, and I'm feeling confident again so I feel like I could resume this one. Again, if you're still one of the readers who are still reading this after more than a year of no updates, I will do my best to write quality chapters to make up for it.
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–Aerin's POV–
I looked at my pupil, whose face I buried in my bosom. His face was momentarily shocked before getting flustered as he realized what was going on. I could feel his hands on my shoulders struggling to break free from my embrace and put up a distance between us.
But how embarrassing would it be for me if he was able to somehow manage to escape from my clutches and overpower me at such a young age? I can, and will not, allow him to leave my embrace until I'm satisfied.
I gave his face some much needed squishing as I observed the changes in him during the months we weren't able to see each other. For one, his face had now more edges and defined features. The days when he had a round face and puffy cheeks were getting more and more distant.
He still has a few years left where his growth would be at a similar rate to that of a human's. After that he will join me and the rest of elvish society and have their appearance get seemingly frozen in time.
"Teacher, you're a bit too… eager" I've had my fill of hugging him so I decided to let him go and instantly, he broke away from me, his face still flustered.
Right now, his height already reached up to my shoulders, which isn't bad considering I'm a pretty tall woman myself. He still had his long black hair pulled back and twisted to a ponytail coming out from the back of his head. A portion of his bangs were allowed to drape down on each side of his face, framing it beautifully.
He had now graduated from being cute to now looking rather… pretty?
I'm not sure that's the compliment boys his age would like to hear. But I can't deny that he's quite the treat to the eye, like a budding flower just needing a little more time for him to blossom beautifully.
"Isn't it hot outside? Come in."
I had him sit in the living room while I prepared some cold refreshments for the two of us. By the time I came back, he was sitting in the couch, looking a little stiff. I could see him staring at a certain painting that hung on the center of the wall- it was an old portrait of my family.
How long has it been since this painting was done?
Physically, my features and figure were mostly the same, but my hair in the portrait only reached down to my shoulders. The same, however, couldn't be said for my younger sister, Laurel. She looked like a teenager through and through, just a few years older of what Riel looked right now. She was standing beside our father while I stood behind our mother who was gently seated on a chair.
"Is this teacher's family?" Riel asked
"Yes" I answered as I brought the refreshments to the table.
"Is that your sister?" Riel pointed to the young Laurel. His gaze contained some emotions, but I'm not quite sure what exactly. He's pretty close with his own sister, so that could be a possible reason behind it.
"Yes, she is. She's Laurel, my younger sister." I really haven't paid that much attention to this portrait before. It's been there for probably decades, so I just got so used to it that it's presence no longer bothered me. I never really took the time to properly reminisce about its contents, but now that I look at it. Seeing Laurel so young certainly evoked some nostalgic memories out of me.
"Do the two of you get along?" It was only when I heard Riel's voice, that I was taken out of my reverie.
"Get along?" I thought of how Riel had an older sister himself. Based on what I've pieced together from the stories Riel had told me, it seems like his elder sister has the favor of their mother. But it doesn't seem like they're antagonistic with each other, seeing as how his sister came up to me when she had suspicions about my motives.
"I can't say we get along that well" with a laugh, I decided to answer honestly. Riel was taking a sip from his cup and I saw his eyes glow up in interest when he heard me talk. But he didn't pursue the topic any further. On the other hand, I now wanted to get down to why I really invited him over. "But enough about me. I'm curious about how you're faring with life in Lograth?"
Riel seemed to chuckle when made to remember about his experiences. He told me a few stories that I found somewhat amusing. Apparently he tried to talk and get along with people he came across in the street, like he did back when he was living in the village.
Of course, that didn't end too well for him, since the people in this place are too grumpy and caught up with their own lives.
Overall, from what I've heard it didn't seem like he ran into any major problems adjusting around here. "But, you couldn't have possibly been skipping your daily practice as a result, hm?" I asked with raised eyebrows
"…!" Riel's eyes widened for a second before he quickly reorganized his thoughts and then smiled with confidence. "How could I? The days I spent without my teacher's guidance had only had only prompted me to put into music what I cannot express in words." like a good, diligent student that takes his teacher's words very seriously, he answered
Hearing those words, what teacher wouldn't be happy?
"Cheeky..." Pointing to the piano, I told him to show me what he's got and he followed suit. Not even for a moment, did I think that he was lying when he said those words earlier but nevertheless, I still said "Show it to me then, that you aren't just all talk".
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People say that watching swordsmen dueling become a lot more entertaining when you are a swordsman yourself. Because only then can you appreciate the little gestures that they do, that would go unnoticed by the audience.
There are things that can only be truly appreciated when you are someone from the field or have relevant knowledge, and it is only when you have that expertise and general knowledge that you can understand what makes someone or something so great.
However, there are certain people where you would be able to just call anyone, regardless of their knowledge about the subject, point them to that person and say, 'Isn't that guy amazing?'. Such are the truly great, where they are so good in what they do that even an ordinary person will be able to distinguish them from the rest.
-And I believe Riel is one such person.
The styles of music, just like culture, is one that constantly changes. The newer forms usually derive or take inspiration from its previous iterations, sometimes it changes based on what was popular or certain events that could've influenced its growth during that specific time period. What I mean to say is that, there is a natural progression of how some things change over time. If you trace it back through its history, you should be able to see at what point did things start to change and why it changed.
For example, most elvish music can have their origins traced back to ancient religious rituals and dances, where they would ask the gods for rain or a bountiful harvest. Now millenniums later, people still incorporate the familiar instruments, or at least something similar to it, even if the motifs are completely different.
But Maelriel's composition does not have such things.
Everything that he makes has styles and patterns, that are unique to him and only him. And it wasn't just different for the sake of being different. It is something that is genuinely good- it was pleasant to the ears, it sounded natural, it progressed beautifully. No matter where I look, I cannot find any compositions that share any similarities with the things that he's shown me.
Oddly enough, in my opinion, it bore the most resemblance with the theatrical music humans play for their entertainment.
Which, of course, is impossible since Riel is a young man who had only just left the steps of his home village.
"So what's the name of this one?" I asked the young man playing the piano, not even a fraction of my age and yet is already able to prolifically compose all of these beautiful works on his own.
"A little night music" Riel answered while still focused on his hands, not even turning his head to look at me. "The name means exactly what it does- just a music to play for the evenings. Nothing more, nothing less."
After about half a minute, he finally stopped. I clapped in satisfaction, seeing that he didn't lie when he said he had not stopped practicing.
All in all, it took about an hour. He played the songs I told him to learn and then showed me three new compositions which he had written during the end of winter last year up to now, middle of summer. All of which were good—extremely good, in fact—and again, sounded distinct from the popular music in this age and time.
With how different his works sounded, despite his immense talent, he would either be completely irrelevant and forgotten after being unable to charm the audience with his pieces, or be the new trendsetter that could seriously leave an impact in the history of music.
And as his mentor, it was her duty to facilitate his career so that it would be headed towards the latter.
"A month from now, the empire will celebrate the day of its founding." After Riel had seated himself in front of me again, I started to speak. "Though it's meant to celebrate the day of the empire's founding, the actual celebration lasts for an entire week and usually at the first day, the royal castle holds a banquet to honor the event."
"Nobles, government officials, military officers, and every significant person within the empire's borders are invited by the royal family themselves. Naturally, my family are among those who are invited and as a ducal family, we have a little bit more 'say' on how the event is managed." As I continued speaking, Riel already seemed to get an idea of what I was about to suggest
"Of course, such distinguished and important guests wouldn't be dining in dreary silence. They would have an ensemble playing in the background to accompany their meals and right now, that spot is still vacant" I smiled as I looked directly at Riel's eyes before continuing "It just so happened that the Incaross family is interested in forming one right now and it would of course need a conductor to lead it, and preferably a set of new symphonies that would be fitting for such a grand occasion."
"Teacher, I'm not sure I'm at the level that I can perform in front of such people." By now, he had already understood what I was trying to say and was understandably nervous. But I'm having none of it and flicked him in his forehead.
"Sweetie, I don't think you're quite aware of just how special you are" Leaning forwards, I put both my hand in the side of his face and gently squished his cheeks. "People would kill to have a fraction of the talents that you possess."
This is something I have to be able to get through to his head. It was fine, and somewhat cute, seeing a person of such talent acting so shy and humble, back in the village where the people were nice to each other. But now in the city he has to know where he belongs. It wouldn't do him good if he is to be overly humble and put himself below others just because he is younger.
He has the potential, that once realized, he would never have to lower his head in front of anyone. And this isn't just about his musical ability, this is something that extends to his magical prowess, intelligence, and maturity relative to his age.
Even I am not sure if its the best idea to make Riel aware of just how amazing the blessings he possesses are, because it's not that unrealistic for a person so young to get so absorbed with themselves and the constant praise that they receive, that they become pompous and too arrogant for their own good.
"What do you mean?" But then I looked again at the nervous sweetheart fidgeting nervously in front of me, and all that worry was washed away. I keep forgetting, because of how gifted he is, that right now he's still an impressionable young man. For now, it's best that I make him somewhat aware of his status and build his confidence from there.
As long as I tame… ahem, teach him properly, I should be able to hold his reins in the future.
"Wait, let me get one of my books" I said before standing up to walk over to the bookshelves. I remembered that the human world used a convenient ranking system when it comes to magical prowess. I should have it right around here… Found it.
"The humans use a different classification system when it comes to magicians, over there, they have two other sub-classifications: Elementalists and Sorcerers." I sat down and explained to him. "Elementalists being the people capable of manipulating the world's elements and sorcerers are the people capable of other complex magecrafts. Because of this distinction, all Sorcerers are Elementalists, but not all Elementalists are Sorcerers."
"The reason we don't use this system as elves, is because almost all elves are born with high magical prowess, making them an Elementalist by default. And the reason we don't have sorcerers, is well, we are taught that our magical prowess is a gift given to us by the goddess, Mezzaluna, who had given us strict limits and boundaries on its usage. Any attempt to replicate any physical phenomena, besides the basic conjuring and manipulation of the elements is seen as blasphemy."
"However, in the human world, the existence of a sorcerer is one that brings high prestige and glory, because of how rare their existence are. Almost all of them had left their names in their respective history books." I looked over to Riel to see if he was still listening because this was a grave matter that involved his safety and reputation in the empire. "At the west, their arch-mage, one of the most powerful beings currently alive, is the first and only person capable of manipulating gravity and lives in their prestigious 'Rune Glade Tower'."
"I see… That's amazing" Riel nodded, complete oblivious to what I was trying to say
I looked at the young man in front of me, leisurely sitting in the couch, completely clueless that he's already done something just as, if not more, monumental.
I still found it hard to believe, but this young man is bright enough to be able to able to manipulate plants, actual living creatures. To be able to make them grow and wilt according to his will then isn't he, in a sense, breathing life into them? At that point, is it even magic? Or is he stepping into a realm of magic only meant for the most divine?
"You might have already understood, but what I'm saying is that, although the world has yet to know, you are among those that the humans would call a 'Sorcerer'. You have a blessing that many powerful people in the world can only wish they had." I wasn't joking about this. I myself had seen someone descend into depravity because their potential did not match with their grandiose ambitions.
"But teacher you just said that a sorcerer's magic is an act of blasphemy against the goddess." Riel remarked
"Yes… yes, it is." I explained sternly "Your nature magic is among those that replicate natural phenomena. In this case, it is the growth of life itself, and it one that undoubtedly crosses the boundaries of a mortal."
"Doesn't that mean I'm a heretic?" Riel asked, his voice trembling ever so slightly
"Right now, probably not. You were young and didn't know the weight of what you were doing. If you are to stop developing your nature magic right now, no one would ever know, and you would be saved from all possible troubles that might come ahead" I said before opening the drawer underneath the table and pulling out a bamboo flute.
"But if you were to ask me, it's not that bad if you continue with what you were doing."
"..." Riel for the first time, was looking at me somewhat dubiously, and understandably so.
"Don't look at me like that, It's not like I'm telling you to go and sin as you please." I couldn't help but let out an embarrassed laugh. "But tell me, have you ever wondered why I'm so good to you? Did you never thought of it as weird? Especially now that you know the difference in our status, why would someone like me do all of this for you?"
I saw his eyes widen slightly, clearly not expecting me to ask that question.
But its true. I've certainly done things that are way past what an ordinary teacher would do for their student. From teaching him, getting his sister into the imperial academy, giving him an opportunity to make himself known to the most illustrious of the empire.
Surely enough, Riel quietly nodded after a few seconds.
Instead of speaking, I brought my lips to the flute that I just took out. With perfect breathing and effortless finger movements, I played a familiar tune which I had been playing for so many decades. I had a deep love for the traditional music of ancient elves and that is exactly what I'm playing, an old lullaby.
It didn't take half a minute for me to notice that Riel's eyes began to slowly lose focus, his eyelids slowly losing strength, and his head visibly drooping down. A few more minutes, he was completely asleep. I had to lower his head gently into my lap to ensure that he wouldn't hurt himself falling down.
At that moment, I took my mouth off the flute and flicked my sleepy student in his forehead. Immediately, he was jolted awake but I didn't say anything after that and just stared at him quietly while smiling.
I could vaguely guess the thought that are now running in his head. But after a while, he reorganized his thought and asked me "Teacher, was that... magic?"
"I expected nothing less from you, you catch on pretty quickly." I smiled as I answered him. A disbelieving look still hung on Riel's face, but I continued speaking anyway "Just like you, I am also a 'Sorcerer' as the humans would call it."
"My magic is a bit different from yours in the way that I can use music as a medium for my spells which affects anyone as long as they can hear it. I was pretty talented myself and was just able to do it after some point." Putting the flute down to the table, I reclined on the couch and stared at the ceiling as I jogged my memories
"Because of my magic, I caused quite the scene at my first public performance and my family found out about my magical prowess. We also had to silence every witnesses in the case that news of heresy were to get out to the public."
"Decades passed and my magical ability had allowed me to serve our family well and I had already buried those childhood dreams of mine. But then a little gremlin suddenly showed up in my home in the middle of one of my jobs." I lowered my head to look at Riel, who was awkwardly scratching his cheek.
There was a lot more details that I didn't add. Especially in the part between my first performance and the decades after that. The young me was very passionate about my dreams and a LOT of things had to happen for me to finally put it down for good. Like how at one point, I seriously considered running away and cutting all ties with the ducal household, or when I realized how low my sister had fallen due to envy.
"What did you see in me that made you want to teach me?" Riel asked looking a little bashful
"Uhhh… To be honest, nothing really. There's no story of how 'I realized your talents the moment I saw you' or anything like that. I just saw the wonder and awe in your little eyes back then and was somewhat reminded of my old self. Me abruptly deciding to teach you was just a passing gesture that I thought wasn't gonna amount to anything." A smile appeared on my face as I thought about it.
O, how wrong I was back then.
Of course, when I found out about his magical prowess, I also thought of how he could be a great asset for our family if I nurture his talents properly. But more importantly, when he told me that he couldn't leave his home to chase his dreams because his family wouldn't allow him to… I don't know. Maybe that was when teaching him began to become a little more personal to me.
His circumstances felt so eerily similar to mine that I wanted to see someone make a choice different from what I did. It made me so curious as to what could've happened if instead of doing what their family told them to do, they instead went off to chase their own personal success?
"Ah, we've drifted a bit too far from our original subject." It wasn't until half an hour later that I realized our topic had gone completely off the rails. Suddenly I was talking about my life experiences when all I wanted to do was to tell Riel that he was gonna leading an ensemble at the royal castle on the Empire's foundation week.
"So back to what I was saying earlier, I'm planning to pull some strings to have you perform at the royal banquet." I stood firm on my decision. Riel looked like he had some things to say about it, but remained quiet anyway. "Do not doubt yourself, okay? I mean it when I say that you deserve every bit of the opportunities that you're getting."
With that we've concluded all the things that I wanted to talk to him about- how was his life recently, whether he kept practicing or not, and then the matter about the royal banquet.
But it didn't feel quite right to let him go just like this, the sun had yet to set and our time together was really short compared to how long we were away.
