The Phoenix Ring(19)

The only session that Aidan understood more than Timothy was “The Magic Around Us”. As well as drawing magic from oneself, a sorcerer could also draw magic from the things around him. Naturally, different things and creatures had varying amounts of magic, as well as different types.

It was about one month after Jonathan's murder that Aidan began to really understand his power. He was in the back of the spells session, behind Timothy and Eleanor, who always sat next to each other. He was the only one in the back row, the other mages seemed to have been avoiding him since the "Mages’ Final Resting Place" went up in flames.

A fairly young large woman was teaching the session. She wore a large bracelet with a yellow Soulrock imbedded in it. As she moved, it constantly jiggled around, bouncing light into the students’ eyes.

She had been going on about how to combine different bits of magic, like akae and ingo to make steam, when she tried to give a demonstration.

"Now you'll have to excuse me, my attribute is earth, so I don't have much in the way of water and fire," she said.

Aidan raised his hand tentatively.

She turned toward him, and her bracelet reflected light into his eye.

"Uh," He said, flinching back, "What is an attribute?"

There was muffled laughter from the other mages, and Timothy and Eleanor both bit their lips. The instructor let it go on for a few seconds before she slammed her fist down on the table.

"Jed, you were laughing pretty loud there. Since you like speaking up so much, why don't you come on up here?"

The unfortunate Jed went red in the face and slowly stood and walked to the front of the library.

The instructor turned to look at Aidan again, flashing light in everyone's eyes.

"An attribute is something in nature that your magic is connected to. Jed, what's your attribute?"

"Uh, plants," he said, staring at his feet.

"Why don't you give the new students a little demonstration?" the instructor said, pulling her wand out from somewhere in her robe.

She pointed it at the floor and said something incomprehensible, and a table appeared. Then she murmured three more words and a candle, jug of water, and a jar of dirt appeared on the table.

Finally, she summoned a chair for herself and sat down, leaving Jed standing alone.

"Go ahead Jed, I'm not gonna be using any more magic for a while."

"Er, right. What do I do again?"

There was another murmur of laughter, this time directed at Jed.

"Put the same amount of magic into each of the items, see what happens."

Jed pulled a staff out of the back of his robe and clenched it tightly.

` "Now, make the water expand till the jug explodes."

Jed lifted his staff at the jug of water and muttered a few phrases under his breath. Water began to slosh at the top of the jug. He began to break out in a sweat, right as the jar cracked in half, spilling water everywhere.

The instructor didn't seem to care very much.

"Alright, now fire should be real hard for you since you do plants. Make the flame bigger," The wizard said.

Jed held out his scepter towards the flame.

"Ingo."

The flame rose maybe three inches.

Timothy leaned back in his chair. "They should let you have a shot," he whispered. Eleanor bit her lip to keep from laughing.

"Alright," the instructor said, "Let's see what you can do with the green thing."

"Listen, I don't have very much control over it," Jed said.

"Well it's time for you to learn. Start growing my flower."

Jed sighed. Instead of pointing his scepter at it, he leaned in really close and whispered something to the jar of dirt.

A green shoot flung itself out of the jar and wrapped around Jed's neck.

Eleanor gasped, and some of Jed's friends stood up.

"Don't worry, he'll be fine," the instructor said, taking a bite out of an apple that had appeared out of nowhere. "The plant won't harm something of the same type of magic. But it will get personal."

The shoot grew and was joined by others, they wrapped around his face, then his body. His screams were muffled into silence by tendrils growing around his face, into his clothes, and eventually turning him into a cocoon of green.

"So, as you can see," the instructor said, standing up, "Your attribute is dangerous."

A large lily sprouted over Jed's head, which the wizard picked and put behind her ear.

"But it can be your most powerful asset."





One day, Aidan woke up to the sun, just like he always did, and rolled out of his cot. It was his morning ritual to wake Timothy, since the other boy could sleep through an explosion, literally. Aidan had tested it.

But today Timothy was absent.

I am so late.

Aidan rummaged under his cot and threw a cloak over his head, then grabbed his rowan staff. and pointed it at the door.