36 Testing Grounds Part 1

[ Urgh I look like an angry Christmas tree ]

I stared down at the robe that Lady Yu had given me, it was a deep forest green with black cuffs that lined the edges. A black sash tied it all together. For my hair, I had tied it back so that it hung neatly from the back of my head.

Since my hair is wild and red and my skin is pale, the outfit accentuated my features to an extreme degree. I looked at myself in the polished bronze mirror for a moment.

Kibbles was happily resting on my bed, so I gave him a small pat before I left. Petting him seemed to ease the growing annoyance growing in my belly.

I walked outside to be greeted by Yu who had pulled a fan out at some point in time and waved it near her face.

" Oh, much better! I can have you follow me around without feeling queasy, we shall now mount my carriage and head to the academy." Lady Yu said before nodding.

" May I ask why I must wear this outfit? Is there a purpose?" I said while having a bellyful of complaints towards my terrible outfit.

" Purpose, of course there is a purpose! You are an earth mage apprentice, you need earth mage attire." Yu said before walking towards the north exit.

[ That explains it, I didn't think she would actually be kind enough to just hand me clothes ]

We headed towards the most expensive carriage I had ever seen. It was white and seemed to be covered head to toe in thick silver runes. The wood that it was crafted from seemed to give off the fresh scent of flowers. I could smell what could be only described as spring even from the distance I stood.

The carriage was rather large and was being pulled by some two spirit beasts. They were both black in colour. The front part of the beasts looked very much like a horse with the front legs and head attached, however, the rear part was that of a snake. I didn't have too much time to think about how it moved before I was at the carriage door.

As I entered I noticed the inside was covered in a red velvet, the seats were slightly raised as they must have had padding in them and there was a small fold out table on the side of the other door that had cupcakes and tea served on it.

[ I wonder why my family doesn't have a carriage like this ]

I sat across from Lady Yu and she offered me some tea and cupcakes, I politely declined due to nerves. She looked at me as the carriage began to move and said " Young man, these cupcakes are imbued with the finest medical ingredients to stimulate the growth of the magic organ, and this tea has been made with the leaves of a level 6 flower beast. I suggest you ingest some, I do not believe you will be able to partake in such a thing again."

[ A spirit beast tea? Organ fixing cupcakes? Woah! ]

Lady Yu's face formed a wide grin.

" Come along now eat up! " She said as she once again pointed to the cakes.

My gluttonous side got the best of me as I thought back to all the interesting food I had been eating since I got here and I reached for the teapot.

" Lady Yu, would you care for some tea? " I said in my most polite tone.

" Oh? You are not as dumb as you look. Yes, I would love some tea" Lady Yu retorted.

Lifting up a cup and placing it on the side table, I poured the madam a cup before I poured myself one. I realised as I was putting the teapot away that the liquid in the glasses wasn't moving in the slightest.

I then placed the cup close to Yu's side before grabbing my own glass. Thinking back to my etiquette lessons, I had to wait for lady Yu to have a sip of her tea first before I could drink mine.

So I quickly put the cup down.

Yu watched in what seemed like amusement before she picked up her cup and looked at the contents. " Did you happen to notice something strange boy?" she said questioningly.

" mm the liquid in the cup isn't moving and yet we are in a carriage! " I said promptly in response.

" Very good, do you know why there isn't any movement? " Yu questioned again.

" Unfortunately I do not" I replied in earnest. Her line of questioning had piqued my interest even more.

" The simple answer is Earth magic," Yu said as she took a sip of her tea.

I looked at her and was honestly surprised, it looked like she was about to teach me something so I momentarily forgot about the tea and straightened my back.

" The runes on the carriage work as a conduit for my magic. The runes that were carved were made in such a way that they harness the energy I release and stop the carriage from shaking. When you become more proficient in magic perhaps you will be able to do this too, Although I was told that you have a wood variant so I am not sure. " Yu mentioned as she put down her tea.

" How is my magic different from yours, aren't we both earth mages? " I said surprised.

Lady Yu paused for a moment seemingly deep in thought before she sighed a little and said " I am like most other earth mages, I can harness the full effect of the earth particles in the food I consume and the air that I breathe, you, however, have a magic organ that works a little different than mine. It for some reason still absorbs the earth particles but does so and changes it."

"Do you know what makes up this world?" she said promptly.

I thought about my Earth sciences lessons but after a moment I realised that it didn't make sense for this universe. There is magic and people who control the elements how could it be the same as oxygen and helium and the other base elements?

I shook my head to say no.

" Our world is made up of what we humans call Yin and Yang energy. It mixes together in varying degrees to create everything from you and me to the very earth we stand on. The four base elements, air, earth, fire and water are all made from a various mix of yin and yang. Humans and spirit beasts alike can absorb these mixed particles in the air and release them again to give us the power over the elements." Yu said and paused.

I nodded my head to say that I understood what she was saying before I took a sip of tea absentmindedly. The warm liquid poured down my throat and seemed to soothe my insides.

[ Good tea! ]

Yu then stated " Your body takes the earth particles in the air and changes them into the wood element, a subcategory of earth magic. Just like how rocks are not trees and trees are not rocks, we have fundamental differences, but we still both harness the same particles. Think of your abilities as a brother to the basic earth magic." Yu finished with.

I took another sip of the tea and stared down at my lap for a little while. Trying to make sense of what Lady Yu had said. After a few minutes, I raised my head.

[ She may not be very nice but she really is a good teacher! ]

"So we have different magic which uses the same particles, I think I understand!" I said in response to what she had told me.

" Mm it seems like you have skimmed the surface of magic, do not worry too much, we have a few months to go before you go to the academy. Since you have been unwell most of your life, you are lagging behind. I will have you caught up in no time, however!" Lady Yu said sternly while smiling.

We sat in silence for the rest of the journey. I took a cupcake from the table at some point and ate it. It was strange that every time I took a bite it seemed to change flavours.

The first bite was an earthy flavour, the second bite was tart, the third was sweet. I was so curious about which flavour would come next that I forgot my manners.

I glanced over at Lady Yu who was reading a book and ignoring me.

[ I am glad she didn't see that! ]

I was pretty disappointed when I finished the cupcake and reminded myself to ask the second prince if he knew someone who could make more in the future.

By the time I had finished my tea, Lady Yu looked over to me and said promptly " we have arrived" she fixed her dress and put her book down. The carriage door was then opened by someone who looked like a caretaker.

He offered his hand to Lady Yu and she stepped outside. She fixed her dress and turned around to me before saying.

" Boy, you must address me as teacher Yu here. You must not run off, you must not dally and you must absolutely follow my instructions down to the letter. Today you will be tested at the academy, so take in all of its sites and sounds. You will, in fact, live here a year from now." Yu said sternly.

" Yes teacher Yu" I said promptly as I took my first steps onto the campus grounds.

The site that I was met with left me breathless…

[ This.. place looks even more amazing up close!! ]