Training Day 1 (Belxaria, ask to enter)

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As promised, once the swamp nymph was settled in enough and comfortable enough to remove the stress of changing places and new environments, Adrain would begin their magic training. Belxaria certainly hinted that they were ready the day before when there was a very...interesting reaction to them getting their Midwinter Gifts. Regardless, it was an experience that he would remember favorably even with its quirks one way or another. He wore his normal mages robes and out as it was still a bit chilly even with it warming very slowly. This winter seemed to last forever.

Adrain would take a seat outside of Belxaria's home waiting for them to wake up, learning under a tree as he held his hand up manifesting a small wind ball. He thought about the lesson plan in his head. First he would have to help Belxaria determine what their inherent element is and then get them used to the sensation of mana. Once that was done there would be the task of getting them used to making arcane glyphs as well as channeling mana such that Belxaria could begin to make effects.

The archmage could only guess as to which element Bell would be used to. Earth or Water were the obvious guesses based on the fact Belxaria had at least a partially plant based anatomy but who knows, maybe he would be surprised. Regardless, he would wait patiently for Belxaria to awaken and head out. The headmaster had a basket of fruit next to him as has been increasingly a custom to deliver fruit to the sylvan maiden in the mornings.

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After the previous day's activities and how exhausting and thrilling they were at the same time, Belxaria had certainly slept for a lot longer than usual, going to bed early and waking up at a somewhat decent time. Once up, Bell let out a comfortable sigh and stretched out all of their limbs. As they did so, they noticed that their body seemed to have gone back to normal. Bell didn't know whether to be happy or sad about that, considering what the change had caused...what would Adrain think of them now? Would things be normal between them? Awkward? Tense? Or perhaps even better than usual...

Nonetheless, pondering the topic for hours would be useless. Action was the only way to find out. And so, Belxaria got out of bed and dressed themselves appropriately, then headed out the front door to see Adrain. They offered a warm smile to him and took a seat. "Good morning, Adrain....it's nice to see you again. Today is when we begin training, yes?" Belxaria questioned with a sense of hope in their tone. After how much Adrain had talked up this whole magic thing, Bell was really looking forward to it.

Noticing the basket of fruit, their eyes lit up and a grin spread across their face. "Thank you again. You're so sweet!" Belxaria would have normally just said 'kind', but today required a different set of words.

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"Good morning Bell, you look like you slept well" Adrain says in response to the greeting from Bell. His eyes traveled to their form, noting that it returned to normal. A part of Adrain had to admit he was a little disappointed, but this was their normal form so no reason to hold it against them. He wondered if they were able to turn back into that form if they chose to or some circumstance caused it to happen. An inquiry for later perhaps, he wasn't fully certain if he should address yesterday's festivities directly or wait a bit. Bell seemed perfectly content and normal though.

"Yes, as promised I will start teaching you how to use magic today. We will start with training you on how to sense the mana around you and then figuring out how to channel it through your body, also identifying what your natural elemental affinity is. I'm going to guess it could be Earth or Water, but who knows maybe I'll be surprised." he says with a small chuckle.

"Not as sweet as you." Adrain teases when Bell exclaimed about the fruit basket, unable to resist a bit of flattery as Bell seemed quite happy. "When you're done eating, remember what I told you about having to focus inward and being able to sense the energy around you. The sensation varies for each person, but it should be notable different from your day to day sensations."

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Belxaria took a seat beside Adrain to begin snacking on the fruit basket. It really was the perfect way to start the day, hanging out with Adrain and eating delicious fruit. Belxaria had come to associate these particular fruits with Adrain, as they hadn't really had them many times before, if at all.

As Bell looked into his eyes as he spoke, they listened carefully and wondered just what he had. What would their element be? It should be earth or water, considering where they came from, but there was always that chance that it would end up being something different entirely. Swamp nymphs were known to mingle with other kinds within the area if they travelled, but never too far away. Some nymph families have mingled so much that the offspring would quite literally fit into any community. Belxaria, however, knew not much about her family line. They never really asked questions about their parents. Not having seen them in a long time didn't help either.

"Adrain, do you think it's possible for someone not to connect to any particular element, or even to connect with them all at once?" Belxaria asked out of sheer curiosity. "Are you connected to any other element?"

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"It is extremely rare, but there have been instances where someone is unable to connect to any element or have a natural affinity of some sort. They typically have some sort of defect or glaring side effect of being unable to resonate with the mana around them." Adrain says, thinking about the couple of cases he had seen over time. When the subject of connecting to all came up, Adrain nodded.

"As far as connecting to all goes, it is possible. A mage can expand their repertoire to comfortably cast from all spells, one who masters all elements is known as an Archmage. To connect with them all simultaneously is quite difficult and you could almost call it attempting to create fake divinity." he states as he shrugs, thinking of his experiments of the data that he had managed to get off the wing of Helena.

"My natural element is Shadow, it is versatile but it has something of a reputation for spells that manipulate death or the soul, those spells I forbid myself from using since the ethical implications are severe." he says as he manipulates the shadows of the tree they were nearby to animate and swirl around and come to life as a black gale.

"But I am capable of using all spells." he says, holding up magical spheres of light, air, fire, water, and earth energy. "When you have enough practice, you can do the same if you apply yourself enough."

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Belxaria's eyes drifted to the ground where the other was manipulating the shadows into different shapes and swirls. It was a beautiful sight to behold. It was almost mesmerizing to the point that they completely zoned out of the conversation....That is, until Adrain held up each of the elements in the air above his hands! How fantastic was that? Beyond fantastic! It got Bell excited and they smiled wide, watching the orbs move on their space and exude individual energies and auras. Two that drew their attention the most were the earth orb and the fire orb. They seemed to draw them in in a strange way. They tried to get a little closer, but stopped themselves and sat back down.

After sitting down again, Belxaria let out a soft sigh and spoke to Adrain without looking at him. "They're beautiful, Adrain....I can imagine already what they would feel like to use...Fire would have a great powerful energy...almost difficult to control. I imagine it would take a great deal of practice to tame. The water is a soft, yet also strong energy...Less difficult to control, but very picky about who has it.... The earth energy seems just as picky, but very loyal and easy to use once you've got the hang of it. It would take a lot of focus though, I imagine...and light is a mysterious aura that I can't quite figure out...nor can I imagine the feeling of using shadow..." Belxaria seemed to go into a sort of trance as they explained what they thought of fire, and again about earth. The two that had previously drawn the most attention from them.

After a while of feeling that way, Belxaria snapped back to their normal self and looked at Adrain with respect. "I would be honoured to be taught by you...someone who has put so much love and effort into his work and research..." Bell smiled and looked down to their lap with a bit of a blush on their cheeks. It was very impressive and...attractive, they had to admit.

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"Light is something like emitting a radiance at all times, brightening all around you as the warmth of the sun is always around you. Little is hidden from one's view and energy pervades the steps that one would make. Shadow on the other hand is silence, serenity and peace, the ultimate reflection of one's soul and being able to touch the line between light and death and even bend it as well as the elemental darkness around. The soul able to see all things at their deepest levels beyond the veil of matter and everything." Adrain says, filling in the gaps Belxaria mentioned, amused that she paid no comment to air.

When Belxaria spoke of gratitude to Adrain for teaching her and the comment about passion and love to the work, he laughed a litle.

"And it is my pleasure to teach somebody who has a true appreciation for learning new things as well as a dedication I haven't seen in quite some time. Someone who I also find very interesting as a person even without a magical element." he says with a coy smile to Belxaria, noting the blush on their cheeks.

"The first thing is to learn mana control which is the root of all spellplay. This will also help you to identify the element you naturally attune to. Once you have learned how to use your inherent mana and execute natural control over it, you can do more powerful spells as well as other mana types." Adrain says, then pausing.

"Stay still." he commands as he then wills the elemental spheres of energy to surround Belxaria and rotate around them slowly just a few inches above the ground. "Close your eyes and open your mind to your soul. Put everything out around you and find what at your core calls out to you. Feel what energy pervades the air around you, the sensation that you feel when you focus on the aspect of mana in your being and consequently what your body attunes the neutral mana to around you."