Chapter 4: A Gift and A Promise

After his heroic entrance, Sangris slipped out a package bound tightly in brown paper from his dark blue overcoat. It was around the size of the book I had just been reading, maybe a little smaller, and square. "Miss me?" Came the charismatic grin, "You don't even want to know how much trouble I've been through to get this" he showed off the package before walking towards us. Unfortunately for the old mage his walking was cut short by what can only have been called 'an Oscar worthy performance'. With feet and arms flying at all angles, in the blink of an eye he found himself sprawled across the floor, having slipped on some loose crap. A laugh escaped my lips as I watched him wriggle around before proceeding to hurriedly get to his feet, brush himself off and began to continue walking towards us as if nothing happened. His Cheeks were slightly flushed from embarrassment. "Never thought I'd see the day you were clumsier then me" came a flat unimpressed voice,

"Now now Aria, I don't believe anyone can take that title from you", "the competitiveness you hold from your years as a solo adventurer is unrivalled, even by the likes of your husband." "Besides, if you're finally rubbing off on me, maybe it's just a sign you're getting worse" came a wink. "Anyway, Up! Get out of my seat this old man just took quite a fall."

"I'm not that clumsy," my mother said under her breath while pouting her lips. Standing up she took a stride towards me, sour look still written across her face, a look that was quickly replaced by one of panic. Failing to pay attention to her surroundings, she fell victim to the same fate I had previously watched unfold.

After getting back the her feet, My mother swiftly stole me away from the geography book I was delving into and placed back into my position on her chest. Adjusting the straps around her shoulders, she then asked "Where exactly have you been Sangris, And what on earth is in the package?"

"Yes yes, give me a second" came the reply as the old man swiped some clutter from the top of his countertop and placed the parcel on the dark wooden surface.

"This is an rare ancient artefact I've been saving for many years. I acquired it in Mortemalis" he went on, "I'm not entirely sure as to what it will do for your son, however I know it holds an enormous amount of pure mana and it's said it will accelerate magical abilities to an extent."

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A brief moment of silence followed.

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"Are you sure you want to gift us something so rare?" Said Aria hesitantly. "Something like this must cost a fortune"

"Its no problem at all, besides, I can't have my first ever apprentice falling behind from the get go. I'll be making him one of the best mages in the central continent." Said Sangris firmly, At first I though he was joking, however the look in his eyes showed he was nothing but serious.

"Apprentice? I thought you said you'd never take one? Why choose kharl?"

Sangris scratched his chin, "Over the years I've put considerable amount of thought into whether or not I'd ever train someone. I concluded that I'd only take on a candidate from a very young age, with very capable parents. A prodigy if you like. On top of this, I also owe you personally. I'm indebted to you with more than anything I could accumulate within my lifetime, so I hope to leave you with something more."

"There's something about you son, I don't know what, but I get the feeling he'll grow to be more than we can ever imagine."

"Thank you Sangris," my mum bowed slightly in gratitude, "the word prodigy scares me a little though, I'd like my boy to live without that kind of weight on his shoulders"

"There is nothing to fear Aria, he has the ex-head of the kings guard and one of the best adventurers on the continent as parents, and if you accept, also one of the highest ranking mages in Ascal as his mentor. He won't have to shoulder anything alone. I Promise."

The reassuring reply gave my mother a smile. "Thank you Sangris." she repeated.

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The Whole scene was quite sentimental, I still didn't know the true extent of the relationship and history between the mage and my mother, however when such heartfelt words were exchanged I couldn't help but feel proud and lucky to have these people as family.

"Make sure to keep the artifact close to Kharls' crib while he sleeps, and let him unwrap it on his first birthday, I'll be there to supervise when the time comes." Said Sangris. He then grabbed a pile of books, put them into a leather satchel, and passed it to us across the counter. "Let Karl read through these in his spare time as well, I think it will be more than beneficial" He gave me a wink.

After exchanging a few more formalities, we were back on our way to the house. Nearly the entire day had passed within the shop. As we walked along the paved streets towards the south west gate, lights in house windows began to illuminate, casting the shadows of window frames onto the cobbles. Looking up into the spring sky, I took a deep breath that misted in front of me, seagulls flew high above, gliding on the air currents, seeming to enjoy the pale pink colour that the sun made whilst sinking over the roofs of houses to our left, battling against the light blue of day that existed before it.

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A few more months passed, I was now around seven months old, and had spent most of my time reading the books I had received from Sangris and spending time with my parents. The books were all very interesting, covering topics from history, geography and basic politics, to different kinds of beasts, animals and plants that exist in the central continent. However one book in particular was hand written and Illustrated, it obtained far more in depth information about magic and what's called 'Mana Theory'. This is very intriguing, it explains mages, spells and how they are categorized, It also describes 'mana' or 'particles of magic' and how spell casting is possible through a persons inherent ability to control them. Detail about the base fundamentals of tectonic and convection theory are also mentioned, this actually surprised me, as I didn't believe anyone in this world would have managed to discover such a modern theory, back on earth, it was discovered in 1967. This world seems to be in the equivalent time period as the middle ages, but with technological due to magic giving a significantly better quality of life.

I believed this book to be a singular edition written and illustrated by Sangris himself. 'After all, he is one of the greatest mages in Ascal.' I also had the suspicion he hadn't shown this book to anyone else, 'He seems like the kind of person to keep secrets, only to reveal them at the right time.' I thought to myself.

Through the information I had received from the novel, I had begun training. Every day, I spent time where I closed my eyes and tried to feel the 'magic particles' in the air around me and pull them towards and eventually into my body. This process was outlined to be the best way for one to increase their magical abilities, and if started at a young age, could increase the rate or which ones potential can grow. When the book outlined young however, the age the words were intended for was between four years old and seven. Fortunately for me due to my advantage of mentally being a twenty seven year old, I was able to start a little early. This should hopefully make a massive difference in my advancements, especially in the not so distant future as a mages' apprentice.

The final book worth mentioning, is called 'Languages Around the Disk', It contains the basics in learning the central continents four main languages. Human, Elvish, Beastish and Dwarvish. Different dialects weren't included within the book, neither were languages of lesser races such as orcs, goblins or the such. I intended to start learning these as soon as possible, however mastering the Human language took priority, as the sooner I learn to speak, I'll be able to ask my building plethora of questions, and with these questions will come many many answers.

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https://photos.app.goo.gl/D2AEJDuHb75jQyFCA  -  Lore

(On a side note, lore and such will be published over time, all the images for chapters will be as well. It just takes quite some time to do the writing and 'rushed' editing aswell as the art and word building simultaneously. any queries feel free to ask, and I will do my best to correct mistakes or gaps in knowledge.)

(Thanks for the support guys x )

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