Chapter One Hundred And Thirty Eight - All The More Reason To Leave

Before Elyas had become Elyas Sigmis, he had been known as Elyas Knight, the son of a low ranking official and his wife.  He had been marked at the age of five and not long after this had been enrolled into the middle classes of the mage halls.  He didn't recall much else in regards to his parents, except that they were proud of him.  He had not seen them since, the mage halls taught the children that their first and only duty was no longer filial, but to the King and Kingdom.

Still, he had thought, being born to some status, that he knew what was expected of an elite mage, but he came to realise that he was sorely mistaken.

As he had been in education for ten years, his new classes, while intense, were not otherwise much different than what he had learnt before.  There was more emphasis on duty to the King and less for the Kingdom and his abilities were examined more finely.  His abundant magic meant that he could sustain a flame for hours, perhaps even days did he not require sleep.  It also came clear that he had much finer control than he had ever revealed before and as Teacher Vitalous kept watch on him for every lesson, every day for the first couple of weeks, he could no longer blend into the background and perform lazily.

The only benefits that he had discovered so far being forced into the S-class were the single room that he had all to himself and that he no longer had any chores. The former was actually not so great as the room was not exactly what he could consider spacious and he missed his friends and the time that was gained from the latter, he was expected to fill with self study. He managed to appear to fulfil this requirement by visiting the library every two days, signing out a few books to read and taking them to his bedroom, where they mostly lay forgotten upon his bed, while he took to exercising his body. He didn't want to look so lame next to Five when he met Seven again.

It was difficult to do sit ups, press ups and the like in the small space, especially as his weak, physical body protested after a really short period and he ached horribly the following day. However, after learning that he could use his magic to warm his muscles and ease the pain, he pressed on, sweaty and tired by the end of each day and barely able to pick up one of the ignored books until lights out. Why did he think this was a good idea again?

On learning that his magic was good for something other than just burning things, he came up with a theory. Fire, Water, Air and Earth were the source magics, other types were derived from these four, such as Sand deriving from Earth and Ice from Water. There were many types that came from Fire such as Light or Sun, even Darkness or Shadow for it was the absence of Light. Therefore, could he not use magics that were attributed just to these talents? He tested several theories only to find that he was correct. The only stumbling block came if he tried to use magic that seemed to be derived from two elements such as Lightning, which he believed was not just rooted to Fire, like the books suggested, but Air as well. This would also make it more understandable why it was considered rare.

As he was playing around creating heatless light in varying colours during the rest day there came a knock at his door. Elyas quickly dismissed the spell, he wasn't willing to share his newfound abilities when he had already revealed more than he had ever wanted to, before moving towards the door to open it. It was Teacher Vitalous.

"Greetings, Student Sigmis," the Teacher offered him a small, amicable smile. "I am due to visit my clinic within the upper levels and would like your company as the newest student of s-class."

"Your clinic?" Elyas asked.

"Yes," the Teacher said. "As well as being a Teacher within the mage halls, I am also a Healer. I try to attend to my Clinic at least twice a week, unless there is an emergency to which I would attend to immediately of course. I usually ask one of s-class students to accompany me. There is a lot to learn outside of the classroom after all."

"Of course," Elyas agreed.

*****

The Mage Halls were located in the middle section of the city, off to one side of the merchant shops and their homes. The Teacher's clinic was located in the upper region, not too far from the Palace. This was probably intentional, Elyas thought, so that the Royal Family could get urgent care should they ever require it. There was already a crowd of servants, so assumed by their slightly uniform appearance, waiting outside the clinic in wait. The moment Vitalous unlocked the building's heavy wood door, the servants scattered, running to advise their masters that the Healer was in attendance. This rang some slight alarm bells within Elyas' mind as well as the very obvious fact that not a soul amongst those moving around the wide streets were commoners not indentured.

Vitalous showed Elyas into the stark, white clinic with several spacious rooms with lone double beds in each one. Elyas carried the man's bag with him and they were both accompanied by a male servant who was expected to see the incoming clients into the rooms until they were full, one client per room and then collect relevant fees as they departed. Vitalous asked Elyas simply to provide him with magic when he was weary. Magic transfer was a simple enough spell, even those in the lower classes could do it, so it made sense to him why the Teacher required an s-class student, with their abundant magic, with him on these trips.

The servant came to advise them that the rooms were filled and that he was about to brew tea to serve on approval. Elyas followed Vitalous into the first room. There, a noble woman lie pale upon the bed, three maids beside her, all of whom looked distress and on the verge of tears. The noble woman appeared to be in her late thirties, her face heavily powdered to hide the lines beginning to form on her aging face. Despite her white skin and insipid appearance, her hair was pinned without flaw and her full dress without wrinkles.

"What seems to be the problem, Milady?" Vitalous asked, politely, but not submissively.

"Milady has been cut!" a maid cried out.

"Her needle slipped and there was so much blood!" Wept another in grief.

The noble woman moaned softly to emphasise the point. Elyas thanked his own once noble upbringing in another life that he could keep his face straight and not laugh in the face of these clear dramatics. Vitalous also did not reveal how he felt about the situation, simply glanced at where the accused needle had pierced the skin. It was a couple of millimetres long and had already scabbed over. "This scratch has already healed. A day or so and it would seem as if it had never occurred in the first place," Vitalous pointed out. "A Healing is clearly unnecessary."

"No, no," the maid chided him. "You must Heal Milady. There could remain a scar otherwise."

Vitalous stared down at the woman unmoved. "Please," another maid begged. "We will, of course, pay you handsomely." A spark of magic burst upon his finger tip as he pressed upon the slip of a scratch, the scab vanished.

"My servant will provide a stimulating tea, it would do well to help your Lady to get to her feet quickly," Vitalous announced, quickly writing on the clipboard that Elyas carried for him notes and a fee. He gave it back to Elyas, who tried not to goggle over the extortionate figure. The boy could only assume that this was more a fee for wasting the Healer's time rather than for the Healing itself, a fine rather than a fee. He kind of doubted that he would deter this frivolous person from coming back to the clinic for another silly reason.

Unfortunately, most of Vitalous clients were of much the same ilk. One man had a stomach ache after consuming too much food and wine. Another was cut a tad while his new manservant tried to shave him without proper training (Elyas shivered to think what had happened to the poor servant following the man's failure) and another believed the mole upon her arm unsightly and wanted it removed. This last woman was sent fleeing as Vitalous explained that the mark would need to be burned off by a talented fire mage before Healed by himself and the woman had decided to consider it rather than follow through that day. Elyas could tell that she was seriously considering it, however.

By the end of this, Elyas felt terribly depressed. The only person that could be considered to actually require healing was a fire mage that had lost control for a brief moment of his fiery display meant to entertain the Palace the previous evening and ended up burning his entire hand. Vitalous had not judged him, saying he should have let him know sooner, he would have come quickly to Heal the burn and take away the serious pain the mage must have been experiencing.

"Ah, but I could not up and leave the Palace midway through the performance, Vitalous," the mage dismissed as he checked over the newly healed skin with a deep sigh of relief. "The Crown Prince was entertaining potential brides this evening past."

"The Crown Prince entertains potential brides at least once each month for over seven and as yet is no closer to finding a wife," Vitalous commented, his hand gripping Elyas' as the boy transferred magic into his depleted body. "Me thinks he enjoys the process too greatly to commit."

Elyas was quiet during this conversation, horrified that a fire mage was being used to entertain the elite rather than keeping the kingdom safe as he had always assumed was a duty of all magi, but especially the greater gifted ones. But instead, Elyas was learning otherwise. Not that he was planning on staying within the city's walls long enough for his own worth to be reduced to that of a mere entertainer for the spoiled elite, but he certainly felt that even if there was no other option, he would not be returning here once he had found and reunited with Seven. Now, he simply had to figure out how to leave under the mage halls all too watchful eyes.

Author's note; I feel as if my muse has returned from her holidays as I trudged through this and the last chapter and then Bluerainbow06's gratefully received comment sparked inspiration and I have not stopped writing since!  Hopefully, I am on a roll! Thanks to Bluerainbow06 once more!