Chapter 18 - Part 2

Haiden woke up to familiar green walls and a white ceiling. Burnt hazy light spilled almost violently into the room from the single window lending a warming aura to everything it touched. The comfortable bed supported him just right relieving any pressure from his spine. It was almost a perfect morning were it not for the creepy giggle that rang in his ear.

Hit head bad. Screech giggled again. Haiden looked around in the room but he was nowhere to be seen.

What happened? Haiden asked as he groggily sat up, holding his head with both hands. He was still dressed in his uniform, cloak, tunic, breeches. All accounted for.

Fainted! Boom! On ground. The creature appeared from just outside his field of vision. It had a sickening smile on his face. His hollow nose snorted disgustingly as it did a twirl in the air. Finally awake.

Stay put, will you? You're making my headache worse. Everything came back to him. Master Conner, the textbook...Mara. He sighed heavily. I can't keep freaking out every time I go to class.

No. Can't keep freaking out. Screech repeated.

Haiden got up and gave a good stretch, his head still ringing from the fall. He felt around but there was no bump on his head. He pushed back the embarrassment and went to his window to prop it open to let some air in. The sun was ready to set painting the sky in its colors, and a cool breeze washed over him giving him a moment of reprieve from the pain.

"Much better." he whispered to himself.

Well, let's not waste any time. Haiden would much rather have sneaked around to Tasgal's room, but he had the Trials to worry about. He didn't know how much stronger Bras had become during his absence, and he had to be prepared. He had mastered Water Manipulation some time ago as he used it frequently in his sparring matches with Tasgal while Body Armor was put on hold for the moment. It left visible marks on the skin for a few days and Tasgal was getting suspicious and worried. He had managed to get it up 15 inches in diameter and could withstand a kick from Tasgal without even feeling it. Haiden counted it as a success and deemed it was time for a new spell. He reached under the bed and pulled out the book he had stolen from the Headmistress' office. What should we try this time? Screech?

Screech excitedly hovered above Haiden as he sat at his desk that was looking over the window. Flip flip! He said and Haiden began to go through the book, stopping at every spell waiting for Screech to choose. He had promised him he'll let him pick this time. He's just like a child, Haiden mused, but at least Screech gives incredibly good insight on how to use spells. He began to trust the creature more and more. It clearly wanted his well being and if he was completely honest, the green glob had grown on Haiden quite a lot. It was reassuring to have someone talk to even about his deepest of secrets or bounce back ideas and thoughts.

Stop! Stop! It said and Haiden did as it requested. Unlike the other pages of the book, this one seemed pristine. As if the previous owner had not even bothered with the spell and completely glanced over it. Haiden took a moment to read the spell's name and he could see why? It was a useless utility spell.

Farsight? You want me to learn how to create a water lense? Haiden looked at the creature in disbelief. He did not see a good reason for why someone would bother with such a spell. No wonder the previous owner, probably Headmistress Helena, did not even touch these pages.

Yes! Good spell. Good.

How will this help me, Screech? My eyes work just fine. Haiden used his thumb and ring finger to pry open his own eye and show it to Screech. See? His amber gem shone with the warm light of the sunset. Perfect vision.

Trust. It simply said.

Haiden quickly got annoyed and got up heading for the bed to take a nap as he yawned.

No! Trust. Trust! It repeated and tried to nudge Haiden back to his seat. It's spectral appendages barely grazed Haiden as they passed through him. Screech was pure Fios, although intangible Haiden felt the annoyance of static whenever the creature touched and ran through him. The young wielder sighed and gave in to the Screech's insistences. He did promise it that he would let it choose this time.

Alright, but I choose the next one. Haiden sat back down and began reading the meager two pages of the spell. It didn't have much details on how to form it, the majority of the text was about the properties of convex and concave lenses. Boring. Haiden said, but continued nonetheless.

The spell implied holding the shape of water in very precise form which would make things look either nearer or farther away. How would this help Haiden to defeat Bras he had no idea.

Haiden read and reread the two pages a few times before he had a proper grasp and understanding on what he had to do,he was ready to cast the spell. He was confident this would be an easy task, since manipulating water came to him naturally now, although he had only used it in combat so far. He never needed this level of precision when sparring.

Screech waited impatiently for Haiden to cast, twirling and jumping in the air as it floated all around the room. His sickening chortle resounding throughout the room.

"Will you sit down, already, you're making me more nauseous than I already am. Creators..." Screech finally settled down quietly next to him and waited patiently. Haiden began concentrating, he reached down and pulled on his Fios. He felt the static rushed through him, prickling his skin, and settling on his palm where he condensed the energy. Just like the text read, he drew the water from the air with Condensation then formed a sphere of water in front of him. The water clearly distorted the image within, but it was too bent and blurry. Now, all he had to do was control the shape of the water. First he tried the concave shape. Steadily he flattened the sphere to a thick wheel, and carved in its two sides so that both are curved inside. Haiden saw the world around him get smaller and distorted. He gently reshaped the lens and calibrated it just as he read until the image was cleared up.

"Alright, this was easy enough." Haiden pointed the lens towards Screech, he looked like a small green bug. Screech clapped excitedly.

Next one. Next one. It said.

Alright, alright. Haiden, took the same lens and instead of the two carved sides, he bulged them outwards in a convex shape. The image steadily increased in width but decreased in size as the bulges thickened in the center. Screech then looked like an upside down ten feet monster. His widely misshapen eye was as big as the lens as he approached. It giggled as it saw Haiden just as misshapen as he was. Haiden took a step back from the lens as soon as he saw Screech. He quickly directed it away.

Yes! Yes! Screech said excitedly.

"Now," Haiden said as he sighed annoyed by the creature. He turned his head over to look at the diagram in the book. It had a series of drawn lens shapes, each having a different size and width. He concentrated on the water he had and formed three separate lenses, the first one, the farthest out was a convex lense, it was the biggest of the three and the bulgiest. The second one was also a convex shape, slightly thinner, but much smaller, the size of a fist, and lastly the third one was concave, similar to the second. It took a lot of concentration holding the shapes precise and exact just like in the book. This was harder than he had anticipated. Haiden pointed the lenses out his window and to his surprise he saw hundreds of feet closer. He was able to see beyond the white tall wall that surrounded the Academy and catch a glimpse of the tall buildings outside. There was a smoking chimney, the household was probably cooking dinner at this time. He shifted slightly to the left, another tall building with a terrasse where a stocky woman was hanging out clothes to dry. She struggled with the hight of the wire, but had a wooden stick to pull it down. Haide lifted the lenses upwards and saw a murder of Dregs circling two colorful Yunnipers. He felt bad for the two birds that got singled out from their flock, but that was nature. Predators have to hunt and kill to eat. He didn't want to interfere.

Haiden finally pointed it back at the ground after he decided that he didn't want to see a couple of beautiful birds die, he noticed some humanoid shapes that were walking the school grounds. Haiden shifted around the lenses as the book described until the image went from a blurry mess to crystal clear and saw Master Rwoy talking to Master Ulighart and the Headmistress. He couldn't hear what they were talking about, of course, but they seemed serious. Master Uligarth pointed angrily at a few shrubs near the courtyard and they seem to be approaching the dormitories.

Headmistress Helena suddenly looked up, sensing that she was being watched, and stared directly at him through the lens as if she saw Haiden. In panic Haiden dropped to the floor and instantly dissolved the lenses, drenching himself and everything around in water.

"Shit!" he said. Screech laughed and rolled in the air at him. "It's not funny," he said, annoyed. Luckily, drying himself off was an easy task. He pulled all the water from his clothes and bed back into his hand.

After a few moments of calming his heart, he took a sneak peak through the window and the three Master Wielders were gone. He let out his breath that he didn't realise he was holding. Relieved that coast was clear, he turned back to the creature.

"Alright, Screech. What now?" He asked. Haiden was getting excited to hear what it had in store for him. In truth, everything that Screech had shown him had been a spell that had saved his life and it was something he had never seen so far at the Academy. He felt bad for doubting it in the first place. The creature floated in front of Haiden. Its thin mouth widened in a disgusting smile that made Haiden's skin crawl. If it's uneven eyes and hollow nose weren't enough, its jagged razors that were mere semblances of teeth were foul.

Light. It waited. After realising that Haiden didn't understand what he wanted. He repeated the word as if it was a well thought out question. Light? Screech stopped there and scratched his non existing chin with a thin bony arm in thought. Light! It said gesturing wildly. Lens! But Haiden didn't understand what he wanted. With a roll of his eyes Screech dashed next to Haiden's face.

Images began to flood Haiden's mind and felt power draining away from him. A series of lenses appeared, these were different than those he had just made. Greatly thinner and smaller, and incredibly more precise. A light shined through those lenses and at the end a beam of concentrated light shot out of it with incredible speed. Although it was just a mental image, unsure if it was a past memory of Screech's or just projected imagery from his mind, the sheer power of the beam was almost tangible. The images stopped and Haiden returned to his senses.

"Is this what you want me to do?" he asked and Screech violently nodded with his entire body.

Light! Lense! Go boom. It elongated the last word with placing a weirdly evil sounding emphasis on it. Haiden did as instructed. He had a clear image of the lenses now stuck in his mind, however, the level of precision was no simple task. He spent hours trying to form the correct lenses, and Screech paid close attention to him, screaming "No" in Haiden's face every time something was wrong. His confidence in his skills of manipulating water wavered, the lenses were hard to form, and those that Screech showed him looked of a different material, but Haiden paid no mind and focused on the task at hand. He had to keep concentrating. If he could conjure at least half of the power he saw through Screech, it would give him unparalleled advantage in the Trials. He now understood why Screech insisted on learning Farsight. It wasn't just the spell, and its effect. It was how it was applied. With the right tools, even a weak Wielder would be able to wreak havoc on their target. It was a terrifying thought that so many Wielders roamed the Empire with such power, luckily not everyone had this knowledge. No wonder that there were no books of more advanced spells and teachings in the library. They must not want such great power released into the world for anyone to use.

Soon the green sister nestled in the cloudy night sky, time flew while Haiden practiced forming the lenses. Finally, with an approving nod, Screech was satisfied with Haiden's performance.

Yes! Yes! It said excitedly. Now fire. It said with visceral eagerness. And Haiden with a few thoughts of doubt and hesitation created a simple weak ball of light next to the first lens, and out of the opposite end, a beam of light was launched right at his wardrobe. Haiden felt no recoil from the spell, it was as it was weightless energy, but its power was no laughing matter. The spot where the beam of light landed was intense and in moments caught fire, scorching the polished wood.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" Haiden screamed and threw the water of the lenses onto the fire, immediately stopping any further damage. He breathed in relief as he checked his clothes. They were mostly undamaged aside for a singed spare cloak. He brushed a hand over the scorch mark, the beam of light had burned a small hole through the thick wood.

Screech was visibly excited that Haiden was successful, but Haiden didn't share its enthusiasm. This was a lethal spell, indeed. It's speed and accuracy was unlike anything he had seen before. Even the most powerful spell he knew to date, lightning bolt, was nowhere near as precise, and had a low chance of hitting the target if not taken the time to prepare properly. This beam of energy shot as soon as he formed the ball of light and it kept feeding into it the longer it lasted.

Haiden collapsed onto his chair, he was exhausted. He had expended a great portion of his Fios experimenting with the lenses and the end result was a terrifying one. "Bras won't see this coming." He mused.

Haiden called it a night as he couldn't wish for the next night to come any sooner. Tasgal was surely thinking the same.

---

The weeks flew by in a blink. Spring had quickly ended and the Summer scorch began without even realizing. Insects and all kinds of different bugs made noise through the green grounds of the Academy calling for mates across the city of Elo'yn and beyond as young Wielders trained in the fresh air. It was more practical than in the classrooms as they could avoid accidentally destroying something of value and the Master Wielders that held classes were already tired of fixing everything the young wielders came in contact with. The focus on offensive spells had put them on high alert and Master Coner was always busy with one or two students to heal.

Master Rwoy watched closely so that they would not harm themselves, with clasped hands behind his back. He was pleased with the progress his students were making though he disliked the reason for why they advanced so fast. He was also saddened by the fact that they skipped through most of his favorite spells in favor of offensive ones.

The majority of his students preferred the Icicle spell. It needed lower energy input than most and it could hold any shape they wanted. It surprised Master Rwoy that even Malticia had mastered the Spell and applied her imagination quite in an innovative way.

It seemed she was set on honing her skills with the Icicle spell to perfection. The humiliation she experienced in class because of him had set her on a course of proving him wrong about her. She grew her power significantly since then, and used it to show off. Master Rwoy had to hand it to her, she had every right to show off.

Malticia's preferred way of using Icicle gave her incredible combat adaptability. She called it "Ice flowers." Master Rwoy cringed internally as she screamed the name every time she would use it. She claimed Icicle is simply not suitable for someone of her rank. She formed her Icicle in the form of five petal flat flowers that spun at incredible speeds. She used the vacuum concept Master Omnelia taught them, and applied it to spin them even faster. It was an amazing evolution in Master Rwoy's opinion. One that would drive the young lady to Master in just a decade or two.

On the other hand, there were a few that enjoyed a different approach and focused on utility, honing their shielding capabilities and applying them in various ways. One of Master Rwoy's biggest surprises was Miss Nola, who would ask the most ridiculous questions he had ever heard in his life. But, she paid attention. She took a liking to the plasma blast, which had no real combat use since the ball of energy was just too slow as a projectile. The young Wielder found out that by encapsulating the blast into a weak shield that would break upon contact she would not only be able to control the trajectory of her projectiles, but also increase the speed to that of a force blast.

Master Rwoy was extremely proud of his students. Such level of customization of spells was usually approached in third year and took years to develop. Although they did focus on offensive spells ever since Master Rwoy got the word from Headmistress Helena, one thing he had not accounted for in his class was Haiden. After a few weeks of practicing lightning bolt, the young Wielder began applying his spells in a different way than he was taught.

Haiden had claimed he was bored practicing the same spell over and over again. Master Rwoy had to admit that the young man never missed one time with his lightning bolt, and he could not tell what he was doing differently than the rest. On the contrary, he seemed to prepare his targets even less. Master Rwoy wanted to brush it off as Haiden having an affinity for lightning but that was unlikely as he seemed to have an affinity for everything. Such a thing was right down impossible.

One day, when everyone else was practicing lightning bolt as usual, Haiden, had decided to switch it up a bit as he began to dread the monotonous training even more than Master Coner's classes, which to his delightful surprise had nothing to do with actually practicing on slaves, although he still hated the man, he was glad to learn more about the human anatomy and biology.

He had not only been training with Tasgal on his hand to hand combat, but with Screech and the book in his free time with some new spells or applying them in new and innovative ways, but when it came to class he was tired of doing the same thing over and over again, even though most of his classmates were barely hitting their targets. He had read in the book about a spell called Air Mines which ranked among the easiest of Simple Advanced Spells. It worked on the principle of a Minor compounded spell, but the complexity and destructive power just barely brought it into the Advanced category.

Air Mines Spell works by decomposing water in the atmosphere into hydrogen and oxygen, trapping them into a thin shield. When ignited, it results in a powerful explosion. The complexity derives from the sheer number of small bombs that are created around the target. Because of the thin shield, the Wielder only has to ignite one to cause a chain reaction.

At that time, when Haiden obliterated his stone pillar, Headmistress Helena happened to pass by and see the display. She immediately intervened and questioned Haiden within an inch of his life on where he had learned such a spell. He, of course. had lied and said that he thought of it all on his own using some principles he had learned during Master Omnelia's class. This gave the Headmistress the idea to encourage students to improvise and use their imagination and stray from the textbook spells they had learned so far. Her reasoning was "Councilmen can't intervene if the students came up with them on their own. We didn't teach them Advanced spells, Rwoy, they taught themselves." Although Master Rwoy had expressed his deep concerns, the Headmistress did not want to hear anything leaving him with just. "You're a Master Wielder, Rwoy, surely you can keep a few green Wielders from off-ing themselves." It was an easier thing to say than done, as Master Rwoy had to rush many to the infirmary. Luckily Master Coner had managed to heal all of them without even leaving a scar.

But, in the end, he was grateful. It seems that not only Haiden was tired of the same spells over and over again, but also his classmates, and this gave them the opportunity to shape their Wielding to best suit their strengths.

"I'm never going to find my thing!" Maree flopped on the table besides his plate of food and groaned as hard as he could.

"I'm sure you'll find something." Tasgal tried to comfort him while downing a whole roasted bird. This was the first time he ate at the Wielder's dining hall and got a proper meal.

"Try not to choke to death there, big guy." Haiden chuckled. Tasgal gave him a big grin and a knowing look which made Haiden blush red.

"Even Cams has her thing shield whatever, and even don't get me started on this one!" Maree pointed a finger at Haiden. "He has multiple things." he flopped again on the table moping.

"Not everyone is destined for greatness, Maree." Camila said, annoyed.

"What do you know?" Maree whined.

"More than you, apparently." Camila cackled loudly ending with a satisfied sighe then enjoying a mouthful of soup.

"Both of you stop it, you're behaving like children." Haiden had enough of their annoying antics.

"Easy for you to say, Mister good at everything." Maree said with his head on the table looking the other way. "You're Rwoy's favorite."

"Alright, that's it. I know you want to discover your thing on your own, but get up. We're going outside to the training pillars." Haiden threw his spoon in his soup and got up making his chair go against the polished floor. Everyone in the dining hall stopped and looked at him. "Come on."

"But I haven't finished my roast!" Tasgal objected. Camila was already on her way following Haiden and Maree was scraping himself off the table in slow, lazy motions. Tasgal sighed heavily and got up, leaving the meat on the plate. "Come on you lazy shithead." he said annoyed at his lost meal and grabbed Maree's collar and pulled him up.

Once outside next to stone pillars Master Rwoy erected some time ago when they first began training outside, Maree waited patiently while Haiden tried to think. There were a few others from their class training on their own. They never had spoken to them, but Haiden thought he recognized one of them from the time he got attacked in the night. He paid them no mind, he knew all of those involved were probably pressured by Bras, or at least liked to think of it as such.

"Here, you can snack on these." Camila grabbed a paper pouch from her bag and handed it to Tasgal. They sat on the makeshift sidelines that were just stone benches that littered the grounds.

Tasgal eagerly grabbed the pouch, licking his lips. "What are these?" he said looking inside. "They smell amazing."

"Plumbery and nuts pastries. The cooklady loves me. I was keeping them to snack on later while reading, but I see you need them more than I do." she laughed.

"Oh merciful Camila, I shall humbly accept thy divine gift." Tasgal joked and began eating.

"You're such a weird guy." Camila laughed. "No wonder you fit right in." She finally said and sat back enjoying the clear sky.

Screech, what do you think? Haiden asked in his mind.

Weak. The creature then paused as if it found something. It swirled around Maree while he waited patiently and rather awkwardly. He didn't like being studied so intently. He tried not to look Haiden in the eyes to make it less awkward but someone achieved the opposite.

"Well?" he said, becoming more agitated.

"Just a little more. Meanwhile, tell me what you like? Haiden scratched his chin in thought trying to make sense of Maree's Fios. He asked him to slowly release his energy outwards with no intent.

His Fios, Screech, have you seen anything like it? It's fluctuating so much, I don't see any patterns.

"I don't know... nothing much, I guess I always enjoyed..."

Fluctuating... Screech repeated. Yes! Yes! YES! It screamed from the top of his lungs, if he had any. Haiden had to cover his ears in shock.

"Fine! If you don't want to hear I won't tell you!" Maree wrapped his hands around his chest and pouted.

"No, it wasn't you. I just heard something loud and annoying." Haiden looked at Screech to which he shrugged with his bony arms.

Maree looked around. "I didn't hear anything, but alright then. I guess I always enjoyed the company of animals." he finally said. Haiden furrowed his brows in confusion.

Yes! It said again.

Screech, what does this mean? He asked.

Fios not fluctuations. Fios is mind. The bonding stone. Use to tame the...awakened. It said the last word with a spooky voice wobbling his bony thin arms around, making a 'wooo' sound. It took everything he had not to palm his face in front of everyone.

Haiden then stopped abruptly. He couldn't believe he remembered this but the word 'tame' had triggered a lost memory from boredom. Master Parvell had mentioned something about an ancient people that would tame awakened ones.

"Well?" Maree was losing his patience. It was a notable feat he lasted this long. Haiden ignored him and turned to Camila.

"Cams! What do you know about the Achtes, or Ach-something! Master Parvell said they tamed awakened ones?" He hoped the history buff would have the answer he was seeking.

"You mean the Az'teh?" Camila placed both hands under her head for support while making a strange face, trying to remember.

"Yes! Those guys. Tell me everything you know."

"Well, not much. There are not a lot of written records, and most are a few thousand years after they actually lived. From Master Parvell I know just as much as you do, they were able to tame the awakened and sought after the most ancient ones as they guarded knowledge from the Creators themselves. After that lesson I read a book in the library that said the earliest evidence of Az'teh settlement was in the East of the continent and the artifacts suggested they used strange crystals in rituals to appease the Creators. They had found a lot of bonding stones next to their settlements. " Then Camila shrugged "That's all I remember."

Screech was next to Haiden giddily moving around, he agreed with everything that Camila said.

"What does this have to do with anything?!" Maree asked annoyed. Camila suddenly rose up from the bench and looked him dead in the eye.

"Maree? Wasn't your like great-great-grandfather from somewhere near Jurissa?" Camila asked, curious. Looking at him carefully, studying him.

"I, I think so. How do you know that?" He took a step backwards, uncomfortable everyone was looking at him.

"Your mother kept telling me she wanted to visit something ancestral something, I don't remember, but she said it was in Bahal, near the Jurissa river..." she trailed off. Then turned swiftly to Haiden. "You don't think so, do you?"

Creators she is frighteningly smart. "I think he might be." Haiden said seriously.

Yes! Az'teh! Screech shouted behind Haiden right in his ear.

"Will anyone care to explain?" Maree looked at both of them worried.

"Yeah, care to explain?" Tasgal added, still enjoying the pastries.

"Haiden thinks you might be part Az'teh, Maree. And frankly, it might be so." Camila finally answered. Maree burst into laughter dismissing what she just said.

"No, seriously. Come on. I want to do something cool like you did, Haiden, with those tens of explosions at the same time. Completely obliterated that pillar ." Maree mimicked the motions Haiden did with his hands whenever he cast the Air Mines.

"I'm serious, Maree... And I don't do this," Haiden swished his arms around like Maree.

"Yes you do, Haiden." Camila interrupted.

"You do it more like this," Tasgal got up after finishing his pastries and waved his hands sideways.

"Look, Maree, maybe you are, maybe you aren't. It doesn't hurt hitting the library and seeing if t here's something to it.

Bonding stone! Screech shouted behind Haiden. Need bonding stone.

"Alright! Creators! But don't look at me when you wasted your time proving nothing." Maree went to grab his bag and cloak from the stone bench.

Haiden cleared his throat "By any chance do you guys have a bonding stone?"v