Master Antonina

“Alright, Paulus. Starting from today, I'm no longer your Mom. I’m your master.” She beamed a smile, reaching her eyes. Mom is so excited.

“Yes, master!” Paul screamed with a smile, as if he were a soldier greeting his captain.

Is this going to be okay? They are having too much fun. I was sitting, watching Paul and Mom train far away from them. Mom doesn’t want me to see the training or practice magic, even though I insisted. She said it's dangerous for little kids, and it is prohibited.

“Mom, please! I want to learn. I hold onto her clothes and fall to the ground sobbing, tears rolling down my cheeks. This is a bit embarrassing.

“Cato, listen to Dad. In the kingdom of Eleutheria, teaching magic to an underage child is condemned to death. Not even slaves can learn magic before ten, or the owners will be in trouble. It's detrimental to your health. Many years ago, it was a common practice, but many kids died from their parents trying to get economic or political gain from a strong magical affinity in children.” Dad is so smart. It makes sense.

“Okay, Daddy,” I said obediently, knowing that I would have to hide and learn from Mom in secret.

After breakfast, Mom would teach Paul in the backyard. I could see and hear everything from my room. Now, with mom’s teachings, I feel like my magical pool is growing, and I’m able to control my magic input and output better.

“Mom, I want to learn fire magic,” said Paul, loudly jumping up and down.

“Paulus, call me master.” Said Mom, laughing enthusiastically.

“Yes, master!”

“They are such morons. Why am I the one flustering?” I said while covering my face with a pillow.

“Alright, Paulus. Learning magic is a slow process. Initially, you will feel extremely weak. However, for now, you need to learn to feel the magic within you. Every person has six senses through which we understand reality. We see with our…”

“Eyes!”

“We taste through our…”

“Tongues!”

“We listen through our…”

“Ears!”

“We smell through our…”

“Nose!”

“We feel through our…”

“Skin?”

“That’s right. Then, how do we feel magic?”

“Hands?”

“No. We feel magic through our hearts and brains. Missing any of those or damaging any of those will cause some problem in your magical affinity.”

Mmm… The book talks about this. I wonder if that means that Dad’s heart or brain is damaged somehow? I was gripping the stool of the window.

“Is Dad sick?” Said Paulus, seriously looking at the ground.

“Dad can sense magic. But his problem is something else. I’m not a researcher, but I think Dad’s magic receptors cannot open fully to let magic out. He can use some magic, but it is very little.”

Mmm… I slowly sit down next to the window. If Dad can sense magic and use it, I wonder if there is a cure.

“Some people call him a pig. Why does it have to be that way?”

I clenched my fist, hitting the floor. I bet it was Sappho, that idiot.

“I’m sorry, son. Life is not always ideal. We don’t know the ways of the gods, but we know that your father is a great man.” Mom was tensing her muscles.

“Now come close. Hold my hand and close your eyes. I’m going to gather magic in my hand. I want you to feel it.”

“Okay, Mom.”

“Master!”

“Yes, master!” said Paul loudly, nostrils wide open.

“Can you feel it?”

“I feel something warm.”

“That’s magic. Now I'm going to put my hand on your chest. I want you to feel it in your heart.”

…

…

…

“I can feel it.”

“Okay. Slowly gather that warm feeling inside your body.”

“Okay,” he whispered. “I can feel it inside me.”

“Now, slowly open your eyes. And I want you to let that energy slowly go in the palm of my hand.”

“Okay.”

I haven’t tried that… I usually gather the energy and then do the spell. By now, my head is entirely out of the window.

“Good job… I can feel it. Now stop. This is called magical breathing,” said Mom, smiling.

Paul sat down, holding his head.

“That’s right. Now you rest. We will do the same tomorrow.”

Okay. I should focus on gathering my magic, let it out, and stop using magic spells. Magic breathing is very relaxing. I can feel the warmth Paul was talking about. However, it is not just warm. I feel like something resonating in my chest. It's like when, in a music concert, the instruments are so loud, and you are too close to the speakers that it feels like the sound waves are in your whole body. Then, Mom said to let the magic out. That calms the warmth and vibration, but I feel the energy draining from my body. I will start doing this every day.

The training continued the following days. Paul kept on practicing magical breathing. Then Mom taught him how to conceal magic. It’s like holding your breath but with magic. This technique is used to hide your presence and accumulate magical energy within your body. This exercise continued for months.

The next training was learning to guard. This is the most crucial defense technique. Guard is about laying a layer of magic surrounding your body. The thinner the layer, the more you can cover, but the weaker the defense is. The thicker the layer, the less coverage it provides for the body, but the stronger it is in resisting attacks. In close battle, whoever has better control over their magic and spends less energy wins.