Chapter 3: The Arcane Seal

Iskatl and his grandfather, Skartha, made it back home rather quickly as Katja brought up the rear before placing a hand atop Iskatl's head, "Listen, boy. Sit so I can teach you." She started calmly, chuckling softly as she ruffled Iskatl’s hair.

He'd nod and sit down with his legs crossed, and she did the same in front of him. "Okay, Iskatl. Two things are needed before we can even try to get serious about you learning magic in a serious capacity. One, train to block out your body's ability to sense mana, and two, train your mana levels so that the sensations mana makes you experience aren't as intense for you. Now close your eyes."

He did so as he took a deep breath before Katja continued, "Imagine yourself as water, flowing through a stream." She exhaled softly as she continued, "Now, imagine that stream as the world around you, and then try to push against the stream; flow against the current and shift the current to follow your will, not the other way around."

He'd breathe deeply, nodding softly as he listened to her words. As water, she said. As he pictured this, his body got significantly less tense, and he felt hot, as if his body was being consumed by fire before a gasp from Katja forced him to open his eyes. Once he did so, he saw that same energy from before emanating from her body, but looking down at his own, it was a similar energy, but fiery and hot.

"Your Mana has a unique property, Iskatl. Your mana and flames are one. Mana having an elemental property is so rare, Iskatl! You're so impressive! Like, mine has the properties of lightning, which means I'm better with lightning magic, and when I manipulate my mana, it has the properties of lightning!"

That explains why her mana seems consistent with electrical currents. Still proving herself a kind person and great teacher, answering questions he doesn't even ask. He loved that about Katja, she would make a wonderful detective. Tilting her head, she continued. "Well, this is gonna change what I said. Imagine yourself as a small fire, and the world around you a raging inferno. You don't want to become part of that inferno; you want to devour it whole and make it part of you, 'kay?"

He nodded softly as the fire coming off of his body began to burn brighter and brighter; his mana surged, flames pouring off his body as he exhaled deeply. Before he knew it, there was a dome around him as Katja gazed at him, her body language defensive, her ears flattened against her skull, and a brow furrowed. His mana was growing larger by the second before he finally bit his tongue, and that intense fire disappeared before tilting his head. "Is it normally not that fast, Miss Katja?"

She shook her head before letting the barrier around him vanish. She'd look back at him before speaking, "It's quite clear to me, you have the Arcane Seal, but normally it'd reduce your strength vastly, to the point you can't move. No doubt a result of your father's genes... Ugh, I miss that silly bastard."

He looked taken aback; something like a 'Seal' sounded important so he'd ask the question, "What does this Seal do exactly, Miss Katja?"

She'd tap her chin with her finger as she thought about how she can describe it, "Well... Essentially. Your mana is multiplied into itself? I suppose that’s the easiest way to put it? Hard to explain properly. You'd also be better at magic than most, I suppose…" She said, sounding like she was almost trying to play it off…but failing.

"You suppose?" He'd raise an eyebrow as he tilted his head before she chuckled. "Yeah, I do."

After that day, over the course of the next few years, he'd train his mana every day, realizing how dangerous the flames it produced were. He had honed his ability to detect mana and resist the effects to such an extent that he didn't even need to block those sensations any longer. A world of information was right there at his disposal. Mana wasn't just in magic, it was everywhere. Every single thing in this world possessed mana, and whenever he meditated on his mana, he could feel his senses clinging to any mana he focused on; the tribe decided to name him a Seer due to how easily he could see things from afar with this ability. Every day, he trained with magic, learning various spells that his teacher, Katja had shown him. He learned a vast number of spells, spanning from flame conjuration to charms and counter-spells. He found himself taking to all this magic almost scarily easily. He then decided he'd pause his magical training, deciding to train with various blades and melee weapons. Iskatl found that as his mana increased, so too did his physical strength, more than likely due to his demon blood

As time passed the day soon arrived that Iskatl was fifteen years of age, old enough to explore the forest unsupervised. Out and about, in the midst of a hunt, Iskatl was tracking a deer-like creature when he sensed fire from a mile away. He was deep within the forest, so far away from home that he couldn't help but recall something: His grandfather, Skartha, had told him they shared this forest with elves. Was something attacking the elves? This fire felt special, unlike any he had seen before. He felt his body itself shudder as he went toward the source of the fire. This fire was quite strange. Extrasensation told him that there was a lot of it still being produced, just before stopping. Wait...

He saw it flying overhead: a giant red dragon leaving the large fire it had just caused, its mana vast and bright; flames even brighter than his own were what he felt coming from the dragon's form. There was something oddly familiar about the dragon: a large scar running down its form, and its mana seemed to tug at the world around it in an odd manner. He looked away from the beast as he felt his head begin to hurt, his blood boiling in his veins as he exhaled softly. What a strange sensation. Regardless, he knew what to do: search and rescue.

Flames began to creep down Iskatl's spine as his mana was woven into his being, and before he knew it…his body felt lighter! He took a deep breath, steadying himself. He hadn't done this much, but emergency bred carelessness; one step forward and the ground beneath him began to crack and burn before he charged forward, splitting the sky and rushing forward, a streak of flames crossed through the forest as he reached his destination in less than three blinks of an eye! Just then….he saw it! The village of the elves, a village hidden within the trees. He closed his eyes before opening them, his pupils narrowed into slits as he looked around the village, the stench of flames and ashes pungent in the air. His ears twitched as he heard a girl crying out before he stepped in that direction, the fire on his body still crackling. Then, he grunted, falling to a knee as the flame wore off; a soft exhale escaped Iskatl's lips before he saw her, a silver-haired girl with pointed ears, trapped under a flaming tree.

Going over, he grasped the tree in his hands and wove his mana back into his body so that he could lift it off her. Looking down at her, he sighed softly, "Are you alright?" Upon closer inspection, the girl was unconscious, with various injuries littering her body, so he lifted her up and brought her back to the village as quickly as he could.

He set her down in his own bed, covering her with a thick fur blanket. Skartha, his grandfather, looked to his grandson the moment he came back, and so he was beside Iskatl, looking at the unconscious elf, "What happened, pup?"

"A dragon attacked that elven village on the other side of the forest. As far as I could tell using my extrasensation, she was the only survivor; any other survivors may have been taken. She doesn't look too good... Can you get Katja, Grandfather? I'm still not very adept at healing magic, unfortunately. She’s the best in a pinch, right?" He spoke slowly and with intent, as if he were trying to keep his composure. His grandfather patted him on the shoulder and sighed, nodding before he set off to get Katja.

He looked at the girl with a soft sigh as he pressed two fingers against her neck, feeling her pulse, only for him to breathe a sigh of relief and close his eyes. Dragons truly were cruel creatures, weren't they? He didn't believe it when his grandfather told him stories, but they truly were.