Uncertain training

Reyna sat with her back against one of the bones; Zayden stood in the middle, arms crossed as he talked bluntly.

“Magic in this world is derived from our elgrimas, which are tied to the whole of our beings. We spend elemental energy to use our magic, and the type of magic an individual can use is based on their own ambitions.”

Ryan crossed her own arms, raising an eyebrow at his last couple of words.

“What the heck does that mean?”

“Well, for example, I grew up in the slums of the kingdom, and because of that, I was ashamed of who I was as a kid, often wanting to hide myself from the people around me …”

His chest started to glow with dark energy as his feet turned into shadows, sinking slightly into the ground.

“… hence the shadow magic; the ability to perfectly blend into nothingness and hide away whenever I want.”

“Huh, okay then. What if my deepest desire was something stupid, like wanting to turn people into rocks or something?”

“It can’t just be any random wish, it’s your deepest desire; the thing you want to accomplish the most.. Besides, we can’t do absolutely anything; your ambition manifests itself depending on the restrictions of your element; each one has its own 'rule' so to speak. For example, dark magic manipulates your own body, but light magic targets other people; if I was a denizen of the light kingdom, my ambition would manifest itself differently. That being said, let me see your elgrima again.”

Reyna concentrated and summoned her crystal into her hand, passing it on to Zayden who stared at it curiously, eyeing the colourless substance it contained.

“I wasn’t sure of it before, but there’s no doubt looking at it now; you’ve got pure elemental energy.”

“What- what does that mean?”

“Normal elemental energy corresponds to, well, a specific element. What you have, though, is the purest form of elemental energy, devoid of any specific designation. I can’t even begin to imagine how the light kingdom got their hands on something like this!”

Reyna saw the man’s eyes gleam in a way she didn’t think possible from the straightforward demeanour she’d seen until now. After a couple seconds, he realised how he was staring, stepping back and recomposing himself.

“A-anyway, let’s start. Focus on your elgrima, and think about what you want to achieve the most.”

He placed the crystal back in Reyna’s hands as she tightened her grip around it, with an anxious look spread across her face.

“I don’t really know what I want to do, though.”

“There must be something; a goal you want to work for, something you want to obtain, or even a family member you want to look after.”

“Family?”

She thought about her sister, about how much she wanted to do for her, and the crystal began to shine. She thought about how hopeless they felt when their dad left, and their mother passed away soon after. She thought about how much she wanted desperately to make things better for Emily, and especially after her recent visit, how much she wanted to become a better person for her sake; her crystal began glowing brighter.

“That’s it; stay on that train of thought.”

She kept thinking about Emily, about how much she wanted to see her again, but as that thought kept going, the glow in her crystal began to flicker.

“Hey, what’s happening? What are you thinking about?”

“I’m thinking about my little sister; I want to look after her, but …”

“Then keep thinking about her. If caring for her is what you truly want, then channel that into your magic!”

“But I can’t care for her when I'm here!”

She yelled out as a shockwave of energy blasted out of the crystal, knocking Zayden straight off his feet. She stepped forward, continuing to yell as she threw her frustrations out.

“I’m on an entirely different planet than her! I don’t even know if I’ll ever be able to get back to her! For all she knows, I’ve just gone and vanished; abandoned her without a word. Every minute I stay here is another minute I’m hurting her; I can’t even see her face anymore, let alone look after her in any way!”

Zayden saw her eyes begin to swell, pushing himself back onto his feet, and addressing her with more hesitation than usual.

“I- I apologise, I didn’t think of it that way. It must be hard, being separated from her like this.”

She moved away, turning sullen as she dug her gaze into the ground and refused to face him.

“Don’t pretend to understand me; your people are part of the reason I’m in this mess to begin with.”

Just then, a piercing screech rung through her ears. As she flung her head up, she saw the large gaping mouth of a Hidreuze close in on her. She flinched in fear before Zayden grabbed her hand, pulling her into his shadow and moving her out of the way. Pushing her out to the side, he regained his normal from and drew his knife.

“You’re right, I can’t even begin to understand your position. I do understand what it's like to look after someone, though. The girl I’m trying to save right now is my daughter. Adopted, but she’s the one thing that gave me motivation to keep moving up in the world.”

The Hidreuze leapt at the duo, only to be intercepted by Zayden’s knifework piercing its jaw, subsequently being thrown to the side, and scurrying away once it realised it had been beaten. Once he was in the clear, Zayden took a slight breather, then turned back to Reyna with a grim expression.

“With her motivating me, we made it into the king’s personal unit, ’the dark suns’, but now that she’s in danger, all I can think about is making sure she’s safe, no matter what I have to throw away to get there.”

With one swift movement, he pointed his knife directly at Reyna’s neck; his eyes showing nothing less than complete conviction.

“Don't forget, you’re my hostage; I’m in control of this situation. I’ll protect you on the way, but understand that once we get to the dragon’s skull, we part ways.”

Reyna scowled, but ultimately resigned to her situation, sighing and titling her eyes away.

“Fine. I guess I blame you; I might have even done similar if it was my sister.

Zayden sheathed his knife and walked over to his lizard-mount, climbing on before extending down his hand.

“Who knows, the light kingdom brought you here, so maybe they can send you back if you can convince them; this might be good for you in the long run.”

Reyna accepted his hand, slowly climbing up herself before sitting behind him.

“Whatever, let’s just get this over with.”