2 - Becoming A Student Of Aela

The sunset bled an orange color through the treeline. Aela turned her back to me, ready to go. 

"Follow me" she started walking, we're probably- no, surely going to the Blue Forest.

"Oh, I haven't asked for your name yet" 

She finally asked, there are limits to ignoring people after all. 

"My name is Rei" not a total lie, I guess. 

"Rei huh, how do you know about me?" 

I walked beside her. She doesn't lack confidence, I wonder why someone like her who had refused a place among the Five Mages would want me as her student. 

"In a book" it was an old magic book though. 

"Interesting. does your family have a library or something?"

"You can say so" 

"We reached the forest, since you know about me, I wouldn't be surprised if you know about it too" 

I had only read about it in books, but this blue shine, this is the Blue Forest. The forest that separates Orantia and Wellowood, and here where Aela lives. 

Ah.. I see now why it's called the Blue Forest. The ground, the branches… Unbelievable, their bright is everywhere. 

I've known that this forest was good place for blue iris but I didn't expect it to be this much. I turned my gaze to the trees, full of blue Irises, nothing is impossible with magic. 

"Why are you frozen there? I'll leave you behind" she already walked quite far. I followed her. 

"What spell was used to make the forest like this" I couldn't restrain myself from asking her. 

"You have good eyes. I’ll teach you about it later. After all it's a Manipulation Magic spell" she continued "and I saw you fighting before, your magic type is Attack Magic right? You can't use Manipulation Magic before you master your own type"

Well I can't ruin my journey more than this, I’ll ignore my urge for now. 

"Yeah, my magic type is Attack Magic. Yours is Manipulation Magic right?"

"True, but I can use Attack Magic too" 

I couldn't expect less from Aela, The Transformer Witch. She mastered two types of magic.

"And yes, I haven't mastered Defense Magic. It's hard for a mage to master their third type”

"Here it is, my cottage" I raised my head, it was directly above us.

"Follow me" 

She stood under the doorway, I walked to the same spot she was standing. At that same moment, the irises beneath us started to grow, rising up to the cottage door. 

She stepped through the doorway. As soon as I did, the irises sank back where they had been. 

She opened the door. After that magical staircase I wonder what kind of cottage she has- 

Or not... 

So much for my expectations. 

"Are you sure you're Aela?"

Less than a normal cottage, a bed and table in the half of the room, at least she has a bookshelf I guess. 

"How rude! of course I am" she entered the cottage. 

The chaos all around it, it'd be so easy to clean with magic. Well, I'll ignore this since my desk was kind of messy. 

"Oh, I just realized that I don't have a bed for you" 

She summoned her staff. A magical circle appeared in the ground, and then a bed materialized from nothing. 

She wasn't lying about being Aela for sure, I turned my gaze to the books, maybe I will find some of her spells in them. 

"Now let's sleep!"

"You won't teach me anything?" I opposed. 

"The rest is part of the training too" she jumped onto her bed, and suddenly she fell asleep. 

I sat on the bed, I still think she wants to use me as an experiment for her spells. 

… 

I opened my eyes slowly, was I sleeping? Sunlight streaming through the window, yeah it's morning. 

I checked myself over, there's no missing bones. I breathe a sigh of relief. 

I looked at the bed beside me, she's still sleeping. I turned my gaze to my bag on the bed, did I sleep with it? 

I got up from the bed, and walked to the window then opened it. The scent of irises filled my nose. 

Water. I visualized its shape floating, and my magic conjured it. 

I extended my hand and scooped some water to wash my face. A cold sensation washed over my face. 

I left the window open, maybe it will wake up this sleepy mage. Besides, I need to eat something. So I fetched my bag and took some bread. 

I sat on the table's chair, eating the bread while waiting for her to wake up, but she didn't. 

Seems like she wouldn't.. I walked over to her. 

"Aela, wake up" I called for her, shaking her body. 

Seems like she wouldn't.. Sadly there's no other choice. 

Without hesitation, I conjured water and splashed it onto her face. 

"AGHH SO COLD" she screamed. 

"Let's start training" 

"You..." Her teeth are chattering as she shot me a sharp look. 

"It was the most practical method to wake you up. Now, let's start training" 

"You really don't know what you should do and what you shouldn't" 

Suddenly, cold water splashed onto my face. 

"That's my revenge!" She started laughing. 

"Childish. Alright, when will we start the training" I kind of want to see what kind of training a mage like Aela will make me do. 

"Huh? Oh training" she rubbed her eye "go out and feel the sensation of mana"

That's... Pretty normal. 

"Okay" after all, sensing mana is important training too. 

Any mage needs to merge their own mana with nature's mana, they wouldn't be able to apply their magic otherwise. 

I opened the cottage door. At that same moment, the irises rose up. I stepped onto them and climbed down. 

Looking at it again, the most impressive thing is the mana used to sustain this forest. 

I stood on the irises, closed my eyes, and took a breath. Relaxing is part of this training too. 

I let out my mana, a warm sensation filled my body, merging with the forest's mana. Becoming a part of it. 

I stayed still for hours. Many mages know that sensing mana is important for applying magic, but they don't realize that if you practice this long enough, hiding your mana becomes effortless. 

I opened my eyes, something has been nagging me for a while, I need to check. I started walking forward. This forest isn't just about blue irises, I suppose.