Chapter 7

Training day, the first of many, or that's what Gaslyrok hopes. He makes his way through the coral halls of the underwater city, hand gliding along the wall. The conversation from the day before is still fresh in his own mind, learning that he, himself, is royalty, as well as his own twin. His approach to the training grounds is slow, as he takes the time to think things over inside his own head. The coral halls remained barren, doors often opening as he walked past them, but it was the coral, themselves, reacting to his presence close to them.

For this training, he needed to change his clothes, to that of what the Aqualians wore. To him, it was a little embarrassing to walk around in shorts as tight as the ones worn by the people. They even gave him some training armor, a coral chest plate with shoulders that are as hard as steel. It’s not as heavy as steel, but for him it might as well be as he isn’t used to the feel of wearing armor. The coral even stretched down to create a fauld to protect other parts of his body. There had to be a reason why they wear such tight fitted clothing, things he must question when he has the chance.

As he approaches the end of the hall, he takes in a big gulp, seeing the door start to open, his right hand over his left chest. It was like he was about to come face to face with his greatest fear. Once the coral was finished moving out of the way, he takes a step forward. Before another can be made, a hand is felt on his left shoulder, making him nearly jump out of his skin, immediately. He turns around, seeing Leviathan standing there, laughing from the young boy's reaction.

“Sorry, didn't mean to scare you, thought you knew I was behind ya, Gasly. So, know what you're in for, in there?” Leviathan asked, remaining a good foot close to Gaslyrok.

He shakes his head, keeping his eyes on the boy, then looked to the open door, seeing nothing but darkness come from behind them. His gaze shifts back to Leviathan, keeping that single, visible, eye on the boy.

“Well, to put it simply, you'll be going into a space that is filled with no lighting. There will be a high-pitched squealing coming from all around the room, it's the way the stones are in there, if something hits them, they react with a louder sound. There will be nothing to smell, either, but the goal, is to see if you can use any latent magic inside you. All you must do is focus on that. I'll be giving you one hour, just like anyone else that goes inside there. If people are inside for too long, they usually end up dead, from the screeching alone. I know the sounds will make it hard to concentrate, but in the end, it'll be well worth it, okay?”

The fear of what he must go through weighed heavier than before, as he looked towards the darkness. He felt paralyzed, his heart pounding faster as there is a chance, he could be irrevocably changed from going into the darkness alone. They are really putting pressure on him to do it right when he steps inside the darkness. His head finally turns back towards Leviathan and his lips parted for a moment.

“What is it with these tight shorts?” He decides to ask in that moment.

Gaslyrok showed his discomfort in the clothing, trying to make sure it didn’t go anywhere it shouldn’t. Leviathan shakes his head and moves to kick at the air, showing his speed was greater in the shorts, than if he was wearing something else.

“These help with mobility and allow for a wider range of motion than most other pieces of clothing. Trust me, you’ll understand when the time comes. Or maybe you’ll be like your brother and never understand.” A small laughter escaping his lips soon after.

“Sorry… I was just curious, that’s all.” Gaslyrok said and rubs the back of his neck.

Levaithan shakes his head and looks into the darkness that Gaslyrok was soon to go through. He had been inside that himself, but he never tapped into his own laten magic, until he was his current age. Turning back to Gaslyork, he feels sorry for him, this was going to be harsh on him for such a young one. But this is necessary to help him be prepared for the future.

“Don’t worry about it too much, just know it helps with combat and being flexible in a fight. Now, you should get in there, I’ll be out here, and if it sounds like it’s too hard for you, I’m pulling you out.” Leviathan explained.

Gaslyork feels something wrapped around his waist, looking to see some rope tied around him. Once the rope was tightened and Leviathan made sure that it won’t break easily. Gaslyork steps towards the darkness that is only blocked by a door and a thin organic layer that acts as a sort of barrier. Placing his hand on the barrier it felt as though it was a bubble and when he presses his hand harder against the bubble, it pops through. The wet sensation struck him fast and his Leviathan tail soon strikes out, knowing he would be submerging himself in the water soon enough.

With a final deep breath of the recycled air in the protective bubble they reside in, Gaslyork takes his step forward. As soon as he passes his head through, his ears were met with a high-pitched screeching that one might mistaken for a howler monkey. His hands moved to his ears, and his lips parted to scream from the sounds. Brought own to his knees in the darkness in no time, and it had just been from entering the darkness. Eyes remained open and he can tell Leviathan wasn’t lying about the darkness. There was no sense he could use to help him through this trial, no sight or hearing. Being submerged meant that his sense of smell was removed, and there was nothing to even taste. He could still feel that he was on ground, but that was because his knees were on the ground.

Once his ears were used to the screeching that his hands weren’t needed to block the sounds, Gaslyrok lowered his hands. How did one even pass this? Latent magic, but what sort of magic was he supposed to use? He needed to think, but with that constant shrieking in his ears it was hard to even think. Moving off his knees, small steps are made, going towards the center of the room, or where he thought it was. All he did was take two small steps in, and then sat on the ground, taking in deep breaths. One of the features he enjoyed from the Levithan tail being active, it made his lungs capable of turning water into oxygen, to make it easier for him to breath underwater. His nose acted like gills on a fish, now.

How am I supposed to pass this? What magic is he expecting me to use? Did he want me to use one of the Forbidden spells? Or maybe he wants me to use something else entirely. IT’s so dark and the sounds, they’re trying to split my head wide open. This… really hurts…

Gaslyrok was trapped and didn’t know what else to do, his thoughts all over the place when he tried to think straight. The sounds were forcing him to think of the pain, and not concentrate on the task at hand in that moment. It felt like he had been sitting in that darkness for only a couple of minutes, but he was soon feeling something tug on the rope tied to his waist. He was pulled out of the shrieking darkness and past the bubble that divided the water and the dry air, his eyes wide when he is pulled through.

“What? Why did you pull me out?” Gaslyrok asks as he looks at Leviathan.

“It’s been an hour, like I said, you’re pulled out as soon as the timer reaches an hour.” Leviathan answered.

Had it really been that long? It couldn’t have been. He was only in there for a few minutes. His eyes shifted towards the nearby hourglass, it had been an hour, he was in there for the full hour. Pushing himself to his feet, his hands wipe off the water on his body and armor. What was next for him to take on, this is the first day of training, and his ears were still adjusting to the silence. His eyes blinking rapidly to get used to the light, which means he needs time before he can even walk around the halls unguided. Leviathan passes an apple to him, Gaslyrok staring down at the red blurry ball with confusion as he looked back up.

“It’s an apple, we have ways of getting them down here. That, and we do have teleportation magic, so we can get anything anywhere.” Leviathan explained to him in that moment. “You’ll need to eat up for the next part of your training, because Mako is going to be teaching you the various ways of fighting. Of course, that means he will be teaching you how to use your tail as a weapon and various fighting styles that might fit you best.”

Gaslyrok didn’t even have his own personal fighting style, not that he had been taught anything. He has only known to run, never fight. Now he’s being taught to fight, and that means he will need to pick a weapon style for himself. Which should he pick, though, it was all going to be something new for him to go through. Wasting no time, he devourers the apple in his hands and making sure the only thing left was the core. He passes it back towards Leviathan, who takes it and just tosses it towards a bubble that leads into the ocean. The apple core is likely to float to the top of the ocean, but no one will know where it even came from.

With a small gesture of his head, Leviathan starts to lead Gaslyrok through the coral halls, to go to the next room for the training. The armor he’s still wearing still feels uncomfortable, but he’s getting more used to it than before. The walls shifted and moved whenever they took their steps, the coral getting used to the pair walking through the halls. With a glance outside one of the gaps that made a window, Gaslyok is able to see more of the city he’s residing in. He can see some people use sunk ships for homes in the coral reef, and others use the corals themselves for their homes.

He was amazed to see how in sync the people of the ocean are with nature, and never felt that connection with it. Perhaps that’s what Leviathan meant, the laten magic inside him is to become one with nature itself. Next time he goes into the Shrieking Darkness, he will need to try this and see how strong his connection with nature is. For the moment, he needed to run and catch up with Leviathan, so he can be led to the proper training ground for his next lesson.

It was a long walk through the halls before they made it to the training grounds and Gaslyrok was hit with a bright light. They’re deep under the ocean floor, so it wasn’t sunlight that beamed him in the eyes. Instead, it was the a light that was generated from a single piece of stone on the ceiling. A natural light source, the stone shining as bright as multiple fireflies in a jar to illuminate the training grounds. A simple place where there is actual dirt and sand, to soften when one hands on the ground, and some wood planks to create an arena for one to spar on. Weapon racks lined the walls along the left and right, as well as training dummies in the middle for one to practice on, but Gaslyork isn’t here to train on dummies.

In the middle of the room stood the large man, Mako, arms crossed and a snarl on his face. The scars across his body all evidence of the many battles he had been in prior to his training with Gaslyrok. As soon as the boy was in visual range, that was when Mako opens his mouth and shows off his sharp fang like teeth that line his entire mouth.

“Listen up, I am going to test you with various weapon styles. We’ll start with the basic weapon, a sword. That coral armor you’re wearing should protect you. And if you were able to learn anything from your time in the Shrieking Darkness, then you will know how to make it protect you better. If you didn’t learn anything, then you’re not going to last long against me.” Mako’s voice booms through the training hall.

This is the first time Gaslyork hears the man speak, and it was a shocking startle to him. His voice matches his tough exterior, the man grinning behind the words he spoke. A small gesture is made towards the weapons rack, and Gaslyrok steps towards it, reaching for the wooden training sword. With a tight grip, he makes his way back towards the center of the room, to spar with the Tiger Shark that’s before him.

His lips about to part, to signal that he’s ready for the fight. Before a word can be uttered, Mako rushes him, and the sword is swung to try and make the shark back up. The young Chimeric boy was doing his best to keep the man at bay, but his swings never connect, even while the weapon is swung wildly and unpredictable for himself. There was no impact made by the sword, and before he even noticed it, he feels a blow to his own abdomen.

Gaslyrok is soon brought down to his knees in tears, hands over his stomach at the sudden strike against him. A couple of coughs escape his lips, almost vomiting the apple he had eaten not too long ago back out. With a small glare at the shark man, he forces himself back to his feet. Before he can even mange to ready himself, he sees the large fist aiming for his own chin. Instead of taking it, though, he was soon reaching his hands down and used the momentum to be sent flying back and landing a few feet away from him.

“H-Hey… you’re supposed to be waiting for your opponent to be ready in a fair fight!” He screams at Mako.

“Really? A fair fight? Do you think the One Armed Man will care about a Fair Fight when he’s shoving his blade through your chest?” He shouts back at him. “Now go and pick another weapon, we need to see where your weapon skills lie. I can tell it’s not with a sword.”

With those words, Gaslyork moves, slowly, towards the weapon racks and looks them over. He knows Mako won’t give him much time to think on a weapon to choose, so he needs to pick swiftly. Without thinking on the weapon style for too long, he grabs a pair of daggers and leaps out of the way. That’s when Mako noticed that his fox ears were out, and he was listening to the charging shark rushing at him.

Unlike with his sister, he seems to have both his ears and his tail out at the same time, which made Mako’s eyes widen. Leviathan watched the fight, and even he was shocked to see both water and earth used at the same time.

“Much more advanced than Usarocin.” Leviathan said under his breath in that moment.

“Heh, neat trick, but it won’t keep you safe for very long. I will make contact with you, again. It will just be a little h-“ Mako stopped and raised his arms up in defense.

Gaslyrok was the one charging in, and it seemed his body was moving on instinct alone. As soon as the first dagger struck the forearms, his second dagger was lowering down, but weapons held back handed and aiming to strike at the shark. Swift motions are made and Gaslyrok keeps swinging the blades down to try and strike the shark with good blows. His attacks keep Mako on the defensive and forces him to be backed into a wall.

He was holding back against Gaslyork, but now the little chimera was pushing him and getting under his skin. With a roar, Gaslyrok leaps back and lands on his feet, dragging along the ground and looking back up. The sight of the shark charging at him was to be expected and he was soon leaping out of the way. He thought some distance was made, but a tail smashing into his face forces him to fly into a wall. It was stronger than a normal training blow, and looking towards Mako, Gaslyrok could see a change in him.

His mohawk like hair looked to be a little sharper. His elbows started to sharpen, his bones starting to protrude from the skin and sharpen into elbow blades. His muscles toned out even more and his tail grew thicker and longer, with bones protruding from the scales. With a sudden wave of his tail, the bones sticking out goes flying through the air and sent towards Gaslyrok. There was no time for his reaction as Gaslyrok didn’t know what was going on. Some of the bones pierced through the coral armor and slams him into the wall, pinning him there. A scream of pain escapes his lips as the shoulder was pierced through to the wooden wall.

“Gaslyork!” Leviathan shouts and leaps down on to the training ground.

He’s soon rushing towards Mako as the shark smelled the blood from the younger training partner. With a snarling grin, Mako starts to rush towards Gaslyork, who’s fear was helping to keep him pinned into the wall. How could he fight against someone that has blades for elbows and has bones that seem to regenerate whenever he shot them from his tail? He couldn’t fight against such a monster.

“Meal time…” Mako says with his voice changing more into a mix of what it was before, with a shark like tone to it.

The charging shark is about to snap at Gaslyrok, but suddenly stopped when a jet stream of water forces him to go flying into the air and hit the ceiling. Levithan makes it over to Gaslyrok and pulls the bones from his skin, one in the elbow, one in his thigh and the third one was in his abdomen, so it was left alone. Leviathan carries Gaslyrok away from Mako, knowing it won’t be long before he’s falling to the ground and will be after them again soon.

“We need to get you to Delfina, she will patch you up.” Leviathan said and looked over Gaslyrok for any other injuries on his body.

One of the bones nearly hit his head, and left a scratch along the right side, but there was nothing else that seemed to be visible to the naked eye. Gaslyrok feels his vision starting to blur, blood seeping down his head from the injury and drips down from his chin soon after. Leviathan takes Gaslyrok straight to the infirmary, setting him down on a bed and looks back towards Delfina for her to tend to him.

“Look after him, I need to go and get Mako out of his rage.” Leviathan said.

Gaslyrok watches as Leviathan leaves, and the coral doors close behind him, so that he can take care of Mako. His gaze is soon shifted towards Delfina, trembling in fear of what he witnessed and was worried she might do the same thing. His body flinched when she reached her hand forward, but only out of fear that had just been placed on him seeing Mako changing.

“W-What… happened?” Gaslyrok decides to ask her.

“I guess you saw his monstrous transformation. That only happened cause he entered a rage state. We all have them. Has no one ever told you about the other forms we have?” She finally asks him.

Gaslyrok shakes his head to her question, and she was soon rubbing the back of her neck. This was something all younglings should have learned early in their life. He was going to have to learn it now. Her hands move and water comes from the ocean itself, fingers dancing as the liquid forms over his injuries, cleaning the wounds he has. A light glow comes off the water, while she uses her own mana to generate the magic that heals his injuries.

“We have three stages to our beings. One is what is called Rage, where we keep this form, but parts of our bodies become more deadly than before. Then there’s Berserk Stage, where our bodies change more… drastically. We shift from our current forms, to one that is more akin to what the humans call a Were form. We take on the features of our respective animalistic body parts, but we’re also half human. For example, I’d look half human and half dolphin.” She explained.

This was a little much for Gaslyrok to learn right away, but now he knows what to expect in the future. His wounds were sealing and closing around him, the flesh being scarred when the water is finished. It slips back into the ocean, and he feels no more pain from the attacks he took.

“The final we call a Beast State, it’s where we turn into the animals we represent. Out of the three I just explained to you, Rage and Berserk are the only states we can’t control. We attack anyone that’s in our way and nothing can even stop us, except for death. Or maybe a stronger person knocking us out.” Delfina explains completely.

Shortly after finishing her explanation, Leviathan steps inside with cuts and bruises covering his body. Nothing is severe, but Mako is slung over his small shoulders, a small boy carrying a large man. He drags Mako over to a bed, dropping him on it, then seats himself on a bed. Delfina shakes her head and walks back over to Leviathan and Mako, moving waters to tend to their injuries. She moves the waters with expert motions of her hands and fingers and uses some of the water to actually keep them both stuck to the bed.

“Okay, what happened to make Mako so angry he goes into the Rage state?” She asks Leviathan swiftly.

“Gaslyrok backed him into a wall with his onslaught of attacks with daggers. Boy’s quick with them, but not as quick as me. I could out speed him any day. But Mako just brew angrier with each slam of the dagger into his arms. He got tired of the attacks and went into Rage. I had to move swiftly to get Gaslyrok out of the and away from Mako. I’m just happy to see them both alive and well.” Leviathan explained. “And that was a terrible job for him being Gaslyrok’s retainer, trying to kill his cha- ow!”

Delfina tightened the water around Leviathan, to make sure he remembered that she was taking care of his injuries. She finally pulls the water back from Leviathan, having finished with his injuries and focused on Mako in that moment. She makes sure the water completely covers his body and will heal his body completely.

“Did you ex-“

“I told him about the different forms we have. Seems no one educated him on our physiology.” Delfina cut Leviathan off, before he could finish asking his question.

“Well, he was on the run for his entire life, makes sense that he’s not aware of what we’re capable of. For now, he needs training and you’re his next teacher. Teach him what you can with magic. If his strikes are fast, then that means he’s not the warrior type, like his brother was. He might be more the magic type, like you, Delfina.” Leviathan explained.

Gaslyrok can hear them clearly, until Delfina takes Leviathan out of the room for a moment. It seems she need to speak to him in private, and he didn’t know what it was. Even with his fox ears, he wouldn’t be able to hear them. The constant shifting of coral would block out the sounds, and what explains why they chose to have him in the walls of Castle Coral.

Once they stepped back inside, Gaslyork sits up and looks ready for the next part of his training. He slowly lowers himself on the ground, and Delfina holds her hand out for him. He grips it gently and follows her along, through the halls of the castle, until they made it outside the castle, itself. This gave him the best view to see how they know what time it is down under the ocean.

As his eyes turned upward they were drawn towards the large light source that beamed down on them. It was as bright as the sun, and from the look of the position, it was noon, midday. It seemed to be a larger chunk of the rock they use for lighting inside the castle and houses. A natural rock that was perfect for them to use when they were under water and for lighting.

“We’re going to take you some place different for your magic lessons. I’m taking you to a school. A class on the basics of magic is about to begin, and I teach that class. So you will be learning alongside others for a change. Who knows, you might make a new friend or two in school.” Delfina explained to Gaslyork.

He had never attended a school before, and it was going to be strange for him to attend a class, now. He felt nervous, his heart pumping faster than before and slamming into his ribcage. A swallow of saliva caught in his throat, and he keeps gripping the hand that was being held on to. As they walked the streets, he can tell they used other rocks for the ground. The feeling of obsidian beneath his feet and the look of coral houses all over the place, it was a nice feeling. Gaslyrok felt they really appreciated the ocean for all it gave them under the ocean floor.

The building they soon approached was a sunken ship, one that was larger than a ship that was used for housing. The ship used to be one used by the navy of nearby countries. There are many slots for the cannons to be pushed out from the sides to allow for attacks from multiple angles. This once militaristic ship is now being used as a school for the people that live among the ocean floor. Walking along the path, Delfina stops Gaslyrok and looks down to him, the soft and warm smile drawn on her face.

“Do you think you’re ready to learn in a proper school? I’ll be teaching them some basic magic skills.” She explained to him.

Gaslyork, with no friends to speak of, suddenly nods his head and seemed excited to be making some proper friends. Even if he had to leave them in due time, to be able to make some friends here was an excitement for the young Commonata. After the quick head nod, Delfina kneels down, moving her hands to fix his hair, and even pulling a ribbon from her pouch. She ties his hair back into a ponytail, to give him a much proper look than just something so ragged. Once she finished, she was leading him inside the downed ship, so he can meet his peers.

Once inside, Gaslyrok looks around the ship, seeing all the children gathered, each of them are of various ages and heights. There was a group of younglings, one of them smaller than the rest, while the others were gathered around him. It seemed to be a group of children bullying another one, just because he’s smaller than the others. Upon closer inspection, Gaslyrok was able to see what made him different. He’s not an Aqualian, his traits are different, having the tail of a lizard, instead. He was about to step in to defend the boy but was stopped by Delfina.

“Just watch, don’t jump in. He can handle things on his own.” She explained to him.

It was in that moment the boy was jumping up and snaps at the others that circled around him, showing off his rows of teeth. When looking closer to the tail, he can tell the tail is an alligator tail. It’s rare for a Reptilian to be raised among Aqualians, but here one of them is. Delfina clears her throat, and all the children suddenly jump, as if they had been caught by their own mother for being mean to one another. As soon as they look towards her, all of them were swiftly moving to their seats, pretending to be good children that weren’t misbehaving.

“We have a special guest with us, today. His name is Gaslyrok. He will be attending classes with us until his time here is no longer needed. I wish you all to show him the utmost respect, treat him like you would one another.” She looks down to Gaslyrok. “Go and take your seat, Gaslyrok.”

As soon as the words were spoken, he moves towards an empty table and chair, taking a seat upon it. Looking towards the door frame, he was also noticing something had changed. Outside the ship had been submerged in water, but that’s so they can give the coral that makes their walls and homes something to keep them alive. Refocusing his attention, he notices Delfina walking towards a board and desk before them, watching each of the children.

“Okay, so who here has been studying on their magic arts?” She asks them all in that moment. “And who can explain how we tap into the magic that we use?”

One of the students raises her hand into the air, the same girl that had been around Delfina when she was first made his retainer. She seemed eager and wanted to show her knowledge. A second hand juts into the air, showing another student that was knowledgeable in the use of magic, and how it is that they make it work.

“Okay, well, how about both of you come up here and explain it, Minaksh and Tiburon.” She gestures for them both to join her in front of the class.

As soon as they were invited up to the front of the class, they were both standing side by side with one another. They cleared their throats, and both were about to start speaking at the same time. They had to stop, though, and look to one another.

“Minaksh, you can start it.” Delfina said, so they weren’t arguing over who starts the lesson.

“Right.” Spoke the boy. “Well, to use magic we have to tap into the source of the nature of it. In this case, if we wanted to use water magic, we have to think hard on it. We draw in the energy and use that to be able to make the water flow. The flow of this energy comes in various names, but for now, let’s call it Mana.”

He seems educated in all matters of the use of magic, and even how to draw it out, but the girl had some things to say, as well. Once he was finished, she takes her step forward and she was clearing her throat to speak to the other students.

“Mana is an energy that flows within us all and surrounds us. One can use any form of magic when tapping into mana, but not all magic can be accessed. For example, we of the water can only use water magic, but never Fire, Earth or Wind. There are rare instances where one of us have been able to use Light and Dark magic, but that’s not very often. For us to be able to use these elements, we must become one with it and tap into its very essence. This is made easier, as we are literally born among the water, in the way we show our traits.” She explains with barely a breath taken in between.

Delfina smiles towards both children and moves to step out from behind the desk, not letting that soft smile falter. She rubs their heads, giving them small pats and then gestures them back to their seats.

“While not wrong, that is how one can see it. All of us, including the planet itself, is made from mana, but there are other things to keep in mind. The soul, for example, is not made of mana. That is a spirit that will continue to live on, even after the body has ceased. And our species, all of us, have learned something else over the years. We have all learned to control our own souls, even while still alive. This is a different kind of magic, Spirit Magic. It doesn’t have an element, instead it is used through our own souls.” She explains to them.

“With the control w hold over our spirits, we can manipulate things a little differently. For example, if one of our species loses a limb, such as an arm, we can manipulate the soul of that missing limb to make it seem like we are able to still use it. Some of us hide it by putting armor around where the soul limb is, to make it seem like we still have that missing limb. And there are various other types of magic that doesn’t even tap into mana. I won’t get into the details of all of them, today, but maybe in the future.” Delfina shows knowledge beyond her years.

“I will leave you with this little message, though. Our entire species, all six of us cosmic races, have learned to use and manipulate all forms of magic. Including a sort of time magic, in this way, I mean as soon as we turn six years old, we are able to halt our aging at any point in time. Some of the children around us, could actually be mature adults in disguise.” With a small nod of her head, she stands before Gaslyrok.

“Now, who wants to show Gaslyork one of the things they have learned in this class. Keep it short, we have enough time for two examples.” As to be expected, Tiburon and Minaksh raised their hands right away. A third one rose his hand, as well, the one with eh alligator tail.

“All right, Tiburon and Wani, please come to the front.” Delfina said in that moment.

With those words spoken, both students rose to their feet and stood side by side with one another. They were both thinking of the best examples they had to display, and both made agreements on what they would display to the boy.

“Okay, I have learned to manipulate water in various ways, to the point where I can somewhat become one with it. I can’t turn into water, but I’ll just show you.” Tiburon decided she would go first, so the boys can go last.

With some simple motions of her hands, she draws the waters that was surrounding the ship, as it had yet to retreat back. It was drawn into the ship and surrounded her arms, and her hands were spiraling. The water moved around her hands and began to spiral in the same manner, soon lashing down to the ground and acting like whips. These water whips became extensions of her own arms, allowing her to strike people at a distance, or grab something out of her reach.

“I used this trick to reach the cookie jar so many times.” She explains.

Delfina cleared her own throat and Tiburon released the whips, making water splash all over the other students. She could feel that parental gaze, a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar, even if they didn’t have their hand in it.

“I mean… I would never reach for the cookie jar using such a spell.” She nervously spoke. “Okay, next person.”

With that, she was taking steps aside and moves back to her own seat. She knows she’s going to get it from her parents when she gets home. Next one to step up is Wani and for him to show what he could do.

“My magic is a little bit… different…” He explains.

Unlike Tiburon, he didn’t draw water from the ocean, instead he turned towards the window. His hands extended outward, a cold air filling the room with the hands still out towards the window. As the air grew colder, the water around the window turns to ice, and was swiftly just a wall of ice pressing into the ocean. Wani shows that he has dipped into the more advanced magic for his age, ice magic being a powerful form of water. It is a more weaponized variation, allowing one to freeze their foes and create swords of ice, as well.

“S-See? I use my mana to change water into ice, so that there can be a little bit of a proper window there.” He gestures towards the window.

With both examples of water magic usage finished, Delfina gestures back for Wani to return to his seat. She moves back in front of the class and looks them over.

“Now, remember, just because we can use these powerful magics, doesn’t mean we should. We can do these miraculous things with them, while other species can’t. Humans are a big example; they can use their mana differently. They have created their own spells and misuse their mana in different ways. They have created large cities that they swiftly destroy with their magic. The only time we should ever use our magic to attack, is if we have no other choice. We start with talk, if that fails, we try with our fists, if that fails, our weapons and then we resort to magic.” She explained to the class.

“Well, that’s all, you’re all free for the rest of the day. Go, have fun and be children, play. Especially you Gaslyrok. You need this time to be a child more than the others.” Delfina wanted to see him having fun.

With a nod of his head, Gaslyrok was rushing off to catch up with the others, letting that Leviathan tail be shown. He swims with them and plays games, until it’s time for them to rest. When that time comes, they all part ways, with Gaslyrok returning to the castle, so that he might get some sleep. When he went inside, he brought some water with him, making his way to his room with a smile on his face.

“In order to tap into my mana, I need to become one with nature, that means respecting it.” He whispers to himself. “So, I guess I should give this to the coral that have formed my room.”

As soon as he arrives to his room, he was releasing the water from the jar and splashes it all over the room to get all of the coral nice and wet. He ensures that it won’t need water for a while, however long it takes, he doesn’t know. But at least he’s keeping it nice and moist. After that, he was moving over to the bed, flopping down on it and suddenly falling asleep. They wrap and surround him, acting like a blanket for him to sleep with.

♂_______________________________________________________________________________________________♀

Jasfu awakens in the dark room, slowly rising from the bed she was placed upon and stretching her arms and legs. This is the second day inside this hole and she wanted to break free from it, the darkness not allowing any light within. If there was a screeching sound in the room, then one might swear she was in the Screeching Darkness, but that’s not the case for her. As soon as light beamed into the room, she knew it was the daily meal for her, or maybe breakfast. The tray was slid into the room, stopping at the foot of the bed. Crawling to it, she was starting to eat her meal, not wasting any time to devour the food. The tray was slid back to the door, and she walked to what she assumed is the center of the room.

“Today, for sure, I will break from this room.” She tells herself.

Just like her last attempt, Jasfu starts to surround herself with the energy, the winds turning between hot and cold. Lightning shoots from the corners of the walls, aimed to strike her. The bolts miss, as she changed the path of the lightning bolt using the winds that surrounded her. The energy grows stronger, heat starting to rise, but then calms with the cold breeze of the water she is forming for her tail.

More bolts of electricity is shot out, and she deflects them with her own transformative winds. With each passing second, she feels herself getting closer and the lightning bolts coming at her stronger and fiercer than before. The time has come, and she was suddenly releasing the gathered energy. The ship rocks and the walls to her entrapment buckle and suddenly shatter, splinters sent flying in various directions. The crewmembers of the ship duck and take cover, to try and make sure they aren’t hit with the flying wood pieces. Panting heavily, she stands in her released form, and before her stands the captain of the ship, Mao.

“Good work, Lass, it took you shorter time than I expected. It’s true what I was told about you.” He grinned.

Before he could even get close to her, Jasfu was rushing towards him, aiming a fist for his chest. Her wings beat, Phoenix on the left and dragon on the right, to help propel her forward. He was about to try and block it, but the speed was too great and felt the fist connect with his chest. She digs her hand into the chest, her angered start showing greater force. Mao raises his hands to grip her right wrist, holding it there and when she looks up, she spots the grin on his face.

“Heh, maybe you will provide more fun for me.” He states.

Mao pulls the hand from his chest and spins himself, tossing Jasfu towards one of the masts holding the sail up. She was barely able to keep herself from smashing into it, her wings slowing down the process, but not stopping it completely. Her feet are planted on the mast, and she pushes off, rushing back to him.

“Stop toying with me!” She screams as she flies.

She was about to make another attack, but then her wings flap, forcing her to go higher and shock him. She changed her direction of the attack and was coming down to smash her elbow into his skull. He wasn’t expecting the change, but he was still expecting an attack. As soon as she came down, her elbow met with his hands, instead, as he leaps back from the assault.

“If I took this seriously, you would be a corpse. I can’t have you dying my dear, ‘cause you are worth money.” He said to her.

Jasfu raises her right leg, about to make it connect with his head, but instead feels a hand stopping her leg from rising. When she looks back, she sees Wyvenia. This was shocking towards her, Jasfu’s eyes widening upon noticing the woman she looked up to stopping her. She was finally calming down and lowers her fists down to her side, with her gaze turning back towards Mao shortly after.

“And what is it that you’re going to do to me?” She asks him in a bitter tone.

“I’m going to train you to be stronger, because someone is paying me to do so.” Mao explained.

“Train me, how?”

“Well, we start with strengthening you, such as pushing your body to its limits. That’s why we’re docked at this island.”

Mao gestures behind Jasfu, where she will see a deserted island that is filled with various environments. She can see a hot desert to the right, to the center is a mountain covered in ice and snow and to her left is a marsh land to make her go through various environments. She soon looks back towards Mao and glares directly at the man.

“So, you’re going to force me through all these places to make me stronger?” She asks right away.

“It’s how I got strong enough to best you.” He explained to her.

Well, the other factor is he’s a fully grown adult and she’s still just a child, preventing her from doing too much. His hand reaches out and he’s soon grabbing her shoulder, squeezing down on it and then looking back to the deserted island. He turns her to look at the island and pats both of her shoulders a couple of times.

“Your goal, little lady, is to reach the top of the mountain in one run. You won’t pull it off on your first try, but you can take as many tries as you can. I have ordered my crew to set up traps to slow you down or stop you from reaching the goal. So there will be various problems along the way to prevent you from reaching the top. All I need you to do on your first run is to get as far as you can get, got it?” Mao spoke in the same rough tone he had been using before.

Now it’s all on her, to reach as far as she can towards the top of the mountain. She rolls her shoulders and pulls away from the man, turning to face him in that moment.

“I’ll need to defend myself.” She stated.

Mao tosses a dagger at her feet, something to start her off with on her journey to the top of the mountain.

“As you get closer, you might find other weapons to use to help you. But you will need to start at the desert, then move to the swamp. On the other side we can’t see from here is a lava lake you will need to cross, and a jungle filled with many predatory animals. Now, how far do you think you can get on your first try?” Mao instructs and asks.

“I’ll make it right to the top.” Jasfu answers.

That overconfidence brought a grin to Mao’s face, and he walks over towards a chest. He props it open and walks back to her, carrying a pair of wristbands and ankle bands, holding them towards her. That devilish grin never faded, while he holds the clothing towards Jasfu.

“Put these on, they will help with your training.” He states.

As soon as Jasfu takes the wristbands something forces her arms to drop, and she knows what it is. Her gaze drops down to the wristbands and she’s realizing they’re weighted to slow her down. Her glare intensifies when she looks towards Mao in that moment.

“You’re trying to kill me, aren’t you?” She asks.

“If I was to kill you, I wouldn’t get paid. You see, these are to help you strengthen your legs and your arms. When you take those off, after the training, you will notice an increase in speed with you arm motions and leg movements. Trust me, I know what I’m doing for this training.” He states.

Jasfu has no reason to trust him, but she also has no choice. With a grunt and a groan, she slips the twenty-pound wristbands on her wrists, and then the twenty-pound ankle bands on her ankles. Once in place, she was moving towards the desert, where Mao was watching her the entire time. Once in position, Mao gives her a nod of his head.

It was time to start the training, and Jasfu was making her move through the desert. The blistering heat was affecting her, right away. It made her want a drink right away and wish Mao had given her more preparations than a dagger, but it’s what she has. Maybe he’s testing her survival skills, but she’s never been in a desert before and wouldn’t know how to live in one. With a wiping of her brow, she trudges on, passing cactuses with each step she takes.

She is soon hit by sand flying at her, blowing right into her face forcing a scream and cry of surprise to escape her lips. She is startled by the sudden sandstorm, and her hands move over her eyes to help her keep moving. A figure is seen in the distance, the appearance of a man that is slim and tall. As she keeps walking towards the figure, it was approaching her as well.

As it gets closer, she was realizing the figure picks up speed. As fast as she can with the weights on, she rises the dagger to defend herself, just in time for the figure to strike it and make the dagger clang with another metal object hitting it. With the proximity to the figure she has, it’s now clear who it is. The person before her is one of the pirate crew members, and she was being forced into a fight with him. Grimacing as the pirate forces her back, applying more pressure on the dagger in that moment.

“Well, come on, ye wanna get ter da top, doncha? Ye had best defeat me.” He said to her.

Being forced back, the sandstorm raging on, and the man applying more pressure, she was growing more angered. The pirate was soon feeling himself being pushed back, and Jasfu rises one of her fists, to punch him right in the gut. The blow connects and the pirate falls down to the ground, clutching at his stomach and groaning at the same time. Jasfu takes this time to hop on his head, slamming her feet into his head to force it deeper into the sands. After a few kicks, she leaps off and starts on her journey towards the mashes, once more.

This is really going to be challenging for her, if there are more pirates in the desert waiting for her. The sandstorm starts to lighten up, opening a sight of what remains of the desert a god twelve feet away from finishing it. Nothing else happens, and the marshlands are soon approached, forcing her down to her hands and knees. Not having anything to drink through the desert, she is seen crawling towards the marsh waters. Her hand is lowered into the water, so she can try and take sips of it.

Before the water touches her lips, a pair of hands jut out and grabs her forearms. She is pulled down into the water, forcing a scream from her lips and pulled under the water. More hands reach out, grabbing her ankles and preventing her from fighting back. When looking at the figures pulling her under, she thought it would be the pirates. Instead, what she sees are undead creatures that keep pulling her down further. She screams from the sight and starts to flail around. The beings keep pulling her down, while the panic rises and forces her to keep struggling against them.

More hands reach out, grabbing at her waist, even grabbing her wings and tail, preventing her from using them completely. One of the soulless creatures leans in, opening its mouth and closes on her face. It takes in a deep breath, forcing Jasfu to breath out and feeling like a piece of her soul was taken into the creature. A second undead creature moves in to do the same thing, to try and take another piece of her soul. Before it could, something prevents them from tormenting her further.

A large sword strikes down the ones holding on to her arms and legs, and soon strikes down the ones holding on to her wings and tail. The rest back off, as Jasfu floats back to the top, barely conscious when she makes it. Mao pulls her from the water, frowning deeply as he slaps her face a few times.

“Come on, kid, wake up. If you die, I lose my payment and will be wanted for your death.” He said while still tapping her face.

Mao forgot about the undead creatures in the marshlands and should have sent her in with water. Of course, if she went in prepared, then she wouldn’t have gained the experience she now has. After a few taps to her face, she coughs up some of the marsh water, looking up at Mao with a distant look in her eyes.

“What… are those t-things?” She asks him.

“The soulless, they are beings that will take anyone that gets close to them and try to suck out their souls. They’re very dangerous and should be avoided, once caught in their grasp, they usually won’t let go. Unless someone else was to attack them, then they’d have no choice.”

“So…. One of them took a part of my… my soul?” She asks him.

“Yeah, it would appear s- wait, one of them took a PIECE of your soul?”

“Yeah, why, is that bad?”

“Of course, it’s bad, it means that any pain it will go through, you will feel as well. We need to get the one that took your soul.”

“It’s under the water, right? No one will know of it, right?”

“We can’t do that. Missing even a piece of your soul weakens any possible magic you might have in you. And it might make you weaker than you will end up being. We need to get that as soon as possible.”

“You mean, I might not be at my strongest if a piece of my soul is missing? Then that should work better for your training. I will have to work harder in order to catch up in strength to where I was before, and when I take it out, my strength will increase. This might be something good, something for me to get when the need arises. So, I can save my true strength for another time.”

Mao knows that she’s a stubborn one, and was soon rising to his feet, while holding her in his arms.

“All right, I’ll get my men to go and get it. We’ll gauge which one is the right one based on your reactions. If you feel pain from one, if they strike it, then we’ll take that one in. But be warned, this might not end the way you might like it to end. It might end with your death.” He warns her.

Jasfu gives a small nod of her head, while he’s still carrying her, like a father cradling his daughter. She knows he has no feeling towards her, but she hasn’t had a father figure in her life before, and just having this kind moment is enough to have her be at peace. Once they make it back to the ship, he takes her to Wyvenia’s room, for the girls to share together. He places her in the bed and rises to his feet, once more.

“For now, you rest, you will need it for the next attempt. And tomorrow we will try and get the Soulless that has a piece of your soul and bring it aboard the ship. After that, you will go back to the course and attempt to complete it. Next time, you will be taking supplies you think will be needed, instead of just simply a dagger. And we’ll be keeping a closer eye on you, remember, you die, I don’t get paid.” He informs her.

Mao watches her, concern over what happened to her affecting her in a great deal. It seems he does know how to worry about others, but he will never show it to them.