Chapter 21 - Kaiden
I didn’t think Detention was something these people did. I guess punishment is universal no matter where you are. I didn’t even do anything except get beat up again. That Denny kid is becoming a real problem for me. I need to find a way to deal with him. He’s going out of his way to mess with me. We’re not in any of the same classes or anything. It’s like he’s sneaking around trying to get me. I just can’t figure out how he keeps finding me. I try to take different routes back and forth between classes. I tried skipping class, but that only got me here. Now I’m supposed to clean some statues.
“Hold still,” A tall guy in robes shouts at me while trying to aim a finger at me.
I feel a slight shock and he starts walking around me like some kind of psycho. I try to step away and he pushes me back in place like I’m some kind of science project. Finally, he stops and smiles like he’s admiring his work.
“What was that,” I can’t help but ask.
“You had a tracking spell on you. Really easy to learn, any idiot can do it. Just need to sacrifice a portion of your magic energy. The more magic you use, the longer it’ll last. There’s simplicity in that one. Follow me, we have work to do,” the man starts walking.
“So, who are you?”
“I am Braren Elser, you may call me Brother Elser.”
“Can you tell who put that spell on me?”
“With a bit of work, yes. But, I have a feeling you already know.”
“Yeah, I have an idea.”
“Well, your bruises show that you’ve been in some battles recently,” Mr. Elser says without looking back at me.
We make our way to a giant statue. It looks like a Elf from everything I’ve learned so far here. He points to the ladder and cleaning supplies placed off to the side. I guess I’ll be spending my detention cleaning this statue. This will take forever. I climb the ladder and start with the head. Doesn’t make sense to clean from the bottom up. All the soap just drips back down to where you already cleaned, so you have to clean it again.
“Why have you been checking out books about magic in the library,” Mr. Elser asks me. He doesn’t yell, but I hear him up here.
“I just want to know about magic, how do you know I check out books.”
“I am the coordinator for our libraries. The librarians talk about a child trying to read books on magic that are beyond his years.”
“I’m not a child.”
“Sixteen, not thirteen. Yes, they mentioned that as well. You have certainly left an impression on members of my circle in a short time.”
“So, you want me to stop reading books? That’s stupid,” I pause my scrubbing to look down at him.
“No, I want you to understand you don’t need to do everything on your own. You are part of a community now. We help each other, as we all share a common purpose.”
“Doesn’t feel like a community to me. I’ve been getting beat up for like three weeks straight. The first time anyone did something, I got detention. How is that a community?”
“I once made the mistake of not hearing out another pupil when he complained this was not a community. I will not make the same mistake again. You like Magic correct?”
“Yes.”
“May I offer to answer any questions you may have? I believe myself to be one of the most well read mages on this side of the world,” Elser makes a serious offer to me.
“Okay, fine. Before I came here I was able to use magic. Not a lot but I could do things like make a light, and I could shoot off some blasts from my hand. Now I can’t do any of that. My arm just cramps up whenever I try.”
He begins to circle the statue and waves his hand for me to keep cleaning. He keeps pacing, and I keep scrubbing. Most well read mage my butt. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about. I’ve finished half the statue before he calls me back down to the ground. Probably just going to tell me he doesn’t have any clue, and he’ll just search for answers later.
“Where you able to cast spells from both hands,” he speaks quickly.
“No, just my right hand.”
“Give me you arm.”
I hold my arm out and his hand starts to glow. He traces my arm a few times. He makes a few noises like he’s thinking and releases my arm.
“Magical energy has been blocked from entering your arm. I’ve removed the block, but you may never be able to cast spells reliably with your right hand again. If I were you, I would look into learning spells with your left hand or getting a tool to channel your spells through. A wand, or ring. If you weren’t verbalizing your spells before, you may need to.”
“Wait, is that it? You fixed it like that?”
“I did what I could, it’ll never be perfect again.”
“You mean I can use magic again? That’s great, everything is better, now,” I jump up and throw my fist in the air. It’s sill but that’s really how I feel.
“Stop,” his demeanor changes from one of no emotion to rage.
“Did I do something wrong?”
“Yes. Your emotions, they are wild, and out of control. If you ever wish to be a great mage you will need to calm your spirits. You need two things to be a great mage. Do you know what they are?”
“No.”
“The first is knowledge, you took the initiative to read through texts and learn on your own. So with time you will be knowledgeable. The second is serenity. You need to keep your head clear, if you wish to be and effective spellcaster.”
“What about passion? Shouldn’t you like to do it?”
“Passion only brings more emotion. Emotion clouds your mind. The opposite of serenity. Do you understand?”
“Yes sir.”
“Good, I hope to see you in one of my advanced magic classes one day. Just keep those two principles in mind. We’re done here for today. Cleaning statues won’t make you a better mage.”
I have no clue what just happened. One minute he was all calm, then he was yelling at me about needing to calm down. That dude is strange. But, I guess he might have fixed my arm. Not sure I can do magic with my left hand. I’ve tried to write with my left hand before. It’s so bad. This is the first good thing to happen to me in months. I’m going to be able to use magic again.
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