The next morning came around, and after a long busy day working the restaurant and talking to all their usual customers, she was once again sitting in the center of the training grounds in their backyard. A determined look was fixed on her face.

  It was just nearing dinnertime evident by the sun which had already begun its downward arc towards dusk. An orangey tint covered the grass and trees in her eyesight, caused by the glow above.

  Yesterday was so exhilarating she hadn't even realized her mana was quite strained after summoning her favorite little guy, Caspian. Not wanting to push her body so much so soon, Rynus changed their plans, delaying their magic lesson until today.

  Normally she would’ve hated putting her magic on hold, but with a fresh new friend to get to know, she accepted the delays willingly. They spent most of yesterday lounging around the house, snacking occasionally, and when nighttime finally came, she ended up snuggled with Capsian (and her wand) in bed. Kira finally understood what pure bliss felt like.

  But now it was time for her magic lessons! No more lazing around! She would let nothing get in her way today… though her eyes were being drawn in towards the lump of cuteness laying nearby her. Her familiar was sleeping on his back with his limbs fully splayed out on either side of him. It was hard to stop herself from looking at him, she wanted nothing more than to rub his belly, but she had to resist her urge.

  “Kira… Kira!” Rynus' shout woke her up from her thoughts. “You're distracted. It's not good to be distracted when practising magic.”

  “Sorry Ry— master!” How could she have let something get in her way already? “It won't happen again!”

  “Mmm, just to make sure. Bunk, come on out!” With a pulse of magic, a gargantuan black bear appeared sitting on the grass next to Rynus. Bunk was a big boy, and that was an understatement. He was twice the height of Rynus, who was taller than most other people they had met, and was very, very, chunky. Like a living ball of fur and meat.

  “Bunk, can you go play with Caspian out of sight, I'm afraid right now he’s too big of a distraction for dear Kira here.”

  Bunk yawned and nodded with a tired expression. He picked up Caspian with a single paw about the same size as Caspian’s body, and carried the sleeping capybara away.

  “Good. Now it's time for our first real magic lesson.” Rynus grinned. “Are you ready?”

  “Mm, no more distractions!” Kira stiffened her face, prepared for whatever she had to do.

  “Alright, let's get started.” Rynus said, and proceeded to begin his teachings. “There are three basic magics that all wizards start off learning, for a few reasons; they are the simplest magics to learn, and they teach an important fundamental skill that you will be using for the rest of your life. Do you know which three magics they might be?”

  “Hmmm, mana channeling, mana absorption, and…uh, the rearrange spell?”

  “Mana channeling and absorption is correct, but the rearrange spell is something you learn a little later. It's far more complicated than you think.” Rynus explained. “The other magic we’re going to learn is actually the mana blast spell.”

  “Mana blast?” Kira tilted her head, not sure why that was one of the three first spells wizards should be learning.

  “Yes, mana blast, and the reason for that is because of this.” Rynus turned his palm to face the sky and Kira watched as a soft ball of white light grew about an inch from his hand then popped off and floated in the air beside him. “This is the mana blast spell, surprising right?”

  “It’s called mana blast simply because that is its most popular function, but the actual spell is more about condensing mana and bringing it outside of your body in its raw form. Like this light ball.” Rynus gestured to the ball of light floating beside him.

  “Magic is never singular, you must remember this. Just because a spell appears simple, doesn’t mean you can’t make it special. Magic can always be changed and modified, that’s the beauty of it.”

  “So, let’s get practising.” Rynus smiled. “Your goal for now is to produce one ball of light and detach it from your natural range. Do you remember what the natural range is?”

  “It’s the range around a person's body that they can produce magic from without extra cost, it’s also like an extension of the body.”

  “Correct. The second your magic leaves your natural range, and you want control over it, you must start using mana just to maintain it. The further the magic, the higher the cost. What’s the average natural range?”

  “About a foot in all directions around a wizard's body.” Kira answered confidently.

  “Good, I’m glad you’ve thoroughly remembered the books I’ve shown you. Though, I’ve only allowed you to read the very basics. The more advanced stuff will be taught by the Academy, and I will be there to help with anything you might need. There exists so much more to magic, and this world, than any book can tell you about. Remember that,” Rynus explained.

  “Now, I’ll teach you an amazing drill that trains both mana channeling and mana blast at once. You can start by using your wand, and once you can successfully do it, then try to do it again, but only using your hands. Once you can do both, we will move on to something else.”

  Rynus then spent the next hour guiding her through the process. As she was already somewhat familiar with challenging mana through her, that part didn’t bother her. The tricky part she first encountered almost immediately was keeping the mana still. She could channel it into her hand and up her wand just fine, but the second it got there, it wanted to leave. A constant stream of sparks or ribbons of mana would flicker out of her wand accidentally and crash into the earth, digging up small holes here and there.

  Her master went on to explain that she didn't need that much mana to form a light ball like his, it was actually made of very little mana. Hers probably wouldn’t look like his at first, instead her goal was to just to push out a tiny ball of mana from her hand, no matter what it looked like.

  By the time her stomach was rumbling in desperate need of dinner, she had progressed to the point where her mana wasn't accidentally shooting out streaks of mana, only the odd spark or two, but she still couldn’t get her mana to sit still long enough to form a ball.

  “Okay that's enough for now, let's go eat.” Rynus chimed in from the side, watching her diligently. “Once you’ve eaten I’ll show you mana meditation and the trick to mana absorption. If you want to keep practicing this after meditating, I’ll show you something new to practise with while you're inside. Just remember, no practising mana blast in the house, I’d rather not have to replace things if I can help it.”

  Ohohohoh you bet she was gonna keep practising for as long as she could. She wanted nothing more than to be fully immersed in magic at all times.

  Rynus could see that fire in Kira yearning, and it reminded him of himself when he was first learning.

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  “BUT!” Rynus raised his voice to make sure he had Kira’s attention. “You are not to try anything different, it's not the time to be experimenting. Right now your learning the very basics, experimentation and innovation comes once your foundations are solid. Do you understand me missy? No shenanigans.”

  “No shenanigans master!” She saluted him with a grin.

  The two headed back inside for a quick dinner, then got right into learning mana absorption. It wasn’t that complex of a skill to learn, especially the most basic form he taught her; mana meditation.

  Rynus and Kira sat across from each other on the ground of their living room, legs crossed and eyes closed. Her hands were supposed to be somewhere she felt was comfortable, which to her, was loosely on her knees.

  Then, she would clear her mind and try to feel the mana existing around her. Once she was there, Rynus explained she needed to imagine herself as a drain, or something similar, and suck in the mana from the atmosphere into her body. It took a few minutes, but eventually she was able to suck in a small stream of mana into her core. She could feel the mana in the air twist and move as it left its home and entered a new one.

  “Meditation is always a good skill to practise whenever you’re low on mana, or even just to clear your mind and relax.” Rynus said as they both ended their meditation. “This is also a magic I’ll let you practise in the house since it has no inherent destructive properties.”

  Kira nodded along, the more magic she could practise, the happier she would be.

  “Lastly, take this and hold it with both hands.” Rynus handed her a wooden pole about two feet long. She grasped the wooden pole and felt the same feeling she felt when grabbing her wand at first; a light tingle.

  “This is a special enchanted device that helps with learning mana channeling. The goal is to light up these marks along the surface.” Rynus pointed out five marks equally spaced apart on the wooden pole. “Channel your mana with one hand into the device and try to get it to stop and gather in the spots where the marks are. You won’t be able to actually make a mana ball with this, but it’s a great exercise to help train your channeling.”

  Kira took a breath and tried pushing her mana into the wooden pole. It coursed through the wood, making its way to the first mark. She tried to stop it when it got there, but it didn’t work. Luckily no mana leaked out as sparks like outside, instead the mana continued coursing through the wood and circled into her other hand.

  “Make sure both hands are always on it when practising this. Not only will it stop accidents, it also saves you lots of mana since it channels it back into you.” With that, Rynus had to go prepare the restaurant for tomorrow and left Kira to her own whims.

  After another 30 minutes of practise, and with the previous practise outside, she was beginning to feel the strain of flexing her mana. Sweat was slowly dripping down her temple and she didn’t dare smell her armpits, but she ignored all of that and kept going.

  As a child of Thorn, her mana reserves were larger than those her age, and she knew she still had plenty of mana left, but her body wasn’t used to actively using said mana. Her ‘muscles’ that moved and manipulated her mana were young and barely used, it would take training for them to grow stronger just like real muscles.

  Again. She ordered herself. This time, she was going to do it. Gritting her teeth, she began the cycle once more. She took a deep breath, calmed her mind, then reached into her core and pulled the mana out. It travelled up into her arms, then through her hands and into the wooden pole. Once the mana had entered the wood, her expression changed and her determination flared. With great effort, she tried her best to hold the mana still and not let it continue down its path. She could feel it, not fighting back, but simply not understanding her commands.

  Her soul shouted at it to stop! HOLD! She yelled in her mind.

  The mana slowed its course and began pooling together ever so slightly. Most of her mana slipped by, but she managed to maintain a slim amount in place that continued to grow. Then, she saw the first mark on the wooden pole light up as enough mana was concentrated in that area.

  “Yes!” She yelled exuberantly. Unfortunately, her emotions destabilized the mana and it dispersed back into the wood. But she had done it!

  “Good job Kira!” Rynus clapped from behind her, causing her to flinch in surprise. How long had he been there for?

  She turned and saw Rynus looking at her with a smile, but was also a little shocked to see Merran here as well.

  “Sorry, we didn’t want to disturb your practice.” Merran apologized.

  “That’s okay! Just a little surprised, that’s all.” Kira stood up and skipped over to Rynus and Merran with the wooden pole. “Did you guys see? I did it!” She held the pole above her head with a great big grin.

  “Mm, very good, but that’s only the start. Next time, try and hold it for at least ten seconds, and once you can hold it for that long, try moving it to the next mark without letting it go.” Rynus explained. “But for now, let’s take a break. Merran said she already ate, but I think I’ll go cook up some small snacks to enjoy. While I do that, she has something to give you.”

  Rynus told them to go sit and wait, so Kira found herself a seat on the couch while Merran sat opposite of her on a fluffy chair.

  “So how is your wand feeling?” Merran asked.

  “Great! I didn’t get to use it— or her for too long yet, but she’s felt good.” Kira answered. “Also, can I ask why you called my wand a ‘her’?”

  “Rynus has told me you’ve read some things on magic, but have you read anything about wand history and its culture?”

  Kira tried to think back, but shook her head a little embarrassed, “I mostly read about magic, and even then, Rynus didn’t let me read things past my level. I don’t really know much about wands.”

  “Like magic, wands have a complex relationship with wizards and the rest of the Wondrous Society. It's hard to pinpoint the exact reason in our current known history, but some say the 8 founders, for whatever reason, gave their wands personalities. They would talk to their wands, pretend they were living, even give them names. Now, there's a chance that their wands were actually living, there's much we don't know about the founders, but whatever the case, similar practices have been passed down in history through our culture. Classical wands are female, staves are male, and any other type of wand is whatever you want it to be.”

  “So my wand is a girl? And Rynus’ staff is a male?” Kira asked.

  “Correct. Though this is all cultural traditions, not concrete facts. Some even go against the norm and don't give their wands personalities, they just treat them like a tool.”

  “So wands aren't living?”

  “Maybe.”

  “Maybe?” Kira tilted her head, a confused expression present on her face.

  “That's been a topic of discussion for centuries between wand makers and wizards alike. Some vehemently believe that wands are alive, while others only see them as pieces of wood, bone, or plants like they are. Wands don't breathe, or think, at least not that we know of, but they do consume mana and grow in their own way. You also build a bond with a wand like you would a friend or lover. There's no hard evidence of them being actually alive, but it's hard to say they’re just pieces of wood and magic.”

  “Woah.” Kira unconsciously said, fascinated with the wand facts.

  “Mm, wands are truly the most interesting thing. If you ever want to know more, feel free to swing by my shop.” Merran offered.

  Kira nodded. She would definitely take her up on that at some point.

  “But as much as I'd love to rant about wands, I've come for a different reason.” Merran reached into a little bag of holding at her side and pulled out a long wooden box and a black pen-shaped item. “Like wand culture, wizard culture has many long standing traditions. One tradition dictates that new apprentices of friends and family give a gift to the apprentice when they turn 13, as a token of celebration.”

  Merran set the box down and popped open the top, revealing an indented interior made of purple cloth that was in the shape of a wand— one that looked just like her own wand.

  “This is an enchanted wand bed.” Merran pointed out. “While you're sleeping, or simply away from your wand, you can place it in the bed. As your wand is in the bed, the enchantment will circulate mana through it, slowly strengthening it like you would from casting it. Very useful for young wizards, but not too helpful for older wizards whose wands have already developed quite a bit. Go ahead, don’t be afraid to try it out.”

  Kira unbuckled her wand she had tucked away on a wand belt around her waist, before she gently laid her wand in the bed. It rested perfectly in the indentations, except for two small gaps on either end of the bed to allow her finger to reach under and take it out. Even with her young senses, she could feel mana slowly trickling through her wand.

  “And this is for you as well, it’s a wand cleaner.” Merran handed her the black pen-shaped item. “Just click the button on the side and use the magic feathers to clean your wand. Should make it sparkly clean with a few swipes.”

  With a click, white feathers that dimly glowed sprang from the tip of the wand cleaner.

  “This is so…” Amazing, awesome, fantastic, incredible, etc etc. She wanted to blurt out all her feelings, but she decided to go with something that wrapped it all up.

  “Thank you, Merran!” She said gratefully.

  Merran gave a quick nod in reply.

  “Okay, food is coming!” Rynus’ voice came from the kitchen. He walked into the living room with a plate of freshly baked cookies, a jug of juice, and three glasses that were hovering beside him.

  “Woah, I’ve never seen you make cookies that fast master.” Kira chirped.

  “I have to show off sometimes don’t I?” Rynus chuckled and sat beside Kira, handing her a cookie— which she delightfully took without complaint.

  The next few hours went by fast as Kira enjoyed talking to Merran, listening to some of her grand tales in her most recent journey. Her social barriers she may have kept up after only talking to Merran once before this, completely evaporated into thin air. She was chatting with her like they had known each other for years, endlessly bombarding her with questions about her travels.

  How did she fend off the gaggle of wild cockatrice out in the jungles of Param? What was the coolest thing she had witnessed out in the Roko mountains? Had she made her wand yet after now having collected the ingredients she was looking for?

  Eventually though, night came, and with it, so did the need for sleep. Merran said her goodbyes, a faint smile could be found on her face, one which she had for the last few hours. That cold demeanour had no chance of existing while Kira was around.

  Once Merran was out of their house, exhaustion hit Kira like a loose baseball in the head. Rynus had to carry her up the stairs and into her bed, neatly tucking her under her sheets. Not wanting to miss out, Caspian dove under the sheets and snuggled as tightly as he could to Kira.

  Rynus leaned down and gave Kira a peck on the forehead. “Goodnight Kira,” he whispered to not wake her, then made his way over to his own bed for the night