Chapter 13

  Four fist sized wooden pieces levitated in the air, spinning and rotating on tilted axes. The objects had started off as cubes, but the sides had been whittled into uneven and spiked surfaces.

  In the privacy of his apartment, Hektor stood focused on the floating objects, sweat glistening on his brow. His hands were clenched into fists and firmly positioned by his side. He had fallen into the poor habit of directing magic through hand gestures and was making sure to rectify his mistake.

  Focused at the task, he slowly took a step away from the spinning objects. When he was successful in elongating his psychic tethers, he changed the rotation and spin of the objects. Their rough surfaces and unbalanced weight making them wobble before Hektor accounted for the variables and held them steady once more in midair.

  Continuing the exercise, he took another step further, increasing the distance to around five meters. Another step, and the psychic tethers snapped and the objects clattered to the ground.

  Hektor fell into the nearby chair and took deep calming breaths. Placing his arm on the desk for support, he clenched and unclenched his fist to test his dexterity.

  Such was one of his many self-concocted training methods.

  For while wizards gathered aether and applied it through the uniform discipline of wizardry, mages lacked such a consistency with their magics.

  As it was, magic was an inherent trait of mages, much like being a man or a woman, short or tall, dark skinned or pale, and so forth. Just as no two people were truly the same, no two mages were exactly alike, nor was their magic.

  Mages thus lacked an all-encompassing and applicable knowledge pertaining to their abilities. Which meant that there were no set of instructions to follow. Rather it ended up as journey of self-discovery, a task of perseverance, an experiment of trial and error. At least that was how Hektor saw it as he explored the intricacies of his magic by his lonesome.

  Accurately called the aether blessed or blessed of the aether, mages and wizards both derived their abilities from the mystical energy that was aether.

  Wizards possessed the ability to cultivate aether from their surroundings and store it into the aether wells. These wells were essentially the body’s capacity to store aether, from which wizards later channeled aether into spells through runic language and an attuned foci like a wand, staff or crystal.

  Wizardry was thus a methodical application of aether that was consistent for all wizards. Intrinsic talents aside, two wizards would perform the same process to cast the same spell.

  Mages, differently to wizards, produced their own aether and their bodies were inherently aligned to a singular quality of their aether. This manifested as a mage’s magic, their unique abilities coming more naturally to them. While their magic was more intuit and flexible, there was no variety beyond the talents they were born with.

  Where magic was comparable to a lone singer, wizardry was an orchestra with a choir and instruments.

  When Hektor had manifested his magic for the first time, it had been the happiest day of his life. His telekinesis ability was nothing extraordinary amongst mages and wizards, but Hektor had been ecstatic nonetheless just to be able to do magic.

  His joy had lasted all but for a few days. For soon after, his shadowing guards had spied him doing magic and informed the Duchess. And when a joyous Sabina had congratulated her son, Hektor had proceeded to have a nervous breakdown at being found out.

  Hampered by his mental block, Hektor simply couldn’t perform magic in front of anyone. He was terrified of the attention, afraid that people would single him out and notice him if he proved to be the least bit special. That others had found out about his magic had him spiraling.

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  All of which made Hektor’s mental health deteriorate and set him back in his recovery.

  Thankfully, Sabina had been strict enough to have Hektor go through an assessment of his magic. The results of which had been illuminating.

  The tests showed that Hektor not only acquired telekinesis, but he also had a vaguely enhanced physique as well. The latter was difficult to quantify so early in its onset and with an unwilling participant, but it was found out that Hektor possessed slightly higher attributes compared to children his age.

  Most noticeable was that Hektor was unusually stronger than his small stature would suggest. His endurance had increased without any training and his senses had become more refined as well. That was not all, as more alterations were revealed over a duration of months.

  Hektor needed less sleep compared to norm. He developed a good memory and found it natural to multitask. And while not ambidextrous, he grew skilled with his weaker left hand.

  The advancements were minimal, but they did add up over time to become irrefutable that Hektor had a secondary effect to his magical awakening.

  His telekinesis magic was as common as the easiest spell a novice wizard could perform. And to add to its modesty, Hektor’s magic was significantly weaker and finnicky compared to a wizard’s spell variant.

  But like all mages, Hektor had the advantage that his magic was ingrained in him. To Hektor, his magic always felt like an extension of his will. An extra muscle, an additional limb. He found it hard to explain, but that was the closest comparisons he could make.

  Ever since, Hektor had committed to increasing his magical potential, on his own. Mages matured magically anywhere between ten to twenty years after their awakening, so Hektor wasn’t sure if he would grow stronger or was just a weak mage to begin with.

  Nonetheless, he was most grateful. More so because he had given up on being a mage like his mother. Children would usually start showing the signs of being a mage or wizard around eight to ten years of age, but Hektor had been a late bloomer and past his thirteenth when he finally sensed his magic.

  Thinking about his impediment, Hektor knew that it was an exercise in futility. Everyone knew that he was a mage, and a weak and insignificant one at that. But he could just never bring himself to overcome his anxiety.

  Sometimes being clever came with its own challenges. Hektor believed that he was being silly with his impairment and that it would take a little effort to overcome it. But knowing about something and doing it were entirely different things. He had made a mountain of an anthill and was now left facing a steep hurdle.

  His reclusive and secretive nature compounded his issues. All his bad habits became a crutch onto themselves. His distrust fed to his paranoia that fed to his isolation and into his phobia in a vicious repeating cycle.

  On so many days he had vowed to overcome his demons, only to procrastinate with the excuse of ‘not today, but tomorrow’.

  A knock at the door drove Hektor out of his thoughts. As he made for the main door, a voice on the other side announced, “Hektor, it’s me.”

  Hektor grinned at Missus Hudson’s sharp hearing and opened the door to his housekeeper.

  Missus Hudson entered without ceremony and after passing a quick inspection of her immediate surroundings, turned round to face her ward.

  “You will be having lunch in ten minutes,” she said, her tone making it clear that Hektor had had no say in the matter.

  Hektor smiled and obeyed. “Yes, Missus Hudson.”

  Missus Hudson deemed her approval. “Anything else you could want?” she asked.

  “I am fine, thank you Missus Hudson. I will not hesitate to ask,” Hektor reassured.

  Missus Hudson stepped up and placed a hand caring on Hektor’s shoulder. “That is all right then,” she said in a motherly tone

  It looked like she had more to say, but withheld at the last moment.

  Hektor appreciated Missus Hudson a great deal. She was not only his housekeeper, but also the one who cooked his meals and looked after him. Indeed, Hektor had learnt to cook by her side she had been the one to teach him what it was like to live alone and how to look after his home as a responsible adult.

  What Hektor was most grateful for, was that Missus Hudson was the only person he knew who never had any ambitions for him. All she cared about was that he was safe, healthy and well fed. She treated him like a child and did not expect anything in return.

  Her affection and care was unconditional. In a manner she spoilt him, but it was harmless. No matter what, Missus Hudson was safe haven. She wouldn’t intrude when he was feeling shy, nor would she try to make it all better when he was felling down.

  Nonetheless, Missus Hudson would there when Hektor needed her and was ready to ask her for help. Over the years, she had come to understand her ward and knew that what Hektor needed the most was someone unobtrusive who wasn’t a busy body and a meddler. The boy wanted to be left alone, but needed looking after and Missus Hudson had risen to meet the young master’s needs most admirably.

  Looking to Missus Hudson, Hektor appreciated that he was so very fortunate to have people who cared for him. That despite his shortcomings, he had so many supporters in his corner who were there for him always.

  It was his greatest shame that he couldn’t be the person they saw in him.

  Perhaps not today, but there was always tomorrow for Hektor to become worthy of their devotion.