The next few days were nowhere near as eventful as the first and Aron was grateful. Hazel had started individual work with Sommers, practicing using other types of magic. They had history, geography along with the basics of magic which was taught by Sommers. He knew a lot about the basics of magic and history from Sommers, but he was interested in some of things he told us about in Sommers lecture on the third day of school. “Magic and geography are inextricably linked.” Sommers explained. “Take for example, Korra . Korra has a unique way they make their magic. To be able to do anything but the weakest and most basic magic they have to bond with a shifter, being that can shift from animal to human form at will. The reason Korra has this type of magic is because of the way magic flows in Korra. Human magic is naturally suppressed making their spells weak and their magical well small and slow to refill. By bonding with a shifter their magic is no longer supressed, making them just as strong as other sorcerers around the continent. For the sorcerers of the Outlands, they are almost all elementals that specialise in fire magic because of the many volcanoes in its territory. They even have their own fire variant, magma. Same with Sorn. Because of its stormy and snowy climate, its sorcerers specialise in ‘colder’ magic. Their mage bolts are light blue, and their elementals have a combination of water and air, ice. the elves of Dask’s elementals can manipulate wood. Even the dwarven magic is just specialised elemental magic, letting them work stone and metal like no other. the five kingdoms excluding Dask ,particularly Roxia, is known for its diversity in magic.” Sommers finished. “Any questions?”.

Hands shot up. Sommers pointed to a random student a young man that seemed rather timid. “is there any reason for why certain types of magic is passed down by family if geography is the key aspect?”

Sommers face creased into a smile. “A very good question!” he exclaimed, “it’s a very complicated topic, but simply put, you need a certain operating system inside you, and that operating system is passed through genetics. While this isn’t always the case, as many people have no magical blood in their families, it’s more likely for you to have magic if you’re parents do.. He dismissed the class, and they went on their way. Just before he left Sommers called him back. “Aron, you’ll be starting your individual training with the headmaster this afternoon. Apart from Forgehammer he’s the only one to have interacted with a warlock, and he was considerably closer to Alysha than anyone alive. I would advise you not to be late.” With that, Sommers walked out of the room. Aron digested the information in shock then realised he would be late for his next lesson and hurried on.

The rest of the day went on in a blur. As the last class was dismissed, Aron nervously walked up the far-left tower. He hadn’t been up there before, but it was easy to see which office was the headmaster’s. it was a large oak door, far surpassing the size and quality of the surrounding offices. It took Aron a solid thirty seconds to work up the nerve to knock on the door. As soon as he did the door opened on its own. He slowly walked in and came face to face with who many say was the strongest sorcerer alive.

The headmaster looked up from his desk at Aron. The man looked elderly, but not as old as Aron would’ve thought. “Aah Aron.” He greeted. “Our resident warlock. Come, sit, we have much to discuss.” He beckoned Aron in and gestured to a seat on the opposite side of his desk.

When Aron was situated, the headmaster began. “I decided I would personally oversee your individual study, for a few reasons. I knew the most recent living warlock… quite well. I’ll tell you not only about your abilities, but also the responsibilities your great power comes with. Contrary to the king and queen of Roxia, you will have no allegiance to any one nation, you will solve disputes from a viewpoint of neutrality.” The headmaster looked at Aron. “ One of the most important things you will need is knowledge of the great powers of the continent. These aren’t common knowledge, but the great powers either are the leaders of their nations, heavily influential and powerful, or in the case of a few, are revered and worshipped. Some are absurdly powerful or crafty, and all of them have some sort of magic. I will go over some of the more well-known ones first, and then I will tell you the danger they all pose in their own right.”

Aron looked at the headmaster, his mind racing to catch up with the information he had been given. He hadn’t expected the headmaster to start immediately. He hadn’t even introduced himself, although he didn’t need to. The idea of great powers interested him, and he nodded, eager for the ancient sorcerer to continue.

“Most of the Great Powers are allies of humanity, or at least tolerate them. To my knowledge, right now there are only two human Great Powers. The reason for so little is the average sorcerers lifespan. Most of the Great powers do not age, they can only die in combat, while most sorcerers only live two hundred years or so. Anyway, I’m getting of topic. The first is the Tal hero, Ryan Sally. He’s probably the youngest Great Power ever, he is to my knowledge in his forties. He uses his mage powers to create illusions. He once singlehandedly turned back a Cinnowan army with an illusion of a massive force and several dragons, when in reality the Cinnowans outnumbered his measly force by several thousands. Tal locked up a few years ago, so we have no idea of his current situation, but the man is as pure of heart as they get, all about ideals of goodness and fought for the betterment of others.” The headmaster took a breath. “Next is Jordan and Talon. Technically, on his own, Jordan would just be an exceptional elemental, but paired with his wife they’re nigh unstoppable against large groups of enemies. Talon is a Garuda shifter, and her feathers are as sharp as knives. They have a shared magical well, something almost completely unique to them. the Korran monarchy are closely tied with the Cinnowans, and as you know, the nation as a whole treated shifters poorly. Despite Jordan being one of the most powerful beings alive, the Korrans have alienated him and his few students.” The headmaster paused motioning for Aron to ask any questions he had. Aron asked immediately. “Sir are you a Great Power?”. Aron couldn’t imagine that he would be known as the most powerful sorcerer alive if he wasn’t. the headmaster chuckled. “Yes Aron, I am classified as a Great Power. It seemed rather egotistical of me to subscribe you to my own greatness.” He smiled wryly. “Any more questions?” Aron nodded, his next question threatening to burst from his tongue. “Why aren’t David and Sommers Great Powers? Sommers said himself that they were two of the most powerful sorcerers.”

The headmaster grinned. The young warlock asked good questions. “Most of the Great Powers have either unbelievable amount of power or having a unique quirk to their abilities. Sommers could soon be a power if he masters two branches of magic, but David is closer. He has a large well, just about enough to be a power, and he has mastered all known phantom techniques. If he makes a new one, then he would be a force to be reckoned with. Now, I have talked enough about the human powers. They are friendly so you have easy allies. Of course, there are lesser powers, some human, but they’re no match for a warlock. I’m only telling you the ones to be wary of.”

The headmaster took a brief moment to gather his thoughts. He wasn’t as young as he used to be, and some of the forces of this continent was worth forgetting. “I will tell you the ones I know are hostile to other creatures. Two of them can be bargained with, but you would be best to kill or avoid the third one. The first is a creature known as the Kraken. To our knowledge, it’s the single largest creature alive, and by quite a large margin. It’s essentially a huge octopus, capable of picking up ships. Its magic enhances its body so it can actually move. We theorize that without its magic it would hardly be able to move, but it doesn’t have a well, so warlocks can’t drain it. Its fully sentient, and capable of telepathic communication. It demands tribute from all ships that wish to sail on the seas, but it is at least fair. it charges different amounts depending on the trader or nation’s situation. it can read minds, so it cannot be deceived. If for whatever reason it decides humanity needs to go, you block off the Eternal River and evacuate the coast” the headmaster paused. “Understood?”. Aron nodded, thinking about the sheer power the kraken must possess if blocking off the Eternal River was necessary. It fed almost everybody of drinkable water on the continent and ran from coast to coast through the continent.

“The next is the giant Lodgrath. He’s from a faraway continent, and from what I can tell he swam the whole way to Erlanger. from the few conversations I’ve had with him, humans wiped out his race with a huge, coordinated poisoning. He was off living alone, something about not yet being large enough to contest territory. For obvious reasons he dislikes humans, which is why he stays in the mountains of Isafjor. He deals with the dwarves in weapons and food in exchange for essentially being their patron. Not particularly trusting but not unreasonable.

The third is the Monster of The Ice. the native yetis of Sorn praise it as a deity, although I can’t imagine why -it kills yetis just the same as anything else. It’s not as powerful as the kraken or Lodgrath, and it’s nothing but an animal that has a unique ability to gain power from those its kills and this particular beast has killed a lot. With the help of a few fire specialised elementals and you could probably dispose of it, but not without huge losses of life. It usually keeps to itself, so it would be unwise to seek it out.” The headmaster rubbed his temples. “ that’s enough for today I think, an old man needs his rest. Come back this time next week and I will continue to teach you on the matters of your duty.” He pointed to the door and Aron got up, thanked the ancient sorcerer, and left.

Aron’s mind whirled, thinking about the bucketload of information the headmaster had unleashed upon him. just thinking about these great powers scared Aron. How was he supposed to keep the peace with people who could make illusions capable of fooling the most experienced sorcerer, or a creature that can safely demand taxes from entire countries? To keep the peace among Great Powers, then surely that meant he had to be just as strong. Or perhaps he would have to make alliances with the friendly ones to agree to keep others in check when needed.

Thoughts of this manner persisted in Aron’s mind until he got to his room. Jale and Ronin where conversing about Ronin’s private tutoring with his newfound father. Aron still had trouble believing that Ronin was the son of one of the most powerful people alive. Now knowing what he did about the Great Powers, it seemed that Sommers speech to Andrew was hyperbole, but he was still up there.

“Hi Aron!” Jale greeted. “I was just talking to Ronin about how you, him and Hazel have exceptional mentors for Individual study while me and Ruby don’t have anyone! Unfair right!” he exclaimed in mock outrage. Ronin rolled his eyes more incessant complaining and whining than talking he signed anyway, how was your meeting with the headmaster?

Aron tried to shrug nonchalantly. “Well, you know, it wasn’t bad.” Jale jumped up from his bed and punched him on the shoulder. “c’mon, tell us what you learned!” he demanded. Aron grinned and told them all about his newfound knowledge.

The two men listened intently as Aron described the most powerful beings on the continent. Ronin then told them about his tutoring with David which was just practicing phasing in and out of existence under duress. Under duress meaning that David through knives at him, which didn’t seem like a very fatherly thing to do, but what did Aron know about parenting.

They chatted amiably for another hour or so, from speculating on the Cinnowans abilities to wondering if Roxia had better food than Ragalia. Eventually they turned in for the nights, all lost in their own thoughts.

The next morning the group had another of Sommers lectures. This one was a about Bestials, a topic Jale was naturally interested in. looking around the room, Aron caught sight of Andromeda and Dexter, who was staring lovingly at Andromeda’s face. Aron nearly retched at the sight and shuddered. As much as it pained him to admit it, Andromeda scared him immensely. She had shaken his confidence, and could not forget that he felt Andromedas influence from the start, even if it didn’t affect much, he worried if it would start to work overtime, or she hadn’t revealed her true power and could make him a slave to her will at any time or… No Aron told himself firmly. He would not go down the road of fear. He refocused on Sommers as he began his lecture.

“Bestial is a very broad type of magic. Their bond is usually stronger than any Korran and bestial animals are not born naturally. They’re a fragment of the sorcerers soul, conjured on conception of the sorcerer. Many wonder if Bestials are actually sorcerers, as they can’t discern their well, but they do use magic. Their magic flows through each other and is constantly sharing information. At the start they feel each other’s pain, then they learn to mentally communicate. I even know of a few Bestials that can see through each other’s eyes, which is particularly useful for those with bird Beasts. Bestials physical attributes often take after their own Beast. For example, a bear Bestial will be huge, while a dog Bestial maybe able to track as well as any bloodhound or a hawk bestial will have incredible eyesight. Of course, almost all are stronger than most mundanes. ” He looked at the clock. “While there is much more to this topic, I must leave.I apologise for the duration of this lecture, but I have matters to attend. You are dismissed.” Sommers swiftly walked out the door before anyone had a chance to move.

Aron looked at Hazel, who just shrugged and stood up. “Since we now have a little under an hour off, how about we take a look at the training grounds?” she suggested. Having nothing better to do, the group readily agreed, so they gathered their stuff and headed to the far-right tower. After a long climb up the stairs, they eventually made it to the practice rooms.

The room was huge and seemed far bigger than what should’ve been able to fit into the tower. Aron looked around and spotted runes. He pointed them out to Jale. “Any idea what they do?” Jale turned to where he was pointing and squinted his eyes in thought. “Pretty sure they’re enchantments.” He told his friend, “Probably similar to the ones on void bags, but on a larger scale.”

Aron accepted the explanation and moved to one of the practice dummies, which were made entirely out of wood. Ronin joined him, while Jale and Ruby went over to some targets, and Hazel went to a wall that seemed to be made of pure energy. Intrigued, Aron watched as she started to sink spell after spell into that wall, which started to light up green. Deciding he would ask her about it later, Aron returned his focus to the dummy and drew his twin axes. Zeroing in on the dummy in front of him, he lunged forward and swung down on it with all his might. To his surprise, he cleaved the wooden statue completely in half, but before he could even think of replacing it, the wood regenerated in the blink of an eye.

Aron opened his mouth then closed it again, deciding just to not question it. Setting himself up again, he lunged once more at his stationary foe, determined to come out victorious.

Three hours later the group walked out sweaty and tired, well except for Ruby, who’s gorgeous face remained unmarred by her vigorous training. They figured that they might as well eat and headed back to their room to get changed.

They split up and Aron, Jale and Ronin talked blades for a while. Well, Jale and Ronin talked about blades while Aron pretended to understand what they were talking about, while he was puzzling over the use of the whetstone Ronin barred them from moving further and tapped his ears. They all froze and craned their ears their ears. Aron caught the murmuring of voices the sound becoming clearer quickly. It was Andromeda and Andrew. Andromeda’s voice was sickly sweet as she purred, “ I’m sure your parents will agree. I mean, just think of the benefits of having a Cinnowan princess marrying the crown prince of Roxia! War would be averted and with such a strong alliance both nations will thrive!” Aron could sense the subtle magic she’d woven into her speech, and he reckoned Andrew had fallen for it, so he was surprised when he questioned the seductress. “What about Jale?” he asked. “He always interferes. What will we do about him?” Aron supressed a snort of disgust. Andrew’s voice sounded snivelling, whining but most of all, pleading. Andrew was too proud to plead. Andromeda definitely had him in her web.

Andromeda’s tone never changed as she answered. “I’m sure Jale will come round. I can be very persuasive.” Jale tensed, and Aron contemplated just chopping their heads off and being done with it. He wouldn’t feel bad about it, although he had been seeing the faces of those bandits from the journey in his dreams. He didn’t feel guilty, they would’ve killed him in a heartbeat, but he felt remorse that he had to do it. Not with Andromeda and Andrew.

The three of them made their way back down the stairs. Ronin and Jale were conversing about the implications of what Andromeda hinted at, but Aron was focused on something else. “they’re going to do it at the Winter Ball. That means that a bunch of monarchs will be there” and my parents he thought, but he kept that to himself. “it’s a perfect opportunity for the Cinnowans to vastly increase their standing.” Jale did a double take at Aron. That was possibly the most intelligent thing he’d ever hear him say, although that’s not saying much.

We needn’t worry about it. Ronin signed. The principal, my father and the elven high priest are going to be there. the principal is the strongest human around, the high priest is a Power, and my father is pretty close to becoming one. They will not allow the Cinnowans to do anything.

“But they can’t watch everybody.” Jale argued. “Literally all of the rulers of the five kingdoms, are spoilt and drunk on power. The king and queen of Ragalia were having feasts every day in their palace while the Verrans sieged the capital and their people starved. The Verran King isn’t much better and my parents are both arrogant snobs who can hardly see because they’re looking so far down their own nose.” If it wasn’t for the situation at hand, Aron would’ve laughed at Jale’s description, but as it was, they needed to tell the others.

When Aron pointed this out, they put their conversation on hold and went to the girls’ room. They quickly explained what they had found, and they both agreed. “It will be fine.” Hazel decided. “it’s possible that the Cinnowans may extend their influence and Andromeda might marry Andrew, but not even the monarchs of Roxia will allow a Cinnowan to be in line for the throne. Even if they don’t want to, they will name Jale the crown prince, so it could become a net win.” Hazel explained . “We should let it be and allow the principal handle it.” “I don’t think that’s a good id…” Jale started to object “we should leave it alone.” Hazel interrupted. “we’re just students. We should focus on getting better before we worry about international disputes.” Reluctantly, the group agreed. Hazel made a very good point, plus she knew the most about politics. They went back to their rooms in silence, contemplating the events of the day.

The next few days Aron threw himself into his studies. He had a few more lessons with the headmaster, who taught him about the Lesser Powers, and the numerous people of the Outlands. He said no more on the subject of the Great Powers, simply telling him that they kept to themselves, and that only rumours surrounded their existence. He practiced giving and taking energy and figured out ways to rip apart magical wells, though for obvious reasons he didn’t test that. The worrying thing was, he was starting to plateau. He could take in mage bolts and other mage attacks with ease and Sommers helped him develop ways of getting close enough to drain enemies.

The only thing he had to work on was moving bigger amounts of energy. He was still seeing progress in the area as wells only grew by consistent use, but with a well as naturally large as the difference was miniscule.

Stuck on what to do with his powers, Aron turned to his axes. He had hardly explored their capabilities and while their enchantment made him competent with the mithril weapons, he still had much to learn. The thing he wanted to experiment with most was its energy well. As a warlock he hadn’t much need for more energy, but with what he now knew about Tenkay, he couldn’t help but think that they could be used in other ways.

In fact, he was experimenting with moving the magic in the ruby to the blade to make it sharper and stronger, which was working quite well, did he figure out how to use his powers in a different way.

Aron started to move the energy of the ruby towards the blade of the longer axe when he heard someone smash a dummy on the other side of the room, breaking his concentration. The energy, no longer under Aron’s control, funnelled back into him, but instead of re-joining the well, it flowed through him. he felt exhilarated and realisation struck. He recalled that Sommers once told him warlocks made their bodies stronger with magic, but Aron had thought little of it since he had strengthened his body against Aron. But that had been someone else’s energy.

Excited by the discovery, Aron pulled energy out of his well and imagined it seeping into his body, making it better, stronger.

Aron lifted the axes, which felt lighter than before, and hurled one at the nearest training dummy, nearly on the other side of the massive room.

The axe flew through the air nearly faster than Aron’s enhanced eyes could follow and split the dummy clean in too. “Yes!!!” Aron cheered. The discovery was huge, the improvements made him nearly as fast as Jale and Ronin and made him even stronger. Even his perception increased with the ability, he felt things were quicker to process and his thoughts flew by at lightning pace. Sure, he made himself stronger fighting David, but this was another level.

He was too busy revelling in his newfound ability to notice Sommers watching him from the door. he grinned at Aron’s display then cleared his throat.

Aron looked around to see Sommers watching with amusement as he did a little happy dance. Cheeks aflame, Aron shuffled over to Sommers, who was barely supressing laughter. “Well done!” he congratulated Aron. “You figured out all your core powers on your own. I thought the headmaster would have to teach you in his next lesson, which is right now, so you should hurry up.”

That snapped Aron out of his euphoria. “What do you mean right now!” he demanded. he hadn’t been forewarned, had he? He thought back, but no such instance occurred to him. “The headmaster decided that he would do his next lesson with you now so he’s doing it now. I would suggest hurrying, you don’t want to miss the teachings of such a man.” Before Sommers finished speaking, Aron had strapped his axes to his back and sprinted to the principal’s office as fast as his augmented legs could take him.