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Ch.13

For one week my grandfather had been absent, during that time period Talaxix had taken it upon him self to be a curmudgeonly bastard and take over my training. Over and over he had me working on exercises designed to improve my abilities as a mage. Currently that entailed working on my ability to meld constructs, instead of forming each individual part of the spell he was making me try to create the spell in a single construct. Which more often then not had the overly complicated magma orb that I was ever so fond of exploding right in front of my face. The only thing keeping me from a sudden and fiery demise was Talaxix's ability to throw up a shield between myself and the failing spell.

“Tch, alright I'm going to go get a cup of tea, you see that chunk of sandstone” he huffed while pointing out into the courtyard “practice breaking it into individual grains and putting it back together” he spoke while stroking his beard.

I sighed staring at a boulder the size of a steer and took a seat next to it, this one one of his favorites, it was designed to train fine control over Aether. I reached out and put my hand upon the stone and channeled a flow of Aether circulating it throughout the stone. I was able to feel the billions upon billions of grains of sand and the bonds that had been created by millions of tons of pressure and heat, it was a simple enough thing to isolate and destroy those bonds. The problem was the amount of force required, too much and the stone would super heat and explode throwing molten chunks of razor sharp glass at your face. Too little and it would just crumble into chunks, the idea was to flow the Aether equally throughout the stone severing all of the bonds with a single pulse of energy. It was honestly mind numbingly boring, but the more I though about it the more it made sense, it was so simple I had just been to blind to see it.

After re shaping the stone I stood up and walked a good number of feet clear from the stone and focused my mind, first I created a flame construct, then an air sphere, and finally an earthen construct measuring the amount of Aether required for each one. Then I started to meld them taking note of any further increase of expenditure, with a smile I waited for Talaxix to return with a cup of tea.

“Catch” I shouted channeling the full amount of Aether for my magma orb in an instant causing the roiling ball of molten rock to hurtle towards the seemingly unamused old goat who batted aside my spell as if it were an annoying gnat.

“Looks like my lesson finally got through that boulder you call brain, now onto to the next lesson” the old goat spoke with a yawn as he stretched and rolled his neck.

The rest of my day dragged on with the old goat barking this or that at me in the same deep lazy tone, as he idly sipped tea and occasionally deigned to look up from a number of tomes he was reading. I was ever so grateful when midday had come and with it a lunch of potted beef rich with spices spread across thick slices of chewy bread that had a mild sour flavor. Along with a bowl of sliced fruits drizzled with honey and cream with a side of a salty lightly acidic cheese. I also used lunch as way to keep myself motivated to train a far more laborious skill, a subset of Space magic known as translocation, by attempting to teleport food onto my plate. I gave up after accidentally ripping a small hole in space that devoured some of my lunch. Olivia was not happy that I “lost” one of her platters to space and time.

I lay there in the afternoon sun warming myself with little to do, the near daily training schedule that my father had put me through left me feeling stir crazy, part of that I suppose was feeling like I was doing nothing. With a sigh of boredom I picked my self up and jogged lap after lap till my chest burned with pain but it did little to settle my frustration. With out a direct goal in front of me there was nothing to take my mind off of that night, and the nightmares I had been suffering. In the throes of sleep they had all seemed so real and focused but here in the now some of them seemed like fantastical stories. Who was that blonde haired girl sitting by the window sill, and where in the nether had those nightmarish memories come from, were they real or merely a fever dream.

“Zamiel” a smooth deep voice called out to me as I worked my way through a series of push ups that I was using to blank out my mind. I stood up and dusted off my clothes only to see my grandfather standing beside an elderly looking fellow with wispy gray hair and an ageless face. The man had a very odd professional demeanor about him and his clothes were cut from fine cloth, his eyes were stern and observant.

“This is my Steward and close friend, you may address him as Ser, Steward, Woodhouse, over the next few years he will be your instructor in etiquette” Alexander explained with a warm smile while placing a hand on the mans' shoulder. “For now meet me in the armory in roughly half an hour” he continued before rounding on his heels, with Woodhouse in tow.

Once more I found my self standing in that oh so magnificent menagerie of past glories, facing down an indomitable obstacle, my hands firmly gripping the carved horn hilts of the blades. Aether coursed through my body reinforcing my bones, tendons, and muscles till I could see vibrant blue lines glowing beneath my skin. Seeing those glowing lines gave me another idea, I crafted yet another construct, this one to reinforce my skin, blue scales spread across the surface of my skin like a coat of armor.

“I see you have been busy practicing your magic in my absence, these are but petty tricks before true power” Alexander mocked in a dark tone. “Behold the power of a human's ravenous hunger, the power of gluttony” he lifted his palm as I dashed forward. A pitch black void expanded out before him, like an endless swirling pit of gnashing teeth and aching bellies the void consumed every ounce of Aether in the vicinity. I could feel my power being torn away, like a ravenous starving beast ripping flesh from a carcass.

My constructs and every ounce of power had been devoured causing me to stumble mid thrust, with out reinforcement my body could not handle the speed and power I normally wielded. I let out a grunt of pain as my face collided with lightly padded stone floor, with a groan I lifted my self up. Lunch was doing flap jacks in my stomach and my head throbbed. The side Affects of Aether sickness could be easily debilitating and it was taking most of my effort just to stand, but I still readied my weapons.

“You have already unlocked the power's of wrath, however you are far from getting you rage under control, the first step is to be able to channel your anger at will, let us start with that” before my mind had time to register his words the back of his hand collided with my head sending me skidding.

I gasped and panted in pain, with out the reinforcements I was merely a ten year old boy, by the time I had managed to get up onto my hands and knees the toe of Alexander's boot dug sharply into my ribs. An audible crack stole my breath as my body slid across the floor. I lay there grimacing with pain while staring at the ceiling, in my state I didn't have time to take note of the beautiful mural over head, instead I was left there with pain and the feeling of helplessness as my only companions. My ears were deaf to the clacking of Alexander's foot falls, my vision spun and I felt like puking before everything went black.

Echoes from the past filled my mind, earth shaking explosions gave way to memories of scrambling through ruins in search of food during the harsh winter, the pain of starvation as my body ate away at its self drove me to madness. It was in this man made hell that I had taken my first life, a foreign fighter who was little more than skin and bones him self. He was digging through rubble not far away from where I had once lived in search of anything of value, his pack was rattling with scavenged goods. His back was turned and his rifle leaned against a half knocked over wall, for the first time in my life I had know hatred. It was this bastards fault that my parents were killed by the artillery shells that bombarded our city for weeks on end. I had crept up silent as a ghost and took his rifle in hand, it was a heavy thing for a young child, but not as heavy as my grandfather's old Mossin Nagant. With gritted teeth and hatred in my heart I squeezed the trigger, a burst of rounds hit his mid section and blood poured from his wounds as he lay there crumpled on the ground.

Another kick brought me back to reality only this time there was no pain, only a lightly simmering rage, like a sinuous beast, it coiled and twisted just beneath the surface waiting to be unleashed. I scrambled to my feet carefully observing my prey, he was so confident, so proud, with out a care in the world he casually strolled across the room. I was unarmed, my blades lay scattered some where in the distance, but I was not some helpless sheep being led to the slaughter. Some how my rage had become one of cold calculation and my head was clear, I could feel a power so similar yet different to Aether flowing through my veins.

Wielding Aether was like having a storm coursing though your body, it was exhilarating as it twisted and crashed against you in a struggle of willpower, this new power was different. It was like an intoxicating beverage, as sweet as it was tainted, euphoria and pleasure mixed with a deep burning filled my body, oh how I wanted to drink deeply of this font of pain and pleasure. I let my rage guide me igniting the power that flowed through my veins wreathing my body in black flames, doubling over in pain the black flames exploded outward. Pain and agony accompanied sickening crunches, cracks, and pops as my muscles bulged and my bones grew in length and density, I clutched my head and groaned as a pair of horns like those of a ram began to grow from my skull.

When the pain finally stopped I stood up now towering over my grandfather, wings of black fire twice spanning twice my height erupted from my back, my hands had become clawed monstrosities and the backs of my arm and my legs were coated in thick coarse black fur. My skin had become a deep cinnamon color and my short unruly hair had become a fierce mane, I ran a hand over my face feeling that it had become that of a wolf's with massive teeth for tearing apart my enemies. I had become a thing made of the fears of mankind, a monster of their own creation, and I reveled in the power that filled my body.

“Muhahaha, how does it feel Zamiel, your first taste of true power” Alexander chuckled madly as he observed the demonic form of his grandson when shaped by the power of wrath. “Now come at me with everything, let us see if you can master your rage” he taunted with a maddening grin.

He looked so pitiful and weak, like a bug that I could crush beneath my heel, but I knew that was only the taint clouding my judgment, with a fierce growl I coalesced my black flames around my body forming them into a thick plate armor that gleamed like obsidian and glowed like molten metal. I thrust my hands against the ground sinking my hands down into the stone and poured more power into the earth heating and shaping the stone beneath into a massive pair of magma blades.

Even Alexander had to quirk an eyebrow as one of the massive molten blades tried to cleave him in half, their heat causing the fibers of his jacket to singe from the near miss. Still he was able to deftly side step the blade that was easily as long as he was tall and wide as his torso. With his own battle crazed smile Alexander repulsed my second swing with the same strange force that he had used to bounce me around like a child with a ball. His retaliation came fast as a bolt of lightening, throwing away skill and prowess for raw power, his fist stuck my chest denting my armor throwing up a cloud of sparks and causing me to take a step back.

Before he launched his next attack I drew in a deep breath and belched forth a stream of intense black flames that caused him to leap back, giving me time to thrust a blade at his torso. Alexander slapped aside my thrust with the back of his hand like a lord dismissing an annoying peasant, with each counter I could feel my rage growing and my vision began blur at the edges as I lost my hold over the power rushing through my veins. With each swing I grew faster and stronger but so too did my frustration, before I knew it I had lost complete control and had become a passenger along for the ride. I thrashed and clashed with my opponent, showers of molten slag splattered upon the ground each time or blades met, this was not who I desired to be I was not some mindless monster beholden to my instincts.

I gritted my teeth and fought back against the vortex to mindless anger that sucked away at my consciousness, the slightest pause giving Alexander an opening to smash a fist into the side of my skull rocking my brain. The impact weakened the hold that the taint had over my mind allowing me to actively suppress and push down the blazing anger in my chest. With a smile I rolled my neck taking stock of the wanton destruction around the room. The carpeting had long ago turned to ash as had the beautiful tapestries, lumps of once molten stone had cooled into porous stone and slag. The only untouched thing in the room was my grandfather, minus some of his clothing having become singed. I hadn't the slightest idea for how long I had been lost in the intoxicating power of the demonic taint.

I couldn't help but to let out a deep hearty laugh that got me a strange look before returning to a proper stance, with my knees slightly bent, this fight had made me realize how foolish the idea of wielding two swords was. It might work against some untrained fool, but it was a fighting style that was all flash and no substance. Taking a moment to focus I reshaped the blade in my left hand into a massive strapped round shield, I also removed some of the unnecessary weight from the blade in my right hand.

Alexander gave a smile pulled his zweihander out of thin air and slowly advanced, we stood off waiting for who ever would make the first move, he feinted low towards my ankle causing me to lower my shield. He had swung full of intent but flipped the blade into a cut with the false edge towards my exposed shoulder, I barely managed to intercept his cut only getting a nick instead of the deep gash I would have gotten other wise. I pulled the shield tight and lowered my body presenting as little of my body as possible, he tried another feint but I angled my shield upwards and threw a cut at a low angle forcing him to parry before bashing him with the shield.

The force of the impact was impressive due to my large and powerfully built frame but Alexander met my attack with another strange blast of force as he stepped to the side letting me barrel forward. His follow up was to smack my exposed ass with the flat of his blade mockingly. We clashed back an forth like this for hours, parrying and riposting until the dark of night, in the end Alexander was mostly unscathed save for a few bruises while I was left riddled with shallow cuts and numerous bruises. Fortunately I discovered that wounds in this form healed quickly and by the time the last blow had been struck my first cut was already gone.

“That's enough for today, you should take some time to clear you mind, it should help you return to normal. Once you have true mastery of your powers you will find that taking on that form is meaningless. It is nothing but a reflection of the spirits that had been corrupted by the humans, on occasion there are members of our kinds who shed their skin and become permanently stuck in those twisted forms, we call them lesser demons. Do not ever become drunk on power and loose your sense of self unless you desire to become a mindless beast that lives only to feast on bloodshed and chaos” Alexander lectured in a solemn tone before leaving me to my own devices.