The next morning, Markus was still fast asleep, completely exhausted from the events of the previous night. While trying to get some extra shut eye, he suddenly felt a heavy stomp in his abdomen, jolting him awake. "Markus, Markus! Get up! Dad said you need to come downstairs; we're going to the Gracefield Plains ."
Markus growled, he was completely tired. All he wanted to do was take a nap, lie back for a bit, and catch up on some much needed sleep. However, he had to get up. He didn't want his parents to become too curious about why he was so tired. He didn't like lying to them, and he wasn't good at it anyway, so the fewer questions, the better.
Mark jumped out of bed and grabbed his sister, lifting her into the air and spinning her around with a smile on his face. "I see you're excited! Now hurry down and tell Dad I'm on my way," he said. Jessie laughed as her brother spun her around, filled with excitement and joy. She nodded in response and, as he set her down, she rushed downstairs to tell their father that he was on his way.
Markus hurried down the stairs, thinking to himself, "I need to remember to ask the head priest about the monster I fought last night when i have some time alone." He jumped off the railing halfway down and landed on the bottom floor right beside his mother, freezing in surprise as he realized she had caught him. His mother sighed and said, "Young man I don't care how much good news you bring to us if you jump off of the stairs like not even the king can save you"
Markus apologized to his mother, and she accepted his apology. She then told him that his father was outside waiting. She packed his breakfast and handed it to him before he went to see his dad.
Markus grabbed his lunch and hugged his mom before he made his way out. Making his way to his father who was waiting for him at the gate. His father patted him on the back, knocking him forward a bit from his extreme strength.
" Markus you ready to learn fire arcana kid" Markus's father asked with a hardy smile.
Markus smiled as he replied " Yah pops"
Markus, his father, and his sister walked through the village together. Jessie sat on her brother's shoulder as they made their way through the streets. The villagers watched Markus and his family with envy in their eyes as they headed toward the Gracefield plains.
Markus's father noticed the villagers' strange looks and wondered why they seemed so filled with hositality. As he continued to scan the area, he realized that all their eyes were fixed on Markus. Putting two and two together, Markus's father understood what was happening. He moved closer to Markus and whispered, "Were the other villagers like this when you were at the temple?"
Markus realized his father had figured out the jealousy surrounding him and decided to drop the act. He replied, "Yeah, both them and the nobles."
Sighing, Markus's father acknowledged that Markus probably didn't want to worry them but wished he could trust him to share these concerns when they arose. He whispered to Markus, "Let's stop by your Uncle Paul's house before we leave. I need to ask him a favor."
They made their way to Paul's house, where Markus and Jessie waited on the porch while Markus's father explained the situation to Paul. He asked Paul to keep an eye on his wife while they were gone. Paul understood Markus's father's concerns and promised to watch over her. He assured him that she would be safe and decided to enlist some of his friends to help look after her.
Thanking Paul, Markus's father returned to his children and assured them that everything would be okay as they made their way to the Gracefield plains.
After navigating through the forest surrounding the village, Markus, his sister, and their father reached the Gracefield plain. The view was beautiful, featuring a crystal-clear sky, wide open lush fields, and a stony lake cutting through the landscape.
Markus and the others sat down by the lakeside as his father began explaining fire arcana. Initially, he had planned for this lesson to be a good bonding moment between him and his son, but after what had happened in the village, he was feeling uneasy and decided to make the lesson brief.
"So, Markus, how much do you remember about arcana from my previous lessons?" Markus's father asked, juggling three stones in one hand as he spoke.
Markus responded with all the knowledge he could recall. "Arcana is the abilities we obtain based on the genetic code in our DNA. This means most arcana is passed down genetically, but a person's arcana can also be influenced by their environment and other items or organisms."
His father continued with the questions. "Good! Can you give an example of an organism or environment that might change someone's arcana?"
Markus answered confidently, "Okay, if a person wishes, they can make a pact with a symbiotic organism like a kitsune or a squid ox to gain their abilities. Additionally, if they acquire an item like a light orb or a flame orb, they can acquire a new elemental ability."
Markus's father was impressed with his son's ability to remember this information. He stopped juggling the stones and caught them between his fingers. "Good, you remember some of the basics. Now tell me, what dictates how many times you can use your arcana, and what happens if you overuse it?"
*edit*
Continuing to answer his father's question, Markus exclaimed, "Arcana use is based on arc energy, which can be regenerated by rest or by drawing from the element. Overusing arc energy can leave the user in a comatose state for an extended period, or even kill them, depending on their condition and how quickly the energy was depleted."
"Good, that will be all the questions for now," Markus's father replied. He threw three stones into the air and shot them with bolts of flame, shattering them on impact. "Okay, the first lesson will be on conjuring and firing flames. This shouldn't take long—maybe just a few minutes. Imagine a ball of flame while controlling your breath. Take a deep breath as you do this."
Markus began following his father's instructions. He was able to create the flame, but it took him a good ten minutes longer than his father had expected. The flame was small but bright, displaying colors of blue, red, and orange. It burned slightly hotter than his father's flame, but it consumed too much arc energy. Regardless, this was sufficient for their first lesson, though it indicated that Markus didn't have much talent for flame arcana.
"Okay, that's not the best, but it will be good enough for now. Imagine it exploding as it shoots from your hand while aiming at that rock across the river," Markus's father explained.
Markus visualized a large explosion as he aimed directly at the rock. The flame shot out with extreme speed, creating a sonic boom as it left his hand and shattering the rock. Markus's sister cheered when she saw her brother blow up the rock. "That was so cool!" she exclaimed. Markus's father was impressed by the speed and output but noted that Markus's energy control was poor, even for a beginner.
"All right, that was impressive, but we're going to have to work on your energy control and maybe increase your energy capacity, okay?" Markus's father replied.
Markus agreed; after all, his father was the expert. Markus had witnessed his father's fire arcana in action before, during a hunting trip with his uncle. Both he and his father were quite skilled at using arcana, handling C-class monsters that would pose a challenge for soldiers.
Markus's father instructed him to repeatedly cast the fire bolt to help increase his energy capacity, while giving him tips on how to use less energy with each shot. By the end of their four-hour training session, Markus had improved his energy control a little, but it was still not good. His father announced that they were done for the day and would continue their training tomorrow.
Exhausted, Markus collapsed on the ground when his father told him to stop. His sister, Jessie, poked him with a stick, urging him to get up because it was time to go home.
Recognizing his son's exhaustion, Markus's father knelt down and told him to hop on his back. Markus immediately jumped on, replying, "You don't have to tell me twice!" This prompted his father and sister to burst into laughter as they made their way back to the village.
Reaching the village, they realized something was off. They rushed to their house, worried that something could have happened to Markus and Jessie's mother. Upon reaching the house, they saw Paul and his friends beaten and bloody, while Markus's mother was bleeding and unconscious on the porch floor.