Torrin stood on the now-familiar plateau as the distorted voice echoed, "Beginning earth affinity testing."

Torrin activated his mana sight and saw motes of earth mana floating just above the ground. Unlike the turbulent motes of wind mana, they stayed close to the ground--hardly moving. The mountain began to shake slightly and Torrin attempted to keep his balance. A new mountain rose beside his platform to overtake his plateau in height, towering over Torrin.

As the mountain rose, it shook stones and boulders loose in equal measure. The falling rocks bounced down the mountain slope, hurtling toward Torrin as they gained momentum. His eyes wide, Torrin began filling his body with Saen from the small crystal sphere of condensed energy within his core.

With his core spinning out multiple mana threads, Torrin began trying to take control of the boulders as they crashed onto the plateau. He didn't enhance his perception speed just yet as he wanted to test himself without it. Torrin did not have enough threads produced to stop everything coming his way, so he dodged left and right as he reformed the boulders into a shield to block the rain of stones.

The ground he stood on continued shaking, slowly breaking apart into sand. He nearly lost control of his mana threads as he lost his balance, sinking into the sand at his feet slightly. Torrin sent mana threads from his wall down into the ground, pushing the earth from below and solidifying the sand under his feet. He kept his mana in the ground under him to keep it stable, while working more and more stones into his now eight foot tall half-dome.

Minutes passed as he worked tirelessly to keep himself standing and block the tide of stones from the rising mountain. His will was spread up the mountain since he couldn't see around the protective dome he'd constructed. He noticed a boulder the size of a house crashing down towards him. Feeling the boulder approaching, he planned his next move. Out of his spinning core came a mass of Saen, which he infused into his legs, pushing off the ground and trying to move from the giant boulder's path.

As he flew to the side with his Saen enhanced jump, he spun a tendril of mana up his brain pathway, allowing him time to assess his situation. As he looked, he realized he wouldn't be able to clear himself from the boulder's path.

The house-boulder was a mere hundred feet away from him now and he stretched out his right hand, sending an uncontrolled blast of Saen at the thing, causing a torrent of golden energy to crash towards the incoming boulder. As he did this, he used the threads of mana from his left hand to grab the shattered earth all around him in an attempt to block the incoming boulder. He formed the earth into a patchwork sphere around himself and huddled inside as the house-sized boulder was blown into large chunks by the blast of Saen.

He allowed his perception to return to normal after he blanketed a mana barrier around himself to help absorb the shock from the incoming debris. He felt himself rocketing through the air from the impact of the destroyed boulder's remnants as he pumped more and more mana into his earthen ball to reinforce it and protect himself. After a minute of flopping around inside his ball of earth, he finally came to a stop, groaning from the pain of his battered body.

He withdrew the mana from the sphere and allowed it to crumble. Breathing slowly to calm himself he thought, 'What the hell! That was much more intense than the wind test... I don't even want to know how they tested people before Lars made this testing stone for them.'

"Ending earth affinity test..." The voice called as darkness fell on Torrin. He opened his eyes to see that he was on the mountain plateau once more. His mind was reeling from the previous test, but he used the short reprieve to get himself focused for the next trial.

"Would you like to continue the testing, Rin? If not we can wait until tomorrow." Ollivel asked, a hint of concern burbling through the distorted voice.

"I'll keep going... Just one moment, please..." Torrin answered, his nerves still slightly on edge.

'That wasn't the worst performance, but I used an incredible amount of mana for such simple work...' Torrin berated himself internally as he breathed slowly and rhythmically.

After a minute to re-center himself, he stood once more, "I'm ready for the next test." Silence held for a long while, before the voice rang out once more.

"For this test, you may choose to remain on the platform or enter the forest. Beginning fire affinity test."

Torrin crouched slightly and looked around with a weary gaze, slightly confused by the instructions. The ground rumbled once more, increasing his confusion. Looking around, he noticed his plateau was slowly sinking into the ground, nearing the forest below.

The smell of smoke hit his nose as he became even with the tops of the trees. Activating his mana sight, he could see erratic motes of fire mana sparking to life in the forest. He imbued his body with Saen and took off into the trees. Small copses of trees were catching fire as he passed deeper into the woods, bushes also began setting themselves ablaze.

'What's so scary about this test?' Torrin wondered as he moved through the trees, 'If I'd stayed on the platform what would have even been the danger?'

Torrin soon found answers to his questions as the erratic mana began to combust, causing loud explosions to ring out through the forest. As they did, Torrin was sent hurtling backwards--only surviving due to his Saen infused body. He groaned as he stood up once more.

He applied a barrier of mana around himself so he wouldn't die outright from another explosion, before spinning up his core once more, sending mana tendrils hurtling towards the fires. He was able to grab onto the fire, but his hold was tenuous at best.

The fire mana did not respond to his control as easily as the wind had. Even his control over earth was greater than this. The fire mana was too wild, it didn't want to be controlled. Torrin began spinning more and more threads from his core just to get a grip of the flames. Once he had hold, he carefully moved the flames away from the burning foliage and towards himself.

He circled the flames around him but soon lost control, causing a small explosion that sent him stumbling, burning himself. Cursing, he sent mana to his mind to try and have more time to focus on what he was doing. Branches rained down on him as trees began to fall.

Weaving a tapestry with his mana threads, he tried gathering the fire mana within. This seemed to work much better and he was able to control a portion of the raging inferno surrounding him. His meager control was not enough. The raging flames lapped at him and explosions engulfed him with flames.

His mana barrier faltered and he began to burn. Luckily Ollivel had the foresight to not allow Torrin to suffer through this agony for longer than necessary, instantly resetting the test. As he sat on the plateau with his head in his hands, Torrin berated himself for not being strong enough nor skilled enough to overcome the flames.

"Let's end the testing for today." the king's voice replaced Ollivel's in the distorted echo.

Torrin stood up quickly, "No! Please... I don't have time to waste. Can we please conduct the final test?" Torrin asked, his voice carrying a petulant tone. Silence blanketed him once more as Torrin stood atop the mountain.

After a long moment of contemplation the echo sounded once more, "Very well... Beginning water affinity test." the king said reluctantly.

Unlike the last three tests, Torrin did not remain near the mountain. The ground beneath his feet detached itself from the mountain top, forming a small circular platform beneath him that slowly rose. He stood on the floating platform, just big enough to hold him. The rock beneath his feet headed towards one of the rivers he had seen in the distance.

Torrin did not even need to hold his own balance as he seemed stuck to the floating chunk of earth somehow. Wind swept his hair behind him in a messy stream as he sped through the air, following the river. Eventually the rock brought him the origin of the river, a waterfall that fell from a cliff some fifty feet above him.

The platform sat itself atop the water's surface, and he listened to the crashing of the water as it fell before him. With his mana sight active he could see water mana beginning to gather around the roaring waterfall, causing it to speed up its descent. As the water sped up, Torrin began rocking back and forth atop his small platform.

The water continued its wild fall towards the river, causing small waves to lap up over the platform, soaking his boots in moments. Torrin spun his core, releasing mana threads from both hands, attempting to calm the incoming water. As his mana touched the water, he felt an innate connection form.

He moved the water below his platform, raising the stone up above the tidal waves hurtling towards him. Using the river, he held his platform ten feet above the water. With the ease he felt at controlling the water, his confidence grew. Torrin spun more and more threads, sending them from his hands as he began intercepting the growing waves, causing them to form a whirling tornado of water around him. The waves crashed into his whirling barrier of water, unable to reach their intended target.

As if it were mad at his display, the waterfall began dumping even more water into the river. A giant wave began forming as high as thirty feet. As the giant wave crashed down towards him, he sped up his perception. The wave looked like a monster attempting to swallow him whole.

Torrin pushed his mana through his pathways in a torrent. The mana split as it left his hands, forming into hundreds of threads that wrapped around the incoming wave like a blanket. He took control of the wave as it almost washed over him, instead of crashing down on him with the force of a hammer, he split the wave in half--adding it to his growing water tornado.

He moved the water around himself, snatching himself up from the platform. Using the water to propel himself, he shot upwards toward the mouth of the waterfall, sailing fifty feet into the air. Torrin landed with a thud on the bank of the river atop the cliff that made up the waterfall.

As he stood beside the water, he examined his core to check how much mana he had used. The core was nearly dry, only a small pool of mana orbiting the small bead of Saen floating within. Torrin huffed out a breath and allowed his body to crumple to the ground, laying on his back as he stared at the bright blue sky above.

"Ending elemental affinity testing..." The voice echoed. Darkness overtook Torrin and he found himself in the testing room once more.

The two elven figures clapped as Torrin opened his eyes, "Congratulations on a wonderful display, young Rin," Ollivel said merrily.

Torrin turned towards the elves and smiled, "Thanks... So, what do you think my best affinity is?" Torrin asked, curious what the two thought.

The king's smile didn't leave his face as he spoke, "Well, Rin. I must say your control over water is amazing. I watched a recording of your wind affinity test, and I must say that was equally as impressive, though not as strong as your performance with water. Your control over earth is nothing to gloss over, but definitely not as good as the former two. Fire... Well, one cannot be good at everything."

Hearing the king's assessment, he nodded in agreement, "That's the same conclusions I came to myself. Thank you for allowing me to take your tests... I know that it takes a large amount of energy to conduct them, so I will definitely find a way to repay you."

The king shook his head, waving his hand as if to dispel the very notion, "Nonsense. Though our relationship with your master is not the best, she has still done more for our people than we could repay with this simple testing. The only reason we have been able to grow our population once more is due to her contributions while she was here."

Torrin scrunched his brow in confusion, thinking, 'They seem to like Grams and hate her at the same time. I'm starting to think she leaves this impression on everyone she meets! Especially royalty!'

Seeing his confused expression, the king spoke once more, "I know it seems as if we have conflicting feelings about the Silver Witch, and we do. If we have time, I will try to explain why that is another day." Torrin nodded hearing this, he'd definitely love to understand how exactly Grams screwed them over before she left.

"But for now, I must take my leave once more, to make sure that everything is ready for the celebration!" The king exclaimed, exiting the room with a few short strides.

Torrin looked at the door as the king closed it behind him, still wondering on Grams' actions while she was with the elves. Ollivel cleared his throat, bringing Torrin's attention to him.

"You may want to get cleaned up once more, then I will speak to you about how your training can go moving forward." Ollivel said politely, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

Torrin looked down at himself, realizing he was once more covered in sweat. Since he'd been drenched by the water of the river when he left the test, he hadn't noticed. Torrin gave a sheepish grin and nodded, standing and heading towards the wash room once more.

After a quick wash in the empty room, he wondered what he should wear since his fanciest clothes were now in tatters. He decided to wear a simple undershirt, with his black robe wrapped around him. He put on a pair of black pants and a pair of black boots. Looking at himself in the mirror, he found the all black look accentuated his exotic eyes. Shrugging at the image, he walked from the wash room and met Ollivel once more.

As the pair stood in the testing room, Torrin asked, "So, Ollivel, what do you think I should be focused on first?"

The elf hummed in thought, before replying, "I believe your best bet would be to focus on wind and water control. You have an impressive starting point with those two, so gaining the ability to form ice spells shouldn't be out of reach for you."

Torrin smiled at the words, "So you're saying I could be throwing ice spears any day now?"

"Well," the elf returned the smile, "I wouldn't go that far, but with a bit of practice, I don't think it's impossible."

"What's the next step, then? As far as training goes. Do I join the elves in the practice circles out there, or do you have something else in mind?" Torrin asked.

"I'd say you could definitely join in the control training with them." Ollivel nodded thoughtfully, "But there is another choice that may be available soon."

Torrin asked about what he really wanted to know, "What about the pocket dimension my master told me about? Is it possible I could go there?"

Ollivel nodded slightly, before answering, "That's the other choice I mentioned... Due to the time dilation of the realm, we only open it once a year. Your timing is perfect, as we should be able to get you a spot on the team that has been selected. Especially with your performance in the testing. We usually send a group of yellow core youngsters into the zone so that they can get practical experience on what they've learned."

Torrin thought about the elf's words, 'Only opening it once a year? That sounds much more sustainable than having your pocket dimension on the side of a hill where anyone can stumble into it... But why would they limit the amount of people able to go?'

"So who all would be going on this trip?" Torrin asked curiously.

Ollivel thought for a moment before replying, "We usually send about fifty mages, though most of the time we don't have enough to send only yellow core mages, so a couple green core mages fill those spots. This year it will be a special trip. Not only might we have a human entering the realm for the first time in several hundred years, but also, the youngest princess will be going. She has just reached the yellow core stage this year and has mastered both her fire and earth affinities at the age of 19."

Torrin's eyes widened at the elf's words, wondering who exactly this princess was to be so talented.