The First Step

(Wilhelm Dragonsong)

A few days after our conversation, Vanessa came to me where I was training and after giving me a few tips and instruction as if it was any other day. She said as if it were a side note.

“I am ready to give you my response”

So after setting the date for the possible ceremony as the next day and confirming with her the idea of her kneeling speaking first if she wanted to be my apprentice but bowing low and staying silent if she wanted me to refuse for her I started to get nervous.

You may wonder why I have never had an apprentice before, but there are no dark secrets as to why it’s mainly because I have never been asked. While I was a teacher it was considered somewhat rude to ask a teacher to become your master. The theory being that they were already ‘almost’ masters to many students already.

Thus it was a lot more common to simply let them remain just your teacher and ask them to become your adviser. In this way you got some of the benefits of an apprenticeship but with none of the strict obligations.

Also while I eventually became somewhat popular as a teacher I was not known for one on one tutoring sessions but rather for my ability to make my lessons easy to understand and learn to a large variety of students at time.

As I have said before I am usually awkward when it comes people and my students were not an exception. It was more often that the teachers who were charismatic as well as social who frequently got the requests to take students on as an apprentice.

Then when I went public in this country for the first time and became the “mage hero” most potential apprentices were too intimidated by my inflated deeds to approach me. Both before and after the war I actually did get a few requests but I don’t count those as none of them I consider valid. Some of them were done as joke or a dare, I don’t think the requester really meant it.

A few others did seem mean it but it also seemed like the main cause of their sincerity was that they just wanted me to give them easy grades, or later on because they wanted some of my fame. Of course I couldn’t for a moment consider making those kinds of people my apprentice.

If no one asked then there was just one other way that I could get myself an apprentice and that is if I asked a prospective person instead. But besides my lack in socialness, making such a thing daunting to begin with was that I also never saw any people that I thought would be worth it to ask.

That is I didn’t see anyone who seemed like they could use my knowledge. The few that I thought about usually just joined a school or guild long before I would think about asking and didn’t seem to need anything supplementary.

There were also a few children or young adults whose current training and learning styles really matched mine however they had neither the talent nor the dedication it took to make up for it, and I really disliked the idea of taking on a lazy apprentice, doing such a thing I felt kind of defeated the purpose of having an apprentice in the first place.

Finally unlike some human mages I didn’t need an apprentice. Besides taking care of some of the workload the main purpose of having an apprentice was to ensure that your spells, magic recipes and methods continued to exist in the world. First of all I kept very little of the magic I invented a secret, I told or taught most of it to anybody who asked and in the case of my students some who didn’t ask.

Second of all having inherited several kinds of immortal blood within me, as well as an almost instinctive grasp of how to continue down the immortal path, I was far from being able to die of old age, and I was cautiously optimistic enough to think that the possibility of my death by other means was low. I currently had no need for any kind of heir.

Some of the more mortal wizards had hang ups on only letting family inherit their wealth and magic, and some of those were so devoted to their magic studies that they never had the time to have a wife and or child in this case I could see why it would make sense to have an apprentice on whom to pass down your material and immaterial goods.

While I rarely see them my family was actually quite large and if I were to die without any kind of heir the greedy ones would probably immediately swoop in to insure that none of my possessions would go to waste.

The reasons I seriously considered accepting vice masters or Vanessa’s request was because primarily because she asked. The secondary reasons was I had nothing against her personally and she seemed a decent sort of person, plus if she gave as much a fraction dedication towards magic as she towards her duties in her father’s dojo she would at least become a better than average mage.

Finally I had a reason that was a bit selfish, as I’ve mentioned this was basically only a short vacation or sabbatical. After year or maybe two if I was lucky I would have to stop coming to the dojo mostly because I wouldn’t have enough time, but if the talented vice master became my apprentice it was practically like taking the dojo with me and I could probably find the time to continue to learn about the sword. There were even ways were I could teach her at the same time as she was teaching me.

Of course the reason most of you would automatically assume and one that I would never ever admit to is because she is a young girl that is nice to look at. Actually more than nice to look at…those who do not think I want her for myself are sure to have the inkling that I bought her company in order to look impressive.

Let me say again THIS WAS NOT THE REASON!! AND NO I DON’T THINK I AM PROTESTING TOO MUCH!!!

But if I had to admit to agreeing to this for shallow reasons or dying. I would probably say that her ‘insides’ hold more attraction to me than her outsides. No don’t look at me like that! It is not what it sounds like! Not those sorts of insides the other kind.

What I mean is that she is a- er I mean she is of good moral fiber. Plus she smells nice and not just physically but her soul. Her soul is a particularly clean and bright one. Quite beautiful really, especially when I use my eyes and ‘that’ sort of vision.

But to ‘ehem’ (cough cough) get to the point I suppose I shall explain what I am doing right now.

It was now the ‘next day’ and as such I was currently standing in front of the dojo in one of my simpler sets of mage garb. It isn’t my most impressive of my garments but it also isn’t as recognizable as the clothing that I wore as a teacher or when battling as it isn’t quite as old fashioned.

Basically it consists of robes and a hood however unlike the others mentioned this one does not have a robe that covers the face, and the sleeves are only long enough to reach up to the wrist

Although like most of my clothing it white. It isn’t a ‘blinding the eyes because of the dazzling brilliancy white’ you can find on some of my more expensive and elegant clothing, but rather a ‘not dark enough to be grey’ color that even the minor wealthy can easily have.

Though the material isn’t some rare silk, it isn’t some common linen either, but rather a mix of various cotton species that would be hard to find in this land as it isn’t a land that trades with outsiders often. Both the material and the weave is of strong make that wears well.

In the past I guess you could say that, it was the basic ensemble that I would wear while traveling or adventuring. However going out in full regalia even during an important occasion as the possibility of taking on or refusing an apprentice just felt a bit to overblown to the point of embarrassment considering my identity and the location.

However as a nod to the specialness of the occasion I had around my waist a golden belt indicating my status as grandmaster mage to those who know of the ranks, and on it a large golden bead before the tassel indicating my status as prime wizard or in the slang term ‘hero’ to those unlikely rare few that knew of that.

I also carried in both my hands one of my favorite staffs. I used often because of its great help with light and support affinity but the reason I was holding it now was for appearances sake as it was considered one of my more beautiful staffs. It was that dazzling white color that I mentioned and at the top was a glass orb that was so clear it could said to be near invisible, excepting when the light hit it and then it would absorb, amplify and emit that light.

Yes my staff was rather flashy, which was why it was only one of my favorites rather than my most favorite, but today the flashiness worked for me rather than against me, because all of the dojo students as well a few ‘fan’s and their friends that knew about me after revealing myself last week, were all gathering in front of me and waiting mostly silently for me to speak.

Even the Master was already there and I knew from his smug smile that he had guessed the reason why I was there and was expecting me to firmly and immediately refuse. I had moment of guilt but it was quickly quashed by the idea that I didn’t know for absolute certain that she had agreed yet. So I decided to save my guilt for later when I knew if I deserved it or not.

It wasn’t long before there was a small commotion at the back of the crowd as students and hangerson quickly made way for Vice Master Vanessa as she walked towards me.

She was wearing warrior’s robes that were only slightly less white then my own and black slippers. They were of a fancy style and probably they were what she wore to competitions.

I held my breath, as I waited for that first step she would take in making her choice.

When she was just a few feet in front of me she knelt to the ground and said.

“Great one this lowly one is still awaiting your reply.”

Rank colors:

Apprentice (white)=> intermediate (blue) =>expert(purple)=>master(black)=>grandmaster(silver)=>hero(gold)=>God(combo)

Combo: means that a god can choose their colors, and the choice has to do with their style or personality rather than their skill. For example if one chose white and blue it does not make one of a lower level compared to someone who chose silver and gold.