Getting tossed out of the classroom so quickly was odd to Jason. Not to mention James’ cryptic advice. Sighing he looked at his ring. He knew little of such things, that could trap souls and bind then to a ring. He was worried about the ring. He hadn’t told Jason his name, instead wanted to be called Falcon. Jason would follow his advice for now, the ring had saved him after all. But he would be cautious, he didn’t know how much power the ring had, over him, or in general.

Going back to his room he saw Alex sitting on the chair a juggling small ball of fire. Seeing Jason entre he dropped one. There was a small pause while they stared at each other. Then they both jumped at the burning floor. Jason stomped it out while Alex extinguished his other balls.

“Nice one”. Jason told his, while he fetched a glass of water. “Shut up, it’s harder than it looks alright”. Alex snapped back. Jason raised his hands in a calm down gesture.

“And I’m sure it is”. Then Jason realised that he had been juggling more than one ball. “How did you do that?”. He asked quickly. Alex didn’t get what he asked. “What?”.

“How do you have more than one ball of fire?”. Alex looked at him, “Oh, it’s something I learned the other day, most fire people can do it”. Jason was annoyed.

“Whatever, how do you do it, I’ve been trying to do something similar?”. Alex grinned and got up from his chair. “Wait, does the great Jason need my help?”. Jason scowled at him.

“That’s a yes then, I take it?”. Seeing no answer from Jason he smiled. “Ok, I’ll help you, but let’s go somewhere better suited for something like this”. Jason grunted.

They didn’t go to the training fields like Jason thought they would go, but to one of the towers that stood beside the main one. Entering it, the building turned out to be a place for testing new spells and duelling anyone there.

Alex took Jason to a what looked like an archery range. Long tunnel like paths went to the other side of the wall. At the end was not one, but three targets.

“You ready?”. Jason nodded. Alex stood just outside a small wall facing towards the targets. “Firebolt”. He yelled and three small balls of fire streaked across the room and slammed into the targets. Jason was impressed at the result, the targets burned for a few seconds, then went out.

“It’s good right”. Alex told him, “The targets are enchanted will some runes to make them reusable”. Jason looked at him, “Now’s the part where you teach me something”. Alex nodded, “Right”.

“I find it hard to cast multiple at once without the main part of the chant, so use it”. Alex thought and mummed. “You just have to split the flow, like imagine the flow going into each of your fingers, instead of just you palm”. Jason grinned finally getting something.

Switching placed with Alex he looked down the range. Following Alex’s instructions, he opened his mana. Over the weeks the mana started to change. From a storm inside his body to the clear-cut band in his centre. Jason made a flow of mana to his hand, and thanks to his mana manipulation lessons with the ring he could split the flow into two, to him it looked like the branching of a river, making its way down his arm.

“Volt Wyrm”. He didn’t think he would have to say the words, but he did. The small bolts bust out of his palm and rushed towards the target. Jason couldn’t quite do it correctly, and it showed. The two bolts of lightning were unbalanced.

They didn’t reach the targets, running into each other half-way down the range. Jason frowned while Alex laughed. The ring spoke to him.

Spilt the mana like this. Jason felt his mana rush down his arm, pulled out of his control. He gasped at the felling. This time the seven lightning bolts hasty dashed across the room. The bolts were different from his normal ones. The form of the Wyrms were more physical and slammed into the targets and bit into in of them before exploding.

The explosion drew the eyes of several others using the target range. Alex gulped, “You seemed to have got it”.

James didn’t answer, he was intently looking at the ring. It had taken control of his mana. No message was heard from the ring. Jason reminded himself to have a longer talk with the ring. But now with everyone looking interested, it was not the time to be taking to a ring.

He glanced at the targets, and what he saw was odd. The part of the stone head that the Wyrm had bitten into was still there. Alex looked to see what Jason was looking at and saw it as well.

“What?”. The reaction was mirrored with the others that had gathered around them.

“I challenge you”. A voice from the crowd was heard. Jason looked for the source. The crowd parted for an older boy, with brown hair. He had been hidden in the crowd because of his height, but now Jason could see him.

“You can’t, he’s a first year, Leo”. Alex told the second-year mage. He was clearly a fire mage like Alex, Jason had little idea what a challenge was and asked Alex. “It’s a non-lethal fight between two mages, in SECOND year or up, not first”. Alex glared at Leo, who shrugged.

“Why do you want to challenge me?”. Jason was only a first year, so he unsure why a second year would fight someone who was beneath them. Leo pointed to the target with a chunk missing.

“You know what it normally takes to do something like that?”. Jason shook his head. “At least a second level spell. The only spell I know that could do that is Fireball”. Murmurs could be heard from the crowd.

“Fine”. Jason didn’t a problem fighting a second year and wanted to test his new strength. Leo led them into a small arena. Alex went to the viewing area which had rapidly filled up at the news of a duel.

Just before the fight began, Jason realised what he was in for. He had no weapons except his magic, which he was not used to only relying on in a fight. Leo was a second year and definitely had more experience at fighting with magic. Jason was the opposite; he was used to fighting with his fists and not magic.

“Ok, so you know this room is enchanted with healing and pain reduction, but no third level spell please”. A referee called from the sidelines; he held a strange plate in his hands. It was a remote to control the runes in the room, “Begin” he yelled, and the fight was on.

Leo waited; he was not going to make the first move. He wanted to test Jason. Jason, on the other hand was suddenly wanting the fight to be over. But a glance at the viewing box ended that thought. Somehow, the girls had heard and come. His heart started to race.

“Fire bolt”. Leo had given up on waiting. The small ball of fire came towards Jason, he jumped aside. While fire was powerful, it moved slower then lightning. Jason raised his ringed hand up to his mouth and whispered. “You got me into this mess, help me out”.

You could just think to talk to me, just project your thoughts towards me. Jason dodged another ball of fire. “Later, help me first”. He jumped late and the ball burnt his hair. It was not the time for conversations. Jason shot of a shadow binding towards Leo, who finally moved. Jumping out of the way. “Come ON”. Jason shouted at both Leo and the ring.

Fine, after casting this spell, dip your hands into your shadow. Jason looked down. His shadow was pointing away from him and towards Leo, perfect.

Darkness bless me with your strength, armour me so I can vanquish my foes, Shadow Bracers. Jason run forward chanting the spell, keeping low to dodge another fire bolt. He lowered his hands into his shadow. It felt odd, like water, but more solid.

He was close to Leo, who had a frantic look on his face. Leo pointed his hands at Jason and yelled out. “Fireball”. Jason reacted on instinct. He pushed his hand through the still forming fire and grabbed his wrists. The Fireball bellowed and exploded. The room was almost completely covered in the flames.

The referee franticly tapped at his remote and the fire disappeared. The sight before the viewers was a good one. Jason stood while Leo had been smashed into the ground following his Fireball. Jason’s arms were covered from his hands up to his elbows in obsidian black material. The oddest part was his hands, the armour covered his fingers and stretched out, forming claws. This was the answer for the cuts and scratches around Leos hands and neck.

As if he knew what they were thinking off, the bracers slid apart and drifted back into his shadow. Jason collapsed onto the floor, the fight was over, and he had one. He was injured, his back had suffered burns from the Fireball reflecting of the roof. The wounds were already healing, thanks to the enchantments on the room.

Leo would not get up for a while, Jason had hit him into the ground harder than he meant too. Several of the viewers made their way over to them. Most of them patted him on the back, some slipped him some coins. Alex pulled him away and out of the tower.

“Dam. Jason good work”. Jason nodded. He felt strangely empty at the quick fight, he wanted to be tested, to fight with every last breath. He thought of what his father had once told him.

“There are some people, warriors, who get addicted to the rush of battle. Don’t be one. If you ever think you are becoming one, go to the nearest tavern and buy a drink”.

“Hey, Alex”. He glanced back at Jason, “Can we get a drink?”. Alex frowned and nodded. “I mean yes, but I have an essay due in two days”. Jason had an idea. “Why not do it at the tavern?”. Alex nodded and thought. “I’ll help as well”.

They found a table easily; it was early in the afternoon after all. Some light drinks were purchased. They sat in the corner. The soft music of a bard filled the nearly empty room. Alex got to work on his essay and Jason thought about his ring.

Yes. The ring answered, Jason had just tried to focus his thoughts on the ring. “How did you get in this ring; it was in my family for a long time” “I… well…” “You’re not my grandfather, are you?”. “No, but I did guide his like I did to you”. “What when?”. “The dream or vision that I gave you, so you can cast the light spell”. “Oh, that was you?” “Yes”. “I have a question” “I see”. “Why do you know the long chant of that spell and the school does not, not to mention why was there a book in the safe, which also had the correct spell in it?”. The ring didn’t answer, then. “I am old, over the years chants get lost, in translation or misheard. That’s what happened”.

Jason hummed. He was about to ask another question when Alex asked him one. Quickly answering him he went back to the ring. But the ring asked him something first.

“What is your mother’s name?”. “What?”. Jason was unsure why the ring would want to know who his mother was. “I don’t know”. “What, why not?”. Jason sighed. “It’s because of my father, he refuses to tell me anything about her. But when he gets back, he said he’ll tell me”. The ring seemed only half satisfied with the answer.

“Ok, now time for the next stage in your mana manipulation”. Jason gulped, he looked around the slowly filling tavern. “Here, right now?”. A pause. “I forgot where you were, maybe when we get back”. Jason smiled, “How could you forget where I was” “I don’t have any eyes remember”. The conversation was broken by someone coming up to them.

It was the bard. He bowed in greeting, sweeping his fancy hat off his head. “Hello, might I ask whether the two of you can hold a beat? I need one for the next song”. Alex was still finishing his essay, and as Jason looked around at the now filled tavern. He saw the patrons were all waiting for his answer.

“Yes, I can hold a simple beat”. The bard smiled and pulled Jason to his feet. “Marvellous, wonderful. Come up here please”. He took Jason up onto a small elevated area. “So, the beat goes like this”. As the bard started stamping on the ground Jason looked around. There on the ground was a harp.

The bard started playing his lute and Jason beat his feet to the rhythm. A haze soon fell over Jason, it was almost like he was meditating. He relaxed. His mana rushed into the circle band in his centre. But the music and the hard day made him relax. His mana flowed gently out of him and into his feet.

The mana started off flowing slowly, but the more he did the beat, the more flowed into his feet. The mana gathered there before being released. It flowed out of Jason and into the floor. The mana was in control of him. He reached out and to the audiences surprise started playing the harp near him.

He felt odd when he played it. As if his body was small. But he adjusted. Soon the music began flowing like mana. The bard caught on and played with Jason. The music pulled on Jason and he let it go. The mana flowing into the music.

The affect was slow. The audience fell under Jason spell. He held them in the palm of his hand, just how the music held him. The mana in the air changed, it copied Jason’s mana. His music was mythical, almost too complicated to hear. The ground vibrated with every stomp, and the air moved with every pluck.

Jason felt like he was drifting off to sleep, and the more the feeling came, the better the music was. The music was using his mana. He let it. The ground rumbled and the air thrummed with his mana. The bard tapped him, and like a waterfall crashed onto his head he stopped playing. It was like the audience was waking from a long sleep. Then they all stood and applauded. Jason just stared at his aching fingers and sore feet.

“A gift given, for a gift received”.