Andrew turned to me and stood up, he looked at me silently with an analytical gaze, he kept on looking for a few moments before smiling and he burst out laughing, he laughed cheerfully for a few moments until his laughter subsided leaving me puzzled, noticing my expression he said "Sorry kid, you see here I thought I had three weeks to train a complete beginner but it seems you've been training a lot haven't you?" he said happily to which I nodded. "You'll have to forgive Beth, she's a nice girl but focuses too much on assumptions fueled by her pride, in the end though she's just a big cupcake" he said gesturing to Beth who refused to look anywhere near my direction, I finally took the time to get a good look at her, she was wearing a long-sleeved dark blue top that exposed part of her midriff, and black shorts that stopped around her thighs she wore some thing similar to an apron over them, with many pockets at the sides, aside from her red hair she had clear golden eyes.
Andrew was more different he had golden blond hair with a few brown streaks through it he had a few gray hairs too but they were few and far between, he wore a long-sleeved shirt that was made of a gray material that looked fairly durable, which was paired with a pair of jet black pants made of the same durable material that had a kind of metallic sheen to it, he walked towards the door silently signaling for me to follow, I followed him and left the room with Beth closing the door behind us, we walked into the courtyard and stepped on a large training mat, he stopped at the center and I did the same we faced each other and he sat down cross legged and gestured for me to do the same.
We sat still facing each other, he took in a deep breath and said "Magic is the greatest tool a person can have, it acts as a weapon, a shield or any tool imaginable, a perfect gift from the heavens" he said in a slow practiced manner, "It is a gift passed through generations, and as such I will pass it unto you, are you ready for such a gift?" he said looking straight at me "Yes, I am" I said in mirroring his tone exactly in order not to ruin the ceremony, he placed his hand on my head or more specifically the first mana pool and channeled a bit of his magic into it, my head started to glow a white light before it turned a blazing red and fire erupted from my head spreading to every part of my body, I started panicking, but his calm expression told me this was a part of the process so I let the fire burn freely.
"Sheesh kid that's some fire power I haven't been that much magic during that process in decades" he said, I scratched my head sheepishly and nodded "Fire huh, my natural element is wind, however I think I can still train you in some basic moves, go get two practice swords from the rack" he said and I obliged and got two wooden swords and tossed one to him I got a feel for the weight of the sword by taking a few swings then took a stance he walked over and corrected my stance in some places, he mirrored the stance besides me and took a series of swings gesturing for me to repeat it which I did without fail… okay, not really I tripped over my own foot and fell face first into the surprisingly soft mat, I rolled on to my back rubbing my aching nose and stood up getting back into the stance.
Andrew smiled and mirrored me and performed the strikes again, which I managed to copy this time, he performed a new set of strikes, which I clumsily copied, he took a few steps back and I did the same he closed his eyes chanted "Wind slash bomb", wind gathered and swirled violently around the sword in his hands, he turned and performed a combination of the strikes at a nearby wooden training dummy with every strike the dummy lost a limb and on the final strike the swirling wind exploded and it was reduced to a pile of splinters, he then nodded towards me and I took a step towards another training dummy and focused using my recently unlocked magic only, fire gathered around the wooden sword miraculously not reducing it to ashes.
I performed the swings on the dummy which left only a few charred slashes, I frowned in annoyance and silently placed a bit of my skill flames into the fire on the blade and the fire on the blade roared in response I took a single swing and the dummy exploded violently, the wooden blade I held burned leaving only the hilt and a small part of the actual blade, I looked at the blade and the miniature crater where the ashen remains of the dummy lied in shock, I was expecting a boost but not that big of a boost, the shock on my face was mirrored in that of Andrew's though to a lesser degree, he looked at the remains of the dummy the burnt remains of the sword and lastly to me. He repeated this cycle for a few more moments before he burst out laughing He laughed on for a few minutes before saying "You really are Alex's son" he said before continuing to laugh on.
I stared at him for a while before laughing along with him, mainly due to the fact that this man is either partial to me, an idiot, or completely senile. We laughed together for a while with Beth just looking at us like two power crazed idiots, and maybe we were but we really didn't care. After our little laughing fit we went inside for an early dinner which we ate and talked, Andrew told me that today was mainly for meeting purposes and to unlock my magic and I was to come to his house strictly at sunrise six out of seven days of the week, the off day was up to me tough I still had to check in and inform him.
We idly chatted for a few more minutes before I asked the question on my mind from the beginning "Andrew you said you knew my father, what was he like?" I asked curious, "You don't remember him" he asked surprised "No I do but, I only have memories of him when I was three and it to be honest isn't much" I said slightly downcast, both Andrew and Beth flashed me a look of pity though it was deeper in Beth rather than Andrew, "He was strong, really strong, just like you, he never accepted a promotion for it though, always turning them down no matter who insisted, even the Grand-knight himself for heck's sake" he said reminiscent smile, "He wasn't born with strength not even close, he couldn't even beat a boar when he started out, but then he started training, he trained hard, harder than all of us until he became the best of us, he started with nothing and built a name for himself 'The Quiet Star' a name he well deserved" he said wiping a non-existent tear from his eyes, I mainly asked because I wanted to see if he had a reputation to cash in on though now my selfish intentions just made me feel ashamed.
My father sounded like an amazing person, who gave hope and inspired strength, I'm going to make his name count whether I'm really his son or not doesn't matter I'll become the Grand-knight, no matter what I'll make it happen.
CHAPTER END.