Aaron froze. He icily eyed Max, secretly calling his identity into question. Watching Liliana easily accept Max's gesture, Aaron felt immense displeasure and irritation. He couldn't stand Max's familiarity with the girl he was pursuing.
"I haven't seen you before."
Max indifferently replied, "Yeah, I'm new in town."
Charlene and Liliana both looked at Max with an expression that screamed: 'what are you doing?!'
Aaron gracefully smiled while sporting an expression that seemed to say, 'I see.' Glancing at Liliana, he gave her a light nod. "If I can't convince you, then so be it. Another time perhaps." He said and left without another look.
At a distance, away from Liliana and Max, Aaron's expression was as dark as it could be. He softly ordered one of his followers, "Find out who he is and where he's staying. And tell me when he arrived at MY village."
"Right now?"
"Yes!"
Eager to please the future chief, two of his so called friends immediately left the pack to hunt for answers.
Done with her daily chores, Liliana quickly rushed home to continue her practice of fundamental magic. Max had always been curious about it and quietly found a corner for himself, deciding to stay and watch.
With a perfectly round, but ordinary looking pebble in her arm, Liliana stretched out the other with her eyes closed. Max felt a hint of excitement, waiting with bated breath for some sort of magical change to occur. The only thing close to magic he had seen so far was the exploding talisman that had nearly taken his life. Seconds of waiting produced nothing, and Max clicked his tongue with disappointment as the anticipated miracle never materialized. Feeling cheated, he snapped, "What's this? Weren't you going to practice magic? Nothing happened!" To which Liliana calmly replied, "Magic isn't just about spells and fancy movements. It's also about the control of your mental energy. If I have shabby control, the spell will end up backfiring when cast. I was practicing my control right now."
"But since you want to see a spell, I'll show you a simple one." Liliana continued, "Look carefully."
Holding on to the rock with one hand while forming a fist with the other, she took a deep breath. She slowly revealed a small flame burning silently in the center of her palm. Max looked at the feeble flame in surprise.
"What do you think?" Liliana asked.
"It's tiny." It felt like a parlor trick that most street magicians on Earth could pull off.
Liliana's lips twitched in slight irritation. What's with that dull response? She gently smacked Max on the head and exasperatedly said, "Of course it's tiny. What did you expect?! Do you want me to burn the whole place down?"
Max awkwardly rubbed his head and chuckled. He patiently sat through her explanation.
"Look... Even though it was just an ordinary flame, it was produced by channeling my energy and giving the mana in the air form. It doesn't need wood or fuel to burn. As long as I have mental energy, it will continue to exist without end. Get it now, genius?"
"So what's the point of the rock in your hand?"
"This isn't an ordinary rock. It's a special type of artifact that helps the user cast spells more easily. It improves the channeling of mental energy."
Max nodded his head in understanding. "So, I've been meaning to ask for a while now. Why are we still here?"
"What do you mean?"
YOU ARE READING
The Envoy of Darkness
Fantasy"Everyone loves a good fantasy, but my life was turned upside down by one." What would you do if you had the ability to control the air? How about if you were suddenly brought to a world where, despite your powers, you're at the bottom of the food c...
