COMPLETED Remembrance of Self | Fantasy | LGBTQ

Chapter 3 - Part 2

["Alright, I'll leave you at it. I will come back at lunch, and I'll show you around the grounds and grab something to eat in the dinner hall." and with that Master Rwoy left his room.]

"Finally!" he exhaled and plopped on the bed with the book in hand. "Thought he'd never leave." he whispered to himself pouting his lips as something moist jerked at his eye. He had been holding it together by a thread and it took everything he had not to break down with Master Rwoy in front of him. "That jerk, he had to make me think of Regor - didn't he?" he took a deep breath thinking back at the time they spent together. In Haiden's mind it was the very first real connection that he had made with another person. "Creators how I miss him..." he said wiping a few stray tears that managed to break free and pushed the boots off with his feet one at a time. He turned on his side and held the book in front of his face. The first half of the book was full of theory and big words, and the other half had the practical spells. He quickly went to the spells and listed them out loud. "Force blast, Ignition, Frost, Heat cloak..." he remembered seeing people in the skimpy tunic not freezing to death reasoning that this is the spell they might've used and continued. "Object Levitation, Illumination, and the last one...Shielding." after choosing his three spells he went back to the first half and tried to read and understand the big words and heavy theory. It must've passed a few hours until he began grasping the very first concept; that everything was made out of infinitely small objects they called 'motes'.

He looked at his hand seeing only the fine lines, hairs and creases of his pale white skin trying to imagine these motes that built up his whole being. It gave him a slight headache and decided to flip to the next page. Time flew by while he read and practiced compartmentalizing as promised. He didn't even noticed the creeping hunger. A knock on the door snapped him out of a thought that seemed to go in circles. The door opened revealing Master Rwoy's presence.

"So you do know how to knock." Haiden mused and Master Rwoy chuckled. He saw Haiden holding the book up to his nose.

"Enjoying the book?"

"It's...confusing, but it is starting to make sense the more I think about it." he said putting the book down. "Alright, I get that there are these tiny motes, or whatever, that make up you and me, and the...the bed and that door. But, they are hard, the air is..."he waved a hand through the space in front of him. "...nothing."

"Ah, yes the elusive states of matter." Master Rwoy chuckled. Haiden didn't appreciate him mocking him..

"Fine, don't tell me!" he snapped. Master Rwoy just sighed and began explaining.

"Well, matter, is what we call a conglomerate of these motes. Matter has multiple forms like: solid, which makes me and you and the bed and even that door firm. The motes in solids are knitted tightly together making it hard for other objects to pass through. Liquid, which makes the water and blood fluid. It flows, bends and allows solids to pass through them. The motes in this form are loose and malleable. And finally air." he said turning his hand with his palm upwards and slight prickles of static brushed his skin. A slight breeze brushed away from Haiden towards Rwoy, the air becoming sweeter and more enjoyable to breath, he didn't even notice it becoming stale. "The motes are so dispersed that they allow anything to pass freely. Some even say there's a fourth, fire. But that's debatable. Is fire a liquid or just a form of air or something else entirely?" Master Rwoy explained.

"So, are these motes all the same? How come I'm not as hard as iron then?" Haiden asked.

"No, of course not" Master Rwoy's smiled as if he was explaining to a child. Haiden's childlike curiosity and extremely limited knowledge of the natural world gave him an air of innocence that Master Rwoy deemed endearing. He was taking fast to the information if explained correctly, this pleased him immensely. "Iron, has iron motes, of course. Pure elements like iron, gold, and oxygen and hydrogen in the air and water are simple and easy to Wield, there are hundreds of simple elements out there, each having its own special properties. Now, when we look at ourselves, plants, and animals we all have pure elements that combined create more complex materials, like your skin, the wood from that bed frame and the door. The more complex the material, the harder it is to Wield. You will learn, in your second year how hard it is to manipulate your own body, let alone some else's"