Ersia: Raven Dawn

"Then, at least, can you teach me some things about magic so I can live a little bit longer?"

Viena pleads with the most humbleness. Her eyes are of those who are hanging on a thread, and Randia's answer is the wind that could make her fall, or fly her into a better place. He knew this very well and decided to try and be the latter one.

Randia stands up and takes some twigs off the oak tree. He carved out a bowl from its bark and put most of the twigs in it before carefully burning them to ashes. He mixed the ashes with water while intricately making a dip pen out of the last twig.

"One should read to keep their fear at bay, and write to make it perish."

"U-Um . . . You might find this really annoying, but actually, I can't read. So, yeah, I can't write also."

"You can't read? Then how did you find me?"

"I asked the innkeeper! I was willing to pay for it also, but he gave my coin back for some reason."

Randia isn't sure how to feel. He is both amazed and frustrated. He cannot comprehend why would Viena be so wasteful, but on the other side, he is quite impressed by her quick thinking and decision-making.

"Very well. It doesn't have to be in writing."

The man gave the little girl the papers and the self-made stationery before sitting back on the ground.

"In its general principle that is mostly adopted in Seraina Continent, magic is divided into four. Green-Velda, Red-Mera, White-Alna, and Black-Yarna."

Randia starts his lecture. His legs are crossed, and his back is straight like a castle pillar. His eyes were deadly serious, as he was fully aware of the responsibility that he had to bear for every word that came out of his mouth.

"Velda is magic that manipulates the functions and body parts of living things, their physiology and morphology. As with the food you ate last night to treat your pain, there are various methods of application of green magic. It can do many things, for example ...."

Randia gathered magical energy in his hands and placed his right palm on the ground. After a while, the grass around him grew tall until it was almost as high as his chest. The grass enclosed the two of them in a circle.

"Wow! That is so cool!" Viena clapped her hands happily. Her eyes twinkled like puddles after rain.

"While Velda toys with the state of living things, Mera is magic that utilizes the basic elements of nature as its manifestation. This kind of magic is relatively dangerous because it vastly opens the possibility of uncountable combinations of destructive force. it's easy for Mera incantation to injure others or even the caster themselves."

While Viena draws her imagination on the paper, Randia creates a small fire on his right index, swirling water on his thumb, and a whirling wind on his pinkie. The three elements emerged from nothingness and came into being right before her.

"This is my third time seeing this, but is it really not hot?"

"The power of red magic depends on the manipulation form of the magic itself, and also, the most important thing - the intended will of the caster. Go on and try to touch it."

Randia brought his fire closer to Viena. The little girl slowly brought her finger closer to the fire. There was a hint of hesitation on her face, but it was nothing in the face of her curiosity that ran even deeper. Hence, she proceeds to touch the fire.

"Ooh, how funny! It isn't hot at all! Not even warm!"

"That's because I don't want you to get hurt. There will be a whole different story if you have a Mera being hurled at you with killing intent."

Viena put her hand to work while tilting her head left and right. She made sure to draw and remember carefully what Randia was teaching him.

"What about the other two magics?"

"White magic is mental magic and mysticism. It's the kind of magic that I personally think of as the most difficult to master. Only a handful of people can use them properly."

The little girl raised her eyebrows in confusion. Since white magic was intangible, abstract, and had no shape that could be discerned by the five senses, Viena couldn't understand what Randia was talking about.

"Can't you show me an example?"

"I can. But do you think you can take it?"

"Well, we'll never know unless we try, right?" Viena answered with extremely optimistic eyes.

Randia held Viena's small hands gently and his gaze is sharp. He is worried about the effect of the magic that he is about to perform. However, he could not refuse the request of the red eyes and the grin. Not with the burning curiosity that they had in them.

"Stop grinning and focus.

"Alright alright!"

"And stop tapping your toes also."

"But I'm excited!"

"Shut up and do what I say, otherwise we'll stop here."

Viena puffed her cheek and stuck out her tongue, mocking Randia. However, in the end, she did what he told her to do.

"I'll start on the count of three. Calm your mind as best as you can."

Viena took a deep breath in through her nose and let it out through her mouth slowly. Her mind tried to keep it as calm and clear as possible. Yet in spite of her efforts, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't completely erase her excitement.

"One . . . Two . . . Three."

A surge of magic entered her mind for only a mere seconds, but Viena's head already felt like it was going to explode. She feels like something has interrupted her mind. Her thought process is forcibly disrupted and there is something reacting all over her body.

She turns petrified and not a single muscle on her body listens to her. Her eyes opened wide, and her pupils shook as she stared at Randia's.

"T-h-i-s i-s t-e-l-e-p-a-t-h-y ... path ... thy ...."

The red-eyed girl suddenly heard a voice inside her head. The voice was similar to Randia's but quite unclear due to a noisy stinging sound and its reverberation. After conveying his intent and message, the man undid his magic.

"Ack."

Viena, who had been squeezing Randia's hand so tightly, wanted to speak. She tried to move his stiff mouth up and down.

"Stay still. Don't talk and don't move."

Randia immediately held Viena's cheek and wiped the blood that was coming out of her nose with his hand. There is a certain injury in the little girl's nasal system that couldn't be seen from the outside even though Randia already tried his best to be as careful as possible. Hence, the man immediately took his drinking bottle and cast a magic spell on it.

"Zhin ahru Nahra."

"Drink. But no more than two sips."

The great hero poured the contents of the bottle into Viena's stiff mouth. Luckily, the muscles of her esophagus are still able to slowly swallow the water.

After a while, Viena slowly bursts into tears. Even though she held back some of them in the name of the pride that she tried hard to maintain, her sobbing chest couldn't hide her true feelings. Now she understands that magic is not something to be taken lightly.