feat. Esi
Lilie’s letter, addressed from the student director and informing her of a mild schedule change for that night with instructions to leave all her belongings behind, led her out past the normal bounds of the school and down a well lit path through the forest. The sound of ocean waves lapping at the base of the cliffside Lilie’s path followed. Only the periodic greeting from a passing guard, the crunch of her footsteps on leaves, and the squeaking of a bat were the only other noises breaking the steady whispering of the ocean. The path wrapped around to the end of the cliff and stopped at the top of a slippery set of stairs carved into the cliffside. A handrail followed the stairs down and stopped as the stairs met the sand, cooling rapidly in the night air. A crescent moon shone brightly above but a few torches set into the cliff helped illuminate the small beach. The letter’s instructions told Lilie to wait for her instructor at the edge of the water, shoes off and feet submerged. The water here swirled oddly and seemed to ignore the gently waves further out.
Part of her felt like it was an elaborate treasure hunt or some kind of secret passage, or at least that was how she felt as she went down the path. At first going alone made her feel incredibly uneasy, but as soon as she saw the beach, she visibly relaxed. She paused for a moment just to admire the scenery, taking her time and taking off her shoes slowly. She had always been to the beach during the day, but there was something about seeing it at night that felt a little more mystical. Or something, it was hard for her to describe.
Approaching the water slowly, Lilie looked around for the instructor. Funny, she could have sworn that the letter said to be here. Dipping her toes into the water, she let the weird feeling of the warm sand underwater shift under her feet. She watched the swirling of the water with a small frown on her face. It reminded her a little of a whirlpool--maybe she should be careful, the last thing she wanted was to get pulled into the current.
Nothing happened for a few seconds until the water pulled away from Lilie for a moment, returning to swirl at her feet once more. The water in front of the mage rose in thin strands, moonlight and torch light glittering along them as they wound themselves into each other and formed a humanoid shape. A complex pattern peppered itself across the center of the water, several tiered circles with archaic writing inside each level, but another layer of water covered it and darkened significantly. As more water rose to meet it, the mass became more and more human looking with details etching themselves into the colorless shape until it all fell away and a naked woman stood in the water. Her hair was let loose, wild and curled as she appraised Lilie with striking green eyes. She blinked, frowned, and let out an exasperated sigh as she made a gesture with her hand and more water rose to wrap itself around her, a swim suit forming much like she had.
“Sorry to make you wait, darling! A calf got separated from its family while I was on my way here so I had to help it find its way. Lilie, right? Aren’t you a pretty sight for salty eyes.” The woman explained.
“I’ll be your Affinity instructor for the next few years so hopefully we’ll get along. My name is Esi. Don’t bother with the proper titles or anything. We’ll be spending too much time in the water for that nonsense.”Lilie should have probably had a little more tact, but she had been so distracted by watching the entire process that she didn't realize that she was essentially staring at the naked woman until she had sighed, at which point the girl's face turned red as she looked away. She snapped to attention as she was spoken to, grateful that a swimsuit had given her some modesty.
"Um, thank you!" She blushed as she nodded, though her excitement came back.
"It's nice to meet you! I'm really, really looking forward to learning from you!"“Good! Eager students are such a pleasure to teach. So a few questions before we start with some basic stuff. I’ve read your file but I like to hear it from the horse’s mouth so to speak. Firstly and most importantly, do you know how to swim? It’s an important skill for a water mage; your magic can get you out of a lot of tricky situations but never rely on it 100 percent.” Esi walked along the surface of the water, letting herself sink ankle deep once she reached Lilie.
“And I believe I saw a mention of an early magical incident? Tell me about that.”Lilie watched Esi walk on the water, her excitement spiking considerably, though it all came crashing down once she had asked about an 'incident'. For a split second, she was a little confused, but there was really only one thing that could be referred to as that. Her gaze dropped for a moment, contemplating, but if she had a file, then it was bound to get out sooner or later.
"Yeah, I know how to swim," She decided to answer that first, a small smile on her face as she remembered going to the river with her brother and his friends. The smile faded as she hesitated again, though after taking a long breath, she slowly spoke.
"And the incident was...um, right before my birthday. There really aren't mages at all where I'm from; the Awakening ceremony is kinda like a boring assembly to us since it never lights up but everyone had to do it anyway. So mine was supposed to be the next day, but uh…"She scratched her cheek, wondering if she should explain the entire situation. Then again, most of it wasn't even related and admittedly just high school drama, so she decided to spare her the details and stick to the magical part.
"There was a fight between my two best friends, and then I got into it, and I remember getting really mad, and uh…" She waved her hands around as she tried to explain herself.
"Well, sorry, I'm not making a lot of sense. I'll try that again."Clearing her throat, she tried not to get too into detail, thinking that Esi was more interested in the magical aspect.
"So, there's this old quarry close to the dam that people like to hang out by. My two friends had been arguing for a while because of...my ex-boyfriend," She slowly explained.
"It's a long story, but basically I heard from one of them that they were going to confront one another, so then I went, and then there was a fight that ensued. I got really mad because the whole thing was so stupid and I couldn't believe they'd let some guy get in the way of our friendship--anyway, so...there's these water towers that go along the dam, and apparently I somehow yanked one right off and it fell on the dam and then it broke and everything just...got bad." She dropped her arms, lowering her gaze again.
“That does sound like a predicament." Esi said sympathetically but she shook her head with a half smile.
"But it happened and we can't change that. What we can change is your capacity to ensure it never happens again!" Esi made her way next to Lilie, looking out over the ocean. The breeze swept low around the cliffs and caught the pair as they stood.
"What is important for a water mage is to learn to accept and direct her emotions. Water flows and changes, swirling around with no need for help and reacting to even the smallest changes. Our magic mirrors that and reacts to the smallest change in our emotional state. Whenever we use magic, we have to consider those feelings." Esi explained as a stream of water flowed up from the ocean and pooled in her hand.
"Our first exercise is very similar to your exercises in the classroom. Calling water takes little energy and works like a current. So even if you are upset or frustrated or excited, your magic will move past it like a pebble in a stream. All it takes is letting your magic flow into the water and calling it back. It's harder with moving water so try it with the pool on my hand."Was this a bad time to admit she was trying to bottle everything up? Probably. Lilie bit her lower lip as she looked at the water, clearing her throat as she nodded. She probably should have mentioned the initial difficulty she had with the awakening crystal, but if she could overcome that, she could do this, right? Right. Maybe. Hopefully. She did admit, however, that Esi’s explanation did give an explanation: if water was easy to pull, then that’s probably how she managed to get to much of it at a time.
“Okay!” She psyched herself up, encouraged by Esi’s words as moved her fingertips in anticipation. There was a tiny pause of last-second hesitation before she mentally pushed herself, remembering Kanalie’s advice. She seemed a little frightened as she made her first attempt to pull the water to her, slightly bracing herself. There was the tiniest reaction, the smallest drip of water popping up, much to her delight. Oh, come on, she could do better than that!
“Um… that...that didn’t count,” Lilie muttered, shaking her head as she took in a deep breath. It was just water. No one was going to drown, no one was going to get hurt. She had been looking forward to this, and now that it was in front of her, she was chickening out! Riling herself up, she took the opposite approach, widening her stance slightly as she narrowed her eyes. Pull, happy thoughts, focus on it, and then just do it.
Lilie’s second attempt was more visible, and the girl froze in disbelief. For some reason, despite knowing she
could do it (and having done it to disastrous results prior) actually
seeing it completely blew her mind. The shock caused her to drop whatever she had pulled, the water dropping into the ocean, but the young girl’s grin was so wide anyone would’ve thought she had perfected it on her first try.
“Wow…! Sorry, I know that’s not even a lot,” She apologized as she caught herself, giving a giddly giggle as she hopped in place for a second.
"You just did magic! Be excited!" Esi responded in kind, beaming back at the girl.
"It'll take time, just like building up your strength or your endurance. We repeat this until you do it without a second thought and then we keep moving up and up and up until finally…" with a flick of her wrist water appeared from the air itself, settling itself in the shape of a crown on Lilie's head.
"You'll be doing this in no time. By the end of the semester, we should have you pulling water from active bodies or, if you really push yourself, maybe even holding it in small shapes. Ready to give it another try?" The crown lept into Esi's hand, turning into a still pool after the overflow ran over.
Encouraged by Esi's matching enthusiasm, Lilie nodded feverishly. The feeling of
magic was unlike anything she could even try to describe, taking a second to stare at her own hands. After a few seconds she gave the water her full attention again, eyebrows furrowed as she concentrated. No need to be scared, it was just water. She repeated her own motion from before, but she didn't stop as she watched it move.
She was actually doing that! Gaining a sudden burst of confidence surging her excitement, Lilie pulled what she thought was more, only for a majority of it sent flying somewhere over her head. Lilie froze again, the drops coming down until they splashed on top of her head, as if punishing her.
"...I feel like getting too excited seems to be a problem that keeps popping up for me," Lilie told Esi nonchalantly, ignoring her dripping bangs.
Esi let out a loud laugh at the display, dropping what little remained.
“Well, at least you don’t struggle for lack of that. Lots of students do, between the new nightlife and regular feedings, and they struggle to do much more than wiggle some water until they adjust. It’s better to have more than less in this situation.” Esi grinned, pulling the water off Lilie and flicking it back into the ocean.
“And even if you do get a little more than you thought, don’t let it go. Keeping moving until you can put it back where you got it. It doesn’t matter here but when you start calling large bodies, you could do a lot of damage suddenly dropping half a river on something.”“Why don’t we try this. Let’s close the distance and make it follow you instead.” Esi suggested, refreshing her pool and dipping her fingers in it. After a moment, she drew her hand back slowly and the water reached out to meet her, five little tendrils following her fingers as she moved.
“When you dip your fingertips in, let your magic flow just like before and keep that going as you move your hand away. Even if you take too much, keep pulling until you put it in your hand or the ocean.”Dropping a river?! Lilie's jaw dropped at the thought, her fingers lightly touching her head. She was amazed that her hair was completely dry, but equally horrified at the possibility of using that much water. She frowned at the thought, crossing her arms for a moment. Well, that wasn't really a
bad thing, was it? If she was the one in control, anyway. The idea wasn't as frightening as she thought, though she couldn't really picture it. Not yet, anyway, but it was certainly a tempting goal.
She shuffled closer to Esi, watching her movement. The woman was so graceful, the water following her obediently. Once Esi invited her to try again, Lilie nodded, cautiously dipping her fingers in. Too much was okay, she just had to keep pulling. Mimicking Esi's movement, Lilie concentrated, pulling the water along slowly. For a moment she was once again amazed that it just listened as she pulled it along, the water wavering slightly. Focus, focus, focus--she took a step back, her other hand outstretched as if she thought she could catch any water that fell. The movement was nowhere near as swift or smooth as Esi's, though Lilie was trying to concentrate fully. It was a lot harder than she thought it would be, finding that while it certainly didn't look like much, pulling it all out of Esi's hand took more effort than expected.
But she was still having a blast, letting out a slight yell as she dropped it instead of gathering it into her hands.
"Oops," She giggled, wringing her hands.
"I kinda forgot I was supposed to keep concentrating, I thought it would just...do it by itself. Can I try again?"There were a few more tries after that, with Esi patiently pooling the water every time she was asked. Lilie's attempts became somewhat consistent, even if they usually ended the same way, but she was having too much fun to be concerned. Truthfully, she had been too nervous to try before, but now that she had someone looking over her shoulder, she felt much more comfortable with it. She was definitely more relaxed, if slightly wound, but she put every ounce of effort she had into it, repeating the movements and remembering the feeling.
"I think...I'm getting the hang of it--" She muttered, eyes narrowing as she carefully pulled the last of the water out of Esi's hand. She held her breath as she watched the water, leaning back slightly as she gathered it again. Holding it still felt like it was more work than keeping it moving, the pool in her hands seeming more like a wobbly blob than anything. She somehow assumed holding it with two hands would be easier, but it didn't seem to help.
“Look at what you can do when you set your mind to it!” Esi cheered, pulling the water back and depositing it into the ocean once more. The mage took a few steps deeper into the water, sitting down in the water.
“We can try some more in a moment but for now, come and sit with me. There is a fun little exercise that you can do in almost any body of water that’ll help relax your magic. I always recommend at least a swimming pool but it can be done in something as small as a glass of water. But before we send ourselves out into the depths, why don’t you tell me a little of what you want out of magic?”Lilie looked down at Esi for a second, wishing she had thought to wear a swimsuit, too. She took a second to tie her blouse more closely to her and rolled up her sleeves, carefully following Esi's lead and taking a seat across from her. At her question she frowned slightly, a little unsure. What did she want out of magic?
"...I don't know," She said slowly, shrugging.
"I mean, I didn't even know I could do magic, so it's not really something I gave a lot of thought to. But I like learning about it! And actually getting to do it is really cool."“It is.” Esi chuckled at her enthusiasm.
“Magic allows us to be greater than what we ever envisioned for ourselves. While you’re here with us, keep that question in mind. There will always be more to learn, more to experience, but without direction, you may find yourself pulled beneath the waves.” Esi rolled her shoulders and stretched before putting her hands back in the water.
“Now onto our lesson. If you recall, I mentioned that water mages are most at risk of emotional interference in their magic. There will be times you can’t help it, when everything is so overwhelming that it may burst without your will or completely shut down no matter how much you work at it. Luckily, we have an easy way to collect ourselves.” Esi’s eyes closed and she relaxed a little more into the water.
“Just like with calling water, send your magic out into the ocean. But not just some of it. Cast out all of it. Cast all of your magic into the water and then follow it with your mind, like a string in a maze. Follow it and then just relax. Don’t try to do anything, just float. Once you’ve reached that, nothing from above will reach you. No noise, no pressure, no worry. The water doesn’t expect you to perform, doesn’t make demands, doesn’t hurt you. Its safe and serene, the perfect place to relax and unwind if even for a moment.” Esi went still after that but a familiar presence brushed against Lilie’s magic and then slowly floated out to sea, Esi’s voice echoing beneath the water.
The ruined dam was proof enough of what Esi said, but Lilie nodded in understanding. She was eager to put a cap on things, straightening up as she listened carefully. It sounded really nice, letting herself just go with the flow. She looked down at the waves gently lapping around them, taking a second just to appreciate the scenery. She’d be lying if she said she didn’t miss the morning sky, but the night had a way of being weirdly soothing.
Shifting slightly in her seat and patting her clothes down again, Lilie closed her eyes as she took in a deep breath. Relax. She can do that. She can relax. The water felt nice, the air was crisp and inviting, and it was just her and Esi on the beach. Breathing in the salty air, she wasn’t entirely sure if she was doing it right, but she did feel relaxed. No noise, no pressure, no worries.
It was a weird but not entirely foreign feeling. Actually, for some reason it felt familiar. It was like being underwater with her facing the surface, the warmth of the sun on her. If she opened her eyes, she could see the blue sky above her. She wasn’t drowning, somehow, but she could feel the water around her, aware of every drop moving in unison. Just floating around and letting the current pull her away. Everything was clear and calming, but at the same time she felt like she needed to go up and break the surface. She felt like she could reach up and take the hand reaching out towards her--
Lilie jerked in place as she gasped, arms raised as her eyes shot open in surprise. Her heart was racing in her chest, only soothed when she looked around and confirmed that she was on the beach with Esi. Was that a memory? No, it couldn’t be. At least, she thought so? Running her hands over her face, she inhaled deeply as she shook her head. Man, that was
weird.
“Feels like you could just get lost in the water doing that,” She murmured, rubbing her eyes.
“The comfort of being part of something larger than yourself, of being greater than the sum of the whole and existing in perfect unity, content in the knowledge that you have purpose along with those around you is a siren song that little can compare to.” Esi spoke wistfully as she stared out over the ocean.
“Water always returns to the greater whole, never alone or stranded for long. In water, we find a reflection of what we should be for ourselves and what we should be to those around us. In water, we learn that change is an inevitability and rather than fighting such a change we should accept it. In water, we learn that everything is at once in conflict and harmony with itself and each other and that is the way of life.” “It is important for your development that you understand the fundamental truths of our element. That something can be at peace and war all at once. That change is inevitable and all we can do is learn to adapt to it. That we are never alone and even if we feel that we are, we all return to one another eventually. Sometimes we just need to see beneath the surface of those around us to understand.” Esi sighed, running her hands through the water for a few reflective moments.
“As you learn these, through introspection or experience, you will see your affinity grow in leaps and bounds. Ah but enough of this woman rambling. How do you feel now? The water does make everything seem a little easier, no?”Lilie stared at Esi with wide eyes, her gaze slowly turning to the ocean as she listened. Her lips parted in awe for a moment, though her expression turned solemn for a second. Esi was right, accepting change would make things a lot easier. And despite feeling that too many things have changed, going along really was for the best. It sounded silly, but she felt oddly enlightened, the previous unease deep in her heart assuaged.
"It does," Lilie admitted as she looked back at Esi.
"I feel like...like things will be okay if you don't fight the current." As bad as the water pun was, she felt it was good timing.
"Water does have that mysterious aura. I guess I underestimated it a little!" "It's easy to do." Esi said simply as she turned her attention from the ocean to Lilie.
"Now, we'll work on calling for the rest of the lesson and then I'll get you dried off before our lesson this week end, okay?" Esi scooped up water and held it out for Lilie to start their calling exercise anew.
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