In Part 3 (Ch. 18-25), our narrator became more comfortable with what she is, now that she knows it. She’s still not ready to fight to survive, but she’s ready to learn how, even if that means telling other people.
We were actually quite short on time, so Jess and I didn’t get to see much more of Rich Creek. I did get to ask about the cold building: they have something called an “ice house” for storing things like we use refrigerators for in Blacksburg. Refrigerators in Blacksburg usually use ice magic, although I learned in my technology class that there’s a fancy non-magic version, too, but the first requires a Mage or Wizard to recharge and the second requires constant electricity and costly maintenance if something goes wrong. Since Rich Creek doesn’t have anyone to do either of those roles, they use whatever ice magic they have to freeze normal water, which then keeps everything else in the building cold.
I’m not sure if I should tell Hikari that she’s Dynamic. Seeing where she lives, it probably wouldn’t change much for her. Maybe I could if we meet outside of town again.
Last week was exams for the high schoolers, which is probably why we were doing less in terms of learning stuff for the last two weeks of combat class. That’s not to say we didn’t have tests in middle school, but they’re a lot less intense, I think. Today promises to be more interesting. Not that I haven’t been learning anything, but I also haven’t really worked on anything aside from exercising. Maybe I’ll be able to keep up with Jess one day. She has to be fit if she wants to be a scout, and, well, I don’t want to fight, but I don’t really have much choice in the matter.
After Mr. Manning made the class do warm-ups, he started his subject-of-the-day announcement. “Today is skill training! Those with weapons, grab them and pair up! I’ve got the blunting wands in my bag.”
“Blunting wands?” I can’t help but ask.
“Creation,” he answers. “It makes a blunt surface over any sharp edges. We try not to bludgeon each other, but that’s still better than tearing each other to ribbons.” While he’s saying this, other students have already started making use of the wands: I can see the curved covers over the blades, giving them an appearance of a stained-glass sheath.
I nod. “And me?”
“You’re with me today. I’ll call others over if I need it, but you’d have to be naturally good for that to be likely.”
I blink. “At what? Fencing?” I really hope not.
He laughs. “Not today. If you want a weapon, it would have to be a physical one, since a created one would just disappear as soon as someone handed it to you. No, today, we’re training that sensing ability you showed off last time. How good are you at dodgeball?”
That came out of nowhere. I think for a bit. “Pretty good? Maybe? I can’t throw very hard but I can dodge and catch alright.” When I’m not tired from the previous round, anyway.
Mr. Manning nods, and then a translucent green ball about four inches across appears in his hand. “Can you sense this?”
“I can sense heat.”
“Sure, but I talked it over with Crane. Creation magic doesn’t make normal physical objects, and your senses might not work right.”
I frown and concentrate specifically on the ball, and… it’s kind of like when my friends are using fire magic. I probably should have noticed it earlier, honestly. The colors are constantly changing, swirling, and – oh. When I lose my focus on it, the average heat of the ball is about that of the air around Coach’s hand. The ball is practically invisible. But… I’ve read plenty of spells in the Mymoir. Is there one for highlighting created objects?
That’s a light spell. And that one is mass. … I might have to actually write it if I want this. I mean, the rest of the Dragons already know about me, but they don’t know my name, so I’d be giving away that information…
Coach is tapping me on the shoulder. “Well?”
I shake my head. “I can’t sense it unless I concentrate on it. If I wanted to dodge that, I’d have to write a new spell.”
“Write one?” Coach asks. “How long would that take?”
I look away. “Dragons record their spells in a shared library. If I wrote anything there, they’d all know who wrote it, if they found it. Just my first name, but I haven’t written anything so they don’t know that yet. Not that they don’t know that Blacksburg has a Dragon.”
He moves to be in front of where I’m looking. “I get it. How about normal dodgeballs for now? Can you sense those?” He pulls one from his bag. How much stuff does he have in there? No, that doesn’t matter. The ball is almost as invisible as its created cousin, but it’s a normal rubber ball filled with air. Which means I can heat the air a little, like with the Rich Creek gate. I try it, and the ball retains the heat, making it much easier to spot. Perfect.
“I can work with that,” I reply, smiling.
He nods. “I’ll just throw it from various locations. Once you improve enough, we’ll have more dodgeballs and more throwers, but given the nature of today’s training and the aptitude you’ve shown so far, I think I’ll be alright by myself. And before you feel offended, remember that there are speed augmentation spells.”
I wasn’t offended, and now I just feel nervous.
Obviously, I have to do the training with my eyes closed. He said we’ll work with my eyes open later, but for now I should just focus on the heat around me. Not that I think I’d do any better with my eyes open. We’re not supposed to use magic in normal gym classes because, well, Static people are in those. But this is training to keep me alive, and beasts and mean people won’t keep from using Aspect magic just because I can’t use it.
We’ve moved to a spot devoid of my classmates, though that’s probably more so that the ball doesn’t distract them than to keep myself and Mr. Manning safe. I’m supposed to stand still other than dodging, and he’s using speed augmentation—which, while it lets him pick up the ball faster, also lets him throw faster.
I close my eyes, focus on the heated air in the ball and give a thumbs-up as a ready signal. I sense his wind-up, throw and – wah! That hit way faster than I expected! I collapse and Coach jogs over to pick up the ball that hit the back of my thigh. “What happened?” he asks after retrieving the rubber projectile. “That was a normal throw.”
“I – um.” I take a moment to consider. “I don’t think I knew where I was. Could I practice with my eyes open, first?”
Coach wordlessly nods and moves to a position in front of me. This time, I find the ball with both my eyes and its trapped heat, and when he throws after my nod, I watch it with both. I think my reaction this time was slower than with normal dodgeball, but I did dodge and I tracked the ball after it passed me, so I’ll take that as a win. Spinning to watch it again with my eyes, I prepare for the next throw.
Mr. Manning is there much faster than I think anyone could run without magic, so he must have some effect active, even though his next throw is also at a normal speed. That or he’s casting and ending the spell over and over. I’d say that probably takes some great concentration, but he’s been using magic for probably three times as long as I’ve been alive, compared to my just-over-a-month.
I’ve only been a Dragon for a month. Or eleven years, but I’ve only known for a month. Even so, wow. This has been a long month.
My thoughts cost me the next dodge, but since it was from behind I’m not sure if Coach noticed. Either way, I dodged the next from a similar angle, so he’s started throwing faster.