Laxita's POV

The Mage Association

I just came to know that my uncle is the head of the association. Wow! This day is definitely full of surprises.

"I want you to meet Bhargav. He used to pester me all the time when Subhadra's letters arrived, which mentioned you. I think, you should definitely meet him. He was always curious about you."

I nodded because I didn't know how to respond. I finished my food and we made our way to my uncle, aunt Shobha's husband, the father of the twins and apparently the head of the association. Brilliant!

We headed towards what I presume was the main unit of Soma Sangha. A man was standing there with his back towards us. He was holding a peculiar staff and he seemed to have a really powerful aura. Something was telling me that I should not mess with him. Devansh and Devika were standing beside him.

"Bhargav, there is someone I want you to meet."

He turned around and said, "Ah! Subhadra's daughter - Laxita! Correct me if I am wrong."

"Ji mahoday, mai hi Laxita hu."

("Yes sir, I am Laxita")

He came forward and patted my head.

And then, to my surprise, he smiled and said, " Don't call me sir. I'm your uncle. And I want to welcome you to Soma Sangha. I hope you will be comfortable here."

"Thank you...uncle"

"Yes, yes, good. Devansh and Devika briefed me about your situation and I want to apologize to you that we didn't do anything earlier. 

But now, tell me how can I help you? What do you want us to do? Take revenge on Vijesh? Earn your family wealth back? Or any other wishes? Your wish is our command."

I want someone to pinch me. Is this for real? The head of the association is apologizing to me. You'll don't understand, this man is the most powerful mage right now and even catching a glimpse him is really difficult. He's as powerful as 10 high-ranking mages. And here I am, in front of him and he's asking for my wishes. Just...wow! I hope that I don't faint after these many surprising events today.

"Actually, I have a request..."

"Go on."

"I want to learn magic. But my powers are concealed and I need your help."

"That's, not very difficult. You can start the training by as early as tomorrow if you want to. But you've travelled a long distance so rest for a few days. Build your strength and then you can start. As for your powers, I can lift the ban on them right now."

Suddenly, a ray of light appeared from his staff and pierced me. I thought it would be painful but all I was feeling was a tickling sensation.

"There, all done. Shobha, I think you would want to train her so I am leaving it to you. You can start whenever you want."

"Thank you."

I bowed in respect and then we left. I was excited to start my new training. And I was sort of feeling light and powerful. It was as if a weight was lifted off my shoulders. 

Later that day, I sent a message to Vanya that I have arrived here safely. I just know that she would be worried. The messages, from here, arrive at the destination within the blink of an eye. Impressive!

That night I chatted with my cousins for a very long time. We were catching up for all the time we had missed. They were a pretty good company. I also got to know about them and their life at the association.

I decided to rest for some days as instructed. I also went to meet Megh everyday and he seemed quite comfortable here with the other horses. Spending my time exploring this new place and acquainting myself with the mages was actually fun. Although I was hesitant, I think I made some new friends. I even tried to use my magic but it ended up being an unsuccessful attempt because I didn't know how to use it.

And a few days later, my training officially started. My aunt and I went to the the training arena. It seemed that I was receiving a one-on-one session, there were no other students. Figured, my case was quite different from them. I had changed into the uniform which was designated for the mages-in-training. It was light and was easy to move around in.

"So, what do you know about magic and mages?" My aunt asked me.

"The only thing I know is that the mages use the energy from the surroundings for magic. The powers of the sky lie in the part of Somtal which is inside the association and it is the source of their energy."

"That is the basic information. Yes, Somtal is quite vast and it borders both Somapura and Kshatra Gadh. But only the part, which lies here has the energy. The rest of the Somtal is just a normal water body. So, do you have any idea as to how you can utilize this energy from your surroundings?"

"No?"

"It's alright, you can learn. 

Try to focus on your breath. Feel the movement of magical energy inside your body and try to summon that energy on your fingertips."

I did as she said and closed my eyes. I took a few breaths and focused on them but I couldn't feel the movement of energy. How is this done actually?

"Aunt, I don't think that I can feel any energy..."

"You won't instantly master it. It takes time. Generally, the students here require 1-2 months to master it. Since, they are kids, they take more time. But I'm sure you will do well after a few training sessions as you're an adult. You should be able to grasp it faster."

As far as I know, the students start their training at the age of 7-8 and complete it by the age of 12-14. After that, they practice for years to master their skills and reach advanced levels of magic. A person becomes a full fledged mage by the age of 18-20. So right now, I am at the same stage as of a 7 year old...I'm feeling great about this...

The entire day passed by in mastering this. I won't say that there has been much progress. For the entire day - I practiced, ate my food, rested and came back to train. I have to admit, the food here is pretty good. I wonder if they use magic for it.

My training wasn't being much fruitful. Why did I think that it was easy? I was so tired that I took a bath and slept directly. Sleep came to me easily as I was exhausted, although, I didn't even do that much.

The next few days also passed by in a similar manner. Either my aunt or my cousins taught me, whoever was free to do so. It was the same exercise everyday. I could feel the movement of the energy inside me but I couldn't summon it on my fingertips. At least it was some progress. I had to master this as it was the basic step.

After God knows how long, on a random afternoon, I finally summoned magic on my fingertips. I did it!!! My cousins clapped to cheer me on which made me smile. But it was still not a time to rejoice as I still had a long way to go. 

My aunt also clapped and said, "Excellent dear, now I think that we can proceed ahead. Shall I start that now or do you want to start tomorrow as you may have been exhausted?"

"I think we can start now."

I was feeling quite pumped up and energetic.

"Alright. Do you know the types of mages and their levels?"

"I know their levels but I don't know about their types..."

"Hmmm. I will tell you all about it then. As you already know, there are three levels of mages - high-level, medium-level and low-level. The high-level mages are the ones who can use advance magic or spells. The royal family of Somapura are high-level mages since birth. They are blessed by the sky Gods. Other than that, they serve as teachers or researchers in the association or as high-ranking soldiers in the Somapura army. The medium-level mages serve as officials in the association or as royal advisors. They don't engage in combats as their specialty lies in their knowledge of magic. The third type is the low-level mages. They serve as soldiers in both the association and Somapura. You see, our allegiance lies mainly with Somapura.

Let me tell you something. I don't want to brag but everyone in my family had been a high-ranking mage. Subhadra was also the same. We will find out about your level a little later. 

You might be knowing about Shekhar, the chief royal advisor of Kshatra Gadh? He is a medium-level mage. There is a special unit in Somapura's army. All of them are low-level mages who participate in direct combats.

Moving on to their types, there are three types of mages - attack mage, defense mage and healing mage. All the students are trained in two types of magic. We find out about the type of magic the students are comfortable with, by testing it. All the students have to go through a test at the end of their training to determine this. We will find out about your type through this procedure later.

Devansh and Devika have already given their tests. Devansh is an attack mage and Devika is a defense mage. Their powers complement each other. Bhargav's a healing mage. Healing mages are very rare and that's why they have the utmost respect of the mage community. I'm also a defense mage. Subhadra was an attack mage. I think Devansh takes after her. We also used to complement each other so well...."

This is a new piece of information. My mother was a high-level attack mage. Wow! I wonder what kind of mage I will be.

"Since, Devansh and Devika are almost full fledged mages now, they have requested me to allow them to teach you. Don't force yourself or panic if you can't be as good as them. They are prodigies that's why they learnt very quickly. Everyone's learning graph is different."

"Yes, aunt. But I have a question - what about healing magic? Who will teach me that?"

"Let me ask you a question. Are you able to heal yourself when you're injured?"

"...No"

"Then, you are not a healing mage. You see, healing mages can heal themselves when their powers manifest for the very first time. That's why we can distinguish them earlier and their training is different. The rest of them follow the same procedure. I hope you'll enjoy your learning."

After that, she left. Devansh and Devika arrived to start my training. 

Devansh said, "We will start with attack magic today. It is comparatively easy for new learners. So first, summon the energy on the fingertips and then stand in the attacking stance. One leg forward and bend your knees. Now, you have to hit the target kept in front of you. It has to be precise and you have aim at the center. Stay focused and....."

That day, I learnt how to hit a target with my powers. I wasn't able to hit the center but it was close. I can do this. I was determined.

Days passed and my training continued. After I learnt the basics of attack magic, Devika started teaching me the basics defense magic. The training was not easy but I was not going to give up.

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Hello lovely people💞

I hope you are enjoying the story so far. Woah, almost 2000 words! This is the longest chapter as of yet. The magical training will continue further.

Also, there's going to be another leap starting from the next chapter. So, stay tuned😉