The Tellus Mage

”The name of our world, is Eos. It is filled with magical creatures and many diverse races. It is made up of three vast continents. Develdion, home to the demons, a magical race descended of Typhon, the last son of Gaia. Acacia, the continent we live on… Elias. Are you following dear? ”

”Yes granny Sophia. ”

Sitting on the floor opposite to the chair where Sophia was, Elias nodded profusely. Sophia looked at Elias gently, dismissing the fact that he was hiding the bow his father gave him this morning behind his back.

”Elias, focus on this next part and then you can practice with your bow in the yard. ”

Elias looked at her and nodded repeatedly motioning for her to continue. Sophia lightly chuckled as she continued her lesson.

”Where were we now? Ah, yes. Acacia is home to a number of races, among which are humans, elves, and dwarves. Not only that, but plenty of other sentient magical races reside here, but choose to live in seclusion. Finally, Silva Intractabilis, home to the most savage beasts ever known to magic kind. It is a continent where the most savage of races reign supreme. There are no laws but one, the law of the jungle. ”

The lesson went on for another hour before Elias was released. Ever since he turned three years old a couple months ago, Sophia has taken it upon herself to teach him etiquette, history, geography among many other topics that are considered general knowledge. Elias sighed as he exited the room and made his way towards the yard. Although a child his age would rebel and make a fuss about studying, Elias was much more mature, in a terrifyingly literal sense.

”Granny sure is a slave driver to force that much information on a three year old. Then again, thanks to her I have learned so much. ”

As Elias knocked the arrow and got into stance, his mind kept re-visiting yesterdays lesson about the magic elements.

Earth, Fire, Wind and Water; space and time and the variation elements. The variation elements stem from the basic ones, an example of such is lightning, an advanced form of fire magic. Another is Magma, an incorporation of both the earth and fire element.

Taking a deep breath I drew the bow and aimed for the target five meters away. I Exhaled and held, waiting for my aim to steady. My hands were trembling from the weight of the string. I am not yet strong enough to handle this bow. Releasing the arrow it flew shortly and landed on the target, yet far away from the bulls-eye. Taking a deep breath and notching another arrow from my quiver I felt a hand and on my shoulder.

”Strong hands youve got their kiddo, just like your father, BAHAHAHAH. ”

”It didn even hit dad, Im still too weak to use this bow. ”

”Nonsense, you are plenty strong for your age, you only need to practice more. Anyway, make sure to finish up and come back inside, lunch is almost ready. I brought back a big moose today BAHAHAHA ”.

Watching his silhouette recede into the house, I couldn help but smile wryly at this mans antics. He truly is a big bear of a man. Clearing my head of my thoughts, I notched an arrow I took the quiver on my side. However, Instead of directly taking aim, I closed my eyes and cleared my mind. From the lessons I took from granny Sophia, I learned that humans do not have a focal point of magic in their body, rather it inhabits every one of their cells. Throughout the years, I have felt much more in tune with the material that fuels magic through my meditation, thus I tried to feel said material, which turns out to be simply called Aeter. As I took my stance and held my bow upright I felt a strange strength coursing in my body, I snapped my eyes open and drew the bow. To my surprise it extended easily, I quickly took aim and let the arrow loose.

Watching this scene from the patio of the house, Auroras eyes widened as she witnessed her son harness the Aeter and augment his strength. Impossible! she gasped silently.

One awakens their magic abilities at five years of age. I have never heard anyone use magic before then, much less augment themselves! Aurora could not believe her eyes, her son was a magical prodigy. Her husbands loud laughter echoed in the house, breaking her out of her thoughts. Returning inside curiously, she spotted her husband in the front yard of the house cuddling a huge bear with enormous antlers.

”Otso, you big buffoon, Ive missed you. ”

The buffoon in question, Otso pinned Isaac to the ground whilst rubbing his face all over Isaacs. Abruptly Otso sniffed the air and looked at Aurora in the distance. He rushed to her side and carefully held his muzzle close to her so she can pat him. Aurora chuckled lightly and rubbed his snout warmly.

”Welcome home Otso, Weve missed you dearly. If you are back that means that Kyra is not far behind. ”

Otso growled softly, nuzzling closer to her hand before turning around and continuing his wrestling match with Isaac, his growls drowned amidst his companions laughter. Aurora smiled fondly, as her gaze moved back into the house, yet she seemed to be perceiving something behind it. Her lips curved into a mischievous grin and her eyes held curiosity.

In the houses backyard Elias was marveling at his own strength.

I watched my arrow sail the air and fly towards the target, or rather completely through it. I stared wide eyed at the impaled target. I looked at my small hands and wondered where such strength came from. Walking towards the now skewered straw dummy to pluck my arrow, I noticed a long black furry tail hanging from a tree, swaying from side-to-side.

As my eyes climbed the tail bit by bit, I saw a black panther perched upon a tree. Its midnight black fur was so dark it practically swallowed the light. The large feline had golden lining that marked its face and torso, save for her limbs and tail. Its bright green eyes looked at me with curiosity and intrigue.

In a heartbeat, whilst I was still admiring the panther, I lost sight of it for a moment only for the panther to appear right by my side. The panthers tail swiftly wrapped around my bow and threw it to the side. I couldn move, the absurdity of the situation was shocking What the hell is a panther the size of a horse doing in my backyard!