Adopted By The Top Mage

ELEVEN

Teni stared out her bedroom window. The wind was starting to pick up speed. The weather mages had predicted the heavy rain would last for the next few days so her weekend consisted of class preparations, hangouts with the servants, and Margaret. But as she sat on her bay window a sense of uncertainty seemed to grip her heart and she couldn't figure out why.

A knock on her door snapped her out of her thoughts. Teni turned to see Margaret leaning against the door way. "Can't sleep?" Teni nodded.

Margaret had two steaming mugs in her hands. She walked across the room and offered Teni one. Teni took it and smiled at the marshmallows floating in the hot chocolate. "Thanks," she whispered. Margaret sat beside Teni. The rain pattered on the window as the moonlight peaked through the storm clouds.

"Vincent is coming to the capital."

Teni raised an eyebrow, "He is? Why?" Margaret fidgeted with the handle of her mug. "Um. He just has some business in the capital." Teni snickered, "must be something serious if the Master of the Magic Tower has to come in person." Margaret didn't answer.

Teni sipped her drink and watched her mother with a knowing eye. There was something she wasn't telling her, but what could it be? "When will he arrive?" Margaret sighed, "in two days." Teni nodded wordlessly while glancing back to the window. She could see the rooftops of the capital. The usually pale roads were dark from puddles and mud. The wind whipped through the trees bordering the sidewalk with such strength that she feared the trees would topple over.

Margaret cleared her throat before standing up and walking to the ball gown they had chosen. It hung from the edge of her wardrobe but it was hard to see in the darkness. Teni watched as Margaret touched the sleeve. "It's a lot simpler than I thought you would choose." Teni shrugged, "I don't mind simple." Margaret smiled. "You used to."

She held the cuff of the sleeve. "Do you have someone in mind to accompany you to the ball?" Teni grumbled, "I've barely been here a month, where would I have found the time to find a partner?" Margaret shrugged mischievously, "who knows? Maybe the perfect guy will just fall out of the sky and whisk you off your feet!"

Teni rolled her eyes, "I think you've been reading too many fantasy books."

***

The room was bustling with energy. Everyone was talking about their weekend, the ball, or just casual teenager things. Teni walked into her classroom and immediately felt the vibrant energy still.

She tapped the chalkboard with her knuckle. The smears of chalk on the board disappeared and the singular piece of chalk in the tray floated in the air. "Alright. Since it is raining we won't be able to go to the training grounds" a few huffs and grumbles echoed through the room. Teni chuckled, "yeah it sucks, I know. But, it's okay because we will still be practicing our mana breathing, but instead you will be doing it in your very chairs."

She snapped her fingers and a magic field appeared around them. "Same concept. But you must now attempt to keep your mana breathing going throughout the whole class. I will heal you if needed!"

A girl in the corner of the room raised her hand. Teni racked her brain for the girls name before pointing to her. "Yes Hailey?" Hailey stood up, "so does that mean you will be teaching while we practice?" Teni grinned. A reaction the students were not too happy to see. Though they barely knew their new teacher something told them this would not be an easy class.

"Good question. Yes, I will be teaching. And at the end of the class I will give you a comprehension test! And every time I sense that you are not mana breathing I will dock your score by one point."

The room was silent. She was asking the impossible of them. Mana breathing calls for complete concentration or else they risk absorbing too much and hurting themselves. Was she trying to get them killed? "Shall we begin?" Teni raised the chalk to the top left corner, and began writing.

The students began writing their notes while attempting to absorb the mana in the air. It had only been a few seconds but she was already marking tally's on her notebook for various students.

"The method of constant mana breathing was created three hundred years ago so it is fairly new. A priest in the holy kingdom in the Eastern country had gone to the mountains. He lived on this mountain for a year, completely naked, barely eating or drinking. But he spent almost all of his time in prayer. He healed his body that was worn and hungry with holy magic.

"He survived many near death instances and after half a year he had completely mastered holy magic. His body was invincible. But in order for him to cast a Prophets Prayer, which is the highest level of holy magic, he needed to hold the spell for as long as possible in order to awaken as an interpreter and hear god's words.

"So he attempted for the first time, constant mana breathing. Because of his healing magic he learned fairly early on his mana vein size and how to control his breath. And a month later he had done it. The first prophet had awakened.

"This man still lives in the Eastern kingdom today but because he travels so frequently around the continent it is difficult to ever find him. But they say when he is in a city the dying are healed, the dead rise, and the old become young. His powers are so strong it radiates far beyond his physical body.

"The man abandoned his old name on that mountain and now just goes by Hue. This is the origin of the practice now two of you have mastered."

The class looked around in astonishment. Many were sweating bullets while others were fighting to breath. It was hard to believe anyone had mastered this skill so easily, but they already knew who it was.

"Emily, and his highness Niall. I would say I'm surprised but truthfully I'm not. Congrats on learning mana breathing. I now permit you to practice this skill outside of class, use it with care." Emily beamed and hugged Niall who sat beside her. "Did you hear that? We were the first ones to master it!" For Emily it came easily because of her holy magic but for Niall it wasn't so simple.

Truthfully he had already practiced this skill in his free time and had failed over and over again. Even though at one point he started coughing up blood from the strain his pride wouldn't let him stop. "How is that little girl able to do this day and night without stopping?"

Even as Emily started babbling in his ear about how much she hated the class, and how annoying their teacher was, he only watched Teni. He watched her perfectly manipulate her wind magic and draw on the board while also writing in a notebook. Then on top of that she was healing people through her magic barrier. She was balancing all of these complicated spells while also teaching a class on Hugman The Great.

It took him nearly a week to master this skill that many magicians laugh at. No one thought it a plausible thing, and he himself also felt that way. Until his body seemed to click. He had balanced the level of mana entering his body perfectly yet he didn't think it would last. It started out with an hour. Two hours. A whole day. He even managed to sleep while mana breathing.

Teni shifted uncomfortably at the intense gaze of the prince. While the class clapped and congratulated them she stared down at her note book. Some people had already gotten twenty marks and class wasn't nearly over. She sighed.

Niall smirked at the small blue haired girl pace the platform in front of him. 'Just what does Orion see in you.' His interest was peaked.