The Dao of Magic

97 - Staring

"What is with this rabbit?" Danarius's wrinkled face frowns as he looks at the fluffy critter, who is being spoiled by Selis and Tess.

"Lola is the best! Don't talk bad about Lola."
"She saved my life."

The old man has lived for many years, but the combined glares of the two girls makes cold sweat break out across his back.

Ket is also glaring at him, but for a different reason. The boy was busily grilling the old man for every scrap of information he has, each question Danarius answered only bringing forth more questions. Ket closes his eyes for a second and start asking questions again. "Dan, don't change the subject. Why is fire different from the element of light? Light is only good for plants, not humans."

"Who gave you permission to call me Dan? I'd have everyone but a fellow high mage flogg-"

"Could you answer the question... please?"

Ares is looking at this scene with a very complicated look in her eyes. Her venerable master, so aloof and out of reach, far removed from matters of normal men, is being bullied by a couple of kids her own age. The fact that her master is reacting rather poorly is doing little to ease her bleeding heart.

"The sun gives life, fire takes it away. Two opposites coming from the sa-"

The slow rolling, wise words get halted as Ket starts talking over them. "Then what about the sun in a desert? Or a warm fire in winter? I think it's narrow-minded to look at differing aspects of similar phenomena from such small perspectives."

"The sun is the source of all life, there would be no life without the su-"

"There would also be no life without water, air, dirt or oxygen. That is a stupid argument."

The old man closes his mouth. He thinks for a bit before talking again. "What's oxygen?"

"This is going nowhere. I think I understand how Teach felt when he started teaching us now. He always had this exasperated look on his face, remember?" Ket turns away from Danarius as he talks to the other students.

"Hihi, he looked at us like we were dumber than someone pissing on a dungeon." Selis giggles while hugging Lola to her chest. "It makes sense though, why would people start to look for answers in the physical world when the dungeon provides all and magic exists?"

Ket nods a bit. He snaps his finger in a lazy manner, a small flame appearing above his fingers. "It's so useful though, ripping the oxygen and hydrogen apart while letting them recombine is so much easier than forcefully heating up the air."

Selis frowns as she snaps her fingers a bit, small puffs of smoke and sparks flying here and there. "Hmmh, I guess I'll stick to water, I can start a fire and I think that's enough for me." She pouts a bit as her snapping only forms small flashes of fire.

"Can you do lightning? It's made up of free electrons." A blue arc now sputters between two of Ket's fingers.

Selis makes a green stone appear from nowhere, putting it to her forehead. Some motes of water start flying around her head, forming a short-lived sparkling liquid halo. A fish made from clear glass circles around her head a single time. The water falls to the ground when she opens her eyes. "Those are the things around the molecular cores, right? Not spinning but still spinning? And yeah, pretty easy." Selis turns her hand around as small arcs scatter playfully around her fingers.

"I wish I could understand plants. I can understand how they work, I just can't do anything with them." Ket is now holding a leaf, looking at it like it murdered his family and dog.

"They're alive, so you've got to ask them." Selis is holding a small stick, staring at it intensely. A blue glow surrounds it and small green buds start to appear slowly.