Chapter 10

It's finally time. There are only a few lights left. They were all extremely close to my centre, where the pool led, shining like a white sun. Ela is currently packing as her and dad have to travel by foot to get to the capital. Many mysteries were surrounding as to why they were doing this in such a round about way, but knowing I wouldn't get an answer I left it as is.

I'm currently sat on my bed gathering the last of my mana. My body had only just recently stopped producing the orbs of white, and I had managed to come closer to completion much quicker than anticipated, as I made unexpected progress in how fast I could move the snow like orbs. Pulling the last of the orbs, I had finally finished, then my body trembled as I screamed. I felt the burning of incomparable cold against my skin, as the right side of my room resembled more and more like the arctic, as I charred the other side with snaking tendrils of lightning. If meteorologists saw this, they would be left utterly mind- boggled as I became the epicenter of a new type of storm. Snow and ice eventually reinged over each nook of the room and lighting streamed in every direction, as I continued to scream at the searing cold, and constant shocks.

After a few seconds, my family burst into the room to witness the catastrophe I had caused. There were multiple holes in the walls and burn marks covered the ceiling and walls, while the floor was littered with shattered ice. This continued on for a minute, as I became more and more exhausted, while my parents and sister bore witness to the outburst. Finally the spectacle was over, and everything started fading out of existence, as my eyes became unfocused. Heavyness encroached on my eyelids forcing them closed, as my body collapsed to the floor.

* 3rd person view *

The 3 stood there, jaws dropped for a moment, staring at the boy who caused what looked like a passing storm. A thick layer had encased their feet and crawled it's way into the halls.

"Ho-ly shit", were the only words that could come out of the fathers mouth, which earned him a smack from the just as much shocked mother. The family stayed, silent for a while before Nathaniel struck the ice surrounding their feet with a tendril of lightning, finally freeing themselves. Upon being free, grace rushed to the unconscious boy and lifted his head off the ice, pressing her ear to his chest. Upon hearing his steady heart beat, she released a sigh of relief, as she nodded at her husband.

"That's um.. quite the going away present" Nathaniel chuckled humourlessly, leading to Eleanor revealing as faint smile. The three returned their gazes to the unconscious boy as the all simultaneously thought 'how are we supposed to clean this up?!'. They finally awoke from their stupor and took Eliza out of the room to the living room and layed him down upon the sofa, swaddling him with a blanket as he was shivering. Leaving him to sleep, the trio found their way to the kitchen table, and sat their stewing in their own thoughts.

"Not only did he awaken at 4, but the average outburst is anywhere from 30-40 seconds, he lasted a minute" Grace revealed, making Eleanor flinch slightly. 'I lasted 50 seconds' Eleanor thought, slightly depressed at the fact. It was well known that the longest a mages awakening last was a minute and a half, that goes to the previous head of the Phoenix family. Each 10 seconds of awakening is comparable to a tier, each tier you go up the more talented in magic you are, so most people end up in the 30 second range, being mildly talented. Lasting into the 50s is a sign of exceptional talent, most would only hope to dream. The time you last represents your talent in manipulating your mana, and you age is your factor to your affinity to mana itself, the better your affinity, the easier it will be to comprehend mana and its inner workings, therefore allowing for more intricate spells to be learned easier.

Finally breaking the silence Nathaniel stated in the most serious tone he has ever donned,

"This stays between us, alright?", Eleanor felt a pressure she had never experienced before, causing her to dry swallow in anxiety, ending to to her nodding her head in acceptance. When his demeanour didn't return to its usual, Eleanor knew he was going to continue.

"I think it's about time you learn as to why we deserted ourselves", Nathaniel suggested in a monotone voice, prompting a shocked reaction out of Eleanor.