Teaching Elis (1/2)

During their long walk towards the garden, Haalfrin and Eli introduce themselves. There isn't much to say about Eli, other than the fact that she awakened as a mage about 50 years ago, and she moved in with the main family ever since.

Unlike most of the rest of her siblings, she hasn't been alive long enough to remember a time when the Pit was still existing, and, by extension, a time when the Vanteri Family was rich and powerful.

Maybe it's because of this that Eli doesn't seem as bitter about her family's situation as some of the other members of the main family. Even Palandri has a hard time talking about their situation.

On the other hand, Eli seems awfully curious about Haalfrin. It's no wonder, since he's quite a famous man in the empire – especially among the nobles.

"Why DID you leave the arena, anyway?" Eli asks. "The rumors say that you left the arena because you were always winning so quickly, and you got bored. Well, I think you had some important business going on. Is it too private to talk about?"

Palandri hears this and gulps nervously. For some reason, he was a little too scared to ask Haalfrin before. Still, he's curious too, so he listens in.

Haalfrin doesn't seem to mind her question. Instead, he just shrugs, "I got bored. All the fame and winning felt pointless. Money is pointless too if there's nothing you want to spend it on."

Eli looks down thoughtfully at this. "Hmm… Father, Mother, and most other noble clans seem to make a big fuss over reputations, wealth, and power. You realize that giving those things away makes you a strange person, right?"

Haalfrin nods thoughtfully. "I guess. The more power and wealth you have, the more time you have to waste protecting them. It's a stupid waste of time – worrying about vain things like this."

Eli gives a polite smile, then says rather nonchalantly, "You're not a 2nd Gate mage, are you?"

"Nope. I'm a 5th Gate mage."

Palandri freezes in his tracks, and Manni drops the books he was carrying out of shock.

Eli coughs awkwardly and asks, "Doesn't the law say that all mages above 2 Gates have mandatory service in the Threshold? Why are you here? After your shenanigans in the arena, there's no way the emperor doesn't know about you."

"Oh, he knows. He also knows that it's more trouble than it's worth to try forcing me into anything."

If it were anyone else who said this, Palandri and Elis would've taken this as distasteful boasting. However, both of them have seen Haalfrin fight in the arena in person. Both of them had only ever seen him use Space and Spirit magic – a byproduct of only having 2 Names. However, if Haalfrin really has 5 Names, then this means that he was seriously holding back in his fights.

With that in mind, it starts to make sense that even the emperor would be wary of him.

By this point in the conversation, they'd already reached the back gardens. They find a few park benches to sit on, and Manni plops the books he was carrying on the table.

Once Elis and Haalfrin are settled in, Palandri and Manni scoot away to a respectable distance, and Haalfrin says, "Well, ready to get started?"

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Now that they're both sort of alone, Haalfrin crosses his arms and asks, "Well, you got any questions before we start?"

Eli brightens up at this. "Yes. Are you a Rehkin?"

Haalfrin sighs. "No. I just have a powerful spirit."

"I saw some of your fights before – mostly through recordings. Anyway, how'd you learn those spiritual techniques if you're just a human?"

Haalfrin looks up and thinks about it. "You DO know what gives the Rehkin their powerful spirits, right?"

She shakes her head.

"Ok, let's back up. Tell me what 'Reh' means in the soul tongue," Haalfrin instructs her.

"'Reh' means 'connection, spirit, will.'"

"Good. You could say that the Spirit is the power of Connection and Will. So, the way to grow a stronger spirit is to make many connections with people – to tie your spirit to many people. The other way is to just want something really bad - will."

Haalfrin sighs wistfully, "I don't really know what I want, so clearly, I grew my spirit through connections."

"Hold on," Eli asks, "If making connections is all it takes to grow a stronger spirit, then wouldn't the Duke and Duchess Vanteri have a stronger spirit than me? They know far more people than I do, and they've been alive a lot longer."

"That's a good point. However, making a meaningful Spiritual connection is actually really hard. There's a very good reason why women tend to have stronger spirits," Haalfrin says. "Tell me, why DO women have stronger spirits?"

Eli knows exactly what Haalfrin is talking about here. She's read plenty of literature during her futile search for Spiritual Techniques. So, she begins answering him:

"From the books I've read, there have been many studies done showing why women tend to make Spiritual connections easier.

"One example listed is that more men are homeless because women generally have more people to rely on when hard times come by, whereas men are left on their own more often. Women also usually have more friends, and they're more likely to find another partner and remarry should they be divorced or widowed.

"Even more, women have been psychologically proven again and again to be better at detecting liars on average. Plus, people are generally more willing to sacrifice their lives for a woman than for a man – showing that their spirits have a stronger attraction, generally speaking.

"In short, all the circumstantial evidence supports women having stronger spirits."

Once she finishes, Haalfrin pauses and thinks, 'Eh? I haven't heard of this. I want to read those books. Whatever. What she said sounds logical enough."

So, he nods, "Good, good. Do you know why the Rehkin race is so special?"

Eli shakes her head at this.

"The Rehkin are extremely emotional creatures. By nature of their psychology, they already have stronger Wills than humans. There's no way to train yourself to have a Will as strong as a Rehkin's…"

Well, torturing someone for long periods of time DOES strengthen the Will, but Haalfrin isn't about to suggest such a drastic training regimen for a young noble lady.

So, he continues, "The Rehkin also have VERY special blood. Basically, the Creator God Mora endowed the Rehkin's blood with a deep connection to their own Spirits.

"With their blood being Spiritual, they have a natural and innate connection to everyone who shares their blood."

Eli nods at this. "That's really fascinating. So… They're more powerful the more relatives they have?"

Haalfrin winces. "That's… partly true." He scratches his head and looks down. "Eh… I don't know how to say this… Whatever. I'll just leap into it."

He looks up. "In the Death Realm, people aren't disembodied spirits; they have undying bodies there."

Eli sits up straight, and she looks like she's about to fight him on this. No doubt, she's been told differently at the state-sponsored temples.

Haalfrin doesn't want to hear to talk about these temples, so he holds up her hand and shushes her. "Let me finish."

She closes her mouth and slouches back in her seat.

"As I was saying," he continues, "people have bodies in the Death Realm. They regain their special blood – and hence, their Spiritual connection returns. Think about that for a second."

Eli looks down in deep thought. Slowly, it dawns on her… and the truth makes her sick with envy. "A Rehkin Clan's spiritual power only gets stronger the more ancestors they have in the Death Realm. That means that each generation is stronger than the previous."

Realizing this truth frankly makes Eli feel despair. She knows now that there's an insurmountable wall that she can never cross. She'll never be as powerful as a Rehkin.

"Wait… How'd you get your spirit to be so strong, then?" Eli asks Haalfrin. "I heard father say that your spirit is about as strong as a Rehkin's? Is there a way for a human to get that strong?"

Haalfrin fidgets in his seat, crosses his arms, and says. "No. I have a spell written in my Reh Name that gives me an innate Spiritual Connection to many people. That's not the kind of thing you can replicate."

Eli looks at the ground in disappointment again.

Haalfrin sighs seeing this. "Listen, you don't have to be as great as a Rehkin to be a good Spirit Mage. I'll first teach you how to tie your Spirit to things. This'll help you grow your spirit. Once you've mastered this, I'll start teaching you spells."

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During Haalfrin's lesson the next day, Eli is draped over the stone garden table with a tired look in her eyes. Haalfrin had made her memorize a lot of things that morning, and she's feeling burnt out.

"Sir Haalfrin…?" she asks, "What does it look like? The Rehkin's magic. Eh… How do I say it. I mean, the Rehkin have such strong spirit bonds with all their blood relatives, but I have a hard time imagining it."

Haalfrin raises an eyebrow. "What brought this question up?"

Eli stirs in her chair restlessly. "Well, the Drakin have strong bodies, and it's really easy to imagine what their powerful Elemental magic looks like. Just imagine a really big explosion or a few walls being torn to shreds. You know… there's something real you can imagine. But Spirit magic…?"

"It's too abstract," Haalfrin finishes her thought. It's true that it's far easier to imagine the uses for Dra magic, but Reh magic is, indeed, less definable. Even Haalfrin can't answer the question completely.

"Hmm…," Haalfrin thinks, "The best I can do is share a story with you about the Rehkin. It's a story I heard from my old Master."

"Master Kalastros?" Eli clarifies. "Didn't he serve in the Threshold?"

Haalfrin nods. "Well, yes. You're a young lady of the Vanteri Family. You DO know the story of why the Threshold was built, right?"

"Yes. It happened because the Rehkin tribes on the other side of the world gate started getting aggressive – wanting to invade the empire. We fought many wars with our armies, but things started getting hectic when the Rehkin started inciting the dragons against us."

Of course, dragons are far too much for human mages to handle, so they had to pour their fortunes into making the perfect fortress – a buttress against the Otherworld that can even withstand dragons!

"Yes, but WHY were the Rehkin getting aggressive?" Haalfrin asks assertively. "Brancotte rose to power because they made great connections with the Rehkin. Why'd the Rehkin suddenly turn on us, and why'd they all do it at once?"

Eli goes silent at this. "… I don't know?"

Haalfrin rubs his temples. "Well, my old Master learned his magic from the Rehkin, so I suppose he knew more about this story than most people in the empire. How about I tell you? It'll answer your original question too."