Magma Dragon's Heir

51st of Season of Fire, 56th year of the 32nd imperial era

An awkward silence settled, and Newt broke it.

"Do you think you can teach me Magmin Flame now?"

Magmin shook his head. "No. You are a newt. You must first learn Magmin Scales, lest you burn yourself to cinders."

The serpent's response landed like a hammer against a bell, snapping Newt from his foolish rush. He wanted to bash his forehead against the wall because of how careless he was.

Magmin could have killed him right then and there. No. He won't eliminate me like that. He wants to use me as fodder. He gave me mana, and he can take most of it back once we get rid of the sharpbeak. All he has to do is kill me.

"I didn't think about that," Newt offered a nervous smile, but Magmin didn't care about an amphibian's flawed reasoning.

"I will teach you the basics of Magmin Scales, and you can practice while I bring you more crystals. Agreed?"

Newt nodded, and the serpent started explaining the method of mobilizing mana to make his scales impervious to fire. The problem was, Newt had no scales.

"Well, you have to figure that out on your own." Magmin shrugged despite the anatomical disadvantage. "I have never been scaleless, but I think it shouldn't be much of a difference."

With those words of wisdom, Magmin left to gather more manarium.

Newt closed his eyes and focused on his heartcore. The first part of the technique was the basis of all mana manipulation, forcing it out of his realm. Unbound mana, the one not used for the construction and maintenance of the realm, was a usable resource. Fuel for magic and feats of giant strength performed by knights.

Knights' mana passively roamed through their bodies, empowering them, while mages had to actively use it to power their spells. Mageknights did both, but regardless of the way awakened used their mana, the amount at their disposal was but a fraction of what formed their cores.

Newt had to work with that free-flowing current of residual energy. To squeeze it out into his body and mobilize it into the spell Magmin had explained. Immediately, there was a problem.

How do I push it out? Where is the exit? Newt wondered, scanning his realm.

He searched the sky, looking for what Magmin had described as the reverse flow crux, or more plainly, the portal leading back into Newt's physical body.

With no better ideas, Newt sensed the gentle current of energy and found a barely perceptible draft. Newt followed its upward spiral and recognized a faint vortex, siphoning mana from his realm. Fortunately, he was a mageknight, and his dualcore constantly leaked a noticeable amount of mana into his body.

Well, that was easy enough.

The search had taken less than ten minutes, and such swift progress drew a grin. Magmin returned just then, carrying another two crystals. The serpent snorted, but Newt could sense a hint of approval from his bestial teacher. Feeling smug, he focused on the task at hand.

Next comes dissipating the energy throughout my body. Step by step, Newt conquered the ability. First, he circulated mana through his flesh, then skin, then just outside his skin where his mindcore immediately caught a problem.

"I'm circulating an even mix of earth energy and fire energy, but Magmin Scales require pure fire energy. How do I purify it?"

"Focus on your realm," Magmin said behind Newt's back, making the youth jump and bang his head. The snake rolled its eyes at the pathetic display and continued its explanation. "Split the energy into two currents of different attributes before drawing it. Earth sinks while fire rises, separating them should come naturally."

Newt nodded, noting he should stop speaking his thoughts aloud, and followed Magmin's advice. Under the serpent's watchful eye making him extra nervous, he successfully drew fire mana on his fourth attempt, but after half a second, the stream collapsed, two mana attributes mixing once again.

"Good. Now, force the energy you do not plan to use back down. Use the spiral method I mentioned to draw the mixed energy. Pure fire should leave through the reverse crux, but let the earth sink, following the spiral's inner portion. This will make a mound of earth energy, and the pressure will keep growing, so you won't be able to accumulate much energy in it, but I discovered a trick."

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Magmin erected himself more from the ground, standing straighter. "The easiest way to handle the elemental imbalance is to draw the surplus earth energy and reinforce your body or let it disperse. It is a wasteful, temporary solution, but a solution nonetheless."

"Thank you."

Magmin snorted at Newt's thanks. It left the new gems and departed from the cave.

Magmin's trick was deceptively simple, and its difficulty increased with each moment Newt maintained it, as earth energy built up. Suddenly, all the conflicting motions made Newt's head spin and his gut lurch.

"I think I'm gonna be sick." He dropped everything he was doing, laid on his back, and stared at the black ceiling, sweat streaming down his face.

Newt focused on the nearly healed pain in his foot and on detaining the contents of his stomach in place.

There has to be a simpler way of doing this. What happens if I don't focus on making the reverse spiral and just let earth energy build up?

After a minute, Newt tried it and found that the constructs broke down after mere two-three seconds, but worked as intended before falling apart.

I can have three seconds of Magmin Scales this way. Once I get used to the technique, I bet I'll be able to keep it up longer.

The following hour passed in bursts of three seconds, during which Newt tried to form Magmin Scales followed by thirty-forty seconds of his mana reverting to an even blend of earth and fire.

Finally, after some ninety-odd attempts, intricate red scales covered Newt's skin.

"I did it!"

"Yes, you did. Good for you. Now, here are the problems with what you are doing. You have enough fire energy to use Magmin Scales for three heartbeats under strain. If you want to activate Magmin Flames simultaneously, you will only have them active for a heartbeat. Maybe shorter."

'What if I only cover my hand with it?' Newt wanted to ask, but stopped himself in time. The question certainly was practical, but one which would not advance his goals. Instead, there was a topic Newt had been searching for a way to broach.

"Could you then teach me something that would sap earth energy from me?" he asked. "That way, I could keep both abilities active at the same time without the elemental imbalance."

Magmin hissed at the notion.

"And pray tell, how do you intend to use them? In an ideal case, you would have to maintain Magmin Scales, Magmin Flame, and Granite Crust, all the while separating two flows of energy. Not to mention you would have to perform the separation within your flesh and not inside your realm, where energies are much more responsive to your desires."

The serpent paused. "You wish to fly when you can barely crawl."

"I'll take that as a compliment, coming from you."

Magmin was ready to hiss a response, but Newt's words blindsided it.

"What you seek to do is something I have never succeeded at. I rarely need to protect myself with Magmin Scales, since I have an innate control over my flames, I developed the ability to shield me from others. I have tried to use Granite Crust and Magmin Flame simultaneously, but the best I managed was a crumbling mix of the two, both performing considerably more poorly than when I used them separately."

Magmin paused, as if silently arguing with itself.

"If you learn how to summon Magmin Scales and Magmin Flame together, I will teach you Granite Crust, which turns your scales as solid as granite."

"Thank you, Teacher," Newt shouted excitedly, filling the cave with echos.

"Were you not paying attention?" Magmin said. "I said you will fail miserably and have your spirit crushed by attempting the impossible."

"And I still want to thank you for taking the time to teach me, even if you think I won't be able to do it."

"Foolish, naive amphibian," Magmin muttered. "Listen well. Magmin Flame works much like Magmin Scales, but instead of stopping the fire energy and keeping it locked within a pattern, you let it blast outwards. Naturally, not all the fire energy will burst away from you. Most of it will, but not all. Unless you are resistant to flames, you will injure yourself to an extent.

"Now let us test your Magmin Scales first. Conjure them, and I will slowly try to burn you. Do not be afraid. Even if you lose a limb, you are a newt, and you can regrow them."

Newt shuddered. "Please be careful. I don't think I can regrow limbs."

"You are a newt. You people do that. But don't worry. I will make sure to keep injuries at the minimum. I will start with a level of heat nowhere near that of the lava flowing outside."

Newt watched as mana rushed from Magmin's core, surging towards his jaw. Then, the serpent's fangs started glowing a reddish-orange, illuminating the dark cave and becoming visible to Newt's physical eyes.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Magmin asked, and Newt circulated his mana, his skin shimmering as intangible, dark-red scales formed atop it.

Magmin bit down without waiting a second. Its needle-sharp teeth pricked Newt's skin, the sharp points pressing without the intention of drawing blood. The burning sensation followed. The pain was less like burning yourself on searing flames, more like spilling scalding tea, but the youth still yelped in surprise.

A second later, Newt's concentration broke, and Magmin Scales disappeared. For an instant the burning went from hot to blazing, but Magmin swiftly withdrew its fangs.

"Pay more attention!" it hissed.

"Sorry," Newt said, while his arm throbbed in pain.

"Again, the other arm this time."

"Wait," Newt said. "Can I use Magmin Scales to get rid of the burn?"

"No. You can use your energy to fight and expel alien energies trapped within your flesh, but the burn you just suffered is a wound. Maybe if you learned how to regenerate using water energy. Water is good at closing wounds and regrowing."

Newt nodded, regretting he did not have the healing related water affinity, but after becoming a mageknight and finding the treasure which had beggared his ancestors, that was just being greedy.

"Again," Magmin said, and Newt summoned his defense.