3031 Trust and Secrets (Part 1)
That day, on her way out, Dawn had noticed Selia, Kamila, and the kids practicing Light Mastery.
She just needed to study their spells for a few minutes to distinguish Lith's students from Nalrond's. Lith had learned tier zero on his own, teaching his version of Light Mastery to Kamila, Aran, and Leria.
Selia, Lilia, and Leran, instead, practiced using the exercises Dawn had developed for the Rezars. Even the sequence of the exercises and the number of repetitions were the same.
"Yes, my legacy." Dawn nodded. "If you have trouble remembering how your ancestors learned their craft, we can go in the back of the mansion and I can 'freshen' your memory."
"No, thanks." At the mention of their previous encounter, Nalrond went pale. "Do we have a problem?"
He looked at the kids and then at Dawn. The Agni had never thought that the Horseman would find out about his Light Mastery lessons and now he was scared for his new family's safety.
"No. As I said the last time, I've moved on." Dawn shrugged, making him sigh in relief. "I was just curious."
The Horseman felt a gentle tug at her dress and when she looked down, she saw Aran offering her a wildflower from the garden and its holographic counterpart.
"Hi, miss. My name is Aran. Are you a friend of Aunt Solus? Because you are as pretty as her."
"What a charmer." Dawn giggled, caressing his black hair before taking both flowers from his hands. "We are not friends but we are related. Sort of distant cousins."
She appreciated how despite its ethereal nature the hologram followed her hand with minimal lag and retained the same detail level away from the boy.
"Remarkable." Dawn said after comparing the hologram to its original. "It's a very accurate replica. Did you learn this by yourself?"
"No, Uncle Lith taught me." Aran shook his head. "But I'm stuck. I can't make a construct even after practicing for two years."
"Well, Light Mastery is a tough disciple." She nodded. "To what do I owe these pretty flowers? Are you asking me out on a date?"
"No, I want advice." Aran replied. "Uncle Lith also taught me that pretty words and a nice gift can sell water to a fish. I was…" He checked his notebook for difficult words. "Buttering you up."
"I'm offended." Dawn's silvery laughter didn't match her words.
"Lith Tiamat Verhen, what in the nine hells have you been teaching your brother?" Elina almost never swore so he immediately understood the gravity of his situation.
Lith took out his communication amulet, pretended to have an important call, and excused himself in a rush.
"What am I doing wrong, pretty miss?" Aran said, not aware of having revealed his strategy to his mark.
"I'm sorry. I don't want you to pick bad habits." Dawn said. "Like turning you into a goody two-shoes. So here's what you have to do…"
While the adults were still flabbergasted, the Horseman whispered a few things in Aran's ear and his face lit up in a big smile.
Kelia burst out in a laughter, not knowing whether Nalrond's shocked expression or Elina's outraged grimace was funnier.
'She's laughing.' Solus said to Kamila while nudged her. 'It's the first time since she got here.'
'I know. Kids can do miracles. Let's shut up and let her enjoy the moment.'
Aran put the advice in practice, but failed miserably. It wasn't even a hologram anymore. Just a bunch of fireflies stuck together.
"Please." Nalrond said with a scoff. "Constructs are tier four and Aran only knows tier zero Light Mastery. You can't skip three tiers of magic like that. It took Lith more than one lesson to make a stable construct and he was an academy graduate with years of experience."
"Please." Dawn scoffed back. "The problem was the teacher. There's a big difference between the original and a knockoff."
"If you say so." The Agni clicked his tongue and pointed at the scattered light. "Don't worry, kid. You still have a weak core. Even the most basic of constructs consumes more mana than a tier five spell until you learn how-"
The words died in his throat as the fireflies coalesced into a flower made of solid light.
"The farm?"
"Told you so." Dawn opened her palm and Aran gave her the flower to examine. "Needs work but it's a great start. Don't forget what I told you and keep practicing."
The stem and the petals resisted the pressure of her fingers but the moment she squeezed the leaves, the construct cracked and leaked mana.
"Hi, pretty lady. My name is Leria." She offered Dawn a flower and a hologram of her own, making the Horseman and Kelia laugh harder.
"Lith! Come here immediately!" Rena didn't find the situation funny anymore but her brother had already taken care of making himself scarce.
"I hope to grow as beautiful as you. Can you please give me advice as well? Aran and I are rivals and he now has an unfair advantage."
"Good point." Dawn nodding. "One question first. Who's prettier between me and Lady Tyris?"
The Guardian was sitting on a bench near Elysia, reading a book. Hearing her name, she lifted her eyes from the page.
Leria opened her mouth to speak but said nothing. She checked the notebook where she jotted down her uncle's teachings and said in a flat tone devoid of conviction:
"You are the prettiest lady of the house."
"What a silver tongue. I wonder who she is taking after." Seeing the guilty expression on the girl's face, Tyris dropped her book from laughter.
"Well said!" Dawn chuckled and whispered something in Leria's ear.
"Lith Tiamat Verhen! I demand an explanation!" Rena roared.
Kelia kept laughing and at that point, Solus and Kamila joined her.
"How is that possible?" This time Nalrond studied the hologram with Life Vision.
He saw its light dispensing, but not because Leria had lost control of the spell like he had believed earlier. Life Vision showed him that the sparkles were becoming solid. Instead of turning the hologram into a construct in one go, Leria had split it into several smaller pieces.
They still retained their details and shape. She just didn't assemble them until she had made the fragments stable enough to withstand the weight of the full flower. After that, shaping the hard-light construct was as easy as matching the numbered pieces of a puzzle.
"Did you really believe that I shared everything I know with your ancestors?" Dawn said at the same moment Leria's flower came to life. "I taught the Rezars just enough Light Mastery to exploit them as my unwitting assistants.
"I made them perform my experiments and take all the risks as compensation for what they did to me while I was their prisoner. I kept your ancestors ignorant on purpose so that they failed to understand the real scope of what they were doing.
"The fact that even though your people had centuries to practice and improve on my teachings you are none the wiser should tell you something."
'Damn, she's right.' Nalrond clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. 'This is the final nail in the coffin of my na?ve beliefs.'
