Chapter 13: Awakening
After a few days of practice, magic had become almost routine. Granted, directing the elements with pure thought still felt pretty surreal.
Verna had them lined up for progress demonstrations, but they all knew it was just a formality. They’d caught the hang of it by day 2, and while the practice did get monotonous, at least it was legit magic. Besides, rushing fundamentals never ended well.
A tea service waited on one of the training room tables. “Right then!” Verna moved to it. “Let’s start with something proper. I’ve various teas for you here. Telsur, steeped at one-hundred sixty degrees Fahrenheit; marreth, best at one-eighty; and lastly,” she set down the last cup, “rennes at two-hundred twenty. Mind the temperatures, for there’s naught worse than ruining a fine tea by carelessness.”
Cole figured Verna would test them somehow, but this definitely wasn’t what he expected. Tea, of all things. Something about getting judged on proper brewing made all that practice feel inadequate.
Might as well get on with it. He started with the telsur, amping up the temperature the same way he’d do it on a stove. Of course he had to get stuck with the hardest to discern – trying to hit that sweet spot between warm tap water and a boil was quite a pain in the ass. But he managed.
Verna lifted the cup and took a careful sip. “Perfect! Sergeant Walker?”
Ethan crushed the marreth test, like his dormant British genes finally woke up for something. Verna’s nod said it all.
Miles drew the rennes – lucky bastard just had to crank it up to boiling. No finesse required; just heat till the bubbles hit.
Verna gathered the cups. “Right then. Let’s move on.”