I’d Give Up The World For You - Chapter 242

Rukelion hadn’t known what to say to his children about his home when they were little so he chose to say nothing at all. He figured it would be better until they were old enough to keep secrets so he decided not to tell them anything until they were old enough to learn fire magic.

Having that to look forward to with Roselia filled him with anticipation so great it managed to lessen his anxiety in the few months before her seventh birthday. He was ecstatic at the thought of finally being able to share his heritage with someone who would get it. Daisy was a wonderful listener but she wasn’t a fire mage so it wasn’t the same.

Years ago, after Peony was born, they had gotten into the habit of having daddy/daughter and mommy/daughter dates where one parent took Roselia out to do something fun just the two of them and the other stayed with the baby since bringing her places could make things difficult sometimes.

That habit continued to this day taking each of the kids out on their own. Today, the day that Rukelion would begin teaching his daughter magic, Daisy had agreed to take the others out so they could have their daddy/daughter date at home.

He wanted to be practice outside in an open area where it was less likely anything important would catch on fire. His wife would be mad if the inside of the house burned in any way.

“Where are we going, Daddy?” Roselia asked eagerly.

“We aren’t going anywhere today. For our special time I’m going to show you something awesome,” he explained.

Her father hadn’t disappointed her yet so she wasn’t upset by this news. “Okay! What is it? I want to see something awesome! Show me!”

Rukelion smiled at her enthusiasm and reached out to ruffle her hair. He led her out into the backyard and they sat across from each other on the grass. It was time for him to go into story-telling mode.

“No one knows exactly when or how but thousands of years ago eight people scattered across a continent in a faraway land were blessed with very special gifts. Those gifts involved the magical ability to control certain elements.

“The users of these gifts came to be known as mages. They were strong and powerful. Many of them went on to form nations using their magic. The first fire mage united a group of small tribes living near an ocean and created a beautiful country called Katalya.

“The fire mage was concerned that the kingdom he had built would fall without his magic until his first son was born and he realized that the boy had his gift. All magic works this way. It passes on through families.

“The descendants of the first fire mage protected Katalya for countless generations and its people and culture flourished. But like how your mom’s flowers can wilt and die, beautiful things don’t always last forever. Katalya fell.

“The fire mages did their best but only one survived. A boy a few years older than you who didn’t want his history to be forgotten. He kept a fire burning in his heart that he refused to let go out even after he found himself in a land without magic.”

Rukelion had practiced this so he would be able to talk about the horrors of his past lightly without much emotion so he wouldn’t scare his daughter. She stared at him, spellbound by his story so he continued. The most exciting part for her was coming up.

“Magic passes through families but it isn’t the only thing that does. You know how you have your mom’s eyes and freckles and Peony loves apples as much as I do?”

Roselia nodded. “And Lukas has hazel eyes like your right one.”

“Exactly! There are certain physical traits that correspond with the different elements of magic as well. For example, fire mages will always have bright red hair matching the fires they have in their hearts.”

“Like us?”

“Not ‘like’ us,” Rukelion said softly as he produced a fireball and tossed it back and forth a few times in his hands before making it disappear. “Me. You. Peony. The twins. We all have the fire within us. My brother taught me how to use my magic when I was your age. And now I’m going to teach you.”

Roselia’s eyes went wide. “I’m going to be able to do that?!”

“If you want to.”

He waited on bated breath to see if she was interested but his nerves were unnecessary. She began peppering him with questions as her eyes shone in a very similar way to her mother’s. He had hooked her already.

“What else can you do? Can you make a whole campfire? Can you draw pictures in the sky like with sparklers? Hang on…” Roselia’s eyes clouded with concern and she bit her lip. “You said there was only one fire mage left. And you said that grandma and grandpa and all our aunts and uncles died a long time ago when I asked about their picture. You’re the boy from the story, aren’t you, Daddy?”

Rukelion’s throat grew tight. “Yeah, I am. I was the last until you were born. I knew you were like me because of your hair and I was happy I would be able to share this with you.”

She crawled forward and threw her arms around his neck. “Don’t worry! I’ll be the best fire mage ever and learn everything you know so I can teach my kids someday too. I want to know everything you can tell me!”

He hugged her back tightly and kissed the top of her head before releasing her. “You’re a good girl, Rosie. I can tell you all about my home and our magic but you won’t be able to tell anyone else. It’s a secret we need to protect very carefully.”

“Because most of the people here don’t believe in magic.”

Rukelion always knew she was bright. She had been paying attention to his story. “Yes. If they knew, they would be afraid of us and treat us differently. So we can’t tell anybody. Even Peony and the twins until they’re older. Do you understand?”

Roselia frowned. She had never kept a secret from her sister before. “When can I tell her?”

“We can tell her together once she’s old enough to learn magic.”

“What about Mom?”

He laughed. “Your mom already knows. She was the first person who knew my secret and boy was she surprised! She hadn’t thought magic existed.”

Her eyes widened. “When did she find out?”

“A very, very long time ago. She’s known almost the entire time she’s known me. So you don’t have to worry about her. She knows I’m teaching you today too. Do you want to start the lesson now?”

“Yes! Teach me everything you can until everyone else comes back!”

Rukelion laughed again at her eagerness and held out a fireball. “Alright. Let’s start with this. You’re fireproof so touching fire won’t hurt you. I want you to concentrate on the heat you feel from the flame. You should be able to sense it without seeing it. Close your eyes.”

Roselia obediently squeezed her eyes shut as she let the flame tickle her palm. A few moments later they flew open and she beamed at him. “I can feel it!”

“Good!” He extinguished the flame. “Remember that feeling and find it in yourself. There’s a flame in your core. To utilize fire magic properly you need to be able to pull heat out of it. The first step to doing that is figuring out where it is.”

It took her several minutes but she managed to figure that out too. He moved on to teaching her how to draw the heat out of herself to create flame. She picked this up surprisingly quickly and had a small flame like the tip of a lit candle going in no time.

Rukelion grinned at her. “Excellent job, Rosie! Do you think you can try and make it any bigger?”

She screwed her face up in concentration and managed to make in double in size but it was still tiny. That wasn’t a problem. It was only her first try.

He continued praising her for her efforts and going over the basics of how to draw magic out of you until everyone else came home. She wouldn’t learn everything in a day or even a year at the rate they would have to go without anyone else seeing but he didn’t mind. Having someone to teach the art of fire magic to period was more than enough.

Over the next several months they moved from drawing fire out of you to controlling it and giving it a distinct shape like his fire flowers. It was slow going but Roselia was so eager to learn and tried her hardest in the limited time they had to practice.

She looked forward to their lessons almost as much as he did.. Being able to share this part of himself with someone properly for the first time since he lost the family he had been born into meant the world to him.