"Are the other elements able to create mana birds as well?" Kail asked, curious about whether there were any shared abilities.
"Each element has the potential to do so but it depends on the mage," Nova answered. "Though those with the darkness element and the light element are more likely to be able to create one."
"Do you think it's possible for me to copy the abilities of other elements?" If Kail could do that, he'd have more of a chance against the Goddess of Light.
Spider shook his head as he spoke this time. "Each element is limited to its own abilities. But, then again, you are the first known copycat mage. You may be able to turn the abilities of the other elements into darkness abilities."
"Copycat Mage," Kail echoed, musing over the term. It was a fitting title. But it was too on point. It could prevent him from becoming stronger in the future if anyone else started to call him that.
"More than likely that will become your title as you age and gain battle experience." Nova smiled. "The fact that you already have one between us is a feat in itself. Congrats, Copycat Mage." He bowed respectfully as he had done when they met.
Kail couldn't help but smile. He was already growing attached to the title since it came from the two elves.
Spider bowed with his hand over his heart. "Copycat Mage, please guide us to a future where darkness rules." His tone was light and playful.
Kail laughed, feeling embarrassed. Spider was right, he had to admit. All hopes of the darkness element resurfacing as a valid part of the world rested heavily on Kail's shoulders.
"Copycat Mage. I like that title. Such a fitting title for my adorable warrior," came a melodic voice beside Kail.
At first, Kail thought he was the only who had heard the Goddess of Darkness but a quick look at Spider and Nova's awed expressions told him otherwise.
Kail smiled, finding himself relieved to have her at his side again. "Welcome back, Izabella."
Spider and Nova both went from awed to thoroughly confused. "Izabella?" they echoed in unison.
"That is my real name," the goddess laughed.
The two elves shot looks of shock at Kail. Kail smiled and shrugged loosely. He wouldn't tell them how easily he had obtained her name. He felt an invisible hand begin to pet his head. A sense of pride washed over him from his left side.
"You are proving more and more to be the perfect choice as a warrior," Izabella said, pride in her voice. "I'm happy that you're growing strong so quickly."
The night passed too quickly for Kail's liking but he was more than happy to fall into his soft bed a few hours before he needed to wake up. When a maid woke him from his deep sleep, he was tempted to shoo her out and sleep the day away. Why shouldn't he?
He was rich and was a kid. Surely his parents wouldn't mind if he slept in once in a while. He closed his eyes, unable to keep them open. His bladder screamed at him to go to the bathroom though and after more insistence from the maid, he finally threw off the covers and got out of bed.
He yawned as he went into the bathroom to begin preparing for the day.
When he stepped out of the bathroom, the maid was laying down a light blue silk robe on his bed. "Today is the first day of the Harvest Festival!" she said excitedly when Kail asked. "You and Prince Diacus will be officially starting the festival at noon so we need to hurry and get you dressed up."
Kail dug through his memories to try and figure out when anyone had told him of this. He had been so tired through the day from his nightly lessons that he must have been zoned out during any conversations he had.
"Um, right. That," was all he could say.
She giggled. "You'll be going to rehearsal so don't worry, Young Master."
Kail was glad to hear that. He was quickly dressed up in the silk robe that reminded him of a kimono. It was similar in fashion. Upon closer inspection, he could see maple leaves in dark blue falling down the robe and piling up on the bottom.
They weren't just sewn on. They were literally moving! Kail's eyes were wide when he had caught the movement out of the corner of his eye as the left sleeve was pulled over his arm and over the plain white robe he had put on first. It reminded him of the LED clothes from his modern world. The only difference was that there was mana that he could feel being emanated from the robe. It was very faint but it was definitely there.
The kimono, as he decided to call it due to the striking similarities, was an enchanted item. Even the wide silk sash being tied around his waist was enchanted to match. The maid smiled at his amazement as she continued to dress him up.
She helped him put on wooden sandals fashioned with a matching light blue silk ribbon. They were oddly comfortable and didn't feel like he was standing on wood. He realized that they too were enchanted but more in a comfort sense rather than fashion.
Instead of feeling the wood, he felt like he was standing on a soft and plush carpet.
It amazed him again how much magic could affect every day objects. If only his modern world had been able to use magic as commonly as this world. He was certain that even bigger advancements in technology could be made.
Maybe he could have been able to use the magic he knew in his first life without being judged.
Once he was ready for the festival, he was ushered out to a waiting carriage. His parents were close behind him. The journey seemed to drag on forever when they left home.
His excitement made it unbearable and he welcomed the cool air when he finally stepped off when they arrived. The carriage had pulled up in front of a decorated large building. The decorations were in theme with the autumn season. There were even familiar orange pumpkins sitting on either side of the steps leading up to the door.
The glass door was swung open and out came the king. "Ah, you made it just in time! Quickly now! We're pressed for time thanks to that damn accident overnight."
Skipping formalities, the Phoenix family was practically shoved through the door one by one. Kail briefly wondered what the accident could have been but his attention was captured by the many people rushing through the building, moving from room to room.
The inside was large and filled with different people finishing up decorations, carrying hair and makeup supplies, clothes, and what looked to be fireworks.
Prince Diacus, wearing a matching kimono to Kail's, hurried over to them when he saw them after stepping out from a room to the left. He grabbed Kail's hand. "Come on! We don't have long to rehearse!"
Kail nearly tripped as he was pulled away from his family and into the room that Diacus had stepped out of.
He was pulled through the smaller room to some stairs across from the doorway. Up the stairs they went and into a hallway before taking a right into another room. It was a wide open spaced room with a small platform at the center.
The queen looked up from a stack of papers in her hand. She had been waiting for them. Diacus pulled Kail onto the platform and had him stand beside him on the left.
The queen, wearing an orange kimono with pumpkins and falling leaves in gold, began telling them what they needed to do.
The two would stand on a high platform in the center of the city's market square. The two would take turns giving a brief speech, which was written ahead of time, before shooting fireworks into the sky from long tubes that they would be given before walking up onto the platform.
Later, when night fell and the bonfires were lit, the two would dance first to start off the nighttime festivities.
Luckily for Kail, the dance was something he had been taught since the first of the year. It was a traditional dance passed down through the ages since the days of The Great Freeze. The days of old when the first Goddess of Light had been lost were called by many different names but most often he had seen it called The Great Freeze in books.
The dance had been created by the combined groups of races to help locate the new goddess. It once was used to amplify magic and cast mana out in massive areas. After the new goddess was found and deified, the dance became a tradition in memory of those who had perished and suffered during those frozen days.
Kail glanced at Diacus after the rehearsal. Tonight, the dance would also be part of an announcement of their engagement to the public. He felt the dance didn't deserve to be part of a political agenda. It was full of too much ancient and sorrowful meaning to be used in such a way.
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