The Asshai's Bloodmage

 Aside from all the passengers and crew, there were only two people who weren't part of our group to take the exam today. Two lines were formed and all we had to do was put our hands on a crystal ball, at least that was the first part according to the organizer. To my surprise, crew member after crew member failed until the two sisters who were together in the first cabin of the ship were the first to pass. The balls released a glow that illuminated their surroundings, unlike the previous majority who had no reaction. The two hugged each other and screamed in celebration of their achievement before going to the next room guided by another member of the tower. After them, 2 more normal passengers and 1 of the prostitutes also passed. Soon it was the turn of some members of the Order and they all passed without suspense, Aisha and Zhang's Dornish assistant also passed. Before it was my turn, 4 more people passed. One of them was one of the Ghiscari men who had joined our crew in New Ghis, the other was a man from the bachelor cabin, and the last two were Ted and his brother.

Two sets of brothers passed... Could talent be genetic? That could be an interesting topic to research. In the end, only 11 people passed, besides the members of the Order of Sages. I told Sir Arthur to escort those who failed back to the ship and inn, along with Salim, who had come as a spectator. I also told the people from the inn to retrieve their things and move into the mansion. They would all have jobs, either in the shop, in the mansion, or as employees doing chores for the Order itself. It was hard to find trustworthy people, and with my crew and passengers, I at least knew their backgrounds. Soon I too passed the initial test and followed the 11 people and the members of the Order to the next room.

The examiner had changed, and was now a hunchbacked old man with a similar mask that only covered his mouth. Before the tests began, I told all those who passed that just because they had passed the first phase, our Order would take care of them and ensure that they could study magic even if they did not pass the other tests here today. Everyone was smiling at the prospect of a new life learning magic, this was something that only a few of them really looked forward to when they came to Asshai and for the others it was all an exciting new thing that they would not give up. Soon the old hunchback began to speak:

"Welcome to the Garden of Beasts, you can call me Senior Daran or Elder Brother Daran, I am the examiner for this phase of the recruitment test. First of all, congratulations on passing the first phase of the magic test, having the talent for magic means that you were destined for this city, and even if in the end you are left out of the list of 100 recruits this year, know that your studies in magic are not over. You will just have to follow a more difficult path and your persistence will be very important."

Everyone reflected on the old man's words of encouragement before he continued:

"The first test proved that you have some kind of magical affinity. To be more precise, the test confirmed that you can feel a certain type of magic with your bodies. This affinity varies from person to person, with some even feeling more than one affinity. Behind me, you can see a wall with several symbols. These symbols represent all types of known magic. Know that there are not only basic elemental magics like fire, water, wind, and earth... There are strange magics like mind, poison, soul, body, sacred, darkness, light, shadows, among others... In the next test, you will place your hands on the wall behind me and leave your minds blank. After that, the wall will show which magic your bodies and souls can feel. In addition, some combinations form what we call special bodies. This is a rare talent where the target can feel two magics that complement each other, forming a natural synergy that will always make the person ahead of others in learning, talent, and power. This year our tower has already recruited someone with one of these special bodies, he will be a colleague studying alongside you when classes start soon. Now who wants to be first?"

Soon the two sisters who passed the test introduced themselves and everyone let them go first. I see the oldest sister named Katia who came to Asshai to leave her work and life as a prostitute behind, her eyes show determination as she closes her eyes and places both hands on the wall. An energy shines on the wall near her hands as if it were leaving her body and then it begins to move away from her slowly, leaving a trail of light in its wake. The way the energy moves almost looks like a snake going after its prey on the stone wall. It doesn't take long before the energy reaches a symbol of the Asshai'i language that represents water. It remains there for a few seconds and then the entire wall stops glowing.

"You have an elemental affinity with water, this is an element capable of healing, but it is not so effective for attacks, water can only cause great destruction when you master spells in its solid form, ice. And that requires a lot of study and understanding of the very nature of the element."

The young woman nodded and bowed to the old man before moving away from the wall and returning to the crowd. Her younger sister Karine was next and repeated the previous process. The process was the same as her older sister's, following the same path and stopping at the water symbol. She had the same affinity and could only use 1 element, just like her older sister.

"It is normal for members of the same family to have the same affinities for magic... Some studies claim this fact, but without much proof as to why... Who is next?" Senior Daran stated as if that was not so unusual.

'Old Daran was not sure if they were related, but he noticed how similar and close the two girls were, he even cited some studies about what I had thought just now when I saw the sisters passing the test.'

Next were Zaya and Vitarys, Zaya was the first and when the energy moved from her hands to the wind element, it did not disappear as it did with the two sisters. Moving forward the energy followed a new path going to the Asshai'i symbol that represented the word mind.

"Wind is an element focused on agility and movement, but it can also be used for lethal and extremely precise attacks. While mind is a rare type of magic focused on deceiving enemies. A mind mage can not only change their appearance and the appearance of the environment, but go further by controlling sounds and smells, at the highest levels they can also project into the minds of enemies not only images and sounds but their greatest fears."

When the old man finished explaining Zaya's two elements, Vitarys walked over to the wall and showed the same symbol of wind, and then his energy moved towards fire. The old man simply gave another simple and direct explanation about the element with the greatest destructive power. After that, the next ones to take the test were the Ghiscari crew member, the prostitute, the single man, followed by Ted and his brother. They all had only 1 element, and only Ted's brother had 2. I could see the skinny boy's discouragement at being considered inferior to his older brother.

Next was Jack, his affinities were shadows and darkness, a combination considered good because they were compatible, although they did not form the special physique, the old examiner still praised him.

Omar was the next one to be evaluated with the affinity for water that we all already knew, and his second affinity was Light. Light was the opposite of shadow and was mentioned by the old man as one of the best elements to have in the Land of Shadows. I was happy that they both had two affinities, and I started to hope that all the founding members had the best talent possible. I saw some hesitating about being next, so I went ahead. When Aisha saw me going ahead, she took courage and stood next to me to be next, followed by the Dornish girl.

I looked at the wall with all kinds of magic. For someone who meditated frequently, I didn't need to close my eyes to clear my mind, so I placed my hands on the wall. I felt a little scared that I might not have two affinities, but I ignored the feeling. Soon I felt the heat in my hands and the energy flowing towards the fire symbol. It stayed there for a few seconds before moving and stopping at the earth symbol. I sighed and removed my hands when the light went out. My second element was earth... I didn't think it was a bad affinity and I didn't wish for anything specific. I believe that all affinities have their pros and cons, and I liked earth, I felt that it was something that suited me. After that, Aisha was also tested as having two affinities, being fire and shadows. The Dornishwoman only had 1 affinity, which was also shadows. Liza was next, having lightning and water affinities. Only Jhon and Zhang were left now. Zhang stepped forward in his white/silver armor and placed both hands on the wall. The energy came out, heading towards the Asshai'i symbol of the body and then changed, heading towards the soul. While this was happening, another phenomenon happened on the stone wall. Its sides began to glow, transforming the rectangular rock into a painting with glowing tips. The old man soon shouted:

"A SPECIAL PHYSICIST!"

When the lights went out and he removed his hands, the old man began to praise Zhang and congratulate him. Meanwhile, before the old man remembered to explain Zhang's special physique and unusual affinities, Jhon stepped forward to be the last to finish the exam, but soon another shocking scene occurred that made everyone open their mouths and almost gave the old man a heart attack.

***

At the same time that Zhang also took his affinity test, in the infamous Stygai the Corpse City, inside a huge Tower. A stone stele similar to the one the members of the Order of Sages were using in the Garden of Beasts lit up, catching the attention of a hooded man who was meditating not far from it. When he turned his neck to look in the direction of the glowing stele, his hood fell from his head and all that could be seen was a skeleton's skull. Just as the robed skeleton saw the symbols that represented a certain special physique. The skinless face that had only bones, actually managed to form a strange sinister smile.

***

Special thanks to the Patreons:

Magic Apprentice: Parsa, Pato Senalima, Axel Bour, Gabriele Sulpizio, Vinnie, Jan, frimorigo, Scott Robertson and Takatchi!