Lesson 1: What is Fairy Magic?

After a moment of giggling, having gotten through to the young apprentice, Elanorwen flew in front of her, holding up one slightly transparent finger as if she were speaking about something of great importance.

"Alright, listen closely, dear. Fairy magic, is very very veeeeery powerful. One of the strongest types of magic there is, I'd wager! So you musn't misuse it, okay?"

Another series of rapid nodding ensued, eager to learn yet another way to demolish her enemies.

"So is it going to be like, big and sparkly?! Or maybe really small but then it causes a massive explosion?! Or, or, is it going to bring people back from the dead?! I could probably summon a bunch of swords and have them fight while I fight, right?!"

These suggestions and ponderances were shot off in quick succession, a rapidfire barrage of wishful thinking.
(Ersa Avharain)
In response, Elanorwen merely shook her head left and right once.

"Nope! Nothing like that at all! It's not really an offensive sort of magic, unless you want it to be. Well, it's hardly even a defensive magic either...hm...how best to describe it..."

The plummet of expectations was written all over Ersa's face as the wave of excitement was quelled. If it wasn't an offensive or defensive type of magic, then what could it possibly have been? And regardless of what it was or wasn't, would the young teen even care at that point?

"...Um...okay? So...what type is it then? Ergh...I can feel...all of my energy...draining...grk...going to lie back down..."

This dramatic display of loss of interest elicted yet another series of giggles from the seemingly less and less mature fairy.
(Ersa Avharain)
However, before Ersa could fully lie back down, the fairy saw fit to finally explain herself, though not without a bit of questioning first.

"Well, Ersa, darling. What do you do when you use earth magic, and even holy magic? How do you use the magic, exactly?"

A strange question, to be sure, as the girl assumed she was being quizzed on a spur of the moment.

"What do I do? Um...well, these days, since I mastered earth, I just kind of put little commands with mana into the ground to will it to do whatever I want, I guess? I don't really think too hard about the how, I guess. But since I'm still working on holy magic a bit, I had to think about it more in order to use it effectively, I guess. Why do you ask?"

Putting her hand to her chin as if in deep thought, the fairy nodded solemnly as if this were exactly what she expected.
(Ersa Avharain)
"Yes indeed, that's how you humans tend to do magic, yeah. Er, but...why doesn't the earth just do it for you?"

Naturally, the question caused a scrunched up brow, as it was as confusing as it was ridiculous.

"Do it for me? That doesn't even...make any sense? Why would it? Or how? I'm just one person who needs to use the magic at that time, not anyone particularly special."

It was a humbling moment to be sure, as, despite what the girl spoke aloud, she knew herself to be but one person in a vast world that wouldn't register her death even if she were to drop dead this very moment. Only one of millions, if not billions. Clearly Eternia had more to do than keep an eye on just one little girl that walked along its surface.

"Yes, exactly! Well, not exactly, because you're special to me, darling!~ But! Why not, I don't know, seem more relevant to the land around you in general?"
(Ersa Avharain)
The conversation was getting a bit insulting, as Ersa now thought that Elanorwen had tricked her yet again, and was merely teasing her to see how far along she would go with it until realizing she wanted to part of being made a fool of.

"Sheesh, Elly! If it was just a joke from the beginning you should have said so! It's been like four years since you made that promise!"

When Ersa looked down, she found that the fairy had now taken a seat on a daisy of some sort. Initially, this was a somewhat confusing sight, as she had never really Elanorwen this close to the ground before, generally always noting her presence as being surrounded by the air around her as she flew.

"You sound pretty upset! Try kicking me! Or, even, nudging me with your shoe a bit, alright?"

Was the fairy asking to be punished now? Her actions as of late got stranger and stranger, yet Ersa didn't have it in her heart to harm the diminutive creature who hadn't really angered her as much as she let on.
(Ersa Avharain)
Before she could voice a complaint, however, the fairy insisted.

"No, no. Just try it! Nudge me a bit! Just a bit!"

Feeling somewhat guilty about her display of annoyance, the girl meekly attempted to nudge the fairy from the daisy with her foot, only to be pushed away by a curious gust of wind.

"The heck? If you're just going to use magic, then I can try harder, I guess!"

She tried yet again with a bit more force, but the wind seemed to only get stronger, rustling the nearby trees as it picked up and pushed the girl back.

"Cheater! Take this!"

As hard as she could, Ersa launched a kick that would put a punter to shame, yet the wind launched a gale that would put the girl to shame, as it threw her clean off her feet and into the grass.
(Ersa Avharain)
Oof.

"Siiiiiiiiiigh! If you just wanted to make a fool out of me you should have said so! This is dumb now!"

Clearly a sore loser, the young girl pouted at the fairy's display of magical prowess in the art of wind magic. Yet, despite all of the wind, the fairy hadn't budged an inch, opting instead to sit on the flower and grin cheekily at the failed attempts, holding up one finger once more in preparation to give a lecture.

"Now then, dear. Would you believe me if I said I didn't use wind magic at all?"

"Uh! No! Obviously not! Because you obviously did!"

"Oh but I didn't! I did use fairy magic, however!"

More teasing, obviously. Perhaps the fairy thought for some reason that making a fool of the girl was the best way to tend to both of their boredom, as the fairy merely grew more and more amused as Ersa became fired up.

"That wasn't fairy magic! Anyone who knows how to use wind magic can do something like that!"
(Ersa Avharain)
At this, the very flew up to hover in front of the pouting girl's face, excited for some reason.

"Yes! Yes, you're absolutely right! But, the point is, I didn't have to, ohoho!~ You see, darling, as a fairy, you're not very durable in a physical sense, but nearly invincible when it comes to magical protection and whatnot. Even if I didn't expect you to try to kick me at all, the same outcome would have been achieved depending on the extent of the input, you see."

What exactly was the fairy going on about? Using magic without using that specific type of magic, or rather, using one type of magic to use other types of magic, was simply unheard of to the young Avharain. It would be akin to using thoughts of destruction, death, and damnation to summon a holy barrier. It simply didn't make any sense at all.

"The heck are you on about? Could you just...explain it to me nice and simple?"
(Ersa Avharain)
The fairy nodded enthusiastically, moreso content with having harmlessly knocked the girl down than anything else. It was finally time to explain exactly what Fairy Magic really was.

"You see, dear. Fairy Magic is a supportive type of magic that sends a suggestion to the environment around you that you have its best interests at heart, understand? It uses the magic you already know, and gives a desire to that particular type of mana to lend you aid without you having to do it yourself. As creatures of Fae, we faries have a natural harmony to nature itself, and for whatever protection we can't provide ourselves, the world provides it for us!"

A small spark of realization spread over the girl's features, slowly coming to understand what it was the fairy spoke of, but clearly needing a few more explanatory sentences to really drive the point home.

"Alright! Say for instance there's a hunter, and I'm busy picking berries or something, singing merrily. With my expertise in wind magic, the fairy magic I already have would resonate with the wind, somewhat asking it politely to protect me while I go about my business. Were that hunter to shoot his arrow, the first shot would almost definitely miss because of the sudden changing of the wind, as you just witnessed! Then, however, it's up to me to do the rest myself and fly away or something. Equal input for an equal output comes into the equation, of course."
(Ersa Avharain)
So it was somewhat like a get out of jail free pass, yet it seemed more like a racial ability than anything that would be within the girl's ability to use. Somehow, it seemed as if the fairy picked up on these thoughts almost immediately.

"You can do it too, I promise! I mean, it'll probably take quite a bit of work, but it's fine! Yet, it's not as powerful as you'd think from that demonstration. If I had no affinity for wind, you'd kick me high into the sky, probably! Or instead, your footing would be lost as the earth under you slips ever so slightly. Understand? In a sense, it's only as powerful as your mastery is!"

It was an interesting idea to be sure, yet it seemed as if Elanorwen had mastered nearly everything there was to master. The girl wouldn't be surprised if a wall of fire erupted out of nowhere whenever the fairy was in danger.

"Huh...so it'd kind of make it so you never get taken by surprise?"

"Oh heavens, no! If that hypothetical hunter had enchanted arrows stronger than any natural force of wind the fairy in question would be a goner! It is by no means a failsafe."
(Ersa Avharain)
Well that was a bummer. What was the point of learning a type of magic that had all sorts of algorithms?

"Hm...guess it's good for having a fighting chance in surprise attacks then I guess."

"Remember, dear, it's a supportive type of magic. Defense is only one thing to support. There's offensive as well. With earth magic, a lot of the difficulty for beginners is simply lifting larger and larger rocks. Back when you were a novice, that used tons of mana, right? Well...what if that rock wanted to move just as much as you wanted to move it? You'd cut the mana usage down tenfold!"

Aha! So it did have some sort of practical use! It made a little bit more sense now, as the time the fairy bound Ersa to the ground with the earth, it felt as if she had to fight two wills instead of just one. She realized now that perhaps to break free of her bindings she would have to fight Elanorwen's magic just as much as she had fight the will of the earth itself, who seemed more than happy to comply with the fairy's wishes.

"Alright! It sounds exciting! Are we going to start training right now?!"
(Ersa Avharain)
There was a fire rising in the girl's spirit, now eager to learn everything there was to know about the somewhat powerful type of magic.

"Nope! That's all for today! You'll have to spend more time with your group members and your teacher if you want to learn more.~"

The look of sheer disappointment splashed about Ersa's face could cause even trees to frown.

"W-what?! B-but you got me all excited! What am I supposed to do now?!"

"Who knows! Run around and fight stuff, I guess, dear! But that's all for today! And remember, within everything, there is life and willpower. Towards the conclusion of our lessons you'll come to learn that. Until then, stay in school!"

And with that, the lessons were over, as despite Ersa's earnest protests, the fairy simply wouldn't budge in her final decision to hold off further lessons until the girl learned a thing or two from her own companions.
(Ersa Avharain)