Chapter 4534: Manohar’s Legacy (Part 2)
Chapter 4534: Manohar’s Legacy (Part 2)
"Look at him go." Vastor chuckled, a sad smile forming on his lips. "That’s quite slower than Manohar, but in the holograms he showed me to mock me, he was much older than Dhiral, and Sitri didn’t let him study magic properly until he was six."
Ryssa looked at the Master and then at her son, not knowing whether to be happy or scared. They watched the young boy finish the book in minutes without writing anything and put it down with reverence.
Dhiral closed his eyes and sifted through everything he had read, trying to understand the underlying principles of each element and their potential. It took him quite a few minutes, and once he was done, he opened the Basics of Magic again.
This time, he read more slowly, needing almost a minute to flip to the next page.
"Thanks, Zogar." A spark of her Consort Ring projected a curtain of light that would distort their faces and voices in the unlikely event Dhiral raised his eyes from the book. "I have a question for you, and I need you to be honest with me."
"Of course." Vastor replied.
"If Duke and I were to have another child, what are the chances it would be Manohar-ish like Dhiral?" Ryssa swallowed hard, afraid of the answer, no matter what it was.
"The truth?" The Master asked, and the Dryad nodded. "I believe any child you two have will be at least as smart as Dhiral. Why do you ask?"
"Because I’m pregnant again." Ryssa brought his hand to her womb, and a quick diagnostic spell confirmed her words. "I was so happy at first, but then I got so scared! Dhiral is so smart, and his father is highly educated, whereas I’m just a plant folk.
"I’ve never studied magic properly, and I already struggle keeping up with one son. What’s going to happen when I have two of them?" She started to sob. "Why is this happening to me, Zogar? What did Manohar do?"
"You’ll do what you always do, Ryssa. Your best." Vastor patted her back, offering her a handkerchief and a strong chamomile tea. "As for your other questions, you’ve asked me the truth, and I’ll give it to you. At least as far as I understand it.
"I can’t be sure because I never examined your and Duke’s life force in detail, but here’s what I think happened. Manohar, in his infinite genius, studied himself until he discovered what made him different from the rest of us boring humans.
"Then, when he heard about you and Duke getting serious, he decided to give you what he considered the greatest gift he believed anyone could wish for. Himself." Ryssa’s eyes steeled, and her expression soured, but the Master raised his hand for silence.
"I’m not questioning your loyalty. I’m sure Duke is Dhiral’s father. I’m just explaining to you Manohar’s line of thinking and action." He said, and the Dryad nodded for him to continue.
"I believe that Manohar identified and located the sections of your and Duke’s life forces that contained your dormant ’Manohar side’ and activated them. You two didn’t notice anything because you are adults and your brains are fully developed.
"Dhiral, instead, had his ’Manohar side’ affect his cognitive abilities since conception."
"Was he insane?" Ryssa blurted out, realizing how obvious the answer to her question was the moment it escaped her lips. "I mean, what if Duke and I broke up? Didn’t he think what a Manohar raised like a Dryad might become?"
"He sure did." Vastor nodded. "That’s why he activated only half the ’Manohar side’ in each one of you. You can have children like Dhiral only with Marth, and he only with you."
"But why?" Ryssa wanted to go to the afterlife just to kill the god of healing again. "Why did he do that? It’s thoughtless and cruel!"
"Quite the contrary." Vastor sighed. "As I said, Manohar must have considered it a gift. It was his way of leaving something of himself behind and entrusting it to his best friend. Also, he made sure that the baby he ’contributed’ to making wouldn’t suffer as he did.
"Manohar felt alone most of his life, growing up surrounded by people who didn’t love or understand him. Sitri did her best, but she was no mage and had no interest in the healing arts. I believe Manohar wasn’t born mad. He grew up mad to protect himself from the stupidity of all those around him."
Ryssa thought about Dhiral, and her heart tightened.
’Aside from Shargein, he has no real friend.’ She thought. ’I can see how happy he is when he discovers something, and how disappointed Dhiral is when he tries to share his discovery with me and realizes I don’t understand a word he says.
’I pretend to be proud of him, and he pretends to be alright. We’re playing a game of charade that hurts us both.’
"Your son is a special boy, Ryssa, and needs special nurturing." Vastor continued. "His intellect requires constant stimulation or boredom will literally drive him insane. Also, he can’t form any real bonds with people he can’t communicate with.
"That’s why I brought him those books, and I don’t treat him as a normal child. Dhiral learns faster than his peers, but that can’t apply only to magic. He must also learn self-discipline and respect, or he’ll really become Manohar the Second.
"To avoid that, we must be people he can admire and respect, Ryssa. Most importantly, we must speak his language if we want your son to listen to us."
"That explains why you and Duke have such a good relationship with Dhiral, Zogar, but I’m nothing like you." Ryssa sobbed. "I’m not a proper mage, let alone a professor."
"You’re not dumb either." Vastor countered. "You’ve turned from an airhead Dryad into a proper lady in mere weeks. You run the internal politics of the White Griffon like a tight ship.
"You are the reason Duke can focus on his dealings with the Royal Court and duties as Headmaster without all his hair turning grey as it happened to Linjos. All you need to do is push yourself a little harder."
"Tell me what I have to do, and I’ll do it, Zogar." Ryssa blew her nose and noticed that Dhiral had moved on to the second textbook.
His eyes widened, and his mouth opened in shock when he realized he had failed to fully grasp one of Silverwing’s teachings. Instead of getting angry or throwing a tantrum, a beaming smile appeared on his little face.
The world was no longer a grey blob, and meeting people who could intellectually challenge and defeat him, even through the pages of a book, was thrilling. Dhiral finished the paragraph and then kept his promise to Vastor.
He put the second textbook down and picked up the Basics of Magic, amending part of his initial notes.
"You need to enroll in the fourth year as a special student." Vastor replied. "You don’t need to take all the classes, just the Healing and Void Magic courses. Understanding the light element will allow you to have proper conversations with your son.
"Void Magic, instead, will deepen your understanding of all elements and teach you how to do this." The Master hid a spark of light behind his palm and turned it into darkness.