The Solar Heir

Chapter 5: Sagittarius - The Power of Teleportation

“Khanh, why do I see so many upperclassmen in the backyard practicing magic that’s different from the Fire and Mind elements of the Western Tower?” Duong asked as he chewed on a piece of bread, glancing at the group of students practicing outside the window—the backyard of the Western Tower.

The backyard was a vast open space surrounded by high, thick stone walls. During the day, it was always filled with the presence of giant butterflies. They were unlike any butterflies Duong had ever seen before. Their wings were large and glowed whenever someone cast a spell. Guardian butterflies, as people called them, were silent protectors. With their ability to sense magical energy, they could immediately detect any unusual activity. If anyone dared to use dark magic or if a source of magic became too powerful and was misused, these butterflies would instantly send a signal to the Alarm Bell, and a professor would come to investigate. At night, the butterflies disappeared and were replaced by another creature—guardian bats. These creatures were much larger than the butterflies, with blood-red eyes glowing in the darkness. Just like the butterflies, the bats could sense the intent of magic users, and they were particularly sensitive to dark magic.

Khanh glanced at Duong's gaze and smiled softly. "Those are just primal elements, Duong," she explained, her eyes glowing with knowledge. "Primal elements like Fire and Mind are like the raw materials for mages to cast spells, but that's not all. A mage's true ability is also determined by the zodiac sign that governs them."

Duong furrowed his brows in confusion. "A governing zodiac sign?"

"Exactly," Khanh said, her tone more enthusiastic. "Like me, I possess the governing power of Sagittarius. I can create a wall of fire to teleport to any place I want. A mage's power comes from the combination of a primal element and their governing zodiac sign, which allows them to create a wider variety of spells."

Duong slowly nodded, seemingly absorbing this new knowledge. He looked back at the older students practicing with a completely different perspective, trying to understand the magic they were performing.

Khanh continued, her expression tinged with a bit of regret, "But I can’t do that yet. We have to wait until third year to learn that. Professor Linh told me so."

Duong silently nodded, and the two continued eating, each lost in their own thoughts. They sat beside each other in a peaceful but not uncomfortable silence. Since working together on their first group test in the Defense class, they had gradually become closer.

That test was a tense challenge. The professor of Herbology had enchanted a bunch of toxic vines and tied them up, instructing each pair of students to escape before the vines reached them. Duong and Khanh had worked together in perfect harmony, creating a massive fire bubble. It was Duong’s idea, and he had found the spell to create that fire bubble after many late nights of studying in the library. At the time, Duong and Khanh were tightly bound, back-to-back, but they held each other’s hands firmly and chanted the spell together. Instantly, a brilliant orange-red fireball surrounded them as if to protect them, while burning away the approaching toxic vines and the lizard-like ropes binding them. And thus, they passed the test. The professor watched from a distance, a smile appearing on his stern face. Duong and Khanh were awarded full marks.

“Half the semester has passed, hasn’t it?” Khanh sighed, breaking the silence between them. Duong merely nodded quietly, recalling the first few days of confusion when they first arrived at the Western Tower. Each semester here lasted five months, and they were already halfway through.

Duong looked at Khanh, his curiosity piqued. “Did you always know you had magic since you were young?”

Khanh smiled softly, as if Duong’s question was naive. “Of course. My whole family are mages! However, I didn’t know what power I would have. Even though both my parents use Fire, I might have Water power like my grandmother or Ice like my grandfather. There’s no way to know beforehand. It only reveals itself when we turn 13.”

Duong raised his eyebrows, still curious. “Then why did you choose the Western Tower? You haven’t had your birthday yet, right?”

“Right! But since it’s most likely I’ll have Fire power,” Khanh shrugged. “If it turns out I have a different power, I’ll be transferred to the corresponding tower.”

Duong’s curiosity grew. “Do you know about the powers at the other towers?”

Khanh looked at Duong and sighed as if she had to explain something too obvious. “Oh, poor thing, you really don’t know anything about this world,” she said, her tone mixed with a bit of teasing. “Alright, let me tell you.”

“You see, each tower has its own primal elements and trains mages based on them. At the Western Tower, students practice controlling Fire and Mind. The Eastern Tower, perched atop a high mountain to the east of our country, where mist covers the peaks year-round, trains mages to control Wood and Earth—that is, trees and rocks. These two elements are linked to Jupiter and Saturn.”

Duong nodded, amazed by the power. “That sounds fascinating, and what about the Northern Tower?”

Khanh immediately responded, “The Northern Tower is in a cool, foggy mountain range in the north. It's the perfect place for mages to practice controlling Ice—an element powered by Uranus.”

Duong imagined mages casting layers of ice over a battlefield, turning everything cold and motionless. “And what about the Southern Tower?”

“The Southern Tower is located in a mangrove forest in the south. Mages there learn to control Water, an element linked to Mercury. Water is not only a force for battle but also an element of flexibility and healing. The most powerful mages from the Southern Tower can control entire rivers or summon rain from the sky.”

Duong’s amazement continued to grow, but Khanh hadn’t finished yet. “And finally, there’s the Truong Sa Tower. This is a very special tower because it’s located offshore, on our Truong Sa Islands. Mages there learn to control seawater and the creatures of the deep ocean—an element linked to Neptune.”

Duong stood still, trying to absorb everything Khanh had just said. “So, each tower has its own strengths?”

“Exactly. Every mage who enters a tower must learn to control their primal element. But after that, when they advance, they will gradually harness the power of their zodiac sign and combine it to create more complex spells. Like I said, even though I use Fire, if I can combine it with Sagittarius’ power, I can create advanced magic like teleportation using fire.”

Duong nodded slightly, his eyes filled with admiration. “Sounds tough.”

Khanh chuckled softly, “Yes, it’s not easy. But that’s what makes learning magic so exciting!”