The First Lesson

"Focus, Kev 4116. Concentrate. Block out where I might be and focus on where I must be."

I turn my head to look at him, but his form vanishes, leaving behind a slight red fog. I see him from the corner of my eye, turn, and he is gone, to haunt another corner of my periphery.

I concentrate, as he has said many times, blocking all distractions from my mind, focusing only on my Teacher. He appears to my left, but as I so much as focus out of the corner of my eye, he disappears again, leaving behind faint traces of red. Thoughts keep popping up, faster than I can suppress them.

He appears right in front of me, then, hand outstretched, the Egwetsi in his hand, its torquoise crystalline structure right in front of me. I reach for it...

"Hahahah, come on, Kev! What have I taught you about the Red?"

I sigh. Another lesson learned perfectly in class, and so utterly useless in the field. "The Red, Teacher, is the magic of illusion, presided over by Illa, the g--"

"Yes, yes, Kev, that is good! Illusion is key, for despite all your looking around, I have always been right here!" The red cloud vanishes, and I turn behind me, to see him, arms outstretched, laughing.

"You know that only Torquoise could have seen me, and it's torquoise you hold within you, boy. Your essence brims with its power, but until you learn to use it, Egwetsi will be no use to you. Still, take it as a memento that you still have much to learn." He flicks the Egwetsi at me, and I catch it, staring down at its torquoise crysalline surface, feeling it with my hands. I look up at him, smiling, but he stares wide-eyed at me, occasionally glancing down, trying to suppress something.

I look down, and see my Egwetsi turn into an ordinary rock. The Teacher explodes with laughter. It's true, I still have much to learn.