James discovered his Nature affinity while trying to hide evidence of his illegal soul experimentation from his mother.
"James, sweetheart," Eliza said through his bedroom door for the third time that week. "I need to put away your clean laundry."
"Just leave it outside! I'll get it!"
"I've been leaving it outside for two weeks. Your clothes are piling up in the hallway."
"That's fine!"
—something is going on in there, I've been patient but this is getting ridiculous—
James looked around his room. The Soul Splitter sat on his desk, partially disassembled but still obviously a complex device that no ten-year-old should possess. Stolen components were stacked in corners. His journals, filled with illegal magical research and detailed plans to cheat government testing, were barely hidden under loose floorboards.
If his mother came in now he was going to be in serious trouble.
"James Aldric, I'm counting to three."
"That's completely unnecessary!"
"One."
James grabbed the Soul Splitter, looking for somewhere to hide it. Under the bed? Too obvious. Closet? She'd definitely check there. Window? He could throw it outside, but explaining why his experimental magitech device was in the garden seemed problematic.
"Two."
In desperation, James shoved the device under his desk and did the only thing he could think of, he grew plants over it.
Except he didn't have Nature affinity.
Except apparently he did, because the moment he desperately wanted the potted plant on his windowsill to expand and cover the device, it exploded with growth. Vines shot across the floor, leaves sprouting at impossible speed and the entire plant quintupling in size in approximately three seconds.
"Three."
The door opened. Eliza walked in, laundry basket in hand, and stopped dead.
James's room looked like a jungle had invaded. The formerly tiny potted plant now covered half the floor in a tangle of vines and leaves. His desk was completely obscured. Several vines had started climbing the walls.
"What," Eliza said carefully, "happened to your plant?"
"Growth spurt?" James tried.
—How dumb does he think I am?—
"It's very healthy," James added. "Photosynthesis must be working overtime."
His mother set down the laundry basket and approached the plant mass carefully, like it might attack. "James. This plant was six inches tall yesterday. Now it's covering your entire desk."
"I know, isn't nature amazing?"
"Plants don't grow this fast. Not without—" Eliza stopped, eyes widening. "Did you manifest Nature affinity?"
Oh. Right. That would be the logical conclusion.
"Maybe?" James tried to look surprised rather than panicked. "I mean, I was just thinking about how the plant needed to be bigger and then... it got bigger?"
—Nature affinity, that's early, he's only ten, but it happens sometimes, this is good actually, Nature users are valued, less dangerous than some other affinities—
"Oh, sweetheart!" Eliza pulled him into a hug, apparently delighted. "That's wonderful! Nature affinity is so useful! Your grand mother had it, you know."
You don't say, James thought to himself but his face remained innocent.
"It surprised me too," James said, which was completely true.
"We'll need to tell your father. And we should probably contact a Nature instructor. You'll need proper training before you accidentally turn the house into a forest." Eliza was already planning, her concerns about his privacy completely forgotten in her excitement. "Oh, and we'll need to register this with the territorial office. Early manifestation requires documentation."
James felt a sudden jolt of worry, he hated this feeling. "Do we have to?"
"It's required, love. But don't worry, Nature affinity is seen as very positive. Gentle, nurturing, connected to life. You won't be scrutinized like Chaos or Dark users." Eliza kissed his forehead. "This is good news. Really."
After his mother left, taking the laundry but forgetting why she'd been concerned about his room in the first place, James stared at the botanical explosion covering his desk.
"Nature affinity," he muttered.
He focused on the plant, trying to will it back to normal size. The vines retreated slowly, leaves shrinking, the entire mass compacting back into something resembling a potted plant.
Under the receding vegetation, the Soul Splitter sat undisturbed. "Crisis averted," James told it. "But we need a better hiding place."
Miranda arrived that afternoon via the usual tree route and found James surrounded by plant identification books.
"Your mom seemed excited when I saw her," Miranda said. "Something about you manifesting Nature affinity?"
"Accidentally. While hiding the Soul Splitter from maternal inspection." James showed her one of the books. "Apparently I can now control plants. Which is simultaneously useful and another thing I need to hide during testing."
"How many affinities do you have now?"
"Three confirmed: Eldritch, Elemental Ice, Nature. Possibly more waiting to manifest at inconvenient moments." James pulled out his testing journal.
"The good news is Nature affinity gives me plausible reason to have plants in my room. Dense plants that coincidentally obscure my device."
---
Over the next week, James systematically filled his room with plants. His parents, delighted by his "interest in his newfound affinity," encouraged this enthusiastically. Within days, his room looked like a botanical garden had merged with a bedroom.
The Soul Splitter, now permanently hidden behind a strategic wall of ferns and vines, was completely invisible unless you knew exactly where to look.
"Not bad," Miranda admitted, examining his setup. "No one will search through all these plants."
"Exactly. Plus, I'm actually learning useful Nature magic." James demonstrated by making a small flower bloom in his palm. "Watch."
The flower opened beautifully, petals unfurling in perfect symmetry. Then it kept growing. And growing. And growing until James was holding a flower the size of his head.
"Control is still a work in progress," he admitted, the giant flower drooping sadly in his hands and Miranda laughed so hard she nearly fell off his bed. "You're terrible at this!"
"Watch yourself. James is terrible at nothing."
James tried to shrink the flower back down and succeeded only in making it sprout additional heads like some kind of floral hydra. "Hmmm..."
"This is the funniest thing I've ever seen... James defeated by a flower."
"Stop laughing and help me."
"I don't have the Nature affinity! This is your problem."
James eventually got the flower under control, mostly by freezing it with ice magic and then carefully thawing specific parts. The resulting flower looked deeply confused about its existence but was at least normal-sized.
"Never speak of this," James said.
—he's so adorable—
"You should really work on your thought shielding."
Miranda's face went red. "Shut up. How's the actual training going?"
James demonstrated proper Nature magic on a smaller scale. He could make plants grow at directed rates, could influence their direction and shape, could even communicate basic intent to them.
"The interesting part is how it integrates with my other affinities," James said, making a vine grow around his hand while simultaneously freezing its tip.
They practiced until evening, James working on control while Miranda continued developing her Eldritch abilities. Her telekinesis was approaching his level. Her telepathy still needed a lot of work.
"15 montha until testing," Miranda said as she prepared to leave. "You're up to three affinities now. Still think the Soul Splitter will handle it?"
"It'll handle it. That's what the capacity upgrades were for." James looked at the device, hidden behind strategic ferns. "Though I should probably test it again soon. Make sure it can store multiple affinity signatures simultaneously."
After Miranda left, James documented his new affinity:
Nature affinity manifestation
Current capabilities:
- Plant growth manipulation
- Basic shape direction
- Growth rate control (improving)
- Integration with ice magic (promising)
Note: Mother thrilled about Nature affinity.
Three confirmed affinities. Soul Splitter capacity currently sufficient. May need upgrades if pattern continues.
James closed the journal, looked around his jungle-bedroom.
"You will answer to James, children of chlorophyll and sunlight." James told his plants.
They rustled in response, probably judging him.
Even his vegetation thought he was dramatic.