by Luka Petrov
I already figured that one out. I wonder what else this guy’s got.
Professor Wolford continued his lecture, “Elemental Absorption allows you to capture some of the incoming energy, lessening the damage that you will take and storing it for your attack. The next attack that you perform will have an increase in damage to the opponent until the spell ends.”
Seemed simple enough, but clearly, I was becoming more and more bored the more and more this guy spoke. I took this moment to take a mental reprieve from my exhausting day. Life would be a lot easier now if I did not have to cast the Mage Light over and over again. I understood that it was for my own good, however, it was draining all of my energy. I understand that it was designed to do that and by doing so would increase my magic pool, however, I was getting resentful of Mistress Lathurna.
I must have fell asleep, because I could not remember anything up until Professor Wolford announced, “All right class, that is enough of defensive strategy and spells. Tomorrow we will work on more. Class dismissed.”
I shot up from my chair and headed for the door. As I my foot was about to cross the threshold a shuddering voice came from behind me, “Edward, wait a moment,” the voice said.
My shoulders shot up to my ears at this. Professor Wolford asked me to stay after class? What could he possibly want? Did he notice me sleeping? I turned and dodged the other students who headed out of the classroom door.
As I approached the instructor, and came closer, I did not realize how big his nose was. His nose hairs ebbed and flowed as he made audible breathing sounds. This cannot be good; it was apparent that I had angered him.
“Yes, Professor Wolford?” I said as I approached him, noticing the exquisite tailored black suits and red ascot he wore. For some odd reason, he reminded me of a vampire from my previous life. Obviously, I had never encountered one, however, I read about them and saw them in movies.
“How dare you make yourself so comfortable in my class and during my lecture that you found it appropriate to fall asleep?”
I did feel bad for disrespecting Professor Wolford. His lecture was not that bad, it was quite good in fact. He explained all areas of elementary elemental magic very well. “I apologize, Professor Wolford. I am deeply sorry that I disrespected you in such manner,” I answered, assuming that would do the trick and I would soon be on my merry way.
“You knew what you were doing was wrong, but you did it anyway. Now you believe an apology is going to smooth everything over. Come on Edward MacAra. Every professor at this school knows that you believe you walk on water. That somehow you are the chosen one that Hamon Reid sought out to take under his wing. You put your friends in harm’s way, you walk around like you’re the gift to magic, and you cannot even perform any spells above level three. Thankfully Mistress Lathurna is working with you to extend your magic pool. If she did not intervene in your instruction, I would not know where you would be. Hamon may be an Archmage, and the greatest that we have seen, but he let you get away with a lot. I’m not going to allow that,” explained Professor Wolford. His hair pulled back into a slick ponytail, waved around as he emphasized the meaning of his words.
“Professor Wolford, I really do feel bad. Mistress Lathurna has me casting Mage Lite repeatedly, which is exhausting all of my energy,” I responded.
“She told me during lunch. She also said that you tried to show off in front of her. From what I hear, it was a good display, but you lacked humility. Seems like Hamon gave you the run of the roost.”
“He did his best,” I defended. “He nurtured my magical abilities when I was certain I could not perform any.”
“It’s evident that he has a lot of faith in you. A lot more than I do. In any case, your discipline for falling asleep during a lecture is that you must clean the storage room without using any spells. If I sense that you used a spell, you will have more discipline to face and I will take your insubordination up with the Headmaster and Lead Council,” Professor Wolford pontificated.
I did not want to have another run-in with the Lead Council, so I would do as I was told. I replied, “Yes, Professor Wolford. I will get to cleaning out the storage closet now.”
“Very good. It is the storage closet out here in the hallway,” said Professor Wolford as he led me just outside his classroom to a closet door right next to the entrance. “I did not have time to clean it out before I was to move in here. This should take you the rest of the day. I’m certain that Mistress Lathurna would want you to continue with the Mage Light.”
“Right,” I responded as I nodded.
Professor Wolford continued down the hallway. He shouted as he walked, “I will need this done by the time I get back. I’ll be gone for a few hours.” His ponytail bouncing with each step as I watched his thin frame saunter down the hallway.
I resumed going through the storage closet, trying to organize this messy man’s stuff. Just as I rummaged through his things, a voice came from behind me.
“Look here, it’s the noble Edward MacAra who thinks he’s the greatest wizard in all the land,” the voice said. Turning around, I found three older students who I did not know.
“What can I help you guys with?” I asked.
“We are here to see just how good your magic is,” answered one of the larger boys who apparently had no concept of portion control.
The larger of the bullies cast firebolt.
Bully quick cast firebolts catching Edward flat-footed.
Spell: Firebolt
School: Evocation
Skill Level: Cantrip
Effect: A bolt of fire is hurled at a target. The target takes fire damage.
Edward made a successful Constitution check taking 50 points of fire damage. -2 HP.
I was caught off guard by the quick action of the bully, the firebolt hitting my feet and the burns causing pain. I needed to show them what I could do, and quickly.
I summoned the Frost Ray at the offending bully.
Edward cast Frost Ray at the Bully.
Spell: Frost Ray
School: Evocation
Skill Level: Cantrip
Effect: A arctic beam of blue and white light hurls itself at a creature within range.
Edward made a successful ranged spell attack against the bully. The bully took 12 points cold damage and was frozen.
The bully stood, frozen in the hallway in mid-action. He looked to be quite the spectacle. I had developed my Frost Ray so that it froze the creature afterward, I figured out how to do that by reading one of my many spell books.
After I finished with the storage closet and the run-in with the older bullies, I felt completely exhausted. The frozen bully had thawed out and ran away before I had finished cleaning Professor Wolford’s storage closet.
My first day back at school had been a long one, and I did not want to go eat in the dining hall, I was spent. Making my way back to my room, there was a part of me that did not want to go to my quarters, alone.
Returning to my living quarters while school was in session became a reminder of my missing mentor, Hamon. I longed for his direction, companionship, and guidance. Kyna may have thought he did not provide enough stewardship in my development, however, I disagreed.
As I opened the door of my room, an unequivocal feeling of loneliness fell over me. For some reason, being back in classes and now in this room, even though I had lived here while I assisted in the rebuild of the school, triggered my longing for my mentor.
I continued to cast Mage Light, to deplete my magic pool to eventually build it up as Mistress Lathurna prescribed. After I started the fire in the fireplace, I looked at the rocking chair that Hamon used to sit in and read in every night after dinner. This was just downright painful, I felt like I was on the verge of a panic attack.
I must occupy myself. What to do, what to do? Now would be a good time to go through all of the spells that I did not perform in front of Mistress Lathurna, so I have the prescribed presets ready to go. That would make quick
casting that much more useful.
I went through the spells that I had memorized. I moved glyphs of the runes for single and multiple opponents for Magic Missile, Flaming Hands, Mage Armor, and Wave of Thunder. Noticing the spells that I memorized, I needed to practice the activation words for these spells.
“Magicae telum!” I shouted, summoning Magic Missile. This was a spell that I felt quite accomplished in, however, I needed to record the presets for quick cast.
Next, I shouted, “Nequissimi igneq manus!” I watched my hands as I held my thumbs touching each other and my fingers spread, a thing wall of flames shoot from my stretched phalanges. I quenched the spell before it shot out at a target. I didn’t want to set my room on fire. I noted the presets in my spell book, and then continued on to the next spell.
Working on the spells, my throat ached from saying the words of power and it was just after midnight, however, I had nailed down the presets of all of these spells. I was quite impressed. As I documented the presets in my spell book, I had an epiphany!
With my quill between my teeth as I stared at the blank page of the spell book, I had a vision. It was as if the runes of the other spells spoke to me, and I had pieced together something larger. I flipped to where I had several blank pages in my spell book. As I flipped, the parchment paper rustled, the crisp papyrus fighting me as I paged through the book. I reached for my ink bottle and dipped my quill into it, frowning for a second while a flash came to my mind.
I cradled the leather-bound spell book on my desk and moved the tip of the falcon-feather quill that Hamon had given me down the page, meticulously calculating each angle of the glyphs and mentally recording the presets. Chain of Lightning! That’s it! That is a new spell I uncovered. I admired the runes that I scribed, and how each glyph was put into the perfect place, summoning the lightning elemental energy to wreak havoc on unassuming opponents.
I believe this is the perfect spell as it summons a bolt of lightning to arc toward any target, then three bolts leap from that target up to three more targets. They have to be clustered together, and I can only summon one bolt per target, for the time being, but this should be a fantastic spell. I worked out the angles of the glyphs in my spell book and was quite excited with my work.
Next, I worked on my activation words to begin the spell. “Torquem fulgar!” I shouted while I held the preset runes in my mind. I watched a lightning bolt appear and multiply in the room. It did not hit anything, since I did not indicate a target, I only wanted to watch the bolt split off into more bolts. This was spectacular! I admired my work while I watched the glittery bolts dance around the room. They dissipated into the atmosphere, leaving me once again only to my own devices.
What was that? I stopped in my tracks while I put my writing instruments and spell books away. Oh, nothing. I must be hearing things. Resuming tidying up my desk, I anxiously anticipated retiring to bed.
Then I heard it again, this time louder. “What in the world?” I muttered while I went into my bedroom chamber to investigate. It sounded like someone was in my living quarters with me. The noise sounded like it came from the mirror that I had on top of my chest of drawers right near my bed.
As I walked by the mirror, my heart raced, and I nearly jumped out of my skin. “You again!” I exclaimed, staring at the ominous figure. The figure that talked me into coming into this world in the first place.
“Good evening Edward MacAra,” the figure stated while it appeared in the mirror, clouds swirling around it. I could still not make out its face, underneath the cloaked black hood it wore.
“Lord Abraxas escaped into the portal before I had a chance to finish him off,” I relented. “I know I’m supposed to defeat him and restore this world back to order.”
“We are aware. We have been watching,” replied the figure. “The Demon Lord is smart, cunning, and powerful. You will be a worthy opponent for him in due time.”
“What about Hamon?” I asked. “I need my mentor back!” I shouted at the mirror, feeling enraged that the very being sent to assist me with my magical development had been taken away from me. Frustration and fury filled my body as I stared at the figure.
“Hamon has his own journey,” replied the figure.
“Well, can you help in anyway?” I asked out of frustration.
“We cannot interfere directly, however, we can help you with your magic.”
“Oh? How?” I asked, intrigued by the offer.
“Can you quick cast yet?”
“Learned that today,” I replied.
“Can you silent cast?”
“I have the ability, but I have not been able to use it yet. What is that?” I asked.
“This ability will allow you to cast spells without having to use the words of power. By doing so allows for a stealthier attack on the opponents since they will have less time to counter the spell. Lord Abraxas is able to silent cast. That is one of the ways he is so dangerous,” explained the figure.
“Well, can I have that ability?” I asked, hoping the figure would say yes. As I waited for a response, I screamed, “Ouch!” I held my head as I experienced a similar click in my mind as I did when I had the quick cast activated. “What is that?” I asked the figure.
“You can now silent cast. You could have don it before, but this ability hadn’t been fully developed. Seems like you gain abilities faster than anyone, but are missing things. So, it’s taking you longer to get this whole magic thing down. Longer than I would have expected,” it answered. I watched as the image in the mirror began to disappear. What is with this world and all of these low-blow jabs?
“Wait! Before you go, do you know where Hamon is?” I begged.
I saw the being nod. “Yes, we know where he is,” replied the figure.
“Where is he?” I asked, anxious to get my mentor back.
“I cannot say. That would be cheating. I’ve already have done more than I should.”
I felt defeated while I watched the figure disappear in the ether. As the figure vanished, it said, “Edward, study hard and the information that you seek will come to you when you least expect it.”
Confused, I went to ask the figure more. Study what? Study where? However, the figure was gone, and I was left once again, alone.
Chapter Three
The following morning, I arrived at Mistress Lathurna’s class. After the conversation with the figure, I had a renewed vow to study hard and that Hamon’s location would be revealed to me. I would do as Headmaster Wavernjack suggested; I would concentrate on advancing my magical abilities, so I was prepared to rescue Hamon when the moment was right.
When I entered the classroom, I sat in one of the chairs that were placed in the circle along with the ten other students.
“Edward, I see you are still casting Mage Light. You did not have to cast it today,” stated Mistress Lathurna from her chair in the circle.
“I found it best to cast it today as well. I am anxious to get my magic pool increased,” I answered.
“Very good,” she replied with a nod. Turning to the rest of the class, she announced, “Good morning class, today will take a quiz on the items that we went over yesterday. I hope all of you studied.” Mistress Lathurna split a stack of paper in half and handed it to each student on either side of her. “Take one and pass it down. You will have ten minutes to answer this quiz,” she explained.
My stomach sunk as I heard the word quiz. I was clearly not prepared and how would I ever outperform these older students?
1. Which class of wizard utilizes elements.
A. Evoker
2. What are the elemental planes?
A. Air, Fire, Earth, Water, Positive Energy, Negative Energy
3. What para-elemental plane is formed when air and fire are combined?
A. Smoke
4. What para-elemental plane is formed when air and negative energy are combined?
A. Vacuum
“All right class give you a quiz to the person on your rig
ht. They will grade your quiz for you,” Kyna explained. “Grade your classmate’s quiz and mark the ones they got wrong. Total the number of correct answers at the top and circle it.”
She went over the correct answers, and I watched how many the student on my right was marking. The test that I corrected for the student on my left was absolutely dreadful. He did not even get one question right.
“Class give the quiz your grading back to the student. Take a look at your score, and then pass them in,” instructed Mistress Lathurna.
“Good job man, you got them all right,” said the older student who sat next to me. He wore a black hooded cloak with red embroidery, his sleeves practically fell into my lap as he handed the quiz back to me.
I was surprised at what he said, and I thought he was joking at first. When I looked at the answers I had written in, I became astonished. I did, in fact, get all of the answers correct. My jaw dropped. Perhaps I learned more than I originally thought.
Mistress Lathruna interrupted my private celebration, “Now class, we will hold a mock duel. Please, everyone, stand up and move your chair to the back wall. Uronion and Zagras, you two are up first.”
I stood up from my seat and carried my chair over to the back wall with the other students. The two evokers faced each other in the middle of the classroom. Mistress Lathurna continued explaining, “Class, these duels are to help you work on what spells to use and how to counter them. Pay close attention to these two. They are the top two mages in this school. Watch carefully at their spell selection and, more importantly, what they chose to counter the offensive spell.”
Uronion and Zagras stood in the middle of the classroom, their eyes focused on each other. Both men wore black cloaks with green embroidered sleeves and hems. Zagras had short blonde hair, he took a moment to pull his hood onto his head. Uronion did the same over his short black hair. Each stood facing the other at an arm’s length, now with their eyes closed. After a moment, they both nodded at each other.
