A Deepening Knowledge (A Life of Magic)

by Matthew Mitchell

  Mei-Lin smiled, "Yet there are many times, even in battle, when breaking things is not the desired effect." Her magic oozed down from her hands and crawled along the ground. Vapor rose from the ground and a fine fog developed in a straight line between Gavin and Mei-Lin. "That is where subtlety becomes the focus." Suddenly Gavin fell over, unconscious. "I simple made him pass out. He knew it was coming." Her magic stopped and the fog blew away. An unusual scent wafted by as it dissipated Mei-Lin walked over to Gavin and shook him gently. He sat up and shook his head. "Brute force would have killed Gavin, however I just as easily disabled him. The same spell would have worked for a much larger force, say a group of soldiers. All would have been knocked out without even knowing they were being attacked." Standing up and helping Gavin stand she turned to me and Raven. "Charles grew up among sneaky people and uses subtle magic well. He also lacks the strength to use brute force as his main option. He can throw a few good brute force attacks, but usually he does it with a subtle method."

  Charles grinned, "What she is politely saying is I am a weak mage yet I can still do damage if I am a sneaky mage. I also can blow a few things up but I get tired quickly." His attitude was refreshing, especially for a prince.

  Raven piped up, "So with Ott being as strong, magically, should he use brute force?" Since she did not yet have control over her magic she seemed to be using how I used magic to understand the basic concepts, hopeful for the time she would wield her own magical ability.

  Mei-Lin chuckled, "Some would see it that way." Suddenly her magic whipped out and formed a much larger funnel cloud above us. "However power is not everything." The magic stopped and the funnel cloud dissipated "Gavin and myself are both fairly strong mages in air. He has a secondary earth, while I have a secondary water. So, power is not the deciding factor in how you fight with magic." She looked at me. "What do you think it is?"

  She sounded much like Stain when he was teaching, not explaining everything. Expecting me to figure it out. I smiled and thought for a moment.

  "I would say it depends on how the mage approaches fighting. All fighting seems to follow the same basic rules. Whether sword, magic, or hand to hand." I replied.

  Mei-Lin nodded. "Very good Ott. You may have an easier time using any kind of brute force if you have the power to back it up. However, if you lack the control, subtle fighting will be beyond what you may do. There are very many mages who are mediocre fighters because they can neither use brute force effectively nor apply a subtle touch to their magic. They basically shield and use a few simple spells. Today you will learn those spells and how to defend against those basic spells. In the next few weeks you will eventually gain an understanding of all the ways air magic may be used in battle. It will take many years to gain a decent mastery of that understanding, yet we can promise you will be able to fight decently when we are done with you." She turned to Raven. "I understand that there are some challenges with you and magic. I will be taking some extra time to work with you and seeing if we cannot unlock your full potential."

  Gavin turned to me, "I will be your main teacher in battle magic, Ott. Charles will help you. When Mei-Lin has caught Raven up then she will teach you the finer points of air magic. In the meantime I want to get an understanding of your abilities outside of the raw test. Also I need to evaluate a few things." He turned to Mei-Lin and kissed her on the cheek. "We are going over to the range while you and Raven work. That way us men do not distract."

  Mei-Lin swatted Gavin's arm, "More like us women would distract you poor, weak minded men."

  Gavin just chuckled and led the way to an overhang. This area faced a large desolate valley that was hemmed in on all sides. Nothing seemed to move within the valley.

  "This is the range. Basically like an archery range, except for air magic." Gavin held up a fist and a ball of air magic appeared above it. He whipped his hand forward like he was throwing the ball of magic. It flew down into the valley, traveling faster and faster, a small tail of magic flowing back to Gavin's hand. "This is a basic air spell. Full brute force. Basically it causes all the air around the detonation point to move outwards violently." The ball hit a large boulder. Dust, stones, even some large rocks flew outwards in a circle from the boulder. "That spell works well with groups of soldiers. If you keep the power weak it knocks them down, a lot of power and the soldiers become parts of soldiers." Another ball of air magic appeared above his hand. It flew out and exploded just above the boulder. The circle of destruction that occurred this time spread out much farther, yet it seemed to lack the same power. "By controlling where exactly the spell detonates the force is applied differently. Allowing it to explode underwater is always interesting." He poked Charles in the side. "We ate well that day, did we not?"

  Charles blushed and waved Gavin back. "How was I supposed to know it would kill all the fish?"

  I smiled, "So what do I need to do for you to evaluate me?"

  Gavin looked at me and his grin was sneaky. "Cast that spell with as much air magic as you can. Aim for the same boulder. We should be able to tell how strong you are from the circle of damage."

  I stepped up to the edge of the overhang. Handrails had been mounted, my guess was so mages would not fall while casting difficult spells. I lifted a fist and cast the spell. I poured all of my air magic into the ball that formed above my first.

  "Now throw it at that boulder!" Gavin seemed excited.

  I grinned and slung my arm forward. The ball traveled faster and faster towards the boulder. Upon reaching the boulder the ball exploded outwards, picking up dust, debris, even some large rocks and carrying them outwards. A great cloud of dust jumped upwards and obscured our view. My head spun slightly and I leaned against the handrail.

  "That was darn impressive!" Charles called out. He clapped me on the back. "I have never seen the like."

  Gavin stepped forward and pointed. The cloud was settling and the boulder and the damage could be seen. There now existed a large split in the surface of the boulder, from top to bottom. The circle of debris had blown outwards almost to the base of the overhang, more than ten times farther than Gavin's spell had thrown material. "I have only seen two mages capable of casting a spell of such strength. One is dead, having cast a spell so strong it destroyed him. The other is no longer among us of the kingdom." He turned to me. "You have a great power, yet you must control it. I do believe brute strength spells will come easily to you. Subtle will probably be your issue." He motioned Charles forward. "Shall we show him the proper application of subtle battle magic in such a case?"

  The next few hours was spent learning how to use air magic in both brute force and subtle ways. The valley provided a good location for practice. With no animals, plants, or people I was able to cast all my spells into it safely.

  "Time for a break!" Mei-Lin's voice called out.

  I turned around and the ladies were walking up behind us. Raven seeming to drag behind Mei-Lin.

  "Are you okay?" I asked Raven as she slumped down against a boulder.

  She looked at me and smiled her sneaky smile. She pointed her wand at me and suddenly her magic whipped by my face, a slight breeze ruffling my hair.

  "You can do magic!" I crowed and hugged her. She laughed as I spun her around, clutching tightly to me. I sat her down and she swayed slightly, holding to me to keep from falling.

  "Raven can indeed do magic, if very small spells for now. She has gained the ability to access her magic. Using these creative tools she should be able to one day rival Ott in ability if not power." Mei-Lin spoke this proudly. "Ott, tonight I am going to work with you to create a few unique items so that we can have a greater understanding of Raven's true abilities."

  I could see that Mei-Lin was tired. I asked her, "Should we wait till you are more rested?"

  Mei-Lin smiled and shook her head, "I will simply be guiding. You will be the mule doing all the work."

  I nodded and stated, "Saddle me up and let's go." Everyone laughed at my comment.

/>   "I think we are just about done here." Gavin spoke up from the rock he was perched upon. "Ott, you are one of the strongest mages I have ever seen. You have incredible control and aim. However I fear you push too hard. That could be a deadly mistake. Overreach just once with the wrong spell and you die. Start off small and work your way up till you discover your limits." He hopped down and put his arm around Mei-Lin. "Tomorrow I will work with Raven and help her to flex and stretch those new abilities." He looked at Raven. "I know you have a good aim, so we will start with gaining control and leave the aiming and such for later." Looking around he smiled. "All of you are talented mages, except you Charles. You are just a glorified blow hard."

  Charles laughed and punched Gavin in the arm. "You are such a flatterer. Maybe I can reward you in the future? Maybe a private cell in the dungeon?"

  Mei-Lin shook her head. "You boys are always being so mean to each other. Just admit you two love each other and let the rest of us move on." She hugged Gavin and they started down the path. "Ott, remember. After dinner we work!" Rounding the bend in the path they moved out of sight. We all sat there a moment and thought.

  "I do love both of them. They have taught me so much more than just how to be a better air mage." Looking at Raven and then me Charles seriously stated, "If all you learn from them is air magic I pity you. Pay attention, those two are some of the most intelligent and wise people I have ever met." With that he jumped upwards and flew off, leaving Raven and me sitting alone.

  Raven looked over at me. "I hope learning to do magic is worth it. I am wore out and all I did was learn how to use this wand." She held up the wand. I looked closely and realized that it was actually a very ornate carved piece of wood. Small vines climbed the wand. Little thorns stuck out from the vines. Even small ornate flowers appeared throughout the carving. "A beautiful piece of work, do you not agree?" Raven spoke clearly.

  I looked up into her eyes and agreed. It fit her well, she was so complex and yet beautiful. Sitting back I asked her about learning to use the wand. We sat there, watching the sky darken and the stars start to appear on the horizon as the sun sank behind us. Eventually a cool breeze wafted up from the valley and we shivered. Walking down the path towards the main hall I realized that I was happier than I had ever felt, mostly because of Raven. With this realization having just occurred we walked into the hall for supper.

  * * *

  "Now what you have to do is enchant each gem with the right spell. Also make sure you use only pure magic of that family. Any other magic and it will skew the results." Mei-Lin was explaining how to create a set of testing stones. "I imagine it will take a few tries to do this right, yet I do believe it is worth it to see how Raven's magic is split up." She stood up and handed me a small sack and some spells. "Here's what you need to do this task. I will be back in an hour to see how you are doing." She walked out and left me in the workroom inside Stain's and my cabin.

  I looked in the sack and found a nice pile of gems. They looked the same as the ones that Stain had used to test my magic ability. I pulled some out and looked deep into them. No magic resided inside their structure. Setting down the gems I looked at the spells.

  "Working on a testing set?" Pat landed beside me.

  I nodded. "Mei-Lin needs me to make one so we can find out about Raven's magic."

  Pat looked closely at the gems. "That makes sense. I bet she was excited about using magic."

  Grinning I picked up the gem for the earth magic. "I believe she is more tired than excited, but yes, she is excited about using magic."

  "You know that she likes you, right?" Pat looked at me like he hoped I was not a moron.

  "I know. We have discussed it." Suddenly I felt a little uncomfortable.

  "So, what are you going to do about it?" Pat was not going to let this go.

  "I think that we are going to go slow and not make any life altering decisions right now." I sighed.

  "How do you feel about her?" Pat probed.

  I set down the gem and leaned back. Grinning slightly I replied, "I like her too. Perhaps love her. She is an amazing woman, one whom has faced many trials and yet continues moving forward. Her intelligence is high yet she is not arrogant I like her humor and how she handles things. Plus she is very pretty." I sat there for a minute and thought about all the things I liked about Raven.

  "Well, it sounds like you might have it bad. Just be careful. For both of your sakes." Pat hopped to the table and took flight. "Take it slow. That is best." He flew out of the room and down the hallway. I could hear him talking to Mophar and Fiosrach.

  Everyone had been visiting since arriving. Mophar had been visiting with a few mages who were familiar with his homeland, catching up on events. Fiosrach had spent time with the gargoyle that was living on the main building in the compound. She had been here years before Victor rebuilt the camp. Fiosrach said she had grown used to being alone yet liked all the new people coming and going. Pat told me earlier that there was a dragonette colony located on the mountain. He had spent time there, I believe he even had a few cousins there. Stain had been busy catching up with various mages.

  I sat there and focused on my task. The spells were simple spells yet required intense concentration. I blew up the first couple of gems. Shards flew around the room. I eventually was able to charge one of each type of gem to the correct spell.

  "That was nicely done." Mei-Lin commented from behind me.

  I jumped up and turned. I had not heard her come into the cabin. "You startled me!"

  "Good. That was my intent." She came and looked at the gems. "These will do what you need." Picking the four gems up that I had successfully enchanted she placed them in a identical box to the one Stain had for his testing gems. "You need to pay more attention to what is occurring around you. There is a way to set up a warning shield" Her magic swirled out and formed an almost soap thin bubble of a shield "If anyone crosses this shield it collapses, which I can feel. So I know someone is near me. It has saved my life and kept me from being surprised many times." The shield collapsed with an almost audible pop. "I will give you the spell later so you can practice. You should have it up at all times so that you are safe." Lifting up the box she motioned to me. "Grab your stuff and let's go find Raven. I want to know how she rates in each magic. I am hoping she is strong in air."

  Shortly we found Raven at the archery range shooting a barrel of arrows down range. The target was covered thickly with arrows. We stood there and watched Raven fire the rest of the arrows at the target. She finished and turned.

  "What is going on?" She asked Mei-Lin.

  "Time to find out what magic's you have and how strong they are." Mei-Lin set the box down on the scoring table. She proceeded to pull out the gems and a cloth. Arranging all of it nicely she had Raven stand on the other side of the table. "Ott has already enchanted these gems. He also has done this test. Let me explain." Explaining the magic test Mei-Lin took her time to make sure Raven understood each aspect. "Ready?" She asked Raven, who held her wand.

  Raven nodded and put her right hand over the first gem. It lifted to her palm smoothly and rubbed against her skin. She repeated this with each gem.

  "Well you have each magic. You also have a smooth control over yourself. Now let's see how strong you are in each magic." She motioned Raven to step back a moment. "Go ahead and get on with it."

  Raven focused and each of the gems lifted. They slowly rose higher and higher until they reached eye level. They started bouncing up and down at this point.

  "That is good enough." Mei-Lin spoke clearly. "You have a good strength, not to the extent of Ott, yet more than most."

  Raven flopped into a chair. "That was tiring."

  Mei-Lin smiled and chuckled, "True. Yet you are using muscles that have never been used before. Anyone would be tired after such a trial." She packed up the gems and handed me the box. "These are yours. No point in me taking them, I have a few sets of my own."

  "Thanks!" I took the box and
set it down beside my chair. "So, I do have a question about Raven's magic."

  Raven sat up straighter, looking a little anxious.

  "Go ahead. I will answer if I am allowed and know the answer." Mei-Lin spoke plainly.

  "Will Raven ever reach the point of using magic without the tools given to her?" I worried about what would happen to Raven if she lost this new ability.

  "That is a good question. However, I believe that we could replicate the objects with little or no problem."

  I sighed, releasing some tension I had been feeling. "That is good."

  Mei-Lin grinned, "I imagine you will be the one who does that. I will get you the spell later so you can practice." She walked to the supply shed nearby and took a deep drink of the pitcher sitting in the shade. "Each night after dinner I will work with you to perfect those spells and such. Tonight I believe I am taking a break and going to bed early." She walked off leaving Raven and me at the range.

  Raven smiled and put an arm in my arm. "Walk me to my cabin Ott?"

  I smiled and grabbed the box, "Sure. I will see you safely to your hut." We walked back to her cabin while she talked to me about her time at the range. Her accuracy was much better than mine. When we reached the cabin she gave me a quick kiss on the cheek.

  "I will see you tomorrow." With that she shut the door.

  I stood there a moment startled by her kiss. Then I went to my own cabin to rest and ponder the events of the day.

  * * *

  "Victor, we have to discover the traitor in our midst!" Stain was quite upset when I walked into the cabin. He and Victor were sitting across from each other in the main room.

  "I am well aware of this. However I also feel that we cannot subject everyone to a rough questioning. That is one way to cause more people to not trust the kingdom of the kingdom's men." Victor was calm, yet assertive with Stain.