A Deepening Knowledge (A Life of Magic)

by Matthew Mitchell

  Gias sat down and thought. "I will have to pull in extra teachers. This is going to be hard." He looked at both Raven and myself. "Remember when you hate your teachers and what you are doing that your master is the one who demanded such a hard schedule." He shook his head. "Are you sure of the urgency?"

  Stain nodded. "Things are moving faster than I had imagined. The attack planned on Victor shows that."

  Gias stood up. "My soak is done. Let's get things underway." He headed down the stairway. At the bottom the soldier stood just outside the entrance. "Take our guests to the King's quarters. After that gather all the heads of teaching and have them meet at my office. We have a matter of import to discuss." He turned to Stain. "I wish your visit was more jovial in nature. However, I think we shall do our best to serve. I will meet with you at meal time. I shall dine with you at the King's quarters. Get settled in and unpack. I must start organizing this challenge" He walked off and his voice could be heard calling out to others still soaking. People started climbing out of the hot pools and heading off in all directions.

  "If you will follow me, I will take you to your quarters." The young soldier walked back across the cavern. He led us to another opening carved into the far wall. Another series of steps led upwards out of sight. We climbed a few flights of stairs and finally arrived at a balcony overlooking the cavern. We could see the river of fire curling across the cavern. The pools were off to the right, water glistening on that wall. "The King's quarters." The soldier stated simply.

  The large balcony also served as the entrance to a series of rooms. Stain told us which rooms to use. Tag and Evins were already in a stable room. A group of young boys waited to unload each animal. Stain instructed me to oversee the unloading. We spent the better part of two hours settling into the rooms. Each of us had our own sleeping area. We also had few community spaces that were lavish in their furnishings.

  Gias showed up and took Stain aside for a few moments. When they were done talking Gias called us all together.

  "In a few moments a meal will arrive. We will eat and enjoy ourselves. Save any discussion of import till after the meal is done. Enjoy your food and drink. Our cooks have worked feverishly to provide a good meal in such a short time. Please, enjoy their efforts." He led the way to a large dining room that could have sat twice our number. We all sat at one end of the table. The food was brought to the table and it had to be some of the best food I had ever tasted. Dish after dish was placed on the table. Once the last dish was empty and we had eaten our fill Gias stood up.

  "Now that our meal is done, let us retire to the other room." He led the way to a large room filled with books and chairs. "Sit anywhere. We will be talking quite a bit about everything." He walked over to a large chair and sat down heavily. "Shall we get started Stain?"

  Stain nodded and sat down across from him. The rest of us pulled chairs up until a circle was formed.

  Gias leaned forward and started to outline his plan for the next six weeks.

  * * *

  "I have found enough teachers who are able and willing to teach these two young mages. They will have lessons at all times throughout the day. There will be a total of six teachers. Each will focus on a specific aspect of fire magic. You will have to work hard and be willing to ask lots of questions. There are so many things to learn that there will be no test other than if you can put what you have learned into action." Gias leaned back and looked at Stain. "Are you going to be involved in their education?"

  Stain leaned back and pondered a moment, "I can. I had planned on helping where needed. I do have other things to do, however I would like to be involved at different times. If only to keep up with what they are learning."

  Gias smiled, "I figured as much. There are five main areas of magic within any magic family. These are defense, offense, creation, destruction, and enchanting. Normally they overlap to some extent. So you two will have teachers who focus on these areas. They are the best here in their own area. Listen to them and do what they say. We will be pouring half a year's worth of teaching into six weeks. Not an easy task for either the student or teacher." He stood up. "Tomorrow you will be escorted to the training area. Heed all warnings and instructions. I will introduce you to the various teachers and others that you need to know." He walked to the doorway and stopped, head bowed. "I do not know what your group will be facing in the times ahead. We will do our best to equip all of you for the coming battles. Good night." He walked through the door and silence fell over the room.

  "I have never heard magic summed up that way." Raven commented.

  Stain smiled, "There are many ways of looking at magic. Gias has worked hard to create his training program. The first thing he did was figure out a way to divide magic into categories. He felt this would make teaching and learning easier. So far I would agree that he has succeeded in building one of the best programs for teaching a large amount of students quickly."

  "So how do you define the different areas?" I asked.

  "Well they are pretty simple areas. Defense means anything that prevents direct harm. Like shielding. It is an area without aggression, simply withstanding against the enemy. Offense is attacking. Dealing out harm and damage. Creation is all about using magic to build or develop. Destruction is about taking apart or reducing things to smaller pieces. Enchanting you already know, placing spells or magic within objects." Stain explained.

  "But offense seems to be the same as destruction." I pointed out.

  Stain grinned, "They do. However, a spell used to attack a building in a battle is much different than one used to demolish a building to clear it out of the way. Different mechanisms, different results."

  That did make some sense. "He said six teachers, yet there are only five areas he mentioned us being taught."

  "I caught that too." Raven mentioned.

  "You will also have a magic theory teacher, one who teaches you the various aspects of magical theory. How it works, why it works the way it does. Some of the information you have already learned, however it will be best to start with the basics and make sure you have a good solid understanding before continuing." Stain stood up. "All of our days start early tomorrow. Let us all go to bed." He put his words to action and left the room. I could hear him climbing the steps up to the bedrooms.

  Conium stood up, "I will be helping in a few areas. However I will be busy at times. Make sure you listen well. This is a good learning system." She also went to bed.

  Mophar piped up, "I think I will keep you two company during your days. That way you can focus on your studies. I will watch for anything unusual."

  Fiosrach spoke gently, "I will stay here. Without any fire magic I cannot lend much to your studies. Do not worry about me, I feel the need for a deep rest. I must be ready to grow again. Do not be surprised if I shed. It is part of the growing process." He scratched his back. "And I feel itchy. Another sign I am probably about to grow." He walked out of the room and we could hear him take flight.

  Pat spoke, "I also feel the need for a deep rest. I think I will find myself a warm spot and pass out for maybe a month." He jumped from the table and flew after Fiosrach.

  "Well that is everyone but Cracklecord. Any idea where she went?" I asked Raven.

  She nodded, "Evidently she wanted to report to her elders, she said they live around here somewhere. She will be away for a few days."

  "That makes sense. What do you think about all of this?" I was a little nervous but also excited.

  Raven grinned, evidently she sensed my emotions a little. "I feel excited but also frustrated. I can not truly do any magic. I always feel as if I am trying to swim upstream during flood season." She stood up. "It is getting late and we traveled hard the past few days. My bed is calling my name. Goodnight Ott." She leaned down and kissed my cheek before leaving the room.

  I could feel the heat fill my face from her kiss. I do believe I was falling in love with this complex woman.

  Chapter V

  Fire Burnin
g Brightly

  The next day established a daily routine. We all were woken by a large bell being rung out in the cavern. There was food set aside for breakfast and once we had eaten our fill we all went our own ways. Stain was having many meetings and trying to figure out what the enemy was doing. Conium assisted Stain and also worked on building up a reserve of potions, working in large batches. Fiosrach was true to his word. He had found a spot out of the way and seemed to have entered some form of deep sleep. Even poking him failed to wake him, we tried. Pat rested or hunted bats. Mophar kept Raven and myself company. We both started our lessons that next morning.

  "Welcome to magic theory. My name is Mallory. I will be the one making sure you have a good grasp of the mechanics of magic and how it works. Most of this information will seem boring, however to properly execute magic in the long term you need a good understanding of what is going on when you cast a spell. If you ever want to develop new spells or modify existing ones then you need this information." This short speech served as the introduction to magic theory.

  That first day we learned all about what magic actually was and how some people accessed it while others could not even feel it. The information was dry, yet Mallory helped to show it in a way that made it interesting. After magic theory we met the offense teacher, Alice.

  "I will be teaching you how to use fire magic in an offensive manner. What this means is I will be teaching you to use magic against enemies. This will normally be people. There will be times you will need to use magic against hardened targets, like buildings. We will cover all of that. Fire magic can be exact or broad. You will learn both. I refuse to let you be sloppy. Sloppy means innocent people get hurt." Alice was a tough woman, reminding me of a soldier.

  After offensive magic we met with the defensive teacher. "My name is Shep. Not sheep, Shep. I will be teaching you the art of defense. I call it an art because any mage can throw up a shield, what you will be learning is how to use fire magic to prevent harm to you and those around you. Also I will be helping you to understand some of the basic strategies of defense. Not just with magic but in all fighting." Shep was a short, rotund man. His head was completely bald and he sported a massive white beard.

  Every day we had lunch at the same time, usually we went back to our quarters but sometimes we ate at the large community kitchens. The food was excellent no matter where we ate. Often we grabbed a quick meal and went right back to work. After lunch we had creative magic. This was one of the more interesting classes. We learned how to create items using fire magic. The teacher was called Smithy, no other name was provided. He wore a metal mask at all times and possessed a very deep voice.

  "In my class you will learn to harness the properties of fire to create. There are many substances that fire can destroy, not so many that it can be used to create. Mainly we will be working with metals. The items created will lack magic themselves, magic will simply be how they were created. If magic was infused into the objects then it would be enchanting. You have another teacher for that." Smithy made sure that we always understood what we were to do and what steps to take.

  Jannis was our destructive teacher. "You will learn how to destroy in my class. This is not about fighting, but about reducing an object to less than it was whole. Think of it as reverse cooking. Fire can do this in many ways, most mages simply burn items to destroy them. However, buy using fire magic correctly you can have more than just ash left. You can gain things to create with, you might have a purified substance, you could even have a stronger substance." She was a petite woman, almost child sized. The first day she showed how applying fire magic to certain rocks left behind metals that then could be used to create weapons.

  Enchanting was one of the easiest but also hardest classes. "Enchanting is basically the idea of infusing a specific object with a specific magic effect. This can be a spell or even just pure magical energy or even both at the same time. Many times enchanting is used with weapons, however there are also many non fighting uses for enchanting. We will look at all of them and you will be an expert enchanter when you finish my class." This was told to us by a tall, skinny man named Stephan. I found him slightly intimidating, even with my experiences of having enchanted before.

  After all of our lessons we normally ate our evening meal with the rest of our group back at our quarters. Stain would ask about what we were learning that day. Sometimes he would offer encouragements, often he would find something funny about our day. After our evening meal Conium would take Raven aside and work on gaining control of Raven's magic. She slowly gained the ability to cast small spells without difficulty. Stain would take me aside and fill me in on what he had discovered that day. Some nights he had no real information, both he and I were frustrated. There were plenty of whispers of things occurring, but many were found to be false. Some nights it felt as if we were just wasting our time by staying here.

  "I understand how you feel Ott. You want to do something about this enemy." Stain was addressing me after one evening's outburst. "You are doing something very important. You are gaining the skills you need to take the fight to the enemy. Until you finish your lessons you are not ready. Even then I hesitate. You are young and I worry for you. I told your father I would protect you."

  "I understand Stain. I just want to be doing something. Everyday I learn more and more. I cast spell after spell. I feel as if all I am doing is sitting here while this madman plots and acts." I was feeling frustrated. It had been three weeks since we arrived at Hearthstone Heart. Nothing seemed to be changing. There was still an enemy that we could not find. "I just wish I could be more involved instead of stuck in classes."

  Stain nodded, "I agree. Which is why as soon as you finish these lessons we will be moving on and heading for the capital. There are many things that seem to be happening that we must address. The capital is the best place to start our next move."

  I stood up and yawned. "I need to go to bed. Tomorrow we will be working more on execution than theory."

  "Good night Ott. Remember you need to put everything you have into these lessons. That way when you are done you will be ready to help me find and defeat this enemy." Stain stood up and put his hand on my shoulder. "I know you are feeling frustrated, just give it a little more time." He headed to his bed.

  * * *

  The next few days found Raven and I being forced to our limits of magical ability. Since Raven had gained the ability to use her magic to some extent, our teachers had started making us work together to perform complex spells that were impossible for one person to cast alone.

  "You must focus!" Alice yelled. "If either of you loses focus when casting this spell then it could explode. You must both focus and work together. Otherwise you fail."

  Raven's face showed the frustration she felt. "We are trying."

  Alice sighed, "Stop. Stop, you are going to hurt someone." She walked up to us. "There is something keeping you two from working in harmony. Until you can figure it out you are not allowed to cast any spells together. It is simply too dangerous with the pace we are demanding. You have till tomorrow to figure it out. If you can not figure it out then you are done." She looked at both of us. "You have the rest of the day off. Make it work. Otherwise you have wasted all of our times and your own." She walked off and left us there gaping after her.

  "What do you think she means?" Raven was obviously upset.

  Mophar snorted and hopped down from his roost above the workbench. "You two are blind."

  "What do you mean?" I griped at him.

  He rolled his eyes. "You two are working so hard to learn that neither of you realize that there is a problem between you. Too busy and scared."

  "I am not scared, you fluffy furball." Raven stated this sharply.

  "Sure, sure. I will leave you two to figure it out." He walked out of the room, heading for our quarters.

  "What do you think he meant by all of that?" Raven asked me pointedly.

  "I really have no idea. He get's funny ideas
at times." I looked at Raven and shrugged.

  "Well, what now? I have no idea what to do." Raven sat down sullenly.

  I sat down across from her and thought. "Maybe we should ask Stain? He might know something."

  Raven grimaced, "He has been so busy, I hate to bother him during the day."

  I stood up and nodded, "I agree. But we have to figure out something. He made it clear we had to complete this training." I helped her to her feet. "I bet he is in that office again. He always seems to be doing paperwork of some kind lately."

  We went in search of Stain only to have him find us.

  "So, I hear your morning has been a trial." Stain seemed annoyed yet his tone had a wisp of humor to it. "Let's go back to our quarters and see what we can figure out."

  Raven and I followed Stain while we explained what had occurred with Alice. Stain led us to the main lounge. "Sit down please." Stain grabbed a large fluffy chair. "So, what do you think is the issue?"

  Raven spoke first, "I think Alice is expecting too much, honestly. I know we are both trying to do what she asks."

  Stain looked at her. "Can you cast the spell?"

  She nodded, "I was able to cast it no problem by myself."

  "So the problem arose when trying to cast the larger spell together?" Stain asked.

  I answered this, "Yes. We both had our parts down. But when we tried to cast the spell together it keeps falling apart."

  Stain looked back and forth. "Well, let's see it happen. Ott you first."

  I sighed and cast my part of the spell. A whorl of fire appeared in the air. It spun lazily shooting off some sparks as dust struck the fire.

  Stain looked in a way that meant he was using his mage sight. "Very good. Now Raven, cast yours."

  I let my spell go while Raven raised her wand and cast her part of the spell. Another whorl of fire appeared. It seemed identical to mine.

  Stain looked at her for a moment. "Also very good. Now, let's try both." He stepped back slightly.