by Ian Rodgers
“Very good. Find North is a very simple spell, only able to point out the direction in question. The easiest to cast in fact. Quick question: Do you know about how we measure mana, in both people and in spells?”
“Mana is measured in Points, correct? All humans have some mana that they can use, and it grows with use and practice. As for spells, Detect Magic requires five ‘points’ of mana to be cast, same as Detect Poison. More complex and powerful spells need more mana, and thus use up more ‘points,’” Liliana explained and the older mage nodded.
“An average human has fifty to two hundred Mana Points, though most do not have the training to use a spell more advanced then Cantrips, which rarely exceed twenty Points worth of power,” Petrus elaborated, and Liliana hastily scratched some notes out for herself. He nodded in approval before continuing.
“We use this method of rating the ‘price’ of a spell and the capacity of an individual because it makes it simpler and easier to group and organize new spells, be they invented or rediscovered, and to group and organize mages for different classifications and rankings. And like anything, the more you use it, the better you get with it. One’s mana capacity increases over time and with training. Like a muscle, if you use magic often you will be able to do more with it.”
“Now, for the final part of your demonstrations I want you to perform the most powerful spell you have. It does not matter if it is an offensive spell or not. I will block it and neutralize any problems you have.” The adept mage stepped out from behind his desk and took a stance in front of the pair of us. My owner rose from her seat and placed me on the top of the desk before facing her tutor.
Liliana then nodded her head at Petrus’ order and then clasped both her hands together. I felt a tingle run through my non-existent spine. I opened my ‘eye’ wider and tried to peer at my owner as she prepared her spell. I had not felt anything like it before, and judging from how it felt this was a more potent spell than a mere Cantrip.
Petrus threw up a shimmer green disc of solid magic, a barrier of some sort, as a bolt of flickering yellow-blue energy slammed into it. A deep ‘whump!’ echoed through the room as spell struck shield, the dart-shaped projectile creating a bright burst of light and sparks that pattered harmlessly on the stone floor. My owner’s spell shattered across the surface, inflicting no visible damage.
“A most impressive Magic Arrow!” the princess’ tutor praised, dismissing his shield spell once he was sure the spell was completely gone.
“Mother thought it was best that I know some spells to protect myself with,” Liliana said with a hint of red to her cheeks. “I don’t have much experience with it though. Did I do well?”
“Very well, I should say. It wasn’t the largest or most powerful version of Magic Arrow I’ve ever seen, but it was competently formed and well-aimed. A bit more practice and you should have a good offensive spell if you ever get into trouble,” Petrus said cheerfully, praising his new student. I wobble in joy as well, impressed by my owner’s attack. I wondered if I could perform that spell as well. It looked easy enough based on what I’d observed from Liliana.
“Magic Arrow is just a blob of pure magical energy shaped into a projectile and fired off like a crossbow bolt. Nothing fancy or complex about it.”
As I pondered on how to go about training my own magic and spells, Petrus spoke directly to me.
“I know that look. You may not have visible features or expressions but even I can tell that you’re thinking about doing experiments on your own.”
I jerked in shock, flopping around a bit in surprise before ‘facing’ the mage, giving off a sheepish and apologetic aura.
“You’re a Royal Ooze now, Jelly, and clearly of higher intellect than any other of your kin. That means you are also going to be my student while I teach Princess Liliana,” the mage stated. “You have a lot more mana than she does, but far less control or understanding. I will be teaching the both of you how to perform magic the proper and safe way.”
“Will mother allow this?” Liliana asked. Petrus shrugged.
“I see no reason why she wouldn’t. True, it is unconventional, but he has actual power now, and needs to be able to use and control it. She’ll likely request me to teach him regardless as having an unstable mage is as dangerous as letting a child swing a sword, if not more so,” the Academy student turned temp teacher explained. “He won’t be an official student of course. Not even the most progressive or open minded professors at the Academy would allow a monster as a student, even if it has clear levels of abnormal intelligence.”
“I understand,” the princess said softly, slight disappointment emanating from her. I cooed softly, soothing her. Her empathy was truly astounding.
“Speaking of being a student, I guess I should mention this now,” Petrus said getting my owner’s attention back. She took her seat and looked on attentively.
“As you are not yet an adult you won’t be able to officially be a student of the Academy. However the queen has requested I give you a crash course on the most basic topics a First Year would receive in the Gen. Ed. Course. I have a feeling she wants me try and enroll you in the Academy early so you’ll need to be better than average to do so. She also wants you to create a special research project to work on as you learn with me.”
“Research project?” Liliana asked and the mage nodded.
“Indeed. The Academy requires all students to work on a special research project after they choose the type of magic they wish to study. We do this because learning magic is far more difficult and dangerous than learning history or math. The administration needs to see proof every year or so that you are taking your lessons seriously. Queen Amdora wants you to get a head start on this so you won’t be left in the dust by the older students when you do attend,” Petrus cautioned. His warning and the requirements made some sense, but I felt annoyed on Liliana’s behalf. I was so glad I was a monster and didn’t have to take tests or study in the normal style. It looked boring.
“Don’t worry, princess. You have the perfect research project already,” her tutor said trying to cheer her up. She just looked confused before understanding.
“Jelly! He’ll be my project!”
“Correct again, princess! He is a rare Royal Ooze. Very little is known about living ones, and this is the first time to have one as a specimen so readily available for study!”
I shrank in on myself, suddenly afraid. The glint in both Petrus and my owner’s eyes was unsettling, and I worried I may have fallen in with a bad crowd. There’s nothing worse than being used as a science experiment. Oh, the things I do for love…
Chapter 19: The way to learn magic
It was a brisk, chilly afternoon at Palestone Castle. The sun had sluggishly crept up the sky and done the bare minimum of shedding some warmth onto the city of Sanc Aldet. A blistering, biting wind tore down from the mountains and the inhabitants shivered slightly in their thick clothes. Winter had finally arrived in Varia and the first snowfall of the season was fast approaching.
King Tiberius had not yet returned from his pacification of Edelstein, but he was reportedly on his way back. According to the gossip I’d overheard he had stopped off at the fortified city Bastiongard to see an old friend before marching his forces back home.
As for the brief war, it ended in total victory for the king and his forces. Count Marik Yenfold Darpel and his son Einrik had both been slain on the fields of battle and the rebellious territory beaten down. Most of the soldiers and levies had surrendered quickly, as without their lord to command them they saw no reason to fight against the rightful king. Now came the lengthy process of rebuilding Edelstein. That including find a new Count to take over. None of Darpel’s immediate family or close allies and advisors could be trusted and their statuses and privileges hung by a thread. A more loyal noble needed to fill in the gap and restore proper order. To that end extensive investigation was being undertaken.
As for King Tiberius’ sister, the coun
t’s wife had escaped and gone into hiding. None knew where she was but there was a bounty on her head; dead or alive she was worth a thousand gold coins. It was rare for the royal family to offer such a large prize for anything, and already people were scouring the lands to find her. No second chances for her.
In regards to me and my owner, we wiled away the growing cold learning magic under the tutelage of Petrus Goyn, Senior Apprentice to Master Renos of the Varian Royal Mages Academy.
Petrus was a fine teacher. He gave concise explanations of the theories we studied and answered any questions to the best of his ability. While not an expert on every subject he knew plenty and his eclectic array of trivia about historical magical figures and events kept Liliana engrossed with every lesson.
I was less focused on the lectures and more keen to get my pseudopods on the practical side. I was learning slowly and I itched to see visible improvements.
“You’ve proven to be skilled at basic Cantrips, so for today’s lesson we’ll be learning several spells, two of which are stronger versions of the ones you currently know. First up, Detect Good and Detect Evil.”
“Will these spells let me know who is going to try and hurt my family?” Liliana asked, looking up at Petrus from her desk. I sat on the top of my own table since Petrus had thought that having me sitting in the princess’s lap all lesson would be distracting for both of us.
The thin and sallow tutor shook his head. “No, they won’t. Contrary to popular belief, these two spells are designed for detecting, locating, and analyzing Light and Dark based magic respectively. It would be impossible to fully create a spell matrix or ritual algorithm that could properly discern such things as ‘good’ or ‘evil.’ Morality is sadly very flexible and up to interpretation, and magic works best in absolutes. Some gods, like Kardale, can grant their disciples the power to see through lies and uncover sins, but only to an extent. Kardale’s tenants say that murder is an evil, and so one of his Paladins could locate a murderer with magic. But another god, like Vandalore, would view murder as an act of good and loyalty, and so would not have a spell to see murder as ‘evil.’”
The mage’s casual mention of the infernal God of Murder and Betrayal made my owner and I shiver in our seats. A magic user saw gods as just another source of magic and spells, but to Liliana who had been raised to see gods as something more, offhanded references to dark entities were more shocking. My owner’s fears and upbringing carried over to my own mindset.
I was fairly certain I had met two of the Divine Family during the Reaffirmation of Faith, and the thought of something out there being a dark and corrupt version of such purity revolted me.
“Then why is it important to know them?” Liliana asked and I bobbed in agreement, both of us controlling our earlier disgust.
“Because they can be used to get a more accurate read on certain kinds of magic. Tell me, what are the Elements of Magic?”
“There are eight substances and elements scholars believe relate to magic. They are Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Energy, Dream, Light, and Dark,” Liliana recited automatically.
“Exactly! And each Element has its own subtypes of magic. Healing spells and exorcism type techniques belong to the Light Element, while Necromancy and spells used by Demons and Devils all fall under the Dark Element. With Detect Good and Detect Evil you can quickly tell what kind of foe you face, the sort of magical tools you should use, or the preemptive knowledge that there is a threat or safe zone ahead,” Petrus explained. “Of course, the odds of you ever actually needing to use them are slim. I just want you to be able to practice them, as they are considered Level 1 Spells, much more difficult and expensive in terms of mana to perform.”
Petrus handed the young princess two small squares of parchment upon which looping, elegant handwriting could be seen. Liliana nodded her head and began to mumble under her breath the incantation for the two spells inscribed in front of her.
“As for you, Jelly, your senses are several times sharper than a humans, and you seem to have the ‘Detect’ series of spells incorporated into them naturally. Therefore I want you to practice the Summon Water cantrip. You’ve had trouble with it so far and I want you to be able to master it before I teach you any more advanced spells.”
I nodded, slightly annoyed at myself for having to constantly practice such a basic spell. Out of all the Cantrips, Summon Water was the most mana intensive and required a great deal of concentration. Rather than conjuring the water from another source as its name might imply, Summon Water was a lesser form of Hydromancy and it gathered stray moisture and excess water from the air to create up to a gallon of pure, clean, fresh water. The most desired spell for a farmer to learn, and one all commoners adore as it gave them quick access to cheap and healthy liquid nourishment.
And out of all of them Liliana and I have studied, this one was a poor match for myself. Why? Because an Ooze’s body was full of water as well as magic with very few solids and other substances or elements to bind my form together, and Summon Water desiccated me whenever I used it. My body would shrink as moisture was sucked from my gooey flesh and it caused me genuine pain.
The only way I could figure out to use the spell was to create and extend a pseudopod, alter its composition so it was thicker and less gel-like, and then focus on creating the Cantrips formula on the tip of the tendril. In this way less fluids were sucked out of my body when the spell gathered the water.
I had no mouth and no way to form words of any kind so I was taught by Petrus how to mentally speak the incantations or use my mind’s eye to imagine what the runes and spell diagrams looked like.
It was a high level ability normally only taught to advanced mages and used by extremely magical beings. Making a mistake resulted in various calamities for the caster, with death being just one of the possible outcomes. But the tradeoff was a faster casting time and opponents not knowing what the incoming spell was until it had been unleashed.
“Now, watch what I’m doing and how I form the spell,” Petrus instructed, and I bobbed up and down.
One aspect about my transformation to a Royal Ooze was a greatly enhanced boost to my talent to subconsciously analyze whatever I observed. It worked best on magical objects, thanks to my connection to my semi-solid mana body. But it could interact with others as well.
Before, I had to physically touch something to understand its composition. Now I was able to scan things from a glance. Magical artifacts revealed their basic spells and natures and when observing someone casting a spell I could decipher the exact sort of spell just by watching them. With this new trick I could quickly grasp what I needed to do to cast a spell. The actual act of creating the spell was still difficult for me, though.
Focusing back to my task at hand, I started to mentally draw the ‘patterns’ of the spell I had seen Petrus use with my mind and allowed my internal energy to flow towards my extended limb. It thickened and took on a consistency like toffee, and then I felt a ripple in my inner workings as the mana inside my body and the spell diagram I mentally envisioned reacted with the free flowing Ambient Mana of the air and room. Slowly tiny droplets of water condensed and floated a few centimeters off of my tendril, held in place by my magic. I winced as I felt pricking sensations cover my exposed limb as stray fluids were drawn out of me.
“Yes, I see your still having a bit of trouble keeping the spell from targeting yourself,” Petrus mused as he took a closer look at me and my spell. “This is probably because living flesh acts as a natural barrier against minor magical backlashes, which is why even an ordinary person doesn’t dry themselves out when using Summon Water. But because you do not have ‘flesh’ in the conventional sense, your body is free game to the spell’s ravages. When using it, try and form the spell a bit further from yourself, so it isn’t actually touching you.”
I grumbled at my mentor’s observations. Hopefully in time I could find a way around this, but until then I endured.
After a few moments of dull pain I d
eposited the tablespoon or so of water I managed to create into a copper pot Petrus had provided for me. I wondered what he’d use it for. Boil it for tea maybe? I felt weird thinking about someone drinking what was partially made of my own essence.
While preparing for the next set of exercises, I pondered why I felt disgusted by someone drinking me, but not by cannibalism? I hadn’t felt that way after consuming the Poison Oozes, so was it double standards or something due to my link with my dear owner?
“Not a bad amount, Jelly,” Petrus praised, looking into the container. “There’s a bit more in here than last time. Once you work around your issues with the spell you’ll be a master at this! Control is everything in magic, after all.”
The mage turned tutor wandered over to check on the princess’s progress, humming and hawing as he looked over her work. Time passed slowly in the tiny, cozy room. But eventually our session ended with Petrus and my owner and I rose from the seats to move on to the next classes. I bobbed and slithered around Liliana’s feet, nuzzling her ankle as we walked.
Liliana could no longer carry me. In the days since I’d woken up from my coma I had steadily grown. Soon I was the size of a large dog, not unlike one of the hunting hounds King Tiberius kept in his menagerie of animals and beasts.
There was a slight feeling of sorrow from both me and her about this fact. I missed being small and cuddly. I slept in a modified dog bed nowadays rather than on a pillow next to my owner, I made a sloshing sound when I moved, and I had an increased appetite as well. That latter part I sated with rats and mice I hunted in the cellars at night, not wanting to disturb Liliana or her family. Apparently non-magical animals like rodents and roaches can scurry into the palace without being hindered by the barrier and wards. There’s fewer of them about than a place without the magical defenses, but still plenty for me to feast on.
Hopefully my size would stabilize soon. I really did not want to be any larger. Allowances had been made for me recently due to my growth spurt, but that was thanks to me saving so many people’s lives at the feast. If I got any bigger I’d have to move out of the palace. Maybe a nice kennel of sorts… no, no, I shouldn’t think like that! I have to be close to Liliana! I have protect her!
