Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Age or Doctor Strange any of their related characters. This is just for my own enjoyment and the potential enjoyment of other fans like me, and no monetary gain was expected or received.
Rating: T
Spoilers: May contain spoilers for Origins, Origins DLC, Awakening, and Dragon Age II, Dragon Age II DLC, Dragon Age Inquisition as well as the novels The Stolen Throne and The Calling. May also contain spoilers for Doctor Strange movie and/or comics.
Chapter Seven: Hard Lessons
Caring for Pepper took up most of the next day, but the little creature grew quickly for its size and became fairly independent in not too long. It had to stay close to him at all times, for it had to be fed at least once an hour, but he could return to his studies after the first day of tending to the dragonlet. It rode perched on his shoulder, quite frequently nibbling on his earlobe, often asleep when it wasn't eating. Sometimes he almost forgot it was there, but it certainly had ways of making itself known when it wanted to be noticed. Though tiny, it had quite the voice, and could bite very hard when it wished.
His sorcery lessons for a short time became something like lessons in practical dragon-keeping, such as learning how to conjure pieces of raw cube meat from the kitchen to the palm of his hand. When he was more advanced, Strange promised that he would be able to conjure food from thin air itself. It was a useful talent, but unfortunately he couldn't do it yet with anything larger than cubed beef, or he wouldn't have to go hunting through the house libraries for books he needed. Wong and Strange could do such things without even thinking much about it. Well, that's what practice was for. Pepper would surely keep him in good practice.
As the days passed, Pepper grew more and more, within the confines of his species. Soon he was three inches long, and assaying his first weak attempts at flight, flapping his tiny wings, leaping from Loghain's shoulder. He didn't do so well at first, and plummeted a few times and had to be caught before he fell all the way to the floor and perhaps be injured. A few more tries, and his wings became strong enough for him to catch himself, and then he was flying. There was no keeping him settled after that.
He - or she; Loghain was secretly of the opinion his dragonlet was a female: With his limited knowledge of dragons it made sense to him to think so as the dominant attitude the little creature displayed suggested female dragon behavior to him - didn't speak to Loghain telepathically or otherwise, not yet at any rate, but it did seem to know him very well. When he was at his studies, the little creature helped him by finding the specific page he needed, or even the proper book amongst the growing pile sitting on his study desk. He didn't even have to say anything. The little thing was much stronger than it seemed, and could tug a volume many times heavier than itself out from under a number of such books without much difficulty.
While Pepper was progressing rapidly, Loghain's studies were, he felt, going at a crawl. Sure, he could summon stew beef from the kitchens to his hand now, and he could read his lesson books with relative ease thanks to the special spectacles, but it was so difficult to make any of it make sense. There were many references to a Great Triumvirate, a trio of apparently "god-like" beings called Oshtur, Hoggoth, and Agamotto. God-like, but not, apparently, gods. What they were wasn't written, but it seemed reasonable to suppose they were probably just really talented sorcerers. Perhaps the first or the greatest of Sorcerers' Supreme from several dimensions. They apparently were still alive somewhere, granting sorcerers extra power when called upon. He didn't understand, but god-like or gods-exactly, everything that spoke of them sounded religious. It made him uncomfortable, thinking he was being forced to accept a new religion.
The rest of his studies were worse. Exploring the ins and outs of a work titled A Treatise Upon Translocation Through Telekinesis, Popularly Termed Teleportation was barely intelligible to him. He understood this was how Strange and Wong kept popping in and out all around him, but the explanations the book gave of how they did it made no sense to his limited understanding. Passages like "Projection of your Astral Self from one location to another, when concentrated, can be used to move the Physical Self as well," were actually the easiest parts to understand. He did something fairly similar with the stew beef from the kitchens. From there, things got tricky.
Strange let him stew over these studies for some time before giving him any more help. "You're doing well on your own, but beginning sorcerers always require a little assistance with this sort of thing. Here: a Sling Ring. A powerful magical artifact that will allow you to open up a dimensional rift within the Astral Plane that will enable you to travel from where you are to where you wish to be, in this or any other dimension, instantly, exactly like proper telekinetic translocation. It requires concentration, just like the real thing, so it's good practice for a novice. Try it. Go from here to the arena."
Loghain put the ring, which was double-knuckled, on his two middle fingers and held out his fist. He focused on the idea of the arena, but nothing happened.
"Keep trying. The clearer the picture in your mind, and the more focused you are upon it, the faster it works. If you continue to fail, I shall simply have to strip you naked and leave you at the peak of our tallest mountain to swiftly freeze to death or die of lack of oxygen unless you can save yourself with the ring, as my teacher did to me," Strange said, with a bright smile.
Loghain broke concentration entirely and shook his head. "That doesn't sound so much like motivation as torture," he said.
"It worked, though," Strange said. "Rather like dropping a child that can't swim off of the dock. Cruel, but typically effective. Keep trying."
Loghain tried again, concentrating hard on the familiar mental image of the arena. He closed his eyes and visualized. "You might want to open your eyes again," Strange said. He sounded amused. "Just don't break focus when you do."
Loghain opened his eyes. Before him, he saw a hole in thin air, and within it, he saw the dirt floor of the arena. Surprised, he lost his focus and the hole disappeared.
"Well, you had it," Strange said. "Let's see if you can get it back again, shall we? Keep your eyes open so you know when you can step through."
Loghain shrugged and tried again, keeping his eyes open. Being able to see his surroundings was distracting, but in time a vague shadow of the arena appeared. He concentrated on that and the picture grew clearer, more true.
"Very good. Focus. Make it real," Strange said.
Loghain concentrated harder. The vision of the arena became more and more realistic, until once more there was a hole in reality. Pepper squawked and flew through. "Go on," Strange said. "You'd better go after him. Just make sure you hold your concentration until you're through."
"What if I don't?" Loghain asked.
"Don't ask. Just go."
Loghain shrugged again and stepped through the hole he had created, which slammed shut behind him. Pepper squawked and landed on his shoulder. Strange appeared beside him. "Very well done," he said. "Keep practicing with your ring, and keep studying your book, and soon you'll be teleporting naturally."
"What would've happened if I'd lost concentration on the way through that hole?" Loghain asked again. Strange sighed.
"You might've been scissored in two by the closing portal, but only if I could not save you in time, which believe me, I could."
"And you want me to… practice this on my own time."
"Now that you know how to do it, it should be no problem," Strange said, and smiled. "Besides, you will never be far from my watchful eye while you remain a novice at such things. Now, Wong is ready to give you your daily beating - I mean, lesson."
"Ha ha. Very droll," Loghain said, without humor. Strange vanished and Wong appeared. They proceeded with training. As they sparred, Loghain finally asked the question that had been on his mind for some time. "If I'm going to be a Master Sorcerer someday, with bloody infinite magic at my command, why do I need to learn how to fight any better?"
Wong smiled thinly. "Mastery of the body is a part of the discipline of the mind," he said. "You cannot have complete mastery of one without the complete mastery of the other. That said, you needn't go all the way on either discipline. Master Sorcerers do not always have complete mastery of every discipline. It is fairly rare that they do. You, however, having had a decent mastery of the body already, shouldn't find it terribly difficult to master both."
"But why would I ever need to fight like this?"
"Not every foe can be defeated with magic, even the most powerful magic there is."
"So there are limitations to sorcerery."
"There are limitations to all things. If you are to become a Sorcerer Supreme, you must learn to work beyond those limitations."
"That doesn't make sense."
"Then you will fail," Wong said, and knocked him unconscious with a roundhouse kick.
