New chapter!
"I'm going to be a ranger Silly!"
Oh my god...
"It'll be all thwap! Swish! Slash! Oh no its Ranger Noly! We're doomed! That's right it is I, the Hero Ranger Noly here to stop your evil ways!"
Three weeks since mentor's day, and Noly will not shut the hell up about being a ranger. Apparently, that whole pitch to her was legitimate. She went there with her parents and walked out the newest trainee of the Farstriders.
Not a full Ranger mind you. Noly was a trainee, a rank just below recruit. Noly was basically going through a fantasy ROTC for the next several years to get her in shape to become a proper ranger recruit.
Most days after class she would rush off to the local lodge to begin her lessons. Some of them seem a bit brutal if I'm being honest with myself. She's already come back twice with black and blues on her arms and a sore wrist. Whenever I asked her about it, she'd just say it was 'ranger' stuff.
Child abuse aside, she seemed to like it. After class, on the walk home, she'd get into this playfight mode. Swinging her arms and legs with abandon. Knocking over a fair few things, and hitting a number of people, along the way. All the while narrating thrilling adventures she was 'on'. It was all, dragon this and fair maiden that. Honestly, she had her head in the clouds.
As for me, I've been immersed into my own little world as of late.
Without warning I felt Noly's hand club my elbow. I jolted in momentary pain, the book almost slipping from my grasp onto the ground.
"Hey!"
"Sorry!" She quickly apologized.
She kept play fighting of course.
I spent most of my time at home, and in class, glued to the book Firebrook left. And with the Arcane Light spell, I could read and practice well into the wee hours of the night. It honestly amazes me how easy it was to pick up this stuff.
I managed to tune her out around the point she started to babble about 'saving the fair-haired maiden' by 'winning her hand in a duel with the evil count', or something along those lines.
Back to my own little world.
By this point, I had run out of techniques I could practice safely at home.
Especially actual arcane magic that wasn't just a type of meditation or breathing exercise.
Maybe it was just an elf thing, or a me thing, but I get the impression that I should not be having this easy of a time. The whole 'do not strain yourself with more than one orb at a time for the drain of mana can be taxing on a young mage's mana pool' tells me as much. That probably means that my 'seven orbs up at the same time for an hour' isn't quite normal.
I was already on a second book the magister sent my way.
This one had far more energy intensive exercises to work with. They were also far more dangerous to do in an enclosed area. Such as emitting arcane energy from your body to push something away or directing the orbs of arcane energy into pseudo arcane missiles.
The book even said 'Perform in an open area' with a deep line of red ink under the words.
So of course I tried them in my room. The other exercises were said to be taxing but I felt fine doing them.
The book is just over exaggerating, I mused.
How hard could it be, I told myself.
One broken window and two mild scorch marks on the ceiling later, I was willing to admit that maybe I should try these exercises outside.
But the question was where. I lived in a city, along a main road in and out of said city. Where could I train and my miss casts or miss fires would not accidentally hit anything or anyone?
My answer came from Mom. Ignoring her following comment about how my cheeks puff up when I'm thinking, she told me of a place that would be perfect for me to train in: a small clearing in the Eversong Forest. It was off the beaten path and only a short distance from the city. It had nice trees I could rest under, a little pond to cool off in, and very isolated.
I asked her how she knew about it. With a straight face, she told me that if no one heard the screams and wailing of the men she brought there from time to time, then no one would hear or bother me.
So I was off, to the spot where Mom apparently performed her 'services' with men. How predictable.
After a twenty-minute walk, I found the spot Mom mentioned. True to her word, it was off the beaten path. Isolated but not that far from the main road. More importantly, it was free from any prying eyes.
The clearing was quite serene. Big, white barked trees with thick roots weaving in and out of the ground. Smooth stones that made for impromptu seats. A small clear pond nestled under the red leaves of the trees. It was beautiful.
Finding a nice, shady patch of grass, I sat down and opened the book. I flipped to the page I left off on: Arcane Orbs. Less powerful versions of an arcane missile and a step up from the Arcane Lights I had been making until now. A softball to the arcane missile's rock. Weak as it was, it still impacted with a bit of force. Not enough to break the skin, according to the text.
Yet enough to break a window, I winced at the memory.
Sighing, I started to channel my mana. Like always it started as a flickering blue light. Then, it condensed slowly into a more solid light; though I could still tell it was transparent to a degree. Finally, the new part of the orb creation for this particular exercise, solidify it. I had my blue-white orb morph from a soft glowing orb into a semi solid one. No bigger than my fist, it remained stationary in front of my face.
The whole process took three seconds.
So far so good.
Next part of the exercise, manipulate the orb in close proximity to the mage.
I felt my mana grasp the orb and move it in an orbit around my head. The closest comparison I could make to the sensation was trying to hold something drenched in oil. It was slippery and felt like it was straining in my grasp. Too little force on it, the orb would lose cohesion and shatter. Nothing serious, more like setting off a flare in your eyes then a small bomb. Too much force and it would slip from my grasp like a wet bar of soap and fly uncontrollable until it either hit something or ran out of mana.
It felt like any break in concentration would make it slip away. So, I have to move it slowly. Steadily. No sudden motions. I watched in awe as the orb obeyed by command, gliding silently around me. It felt therapeutic, just watching it laze about in the air.
I wonder if magic ever gets easier. Is magic like a muscle? Train it enough and you'll improve? Or is it like riding a bicycle, where you don't actually think about the-
My momentary line of thinking broke my concentration.
My grip on the orb weakened and I felt it begin to fade. I tightened by grip reflexively to compensate, only to overdo it.
The orb jerked to a stop. It strained under my hold, both weakened and strengthened simultaneously over the course of a millisecond. Shaking violently in place as the opposing forces clashed. Then it slipped from my grasp and flew! Shooting straight into the branches above. Twigs, branches, and leaves rustled along its path. Birds scattered to avoid it. A glassy pop signaled its impact and destruction.
Damn it! I swore, rushing to the tree in question. Looking up I saw a branch that seemed to have had its trunk chipped off. The last resting place of my orb. I placed my hand on the tree trunk to feel the area, careful to avoid getting splinters.
While a failure, this had been the longest time I held onto the orb before it flew off or just fizzled out. Granted, I had only done this spell four other times, one shattering in my grasp and three flying off in my room, but progress was progress.
I groaned, nothing better to do than start again.
Walking back to my spot, I looked at the page to start again.
Now once more, from the top!
Over the next few days followed a similar pattern. Class in the morning. Training in the afternoon. Reading in the evening. A simple routine, but I felt my progress skyrocket.
Four days on, and I could now properly control the arcane orb. Whereas a week ago I was strained just having one thing float around me, now I could comfortably control three at a time. Four if I focused. The tiniest break of on my hold no longer sent the orb careening off into the distance or shattering before my eyes. I'd learned how to subtly correct myself without overdoing it. After many failures naturally.
And boy did I fail!
The very scenery has been transformed by my failures. Bushes had holes in them from where orbs would fly through them. Trees had patches of missing bark as orb impacts blew off the top layer of wood. And I'm pretty sure that one rock wasn't supposed to have a fist sized scorch mark on its surface.
Additionally, it turns out I can get fatigued from doing the exercises too many times in a row. Not mana fatigue though. I actually looked it up in the book and apparently that comes with a lot more symptoms than just feeling exhausted or having a headache. Headaches and the like are a symptom of overexerting my mind in spell work, rather than exhausting my mana.
Mana exhaustion is significantly worse. The symptoms include, but are not limited to: chills, cold sweats, uncontrollable twitching, and muscle spasms to name a few.
Naturally, this meant I couldn't just blitz through the text anymore. Future exercises would be more mentally taxing, so I had to stop and take breaks.
Work for two hours? Take thirty minutes off. Done!
Regardless, I set about the newest exercise that has me stumped: having the arcane orbs orbit myself while I moved.
You'd think that it would be about the same difficulty as the previous activity. And it was, if the orbs were stationary. Meaning, I moved, but they stayed anchored at the same point away from me. That was easy. This was another beast entirely.
If moving the orbs when I'm stationary was akin to holding something drenched in oil, then moving while the orbs were also moving was like juggling an oily ball between your hands.
It's easier for me to lose control.
That bird nest I accidentally obliterated the other day was evidence of that.
With a deep breath, I formed the orbs first. Whereas before I had to concentrate to give them form, it felt second nature to me now. Hell, I can even create them without actually paying attention now!
Okay, I prepared myself, let's do this.
As I took my first step, I began to pull the orb to float around me.
Left foot, right foot.
Each step was careful and methodical.
Left foot, right foot.
Even if it was just walking forward, I could feel the strain trying to keep the orb under control. Sweat dripped from my brow.
Left foot, right foot.
It made me wonder how mages can wiz across the battlefield; teleporting, shooting off arcane missiles, and throwing fireballs abound. How much stress were they under?
Left foot, right foot.
Or did it just become easier as they grew into their powers? I mean, some of the stuff I do easily now was a pain to do just a week ago. Maybe a similar thing but on a grander scale?
Left foot, right foot.
Maybe it does get-
Snap.
Wait what was that?
In an instant, my concentration was broken. I lost control of the orb. It flew into the air. I tried to reach out to it, to reel it back in, but all I did was make it jackknife right into the ground. A satisfying thud, the sound of a glass ball shattering, and a small shower of soil flew up from the impact site.
"Damn it, not again!" I swore aloud.
Before I could focus on what went wrong, I heard, something. From the same direction as that sound that broke my concentration. A thud and a girlish squeak.
I whipped my head to its source.
It was a young girl flat on her butt. She was older than me, maybe a year or two at most. Long black hair contrasted the simple white robe she was wearing. Little smudges of dirt clung to her robe. A small brown satchel laid next to her on her lap. Her eyes were glued to me.
"Hey, are you okay?" I walked over to her.
The girl didn't reply, just staring in my general direction. Even as I reached her, she kept her gaze to where I had been, rather than where I am now.
She muttered something under her breath.
"Is something wrong?" I put my hand on her shoulder. Her whole body twitched at the contact. She finally noticed me. Maybe she was just really shy? Embarrassed that she caught me off guard and saw me swear aloud?
"Are you okay?"
She didn't say anything, only pointing behind me.
Curious, I swiveled my head around to see what she was pointing at.
A small fire had started along the topmost branches of trees. Not a true fire, mind you, but one that took an ethereal shade of blue. Strange, only now did I hear the crackling of burning leaves...
It took me a moment to process the scene.
Then, I rushed in a flurry of movement.
HOW DID I NOT NOTICE I MADE A FIRE!
I rushed over, one palm extended to cancel out the flames!
All the while I heard the girl behind me yell "I'm sorry" over and over.
Good news was that the flames came under control, relatively quickly. My attempts to cancel magic worked, but that didn't stop the fire that was already burning from spreading. So, I got the genius idea of breaking off the branches that were in flames, have them crash onto the ground, and use ample handfuls of dirt to put the fire out.
Admittedly, not the brightest plan. I think I actually started a second fire doing that, thought this one was thankfully at ground level. Progress!
With the fire now dealt with, I turned my attention back to the girl from earlier; who was still rooted in the exact same spot.
After a period of time of us awkwardly staring at one another in silence, I finally broke the ice.
Then after her apologizing for the umpteenth time, we started talking.
Her name is Cerrea Whitecloud, twelve years old, and priestess in training at a nearby chapel of the Light. Following in the footsteps of her mother and father, she was training to become a priest. The training, from her own words, is stressful. Not just the spiritual aspect, calling on the Light I mean, but also the practical education: basic knowledge of herbs and alchemy, how to provide first aid without calling on the healing powers of the Light, memorizing holy texts and rites. It sounded intense.
So, for the last few months, she said she's been using this little clearing as a place to meditate when she has free time. To clear her head and get away from it all.
And I just happen to be here at the moment she came over.
So, awkward as we were an hour ago, we got a pretty good conversation going. She told me a bit about her life, I told her about mine. Cerrea would talk about her friends at the chapel. I told her about my friend at classes. She told me about her hobbies. I told her about my enjoyment of reading.
She might start off a little quiet, but once she gets talking, she is quite the lively person. Not a motor mouth like Noly, but a nice conversation partner regardless.
"So what is it like?" I asked, my initial hesitation on talking to her now overridden by sheer curiosity.
"What's 'what' like?" Cerrea tilted her head, confused at where I was going.
"The Light," I clarified. I slid a little closer to her. "I mean, does it feel different from arcane magic?"
She was quiet for a moment. Then shook her head, "I don't think I can answer that. I've never used arcane magic."
"Really?"
"Really," she nodded. Cerrea thought for a moment before continuing. "How about I can tell you what it feels like to channel the Light, and you can tell me what it feels like to use arcane magic?"
"Okay," I agreed. "Do you want to go first?"
"Sure." She took a moment to think of how to describe the Light. "I haven't really been channeling the Light for a long time. Just a year. But, whenever I call on the Light, it feels like a warm blanket is on me."
"A warm blanket?"
She nodded. "Yes, a warm blanket. It makes me feel like all my worries and fears aren't as bad as I think they are. Like I can relax and not worry about the bad things in the world and focus more on the good things. So, like, when I practice healing someone at the Chapel, I'm able to focus not on how bad the injury is, but how I can make it better. Does that make any sense?"
No. "Kind of."
She giggled, "yeah, it's hard to put into words. It's really something you have to feel to understand. But now it's your turn. What does it feel like using arcane magic?"
I hummed, thinking about it. "It's like trying to hold onto something oily."
"Oily?"
"Yeah, oily. Like, everything I do is trying to hold onto whatever it is I'm casting. If I don't pay attention, then at any moment it could slip out of my fingers."
"But it seemed like you had everything under control before-" She caught herself before saying the word 'fire'. "It looked like you were okay earlier. You made it all look so easy."
I snorted, "it only looks easy because this is the really basic stuff. Just basic exercises to hone my concentration. For example." I held my hand up and created an arcane light between us. I was confident enough in my ability to control this particular spell to not have it go off like a flare in our eyes. Cerrea seemed entranced by its blue glow. "Something like this is easy. But it's just a light."
"Maybe for you. But it's more than I could do when I was ten." She huffed in annoyance. Holding her own hand out, a soft gold light began to emanate from it. "This took me a whole year of work. And even then, it's not that powerful. I can only heal little scrapes and bruises."
"My light can only make light."
"But you're just starting, and you're doing it under your own power. Priests need to channel the Light through prayer and belief to use our powers."
"Want to hang up your white robes and become a mage then?" I joked.
She gave me a smile, "tempting, but I'm fine with being a priest."
We laughed at my lame attempt at a joke.
"I mean it though," she said suddenly, "you're way better than I was at the start of my classes. My mother had to drag me in by my ankles because I was so bored with them. But here you are learning on your own. That's really impressive."
I blushed a bit at the praise. It seemed natural for me to work my butt off to learn this stuff, but then again, I was a college graduate living my second life. I'm pretty sure I was a monster at ten in my first life.
Cerrea looked up at the sun's angle, "it's getting late, I need to head back now. Otherwise, I'll be late for afternoon prayer." She got up, dusting the dirt off her robe. Looking down, she offered me her hand and gave me a bright smile, "so, see you next time?"
I smiled and took it, she helped hoist me up, "sure, see you next time."
The next week followed the same pattern as before. The only deviation was that now every once and awhile Cerrea would show up. Not as dramatically as the first time, no more fires thankfully. We divided the whole clearing in half. I would do my exercises on my side, and she could meditate on her side. No sneaking up on each other; in particular me. After we finished our respective things, we would talk for a while.
I think the arrangement was working out.
One day when I came home, I found Mom in the kitchen with an open letter.
It was from Firebrook.
He pulled through and got me a place at a mage academy!
But reading it more in depth, it wasn't quite so straight forward. So, it was a little convoluted, but it went something like this: he didn't get me into the entrance exam itself, rather he got me a slot into a preliminary exam at a mage academy to see if I qualified to take the actual entrance exam. The letter stated these tests were given out quite regularly, every month if possible. I missed this month's test, but I was now slotted in for next month.
It was a simple formality he claimed in the letter. I had more than enough mana to qualify and my basic problem-solving skills were, in his own words, 'acceptable' to clear the test. I now had three weeks to wait until the next test was given.
The academy's name was Dath'Remar.
Shorter chapter, more of a set up then something that progresses the plot, but it does the job alright!