Disclaimer: I do not own Magic: The Gathering or Yu-Gi-Oh, they are the property of their respective owners.
Kay, this story's been going really fast, so I'm gonna slow the pace down a little.
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"I will attempt to teach you the skill of Spellcaster, tomorrow," said Khell "You're tried, and so am I," he said before Arrathir could protest, "So let's get some sleep."
"Where are you going to sleep?" Arrathir asked.
"I'm going to sleep on the floor," said Khell "In my wanderings I've slept in more uncomfortable places."
Arrathir and Khell went back downstairs where Yugi was helping Solomon get up.
"He'll be OK," said Yugi "Yami Marik knocked him out when he broke in."
Solomon looked a little dazed and didn't say anything. Yugi led his groggy grandfather to his room. Khell lay down on the carpet and spread his cloak over him. Within minutes, he was asleep. Arrathir took longer to get to sleep. So much had happened in just a day! First his duels, then the news that Dominaria existed, then his near-banishment to the Shadow Realm, and finally, Khell agreeing to teach him how to summon creatures. Arrathir wondered how many more surprises were in store for him. After much tossing and turning, he finally got to sleep.
The next morning, a ray of sunlight crept through the window and fell across Arrathir's face. He cringed and pulled his sleeping bag over his face to block out the light and fell back to sleep. Khell, on the other hand, had been up since dawn. His years of experience in the wild had taught him to rise with the Sun. He looked at the sleeping teen. Arrathir reminded him of himself when he was learning to be a Spellcaster.
His family had produced a Spellcaster for the past fifteen generations. Only one offspring of each generation had the real potential to channel manna. Needless to say, Khell had a lot to live up to. Many of his ancestors had been powerful Magi, skilled in the art of summoning powerful creatures. Most had been planeswalkers, utilizing the manna of plains to summon angels, knights, and soldiers. Some had chosen the path of knowledge and become blue wizards, casting spirits of the air and merfolk from the power of islands. A few had gone to live with the elves and become Forest Guardians, summoning animals of the forest. He knew of one ancestor, who even became a Mountain Ranger. He crushed his enemies with his burn spells and his goblin hordes. The only manna which Khell's family had never used was swamps. Black manna, the colour of death, darkness, plague and madness was taboo in Dominaria. Black manna represented the Cabal, and even further back, the Order of the Ebon Hand.
Everybody despised the Cabal. Their gruesome human sacrifices and tortures were only known through rumours. They represented a nameless fear that was the plague of Dominaria. As far as Khell was concerned, if the Cabal ceased existing, Dominaria would be a better place. He had little tolerance for black Spellcasters, as their spells revolved around creature destruction and raising creatures from the dead. Still, swamps were a part of the five-manna system that worked in a symbiotic circle in Dominaria. If black manna disappeared from this system, the consequences could be disastrous.
Khell's journey as a Spellcaster began after his eighteenth birthday. For a long time, he wandered the plains of Dominaria, searching for a planeswalker in hopes of becoming an apprentice. His journey took him to the Krosan forest where he found his spells, wurms. He had begun observing the wurms, acquiring their characteristics and getting to know them. It had taken him a long time, because wurms, being powerful creatures, took a lot of skill to summon. Once he had learned to tap into the forest's manna, he had begun summoning creatures. He didn't try to summon wurms right away. Instead, he focused on insects, their low stats and casting cost giving him practice in summoning. This was generally the method used by apprentices; they would summon low-cost creatures until their manna tapping and summoning skills grew, and then they would progress to more powerful creatures.
Arrathir opened his eyes, shutting them as the sunlight penetrated his retina. He wanted only to sleep more, but then, he remembered: Today, Khell was going to teach him to summon! He looked up and saw the mage in deep thought.
"Hey, Khell!" said Arrathir, interrupting the spellcaster's train of thought "Let's get started on those casting lessons, eh?"
"You require sustenance," said Khell "Breakfast," he elaborated, seeing the confused look on Arrathir's face.
Yugi was already in the kitchen, his spiky hair slightly flattened. He greeted the pair as they entered, offering them toast and jam.
"Hey Yugi," asked Arrathir "Do you gel your hair like that?"
"No, it's just like that. Even I don't know why. Anyways, I have to run the shop today because Grandpa's got a headache. Do you guys wanna help? Unless you have something planned…"
"Actually, yes," said Khell "Where's the nearest woodland around hear?"
"A forest? There's one on the edge of town," said Yugi.
Just then, Yami came out in spirit form. He was looking grumpy and grunted in response to Arrathir's "Hello".
Guess Yami's not a morning person.
After breakfast, Arrathir got dressed in his usual all-black Matrix look, along with his black overcoat. They left the house and walked back through the city until they reached the outskirts. True enough, there was a forest a little ways off.
"Khell," asked Arrathir "Why are we going into the forest?"
"One: We don't want to upset anybody by summoning magical creatures in a populated area, and two: because its best if you are located at a source of manna when learning to tap manna."
They walked on in silence. Once they reached the woods, Khell went off the path and into the trees. They walked until they reached a clearing. The trees grew around an open area of dead leaves and dirt.
"This should do," said Khell "Now, summoning is a very hard process, so don't expect to achieved much on your first try. First, you must tap into the environment to extract the manna required for the creature. However, as you tap into the environment, you deplete the manna source, so finding several manna sources is recommended. For example, if I tapped out a forest of its manna, it would die and become a wasteland, devoid of life."
"So how do I tap into the environment?" asked Arrathir, eagerly.
"You must locate a manna source with your mind. You see, the body and mind are one, but while the body is constrained by physically, the mind is not. If you've ever let you mind wander, you know what I mean. This is the basic knowledge required to acquire manna."
"So I have to think about the land I need?"
"Almost," said Khell "But in this case, you have to release your body's control upon your mind and find an actual location with the manna you need. Once you find appropriate land, you need to extract the manna by focusing on the land. Be careful not to overdraw manna, or your mind will become stuck and be unable to return to your body, it's very unpleasant. Once you secure a manna source, you can continually draw manna from it. To start, you need to relax, clear your mind of thoughts and emotions. Let's see how long you can keep your mind clear."
Arrathir closed his eyes and relaxed, he tried to clear his thoughts, but he was so excited that whenever he'd clear his mind, thoughts would come creeping in. At most, he estimated he could last ten seconds. As he kept trying, he got frustrated and it became harder for him to clear himself of emotions.
"This isn't easy," he complained.
"Didn't say it would be," said Khell "Keep trying."
Arrathir took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He tried focusing on his breathing as the air entered and left his lungs. He found that this technique helped him keep a clear mind. As he continued, he was able to think of nothing for longer periods of time. He could feel that he was making progress. As he continued, he suddenly felt lighter, as if gravity had relinquished its hold on him. In a brilliant flash, he saw a landscape flowing past him, as if he was flying through the air at a low altitude.
He saw mountains flying past him, islands, great forests, golden plains, and festering bogs. Suddenly, all these vision disappeared and he was back in the wood.
"I did it! I saw lands!"
"Good," said Khell "You are making rapid progress. Now, you can practice this every day until you master it. That's enough for today. Let's head back, it's lunch time."
Arrathir was so excited that he wanted to keep trying, but his stomach was growling and that couldn't wait. They made their way back to Domino and reached the shop. As they entered the door, they saw Yugi and Joey duelling.
"I'll summon Dark Magician in attack mode!" said Yugi "Attack his lifepoints directly!"
"Aww, man," said Joey "I lost again!"
"Hey Joey," said Arrathir.
"Hey, Arrathir! Yug told me about your duel against Kaiba: way to go man! Hey, who's this?" he asked, seeing Khell.
"Oh, this is Khell, Joey, he's a friend. Khell, this is Joey Wheeler."
"Second-place winner at Duellist Kingdom and runner-up at Battle City," bragged Joey, "Hey, do you duel?"
"In a matter of speaking, yes. I…"
"Great! I challenge you! Yugi told me about the mixed rules," said Joey, interrupting Khell.
Arrathir gave Khell his Duel Disk. Khell took a deck out of his cloak and slipped it into the Duel Disk, which automatically shuffled his deck. Joey and Khell stood at opposite ends of the store, powered up their Duel Disks, ejecting the holographic pods, the life meters clocked up to 10,000, and each duellist drew their seven-card hand.
"Let's duel!" said Khell and Joey.
"I'll start," said Joey "I play Gearfried, the Iron Knight (1800/1600), then I'll play one card face down. Your move."
"I draw, and summon Metamorphic Wurm (1500/1500). If I have seven or more cards in my graveyard, it gets 2000/2000! Then I'll play one card face down (Firebolt). Go."
"I'll summon Time Wizard (500/400), then I'll play another card face down. Now Gearfried, attack!"
KHELL: 8200
JOEY: 10, 000
"My turn," said Khell "I draw, and summon Craw Wurm (3000/2000)."
"Not so fast," said Joey "Reveal facedown card, Bottomless Trap Hole. It destroys any summoned monster with an attack of 1500 or more. Say goodbye to your slug!"
"That's Wurm," said Khell "I'll play one card face down (Carbonize), then I'll activate my card, Firebolt, having it deal 1000 damage to your Time Wizard! Then, I'll use its flashback effect, meaning I can play it from my graveyard; afterwards it is removed from the game, to deal 1000 damage to you. Go."
KHELL: 8200JOEY: 9000
"All right, I summon Baby Dragon (1200/700), and play one card face down. Gearfried, attack him again!"
"I block with Metamorphic Wurm," said Khell "Then I activate my trap card, Carbonize, dealing 1500 damage to Gearfried. So both creatures die."
Joey watched as a jet of flames fried his knight to a crisp.
"I draw," said Khell "And I think I'll summon Canopy Dragon (2000/2000) and play one card face down (Moment's Peace). Then, since my Canopy Dragon has haste, he can attack the same turn I summoned him, go Canopy Dragon!"
"Crap, I'll take it," said Joey.
KHELL: 8200JOEY: 7000
"Now it's my turn!" said Joey "I draw, and summon my Legendary Fisherman (1850/1600)! Then I'll play Monster Reborn to bring my Time Wizard back to the field. Next, I'll use Polymerization to fuse my Time Wizard and Baby Dragon into the Thousand Dragon (2400/2000)! Thousand Dragon, attack!"
"I active my trap card, Moment's Peace!" said Khell "All combat damage is prevented!"
Joey looked pissed as his dragon stopped his attack and returned to his side of the field.
"All right," said Khell "I draw and summon Barbtooth Wurm (3000/2000), and I'll attack with my Canopy Dragon again."
"I activate Demon's Die," said Joey.
A giant six-sided dice appeared on the field, it tumbled over and over before stopping on a 5.
"All right!" said Joey "That means all your monsters' attack and defence is reduced by 500! I block your Canopy Dragon with my Legendary Fisherman!"
Khell watched helplessly as the fisherman plunged his harpoon into his dragon's flank.
"I summon Axe Raider (1700/1150)!" said Joey "Then I'll attack with Thousand Dragon!"
"Are you daft Joey?" asked Khell "My Barbtooth Wurm will crush your dragon!"
"Not if I play this," said Joey "Shield in the Left Hand, Sword in the Right Hand. It switches one monsters' attack and defence. So your wurm is a 2000/3000. Then I play Angel's Die!"
Another six-sided dice appeared and rolled. It fell on a 6.
"Yeah!" said Joey "Now all my monsters get 600/600! I'll also equip my dragon with Lightning sword, boosting its attack by 500! It's now a 3500/2600! That means your wurm dies!"
"True," said Khell "But in all that, I took little damage."
KHELL: 7700
JOEY: 7000
Joey's triumphant look quickly turned to embarrassment.
"I'll go now," said Khell "Time to end this. I play Crush of the Wurms, putting 3 3000/3000 wurms into play. Then I'll summon Rorix Bladewing (3000/2500). Then I'll play one card face down (Sylvan Might). I'll attack with Rorix Bladewing, activating my facedown card, Sylvan Might, giving him 1000/1000, and using its flashback to give him another 1000/1000. So now he's a 5000/4500!"
"Aw, man. I block with Axe Raider."
KHELL: 7700
JOEY: 3150
"I draw," said Joey "Then I'll summon Android Psycho Shocker (2400/1500). I'll play Raigeki, destroying all your monsters! Now, Thousand Dragon, attack!"
"I flashback my Moment's Peace," said Khell, but his life meter still dropped to 4800 "Hey, what happened?"
"Oh yeah, I probably should have mentioned," said Joey, smirking "That when Android Psycho Shocker is on the field, trap cards have no effect!"
KHELL: 4800
JOEY: 3150
"My turn," said Khell "I draw, and summon Kurgadon (1500/1500). Each time I play a creature with an attack grater than 2000, he gains 1500/1500! I'll set one card face down (Natural Spring). Your move."
"I summon Black Forest Witch (1100/1200) and I'll set one card. Now I'll attack with Thousand Dragon!"
"I block with Kurgadon."
KHELL: 3400
JOEY: 3150
"I summon Krosan Drover (1000/1000) and equip him with Slagwurm Armour. His defence goes up by 3000, so he's a 1000/4000. I'll set one card face down (Venomspout Brackus). Your move."
"You can't win with defence," said Joey "I summon another Axe Raider (1700/1150). Then I'll play Pot of Greed, letting me draw two cards. Now I'll attack with Android Psycho Shocker and Thousand Dragon! "
"I block your dragon with my Krosan Drover, then I'll flip over my face down creature, Venomspout Brackus (2500/2500) to block your other creature."
Khell's Venomspout Brackus crushed Android Psycho Shocker with a swift blow.
"My move," said Khell "I draw, and summon Jungle Wurm (2500/2500). I activate my magic card, Natural Spring. I gain 4000 lifepoints. I'll then attack with Venomspout Brackus."
"I block with Axe Raider."
KHELL: 7400
JOEY: 1800
"All right," said Joey "I activate my magic card, Quiz!"
A pulpit appeared in front of Joey, along with an announcer dressed in a suit, and cheesy game show music started playing.
"I put all my cards in my hand and on the field into my graveyard. Then I guess the type of card the top card of my library is. If I guess right, I exchange lifepoints with my opponent. I guess it is a creature card."
"Is that your final answer?" asked the announcer.
"Yes."
A drum roll started. Slowly, Joey turned over the top card of his library; it was Insect Queen.
Joey did a victory dance as his lifepoints shot up to 7400 while Khell's dropped to 1800.
KHELL: 1800
JOEY: 7400
"Good move, except now you're wide open for a counter-attack," said Khell "I draw and summon Avatar of Might (4000/4000). Then I attack with Jungle Wurm, Venomspout Brackus, and Krosan Drover."
KHELL: 1800
JOEY: 1400
Joey's face fell as quickly as his lifepoints. He was worse off than before!
"All right," he said "I play another Gearfried (1800/1600)! I set one card face down. Your move."
"It ends now," said Khell "I play Fiery Temper, dealing 1500 damage to you."
KHELL: 1800
JOEY: 0
"Wow," said Joey "That was really something. Your wurms are really good!"
"Yeah," said Khell "You almost got me with that Quiz card."
"You're becoming a really good duellist, Joey," said Yugi.
"Thanks, Yug," said Joey "Now who's up for some lunch? Duelling makes me hungry!"
Yugi rolled his eyes, "He never changes," he said as Joey rushed off to the kitchen.
To be continued…
Author's note: Wow, longest chapter yet! Do you people like long chapters, or are short ones better? Anyways, in the next chapter I'm gonna focus more on Arrathir trying to learn to summon creatures. Review your ideas!