AN: So hehe… yeah I could make up some shit about how my life was to busy for me to write on this or how I had writers block or some shit. But truth of the matter is that I just flat out did not feel like writing on this. Buuut, I was bored, and suddenly had the urge to write on this shit some more… so yeah. This chapter is however a nice 2000 words longer than the longest chapter i have written before this... so there is that. I will try to update some more.
Also Please note that i made slight edits in (im pretty sure) all previous chapters, Chapter 3 had the biggest edit and its the only one i would urge you to re-read as there is a small tidbit i forgot to include in the original release of that chapter.
TaoM
Raskreia after having "fought" her duel against Guiche went right back to where she was lying in the sun earlier, and does just that, as if nothing happened at all. And to her this was hardly anything worth mentioning, as while they are not that common there are certainly a few overeager wizards and sorcerers trying to test their magic against her even back home, Thought they have at least even a basic understanding of just who it is they are challenging. If nothing else people are wary of chalanging a half dragon to any kind of duel, not that people arround here knew that she was one.
Her friends might say she over did things, after all using a summoning spell of the 8th circle and a evocation of the 6th circle against a what amounts to an apprentice mage would seem like way to much even to people of her world, or perhaps especially for people of her world. Raskreia did not care all that much though, she wasn't very good at holding back, she never was and probably never will be, its after all not in the nature of fire to be tame.
Granted that if she expected any combat or danger during later times of the day she would have not used those spells and rather saved them and use much more reasonable lover circle spells. But since that was not the case she held nothing back in teaching a young mage that they are not always correct in the assumptions they make of the world around them, and that even if you perceive someone as weak they can be anything but.
That, and the fact that she loved messing with people. While she expected some form of awe or the like from casting a spell of the 8th circle, which in no way, shape or form was common in her world either, she didn't expect absolutely everyone to look like they have never seen or heard of a fire elemental in their lives before, even IF said elemental was a elder fire-elemental, what the hell did they teach in this school of magic if not about planar beings, as basic knowledge of the planes was just something any self respecting magic user should have. Hell, they divided their magic by the elements so why don't they know about elementals, should that not be one of the first things you learn as a elementalist.
Raskreia was torn out of her musing when she senses a person approaching her. Dragon senses were just awesome at times, blindsense saved her from quite a few ambushes since she developed it. Sitting up straight and she looks over to where she sensed the presence, which turns out to be Louise. Raskreia just smiles as she lays back down onto the grass "Heya, you want to join me? The sun feels great today."
Louise on her part just looked down at her familiar 'why would I want to lay here on the dirty ground? Besides spending too much time in the sun would ruin my fair skin' she thought.
"Familiar. I want to know what all that was about!" She said crossing her arms over her chest.
Raskreia on her part only opens up one of her eyes as an indication that she is paying any attention to what her "master" is saying. "All what was about? You are going to have to be more specific than that."
"All of it! The weird language you chanted your spell in, your magic, that thing you summoned, the magic you used, and where you learned it. All of it." Louise rattled off in annoyance at the fact that Raskreia did not seem to care much at all.
"I would like to hear about this as well." Louise turned around to see who spoke, already suspecting who it is, to see Kirche and Tabitha, who for once was not reading a book.
"What do you want, Zerbst?" Louise ground out.
"I merely want to learn more about your darling Familiar, and so does Tabi over here."
Raskreia raised an eyebrow at the 'darling' and sat up, giving up on the idea of relaxation in the sun. She loved sunbathing, it was in her blood damn it. Dragons might not be cold blooded but damn if they don't like the sun nonetheless as reptiles. Giant, overgrown, magic spewing, hyper-intelligent, super reptiles. But reptiles still.
"Alright, alright, since I wont be able to enjoy the sun until you let me, and I have a feeling that you wont do that until I have satisfied your curiosity ask away." Raskreia said while sitting cross-legged facing the trio of nobles. "But first, to asnwer your question of where i learned my magic, i mostly taught myself, the only teacher i ever had, asside from my father much later after i had already learned all the basics, was the villages, elder -" 'well technically local arch-druid, but they dont need to know that, also why did i tell Siesta that stupid story about how my parents met and i learned magic from them? Thats so going to come back and bite me in the ass' "- who taught me basically only how i can use my magic without blowing myself or anyone else up"
Kirche was the first to ask her question much to the chagrin of Louise "What was that thing you summoned?"
"The 'thing' I summoned was Ignus, and HE is a elder fire-elemental, which in case you don't know is a being made and born off the very essence that is fire upon the elemental plane of fire. And since I know you will follow up the question off 'what' I summoned with 'how', I used magic from my homeland, as to why him specifically, I met him a few years back when I made a trip to the elemental plane of fire to gather some ingredients for a magic item I was crafting, and since then I mostly summon him or his 'brothers' whenever it is I need some friendly fire-elementals summoned." Raskreia said taking short breath in anticipation of the next question.
To the three Nobles this was mind-boggling information, while not unheard off to make a contract with a elemental being, it was usually one where a noble would bring offerings of some sort to such a being or they would solve some kind of task that those beings couldn't do themselves in exchange for small boons, but never something as direct as this. Louise was thinking about what to ask about.
But again Louise was denied her question, but this time by Tabitha who in her usual neutral tone said "Plane of fire?" to which Raskreia raised an eyebrow and Kirche elaborated "She wants to know what you mean by the "Plane of fire"."
"Ah, well the plane of fire is part of the inner planes, and is one of the four prime elemental planes, the others being the planes of water, earth and air. As the name suggests its primarily made out of fire and things that are on fire, but there are spots within it that are livable by humans, if uncomfortably hot for most people. But lets not discuss the different planes now, people can spend their entire lives learning about even one of them." To which Tabitha nodded seemingly satisfied with the answer she got.
Now finally Louise's got a chance to ask a question "Yesterday you talked about schools and circles of magic that your people divide your magic into. Which was the one you used to summon that thi- ehm- Ignus was it? With." 'I'm sure it must be at least a spell of the 9th circle, if not one of those epic spells she didn't tell me anything about, that was certainly something epic to behold' To which to two other Tristainians looked somewhat confused, if expectantly, at Rask.
"That was a Conjuration spell of the summoning sub-school of the 8th Circle by the name of 'Summon monster'. 'Summon monster' is a spell that actually has a variation of itself in all 9 circles, it just gains in power as it progresses thought the circles, then again the somatic hand movement is different for each circle." She thought for a moment if she perhaps missed something about explaining the spell but decided that she said everything currently relevant about it.
'Wait so THAT was only a spell of the 8th circle? Brimir's beard what is classified as 9th for them then?' The others on the other hand did not know what was being said and Kirche did not mind voicing said confusion "What is this about schools and circles of magic you are talking about?"
Raskreia looked a bit sheepish for not remembering that the other two that were there were not there for yesterdays explanation of her own magic system. "Alright, let me explain as you were not there yesterday when I explained to Louise how magic works where I come from. You should sit down cause this is going to take a bit. Actually why don't we go to your room Louise." Agreeing to the logic of getting out of the sun and into a comfortable room they went on their way to the aforementioned room. Half way towards the room Raskreia spoted a friend she recently made, Siesta the maid, whom she immediately walks over to "Hey, Siesta, I was just going to explain those three over there how magic in my homeland works, and I was wondering if you want to join us as I'm sure you'd like to hear that too, and quite frankly I don't feel like explaining it twice."
"You think it is okay for me to join you" She looks a bit unsure over Raskreia's shoulder at the three noble girls. "Familiar, Who is this?" Louise ask, "Well this is Siesta, I met her yesterday when you asked me to wash your clothes, id say she could very well become someone I consider a friend, and to answer your question Siesta, yes, yes its fine." She finished by throwing a look at the three behind here that left no argument to the contrary.
Kirche looked like she didn't care either way, Tabitha had her usual neutral look, and Louise looked more annoyed that she doesn't get any say in the matter, than about the matter itself.
After a short walk they reach the room and everyone gets comfortable, Louise sits on her bed, Kirche, Tabitha take up seats in chairs, with Siesta standing to the side, looking slightly uncomfortable with the situation at hand.
Meanwhile Raskreia takes her Bag of holding and pulls out a set of two folding chairs, offering one to Siesta, Tabitha looking interested at the bag says "How?" Her communication skills are as good as they have always been. Raskreia just points at the bag and asks "You meant the bag" at Tabitha's nod she continues "It's a magic bag that… uh to make it sound less complicated, is many times bigger on the inside and weighs the same no matter how much is in it, commonly they are known as 'Bags of holding', or if you want the magical term 'Extra-dimensional storage container'. Anyway my magic system."
The four native girls are looking at Raskreia expectantly, so far everything Raskreia did was something never before heard of. "Well first of, please do not disregard any off what I say as impossible, even if it contradicts your religious believes, as some of it will, because quite frankly when magic is involved the word 'impossible' doesn't exist." Waiting for the four of them to nod in agreement she continues. "Well then. Magic where I come from is so diverse that just saying 'Magic' is like saying 'Animal' or 'Plant' there is so many different plants and animals that you need to categorize." She looks at each of them to see if they understood which they seemingly did.
"First, the magic type, There is arcane and divine magic" at their looks she hold up her hand to signalize that she was getting to explaining "Arcane is magic that is drawn from around us, or from within us, arcane magic stems from us and everything around us, while divine magic is granted by gods or godlike beings that the caster worships. And before you go onto a tirade of how your god Brimir is the only god, he is not, I'm not refuting that he exists or that he is a god, what I'm refuting is that he is the only god. There is many gods out there. Many are benevolent of helpful, but just as many would happily torture your soul for all eternity." She earned four pale faces for saying that.
"Second is there is the category of type of caster, we have prepared, and spontaneous casters.
Spontaneous casters are basically what you are, they can cast the spells that they know for as long as they have enough energy within them to do so, or … at least that is the easiest way to explain it without going into extreme magic theory and speculations on how it actually works."
"Prepared casters are called as such because they 'Prepare' their spells beforehand each morning by 'memorizing' the spell, so if a prepared caster only prepares one spell in the morning, he can only cast that one spell the entire day after casting that one spell he can't cast anymore for the rest of the day till he prepares new spells. There are differences of how and when to prepare spells. For the arcane its memorizing of the spell from their spell books or the like…well I say memorize… its really them casting the spell to almost completion with the help of the spell-book and just keeping the energies within him ready to finish the spell at his command, of course a wizard can only hold so many spells like that and its really up to training and experience to learn how to hold more and more spells at the ready. As for divine casters its ritualistic prayer to what or whoever they worship"
At this Kirche was perplexed "Hold on, you are saying that where you come from your gods give anyone who prays to them magic?" Siesta hat a sort of hopeful look, and Raskreia Giggles "No, no of course not, they only grant spells to those who's mindset is the closest to the respective god, also you need quite a bit of training and a bit of luck to become a good divine caster, you don't just become one, you are, more or less, chosen."
Tabitha had her own 'question' "Divine stronger?" "She wants to know if Divine magic is stronger than this arcane magic." Supplied Kirche "You know, that is in fact often subject for debate. My personal opinion is that they both have pros. and cons. that make them about equal to each other. Divine magic sounds powerful since it's a gift from the gods if you will, but there is only so much energy a mortal body can hold, and since divine and arcane magic is so similar a arcane caster can hold pretty much the same amount of magic as a divine caster. A god cant give you too much magic, that would be like trying to fit an ocean into a glass." They all nod in semi-understanding.
"Next are schools, I will be brief on this, as you can talk about the individual schools for quite a while. First there is Abjuration, this school uses magic in its most primal form, you literally use raw magical energy, its primarily focused on defense, but can also dish out quite a bit of hurt if need be masters of this school for example can create impenetrable walls that also hurt those that try to pass them."
"Next is Conjuration, this school uses magic to create new things out of raw magic, or summon beings from other planes of existence, masters of this school can teleport across continents travel between planes of existence or summon great beings from beyond the veil. Any questions so far?" Four somewhat reluctant "no's" was her answer.
"Next is divination, it focuses on gathering information… that's pretty much it. Masters of this school can gain a sort of 6th sense, that lets them see a second or two into the future, but that's all that there is to this school, don't get me wrong this school is VERY good at this, but its all it does when it comes down to it. Next is a school that is often seen as one of the more powerful… Enchantment" "Well that doesn't sound very powerful." Stated a disappointed Louise, the rest of them agreed, tough Tabitha thought that there must be a reason why a person like Raskreia would think of this school a powerful.
Rask had a smirk on her face as she folds her arms under her chest. "Well I suppose it doesn't sound like much does it? But trust me, it earned that view. Masters of this school can dominate another persons mind, make them do their bidding, or if your mind is much more powerful than your targets, even crush the persons mind and soul completely, the spell I'm referring to with this is called 'Power word: Kill' if the recipient of this spell is not strong enough in mind and body, he will die, simple as that, one moment alive the next dead, figuratively commanded to die. Then there is the now, thankfully, outlawed and highly condemned spell that is appropriately named 'Mindrape' by casting this spell you learn EVERYTHING the person you cast this on knows. You could leave it at that of course, but that is not all that spell can do, you can completely alter or remove memories from the affected person, make friend to enemy, enemy to long lost family, devout worshipper of the god of the sun, into a cultist of the god of shadow, darkness and murder, in short… you mindrape them, in either case they won't ever remember that you even cast this spell on them. You still think this school sounds weak?" Four VERY pale heads shake in the negative. And the four thought approximately the same thing 'Thank god that such magic does not exist here.'
"Next is my favorite school and some argue it's the least versatile… I say its still more versatile than divination, its Evocation, and it specializes in the use of the elements to crush, burn, freeze or electrocute in many creative and flashy ways, I personally mainly like to use fire, tough I sometimes also use electricity. Following this school is the school of illusion, its often underestimated, when in reality its probably one of the more versatile schools ,It focuses on fooling ones senses. The better you are in this school the more senses you can fool, hell you can even emulate spells from other schools with certain spells from this one. Tough granted if one can overcome the illusion they don't do very much. Masters of this school can fool all of the persons senses, and even create things that are real enough to be interacted with."
"Coming up next is the school of Necromancy" She receives four sets of chokes "I know, I know. Necromancy focuses on the powers of life and death. Masters of this school can drain souls out of the living, kill with a single touch, spread plagues and diseases and raise armies of the undead. But its ironically the best school for combating undead, and its also used to talk to the spirits of the dead, which can be used to identify murderers for example, after all who better to ask who killed a person than the victim himself. Tough I will agree that when necromancy gets dark, its pitch black."
"The Eight school is Transmutation, it focuses on altering reality as is, change an object from one material to another, change a materials form, strengthen an object, and such its often the only school that has any permanent effect, and masters of this school can change their form almost at will, shape things to their will, a common misconception about this school is that one can even stop time with the inappropriately named spell 'Time stop' but in reality the spell 'only' speeds the caster up to such tremendous speeds that it in fact seems like time has stopped for anyone but the caster." Louise was about to ask a question thinking that that was it considering Raskreia said that there were eight school, instead Rask carries on "And lastly, there is the 'universal' school often ignored or forgotten, as there are only five spells in this category, none of them can really be placed in any of the other schools."
"I'll spare you with the rest of the four but this one is a nice transition to circles of magic, it is a spell of the 9th circle, and its called 'Wish'" The four other girls had a hint of wonder at such a spell and did indeed wonder if it did what was advertised in the name of the spell "And it does exactly what it sounds like" 'well that answers that question' thought the four' "you wish for something and it happens, even tough there are limits to the spell, they are quite broad. But the spell is quite expensive to cast, as one requires large quantities of diamond dust for the casting of the spell. And I would not play around with this spell either, magic is a fickle thing and this magic in particular will ALWAYS take you literally, and will ALWAYS take the route of least resistance so to speak. "
"Okay… finally, that's the schools done. Ill make it quick with the circles, I'm getting tired of hearing myself talk" Kirche and Siesta laughed lightly at that. "there is nine circles, and two 'circles' that don't really count, its basically to rate how powerful a spell is, with the 1st being the weakest, and the 9th the strongest. The last two are cantrip's or 0th level spells, they are simple magic tricks, mostly used for practice or for convenience… ah, that reminds me" She then pulls out a ring from a little bag hanging from her belt. The ring itself is silver with runic engravings carved into it. She then hands the ring to Siesta who's eyes grow wide as she tentatively takes it. "Here I thought you might find use for this, I don't need it as I can do what the ring can to on my own, its enchanted with whit the cantrip 'Prestidigitation' , ill explain to you later on how to use it, it should make your duties as a maid quite a bit easier." She finishes wit ha smile.
"I cant accept such a thing, it must have cost a fortune." She says trying to give the ring back "Nah, keep it, I don't need it, its useful to you, and no it really wasn't expensive as I made it myself." 'well it wasn't expensive when speaking in terms of magic items 500 gold pieces for enchanting materials is quite a sum for most people. Gotta love the income of a adventurer.'
"Anyway back on track, the last 'circle' of magic is not really a circle, they transcend such definition. They are called epic spells, and quite frankly I don't know much about them, only that they can do pretty much anything. Really the only reason I know about them at all is because there was a huge catastrophe where such a spell was cast, that event left a scar in my home that will most likely never heal, and that is all I will divulge about them."
Siesta being ever curious just had to ask "What was this spell called? And what did it actually do?" Raskreia took up a serious face. "It was a spell, or rather a ritual, called 'The bonfire of Insanity'." That is NOT a comforting name "As for what it does, it can only be cast at night when its raining, and when cast it curses the rain for a mile around, ALL that has ever died within the radius of this cursed rain will raise as a undead abomination with the sole purpose of consuming the living, and those of the living who come into contact with the water of this rain are cursed, if they do not get magical treatment by next sunrise they will join the ranks of the undead. And the only magic that can cure this curse is a powerful divine spell, certainly not something that can be cast on the population of an entire town… or in the case where it was cast an army camp."
THAT was the last nail in the coffin, magic where Raskreia is from is scary. That spell sounded horrible, who would actually cast such a monstrosity, and what did they hope to gain from doing something like that?
"Oh and one last thing, and on a brighter note, one major difference to what you have here in terms of magic, where I come from anyone can learn to cast magic even those not born with it. So, anyone got any questions? Cause I kind of want to go back to sunbathing now." Raskreia finished her long winded explanation of magic with a grin. The four girls shook their heads in the negative not wanting to have any more bombs dropped on them.
Smiling Raskreia went for the door, leaving the girls to mull over what they have just learned, the three nobles stayed while Siesta excused herself to attend to her duties.
Louise could not believe what her familiar was telling them, she wanted to tell her to stop lying, that such things can not be true, that something like that is impossible, but she somehow knew that her familiar was telling the truth, it did genuinely seem that she was talking about something she knew for a long time and was just recounting things that she has learned, rather than making up fictional facts. She also wondered how a country where everyone can learn to use magic can function, after all how do they govern the commoners if they have magic. Heh… commoners with magic such a contradiction to the Tristanian.
Kirche was less concerned for the political state of a foreign nation, besides, in Germania not all nobles had magic either. No what interested her most was the fact that Raskreia seemed to have the same kind of passion for fire as her. Does that mean that Louise is a fire mage? In either case her darling just got a whole lot more interesting.
Tabitha was in deep contemplation, this magic had allot of potential, and maybe she could win over Raskreia against her uncle. Maybe she would be willing to teach her some of it, it would certainly be able to act as a trump card if nothing else.
Siesta on the other hand did not quite understand all that was being said, after all she was just a commoner with no magic, so there was no point comprehending it, even if it is magic from a different world. To her this all really sounded like just any old magic, to her it was the same, another tool for nobles to control commoners. What caught her attention however was what Raskreia said at the end however. The fact that anyone can learn this magic, even those not born with it. This gave Siesta hope, hope that she might be able to learn magic from Raskreia. And maybe improve her lot in life, or show the nobles that commoners are not as weak and worthless as they think they are.
With Raskreia
She was originally on the way to find a secluded place to enjoy the rest of the day a bit more but a growl coming from her stomach made her go to the kitchens instead. All she has eaten in the past day and a half was a strip of dried meat after all.
Arriving at the kitchens the servants are just cleaning the place and starting preparations for the next meal. Most maids and cooks do not notice her, and those that do avoid her, most likely thinking her a noble, or giving her looks of awe, for what reason she does not know. Quickly scanning the room Raskreia quickly spots what seems to be the head chef and promptly walks over to the man who is currently bossing around a set of maids and has his back turned towards her.
Once within reach Rask taps the man on the shoulder to gain his attention, he whirls around thinking some of the staff need something off him, but as he turns around he spots Raskreia and his face goes from neutral to shock and finally goes back to neutral with a hint of confusion when he sees the warm smile on her face. "Excuse me sir, but am I correct in the assumption that you are the head chef of this kitchen?"
Marteau not missing a beat answers the, what he thinks, is a foreign noble, after all some of his staff have told him about how she defeated one of the noble kids in a magic duel. Why said duel broke out he knows not nor does he particularly care when nobles fight among themselves "Indeed I am my lady, what brings into my kitchens, I hope everything was to your liking and you have no complaints." 'Damn noble probably just wants to personally tell me that she doesn't like my food'
Raskreia oblivious to his internal monologue just keeps on smiling "No complaints here sir, but indeed I would have had to eat anything to be entitled to any critique in the first place. You see my 'master' " saying master in a way to signal that she does not indeed consider whoever is meant as her master "One of the local students ruined my appetite not to long ago and had I not left on my own accord would have most likely tried to throw me out of the hall herself."
That took Marteau by a bit of surprise 'So she is not a noble? A fallen noble then? Maybe one married off to one of the students? What a waste to basically sell of such a beauty to one of these brats' but still not knowing why the woman is actually here he asks "Alright, but then why are you here then Ms.?" Raskreia laughs lightly, a sound that sounds more like the light tinkling of bells then a sound human vocal cords could make. "Oh, right. Look at me ramble about pointless things. I was wondering if I could borrow your kitchen for a bit so I could make myself something to eat. And don't look at me like that, yes I know how to cook, ill have you know that I'm quite good at it, if I do say so myself."
Marteau saw no real harm in it, he would just watch over her to make sure she did not mess up his kitchen and to confirm her claim that she did indeed know what she was doing. "All right, you can use that stove over there. And you can have some of the leftover ingredients from breakfast" he said pointing all the things out. "Thank you, that will more than suffice." She replied with a smile immediately getting to work.
The leftover ingredients are exactly that, leftovers. But Raskreia is used to traveling the wilderness with little to no access to fresh food, and she was the only one in their little group with any noteworthy skill in cooking, so naturally she grew quite good at it. Doesn't hurt that she insisted on cooking even after she hired maids to help keep her mansion clean. It was one of the few things she really liked to do aside from magic.
Raskreia believes that if you do one thing for to long you will burn yourself out, lose interest or your drive for that particular activity and drop efficiency. So she took up a small set of things and skills with which she passes her time. Those are; cooking, woodworking, artistry mostly in the form of paintings or the occasional tattoo and taking care of animals. By alternating between these activities and her magic 'studies' and crafting she kept her interest in all of them.
But back to the matter at hand, all she really had to work with were a few vegetables that had cosmetic flaws or were squished. A few fruits with the same problem, and some meat not properly scraped off of the bones. In other words. Plenty for her to make herself a meal.
Taking the vegetables and the meat she prepares herself a stew, which she seasons with her personal mix of herbs she took out of her little (extradimensional) pouch hanging around her neck. Out of the fruits that are not damaged she makes herself a fruit salad, and the damaged ones she makes into fresh juice, and using a cantrip cools it down to a nice and refreshing temperature.
Marteau is quite impressed by the work of this woman, she is not only efficient but fast in her work as well. Out of what most would have considered worthless leftovers she made a full meal, and if it tastes as good as it looks then he will be doubly impressed. As Raskreia is working on the fruits he takes a small taste of the stew, his eyes go wide. She managed to make it taste as good as any stew he could make with such limited ingredients. She indeed was not lying when she said she knew how to cook.
"My Lady, where did you learn to cook this stew tastes as good as any I have ever had?" he asks her as does the finishing touches on the food. "Well, my family owns a tavern, and when I was little I used to always help out in the kitchen. Both my father and my mother taught me" 'My adoptive ones at least did, ever seen a god or a giant gold dragon cook? I think not. Then again that was a bit unfair towards her father, he simply preffers his food...err, roasted.' she added in her mind. "And once I left home I mostly traveled with my friends, and being the only one that could cook and not make it LESS edible then when raw was me, so it naturally fell on me to prepare our groups meals whenever we ate something that was no rationed. And they learned to appreciate it when I spared them of eating nothing but dried meat and fruits for multiple weeks of travel."
Marteau's opinion of this woman was steadily raising she, while not quite humble, didn't seem arrogant. Only taking pride in what she accomplished, and learned herself, a trait he could respect. And it also seems she had a commoner upbringing, making it all the more sad that she seemingly got married off to some noble's brat, if that is what was going on.