As much as I want to write a story where someone just finds a book on magic, it makes no sense given how sparse magic is in this world. There needs to be at least some link, this works better than anything I have come across. The Dragon, much as I like him, is too hidden for most people to find.
So... yeah.
From the moment Cade summoned Hecate, and for everyday afterwards, he trained in magic. Studying in and out, he memorized every page of the grimoire, until the point that he felt comfortable channeling his heart into spellwork. Knowing magic was faint in his world, the book told him about the use of herbs and runes and verbal magic to magnify the essence of magic within and without.
His first spell was a ward, on his clothes, made of blood and potion to ward off the cold and increase durability. It worked, to his amazement. The runes started to glow a dull gold and faded away, leaving a firm heat in the fabric. The drive, as he learned, was desperation and the fear of death in the cold. He was a survivor pure and simple, and that empowered his magic.
After that gave him a dose of confidence, he started to practice more advanced magics. He conjured a fire each and every night to keep himself comfortable and to ward off the beasts that filled the night. He started to levitate small rocks and so on, all with the firmness of thought and the roughness of emotion.
Magic was weak though, so he could barely do much at all. In fact, for the first six months he needed to have the book on his person to cast even the simplest of spells. But by his eighteenth birthday he was comfortable using magic for simple purposes without it.
Runic and Position magics were actually kind of fun, and justified his use of magic in cities. He started using his magic to steal, from people and so on. Never too much, mostly food and whatever he needed. This actually refined him drastically, and allowed him to be able to handle his magic much better than at first.
Life got a lot easier for him and soon he was traveling around, moving from city to city. He gained weight, confidence and just loved life. He end started taking lessons in First aid in case magic failed him.
All in all, he felt great.
However, one day, something felt... different. He had been searching for new magics to learn for about six months, and so cast a spells to locate them... adding blood, runes and a potion to amplify the magic. All mixed into a fire, he watched as it exploded and knowledge flooded his mind.
A small town, filled with magic...
Storybrooke... Maine.
And it was with that in his mind that he had a new goal. He marched off, eager and excited, knowing that this source of magic was actually oddly close and by the gods he would not lose the oppurtunity, whatever it was.
Chapter end, tell me what you think in the reviews.
This was a joy to write.
Love, your Ninja Overlord,
Mika.
