Chapter 41: Magical practice

[16th – 20th of Midyear 4E 202]

After the expedition to Hamvir's Rest and the findings at Fort Greymoor, I had been back in Whiterun, and Fiona had received a courier letter from Delphine, requesting her to return to Skyhaven Temple quickly; that was phrased like an order and annoyed the Dragonborn, who did not like to be ordered around by the elderly Blade lady. We had talked about this, and Fiona had decided to send for Ragnar, the Nord who lived with the Reachfolk, so that he could deliver a letter from her back. As both Fiona and I were still in danger in legion controlled holds, she did not intend to actually travel there, at least not unless she absolutely had to.

Ragnar did arrive in the afternoon of that day, and Fiona had a letter prepared he was supposed to hand over to Delphine. Spontaneously I invited him and Fiona to a picnic on my construction site, and they both accepted. While the sun slowly descended towards the horizon, Antonius skillfully served the food he had hastily organized, and we had some time to talk, too. At first Fiona told the Nord about her time here in Whiterun, and then she asked:

"Is everything quiet in The Reach?"

"Not at all, Fiona; it never is. I doubt that there can be long lasting peace between the Reachfolk and the Nords, specifically since many of the Forsworn refuse to listen to reason. I can't blame them, though. For my part, I try to smooth ruffled feathers as much as I can, and at least around Karthspire, there's no wild attacking of people happening. Not all of the Forsworn in the hold listen to me, though, and of course I can't blame them for retaliating when they get attacked by over-eager soldiers."

"How does the Jarl in Markarth see the situation?"

"Jarl Igmund doesn't have many options. With the rugged landscape of the hold, there is no way even a determined attack of the legion can do much harm to us, as we can always hide; we could make them run around in circles and hurt them with sneak attacks. I do have contacts in Understone Keep, and the common agreement in there seems to be like 'The safety of the city and our settlements must be our only concern; the rest of the Reach is on its own.' That at least gives us room to breathe, and it is a fact that soldiers and hold guards rarely bother use outside of settlements. There are not so many of those anyway; few try to make a living outside of Markarth, Karthwasten, and Old Hroldan, except for the Orc strongholds."

"You're getting along with the Orsimer?" I was curious and had to ask.

"Let's just say that we don't have a reason to bother each other, but, in general, yes."

"But this whole situation is more like a stalemate, isn't it?"

"Oh yes, absolutely. I'm sure that Madanach has some long term plans, but I don't know about them."

I recalled that name and asked:

"Madanach? Isn't that the kind of king in that mine in the city, which they also use as prison?"

"You've heard about him? Not many outside of The Reach have. But yes, it's him, and for a short period of time he actually ruled The Reach as king. Reachmen independence is still what many people would like to get back, but I don't see how this could achieved. Even if or maybe when the Stormcloaks manage to reclaim that hold, the Reachfolk and Forsworn would still be hostile and fight any foreign ruler."

I considered that interesting, and probably Jarl Ulfric knew that as well. I tried to make sure:

"So, if any change of rulership occurred, peace in The Reach could only be achieved if the Reachmen gain at least partial independence?"

"I believe so, yes, and the conditions would have to be negotiated with King Madanach himself. He's might not be ready to rule again, due to his age, but if he declared peace, most would follow him, I'm sure."

Hanni and Nanni had been out for hunting, and they now returned; some blood around their snouts indicated that they had had success, and I could see that they were sated; they did accept some milk, though, when I offered that in a bowl. I also used a wet cloth to clean their snouts, and Fiona started to chuckle when she saw that. When I looked at her, she explained:

"Back in Villach, I had a good friend, and sometimes I visited her home. She had a sister who was just a few years old, and I sometimes observed their parents doing like what you just did with Hanni and Nanni; cleaning her face."

I nodded and replied:

"Good point, yes; I don't mind doing it, and they don't mind me doing it either. Besides, when they cuddle with me later, I don't want to have blood everywhere."

That was, of course, an important point for me. Hanni and Nanni were out a lot, together with me or on their own, with sun shining or rain falling. One should think that, like after rain, they'd come back with mud and dirt all over their bodies, like I had observed with dogs on Earth – one sure wouldn't want to cuddle with them before there had been some cleaning. My saber cats, though, appeared to have some dirt resistant fur, and even after hours out in rain, they did not show it at all, and they also did smell nicely. Maybe some magic they had been given, as I had found them on the slopes of Kynareth's holy mountain? Whatever it was, I appreciated it a lot.

Even when cuddling, my two saber cats paid attention to their environment, and specifically they made sure to keep their distance to Nymeria, Fiona's direwolf. The Bosmer and her big wolf preferred to keep some distance to me and my saber cats, and vice versa. On my side, that was supported by the fact that wolves has so far shown a specific eagerness to attack and bite me, and on Fiona's side aversion towards predator cats had been triggered by an event in the childhood. So, while Fiona and I had become something like tentative friends, she still preferred to keep her distance rather than sitting close to me, and I understood that. We and our animal companions accepted each other as allies, though.

Ragnar told a little more about life in the camp and how we was able to educate the people around him a little bit, and we continued talking until bedtime. Ragnar accepted one of the plank beds in my shed here on the site, and when Fiona had returned to the inn, my two housecarls, Ragnar and I got to bed out here, with Hanni and Nanni close to us.

Ragnar left in the next morning after breakfast, and I spent another very busy couple of days working to earn some more money, by getting more silver ore to Silvia, Adrienne's daughter, and iron ore for Adrienne herself; I learned that Silvia was nicely progressing on her enchantment efforts, and I liked to hear that. I had not attempted to do any enchanting myself yet, but according to what I heard, this activity was significantly more complex than pushing a few buttons on a keyboard or such. Apparently, a special talent was needed to do more than the mere basics, and for some reason Silvia seemed to have that, at least according to what Farengar had told her and us.

"I will be away from Whiterun for a few weeks, starting maybe the day after tomorrow" I informed the two ladies. "It's about time to spend time with the Dragonborn again, and our next stop is going to be High Hrothgar."

"High Hrothgar? Really? Can I come with you?" the Imperial girl asked.

"No, you can't, unfortunately" I replied and smiled at her. "I like your enthusiasm and wouldn't mind having your charming company, but the Greybeards are very picky in whom they invite to their place, and it would be a pity to have you freezing to death outside."

"Oh."

Silvia's mother knew quite well that I was using that argument as an excuse, and she smiled. Moving on, I also spent some time to chat with Mia at the Cauldron, and I took time to play with my special friend Mila, who always loved it when I visited her with Hanni and Nanni. The girl would certainly also love to have an animal companion, but I did not think that her mother would approve her raising a direwolf or saber cat cub. A husky like Garm might be acceptable, but I had not idea where to get dogs from; this was something I had not yet bothered to find out. Maybe the Dawnguard did some breeding and has a surplus, like those who turned out to be not ferocious enough?

On the next day, after my morning run and breakfast, I decided to spend some time and review my knowledge of magic and spells; I found a time when the backyard of Jorrvaskr was reasonably quiet and sat down at the table under the roof there. Conveniently, Irene was practicing her archery skills nearby, and when she learned about my intentions, she asked right away:

"Oh, interesting; maybe I can be of assistance?"

"Absolutely; I'd appreciate that."

"So, what exactly do you want to do?"

"I have realized that I usually only cast two or three spells, but I know a few more. For the ones I use a lot, casting them is easy and almost by instinct, but for the others, I need to focus and remember what to do; this takes some time, and in a critical situation, like in combat, this might cost me. I probably need more practice."

The Breton nodded and asked:

"Okay, so which spells do you use a lot?"

"My standard attack spell is 'Flames', and I use 'Healing' a lot, both on myself and on others."

"Are those the spells you learned first?"

"As a matter of fact, I believe that they are."

That was actually true; somehow I had managed to cast those two spells right from the start, at Helgen, just like those were also the two standard starting spells in the game. A difference was, though, that I had been able to apply my healing spell to others, too, while the game categorized that as a separate spell, to be learned later via a tome.

"It is common, specifically for people who don't specialize on magic, to focus on two or three spells" Irene replied. "Having more ready and being able to cast them quickly when needed requires either a talent or constant practice, or maybe some of both."

"That seems to make sense, Irene. I do not know about my talent for magic, but it appears that I haven't practiced the other spells I know a lot. When I learn a new spell, I usually practice it for a few days, but then go back to my normal habits."

"Yes, this is understandable, but you may want to get into more regular practice for all the spells you know, at least those you can safely cast. So you have like two spells you can cast very quickly by instinct, you probably have two or three more you can cast with just a slight delay, and some more you really need to think about, right? Care to elaborate and maybe demonstrate?"

I nodded and quickly cast 'Flames' against the wall and 'Healing' on myself. The Breton approved and encouraged me to go on. After spending a few seconds on recalling the spell I cast 'Oakflesh' followed by 'Candlelight', and than I conjured 'Spirit', who started to play with Hanni and Nanni right away. Some time ago such activity at Jorrvaskr might have Vilkas coming out and scolding me, telling me in clear words that this was the home of the Companions and not the College of Winterhold; since Irene had joined, though, even Vilkas and Skjor, who had been hard-lining against using magic here, had grudgingly taken up a softer stance, specifically with Kodlak supporting the changes. That certainly did not imply that the two Nords were actually making an attempt to learn magic themselves, but at least they reluctantly admitted that it wasn't so bad to have a Companion with them who also managed a few spells, as long as those could fight properly. Others, like Aela and Ria, were at least contemplating to learn magic or to try. Irene brought me back from my thoughts:

"So, the last three spells you don't use that frequently, correct?"

"I do conjure 'Spirit' several times a day when I'm traveling, but less so when I'm in the city. 'Oakflesh' I probably should use much more in combat, but I usually forget about it. 'Candlelight', well, with my Khajiit eyes, I don't have a need for that a lot."

Irene nodded again and then asked:

"So, which other spells do you know?"

I took out my notebook and browsed my own notes for that, and Irene laughed:

"Okay, if you need to read your notes, you might not be able to rely on them when needed."

"True, but at least one of them I only use in very special situations. I only use 'Soul Trap' when hunting animals, and I can always refresh my memory before I start the hunt."

"And the others?"

"Well, I learned 'Shock', 'Ice Spike', 'Fire Rune', 'Courage' and 'Calm', too, but I have only rarely used one of those."

"And when you do, you need some time to find out how to do it properly, right?"

"Yes, kind of."

"When you learn a new spell from a tome, how long does it normally take before you can cast it?"

"Depends, but usually a few hours or days."

"But that's not with trying all of the time, right? You do other things in between, I guess."

"Of course; I rarely spend more than a couple of hours without interruption. I see the point; so, for practicing a new spell, the mere practice time before I get it is usually a few hours. Is that important?"

"Kind of, yes, as this is an indication of your talent for magic. Your being able to cast almost a dozen spells and your ability to learn new spells within hours shows considerable talent. Of course, master wizards can learn new spells almost instantaneously, but many people need weeks or even months. I'd consider your magical talent somewhat above average, at least, comparing to the overall population of Skyrim."

"Which includes many Nords with very little talent…"

"Indeed, quite so. Of course, for many we may never know, as they refuse to even try."

"Good point."

We let that settle for a few moments, and then Irene had her next question:

"So, when you cast a spell, what do you actually do?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, how to you select which spell to cast?"

"Oh, for my two standard ones, Healing and Flames, I only need to imagine casting flames or doing healing for a very brief moment, and then I can already feel the spell forming on my hand. Specifically for 'Flames', this is very helpful, and I can prepare and cast that quicker that drawing my weapon."

"All right, yes, this is a good sign."

"Why?"

"Because imagining a spell does not work for everybody to cast it. True, most good mages can do it, but a lot of people need something else to prepare spell casting, like a word or phrase or even a few sentences of an incantation."

"Indeed? Or they can wield a magical wand or staff, right?"

"Yes, there are those, too, of course, but those who are using staves are usually very experienced in using them. Not everybody knows that the effectiveness of staves relies a lot on the caster's magical abilities, and a staff is only able to cast one specific spell."

"I did not know that, but then, I have never tried to use a staff."

"That's all right, and I actually believe that you shouldn't start in this direction either. So, some others need or got used to other triggers, like touching something specific. The real good mages, though, can prepare a dozen or more spells just by briefly visualizing them."

"Wow! Does that include you?"

"No, it does not, or maybe just not yet. I can currently prepare seven spells by brief visualization, which is quite decent."

"And what to you do for the others?"

"For the others I am using a word, like I say 'life detect' when I want to use the 'Detect Life' spell; a whisper suffices for that."

"Can I learn that, too, for my other spells?"

"You should try at least; according to what I know this is a method which works for many."

"And how do I make it work?"

"Practice, my friend, lots of practice. Basically, you prepare the spell multiple times and always say the keyword while you prepare, once or even multiple times. Eventually your brain gets used to the keyword and kind of correlates the spoken or even only thought word with the proper spell preparation."

That probably worked like a Pavlovian response; I had been taught about that at school. One word, though, caught my attention:

"Eventually?"

"Yeah, that's the tricky part; this can be slow or fast or in between, and it's impossible how long an individual person needs for that to work. I assume that is also depends very much on the frequency of practicing. For some people, a hand movement or so works better than a word. This might also be an option for spells you want to cast without drawing attention to yourself, like 'Detect Life'. Besides, lots of practice also has the welcome side effect to slowly expand your magicka capacity."

"Okay, that seems to make sense. So, in order to, let's say, set a fire rune, I'd focus on the spell, visualize the result I need and speak a keyword once or multiple times while I prepare the spell, right?"

"Yes, that's about it."

"Does it matter what the keyword is?"

"Not really a lot, no, but most people consider it practical to name the keyword identical to or similar to the spell name."

"Right; I could name my 'Ice Spike' spell 'refrigerator', but just using 'ice' might be more convenient, unless I intend to confuse my opponents."

"What is 'refrigerator?"

"Ah" I evaded the question, "just something I thought about; not relevant."

For a moment I smiled, imagining myself to prepare a powerful 'Ice Spike', confusing my enemy by shouting 'refrigerator', or maybe better use the shorter 'fridge', so that they noticed too late what's heading for them. Or maybe I might want to use a name which was similar, like the German first name 'Fritz'; that might actually be funny and even useful! For a few moments I imagined myself fighting a bandit boss, who just raised his big sword a few meters away from me; I shouted 'Fritz!', he asked 'Are you calling me names now?' and totally missed that an ice spike was about to penetrate his chest. On the other hand, maybe an ice spike might not be that much of an issue for a Nord. I also reminded myself that I really wanted to find out if something like a refrigerator was possible here. Of course, not the electrical type I was used to, but maybe just a small well insulated storage chamber with a big block of ice in it, refreshed and re-cooled by blasting a frost spell in once or twice a day?

Irene had noticed that I had been distracted and gave me some time for my thoughts, but then she continued to educate me:

"So, for frequent practicing and combining a spell with a phrase, you might want to start with 'Oakflesh'. A spell like this is almost perfect for that purpose, because it cannot accidentally harm anybody when being cast without paying attention, and you can also easily cast it while walking or even talking."

"All right, good points. Yes, I really wouldn't want to practice 'Ice Spike' while talking to one of my friends and hurting them because I was distracted."

The Breton nodded, and she had certainly given me some helpful pointers. For 'Oakflesh', I could use the name of the spell as it was, or maybe shorten it to just 'Oak'. However, if I used the latter, would talking about oaks automatically trigger the spell once I had the association achieved? Or maybe spell preparation needed both the keyword and related thoughts? I voiced my concerns to Irene: she laughed and replied:

"Hey, it's good to know that you actually think about it. But the details are not the same for everybody; I guess that you'll need to try and find about how all of that works for you."

After all those theoretical considerations I was eager to move again, and I suggested a friendly spar with weapons and no magic to Irene; she accepted, and we spent about an hour with fighting practice.

Originally I had planned to leave the city on the day after tomorrow, but just when I was about to discuss the final details with Fiona in the backyard of Jorrvaskr, Farkas came out of the large house and told me:

"Shield-Brother, I believe that we need your help."

"What is it, Farkas?"

The sturdily built Nord looked at the Dragonborn, but obviously decided that she could hear this as well:

"There is a problem on Loreius Farm."

"Isn't that place abandoned since the farmer and his wife were murdered?"

"Not so. A few months ago a relative of Vantus Loreius, something like a nephew, moved in with wife and children, and they're doing well as far as I know."

"All right, so what is the problem?"

"There seems to be animal trouble again, and we've been called for help. We don't know a lot of details yet, but with your shout to calm down animals, your presence would be invaluable, I guess."

He had a point, and I looked at Fiona, asking her:

"We may have to take two or three days, maybe. Is it going to be all right if we postpone our journey, if I'm not back in time?"

"Absolutely, yes. I would not mind relaxing for a few more days before we head out once more. Go and have fun shouting at animals!"

"So, this seems to be settled, Farkas" I told the Circle member. "When do we leave, and who is going to be with us?"

"Aela will head the group, and Ria will also go, the three of you should be good enough. They will be ready in about half an hour, and they're just going to have a quick lunch before they leave; so hurry up!"

"Will do, Shield-Brother!"

All right, another 'quest'. I was curious what that was about in detail, but I was going to learn about it soon. It would have nice to also have one of the other Companions with me for a change, those who had not been in the game, but it appeared that they were out for other tasks.

[Author's Notes: The way magic can be practiced is an idea to make it look somewhat more 'realistic' than just briefly reading a spell tome and that's it; please let me know what you think about it!]