“Classes will soon start,” muttered Headmaster Wavernjack to me as we walked down the newly built hallway of Draererth. “I know we discussed your schooling before we began the rebuild. Have you given any more thought as to the direction you would like to take?” Headmaster Wavernjack asked.
“I have given it a lot of thought,” I answered. “I’m not ready to go and work on my magic alone,” I explained. If possible, I would like to audit several courses.”
“Fabulous idea,” replied the Headmaster, a smile came across his face and his eyes lit up. I had nothing but the utmost respect for Seaster Wavernjack, however, I found it humorous that a half-orc had developed such sophistication and charm to reach the highest position in a magic academy. Let alone the white necromancy he practiced. He towered over me with his large stature, a reminder that he was not fully human, but not fully orc. We continued walking down the hallway that was more spectacular than before. The white and black marble floors appeared to be vastly different than before, however, they still sparked the reminder of the battle I endured here, where Hamon pleaded with me to leave him. My attitude toward this hallway subsided some with the note that I found from Hamon, indicating that he was in fact still alive. Headmaster Wavernjack interrupted my thoughts and continued, “I was indeed hoping that you would decide to stay and train here. I went ahead and arranged a schedule that will have the greatest impact on your refinement and training on your magic ability.”
“Oh?” I asked. Caught off guard by Wavernjack’s foresight and initiative. “What did you come up with?” I asked.
“I wasn’t certain if we would get Draererth rebuilt in time for the new school year. Needless to say, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how things have turned out,” he said as he admired the craftsmanship of the new Draererth. Wavernjack paused and turned to face outward of the interior balcony. His hands leaned on the marble-carved balustrade as we found ourselves overlooking the newly rebuilt library. The jewel of Draererth.
The Elders of the Order remodeled the library in white marble, a sharp contrast from the wood and stone that the previous library had. The metamorphosed limestone vastly lightened up the athenaeum, making the previous look like a library fit for a popper, where this one was now fit for royalty.
The entrance to the library was located off of a corridor on the first floor. It contained tens of thousands of books on the shelves. Since the books were not fully recreated yet, the Elders had arranged for Sages from the surrounding villages to come and transcribe several of the tomes that we borrowed from magic academies in the area. Most magic academies were attacked by the Demon Lord’s horde, however, many books were not entirely damaged and could be transcribed. The Demon Lord destroyed our library to most out of all the magic academies. Therefore, we relied on our relationships with the other magic academies to restore our spellbooks.
Presently, the Sages were sequestered away in a vault in the back of the library not to be interrupted by the preoccupied students who needed spell books out of desperation to study for one of their exams.
After Wavernjack took a moment to admire the progress of Draererth, he turned and said, “Your study time will now be split among different Evoker teachers. That is the school of magic you’d still wish to pursue?”
“Yes, I would like to develop my elemental magic abilities.”
“I was still hoping you would choose necromancy, but not everyone is cut out to deal with the dead. They can be tough to deal with at times. I totally understand.”
“I don’t think that is my calling,” I replied.
“Not many are called toward necromancy. I agree, you have an advanced, natural ability with Evocation. You should stick with that,” concluded Headmaster Wavernjack. He continued, “So, the time that you would have spent with Hamon, you will now spend with the top Evokers at Draererth.”
A pit in my stomach formed at the mention of Hamon. I mustered up the words to ask, fearing the answer, “Shouldn’t we go and look for Hamon. We know he’s nearby and injured.”
“We will in due time. Rather you will. When the student is ready, the teacher will appear,” he muttered.
Hearing this, I responded, “But I am ready.”
“Has he appeared?” Wavernjack retorted.
“No,” I answered, lowering my eyes at the obvious point the headmaster made.
“Well then, it is clear that you are not ready. Not yet at least.” Wavernjack must have realized my discouragement by our interaction. He continued, “Complete your classes first. Learn from the Evoker professors that I have arranged for you to train under. Do as you are instructed. The last thing I would ever want is you to put yourself in a situation where you are unprepared. What if you or one of your friends gets hurt—”
Wavernjack must have realized what he said. As he attempted to a hasty retreat, “Sorry. I should not have said that. I know the wounds are still fresh regarding Agnes. Draererth has lost on our best. She had progressed so much at the little time she spent here. Please know that she is in a better place now. She wanted me to tell you,” Wavernjack expand as he touched my forearm to comfort me.
I had pushed down my feelings from my recently departed friend. I felt responsible for her untimely death, and now I was experiencing all of those emotions come to the surface. Shaking, I replied, “I won’t go and look for Hamon. Not until I am ready,” I promised. My body shivered more at the vision that came into my head during that night, “I will not go until I pass each of my classes and my instructors have full confidence in me.”
“Let’s go this way,” Wavernjack pointed down a hallway. We walked in silence for the rest of the way. As we neared an open classroom door, I could hear the instructor inside. “This is your first class,” explained the Headmaster. He handed me a small piece of paper.
“What is this?” I asked, looking at a list of classes written on the small-sized paper. Headmaster Wavernjack had already turned when I looked up and was walking in the opposite direction.
His voice echoed in the hallway, answering my question, “Your new schedule.”
Still bewildered by the exchange between Headmaster Wavernjack and myself, I stared puzzled at my new schedule.
It read:
Elemental Elements Kyna Lathurna
Dastardly Defense Jahom Wolford
Arcane Alignment Ebeus Wizhal
Energy Enragement Izahl Shofarihm
Evoke from Within Sikalis Affrin
Looks interesting enough, perhaps I can fill in some of the gaps in my education. Some spells I am able to do really well and are advanced, where others I must have skipped over during my studies with Hamon. I was so wrapped up in learning the lost and undiscovered spells that I had overlooked several of the fundamental spells. As I thought about it more, I was relieved that the Headmaster had arranged all of this for me. That way I would be exceptionally prepared when I set out to find Hamon.
“Oh goodness! Sorry!” I examined as I stepped to head into the classroom where my first class was being held.
“Ed!” shouted a familiar voice.
Recognizing the voice instantly, I lifted my head, “Yves! It’s so good to see you. How have you been?”
“I’ve been good. I went back for a few weeks to see my parents and to recover from our little adventure. How about you?”
“I’ve stayed here mostly. I worked nearly every day in rebuilding Draererth. I just received my new schedule,” I explained.
“You’re still going to take classes here?” Yves asked.
“Yes. Headmaster Wavernjack and I were just discussing my class schedule, mentor, and plan for my magic development. Do we have any of the same classes?” I said as I pulled out my paper to compare with her.
“My schedule has been complete re-done as well. I have none of the same professors as last year,” explained Yves as she pulled out her sheet of paper.
I compared the list of classes and concluded, “No, we don’t have any classes together. Strange, I thought we would at least have one class together, you know, like last year.”
“I know, I would have thought at least one,” affirmed Yves. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Walter come up the stairs. Somethings do not change, he was as clumsy as he ever was. I thought I was going to see him trip on the last step. That’s all we’d need, for him to bust his knew on the new, slick, and sharp black and white marble floor.
He must have seen Yves and I talking in the hallway because he came right up to us. “Hey, guys! Great seeing you two. How have you been?”
Yves and I both answered, “Good.”
“Hey! I just received a new schedule from Headmaster Wavernjack. He gave it to me as I was headed to my original class. I have completely new classes, what about you two?”
“Mine are all different,” answered Yves. “I was just showing Ed. I have completely different classes from last year. I was under the impression that I would continue on with all of the same instructors. But they’re all different.”
I explained, “I wasn’t certain if I would be taking classes this year, but decided to a few days ago. Wavernjack had a schedule prepared for me. I’m supposed to get a new mentor as well. Someone to replace Hamon, for the time being at least.”
“That’s right, I heard he was alive. Why are you not out looking for him?” Walter asked.
“Headmaster Wavernjack does not think I am prepared enough. He wants me to pass all of my classes before I go out and find him,” I explained.
“That makes sense, given what happened to Agnes,” replied Walter, he’s terse statement did not bode well with me.
“We were out there to save you,” I reminded.
“Right. After we had to flee Gilmore to save you,” retorted Walter. He had a point.
“Sorry, I don’t want to speak about what happened to Agnes,” I relented. “Let’s see your schedule. I wonder if we have any classes together.” Knowing we probably didn’t, I wanted to at least check anyway. I had far more magical abilities than Walter, so I was confident we would not have any classes together.
I soon confirmed my suspicions, “Nope. No classes together.
“Wow! You have the course Arcane Alignment. I wish I could have taken that class,” said Walter as he held my paper in his hand.
“Maybe next semester,” I replied while snatching the paper out of his hands. Being back at Draererth and the wounds of Agnes’ death still fresh, Walter went back to annoying me. Momentarily, I had really felt for him and his past, but now he was riling up my feathers again. I found him to be an entitled, spoiled brat. For some reason, I resented Walter. I did not want this to be the case. Not again, but I could not help the way I felt. I blamed him. I blamed him for everything. Good thing Cecily was not here, or there would be no one to stop us as we ganged up on each other. Seeing Yves was a nice reminder of the home I made for myself at Draererth, but seeing Walter drug up everything I hated about his world…and the last one that I was in.
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Something did cross my mind. I thought I would have been the only one to receive new classes since I wasn’t planning on taking the class anyway. I mean, I was the one to get the Magi Staff and nearly single-handedly brought down Lord Abraxas, well at least stuffed him back into the Abyss. I wondered why both Yves and Walter received new classes. Walter’s was even hand-delivered by Headmaster Wavernjack. That must have been where he rushed off to when he gave me my new class schedule.
Yves interrupted my thoughts, “Why don’t we meet for lunch after our classes.”
“Great idea!” Walter exclaimed.
“Sure, sounds like a good idea,” I muttered. “My class is right there,” I said pointing to the open door that we stood in front of. “I’m sure I am late, I should be heading in now,” I whispered as I went inside.
The first thing I noticed when I entered the classroom, was its size. This had to be one of the smallest classrooms that I had ever been in. Previously, I had my classes in large auditorium-like lecture halls. The same type of lecture halls that I was expecting to attend when I went to college in my other life. However, those memories and feelings seemed so distant now.
The other thing that stuck out in this classroom were the ice crystals that came from the ceiling and dripped down like shards of glass. These were either remnant from an ice spell or festive decorations for the class, Elemental Elements.
As I looked around, I noticed the class size was also much smaller than I was used to. The seating arrangement of the class was quite odd as well. Typically, the classrooms were set up in rows of desks, or auditorium-like seating with the larger classes. This classroom had eleven chairs, one put right next to the other in a circle. The professor sat in one of the chairs along with nine other students. There was one empty chair.
“You must be Edward MacAra, please have a seat,” said the Professor. “My name is Kyna Lathurna, but please call me Mistress Lathurna. Welcome to Elemental Elements. I nodded in acknowledgment before pulling out the chair to sit in it. Before sitting down, I moved the chair back into its spot.
“I was informed earlier today that Edward would be joining us, as this would not be his normal class,” explained the professor.
“Thank you, pleased to be here,” I replied, smiling at the other students who glared at me from their seat. “Sorry, I was late.”
“Let’s resume our discussion on what makes an evoker an evoker,” Mistress Lathurna continued. “Who can tell me from your required reading what is an Evoker?” Mistress Lathurna looked around the room and said, “Rachel. For Edward’s sake, what makes and Evoker and Evoker?”
Rachel took a breath and looked at me. She explained, “An Evoker is a causal relationship. Their abilities rely on conjuring elemental forces. It involves summoning the energy and using elemental properties such as fire, ice, and lightning. These are used in offensive black magic.”
“Thank you,” I replied. I already had known that information, but I played along.
“Now, everyone. Stand up, take your chair and move ten steps outward,” explained Mistress Lathurna. All of the students picked up their chair and moved as they were instructed. “Now, stand in front of your chair. We will work on quick casting a lightning bolt after performing a Magic Missile. This will allow you to render more damage on your opponent. Us black magic users always subscribe to the idea that a good defense is a great offense. I would like everyone to practice this sequence before we move onto more difficult spells.” Mistress Lathurna rubbed her hands together and put her palms toward the center of the room. Clouds of smoke came from her palms and clustered together, swirling, building on themselves. Finally, a large, barely clothed man appeared.
Mistress Lathurna conjured Seen Servant, producing a servant in the shape of a barbarian in the middle of the room. “You guys will hit Bradhammer the Barbarian in the middle of the room with your spells. Work quickly, we only have him for around an hour.”
I watched each student perform Magic Missile, where three glowing darts emerged from their hands and impaled the barbarian in unison. Right after, each student quick cast thunderbolt onto the barbarian. I already knew I was outclassed.
Mistress Lathurna stepped with her soft slippers, monitoring each student’s precision to manipulate the runes. Her black cloak skimming the surface of the floor. She wore a cloak that was similar to Hamon’s as it was embroidered with gold thread in the same design. Her hair was worn in a loose bun, the tresses of her hair pinned up in the back. She was at least half the age of Hamon and appeared to be fairly attractive, not that interested me.
She soon came up to me and waited. “Well?” she said.
“Mistress Lathruna, I cannot quick cast. Not yet. I’ve been wanting to gain that ability. I can Silent Spell Cast and Duel Cast, but I have not been able to Quick Cast,” I explained.
She looked at me for a moment, appearing to be deep in thought. “I will show you how to gain that ability.”
My face lit up. I would gain a new ability already. This would be fantastic! “That is great! Hamon would never teach me.”
She seemed to dismiss my comment and continued, “How much magic can you cast before you run out of mana?”
I paused at that question. There were several times that I knew I was out of mana and needed to stop. “When I battled Lord Abraxas, I could only last for a few minutes. Thankfully we got very lucky and we were fortunate during the battle. Before I knew it, the Demon Lord had retreated into the portal on his way back to the Abyss,” I explained.
I could tell that Mistress Lathurna was processing what I told her. “It seems like Lord Abraxas retreated on his own,” she concluded.
“Oh?” I asked, needing clarification. Clearly, she did not understand that I had banished the Demon Lord. An obvious oversight.
She continued, “The Demon Lord could flatten you and all of your friends. I heard about the battle.” She bent down to look me in the eye, “Ed, you were not prepared to do battle the Demon Lord. He knowingly did you a favor. Why? I don’t know. But him returning to the Abyss was not your doing.”
I was blown away by her assertion. She wasn’t there, she did not know what went on. She must have noticed my hesitation in her explanation because she went on, “Your magic pool is woefully short compared even to the other students in this class, let alone a Demon Lord. You may not believe me right now, but you’ll start to get the idea. Do you know how to cast Mage Light?”
I nodded and replied, “Of course.”
“Good. I want you to cast Mage Light over and over again from now until sundown,” explained Mistress Lathurna.
“What?” I asked.
“You not only heard me, you understood me. Now stop being obstinate because you don’t want to work for your magical abilities and start casting,” she said as she patted me on my head.
As she walked away she said, “Casting Mage Light repeatedly will increase your magic pool and it won’t be dangerous to cast over and over.”
The patronizing infuriated me, but I did as I was told. I shouted, “Magicae lucis!” A glowing orb appeared over my head. Then I said, “Declinemus!” The Mage Light turned off.
I heard Mistress Lathurna say from across the room, “Very good Edward, and again. Also, do it while you cast the spells that we are practicing right now.”
I summoned the Mage Light. Then I cast Magic Missile. Attempting to then quick cast a thunderbolt, all I had were smoke between my palms. This was frustrating. I turned the Mage Light off, disappointed in my ability.
The nagging sound from Mistress Lathurna echoed throughout the classroom, “Edward, again.”
Mistress Lathurna interrupted everyone’s training and said, “Now class, we will go over a few more spells for today. Edward, you will not cast any more spells other than Mage Light over and over, you hear?”
“Yes, Mistress Lathurna,” I reluctantly replied.
She continued, “The rest of us will work on Ice Bolt, Ice Cone, Fire Bolt, and Fire Cone, and the optimal settings for each of these spells, both for single and multiple targets.”
All of the students stood in front of their chairs waring further instruction while I continued to cast Mage Light while she spoke. The barbarian servant had expired and vanished in a cloud of smoke. “Edward, since you are a little preoccupied with a separate assignment, just memorize the settings that I will be going over for now. Later, I will show you how to put them into your quick cast ability.” I found a moment to nod in agreement while still casting the Mage Light.
Mistress Lathurna went on with her lecture, “Class, in order for these spells to be effective, one must know how to manipulate the runes.” Mistress Lathurna waved her hand and brown runes appeared before her. I saw them from where I stood while I cast and turned off the Mage Light. As I watched this, I was transported back when Hamon taught me how to manipulate the runes down at the bolt range on his first day at Draererth. I needed to find Hamon. I really did. The only way I could see that happening was by learning as much as I could, having Mistress Lathurna teach me how to add Quick Cast to my abilities and be on my merry way to find Hamon.
Mistress Lathurna’s statements about my battle with the Demon Lord still puzzled me. However, I could figure all of that out once I found Hamon. All I needed to do, was to find Hamon.
“Magicae lucis!” I shouted, watching the orb come over my head. “Declinemus!” I repeated, watching the orb turn off and disappear. Now, I grew tired. Exhausted in fact. Casting the Mage Light over and over again did wear on my mana, quicker than I anticipated. I wondered if Mistress Lathurna was right.
Mistress Kyna Lathurna continued her lecture, “The runes or glyphs if you will, are only to use to change or rearrange based on the spell and your opponent. They are only a tool to activate the spell that you are casting. As you get more attuned to the glyphs and how to read and manipulate them the better spell caster you will be. The faster you memorize the correct angles that each rune must be placed at, the quicker you will increase your magical abilities. As you learn spells from spellbooks, it is extremely important that you memorize how to manipulate each glyph for optimal damage on the opponent.”
The professor drew her attention back to the runes that appeared before her. She added, “The system of our Order is based on the ancient dwarven race. They were the first to create and perfect rune manipulation. Our Mage Order built our system on theirs.”
“Magicae lucis…Declinemus!” I shouted, still exhausted, but could still cast the Mage Light.
We watched her move one of the glyphs over and rotated another. The professor continued, “There’s no right or wrong way to perform magic. This is how our Order performs it and we have found it to be most effective.” Mistress Lathruna was still not done rotating glyphs as she explained, “The more settings you memorize, the more precise your spells will become in different situations.”
“Magicae lucis…Declinemus!” I whispered, barely able to speak as my magic pool dwindled.
“Runes are metaphysical blockages in the ever-flowing, ever-present force that we call magic. When you exert your force or magic you can control the exact end result that you desire by merely moving the runes. The smaller runes describe the exact effects of the spell. Such as the distance of the opponent, if there is more than one opponent, then that part of the rune will need a separate line. One line per opponent.” While Mistress Lathurna explained the intricacies of the runes, she continued to manipulate them. “Another rune indicates the direction of the spell. You want the spell to head direction of your opponent,” she emphasized. “Too many times students neglect this critical point and the spell barrels off in the opposite direction. Do not let that be you.
The professor outlined the diagram that appeared before her, “Before you cast, you must complete a few checks. The first is to ensure that the diagram is inscribed correctly on the vision that displays before you. Second, check and make sure the rune is written in the correct language. If you memorized parts of the spell incorrectly or confused it with another spell, most of the time the different spells are in different languages. You can catch this error by quickly doing a language check. Finally, to ensure all rumens are drawn with minor alterations, or punctuations, in their lines, this will require a knowledge check. You can repair and re-empower a broken rune. After all of the checks, you will need a trigger to activate the runes. This could be a spell word, a motion with your palms, or both. However, you activate your magic is your choice.
Mistress Lathurna finished her explanation on rune manipulation. She turned and threw her hands toward the back wall. A blast of cold air emerged from her palms. A sixty-foot cone of ice plunged toward the wall, forming a surface of ice crystals upon impact.
Each of the students turned and faced the wall, hurling the same cone of ice toward it. Soon, it felt as though we were encapsulated within sheets of ice as every surface in this classroom had to ice crystals around its surface. Thankfully I memorized the specifics of the rune settings as she explained the spell because I had to cast my Mage Light over and over.
“Well done everyone,” said Mistress Lathurna. “I will dismiss class now, everyone did a great job.” She paused for a moment. Then she said, “Edward, stay behind for a moment.”
I nodded as all of the other students exited the classroom. I remembered I was to meet Walter and Yves for lunch, but now it was looking like I would be late. I wondered what the instructor would want to speak with me about, seemed like she gave me my prescribed homework of casting the Mage Light until sundown. I couldn’t possibly have more spells to cast, could I? I had become worn out with the Mage Light, I could not handle much more.
After everyone left the room, Mistress Lathurna approached me. She started, “I believe you know more spells than you let on.”
“Why do you say that?” I asked.
“I have a feeling. Come with me,” she replied.
I stood up from my chair and followed her. She moved at a fast pace, and I found it difficult to keep up. I had no idea where we were headed, and I found it rude to ask and to question her, so I complied.
“Keep casting the Mage Light, Edward,” she commanded.
“Magicae lucis…Declinemus!” I said while trying to keep up with her. I did not know how I was going to make it through the rest of the day.
As we walked, I had not yet seen this part of Draererth since everyone gathered together to rebuilt it. The more I saw of it, the more and more I appreciated that we had the chance to rebuild and to make our school more opulent than before. I did not want to say anything while I was at Draererth before, but I thought we were in need of a remodel. Perhaps the Demon Lord did us a favor by making our school crumble into debris and rubble.
As we came outside, we passed the cathedral. I still found it fascinating that our Elders still thought it was necessary to keep a religious structure on our campus. I remember Hamon explained to me that the cathedral was on the campus of our wizard college not that we were to speak to the gods, but if they needed us. I chuckled as I remembered that.
“What were you snickering about just now,” asked Mistress Lathurna.
“Oh, a joke that my old mentor made,” I answered.
“It wasn’t about the cathedral, was it?”
“Yeah, it was. How did you know?”
“My mentor always made jokes about how the gods always needed to speak to us,” she replied.
“Hamon?” I asked.
“Right. He was my mentor too. He taught me everything I know. And now, Headmaster Wavernjack asked me to take you on. Since you are a journeyman now, I will guide you rather than mentoring you.”
After realizing that I will be receiving the very instruction that Hamon would want me to receive, I found myself excited. “Gees, that would be great,” I answered.
We came upon the newly remodeled bolt ranges. “Wow! These turned out nice,” I exclaimed as I noticed the newly painted wood frame of the range. The range was longer than the last ones, allowing us to practice spells at a farther distance. The gravel and hay that were on the ground on the previous bolt range covered the ground of this one as well.
Another addition to the bolt range was the number of lanes. The bolt range was expanded to include ten lanes. That meant ten mages could work on their spells at a time.
I took in the bolt range that came close to the Enchanted Forest and was adjacent to the dueling square. I had longed for this. To practice magic once again and to be back at a place that felt like home. I was still casting the Mage Light as Mistress Lathurna and I entered one of the lanes of the range.