Zack cleaned himself up for the second time and cast a weary eye towards Paxton, I don’t understand. Why would I do and say those things. How am I able to cast such deadly magic. I feel like a schizophrenic. One moment I am peaceful professor fisherman Zack and the next I am magical hulk just killing people with the movement of my hand.”
Paxton help Zack back to his seat, called in some of his people to clean up the mess and poured Zack a cup of tea. He said, “Zack you have asked many very important questions. I have a hunch as to how and why you are able to demonstrate such potent magic.
Paxton pulled up the scroll again and said, “I think you missed the most interesting and powerful thing you did in Vinstra when you were puking.”
Zack waved away the scroll image, but Paxton insisted he look at the ending of the scroll vision. He heard himself say “I will be back”. He watched himself disappear from thin air. A moment later the scroll reoriented on Zack’s cabin. It was in the middle of the night. Suddenly a ball of purple lighted shined into existence. A moment later it was gone and left Zack’s unconscious body on the patio of the cabin. Moments later Saygen and his family walk up to the cabin.
Zack looked at the scroll, “So, I appeared back at my cabin. What is the big deal with that?”
Paxton sat forward and looked into Zack’s eyes. It kind creeped Zack out and he leaned back.
Paxton in a very serious tone said, “Zack you teleported back to your cabin.”
Zack responded, “I would think teleporting is a main way in which wizard travel, just a guess but it seems like a ‘go to’ move for wizards.”
Paxton scoffed, “Certainly wizards use teleportation. However, it is a very advanced skill. Most wizards can’t use that skill until they have had years, and I mean like decades of training. Zack, you didn’t just teleport across land.”
With a dramatic pause Paxton said, “You also teleported across time.”
There was a dramatic pause that hung in the air. Zack noticed when he left Vinstra it was daylight out and when he arrived at the cabin it was the dead of night.
Zack said, “It was day in Vinstra and night at my cabin. So, I time travelled, what like 7 hours?”
Paxton laughed, “No Zack, you time travelled like 110 years.”
Paxton continued, “Think about it, before you were in some sort of dream state and arrived back in your cabin when you woke up. When you left my castle and went to Vinstra you were awake.”
Zack nodded in understanding with a dumbfounded look on his face.
Paxton continued, “In all of my research on wizards, there were only three wizards that could move through time. They were all legends when I was an acolyte. No wizard has been able to travel through time in over 7,000 years. According to my records when wizards did time travel the longest jump ever made was 10 years. It is prohibitively difficult to travel through time because the magic is so different in different ages.”
Zack questioned, “Ok, if I did time travel.” Which Zack put in air quotes. “What does that have to do with the why and how I can do magic?”
Paxton responded, “Right, good…well here is the deal. I am only guessing but I have a hypothesis of what is going on based on the evidence we understand to be true.”
Paxton walked over and refilled their tea. “The essence of a powerful a wizard comes from two things. One, how strong their emotional and mental desires are. Two, how connected and clear their motivation or will is to their emotional and mental desires.”
Paxton stared at Zack for a long moment and finally said, “Zack if I had not seen it and talked with you, I would have said what you are doing is impossible for a fledgling magic user. Heck, it would be impossible for most mid to upper-level wizards. The time travel magic would be impossible for all wizards save three.”
Paxton continued, “For you to be able to use magic the way you do. With the strength and focus demonstrated. You must be tapping into very powerful emotions with a clear almost hyper focused mind. Tapping into powerful emotions with a focus and clarity of a top tier, battle tested wizard.”
Zack looked at Paxton incredulously, “I cannot explain where the emotion is coming from.”
Paxton responded, “I think I can. Zack have you ever experienced extreme trauma?”
Zack felt his veins turn cold and emotional walls go up. He immediately got defensive. Paxton responded, “Hold on Zack, I am not the bad guy here. I think I know what is going on. I want to walk you through it. At least hear me out. If you don’t like what I have to say feel free to leave.”
Zack looked at Paxton coldly, “I am certain I will not like what you have to say. But since I have no idea what is going on and you are the only person who seems to understand this fucked up world, I will listen.”
Paxton gave an exaggerated nod in understanding attempting to placate Zack. He said, “Some of the most powerful wizards in the world were able to get to that place because they used past trauma to fuel their emotional expression of magic.”
Paxton paused as Zack looked increasingly like he wanted to either punch Paxton or leave, maybe both. But he just sat there.
Paxton continued, “When a wizard has experienced extreme trauma it has a magnifying effect on their emotions. It is kind of like the mana they use burns hotter and for a longer time. They seem to feel stronger and can use that to fuel stronger use of magic. Granted, the catch is you must be able to discipline the anger or emotion. Most never get there before it gets them killed.”
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Zack fighting hard to get his emotions under control said through gritted teeth, “Like that crazy Wizard Vitki, is that how he got so powerful.”
Paxton nodded in agreement, “Yes it was, and it also got him killed because he was not able to control or discipline it.”
Zack sat in silence as he considered this.
Paxton continued, “So my guess is you have experienced extreme trauma that is triggered by helpless people being bullied or in this case murdered. What I cannot understand is how you re able to focus you mind and emotional energy. Your ability to manifest your will is so advanced If I had not met you recently, I would assume you to be a master class wizard.”
Zack paused as his emotions began to subside, “Have you ever heard of ADHD?” Before Paxton could answer Zack said, “Wait that was a dumb question, of course you have not heard of ADHD. Let me explain. Back on my world there are a small number of people who have something called Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or ADHD. It generally means we have a tough time focusing on mundane or boring tasks. We are not able to sit still for very long periods of time. We are bad at completed regular life maintenance tasks like paying debts on time.”
Zack continued, “However, I like to say there is also an upside to ADHD. We are able to hyperfocus. This hyperfocus allows us to complete incredibly hard tasks. It allows us to see patterns no one else sees. In our history people with ADHD were the towns sentinels or guards. We tend to be very good at managing crisis and handling life’s unpredictable moments. When I can hyperfocus I am unstoppable. I excel at strategy games and outside of the box problem solving. When you asked how I can focus like that, I immediately knew why.”
Paxton leaned back with a look of being genuinely impressed, “That is interesting. It makes sense and is consistent with how great wizards of our past were successful. However, it does not explain why your emotions are so powerful.”
Zack’s face turned white as his eyes flared with anger. “I am not interested in talking about why I am so full of rage. Suffice it to say I do have an extreme and painful trauma in my past that has always fueled and haunted me.”
Paxton stared into Zack’s angry eyes and said with stone cold certainty, “Fair enough, however, if you don’t get it under control, If you don’t come to terms and make peace with your rage, it will be the end of you. Based on how powerful your magical expression is, that end will be much sooner than later.”
Zack mutely nodded in silence as tears welled up in his eyes. Then he whispered, “I just can’t, it is too much, it is too painful.”
Paxton allowed a long silence to fall between them as Zack slowly pulled his emotions back together. After a long while Zack asked, “When you said 110 years, was I traveling backwards or forwards in time?”
Paxton looked up not expecting this question and paused before answering, “Backwards. I have a book here that details your exploits in Vinstra. It is over a century old. Your two interventions have led to Vinstra not being bothered for the past 100 plus years. Vinstra of today is strong and healthy. Today it is three times larger than before with a small army and the city is fortified.”
Paxton said, “It helped that someone attempted an assassination on Queen Aadici. This caused the Queen to become more insular. She is not seeking more trouble at her borders. Thus, Vinstra became much less of a priority. The story of the duke and her champion were relegated to legend and myth. They have yet to come back.”
Zack nodded; 110 years seemed crazy to him. He thought, I did not even mean to time travel, I just wanted to get back to the cabin.
Paxton continued, “My advice would be to avoid Vinstra for the time being. Take a moment to consider this new reality and what role you want to play in it. There is a lot to discover, and you might find being a very powerful wizard has its perks.”
Zack nodded as an afterthought as he considered what he was supposed to do next. He said, “I get this magic thing may be realer than I am comfortable with. I will cautiously explore it. But I am not giving up on going home. If I was transported from my world to this one, I can find a way to go back.”
Paxton nodded in excitement, “I think that is a fine idea. It is a good goal to pursue. While you are doing that, you should practice feeling and connecting with magic. The more control you have over the way you connect to magic, the stronger and more stable your use of magic will be.”
Paxton then sat up as if suddenly inspired, “Zack you should adventure around Vinstra. Get a feel for how the land and its creature’s work. Think of it as a fact-finding mission to learn more about this work. System mages do this to level up and gain skills. This is how they grow through system magic.”
Paxton then got up and stepped into an adjacent room. He came back with an emerald ring. Zack could sense the magic in the ring. Paxton held the ring out for Zack to take.
When Zack hesitated Paxton said, “This is a basic but very effective concealment ring. It will conceal your identity and project a false on to anyone under level 35.”
Zack looked at the ring, it seemed like an old class ring from high school. It was worn and weathered. However, when Zack put it on his finger he felt the change instantly. A change like wearing different shoes might feel. He probed the ring with his mind. According to the ring Zack was a Level 9 rouge. It gave him a completely different identity. One that included a back story with his fictitious hometown and skills.
Cor Tighe
Rogue
Level Nine Rogue
Age: 26
Race: Human
Intelligence: 14
Strength: 12
Dexterity: 13
Constitution:12
Charisma: 14
Perception: 13
Mana: 135/135
Hit points: 210/225
Allegiance: Unaligned
Faith: None
Zack exclaimed, “My name is Cor? Other than that this is like a real-life stat sheet. That is really cool.”
Paxton interjected, “Don’t forget this is completely fictional. It does not in any way represent who you really are. However, I would work hard not to contradict the stat sheet in front of people as it will draw attention you don’t want.
Zack asked as he noticed a yellow hue around him, “what is up with the glowing yellow aura around me?”
Paxton responded, “All system magic users glow yellow, it is a side effect of using system magic. It is also used to be the easiest tell if someone is a wizard or not. Wizards glow purple. That is why I was so surprised you could see the purple glow outside my castle.”
Zack looked at him a bit mockingly and said, “You realize the entrance to your castle is in the side of a mountain behind a waterfall.”
Paxton nodded, “I am sure it is. The entrance you came through shows up in many different places as the need arises. IT has been closed off and not used in several millennia.”
Zack looked back at Paxton with a smirk on his face. He said, “OK I need to focus on the task at hand. I have read many fantasy books where the main character with a team or by himself go out and kill monsters and complete quests. Is that how it works here? Does Vinstra have an adventurer’s hall with a quest board?”
Paxton responded, “I do not think Vinstra is big enough to have an adventurer’s hall. They may have a quest board or something like it in the main square. However, it may not be as formal as you might think from your fantasy books.”
He paused and looked at Zack amusedly and said, “I think it is interesting and quite the coincidence your world has such a large volume of books regarding something that does not exist there. Even more remarkable is how eerily accurate some of it is.”
Zack thought to himself, maybe it is time to take this magic business out for a spin and see how it goes. I am not going to get answers sitting in the cabin all day waiting for a plane that will never arrive.
Zack turned to Paxton and said, “Alright, I am going to go adventuring.” He put adventuring in air quotes. “I need some clothes to blend in. Do you have any garments you could spare. Also do I need money or weapons? Could you help me get some of the basics sorted out before I go.”
Paxton clapped his hands; an assortment of people entered the room with way more supplies and clothing than he would ever need.