"I don't understand," Aiden said, his voice echoing slightly in the cavernous chamber. He pointed to the center of the room, where reflections of their two lanterns danced off the walls and floor. "There was a crystal skeleton right there."

Bram's brow furrowed as he meticulously examined the surroundings. "I believe you."

Aiden knelt, a shiver of unease crawling up his spine as his hand grazed the seamless floor. "Smooth as glass," he murmured. "At least the symbols are still here."

Bram circled the magic circle, his keen eyes studying the silver symbols etched against the deep blue of the floor. "These symbols... they’re not magical, at least not in any form I recognize. Let's try something."

Bram cast a spell with a fluid motion, and the room suddenly brightened under the glow of three luminous orbs.

Aiden watched intently. No stars appeared floating over the magic circle. The symbols didn't glow, nothing happened. Aiden slumped back against the wall.

Bram ignored Aiden and watched the orbs intently. "This spell not only illuminates but also gathers ambient magical energy," he explained, watching for any fluctuations.

"What are you looking for?"

Bram’s gaze swept across the chamber. "Any reaction... anything at all." After a moment, he let out a sigh, and with a flick of his wrist, the orbs dissipated. "Nothing. No interaction whatsoever. It’s as if this whole chamber is isolated from magic."

"If it blocks magic, how did you make those orbs?"

"Oh, there is magic here, but it is..." Bram trailed off and thought.

"Bram?"

"Hmm. Sorry, I’ll need equipment to test properly."

Aiden sprang to his feet. "I’ll get the gear."

Bram raised a hand. "Let's not rush into this. Set up camp first, and this evening, I’ll show you how to conduct each test outside. Tomorrow, we can start examining this place."

Aiden thought about objecting but remembered they'd have a week if they wanted.

A couple of hours later, Bram adjusted his packs again and grunted. "What was wrong with that last spot?"

"Don't want to sleep in a puddle if it rains."

"And the place before that?"

"Large scat."

"How large?"

"Large enough I wanted to find someplace else to sleep."

Bram grunted his acknowledgment.

Aiden selected a clearing that, to Bram, looked the same as the few they'd gone through already. It was only a few minutes' walk from the ruins and Bram wasn't going to argue about it. Aiden had far more experience than he did. Together they went about the business of setting up tents, digging a small fire pit, gathering storm wood for the fire, and then sorting through their packs getting settled.

Aiden used one of the first spells Bram taught him to start the fire.

"Lot easier with magic isn't it?"

Aiden laughed and put the pot on to prepare dinner. While the food cooked, Aiden climbed up a large tree they'd set up near and added some ropes to hang their supplies. When he climbed back down, Bram was waiting and watching.

"For the foodstuffs," Aiden said defensively.

"I know. But why did you climb up there?"

"To secure the pulley."

Bram held a length of rope out and said a soft incantation. Aiden's mind echoed the spell's intent in his mind "rise and secure."

The rope came alive and rose into the tree like a snake. It made a couple of loops beside where Aiden had secured his pulley, then fell limp, becoming a rope with one end tied on the tall, sturdy branch.

"You didn't teach me that."

"Haven't gotten there yet."

"Well, at least I have the pulley. So I can hang the supplies up there. I guess you could use yours for climbing up."

Bram laughed and looped the other end of the rope through his backpack's straps. He winked at Aiden and said, "Lift and hold."

The rope sprang to life again and lifted the pack up to dangle just under the branch.

Aiden stared at the pack hanging neatly under the branch. When Bram started laughing, he realized his mouth was also hanging down. His face grew warm, and he grimaced at Bram.

Bram held up two hands placatingly. "It'll only hold for a full day, then drop. The rope is tied, so it'll just hang there. Your pulley is actually more secure and will last longer."

Aiden thought about it for a minute and shrugged. "Well, dinner is about ready. Do you want to start doing those tests while we eat?"

Bram's eyes went wide, and he looked back up at the pack. "Um, some of the fragile instruments are still in the pack."

It was Aiden's turn to laugh. "You can't get it back without dropping it!"

"I was just teasing you. Didn't think it all the way through." Bram straightened and took on a scholarly look. "And that is the lesson. Magic doesn't solve everything. You need to consider carefully each action."

"The lesson?" Aiden laughed and started climbing back up the tree.

Bram and Aiden spent time checking and testing Bram's devices. Aiden was fascinated by how the small contraptions could measure different levels of magic and categorize its various types. While Aiden already knew about the basic elemental types of magic like stone, air, water, and fire, he was surprised to learn that there were even more precise definitions. This discovery opened his mind to the vast possibilities of magic.

Magical energy was distributed into a wide variety of elements, and Bram had brought a small clockwork device to test for the most basic types. The device featured a set of crystals and engraved runes, creating a form of ritual magic that required careful setup and specific materials.

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Kneeling on the ground at their campsite, Aiden watched as Bram set a crystal into a small slot, its facets catching the light. "How does this work?" Aiden asked, his fingers drumming on the grassy earth beside him.

Bram carefully twisted a dial, setting the clockwork into motion. "This tests for basic magics: Ground, Water, Fire, and Air. Each crystal and rune corresponds to one of these types." The gears clicked and whirred, emitting a faint light and a harmonious chord of sound like a clean set of notes plucked together on a lute.

Aiden’s brows furrowed as he leaned closer, observing the crystals and runes shift and light up in response. "Like aligning an energy flow through runnels?"

"Precisely," Bram affirmed, a smile tugging at his lips. "It maps how magic interacts with its surroundings."

Aiden picked up a small vial of water from his pack, swishing it around as he spoke. "So, let's start with Water Magic. What can this do?"

Bram adjusted the device’s settings, watching the crystal corresponding to Water Magic begin to glow with a gentle blue light. "Water Magic influences the behavior of water in all its forms. This includes controlling currents, manipulating ice or steam, and even extracting moisture from the air."

Aiden's grin broadened as he set the vial back down. "Okay, let's see how it works here," he said, tilting the vial over a nearby rock, causing a small stream to trickle down its side.

The device's light flickered slightly, but nothing dramatic happened. Bram nodded, noting the reaction, then tore a piece of bread from a loaf nearby, munching on it. "It's functioning as expected. Now, let's try Thermal Magic," he mumbled through a mouthful of bread. "You should know this one already."

"Ya, thermal magic allows control over heat and flames. That includes igniting fires and controlling temperatures"

Aiden pulled a burning stick from the fire and brought it close to the device. Taking a second stick he lit it from the first making a small flame danced to life. The corresponding crystal on the device began to glow a faint orange, shimmering in time with the fire's flickering.

"Thermal energy's reacting as expected," Bram confirmed, reaching for a forkful of the roasted meat Aiden had prepared. "Let's move on to Air Magic. Now air is interesting as it manipulates the movement of the non-liquid gases which we call collectively air. These have a weight and apply pressure depending on how high or low we are compared to the water levels. This includes controlling wind patterns, creating storms, influencing pressure systems, and more dangerous, creating high impact pressure waves."

Aiden put the sticks in the fire, then held his hand up, feeling only a slight breeze. "There's not much," he noted, his eyes flicking to the device as the Air crystal emitted a faint greenish glow.

Bram nodded and waved his hand making a short incantation which Aiden felt in his mind as "push." A sudden rush of air drove into him from Bram's hand. The air crystal brightened and Bram nodded cancelling the breeze he'd called into existence. With a nod he took another bite of food. "Yes, the pressure system seems stable. No surprises so far." He shifted, picking up a small tuning fork from his pack and handing it to Aiden. "Now for Sound Magic."

"Sound?"

"Sound is a specialization of air magic highly focused on manipulating sound waves and acoustic phenomena. You can amplify or dampen noises, create sonic attacks or defenses, and induce resonance effects in any material that can carry sound wave energy."

"So sound is waves of air?"

Bram nodded but couldn't talk around the large bite he just put in his mouth.

Aiden struck the tuning fork against a nearby rock, holding it up to his ear. A soft hum resonated from the fork, and the corresponding crystal on the device began to emit a purple light. In Aiden's mind he seemed to recognize that the color felt a match to the fork's pitch.

"Good, everything is checking out for this detector," Bram remarked, finishing the last of his meal. "It's good to see everything behaving normally, at least for now. We should be prepared to delve deeper tomorrow."

"What else do you have?"

Bram pulled out a set of small devices. Each was made of different materials. He held them up one at a time explaining the type of magic they could detect and measure. Bram used small spells that Aiden was able to capture and remember to produce a small sampling of each type of magic.

A pair of small iron balls on a looped rod of iron wrapped in leather. "Electromagnetic magic, which can generate electric currents, create light-based illusions, and influence magnetism."

A glass sphere filled with a mostly transparent liquid that slowly swirled, with many small colored beads of glass that gently drifted down to settle at the bottom. "This is for identifying biological magic which can influence growth, healing, and genetic traits. Can enhance or suppress biological activities."

Another glass sphere but with small three-sided pyramids instead of beads. "And chemical magic, that affects the interactions with the elements and compounds in substances of the world. It can catalyze chemical reactions, transmute materials, and synthesize new compounds."

A cube on a silver line thicker than a thread, but much thinner than any twine or string. "Gravitational magic that manipulates gravitational fields and forces. It can alter the strength of gravity in specific areas, and levitate objects."

Bram continued, fetching another tool from his bag, this one a slender hourglass with sand that flowed upward instead of down. "This detects Temporal Magic, which governs the manipulation of time. It can slow or speed up time in localized areas, induce time dilation, and shift the perception of time."

Next, he produced a thin, flat crystal that shimmered with a soft internal light. "Here we have a device for Psychic Magic, which taps into the power of the mind. It's used to detect telepathic activity, induce hallucinations, or manipulate emotions."

He then pulled out a small, handheld prism that refracted light into a spectrum of colors when held against the light. "This is for Light Magic. It interacts with the electromagnetic spectrum to control and manipulate light, creating illusions, bending light to conceal objects, or even blurring vision to obscure areas."

Bram's next item was a dark, opaque lens, almost like a piece of obsidian, set into a simple metal frame. "And this is for Shadow Magic, which controls the absence of light. It can detect areas where light is being manipulated to create darkness, shadows, or dark illusions of movement."

Finally, Bram presented two more devices, each appearing more ominous than the last. The first was a vial containing a swirling, dark red liquid that seemed to pulsate with a life of its own. Holding it up to the light, Bram's expression grew serious.

"This vial detects Blood Magic," he explained, watching the liquid move as if alive. "Blood Magic is often viewed with suspicion because it involves tapping into the life force of beings to fuel spells. This device can sense when vitality is being drained or when magic is used to manipulate biological and chemical energies. You see it is pulsing and moving, that is mostly you and me plus some of the life around us. All life is imbued with some magic."

Aiden watched, fascinated yet slightly unnerved by the pulsating vial. "That thing feels odd."

Bram nodded, placing the vial carefully back into his bag. "And that's why I haven't taught you these types of magic. They're powerful, Aiden, but easily misjudged as evil. Knowledgeable magicians understand they're just another form of energy, but you must be cautious with such knowledge."

He then retrieved the last item, a small geometric object that constantly shifted in shape and appearance, which floated in the middle of a crystal cube. As Bram held it, the object seemed to blur and refocus, never settling into one form.

"Is there liquid holding it in place?"

"No, in fact, there is nothing inside this cube other than the rare elements comprising the matrix of the detection device. The absence of all gasses and fluids is a vacuum and very difficult to create. The device itself is held in place by the forces it applies against the sides of the container."

Bram gave Aiden some time to consider his words, then continued, "It is for detecting Entropy Magic, which accelerates the breakdown and decay of systems and structures. It senses increases in disorder, the degradation of materials, or disruptions in energy conversions."

Aiden reached out, hesitated, and pulled his hand back. "Is it dangerous?"

"It can be," Bram agreed, his voice lower. "Entropy Magic is about chaos and deterioration. It's not inherently evil but potent and demands respect and understanding. This device could cause some damage if it is broken and the actual device was exposed to material matter."

Bram gave a stern and serious look, eyes locking with Aiden's, "Remember, these last two magics are easily mistaken for dark arts. You cannot practice them openly or even allow others to see these types of devices or references."

Aiden gave Bram a serious nod as he considered, "We'll use all these tomorrow. It doesn't seem we would need a full week to do the testing."

"No, we will exhaust all these devices in short order if that was all we were going to do. But, I will be showing you a series of rituals to conduct to cause a small usage of each of these magics, which we will do in the chamber. First I will do it to make sure it is safe, and then I want you to repeat my experiment so you can do this yourself."

Aiden realized he was about to get a full week of solid magic training, and he couldn't stop a smile from splitting his face.

Bram clapped him on the shoulder, a smile breaking his face, too. "Now, do you have any more of that meat? It was really good."