I was awoken the next morning by a prodding force on my leg. Blinking my sleep away, I sat up to see Barden’s horse was the culprit of my early wake up. Barden himself still slept peacefully to my left, huddled against the root wall with his cloak shrugged around him.

The prodding returned for a second round and I even received a nip.

“Okay okay… Give me a second.”

I ran a hand through my hair and rolled over, folding my mat away and slipping on my mother’s gift pack.

The horse, recognizing it had achieved its goal, backed off.

I realized it probably hadn’t been fed last night, which was reason enough for any horse to be awake this early.

Grabbing my mat, I had to vault myself over the crystal mound that Barden had created to shield us in the night.

I stepped out from the root’s protective shelter and stretched to release my sore muscles. Rarely had I ridden a horse, and last night had hit my body hard. Not to mention the splitting headache that still occupied my mind. The culprit definitely being the cup of… stuff Barden had given me last night.

Won’t be making that mistake again…

A whinny sounded from the horse, clearly impatient at the lack of food.

Assuming food would most likely be held in one of the large bags round the middle of the horse, I flipped one open.

Rummaging through several bottles of spices and dried herbs I grabbed ahold of a large bag of feed. Untying the roped off top, I grabbed a handful of pellets and dried grains.

I wasn’t able to locate a feeding bowl so I set a few handfuls down on the ground. The horse didn’t seem to mind and started feeding immediately.

While it was distracted, I tied and slipped the bag of feed back into the side pocket.

Still haven’t escaped being a stable hand have I… I thought with a smile.

For the first time that morning I took time to appreciate the nature around me. Growing up with sunny beaches and rolling fields I’d never understood what a true forest looked like. Now looking around, I finally understood.

The high canopies filtered in some of the morning sun, casting dappled rays around me. The rich scent of the earth perfused around me, complimented by the chirping of birds far above. The thick canopies above caused the light around to be a pleasant green.

It’s beautiful.

Now illuminated I could better see our root trodden path. It extended far into the distance, still surrounded by the towering trees. Trees that appeared to sparkle in the morning light. Green lines ran parallel to the ground in many of the trees, creating the illusion that they truly did extend forever.

My thoughts were interrupted as I heard a thumping come from behind me. Where the horse wasn’t.

I turned on a beat to see… a rabbit?

It sat there; arms raised up to its chest as its whickers flicked around.

“Well, aren’t you a cute little thing?”

I crouched down and took a few steps forward, trying not to scare it off.

Beady eyes looked back at me as it leaned on its hind legs. Worried I was about to scare it off, I reversed my motions and took a slow step backwards. That’s when it jumped.

Where I had assumed I was the aggressor that was obviously a wrong assumption. The feisty little thing blasted at my face, squeaking ferociously. I threw myself back onto my butt as I wrangled with the beast of a rabbit.

Managing to get my hands around the agile thing, I threw it off to the side, attempting to garner reprieve.

“Barden! We’re under attack!”

The thing didn’t like my shouting and blasted off the ground again. While flying it brought its feet up to deliver a powerful kick. This time it managed to have good aim and slammed into my leg, spinning me off the path and into a root. The wind was knocked out of me as I began to see blurs of color in my eyes. It didn’t help that I could hear the sloshing of several broken bottles within my bag.

I’m going to die to a rabbit.

Now taking its time, a blurry outline of the rabbit dragged its leg in the dirt, backing up to a tree across the path.

Is it winding up?

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As my sight cleared, I noticed the yellow glow surrounding it. The rabbits back legs stretched further and further, touching its whole body onto the ground. It reminded me of the homemade rat traps Mr. Tucker would make to keep the vermin out of his stable. However, I was now the vermin.

Now having achieved the totality of its windup, the rabbit launched towards me. Watching two rabbit feet come hurtling towards me really put my life into perspective. It hurtled towards my head, whole body a blur of yellow energy. And then, I shifted.

A crack rang out as the rabbit slammed into where I had been a moment before. Its feet had pierced the thick root, keeping it, well, rooted in place. Furious squeaking erupted from the little devil as it wiggled its whole body to no avail.

I gulped down air as I sat across from the deadly rabbit.

“Don’t like that? Little murderous thing.”

It still wriggled around but had its eyes locked onto me, both glowed with yellow slits down the middle. Terrifying.

I slipped my bag off and opened it to check the contents. The bag was split into two sections. The first, which held my grimoire safely. The other outer pocket which held the contents of my mother’s potions, several cracked and leaking.

No use in keeping those…

Any potion without the correct proportion was useless. So, I threw the couple of bottles out into the bushes behind me, pained to see my mothers work going to waste.

“Aren’t you going to finish it off?” Looking up I noticed Barden standing over by our makeshift cove.

“As in kill it?”

A disappointed face was his answer.

“I feel like that’s too far, right?”

“No, not right. Why would I ask you if I didn’t want you to finish it off? Do you see that Rakdi? The thing is positively murderous. Good thing you trapped it though.”

“So, you’ve been standing there, just watching me fight for my life?”

“Yes, how deductive of you. The only way for you to progress your magic is to do this. Don’t plague me with moral arguments either, that thing only has murderous intent. There is no good side to that beast.”

The Rakdi’s violent chittering only furthered Barden’s point.

“How do I…”

“Just smack the thing in the head. I’d reckon its above level three, but all Rakdi have weak defenses.”

“Of course… all Rakdi have weak defenses…” I muttered to myself.

Reaching into my bag I grabbed my Grimoire, and in one swift move, brought it down on the Rakdi’s head.

A crack rang out for another time in the forest as I ended the Rakdi’s life. What happened next, I didn’t expect.

The Rakdi’s lithe body softly glowed yellow as a small orb formed on its chest. The orb gathered up the yellow light before floating towards me. It hovered through the air and then landed on my Grimoire, merging into the cover.

In turn I felt a rush of cool energy flood through me. It was revitalizing and I immediately felt the effects from my previous battle wash away. Except for the guilt. Though I knew I shouldn’t feel it.

“Well done. Now flip to your overview page.”

I obliged his request, curious to see what had changed.

The Illusion Grimoire

Wielder: Hurley (15)

Level: 2 (1/5)

Mana Rating: 10

Title: ?

“It says I’m level two!”

“As expected. What is your mana rating?”

“It just has the number ten.”

“That’s good for level two. Slightly above average.”

“What does it mean?”

“Just lets you know how much mana you have. You should also have a passive skill that lets you see how much mana you have after casting a spell.”

I flipped to the end of my grimoire and realized that he was correct.

Passive Skills:

Identify (basic): Due to the user’s curiosity, this skill allows one to understand any spell they desire at a basic level.

Mana Level (standard): A basic skill of all mages who acquire a second level. Allows the user to see how much mana they have after casting a spell.

“So basically, a mana rating just lets me know how much mana I have?”

“For your current level yes. As you advance it will split into two separate categories. Mana potency, and mana storage. For now, neither matter to you because your level is so low. But as you progress it will become vital.”

“Huh. Why didn’t I have a mana rating before?”

“Truly? Most aren’t sure. Scholars have theorized it’s simply because you’re such a low level. But I think of it as a challenge from the grimoire. Prove your worth kind of trial.”

“So now I can cast a spell?”

“If you’d like to. Just do it now so we can be on our way.”

I flipped back to the first page of spells and looked over it again.

Conjure Image (small)

Mana usage: small

Description: Using this spell allows the wielder to create a small, intangible illusion from the creativity of their mind. Details and realism depend on users own creativity. Cannot create actual three-dimensional images.

“Barden how do I use the spell?”

“Does it say to use an incantation?”

“No, no incantation.”

“Then it’s a visualization spell. Imagine the books power flowing from it, to you, to your spell. Acting as a conduit for the magic.”

Sounds reasonable…

I did as Barden said, imagining the purple light from before going out of the grimoire and into me. To my surprise a trickle of light motes began to seep from the pages. They warbled in the air before entering into my hand.

“It’s working!” I yelled out in surprise.

“Yes, it truly is…”

“W-what do I do now?” The motes of purple light had fluttered into my arm not manifesting back out like Barden had said.

“Go on and cast your spell!”

“How?”

“Just visualize your spell happening in front of you.”

Okay… but what do I want to create? Not a ton of inspiration around here… maybe a root?

I tried to imagine my power fueling an image of the cracked root to my left. Painfully slow, the motes of light trickled back out from my splayed hand and onto the ground before me. A crackle sounded as wisps of smoke rose from the ground. The wisps of smoke began to coalesce into a shimmering image, solidifying as I poured out more of the purple light.

Finally, hand tremoring from the effort, a root sat before me. My passive skill had activated and I felt a hefty loss of mana.

“Incredible job. Now let’s be off.”

Ignoring Barden’s nagging I just stared at my first creation. Sure, it wasn’t perfect, but the dark shades of brown made it look like the root truly was cast in shadow. Down the top a slight white line pushed outward to show the damage it had taken. Although it was only visible from the front and back, like a thin piece of paper, I was proud.

“I just did that… Barden I cast my first spell!”

‘Yes, it is incredible you can do such a thing with my tutelage. A true prodigy, now let’s go.”

Recognizing the angst underneath his sarcastic tone, I grabbed my bag and got onto the horse after Barden.

I snapped the reigns and turned us around, yet again following the path. Looking back I watched as small root fizzle and pop away.

Small letters above the spell also faded.

Conjure Image (small)