That afternoon, in the cottage of Selandis...

Though most of the furnishings remained untouched, the humble abode had suffered little disturbance. After all, Selandis was an accredited mid-rank sorceress of considerable power. The common guards would hardly dare lay hands on her belongings before her formal sentencing.

In but half an hour, with some light tidying, the cottage regained its former order.

Upstairs, Selandis, freshly bathed and dressed in soft, woolen homespun, curled up in a leather armchair, a delicate afternoon treat nestled in her hands to savor.

"Ah...this is the good life."

Clean, warm, free of monetary worries, with a diligent apprentice at her beck and call - simply perfect.

A few nibbles filled her empty stomach. Eyeing her apprentice busying himself airing clothes by the window, Selandis smiled.

"Rosen, my dearest apprentice, all have their vices, even mentors. I'm indolent, a recluse, hopeless with housework and oblivious in affairs of the heart. My sole redeeming feature is some small accomplishment in the magical arts. Though, before long even that shall be eclipsed by none other than my most beloved protégé."

Rosen shrugged. "You think too highly of me, mentor. My casting ability is but four stars, while yours is at least twenty - a height I could scarcely attain in this lifetime."

In the mystical arts, casting ability was fiendishly hard to train, more so than magic power. The higher the star rating, the tougher to improve. In advanced stages, even a tiny sliver of progress marked a tremendous feat.

The books said as much, and Rosen's experience concurred.

Selandis tittered. "Fret not, my apprentice. To journey from utter ignorance to a proper sorcerer in but two months, wielding four-star casting besides, is an awe-inspiring pace. Once I impart all I know, training methods included, your growth shall be both swift and peerless."

Rosen's heart stirred, for mastery of casting was his ardent goal. "I shall strive my utmost in your teachings, mentor."

"I've no doubt of that, nor that you shall excel beyond even my humble self in no time. Your innovations astounded me, especially the flight spell - I confess myself at a loss."

Selandis' bright eyes sparkled. "Might my learned apprentice enlighten me?"

"It would be my honor." Retrieving paper and pen from the table, Rosen meticulously noted down the workings of his Lightning Dash, handing the finished pages to Selandis with both hands.

"A four-star spell. My most sophisticated to date."

Indeed, it spanned four densely packed sheets, quite beyond the ken of the local magical paradigm. But with proper guidance, still amenable to intuitive grasp.

The flawless vellum floated before the youthful mentor, who read while enjoying her dessert, her attention soon captured by the arcane symbols dancing across the pages, nibbling forgotten as all her focus descended into the esoteric runes.

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At first she thought to comprehend it readily, being versed in spells up to seventh, eighth, even tenth magnitude. But swiftly she realized her limitations, following the underlying theory but dimly.

A few minutes later, she opted to simply ask, rather than blindly grope toward enlightenment.

"My dear apprentice, you've truly stumped your poor mentor - a magnificent achievement."

Rosen stifled a smirk. 'Right on schedule.'

For the state of material wisdom remained crude, with sheer cliffs of ignorance veiling profound truths taken for granted on Earth.

Nonetheless, with proper guidance, still amenable to intuitive grasp.

All false modesty aside, Rosen offered, "Mentor, it arose from a falling apple."

"Oh?" Selandis looked askance, puzzling over any link between produce and spells.

Rosen elaborated. "As the apple falls from the branch, it remains whole, undamaged throughout its descent. Only upon hitting the ground do pebbles nick its skin. Odd, no?"

"Mm. Yes, odd indeed."

"For the apple accelerates as it falls. By rights, it should incur damage. Yet it does not. So what determines whether something gets damaged by high speed?"

Selandis hazarded, "If the speed change is too abrupt?"

Rosen slowly shook his head. "A reasonable guess, yet observation belies it."

He scooped up a spoonful of rich custard from the dessert box, letting it plop onto the floor with a splat.

"Notice anything, mentor?"

After a few moments' thought, Selandis decisively shook her head.

So Rosen revealed the answer. "Custard is soft - a fingertip leaves an imprint. Yet it fell with nary a change in shape."

"If damage arose from overly swift changes in speed, where lies the threshold of 'too swift'?"

Under Rosen's tutelage, Selandis' preconceptions steadily dissolved.

"You're right. It's not the rapidity of acceleration itself, but...but what?"

She grasped the essence, yet it remained vague, inchoate.

Rosen provided the key insight. "It's the unevenness of acceleration across the object."

"In other words, changes in speed must be uniform!"

Like a bolt of lighting rending mist, Rosen's words instantly illuminated Selandis' mind.

She gasped, "Ah! A breath of truth!"

In that instant, all was clear. Eagerly she traced out the implications.

"Parts speeding up at different rates tear the object apart. Disparity breeds destruction!"

Rosen immediately showered praise. "Mentor, your insight humbles me."

Selandis flushed slightly, flattered by the overt flattery. "My dear apprentice, do watch your strokes painting praise - too thick, and you may yet embarrass your poor mentor."

Properly edified, Rosen's elucidation left Selandis with a crystalline grasp of Lightning Dash's workings.

"So you simulate a fall?"

"Just so. First accelerate rapidly downwards, then throw sharply upwards to decelerate. In my mind's eye, I plummet vast distances in but an instant - 100 meters in the blink of an eye."

"Naturally, I cannot fall nearly so far in truth, lest I dash myself against the ground, shattering bone and sinew, even meeting an instant demise."

"My limited knowledge and meager power constrain the acceleration to that of a superior rank-and-file warrior. Any swifter, and I cannot maintain uniformity."

For nonuniformity would surely snap his neck like a brittle twig.

Cupping the dessert with sorcerous fingers, Selandis gently applauded.

"My apprentice, I must praise your piercing discernment of truth. Beside such insights, techniques and arts fade to trifles."

Yet Rosen demurred, "Those trifles could effortlessly destroy me, mentor."

"Too true. You must persist in diligent practice."

But her awe quickly resurfaced. "My dear apprentice, I eagerly await the heights you shall attain. Mayhap in the near future, your brilliance shall illuminate all the Golden Lands!"

Rosen humbly bowed his head. "Mentor jests. To perch a sparrow upon the throne courts only disaster, soon to be flattened beneath the buttocks of the truly mighty."

Selandis laughed merrily. "Ah, ever so sober and modest." Then she sighed. "Alas, 'tis so."

Her mien turned solemn. "My apprentice, I now know you well. So too is it time for you to truly know your mentor."