《Reborn: Evoker》


 Chapter One

    ¡°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¡ª¡±


    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 DefenseJahom Wolford


    Arcane AlignmentEbeus 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.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    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 itwon¡¯t be dangerous to cast over and over.¡±


    ¡°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.

 Chapter 2

    ¡°Let¡¯s go into this lane,¡± suggested Mistress Lathurna, pointing to the lane all of the way to the right. She took her hands and performed Seen Servant, summoning back the barbarian sparring dummy. ¡°Stand back,¡± she commanded, pushing me to the back of the lane. ¡°Oh, and keep going with the Mage Light.¡± I nodded.


    I watched Kyna Lathurna cast a spell. As I watched, I say the runes appear. They flickered slightly, I almost missed it if I was not watching so intently. Then, almost instantly, Kyna hurled a firebolt down the lane and set the barbarian on fire.


    ¡°How did you do that?¡± I exclaimed realizing the firebolt launched much faster than I could hurl a firebolt with exact precision.


    ¡°Do what? Oh, you mean quick cast?¡± Kyna asked as she blushed. ¡°You need to dial the spell to the lowest setting to cast it,¡± she explained. ¡°Now, you try.¡±


    I took my place behind the line of the bolt range. Looking at the barbarian I dialed the spell to the lowest setting. I summoned the energy of the fire element and hurled a firebolt from my palms. Watching the bolt move down the lane, it slowed. What was going on? Then it dispersed into smoke around halfway down the lane. I thought I had cast it perfectly.


    ¡°You must perform the spell quicker,¡± barked Kyna.


    ¡°Quicker?¡± I went as fast as I could with that spell setting. I did not want to seem confrontational, but did she know who she was talking to? ¡°Let me try it again,¡± I relented.


    When the runes appeared, this time I made sure to launch the firebolt right after the slight flicker. This would mean that any adjustments that needed to be made to the runes must be done within a tenth of a second. How was I going to do this? As I nearly became flustered over trying to adjust the runes in the allowed time, something clicked. ¡°Ouch!¡± I said as I held my head. I actually felt a click inside my head. The pain felt like something snapped into place.


    I had to start the spell over because of the click I felt. Summoning the runes again from my memory, I saw them appear before me. Weird. There seems to be a new box that I had never seen before. Looking at this box further, I gathered I could save the setting for quick cast and a number.


    ¡°Ah!¡± I shouted. ¡°Mistress Lathurna, ¡°You startled me,¡± I said, realizing the professor was hovering behind me.


    ¡°Here, let me help you, or I¡¯m afraid we¡¯ll be here all day until you figure this out,¡± she said examining the runes that appeared before me over my shoulder.


    Very funny. She sure loved to patronize me.


    ¡°So this is the quick cast box. I¡¯m glad it finally appeared for you,¡± she explained.


    ¡°Finally?¡± I asked. I realize that I was behind in her class, but these jabs were getting old.


    ¡°Right, finally. Most mages have them appear much sooner. It¡¯s taken at least several hours for this box to show up. Now, back to how to use this. You must include a number and the words of power if you want to use the quick cast ability. Otherwise, you can utilize another ability,¡± she explained.


    ¡°Another ability?¡± I clarified.


    ¡°Right. When you get them.¡±


    I summoned the runes for a third time. This time I wanted to use a spell that was more advanced than a simple cantrip, but one that was authorized by the Mage Order. I did not need Kyna knowing that I knew several of the lost and the undiscovered spells. I had to search my memory, looking for the optimal settings for individual targets. Runes appeared before me, and like a computer from my past life, I quickly relied out certain spells. I felt Kyna still hovering over me. ¡°Oh, sorry. I did not mean to ignore you,¡± I said. ¡°I just want to make certain that I get the correct setting to hit the barbarian before I got distracted.¡±


    ¡°Try that one out,¡± she suggested.


    ¡°Ice Bolt. Perfect, you went over that one in class earlier today,¡± I affirmed. That was one of the four that she gave us the optimal settings for. Ice Bolt, Ice Cone, Fire Bolt, Fire Cone.


    I employed dual cast along with quick cast. I figured I needed to impress her since I apparently was the slow student. I summoned the runes and played the numbers in the boxes, both for dual cast and quick cast. I added a Fire Bolt along with the Ice Bolt. I shouted, ¡°Glacies Pessulum¡± and watched the stream of ice energy come from my palms, hurling toward the barbarian. Then I shouted, ¡°Ignis Pessulum.¡± I watched a bolt of fire emerge right after with no gap in between. Both bolts met the barbarian at the end of the lane. One rendering heaps of cold damage and next the fire damage. I was quite impressed with myself.


    Now to really show off, I felt it necessary to do the same thing, but this time with the cones. I mean, Mistress Lathurna should be humbled that I am utilizing her very lesson and applying it. These are her settings after all.


    After summoning the runes that appeared before me, I made the necessary adjustments and shouted, ¡°Glacies Conc¡±. I watched as a sixty-foot frosty cone come from my hand. Without skipping a beat, I shouted, ¡°Ignis Conc.¡± A fiery blaze in the shape of a large, all-encompassing cone shot out from my palm. Both hit the barbarian servant at the end of the lane.


    From behind me, I heard three slow claps. ¡°Very good, Edward. I did not realize that you could dual cast at your level,¡± exclaimed Mistress Lathurna.


    ¡°My level? What does that mean?¡± I asked, looking to clarify her sentiment.


    ¡°I will stand with my original statement that I made after class. You know more than you led on. You seem to be overpowered for your level, yet are missing big fundamentals. This is something that will need to be addressed. It¡¯s as if you have some sort of natural ability, but seems as though you have been caught up in learning advanced spells when you should have worked hard developing your fundamental abilities.¡±


    I did not have much time to appreciate Kyna¡¯s adoration, as I doubled over, exhausted. She explained, ¡°You really must have exerted yourself with the last double cast of cones. I¡¯m impressed that you lasted this long. Head to lunch now, and then go on to your remaining evoker classes afterward.¡°


    I did like to show off, but now I was overextended. I needed a break. ¡°Right, Mistress Luthurna. I told my friends that I would meet them for lunch. I¡¯m sure they are waiting for me,¡± I explained.


    As I started off toward the cafeteria, Mistress Lathurna said in an ominous tone, ¡°I will be checking to make sure that you are casting Mage Light until sundown. It is only for your own good.¡±


    My shoulders slumped after hearing those words. I was hoping I would be off the hook after she saw that I could double cast. Oh well.


    Arriving to the cafeteria after hiking across campus, I saw my friends. Walter, Cecily, and Yves had already gotten their food and were sitting chatting. ¡°Hey guys,¡± I interrupted their conversation.


    ¡°Oh hey Edward!¡± Cecily replied. ¡°Nice to see you, how was your first day so far? Yves and Walter told me that you decided to take classes this semester, that¡¯s fantastic.¡±


    I went to reply, but found my words only came out in a whisper, ¡°Right,¡± I answered as I nodded.


    Yves must have realized that I was low on mana because she interrupted my attempt to answer Cecily. ¡°Ed, go get some food,¡± she instructed. ¡°We will wait here for you.¡±


    Finding it sluggish to move around the cafeteria, I opted for honey braised boar ribs from the carving station, sear rabbit, and minted pea soup. As I was heading back to where my friends were, I stopped and looked at the food on my tray. This was not enough. I went back and picked up two baked pheasants with leeks, and a meerkat dumpling seasoned with sage. That looks better.


    Back at the table, I heard Walter, Yves, and Cecily speaking, but what they were saying was not registering in my mind. My only focus, getting this food down. It felt like I was trying to fill in a bottomless hole as I kept shoveling food down my gullet, only to find that the food did not have an effect on my energy level. ¡°Ed, you¡¯re eating quite ravenously,¡± said Walter as he watched me stick the entire meerkat dumpling in my mouth without even bitinginto it.


    ¡°Magicae lucis¡­Declinemus!¡± I said in between bites. The last thing I wanted was for Kyna to walk into the dining hall to find that I had not been doing as I was instructed.


    ¡°The pace at which you are eating Ed is frightening,¡± exclaimed Yves.


    ¡°Seems strange. Ed, are you OK?¡± Cecily asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± I answered. ¡°Magicae lucis¡­Declinemus!¡± The orb above my head turned on and off.


    ¡°What are you doing with the Mage Light?¡± Walter asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m casting this spell continuously to expand my magic pool. I think you guys should do the same. Your magic pools are smaller than mine, and my new mentor said that I have a tiny pool to be competitive among the advanced students,¡± I explained.


    Cecily was the first to buy into my idea, ¡°I do believe that Ed has a point. I do get frustrated running out of mana all of the time. I¡¯m going to do it as well.¡± ¡°Magicae lucis¡­Declinemus!¡± Cecily said as she summoned the white orb to appear over her head and then shut off.


    ¡°I really want to become better at magic,¡±relented Yves. ¡°I will join you in increasing your magic pools.¡± ¡°Magicae lucis¡­Declinemus!¡± Yves shouted, joining our endeavor.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure that will increase everyone¡¯s magic pool,¡± argued Walter.


    ¡°That¡¯s what I was told,¡± I refuted. ¡°My Mistress Lathurna.¡±


    ¡°If that were the case, then we would see all of the other students doing this. We don¡¯t,¡± explained Walter.


    He had a point. I¡¯ve never seen anyone cast Mage Light over their head for an entire day. ¡°She¡¯s a new instructor, I think she has a different method to doing things than normal here at Draererth,¡± I rebuttled.


    Walter relented, ¡°The logic makes sense.¡± He paused for a moment looking around the dining hall. ¡°It just must be a different way of doing things. I¡¯m not opposed to it as long as it makes us better I the long run. Plus, let¡¯s face it. Our shallow magic pools are one of the biggest detergents in our abilities to battle and duel.¡± As Walter paused again, I wondered when he became so logical and well spoken. Then he summoned the Mage Light. ¡°Magicae lucis¡­Declinemus!¡±


    Yves chimed in as we repeatedly casted Mage Light. ¡°Don¡¯t you think our magic pool is sufficient for our ages?¡±


    ¡°I believe we are good for our ages,¡± I affirmed. ¡°But that is not my measure. I want to be good at anyone¡¯s age. And that means increasing my magic pool as quickly as I can.¡±


    ¡°I like that idea,¡± confirmed Cecily.


    Finally, I found the bottom of my tray after consuming all of the food. Our Mage Lights continued to blink on and off above our heads at the table. I did feel as though my energy returned after eating such a large meal.


    Cecily broke the silence, ¡°I¡¯ve decided that I want to become an evoker. Ed, I heard that¡¯s the course of study you are pursuing.¡±


    ¡°Right, the fire and ice elemental spells seem to come the easiest to me,¡± I explained.


    ¡°They come easy for me too,¡± replied Cecily. She was right, she was very good at Fire Bolts and fire in general. I hated when we were separated from her while we were out getting the Magi Staff. She had grown to be a great friend and an even better teammate. I did appreciate her chaotic nature. She appeared to be either going to start a fight or on the verge of an explosion at a moment¡¯s notice.


    Walter volunteered, ¡°Hey guys, after today¡¯s morning class, I have decided what I should be when I grow up.¡±


    ¡°What is that?¡± Yves asked.


    ¡°After our battle with Balfomeir, I was blown away by his skill, his ability to meld magic and martial arts into one discipline. I found that after today¡¯s class that I am obsessed with ritualist magic. That way, I would not have to have the spells prepared before hand, but could activate the magic through rituals. I think that was what was getting me before, and I wasn¡¯t able to tap into my full ability.¡±This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    I became amazed by Walter¡¯s insight. ¡°That is really self-aware of you,¡± I stated, partially still in complete shock. ¡°Out of the eight schools of magic, abjuration, conjuration, divination, enchantment, evocation, illusion, necromancy, and transmutation, which do you think you will lean toward?¡±


    ¡°Ed, I won¡¯t be a mage or wizard like you all. I would continue deepening my magic pool and work on the ritualistic spells, but I would become a magus. However, the spells that I¡¯m best at are illusion and abjuration. I¡¯m fairly certain that I would prefer my melee weapon, but I could see myself becoming an Arcane Archer just as easily,¡± explained Walter.


    ¡°A magus?¡± Yves asked.


    ¡°Right, a magus. They are similar Eldritch Knights, like Balfomeir, but are slightly different. I would join one of the Eldritch Societies,¡± explained Walter.


    After I realized what Walter was explaining to me, I wondered why he would remain at a school for mages when he clearly needed to develop his martial arts abilities. ¡°So you plan to finish your studies here at Draererth?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I do. I had to give it some thought and figure if this is the best place to study to advance my training. I will train on martial arts on my own. Perhaps where there is an empty field after the dueling squares,¡± answered Walter. ¡°I do need to figure out which melee weapon I¡¯ll be using.¡±


    ¡°Yves, we haven¡¯t heard from you yet,¡± I said, turning my head to Yves who had been quiet this entire time.


    ¡°Oh, right. I wasn¡¯t really certain what I wanted to do,¡± she started off. ¡°Everything seems to be overwhelming and I enjoy studying.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to decide today,¡± I affirmed. Reasoning if Walter thinks he could be a Magus, then the sky was the limit for Yves. Cecily leaning toward evocation was not a surprise at all. I imagined that Agnes would have chosen abjuration, since she was very keen on making shields and protective fields.


    ¡°I think I really want to focus on ice magic,¡± relented Yves.


    ¡°Ice magic?¡± Cecily asked.


    ¡°Right, I want to become an ice mage and specialize in ice magic. I¡¯d be in the evocation school, but only one element. My powers lean that way as well,¡± explained Yves.


    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t you just be an evoker like Cecily and I? Why specialize in only ice magic?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Because there is more money and less competition if I focus on only becoming an ice mage and performing ice magic.¡±


    She did have a point. Good for here that she was looking down the road at viability and sustainability of her career choice. I still wasn¡¯t sure how Walter would wind up being a magus, but I¡¯ve heard of weirder things. I sure hope he could work on his martial arts training somehow. I did want what was best for Walter, and I cared about his growth as a person and a magic user. At the moment, however, I resented him. However, I know Agnes would want us to help him become the best magic user he could possibly be.


    ¡°Hey guys, I better get going to my next class,¡± I announced. ¡°I have Dastardly Defense with Professor Wolford right now. Where is everyone else going?¡±


    ¡°Right, we all should get going,¡± barked Yves. ¡°I have Pillars of the Polar with Professor Wintersteen.


    ¡°I¡¯m headed to Flames, Fire, and Fury with Professor Emberstaff,¡± replied Cecily.


    ¡°And I have Rituals and Rites with Professor Oberwon,¡± said Walter as he stood up from his chair.


    The rest of us stood up from our seats, this section of the dinning hall had been our safe haven all of last year and now I was glad to see us back together. Event hough Agnes was no longer her physically, I could feel her spirit with us. We all went on our way to our respective classes.


    I found the room of where my class was held for Dastardly Defense with Professor Wolford. Based on the title of the course, seemed like there would be good information to know. Charged with still having to cast Mage Light repeatedly, I wondered if I would stick out in class. I found a seat in the back, not to disturb anyone while I continued casting.


    This classroom was arranged in desks and chairs, just like the other classes I were used to from last year. Also, the class had more students than Mistress Lathurna¡¯s class, but less than what I was normally accustomed to. The other students came in and sat down, some gave me odd stares as I sat in the back, repeatedly turning on and off my Mage Light.


    ¡°Greetings class,¡± the professor said as he came from behind his desk. He had been writing there while the us students got situated. He was tall and lengthy, with long limbs, as slender build, and long dark hair with a beard. He seemed to have a refined aura about him, an aristocrat if you will. ¡°Welcome to Dastardly Defense. This course will help each of you refine your defensive skills. Remember, during battle, defense is fifty percent. Always. Everyone works diligently on their offensive magic, but few really take the time to develop their defensive magic.¡±


    After hearing this introduction, my ears perked up. What he said, made sense. I found that I had to defend more. While still casting the Mage Light, I listened to his lecture. ¡°Class, the first spell that I want to go over with you is Arctic Wall and Fire Wall. This elemental defensive walls are brilliant for neutralizing the opposite element being attacked at you. For example, if an opponent is sending Fire Bolts at you, Arctic Wall is a great defensive strategy.¡±


    I already figured that one out. I wonder what else this guy¡¯s got.


    Professor Wolford continued his lecture, ¡°Elemental Absorption allows you to capture some of the incoming energy, lessening the damage that you will take and storing it for your attack. The next attack that you perform will have an increase in damage to the opponent until the spell ends.¡±


    Seemed simple enough, but clearly I was becoming more and more bored the more and more this guy spoke. I took this moment to take a mental reprieve from my exhausting day. Life would be a lot easier now if I did not have to cast the Mage Light over and over again. I understood that it was for my own good, however, it was draining all of my energy. I understand that it was designed to do that and by doing so would increase my magic pool, however, I was getting resentful of Mistress Lathurna.


    I must have fell asleep, because I could not remember anything up until Professor Wolford announced, ¡°All right class, that is enough of defensive strategy and spells. Tomorrow we will work on more. Class dismissed.¡±


    I shot up from my chair and headed for the door. As I my foot was about to cross the threshold a shuddering voice came from behind me, ¡°Edward, wait a moment,¡± the voice said.


    My shoulders shot up to my ears at this. Professor Wolford asked me to stay after class? What could he possibly want? Did he notice me sleeping? I turned and dodged the other students who headed out of the classroom door.


    As I approacehed the instructor, and came closer, I did not realize how big his nose was. His nose hairs ebbed and flowed as he made audible breathing sounds. This cannot be good, it was apparent that I had angered him.


    ¡°Yes, Professor Wolford?¡± I said as I approached him, noticing the exquisite tailored black suits and red ascot he wore. For some odd reason, he reminded me of a vampire from my previous life. Obviously, I had never encountered one, however, I read about them and saw them in movies.


    ¡°How dare you make yourself so comfortable in my class and during my lecture that you found it appropriate to fall asleep?¡±


    I did feel bad for disrespecting Professor Wolford. His lecture was not that bad, it was quite good in fact. He explained all areas of elementary elemental magic very well. ¡°I apologize, Professor Wolford. I am deeply sorry that I disrespected you in such manner,¡± I answered, assuming that would do the trick and I would soon be on my merry way.


    ¡°You knew what you were doing was wrong, but you did it anyway. Now you believe an apology is going to smooth everything over? Come on Edward MacAra. Every professor at this school knows that you believe you walk on water. That somehow you are the chosen one that Hamon Reid sought out to take under his wing. You put your friends in harm¡¯s way, you walk around like your the gift to magic, and you cannot even perform any spells above level three. Thankfully Mistress Lathurna is working with you to extend your magic pool. If she did not intervene in your instruction, I would not know where you would be. Hamon may be an Archmage, and the greatest that we have seen, but he let you get away with a lot. I¡¯m not going to allow that,¡± explained Professor Wolford. His hair, pulled back into a slick pony tail, waved around as he emphasized the meaning of his words.


    ¡°Professor Wolford, I really do feel bad. Mistress Lathurna has me casting Mage Lite repeatedly, which is exhausting all of my energy,¡± I responded.


    ¡°She told me during lunch. She also said that you tried to show off in front of her. From what I hear, it was a good display, but you lacked humility. Seems like Hamon gave you the run of the roost.¡±


    ¡°He did his best,¡± I defended. ¡°He nurtured my magical abilities when I was certain I could not perform any.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s evident that he has a lot of faith in you. A lot more than I do. In any case, your discipline for falling asleep during a lecture is that you must clean the storage room without using any spells. If I sense that you used a spell, you will have more discipline to face and I will take your insubordination up with the Headmaster and Lead Council,¡± Professor Wolford pontificated.


    I did not want to have another run-in with the Lead Council, so I would do as I was told. I replied, ¡°Yes, Professor Wolford. I will get to cleaning out the storage closet now.¡±


    ¡°Very good. It is the storage closet out here in the hallway,¡± said Professor Wolford as he led me just outside his classroom to a closet door right next to the entrance. ¡°I did not have time to clean it out before I was to move in here. This should take you the rest of the day. I¡¯m certain that Mistress Lathurna would want you to continue with the Mage Light.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± I responded as I nodded.


    Professor Wolford continued down the hallway. He shouted as he walked, ¡°I will need this done by the time I get back. I¡¯ll be gone for a few hours.¡± His ponytail bouncing with each step as I watched his thin frame saunter down the hallway.


    ********************************


    After I finished with the storage closet and the run-in with the older bullies, I felt completely exhausted. My first day back at school had been a long one, and I did not want to go eat in the dining hall, I was spent. Making my way back to my room, there was a part of me that did not want to go to my quarters, alone.


    Returning to my living quarters while school was in session became a reminder of my missing mentor, Hamon. I longed for his direction, companionship, and guidance. Kyna may have thought he did not provide enough stewardship in my development, however, I disagreed.


    As I opened the door of my room, an unequivocal feeling of loneliness fell over me. For some reason, being back in classes and now in this room, even though I had lived here while I assisted in the rebuild of the school, triggered my longing for my mentor.


    I continued to cast Mage Light, to deplete my magic pool to eventually build it up as Mistress Lathurna prescribed. After I started the fire in the fire place, I looked at the rocking chair that Hamon used to sit in and read in every night after dinner. This was just downright painful, I felt like I was on the verge of a panic attack.


    I must occupy myself. What to do, what to do? Now would be a good time to go through all of the spells that I did not perform in front of Mistress Lathurna, so I have the prescribed presets ready to go. That would make quick casting that much more useful.


    I went through the spells that I had memorized. I moved glyphs of the runes for single and multiple opponents for Magic Missile, Flaming Hands, Mage Armor, and Wave of Thunder. Noticing the spells that I memorized, I needed to practice the activation words for these spells.


    ¡°Magicae Telum!¡± I shouted, summoning Magic Missile. This was a spell that I felt quite accomplished in, however, I needed to record the presets for quick cast.


    Next, I shouted, ¡°Nequissimi igneq manus!¡± I watched my hands as I held my thumbs touching each other and my fingers spread, a thing wall of flames shoot from my stretched phalanges. I quenched the spell before it shot out at a target. I didn¡¯t want to set my room on fire. I noted the presets in my spell book, and then continued on to the next spell.


    Working on the spells, my throat ached from saying the words of power and it was just after midnight, however, I had nailed down the presets of all of these spells. I was quite impressed. As I documented the presets in my spell book, I had an epiphany!


    With my quill between my teeth as I stared at the blank page of the spell book, I had a vision. It was as if the runes of the other spells spoke to me, and I had pieced together something larger. I flipped to where I had several blank pages in my spell book. As I flipped, the parchment paper rustled, the crips papyrus fighting me as I paged through the book. I reached for my ink bottle and dipped my quill into it, frowning for a second while I flash came to my mind.


    I cradled the leather-bound spell book on my desk, and moved the tip of the falcon-feather quill that Hamon had given me down the page, meticulously calculating each angle of the glyphs and mentally recording the presets. Chain of Lightning! That¡¯s it! That is a new spell I uncovered. I admired the runes that I scribed, and how each glyph was put into the perfect place, summoning the lightning elemental energy to reek havoc on unassuming opponents.


    I believe this is the perfect spell as it summons a bolt of lighting to arc toward any target, then three bolts leap from that target up to three more targets. They have to be clustered together, and I can only summon one bolt per target, for the time being, but this should be a fantastic spell. I worked out the angles of the glyphs in my spell book, and was quite excited with my work.


    Next, I worked on my activation words to begin the spell. ¡°Torquem fulgar!¡± I shouted while I held the preset runes in my mind. I watched a lightning bolt appear and multiply in the room. It did not hit anything, since I did not indicate a target, I only wanted to watch the bolt split off into more bolts. This was spectacular! I admired my work while I watched the glittery bolts dance around the room. The dissipated into the atmosphere, leaving me once again only to my own devices.


    What was that? I stopped in my tracks while I put my writing instruments and spell books away. Oh, nothing. I must be hearing things. Resuming tidying up my desk, I anxiously anticipated retiring to bed.


    Then I heard it again, this time louder. ¡°What in the world?¡± I muttered while I went into my bedroom chamber to investigate. It sounded like someone was in my living quarters with me. The noise sounded like it came from the mirror that I had on top of my chest of drawers right near my bed.


    As I walked by the mirror, my heart raced and I nearly jumped out of my skin. ¡°You again!¡± I exclaimed, staring at the ominous figure. The figure that talked me into coming into this world in the first place.


    ¡°Good evening Edward MacAra,¡± the figure stated while it appeared in the mirror, clouds swirling around it. I could still not make out its face, underneath the cloaked black hood it wore.


    ¡°Lord Abraxas escaped into the portal before I had a chance to finish him off,¡± I relented. ¡°I know I¡¯m supposed to defeat him and restore this world back to order.¡±


    ¡°We are aware. We have been watching,¡± replied the figure. ¡°The Demon Lord is smart, cunning, and powerful. You will be a worthy opponent for him in due time.¡±


    ¡°What about Hamon?¡± I asked. ¡°I need my mentor back!¡± I shouted at the mirror, feeling enraged that the very being sent to assist me with my magical development had been taken away from me. Frustration and fury filled my body as I stared at the figure.


    ¡°Hamon has his own journey,¡± replied the figure.


    ¡°Well, can you help in anyway?¡± I asked out of frustration.


    ¡°We cannot interfere directly, however, we can help you with your magic.¡±


    ¡°Oh? How?¡± I asked, intrigued by the offer.


    ¡°Can you quick cast yet?¡±


    ¡°Learned that today,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Can you silent cast?¡±


    ¡°What is that?¡± I asked.


    ¡°This ability will allow you to cast spells without having to use the words of power. By doing so allows for a more stealthy attack on the opponents since they will have less time to counter the spell. Lord Abraxas is able to silent cast. That is one of the ways he is so dangerous,¡± explained the figure.


    ¡°Well, can I have that ability?¡± I asked, hoping the figure would say yes. As I waited for a response, I screamed, ¡°Ouch!¡± I held my head as I experienced a similar click in my mind as I did when I had the quick cast activated. ¡°What is that?¡± I asked the figure.


    ¡°You can now silent cast,¡± it answered. I watched as the image in the mirror began to disappear.


    ¡°Wait! Before you go, do you know where Hamon is?¡± I begged.


    I saw the being nod. ¡°Yes, we know where he is,¡± replied the figure.


    ¡°Where is he?¡± I asked, anxious to get my mentor back.


    ¡°I cannot say. That would be cheating. I¡¯ve already have done more than I should.¡±


    I felt defeated while I watched the figure disappear in the ether. As the figure vanished, it said, ¡°Edward, study hard and the information that you seek will come to you when you least expect it.¡±


    Confused, I went to ask the figure more. Study what? Study where? However, the figure was gone and I was left once again, alone.

 Chapter 3

    The following morning, I arrived at Mistress Lathurna¡¯s class. After the conversation with the figure, I had a renewed vow to study hard and that Hamon¡¯s location would be revealed to me. I would do as Headmaster Wavernjack suggested, I would concentrate on advancing my magical abilities so I was prepared to rescue Hamon when the moment was right.


    When I entered the classroom, I sat in one of the chairs that were placed in the circle along with the ten other students.


    ¡°Edward, I see you are still casting Mage Light. You did not have to cast it today,¡± stated Mistress Lathurna from her chair in the circle.


    ¡°I found it best to cast it today as well. I am anxious to get my magic pool increased,¡± I answered.


    ¡°Very good,¡± she replied with a nod. Turning to the rest of the class, she announced, ¡°Good morning class, today will take a quiz on the items that we went over yesterday. I hope all of you studied.¡± Mistress Lathurna split a stack of paper in half and handed it to each student on either side of her. ¡°Take one and pass it down. You will have ten minutes to answer this quiz,¡± she explained.


    My stomach sunk as I heard the word quiz. I was clearly not prepared and how would I ever outperform these older students?


    ¡°All right class, give you a quiz to the person on your right. They will grade your quiz for you,¡± Kyna explained. ¡°Grade your classmate¡¯s quiz, and mark the ones they got wrong. Total the number of correct answers at the top and circle it.¡±


    She went over the correct answers, and I watched how many the student on my right was marking. The test that I corrected for the student on my left was absolutely dreadful. He did not even get one question right.


    ¡°Class, give the quiz your grading back to the student. Take a look at your score, and then pass them in,¡± instructed Mistress Lathurna.


    ¡°Good job man, you got them all right,¡± said the older student who sat next to me. He wore a black hooded cloak with red embroidery, his sleeves practically fell into my lap as he handed the quiz back to me.


    I was surprised athwart he said, and I thought he was joking at first. When I looked at the answers I had written in, I became astonished. I did, in fact, get all of the answers correct. My jaw dropped. Perhaps I learned more than I originally thought.


    Mistress Lathruna interrupted my private celebration, ¡°Now class, we will hold a mock duel. Please, everyone, stand up and move your chair to the back wall. Uronion and Zagras, you two are up first.¡±


    I stood up from my seat and carried my chair over to the back wall with the other students. The two evokers faced each other in the middle of the classroom. Mistress Lathurna continued explaining, ¡°Class, these duels are to help you work on what spells to use and how to counter them. Pay close attention to these two. They are the top two mages in this school. Watch carefully at their spell selection and, more importantly, what they chose to counter the offensive spell.¡±


    Uronion and Zagras stood in the middle of the classroom, their eyes focused on each other. Both men wore black cloaks with green embroidered sleeves and hems. Zagras had short blonde, he took a moment to pull his hood onto his head. Uronin did the same over his short black hair. Each stood facing the other at an arm¡¯s length, now with their eyes closed. After a moment, they both nodded at each other.


    Mistress Lathurna continued by stating the rules of the duel, ¡°Both mages must duel in the clothes that they currently have on, no magical robes are allowed. Magic wands and staves are not to be used since they were not agreed to beforehand. No mage armor is allowed. Only one spell may be cast by each duelist per round. One counterspell is allowed per round. No Magical Missiles, those are boring. I want you to work on something other than Magical Missile. Both duelists must stand on either end of the classroom, which is around fifty-feet apart from one another. You may not move from your location once the duel has begun. This is a contest of magical abilities and not fancy footwork.¡±


    The two mages each took fifteen steps backward, never turning their backs on each other. As they walked backward, a noticeable glimmer illuminated between them, signifying they were engaging in a duel. A fiery-red oval encompassed them, appearing like transparent flames, swirled around the dueling area in this small classroom.


    Zagras¡¯ back was toward me as he stood fifteen paces from Uronin on the other side of the classroom. Mistress Lathurna raised her right hand with her index and middle finger pointing to the sky and turned to Zagras, ¡°Do you, Zagras, agree to enter the duel against Uronin? You may yield at this time, declaring Uronin as the winner.¡±


    Zagras nodded and answered, ¡°I agree to enter the duel against Uronin.¡±


    ¡°Very well,¡± responded Mistress Lathurna. She then turned to Uronin and asked, ¡°Do you, Uronin, agree to enter the duel against Zagras? You may yield at this time, declaring Zagras as the winner.¡±


    Uronin nodded and answered, ¡°I agree to enter the duel against Zagras.¡±


    ¡°Very well. You two will quick cast, but will need to declare spells using the activation words. Each of you will have twenty HP,¡± explained Mistress Lathurna as the number twenty written in flames appeared on the wall over each duelist¡¯s head. ¡°The duel ends when HP is down to zero. The duel may now begin,¡± announced Kyna dropping her right arm back down to her side.


    The two magic users nodded at each other. Zagras¡¯ yelled at Uronin, ¡°Honor virtutis praemium!¡±


    Uronin replied, ¡°Veritas aequitas!¡±


    Both of these mages were 5th</sup>-level evokers, therefore the dueling area did not need to be large, and the classroom, although small was an adequate size.


    Zagras shouted, ¡°Ignis pila!¡±


    Zagras had the initiative and cast Fireball.


    Spell: Fireball


    School: Evocation


    Skill Level: 3rd</sup>-Level


    Effect: A fiery explosion will cause 100 points damage if performed correctly in a 15-foot radius. Target will continue to take extra fire damage.


    Zagras cast Fireball, at Uronin. I watched a fifteen-foot ball of flames emerge from Zagras¡¯ palms and hurl itself toward Uronin. The Fireball traveled at a rapid pace, and would normally explode on impact and could potentially set Uronin on fire, yielding damage over time.


    However, Uronin countered the spell, which is allowed each round of the mage duel. Uronin shouted, ¡°Impetus tempestatis!¡±


    Uronin completed a successful spell-craft check. Uronin cast Whirlwind


    Spell: Whirlwind


    School: Evocation


    Skill Level: 5th</sup>-Level


    Effect: Cyclone 30 feet tall and 15 feet wide. The raging wind moves through the air, along the ground, zigzagging by the caster¡¯s direction. When the Whirlwind comes in contact with a spell, a reflex save must be successfully thrown or counter damage will be yielded by the caster of the spell.


    Uronin summoned a circling vortex of air that created a funnel cloud inside the classroom. The cyclone zeroed in right on the Fireball and collided with the menacing fury of flames. The whirling windstorm pulled the Fireball into an inferno and launched the vortex up to the ceiling of the classroom, momentarily catching it on fire before it burnt out.


    Uronin gave Zagras a flash of a smirk from under his black hood. I had never seen such a counterspell conducted with such precision and demonstration of magical abilities. One thing became apparent in the first round of the duel. I was outclassed by my classmates in terms of magical ability. The second thing that became clear was the Demon Lord was simply toying and playing with me and my friends. We did not even witness half of this from Lord Abraxas.


    Zagras puffed out his chest, appearing not to be deterred by the Whirlwind counterspell. Mistress Lathurna announced, ¡°Round 2.¡±


    Uronin summoned sheets of roaring flames centered around his location. Sparks of embers flung themselves as the temperature of the inferno that surrounded Uronin appeared to increase and become molten.


    Uronin cast Firestorm at Zagras.


    Spell: Firestorm


    School: Evocation


    Skill Level: 5th</sup>-Level


    Effect: A storm of fiery sheets surround the caster. As the storm surrounds the caster, the inferno increases in strength. Once it is unleashed on a target, the target is met with an explosion and ignites on fire, taking fire damage.


    Uronin sent the Firestorm spell at the target, Zagras.


    The rampaging inferno moved across the room in a wall of flames that was directed at Zagras but appeared to be coming for all of us. I watched the wave of seething lava-like energy barrel toward Zagras and me and the other classmates that sat behind him.


    I cast Shield as I braced for the Firestorm to render fire damage on all who would be affected by the spell. ¡°Clipeum!¡± I shouted.


    Edward cast Shield.


    Spell: Shield


    School: Abjuration


    Skill Level: 1st</sup>-Level


    Effect: An invisible force shield that hovers in front of the caster. It negates attacks directed at them. It is formed in the shape of a disk and can ricochet attacks if hit at the correct angle. For a limited time.


    Zagras shouted, ¡°Argomentare magia!¡±


    Zagras cast Magic Dispelled as a counter spell.


    Spell: Magic Dispelled


    School: Abjuration


    Skill Level: 3rd</sup>-Level


    Effect: Any creature or magical effect within range, any spell 3rd</sup>-Level or lower on the target ends the spell.


    With Zagras mastering the defense for the Firestorm, it dissipated into the atmosphere, ending the spell cast by Uronin. That was an exceptional use of defensive magic Zagras demonstrated, however, the Dispelled Magic spell was not at the same level as the Firestorm and Zagras would take damage. Zagras gave Uronin a nod while he tilted his head to the side as the flames of the Firestorm turned to smoke.


    Zagras made a successful Spellcraft check but took 50 points fire damage because Magic Dispelled was cast at a lower level to conserve mana.-10HP.


    The flamed numbers above Zagras moved from twenty to ten. Firestorm is a crazy spell, and that was the first time that I saw one in action.


    Mistress Lathurna announced, ¡°Round three.¡±


    I was certain that Zagras needed to come up with something more powerful to equal the score. Zagras closed his eyes and concentrated. His hands glowed bluish-white. From where I sat, I was able to see beads of sweat stream down his forehead.


    Zagras shouted, ¡°Conicum glacies!¡±


    In a blink of an eye, a blast of crystals, shards of glass, and ice radiated from Zagras¡¯ hands in the shape of a cone toward Uronin.


    Zagras cast Conical Chill


    Spell: Conical Chill


    School: Evocation


    Skill Level: 5th</sup>-Level


    Effect: A 60-foot cone of arctic energy is hurled at a target. A successful Constitution save must be made.


    Uronin immediately shouted, ¡°Murus ignis!¡± As flames of fire energy created a wall in front of him. Uronin was a moment too late when he cast the FireWall to counter the cold energy.


    Uronin cast Fire Wall at a lower level that the Conical Chill.


    Spell: Fire Wall


    School: Evocation


    Skill Level: 4th</sup>-Level


    Effect: A wall of fire on a solid surface is created up to 60 feet. Firewall can counter cold damage on the same level. Can render damage on an opponent within range.


    Zagras made a successful Dexterity saving throw and was not damaged by the Fire Wall. Uronin was caught flat-footed with the Conical Chill and was delayed with the cast of Fire Wall taking 80 points of cold damage. -20 HP.


    I watched Uronin¡¯s hit points written in flames fall to zero. Mistress Lathurna immediately announced, ¡°Zagras has won the Mage Duel.¡± She walked into the middle of the dueling square in the classroom and held up her hands. ¡°The duel is over.¡± As she did that, the outline of the dueling boundaries disappeared. Both Zagras and Uronin shoot hands in the middle of the classroom right next to Kyna.


    ¡°Good job,¡± Uronin said to Zagras.


    ¡°You¡¯re a formidable opponent,¡± Zagras said to Uronin.


    Mistress Lathurna turned to each of us who sat along the wall of the classroom. ¡°Edward MacAra, you¡¯re up next.¡± She took a moment to look around the room, and said, ¡°Avaleus, you will duel Edward.¡±


    I did not know who Avaleus was but watched a tall older student stand up in a red robe with gold embroidery stand up a few seats down from me. As he stood, he put his hood up over his head. Reluctantly, I stood from my seat as well. After seeing what type of magic these evocation students could cast, I became hesitant. Usually, I am not lacking in confidence, but I had a feeling I was in over my head.


    I met Avaleus and Mistress Lathurna in the middle of the classroom. ¡°Do you two agree to enter the duel?¡± Mistress Lathurna asked both of us.


    I nodded and said, ¡°I agree.¡±


    Avaleus nodded and said, ¡°I agree.¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± replied Mistress Lathurna with a nod. ¡°We will use the same rules as the duel before. Count out fifteen paces backward.¡±


    I nodded and walked backward while I counted each step. Avaleus did the same. The energy waves outlined our dueling space as we moved further back form each other.


    As I got to my fifteenth step, I was taken by surprise as eight Firebolts came at my feet. I didn¡¯t hear Avaleus announce the spell, perhaps because I was still counting. I instantly started to jump in an attempt to dodge the bolts. Fiery bolts of energy came in my direction, ionizing the surrounding air as they zapped past my legs. The reddish-orange blasts pelted where I stood, leaving charred residue on the classroom wall behind me. A sensation of feeling overwhelmed came over me, and I became panic-stricken.


    Avaleus quick and duel casted four sets of Firebolts catching Edward flat-footed.


    Spell: FireboltThis novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    School: Evocation


    Skill Level: Cantrip


    Effect: A bolt of fire is hurled at a target. The target takes fire damage.


    Edward made a successful Constitution check taking 50 points of fire damage. -8 HP.


    I had almost dodged all of the Firebolts that Avaleus hurled at me, however, the last one stung my ankle, and knocked me flat on my back. I was certain that I would be out of hit points after that onslaught.


    I got up off of the classroom floor and took a look at the remaining hit points. Twelve left. That was a relief, but how would I win this duel?


    As I attempted to strategize my offensive plan, Mistress Lathurna came over to me. ¡°Pause the duel, pause the duel,¡± she shouted with both arms raised in the air.


    The stood right infant of me, our toes almost touching. ¡°Edward, you cannot move and doge the spells. That is a violation of the rules of the duel,¡± Kyna explained.


    ¡°I know,¡± I replied, lowering my eyes. ¡°I¡¯m in over my head,¡± I muttered.


    ¡°No you¡¯re not,¡± she countered. ¡°Now, work on the spells we did yesterday. Remember, quick cast and dual cast. Cast an offensive spell with one hand and a defensive spell with the other hand as the starting foci.¡±


    I nodded, trying to figure out what exactly she meant. Kyna returned to the middle of the classroom, ¡°Resume duel!¡± Mistress Lathurna shouted dropping her raised arms and making her way to the edge of the classroom.


    ¡°Clipeum!¡± I shouted. I casted Shield, bringing a curved shield on my left arm.


    Edward cast Shield.


    Spell: Shield


    School: Abjuration


    Skill Level: 1st</sup>-Level


    Effect: An invisible force shield that hovers in front of the caster. It negates attacks directed at them. It is formed in the shape of a disk and can ricochet attacks if hit at the correct angle. For a limited time.


    I realized that this is a timed spell, so I can have the Shield protect me for a few minutes before I need to recast it.


    ¡°Gees!¡± I shouted. ¡°Not again!¡± I muttered to myself as I had another set of Firebolts hurled at me. What is this guy¡¯s problem, I thought it was my turn for an offensive attack?


    I watched the Firebolts fly at me. I braced to take more damage, however, I watched the Firebolts deflect in different directions as they hit the invisible shield. Some of the bolts hit the shield and the correct angle, and they were hurled back into Avaleus¡¯ direction, rendering damage.


    Avaleus takes 20 points fire damage. -4 HP.


    Using dual cast, I shouted, ¡°Fulgur ignis!¡± I did not want anyone to know that I was able to silent cast. I hurled Firebolts in the direction of Avaleus, only to witness him cast his own shield and to have some of the Firebolts come back at me.


    After watching my own Firebolts ricochet back into my direction, I hit the ground on my stomach. I remembered what Mistress Lathurna stating that this was an illegal maneuver, however, I did not have a counterspell prepared.


    While I laid on the ground, I had to think of something fast, or else I was done. I closed my eyes, my belly on the cold marble of the classroom floor. Then it came to me! I watched a stream of lighting snake across the floor and weave its way to Avaleus.


    Edward cast Spark.


    Spell: Spark


    School: Evocation


    Skill Level: 3rd</sup>-Level


    Effect:A spell that causes lightning to course across the ground aimed at a target, rendering lightning damage.


    Avaleus jumped over the lighting bolt that stretched across the ground. Mistress Lathruna shouted, ¡°Illegal maneuver!¡± I thought Kyna was referring to the fact that Avaleus jumped over my really awesome Spark spell, but she came to the middle of the classroom again with her hands raised. ¡°Pause duel,¡± she shouted before walking swiftly over to me.


    ¡°Edward, you cannot use spells that are not taught by this school. I was impressed by your ingenuity, however, this school has a prescribed methodology and you must adhere to it. Why cast a spell that someone could easily hop over?¡± Mistress Lathruna asked.


    I nodded, she had a point. ¡°Yes, Mistress Lathruna.¡±


    ¡°Very good,¡± she replied. Walking back to the middle of the classroom, she shouted, ¡°Resume duel.¡±


    The Shield had dissipated since it was timed. Unfortunately, I did not have enough left in my magic pool to recast it. Not to mention, I am hindered by not being able to use spells that are not taught by this school. I really wanted to cast Lightning Chain, but now I am unable to with Mistress Lathurna¡¯s silly rules.


    Avaleus shouted, ¡°Fulgur ignis!¡±Once again, reddish-orange bolts hurled themselves at me. Without the Shield to protect me, I was a sitting duck, waiting to be subdued.


    Avaleus dual cast four Firebolts. Edward failed his Constitution check and was rendered unconscious. -12 HP. Avaleus won the duel.


    ¡°Duel complete. Avalues, you are the victor,¡± I heard Mistress Lathurna shout while I laid on the ground, picking up my head to see her raise his arm.


    I struggled to get to my feet. Both Mistress Lathruna and Avaleus came over to me. ¡°Great job Ed!¡± Avaleus said. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen that lightning snake thing you cast before. That caught me off guard.¡± Avaleus helped me straighten my robe and look presentable once again.


    Mistress Lathruna added, ¡°Edward, you did well for just entering the art of evocation. As time goes on, you will become a great evoker.¡± She paused for a moment and then added, ¡°Edward, think about how the battle would have gone if you kept up the spells longer.¡±


    I nodded in response to Kyna¡¯s suggestions. Turning to Avaleus, I said, ¡°Great match, man. You are tough!¡± Avaleus nodded with a smile.


    Both of us returned to our seats. I could not help but go over the entire duel. I really did not do my best, I concluded. I should have really shown what I¡¯m capable of. In the midst of my thoughts, Kyna interrupted, ¡°Great job today. Everyone really did their best. Keep up the good work, and class is dismissed.¡±


    The students filed out of the classroom door, but I decided to hang around after class. I wanted to ask Kyna a question. As she was shuffling our quiz papers into her bag, I approached her and asked, ¡°Mistress Lathurna, I really want to work on my magic. Are there any practice rooms that I can use?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s wonderful Edward! Yes, you need all the practice you can get. But, I¡¯m afraid to tell you that all of the practice rooms have not been repaired yet since Lord Abraxas destroyed Draererth. Headmaster Wavernjack is in the process, but it will still be a while.¡±


    ¡°They haven¡¯t been rebuilt yet after they were destroyed?¡± I asked. ¡°Everything else seems to be rebuilt and is better than it ever was.¡±


    ¡°I know. Those practice rooms were part of the final phase. Be patient, they will get to them soon,¡± Kyna explained. Mistress Lathurna hesitated and resumed stacking our quizzes and putting them in her bag. Then she turned and said, ¡°There is a secluded area on the northwest part of the school, right near the barrier is before the Enchanted Forest. Hardly anyone goes there. I¡¯m sure you could use that area to practice to your heart¡¯s content.¡±


    As her words came out and fell onto my ears, I smiled at her idea. It was like I had a lightbulb light up above my head, and this time it was not my Mage Light, I had an idea. I had to tell others. We were going to work on the spells that were not taught by the Mage Order where Kyna suggested. ¡°Thanks!¡± I replied, nodding, attempting not to look to eager, but I knew I was not concealing my excitement. I had to show my friends that I could now silent cast spells. I darted off out of the classroom and to the dining hall to tell my friends my plan.


    ¡°Where are we going?¡± Walter asked, attempting to keep up while I led the charge.


    ¡°All right guys,¡± I said as I walked backward so I could explain further the plan. Cecily, Yves, and Walter followed, appearing to be bewildered by my sense of urgency. ¡°We are going to practice spells that are not taught at Draererth and not know by our Mage Order,¡± I explained, moving at a brisk pace, careful not to trip over my heels as I led my friends to the area that Kyna suggested.


    ¡°I still don¡¯t understand,¡± countered Yves. ¡°First of all, why are we going to learn spells that are not taught by this Mage Order. Second, where in the world are we going?¡±


    Still walking backward, I started, ¡°First of all guys, thank you. Thank you for your supporting willingness to follow me.¡±


    Walter interjected, ¡°I don¡¯t like how this is sounding already.¡±


    Cecily affirmed my haste and action, ¡°Ed, we are always on your side. We will help you no matter what.¡±


    Yves finally got with the program, ¡°Ed, we trust you, but where are we going?¡± As she finished her sentence, I fell backward as the ground sloped downward.


    ¡°Goodness, Ed! Are you all right?¡± Walter asked as he stood on the shelf of soil that was above me while I laid flat on my back.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine. Thanks,¡± I replied getting to my feet and figuring out where I had landed. My eyes could not believe what I saw. On the northwest corner of the school, right before the transparent barrier where the Enchanted Forest started was a circular, pressed area of land of dark soil. The depression must have been at least two feet and was cut out in a perfect circle. How in the world did Kyna know about this area?


    ¡°Well, I found what I was looking for!¡± I announced.


    ¡°What is this?¡± Yves asked.


    ¡°It is our new training area,¡± I proclaimed. ¡°Look, we can practice the spells here, and we have a slight covering from prying eyes since we are lower. We will not be overtly visible to students who are passing by.¡±


    Cecily added, ¡°I think Ed is on to something. It seems a little unorthodox, but I believe we could be great mages if we follow him.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, Cecily,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Here, let me scratch out our dueling square,¡± Cecily said as she found a stick and outlined two squares in the dirt. She went to the middle of the circle to make the centerline, separating each opponent.


    As Cecily finished creating the dueling square, I went to one side. ¡°Do I have any volunteers for a duel?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ll volunteer for the duel!¡± Yves announced raising her hand and walking toward the dueling square.


    ¡°Awesome!¡± I shouted. I appreciated Yves¡¯ techniques and attention to detail. She always came across as a formidable opponent.


    Yves stood in the square opposite me.¡°Clipeum!¡± I shouted. A blueish-transparent, curved disc appeared over my left arm.


    Edward cast Shield.


    Spell: Shield


    School: Abjuration


    Skill Level: 1st</sup>-Level


    Effect: An invisible force shield that hovers in front of the caster. It negates attacks directed at them. It is formed in the shape of a disk and can ricochet attacks if hit at the correct angle. For a limited time.


    ¡°How did you do that?¡± Yves asked looking perplexed at the spell that I cast.


    ¡°Yves, the magic word to activate this spell is clipeum,¡± I instructed. ¡°The curve will appear wherever your focus is. To make the shield moveable, I made sure to cast it on my arm.¡±


    ¡°Clipeum!¡± Yves shouted and the same blueish-transparent, curved disc appeared on her arm.


    Yves cast Shield.


    ¡°Very good!¡± I commended.


    ¡°I¡¯m ready!¡± Yves announced.


    On that note, I needed to come up with a spell that I want to practice, but will not be too dangerous to try on my friends. As I pondered my first offensive strike, it came to me. I¡¯ve been wanting to try out these gravity spells. I shouted, ¡°Gravitas liqueur diaboli!¡± I concentrated on Yves¡¯ position and modified the glyphs of the runes that appeared before me.


    Edward cast Gravity Snare


    Spell: Gravity Snare


    School: Evocation


    Skill Level: 6th</sup>-Level


    Effect: The weight of the spell pins down and crushes the opponent, anchoring them to the ground. Target takes bludgeoning damage, which can be halved on a successful check.


    As I finished the last syllable of the magic word, I watched Yves collapse to her knees. ¡°Aaaahhh!¡± Yves shouted, her shoulders being pulled to the ground and she was unable to move her arms.


    Walter shouted from the sidelines of the dueling square, ¡°Ed! What in the world did you cast? Undo it this instant!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a gravity spell. It''s intended to slow the opponent down,¡± I explained.


    Yves could not muster any words from where she kneeled. Grunting in pain she breathed, ¡°Ow!¡± I could tell that her struggling meant that she was not getting oxygen through her airway. The gravitational force must be pulling down on her neck as well.


    I couldn¡¯t watch this anymore. It was apparent that Yves was in a great deal of pain. ¡°Oblittero!¡± I shouted as I focused on Yves¡¯ body that was pulled to the ground.


    I was able to cancel the spell, and the gravitational force that pulled Yves downward released her. She flipped over on her back, breathing heavily to catch her breath. I stood at my end of the dueling square, watching her regain her strength. Immediately, she got to her feet and stomped over to me.


    ¡°That was dirty!¡± yelled Yves. ¡°You are a low-down dirty scoundrel. No wonder no one at this school likes you!¡± Yves continued to huff to catch her breath. ¡°I could not even raise my arms!¡±


    Cecily inspected the impression in the dirt where Yves laid while she gave me a piece of her mind. ¡°Hey Yves!¡± Cecily shouted. ¡°Consider yourself lucky!¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah, why?¡± Yves shouted.


    ¡°Luckily this dirt was soft. If it had been any harder, you would have broken your legs,¡± responded Cecily.


    I winced at the sound of that. I didn¡¯t want to break Yves¡¯ legs. Cecily continued, ¡°Yves, take a break. Let me have a crack at him!¡±


    Yves still stared at me. ¡°This is not over,¡± she muttered as she stomped off to the side of the dueling square next to Walter.


    Cecily took her position in the dueling square, opposite me. I felt her eyes piercing through me as she narrowed her focus. ¡°Clipeum!¡± I shouted, activating Shield.


    Edward cast Shield.


    ¡°Clipeum!¡± Cecily shouted, activating hers.


    Cecily cast Shield.


    ¡°Fulgar ignis!¡± I shouted, watching the reddish-orange bolt of fire emerge from my fingertip.


    Edward cast Fire Bolt.


    Cecily instinctively blocked the firebolt with her shield, sending the stream of energy back in my direction.


    While I was distracted, Cecily shouted, ¡°Pruinae fulguri!¡±


    Cecily cast Frost Bolt.


    Spell: Frost Bolt


    School: Evocation


    Skill Level: Cantrip


    Effect: A ball of magical frost is hurled at an opponent within range. The opponent will take cold damage. Can be halved on a successful Constitution check.


    A ball of arctic energy came toward me along with my firebolt that ricocheted off of Cecily¡¯s shield. I held both offensive attacks off with my shield, but the time on my shield was soon to run out.


    Cecily had come quite a long way in her elemental magic and was giving me a run for my money. Catching me off guard as she did also was a little dirty. However, if we wanted to beat the Demon Lord, we were going to need to know how to defend dirty.


    ¡°Excandescunt!¡± I shouted.


    Edward cast Flare.


    Spell: Flare


    School: Evocation


    Skill Level: Cantrip


    Effect: A burst of light causes opponents to be dazed and temporarily blinded by the flash of light.


    A flash of light came from my palms, piercing my eyes. As I covered mine to protect them I saw Cecily having to shield her eyes from the flash with her arms. Now was my chance!


    I focused inward and pleased as much energy as I could to subdue Cecily.


    Edward silent cast Fire Bolt, Frost Bolt, and Dark Sphere.


    Spell: Dark Sphere


    School: Evocation


    Skill Level: 8th</sup>-Level


    Effect: Caster summons an orb of darkness that deals damage to anyone caught in its confines. This spell utilizes the absence of matter and energy to create its power. The absence of energy and matter is just as powerful as those type of spells rendering dark-elemental damage on those who are within range, exploding upon impact. The damage can be seen by inky-black blotches where the absence of energy occurred in an opponent and the surrounding area.


    First, I cast a Fire Bolt to render quick damage to Cecily while she shielded her eyes from the Flare spell. The Fire Bolt mostly hit her Shield, however, time should be running out for that spell.


    Then I hurled the Frost Bolt at Cecily, sending the arctic energy over to her. She would never expect that. Not to mention her Shield shout be occupied with the Fire Bolt, this Frost Bolt should render cold damage like she never experienced before.


    Finally, I needed to practice a new spell. One that I had only been visioning and formulating in my spellbook, but never had materialized until now. Dark Sphere. I grew an orb of black and purple anti-energy between my palms. Summoning the antithesis of matter, I felt the emptiness of the ball between my hands grow with power. The strange thing is, the absence of energy is just as powerful as energy itself. This spell reminded me of my high school physics class in my former life. Good thing I was a science nerd and could borrow my previous education and experiences for this incarnation. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t be able to come up with half of these spells I¡¯ve conjured.


    I hurled the dark, purplish sphere toward Cecily and waited with anticipation. I could not wait to find out what this spell does, and I was thrilled that my friends decided to support me with trying out different schools of magic. I could not wait to try other spells on them, especially Walter¡ª


    Yves let out a bloodcurdling scream. ¡°Ed! What in the world did do?¡± Yves yelled.


    ¡°Oblittero!¡± I shouted, not able to see anything beyond the orb that moved toward Cecily. I heard the two bolts hit Cecily, and was eager to find out what the Dark Sphere exactly did, but Yves¡¯ screams sparked me to rethink my offensive plan.


    After I shouted the magical words to cancel the Dark Sphere, I became astonished by the sight. Inky blackness covered the entire square. The sight looked like tar, spread all over the dueling grounds. As I took a moment to study my surroundings, I found Cecily flat on her back, unconscious.


    As I moved over to Cecily to make sure she was all right, Yves and Walter were already there tending to her. ¡°Cecily! Are you OK?¡± I shouted, panicked that I hurt her. Goodness, what was I thinking?


    Her eyes slightly separated as she came to, ¡°Ed! How did you do that?¡± Cecily asked.


    ¡°Oh? Glad to see you are all right. Goodness, I was not sure what got into me,¡± I replied, relieved that she was going to be just fine.


    ¡°I¡¯m serious,¡± Cecily continued, lifting her head. ¡°How did you do all of that? And so fast? I did not even hear you announce the spells.¡±


    ¡°Oh, right.¡± I was just relieved that she was all right, still calming down from the slight panic that I had killed her. ¡°Let me teach you the activation words for the Flare and Dark Sphere spells,¡± I said, getting my wits about me again.


    ¡°The activation word for Flare is Excandescunt. The magic word for Dark Sphere is sphere tenebris,¡± I explained. I realized that the more spells my friends knew, the better off we would be when we faced the Demon Lord once again. Plus, I was more confident in their abilities to perform these spells. These guys were doing quite well with their magical abilities.


    ¡°And how did you perform these spells without the activation words?¡± Yves asked.


    I could not tell them about the new ability that I had from the figure in the mirror. To cover myself I replied, ¡°I said the words. I just don¡¯t think you heard me.¡±


    ¡°Oh, OK¡­¡± Walter replied. ¡°Weird. I was watching you the entire time. I didn¡¯t even see your mouth move.¡±


    ¡°It did. Perhaps you were blinded from the Flare?¡± I hastily retreated but astonished at my cleverness to keep coming up with these lines.


    ¡°Perhaps,¡± he said while he shrugged.


    Walter took a moment and glanced around at the circular depression that we were practicing in. ¡°Gees, this does not look good,¡± he stated. He had a point. The ground was scared with large pieces missing all around. Other parts of the ground looked like they had been scorched.


    Yves affirmed, ¡°Right! This ground is very soft. There are scares all around. It looks like an absolute mess.¡±


    They were right. ¡°We may want to build something permanent in this spot. I would hate to catch the school on fire accidentally. We just rebuilt Draererth. I¡¯d hate to destroy it again,¡± I suggested.


    ¡°Great idea!¡± Cecily shouted she was now getting to her feet. ¡°Ed, ask the headmaster for permission.¡±


    ¡°Well, why can¡¯t you ask?¡± I retorted.


    ¡°I¡¯ve already asked for a larger library wing. I surely can¡¯t ask for a structure to house our illegal dueling practice now, can I?¡± Cecily replied.


    I was not certain if I believed her. As I thought about it more, I felt Cecily was telling a lie, but figured it was not worth arguing about. ¡°All right!¡± I shouted as I sprung into action. ¡°I will go ask Headmaster Wavernjack for a building for our dueling practice!¡± I climbed up out of the depression in the gourd and made my way to the headmaster¡¯s office.


    After running across campus, I found myself at Wavernjack¡¯s office. Knocking on the closed door, I was surprised to see the handle engage and Headmaster Wavernjack opened it. ¡°Edward!¡± Wavernjack shouted. ¡°What brings you by? Everything fine with your classes?¡±


    I took a moment and realized I did not want to go into the issues with my instructors and classmates. I replied, ¡°Yes, everything is just dandy!¡±


    ¡°Well, good. Come on in. Have a seat,¡± welcomed Headmaster Wavernjack as he pointed to two leather sofa chairs that were set opposite his mahogany desk. He moved back to his seat behind his desk. ¡°What can I do for you?¡± Wavernjack asked, peering over his spectacles.


    Not precisely knowing where to begin, I started, ¡°The private dueling rooms haven¡¯t been rebuilt yet.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡± Wavernjack nodded in agreement. ¡°Ed, I hate to interrupt. I am extremely busy at the moment. Could you get to the point¡±


    ¡°All right. I would like your permission to build a private dueling room on the northwest part of the school, out there by the barrier,¡± I explained.


    ¡°I really don¡¯t have the resources to do that at this time,¡± explained the headmaster.


    ¡°That is fine. Walter, Yves, Cecily, and I are willing to do all of the work. I¡¯m only asking for your permission to embark on such an endeavor,¡± I reiterated.


    ¡°Ah! I see. That is fine as long as you and your friends do all of the work.¡± Wavernjack hesitated and looked over his spectacles at me again. ¡°You cannot spend any money to build anything professionally, but since the land is not being used, I don¡¯t see how it could hurt.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± I shouted, surprised at how easy it was to talk the headmaster into my plan.


    As I got up to leave, Wavernjack said, ¡°I will need to inspect your structure when you are done. You know, to make sure that it is safe. I wouldn¡¯t want any accidents happening on Draererth¡¯s property.¡±


    ¡°Right!¡± I replied. ¡°Thank you! I will let you. Know when it is ready to be inspected.¡± I left, on my way back to my friends to tell them the good news.