[Brightshadows] Forcing Your Way [Intiate Sorcery - Selfmod]

[Vanderlou]

Timestamp: 1st Cycle of Cryxatum, Summer of Era II of the Celestine Mandate, Era XIV Post Fractum.


Rodrin Runbarth was absentmindedly rubbing his beard when one of his adepts came to him with the unmistakable expression of fear and hesitation marking her face. The dwarf found it strange for a student to give him that look, he wasn’t like Teriah, the Elementalist Master who was infamous for her sharp tongue nor did he share the same uncaring attitude of his fellow Sorcery Master Veerlin. If anything the dwarf was loved by his students for his humorous, but often in-depth lectures on the craft so it was with great interest and concern when he asked the girl. “What’s the problem?” he made sure to smile at the girl to dispel her hesitation.

“Master Prielle asked me to hand you this letter.”

The adept reluctantly handed him the small ebony envelope. Rodrin stared at the envelope and an eyebrow arched in suspicion. Veerlin was as far as he could remember, introverted. Why would she send him a letter now? For her to send a letter to him must have meant that she was either in a bind or it involved work of some sort. He wanted to simply pretend he never received the letter but that was probably why the Mousai had sent her student to do the dirty work for her. Since he couldn’t just push this matter aside and risk having the adept receive a scolding the dwarf decided to get it over as quickly as possible.

With a simple wave of the hand the envelope opened by itself and the letter inside unfolded itself in front of him. There were two parchments inside the envelope, the first was a formal letter that would transfer a new enrollee under his care and the second the reason why this soon-to-be initiate was being transferred under his care. Simply put, it looked like Veerline was trying to sneak her way out of extra duties this cycle and it annoyed Rodrin to no end.

“Tell Veerlin I received her letter and that I…” he rubbed his beard once more as a shadow of a doubt crossing his face. “Accept her request.”

The adept muttered a few choice words and curtsied before disappearing in a flash of bright light.

[Vanderlou]

Vanderlou Windsborough entered the room of Rodrin Runbarth with a confused look on his face. He was sure he had gotten the right room number, but if that were the case then what was this dwarf doing here? Having associated dwarves with fighters and masons it was something of a surprise for him to find one sitting on the teacher’s chair in wizard’s robes no less. However, since nobody else was around and dwarves were hardly the kind of people to horse around it was evidently clear that this dwarf had to be no other than…

“Sir Rodrin Runbarth?” the part-time janitor piped.

The dwarf nodded sagely, his hands gesturing him to take a seat. With some reluctance the half-elf sat on the chair closest to the teacher’s desk and made himself as comfortable as he could in it.

“Windsborough I presume?” the dwarf asked, his green eyes searching the half-elf’s face for any trace of a lie.

Vanderlou nodded, all the while keeping his back straight and chin up. The dwarf noted the somewhat overly tense posture of the boy and chuckled loudly. “Boy, this is a mage academy not a military school, you don’t have to be so tense.” The dwarf rested his cheek on a closed fist, his eyes still watching Vanderlou with a twinkle of mirth. “You don’t even look like you want to be in this class, what have you heard about me?”

The half-elf relaxed in his seat as he allowed an audible sigh of relief to escape his lips. “Nothing but good things sir Runbarth, it’s just that you see… I didn’t actually know what to expect. I don’t know anything about arcana besides the name and its application.”

“Understandable, most people tend to know next to nothing about arcana and those that say they do often don’t even know what they’re talking about. So, before we get started school tradition demands that I ask you this question – why Arcana, and why choose Sorcery?”

“I didn’t choose to study Arcana sir, I kind of… had to.”

The dwarf blinked, the expression on his changed from amiable smile to a disgusted scowl and he stared at the boy as if he were and idiot. And considering what the boy had just said, Rodrin felt that the boy probably was one.

“Had to?” The dwarf stood up from his chair and slammed a heavy hand on the table. If there was anything Rodrin hated, it were those people who couldn’t decide anything for themselves. “Are you one of those children whose parents think that their child should know arcana just so they could brag about it? If that’s the case get out of my class, I’m a busy dwarf and I have other things to take care of.”

“But sir…”

The dwarf started picking up his textbooks, his nostrils flaring as he slowly made his way to the door with an angry edge in his gait. He turned around and saw the boy still sitting in his chair with sweat trickling down his temple. Perhaps the boy would be scolded for what he did, sure Rodrin pitied the boy but letting him off now would do him more good than bad. “Well, what are you waiting for? If you’re thinking about the money you can go get a refund of your tuition, you can just tell your parents that I couldn’t unbind you.”

The half-elf seemed to be thinking over something important as to the fact that his brow was forming an unattractive crease. “Sir… I’m not being forced into this by anyone, I’m doing this because I want to go back to my old life and live in peace.”

Rodrin raised and eyebrow at that statement. It was strange, not just strange what did the boy mean by ‘had to do it to go back to my old life’. It made no sense, then why is he learning magic if he wanted to go back to his old life?

“I’m not really following you boy but I’ll give you a chance to explain.” the dwarf approached the half-elf and pulled a chair in front of him. Staring at the boy face to face, he could almost see the boy trembling.

“So, are you going to start talking or are we just going to stare at each other boy.”

The half-elf looked up at Rodrin, wondering how close the dwarf was to sending him out the room. Vanderlou cleared his throat and began to explain, speaking in hushed tones. “It was some brightenings ago,” he began. “I was washing dishes when I first became aware of it – that I could use magic.”

Magic? He was unbound? Rodrin’s eyes lit up in morbid curiosity. But casting a spell without impartation wasn’t possible – or was it? Perhaps the adept that had unbound him was too inexperienced that the impartation went haywire... but still, the boy shouldn't be able to even gather mana to produce spells outside of Clara.

"Did a mage unbind you boy?"

Vanderlou shook his head softly. "I had never met a mage, well, I've seen them but the first one I was able to talk to was a student here - at least I think she was."

Rodrin closed his eyes and pondered. Perhaps it had been done while he was asleep. As far as the dwarf was concerned it was an impossibility to naturally become unbound. He would look into that possibility later, but for now he needed to hear more. "Anyway, you were saying?"

“Oh.. Yes... I realized that if I was angry enough, or scared enough I could break things. Small things sir, nothing really big but… I was afraid, you see ever since then I had this dream.” Vanderlou swallowed hard, his face becoming pale. “Everything I tried to touch would just shatter. It didn’t matter if it were plates, pans, bricks or… people. Everything would break and in the end I would always be alone – all by myself.”

Rodrin suddenly snapped his fingers, a small vase that was on his desk disappearing and appearing in his hands in a flash of bright light. “Demonstrate.” the dwarf handed the boy the small flower vase as he allowed himself to slip into clara.

“Sir?”

“I need to see it with my own two eyes.” Rodrin said, egging the boy on.

The half-elf reluctantly took the vase into his hands, staring at it as if it were something precious. “Are you sure sir? This looks mighty expensive.”

“Hardly,” he lied, Rodrin would just put it on his tab, right now he was more concerned about what the half-elf had told him. “Now go ahead, I want you do try breaking it.”

Vanderlou looked at the vase, he stared at it long and hard. So long and hard in fact, that even the patient Rodrin couldn’t wait any longer. “That was some stunt you pulled off boy, almost had me believing you.”

The boy for the first time looked at him straight into the eye.“I’m telling the truth sir.”

“I’ve wasted enough time with you,” the dwarf reached out to take the vase from the boy, and exasperated sigh escaping his beard. “Off you go.”

“I’m not lying!” the boy snapped back, his vagaran blood adding to his temper.

“That’s what they all say.” The dwarf began trying to pry the vase from the boy’s grip but the half-elf wouldn’t let go. “Give me the vase boy!”

“No!”

And then it happened, the dwarf wasn’t able to see it all too well but there it was. A small explosion of Vis and Ara, enough to break the weaves of vis that held together the plate’s existence. The sharp sound of the broken pieces of ceramics that fell to the floor in dull empty thuds and the dwarf stared at the boy mouth agape.

“You…” the dwarf leaned closer to the boy placing a hand on his shoulder. “You better not tell anyone else about this, understood – nobody.”

“Some people already know sir.”

The dwarf’s eyes narrowed into slits. “Then ask them to keep it secret, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with you but I haven’t seen a case like this in all my ordinations.”

Vanderlou nodded. “Yes sir...”

The expression on the dwarf’s face relaxed and he finally smiled at the boy. “Now that we’ve put that matter aside should we get started with the lesson proper?” the dwarf was grinning now, his eyes betraying his excitement at teaching such an interesting student.

Swallowing hard, the half-elf returned the man’s smile and was finally able to say. “Yes, I’m ready sir.”

[Vanderlou]

The dwarf was now in his teacher’s chair, lazily rubbing his beard when he spoke. “First thing’s first, before anything else I’d like to know what you intend to do with the knowledge I’ll impart with you.”

The half-elf brought the tip of his tongue to his lips, biting it as he thought about the answer he would give the master sorcerer. “Well, I never really thought that far ahead master Rodrin, I only ever wanted to learn enough so that I wouldn’t be a liability at the place where I used to work in.” It was surprising when Vanderlou found himself smiling to the idea of using sorcery for more selfish reasons. “Now that you mention it though, I could use sorcery to make my job easier. I could call things to me instead of going all the way to the closet like you did with that vase, I imagine that’d make my work that much easier.”

The dwarf chuckled, his green eyes becoming misty with tears of mirth. “Forgive me boy, but you made my brightening with that simple statement. I had only once met a student who actually thought of applying sorcery in everyday tasks, the others were too busy with plans of grandeur that they couldn’t see the more practical applications of sorcery. Now, by any chance do you know anything about arcanomechanics? Ara, Vis the Astral Plane? Does any of these ring a bell?”

Vanderlou shook his head though he was leaning forward and he obviously wanted to know. Rodrin was feeling more at ease with this student already, the half-elf was essentially a blank slate. It would be far easier to teach him than someone who believed they knew everything about arcana already.

“We’ll get with the basics, I’d like you to simply accept everything I say. If you hear something you have objections about I’d much prefer you put your questions aside until later.” The dwarf clasped his hands together. “Do I make myself clear Mr.Windsborough?”

Vanderlou nodded in assent. The dwarf had been extremely kind with him and he didn’t want to get on Rodrin’s bad side anytime in the future.

“Good, now I’ll start with this simple truth, something you must always remember. Everything is made up of essences. This building, that chair you are sitting on, the birds outside the window and even you Mr.Windsborough consist of an enumerable number essences. This is an immutable truth, a law of nature, a truth as real as time itself – do I make myself clear?” Rodrin watched his student nod weakly and he continued his spiel. “Now, nothing on Telath is made of pure essence, the chair you are sitting on may be made primarily out of ‘wood’ essence but it is not made entirely out of that single essence alone, there are a number of other small different variants of other essences that make it up. Now, this collection of different essences make up an object is the object’s Vis. Vis being the component essences of an object. Basically, Vis is essence with purpose. So what have we learned so far Mr.Windsborough?”

The half elf nodded out of habit and began speaking. “That everything is made up of essences and those essences that form something as a collective is known as Vis.”

“Exactly! Now I will explain the concept of Ara. As I have told you earlier there are an infinite number of essences that flow through Telath. Know that not all essences form something. In fact the most abundant form of essence, which is Ara, is essence without form. It is an essence that is so unstable and so unorganized that it’s almost insubstantial. However Ara is still an integral component to spell-casting – like air, its there, formless but that fact doesn’t make it any less important than Vis.”

“So why all the talk about Vis and Ara you may wonder? You see, people whose minds are unbound are able to perceive essences once you reach a state of Clara, clarity. In this state, in addition to the five senses you start to perceive essences as well. Now, I will only be testing you, but why do you think a mage must mediate before he can reach Clara?” A lazy smile crept upon Rodrin’s face as he watched the boy think.

“I think… perceiving essence is like trying to listen to listen to a particular instrument even though you’re listening to an orchestra. It takes time to single out what you want to hear because the other sounds are flooding your senses.”

“Close enough… though not quite. Regardless, since you’ll be experiencing it in a little while I don’t think I have to describe it for you in detail. After all, things like magic are best left to be experienced than explained.” The dwarf beamed at the boy, that half-elf was taking in everything like a sponge. Perhaps he would take the boy under his wing in the future. Then again it was too early to tell if the boy was indeed talented or not but it was clear that he was taking a liking to the young lad. “Moving on. Once you are in Clara and because you can perceive essences it then becomes possible to manipulate them through the use of your own internal Vis. By combining your Vis with the existing Ara in the environment a reaction occurs, this merging of Vis and Ara creates an Arcalysis.”

“When Arcalysis occurs you will first notice two things, that you have lost touch with the physical world and that you will find yourself in a different place altogether. You will find yourself floating in the Astral Plane. I cannot really tell you what the Astral Plane is like because the plane varies in appearance from person to person, I see it as a collection of stars while a friend of mine claims that the Astral Plane is a valley of music… how she hears a valley I don’t comprehend but nevertheless, the general consensus among magi is that while Arcalysis occurs, time stops for the mage. In my opinion it is the exact opposite, for as long as you’re in the Astral Plane time flows at an unprecedented rate and it is because of that speed that it seems as if time has stopped for you when Arcalysis ends.”

The dwarf began rubbing his beard once more, Vanderlou was still listening to him but it seemed as if the boy was digesting the newfound knowledge a little longer than expected. “Am I going to quickly for you boy?”

“Not at all master, it’s just that all this information is new to me and… well… I can hardly believe everything you say-“ then realization at what he just uttered came to him and he quickly took back his words. “But I do believe you sir, don’t get me wrong.”

“Try speaking your mind more often, you may not realize it but there are much more people who would listen to your thoughts than you think.” The dwarf was actually getting bored of the lecture, but it was essential to continue on explaining the theories to the boy, otherwise he wouldn’t be able to get anywhere at all.

Clearing his throat the dwarf began to speak once more. “Anyway, getting back to the lesson proper. We were talking about Arcalysis, but what use does it actually serve for us? You see, while in the Astral Plane we are given the liberty to attune yourself to a planes of existence – at least normally. However some people seem predisposed towards a sphere of magic, yours which is obviously sorcery.” Rodrin paused and started thinking about the boy’s natural affinity towards the sphere then just as quickly dismissed his thoughts. He was here to teach, he could worry about the details later.

“Once you’ve been able to focus on that plane you can then start to draw power from it, this process is called channeling. Of course there is a limit to how much power a mage can draw from his Essence Plane. This limit is determined by how much combined Vis and Ara he accumulated before going into Arcalysis. With practice your Vis should grow and so will the amount of Ara you can gather in one go.”

Vanderlou was slowly but surely growing engrossed in the discussion. As boring as theories sounded to the master sorcerer the half-elf was already becoming excited at the prospect of trying it. Curiosity of wanting to know how it would feel to be in the Astral Plane began gnawing at his consciousness and so, he listened more intently to the dwarf than he ever did before.

“We’re almost at the end so bear with me boy. Once you’ve drawn enough, or as much essence from your essence plane you will break off the connection with the Astral Plane and find yourself back in the Material Plane. However, this time instead of Vis you will find yourself filled with Mana, that is what becomes of the energy you would have siphoned off the Plane of Force and it is essentially what will serve as fuel for your spell-casting.”

“Using the Mana you have gathered you will now be able to shape spells with it. There are five methods involved in the process of Spell-Shaping however it would be much too complex for any initiate to handle those and the discussion involving the theories around them would take me the entire brightening so we’ll save that for when you reach adept – if you ever do. I will be imparting a few spells into your mind for you and you should be able to cast those without even knowing how.”

Vanderlou nodded, and then he looked up at Rodrin hesitating for a moment before he spoke. “So imparted spells are like… muscle memory?”

“Precisely! You will be able to cast spells even though you don’t know how, or with little thought on your part. Now, the final phase of Spell-Casting is the actual execution of the spell. Once you have shaped the spell, you simply have to release it and theoretically, it should work as you will it. The problem however is theory doesn’t always work in practice so it would be well and good if you were to become incredibly familiar with Spell-Casting and Spell Execution, only then will you start getting results.” the dwarf stopped speaking and closed his eyes, his breathing slowing down to a slow but steady rhythm.

“Master?”

“Stay seated, you’re much to tall for me to reach your head if you don’t stay seated. “ the dwarf told him in a strict, almost commanding tone. Vanderlou did as he was asked and Rodrin suddenly stood up from his chair. Without uttering a word he approached Vanderlou until he had his right hand gripping the boy by the forehead.

“Uh… Master Rodrin?” to say the half-elf was worried would be an understatement. He had broken into a cold sweat. What was the master sorcerer about to do to him?

“In case you still haven’t gotten it I am about to impart spells into your mind, now try to keep all irrelevant thoughts free from your mind. Focus on the new thoughts that will be flashing into your mind and don’t resist them if you can.” said the dwarf in serious tones. “Ready?”

Vanderlou thought about the reason why he had come here, he thought about Coral and all his hesitations disappeared almost instantaneously. “I’m ready sir.” He said with more conviction than he may have wanted to get across.

The dwarf nodded and then in a single instant it happened. Magic flowed into his mind, at first it felt like he was remembering old memories but then pain exploded into his head. Vanderlou felt as if circuits were being bored into his head, conduits of power carving themselves into his memory, burning, inscribing instructions into his subconscious and then when all he had to know had been imparted, the pain subsided.

Vanderlou blinked, for some reason he had been expecting more. “That’s it…? It’s over?”

The dwarf opened his eyes and removed his hands from the half-elf’s forehead. After popping his knuckles he stared at the would-be-sorcerer with a mischievous grin on his face. “No my boy, that is only the beginning,”

[Vanderlou]

The words the dwarf had spoken ignited a flame inside of him. The half-elf couldn’t stay idle anymore. Knowing that he could now cast magic had given him a feeling of elation and the urge to try out his newfound gifts. Vanderlou felt like a boy who had been given a present on his birthbrightening, which ironically wasn’t far from the truth.

“So can I try it?”

“Spell-Casting?” Rodrin certainly liked enthusiasm in his students but he found the half-elf’s desire to move on a little to aggressive. Still, he had free time to spare, the boy was already unbound after all.

“Yes!”

“If you can reach Clara first.” The dwarf told him with a smug expression on his face. It was unlikely that the boy would succeed anyway. Vanderlou was far too excited to reach clara, at least that was how the dwarf saw it. Rodrin returned to his desk and pulled out a thick leather-bound notebook from his drawer. He decided that he would let the boy waste his time while he went over the grades of his students for a third time that brightening.

Rodrin watched Vanderlou stand up and move to an empty spot on the floor, the half-elf was obviously making himself comfortable and in no time he was sitting with his legs folded underneath him. The boy’s face was a mask of determination and excitement and it was funny how the boy tried his hardest not to move.

“Kids these days,” the dwarf muttered under his breath as he started flipping over the pages of his notebook. Minutes passed and he was just about to stand up when he noticed the half-elf opening his eyes with an awe-stricken expression on his face.

A stupefied look crossed Rodrin’s face. How long had it been? Several minutes at most? It wasn’t unheard of but getting into Clara this quickly on his first try no less? Was the boy some kind of prodigy or had he done this before? The dwarf quickly moved to where the boy was sitting, kneeling beside the half-elf he asked the boy if he was in Clara. The boy nodded softly with a wide-eyed expression on his face. Vanderlou looked almost as if he had seen the world for the first time.

Then again that approximation probably wasn’t that far off.

“Beautiful isn’t it?” the master sorcerer chuckled.

[Vanderlou]

When Vanderlou opened his eyes it was as if the world had become that much brighter. Everything was shimmering, sparkling with essence. Threads of interweaving silver, gold, bronze, crimson and so many other colors of every spectrum were flowing through everything around him. He turned his head around and he could see beads of energy traveling through these threads and when he extended a hand towards it a sweet sound emerged from where his hand met Ara.

“This is… its beautiful master, it really is.” he muttered these words softly, reverently.

“Ha! This is nothing boy, you haven’t seen the Astral Plane yet.” The dwarf said fully comprehending the half-elf’s sheer awe. “Now try gathering the Ara towards you, it will be like breathing it in. Don’t force it. You might fall out of Clara.”

Vanderlou nodded and did just that. He closed his eyes once more and exhaled a breath he hadn’t noticed he had been keeping. After clearing his mind of thoughts he opened his eyes again and took in a deep breath. As he did this he willed the Ara around him to come closer. At first the beads of energy where unresponsive, only shivering and stopping momentarily at most, but after a few more minutes a few of the beads of light were able to escape from their course across the threads and those that did floated slowly to him where his Vis seemed to consume them.

“Is this how it’s supposed to work out master?”

“Yes, now just keep at it - steady as she goes.” the dwarf was also in Clara now. Rodrin could see Ara, stars of every hue and color revolving around the boy in a slow spiral.

Vanderlou did just that, he kept gathering Ara towards him and by the time he had finished there was a considerable number of beads of light buzzing around him in a spiral of bright light. “I think this is my limit master.”

The sorcerer grinned and waved a hand in front of the initiate as if to say goodbye. “Well then, I’ll be seeing you in a few.”

Vanderlou closed his eyes and then he willed the Ara to crash into his Vis, the result was simple, the result was Aracalysis.

The next time the half-elf opened his eyes it was as if the universe were unfolding itself around him. A little off into the horizon, a birth of a star, behind him clouds of opposing energy clashing, to his right was an explosion of energy, bright and beautiful occurring in the distance. Above him, a surge of pure force passed through the heavens, the arcs of lightning igniting the skies and a countless number of stars began burning brighter and then flashes of even brighter light drew his attention from below.

Vanderlou watched in fascination as the power of the explosions beneath his made him shiver in excitement. When he looked above he was no longer in the Astral Plane. Around him he could sense it. It was all to clear, painfully clear.

“Force.” he said, his voice run loud and clear.

He stared at the vast star-lit sky, the crystalline floor that was both colorless and rainbow-hued and then it started raining fire that was not fire. Extending a hand into the sky, the bright droplets of energy would disappear before actually touching him.

He then remembered what he was here for. Extending his right hand forward, he opened his palms and without warning, pillars of cool thunder came crashing into him in violent waves. It was surreal however, he felt no pain, only excitement, adrenaline was surging through his body and he could feel the power flowing from his open hand and into his frame.

“That’s a fair amount of Mana you have there boy.”

When he heard that voice Vanderlou found himself sitting in Rodrin’s room, only this time he felt different. The sensation of power flowing within his body was still there. The half-elf opened his right hand and saw beads of energy running through his veins in rapid succession

“Try casting a spell, anything will do.” It was clear that Rodrin wanted to see just how much potential his student had. Perhaps the boy had the makings of a great mage.

Vanderlou closed his eyes once more. Sifted through his mind the half-elf and found what he wanted, there in the recess of his mind was the concept, the means of casting the simplest of spells. Force Bolt.

Extending his hands forward Vanderlou clenched his fist and opened it, he could feel the energy collecting in his palm and he couldn’t help but smile in spite of himself. Vanderlou gathered more power, not content he forced more and more and then he felt that something had gone wrong. His mind wasn’t working with him, for some reason he felt as if he had done something wrong but dismissed the feeling. He concluded that he hadn’t given the spell enough Mana to work.

“Boy, hold it, stop right there!”

Vanderlou couldn’t hear the professor though, and he didn’t even know how to stop. He panicked and in an effort to get the spell through he forced more power into the Force Bolt. The result was instead of being able to properly release the spell the Force Bolt exploded from his hand pre-maturely.

Vanderlou blinked, his right arm hand gone momentarily numb but the dwarf was massaging life back into it. “I’m sorry sir… I just couldn’t stop it.” he said this pathetically, his voice apologetic.

Rodrin grunted and pinched the half-elf by the ear when he was sure that the boy was alright. “Couldn’t you hear me? Had that spell actually had more power there would have been some real damage.”

The half-elf winced in pain as the dwarf continued to twist his ear. “I’m sorry sir! It won’t happen again.”

"Better not, I won't be responsible if anything happens to you.” The dwarf spat. It was a bad call letting the boy have a crack at magic on his first day. Well, maybe it wasn't a total disaster. The dwarf was able to notice that the boy was extremely bad at spell-shaping.

“You're dismissed for today, ill see you at noon tomorrow.”

[Vanderlou]

The next brightening met Vanderlou with a stack of leather-bound books on his desk and Rodrin smiling ruefully behind them. “You do know how to read I take it?” he said, his tone jovial.

Vanderlou groaned a bit. He had heard rumors about Rodrin being a bookworm but to force his students to read books seemed a little too much. Not wanting to be rude the initiate forced a smile.

“A little sir.” he admitted.

As far as schooling was concerned the boy had little, true he did know how to read – but only because his mother had insisted he learn. The witch had a small library in the hovel he had grown up it, of course while more than half of them were dedicated to cooking and finer cuisine there had been others he had been marginally interested in. None of them were vaguely related to arcane however.

“You’ll come to love reading Mr.Windsborough. You’ll find that most of our students do.” Rodrin gave the half-elf a momentary glance before a grim smile made itself present on his lips. “The ones that last long enough anyway.”

The statement made Vanderlou somewhat nervous. Was reading a necessary part of the craft? Hadn’t he been able to cast a spell even without having to refer to text? He wanted to ask the master if he could possibly avoid reading books but the dwarf was already at his desk doing paperwork. It always amazed the half-elf how quickly the dwarf moved, perhaps Rodrin was teleporting during the moments he wasn’t looking at a dwarf, but it seemed highly unlikely that a master would show off like that – or was it truly that easy to casts spells at that level.

The half-elf looked at the stack of books on the table and sorted through them. He felt that it would be rude to leave the books that the master had given him so he decided to at least try reading one of the books he was given. He found the thinnest tone of the lot and brought it under the sunlight coming in from the windows.

“An Introductory Treatise on Sorcery.” he read the title out softy, his hands tracing the letters that had been embedded into the leather cover. The half-elf yawned and rested his chin on the palm of his right hand, the other lazily flipping the pages for him. His eyes followed the text with a languid gaze stopping only to admire a beautifully drawn picture that appeared every ten pages or so.

Unbeknownst to the half-elf the master sorcerer was looking at him. It was a pretty normal reaction he supposed, the boy appeared to have no background that indicated further than basic education and he wasn’t even sure of the boy’s heritage, had there been magi in his family before him? Unlikely, if there were he would have known something of arcana.

“I haven’t really asked you, but are you gemblooded by any chance?” the dwarf asked the question without looking up from the forms he was filling. In fact, Rodrin was still ruthlessly writing with impressive speed and acumen that Vanderlou had to wonder if the dwarf was using magic.

“Gemblooded sir?”

“Do your parents use magic? Does someone in the family use magic?” the dwarf asked him.

“Mother was a witch.” the half-elf spoke those words without hesitation. Much to his chagrin the Rodrin was now eyeing him as if he had said something he shouldn’t have.

“A witch?” the dwarf’s eyebrow arched as he gave the half-elf a scrutinizing gaze. “And what does she do?”

“She was a baker, but she’s also an herbalist of sorts.” Vanderlou flipped through the pages of the book once more, having read a little bit of arcanomechanics.

“I see.” the dwarf finally stopped writing. With a contented smile he closed his notebook and sighed. “Anyway, I’m actually not going to teach you anything this brightening Mr.Windsborough, instead I expect you to read all those books and practice getting into Clara, ill be seeing you here same time tomorrow. That is all, you may go.”

With that, the dwarf disappeared in a flash of light. The half-elf stared at the empty chair where Rodrin had been, his face a picture of pure confusion.

[Vanderlou]

When the half-elf stepped into the classroom he was mildly surprised to find some of the chairs occupied. He was well aware that he wouldn’t get special treatment for much longer but he didn’t feel confident among other students. The half-elf was somehow hoping that Rodrin would continue their one-on-one lessons for a few more brightenings but it seemed as if the master placed much more confidence in him than he had believed.

Of course there was always the possibility that he wasn’t worth all that time and effort and it was he who was overestimating himself. Vanderlou heart sank at the thought and the more he thought about it, the closer to the truth it seemed to be. He had only begun to like magic and unlike most of the students he had met, he only had interest in the craft – not love bordering on obsession.

His train of thought was abruptly shattered when a blonde-haired girl in yellow robes slammed into his back so hard that he almost tripped unto the floor face-first. The boy gingerly turned around, expecting to receive in apology. Instead what greeted him were a pair of green eyes that were glaring at him accusingly.

“Apologize.” she said, her voice condescending and sharp.

Vanderlou blinked, his face now a picture of incredulity. Were all girls in Brightshadows as unreasonable as this one? He was the victim and he was just not about to apologize for doing nothing wrong. “Shouldn’t you be the one apologizing? Miss.” the words slipped out of his lips without a trace of warmth, and for the first time in his life, he was talking to a pretty girl without a smile on his face.

The girl’s eyebrow arched upwards as she prodded a finger repeatedly on the half-elf’s chest all the while telling him to. “Apologize, or else.”

Vanderlou crossed his arms, and turned his back on her. He was expecting a short string of expletives to roll of her tongue, and that would have happened had a sound not unlike that of a whip slapping stone and a flash of bright light stopped the human girl in her tracks.

“Sorry I’m late, Had… business to take care of.” Rodrin Runbarth was clearly short of breath, his robes were soaking wet and the hem of his robes were clearly burnt. Vanderlou wondered what the master sorcerer had been doing, but it didn’t look like the dwarf was going to tell them about it.

“Don’t mind my clothes, they’ll dry up in no time…” Rodrin was squeezing his beard, trying to milk out the water still clinging to his hair.

“So, lets not waste the brightening ill get right to the lessons.” the dwarf began rubbing his chin, he eyes scanned the room and he sighed. “Some of you don't seem to have your books...”

"Nevermind then, we'll tackle the technical aspects the next time then." the dwarf snapped his fingers, appearing beside him was a wooden chest with a big iron lock. "Best you experience magic firsthand, you'll learn things you wouldn't learn from books that way." With a simple gesture of his hand the lock opened by itself and he opened the chest to reveal numerous glass spheres containing a glowing wispy substance that gave off a weak purple light. Rodrin pulled out one of the glass orbs and held it in his hand.

The dwarf gave the glass a gentle squeeze and tossed the orb into the air catching it in the other hand just before it started falling. “I expect everyone here is well versed on the fundamentals of sorcery? All of you had last night to read the books I lent you after all.”

Vanderlou swallowed hard. He hadn't, hopefully the dwarf wouldn't ask him any questions.

“Today we’re going to perform three of the elementary spells mentioned in the book. Ideally, by the end of the cycle you’ll have mastered all the fundamental spells or at the very least be able to cast them.”

“This sphere here,” he lifted up the glowing orb into the light, the shiny flawless surface reflecting off a bit of sunlight. “This will be your goal for today. Using the Open and Lock spells respectively, all of you will need to get yourself one of these orbs for yourself.”

Rodrin approached his desk and lifted the heavy looking black leather-bound notebook lying there. As the dwarf began flipping through the pages, his fingers skimmed across the pages until he found what he was looking for. “Ah… Lady Meagan… Hmm, I see you’re from a long line of mages.”

The pretty girl who had bumped into Vanderlou was beaming now, her face lit up with an expression of pride stained with an arrogant grin. “Yes, I am sir.”

“Then I suppose you can perform the ‘Open’ spell for your classmates?” Rodrin suggested, though it was obvious he really wanted the girl to demonstrate for him.

“I…” the girl hesitated for a moment, though he pride wouldn't let her say anything other than... “Yes sir.”

“Try opening this lock then.” the dwarf said, tapping the lock on the chest he brought with him. “The mechanism is simple and it’s made of dwarvensteel, it would be impossible to break this at your level.”

Meagan was obviously insulted at how the dwarf had belittled her. Then again she knew that his words rang true and it would be better for her to simply play along with the master sorcerer. Walking up to the dwarf’s desk, she knelt beside the large wooden chest. She stared at the lock, emerald-hued eyes looking at it and nothing else.

Several minutes passed and finally the girl opened her eyes, she was unmistakably in clara. Ever so slowly, the girl touched the lock and an audible clicking sound echoed through the room. The lock had sprung open and the girl was just about to stand up when the dwarf placed a hand on her shoulder.

He picked up a sphere from the bunch of glass orbs in the chest and placed it in her hands. “And here's your prize little miss.”

The dwarf returned his attention to the class. “That was a perfectly executed ‘Open’ spell, did everybody watch how Miss Meagan here took her time with the spell? That's exactly what i need from initiates - patience.”

Meagan was genuinely smiling now. The girl was someone who clearly wanted to be praised.

"Meagan, could you perform the 'Lock' spell for the class then?"

The girl nodded vigorously. This time with an enthusiastic gleam in her eye she began meditating, her determination to impress further driving her on. Eventually she was able to reach Clara once more and like with the earlier spell, she performed this new one with patience borne from discipline.

The large dwarven steel lock clicked into place, the small rounded "U" shape metal embedding itself into the lockpiece without so much as a hitch.

"Congratulations Meagan, you can take your seat now." Rodrin said as he patted the girl's shoulder. Nodding the girl stood up and hurried back to her seat, this time she was sitting obediently like a model student.

“Each and everyone of you today will have to do as Ms.Meagan here demonstrated. Open the chest using the Open Spell, take one sphere for yourself and then Lock the chest with the Lock Spell. Easy enough to understand?”

The students nodded and the dwarf returned to his chair. “If possible I would like everyone to try and getting into Clara before their turn so that we won’t have to wait long for every student to reach it.”

Rodrin then announced the order at which students would attempt the spell. After six other students it was finally Vanderlou’s turn to try the spell. He sat in front of the lock, already in Clara as he extended a hand towards the lock.

“Steady now, you don’t need too much mana for this spell Mr.Windsborough.” Rodrin said, his voice calm but stern. The half-elf nodded, channeling the necessary mana, he was careful not to gather more than was necessary for the simple spell. Once he had enough mana, he slowly but methodologically began casting the spell using the instructions implanted in his mind.

Open!

Vanderlou released the spell, the magic working its way through the lock and the half-elf was rewarded with the clear sound of metal clicking open. He opened the chest and drew a glass orb from it before closing the lid.

Meditating once more the half-elf took his time getting into clara, never rushing himself but instead trying to work as his usual pace. Through the same set of motions he began shaping the spell, only this time he was using a slightly different set of instructions from the Open spell. With the unfamiliar memories guiding him, he finally managed shaping the spell into completion.

The half-elf then brought both hands near the lock and then he relinquished his control over the magic. The weaves of arcana followed its course around the lock and then Vanderlou’s efforts were met with the reward of hearing the lock clamp on itself.

"Good good, you've learned to take things at your own pace. That's a very important lesson young one.”

Nodding, the half-elf took stood up and returned to his seat feeling somewhat proud of himself for having managed to perform the spell without screwing up as he did with ‘Force bolt’.

[Vanderlou]

“The next spell I will now demonstrate is the Gate spell which I might add is by far the most useful spell any of you can perform at your level. The premise is simple, by binding a high concentration of your personal Vis, which in turn is bound to an object, preferably something durable or something highly susceptible to arcana – which is what this glass sphere here is, you can anchor yourself to that object. Watch.”

Rodrin held the glass orb in front of him and closed his eyes, within moments the soft purple wisps of light within the orb began dancing and all of a sudden the meager glow grew until its intensity was enough to light up the room. “When you succeed with the spell, that should happen.”

“Now what happens is, once you invoke the Gate spell, space around you collapses for but a moment, in that time you will be out of sync with the world as it is and for a few precious seconds you can pull yourself towards your anchor and you’ll find yourself beside the anchor once the spell resolves.”

With that, Rodrin decided to let the students try their hands at the spell. While some found casting the spell easy enough, a few others were having a difficult time getting into clara – not surprising since whenever someone succeeded in casting the spell explosions of purple light would flood the room and prove to be enough of a distraction for the initiates.

Vanderlou himself was struggling getting into clara, this was going to be the third time this brightening and truth be told he was already feeling the effects of having spent enough Vis in the form of a mild headache.

“There!” he spoke, his eyes snapped open as his own glass ball started to burn brightly, hues of purple and indigo flying about as the spell was finally executed.

Eventually the whole class succeeded casting the spell and each student was asked to leave their orbs on their respective desks. Vanderlou placed his glass orb on his desk reluctantly, he was somewhat worried that the orb’s weak purple glow would flicker out when he let go but it didn’t.

When all of the students were gathered in front of the professor’s desk, Rodrin gave them instructions to use the spell at the same time. The students nervously complied and they began counting down in unison. “All at the same time now, three, two, one!”

In a split-second, space collapsed around Vanderlou and the world around him spun around in a hazy turbulent wind. When he opened his eyes, he was beside his desk with his legs trembling and blood pounding against his ears.

“And that my students, is the Gate spell.” Rodrin concluded with a satisfied smile on his lips.

[Vanderlou]

If there was anything that was interesting about his mundane existence, the fact that he now spent most of his brightenings within the four walls of the Brightshadows Academy would probably have been the reason behind it. Each new brightening meant another day full of surprises, all he had to do to find something strange or otherworldly was to take a wrong turn or climb up an extra floor than he was supposed to.

This brightening would be no exception to the rule. Although he was certain that he didn't take a wrong turn, nor did he go down the wrong corridor or climb up the wrong floor. He was definitely standing in front of the right door and the gold plated number sign hammered above the rosewood door clearly indicated that this was indeed the right classroom.

"Unbelievable." he said, still not quite believing what his eyes were seeing.

A gentle breeze tickled his skin, the familiar scent of the sea was strong and the sunlight coming through the door was nothing but genuine. So how could he be facing a picturesque beach when he was in Brightshadows.

"Well, are you going to just stand there or are you going to let me through?" Vanderlou winced at that voice, he didn't need to turn around to confirm his guess. Meagan didn't wait for his reply, instead the girl shoved him to the side and stepped into the door with a confident stride.

The half-elf let out an exasparated sigh before following her steps. The human girl was following what appeared to be a beaten path made of perfectly square slabs of sand stone. These steps led them away from the seashore and to the top of a gentle slope where the two of them found Rodrin sitting on a rock and a few other students who were sitting underneath the shade of a tall coconut tree.

"Serale, it's a wonderful brightening isn't it?" the dwarf stretched his arms forward, yawning as he did. "Let's wait a little longer for the others, shall we?"

Vanderlou nodded and found himself his own quiet spot underneath one of the coconut trees nearby. There he leaned himself against the wood and allowed himself to go limp. Unfortunately, just as sleep was taking him Rodrin clapped his hands loudly enough to pull everyone out of their languid trances and with that, the brightening truly began.

Rodrin stood up from where he sat and hopped off the smooth round stone he was using as a seat. "See this rock," he turned around tapping the smooth egg-like surface with the tip of his finger. "We're going to practice the Star of Force spell on this, does anyone want to explain the mechanics behind that spell?"

Naturally Meagan's hand shot in the air and the dwarf couldn't ignore the girl. "The Star of Force," the know-it-all began, "Is essentially a simple conjuration spell. You summon a refined blade of concentrated energy into being. This blade being made of pure concentrated energy can pierce through some objects and can even the sent spiraling towards a target."

"Well said." the dwarf had the girl take a seat and then he demonstrated the said spell. Almost without effort on his part, the dwarf summoned a blade of energy, though it didn't look impressive under the bright sunlight and sent it spinning and crashing into the stone he had been sitting on. The stone had almost been split cleanly in half and with that Rodrin had his students try out the spell.

Like yesterbrightening, Vanderlou closed his eyes, focused on his breathing and nothing else. Surprisingly enough, clara came rather quickly. Perhaps it was because of the scenery or perhaps it was the relaxing ambiance but regardless clara came and he was ready.

Looking around, he realized he was the first to have slipped into clara as unexpected as it was for him. The dwarf nodded in his direction and without further ado, the half-elf began through the motions of spell casting once more. It was almost a mechanical process, he had already memorized all the steps into heart. Drawing in ara, merging it with vis, arcalysis then focusing, channeling and finally shaping the spell. All of this was done methodologically, with almost textbook precision and finally, he was ready.

"Just keep your eyes on the stone, nothing else boy." Rodrin said, his eyes trained on the half-elf as he spoke

Nodding once, Vanderlou relinquished his hold on the spell and the spell took on form. A blade, though a small one that was only barely a hand-span large appeared in front of him, slowly, the small shard-like concentration of energy spun around and with each revolution it spun faster and faster and faster until there was only what appeared to be a disk of purple and white light.

"Go!" Vanderlou whispered, and as if it had he had willed it the blade moved forward in a wobbling spiral before crashing into the stone, carving a single deep line into the black surface as it shattered into wisps of energy.