What is this Half-Elf 'thing'?
Was that an insult?
Even though Meryl did not mean it that way, why did it feel like an insult?
Sean instantly roared, "A Half-Elf isn't a thing! Wait, that's not right. It is a thing, but that's not right either…"
Meryl Winterstorm was obviously made more confused by Sean. He widened his eyes and asked cluelessly, "So is it a thing or not?"
The exchange between the adolescents had provoked laughter even among the typically elegant and gentle High Elves.
The High Magus chuckled for a good few moments. She finally recollected herself and explained, "Half-Elves are a unique race. They're a mixed race that shares two different bloodlines as a result of Elves mixing with other species. Young one, forgive me for being presumptuous, but what's your name? I'm referring to your full name that includes your surname as well."
Sean immediately sensed that this was a background check.
This world placed a huge emphasis on surnames because it represented their bloodlines, which was why when many introduced themselves, they typically included the names of themselves and their parents'.
For instance, if Medivh was to introduce himself, he would say, "I am Medivh Aran, son of Nielas Aran." In fact, he was more likely to mention his mother instead of his father, since it was his mother who was more powerful and reputable.
The High Magus had wanted to unravel Sean's origin through his surname. Since ancient times, the elves were not a populous race, which meant there were a limited number of surnames. Any Elven adults would be familiar with all the surnames that existed.
Sean did not intend to lie to the High Magus.
In reality, Sean himself would like to figure out the story behind his peculiar surname and his Half-Elf identity.
Sean only hesitated for a brief moment before he replied, "My name is Sean, Sean Feathermoon."
Sean Feathermoon?
The Elven Mages looked at each other and saw that they were all equally puzzled.
They could not recall any Elves with the surname 'Feathermoon'.
'Perhaps, it's a declining surname? Or perhaps a newly emerged one?' the Mages thought.
The surnames of the Elves were not all permanent and unchanging.
Take the king of Quel'Thalas for instance. The noble Anasterian Sunstrider's surname, Sunstrider, was only created after the High Elves had separated from the Night Elves.
Perhaps the surname Feathermoon had similar origins?
The Elven Mages did not care about the matter too much, and soon enough, they quickly dropped the topic. The High Magus smiled gently towards Sean and asked, "Sean, you mentioned that… you would like us to light up the smaller stove for both of you. What does it mean to light up the smaller stove?"
Sean hurriedly answered, "It goes like this, wise Master Mage. To light up the smaller stove is to give us a private lesson. We were quite confused about the daytime lecture's content, so we would like to request that you go over it with us again. Is that alright?"
Sean lowered his voice and started to act all cute and innocent.
This spontaneous act was a result of Sean's acute observation.
He was able to pull it off only because the High Magus standing in front of him was a beautiful female Elf. If it had been a male, Sean would have thrown up first! Sean was straight, he did not swing the other way and had no interest whatsoever towards others of the same sex.
Furthermore, although the High Elves were no longer immortal after leaving the Well of Eternity, they still had long lifespans that could easily last up to a thousand years. As a result, the High Elves hardly saw Sean, who was around sixteen years-old, as a young adult. At most, he was a child… This was even after considering that he was a Half-Elf and not one of the pure Elven races.
Hence, the High Elven Mages were understanding of Sean's behavior.
Perhaps due to Sean's Half-Elf identity, it felt as if the High Elven Mages were instantly friendlier to them. They quickly agreed to Sean's request.
Due to their status as distinguished guests in Stromgarde Keep, the High Elves' residence was not far away from the king's palace. Following the female Elven Mage's lead, Sean and Meryl both arrived in a room.
It was a room that resembled a library and was filled generously with books on the inside. Most of the books belonged to the royal family of Arathor's collection. Only a few, that were radiating with intense Arcane energy, were magical books that were brought over by the Elven Mages.
Every single magical book was extremely valuable.
All of the Elven Mages were high achievers. Their powerful magical abilities had been cultivated after a tireless amount of study and practice.
After ensuring that Sean and Meryl were literate, the female Elven Mage retrieved a huge stack of books from the shelves and piled it in front of them. Before she retrieved another book for herself and started reading, she gave a simple instruction to the duo.
"Read from the top to the bottom. Meet me after you've thoroughly and completely studied these."
The books that were piled in front of Sean and Meryl were not magical books, but magical textbooks. There were large distinctions between the two though both names differed by only a word.
Magical books not only recorded the various types and forms of magics, these magics could be instantly casted once supplied with enough enchantments. This was no different from a Mage who casted a spell after a long preparation. Furthermore, magical books were a tool that no Mage could go without, its value even surpassed that of a staff.
A Mage who wielded a magical book was likely to be more formidable than a Mage armed with only a staff, provided the two Mages were of the same level.
On the other hand, magical textbooks were ordinary books that recorded magical knowledge within it. They were merely a medium for the accumulation of knowledge. Magical textbooks and magical books could never be used interchangeably.
Magical textbooks were not made out of ordinary paper, but were created by the High Elves using fibres from a unique species of plants. These plant fibres had natural magical resistance properties, such as being waterproof and even fire resistance, which meant that when made into magical textbooks, the textbooks shared the same qualities too. This way, the textbooks could be preserved for a prolonged period of time, perhaps up to tens of thousands of years.
The only downside to it was the pages were extremely thick. A book as thick as a brick only contained thirty-five pages and was unable to contain much information.
The contents of the textbooks piled in front of Sean and Meryl would probably not exceed that of a preliminary language textbook.
These textbooks were written not in Elven, but in the Human language, which would become the most commonly spoken language amongst future generations. These textbooks were handwritten by the scholars of Quel'Thalas before the Elves arrived in Stromgarde Keep to be understood by Humans.
Flipping the cover of his first textbook, Sean soon immersed himself within the pages.
The magical textbooks did not contain any information on shaping magic. Instead, it merely discussed the fundamentals of magical knowledge, such as the origin of magic, the essential factors of enchantments, the materials constituting the world, the Four Great Elements of Earth, Wind, Fire and Water, the difference between elementals, and the ways and functions of meditation.
Although these were the mere basics, it was of great importance to any beginner in magic. If one did not devote time studying the knowledge and experiences that had been accumulated for thousands of years by the generations before them, one could never walk down the path of a Mage.