Four months had passed since the day the mistress gave him the incantation for the "Ice Shard" spell. By now, Ryo had memorized it perfectly and was excited for the day he could finally cast it. The mistress had also given him other things to learn and study, all of which helped him gain a better understanding of magic. Alongside this she had also insisted that he learn the high elf language, so he could read the books she had. Luckily for him, the mistress was an excellent teacher, which enabled him to master the basics pretty easily.
Two months ago she had also started to guide him in proper breathing and meditation exercises. He'd hated it at first, feeling as if it was a waste of his time. Yet, after a few weeks of it, Ryo noticed minor changes in his mind and body. Meditation brought a sense of calmness to his mind, allowing him to feel more whole. His body was more focused, and he felt like he had more energy than before.
Recently the mistress had put him through some painful lessons, forcing him to endure pain as he tried to meditate. She would have him recite various passages as she burned his skin. All this, she said, was so he could remain calm under pressure and be able to cast spells without making a mistake. Luckily, after every lesson she would heal his wounds with magic. She would often say:
"Most would find this cruel, but a mage who cannot keep calm under pressure is already dead. If you are not of the right mind when you cast a spell, it could easily kill you." She would remind him of this as she held a flame up to his fingers.
After a few of these painful sessions, he could calmly recite whatever she asked, while she burned him. The main reason for this, he thought was that he had already experienced such pain before. His previous master had often burned him, as he screamed for the man to stop. Though his screams seemed to fuel the dark elf, making him more excited to do it. He had learned quickly it was best to simply ignore it until the man grew bored with it.
"Have you been studying the high elf language as instructed?" She asked him sternly, as they sat down for another lesson.
"Yes, mistress." He answered.
"Really, how well can you use it?" She questioned, her brow raising.
"I can read most words now, but speaking it is a little more difficult." He told her, worried about what her reaction would be.
"I see, well that can't be helped. As long as you can read the books I give you, I don't really care if you can speak it or not. Most of the books I have are in my mother tongue. Your progress depends on you knowing how to read high elf. " She commented, giving him a serious look.
"I understand, I will try harder to learn it." Ryo responded, bowing his head in reverence.
"Do so." She replied, nodding her head.
"Before we begin, I feel it necessary to give you this scroll. Although primitive, it provides a crude overview of the various schools of magic." She explained, pulling out a scroll and giving it to him.
Taking the scroll, he unrolled it and found it was sloppily written in common. The handwriting reminded him of the marks chickens would leave in the dirt as they walked. After several minutes of trying to decode what it was trying to say, he finally figured it out.
Schools of Magic
Abjuration - Abjuration uses magic to produce protective spells and wards. These protective spells can either be physical or magical, the school even has spells that can negate magic or stop physical attacks.
Evocation - Evocation magic consists of spells that manipulate mana to produce an offensive spell.
Conjuration - Conjurers learn to create objects and creatures of magic or magical materials.
Restoration - The restoration school of magic teaches spells that can heal the body, or mana body. It also teaches spells to purify water and preserve food.
Alchemy - Alchemists learn to use spells, tools, and rituals to change the nature of their environment, an object, or a creature.
Divination - Divination spells enable the user to learn information from vast distances, interpret dreams, predict futures, find hidden objects or creatures, pierce hidden spells, glimpse into other planes, and identify magic and enchanted items not otherwise discernible.
Illusion - Mages who focus on learning spells front the illusion school are taught spells that can deceive the senses or minds of others.
Summoning - Summoners focus on spells that involve moving or transporting objects or creatures from one location to the location of the summoner.
Psionic - Practitioners of this school learn to use spells that directly manipulate the minds of others.
Apotheke - Those from this school learn to combine magical and non-magical ingredients to produce potions, poisons, pills, elixirs, ointments, and other medicines.
Enchanting - Enchanters learn to use non-magical material and magical runes to create enchanted items.
Artificing - These students learn to use magical material and magical pattern syntax to create magical items.
Spell Scribers - Learn various runes, magical syntax, patterns, and other magical languages to create items, books, scrolls, and lexicons.
"Don't put too much trust in this list, a human made it. It is, however a good reference, since most races seem to follow this train of thought when it comes to their mage schools." The mistress remarked, looking at the scroll with a certain level of disgust.
"Yes, mistress." He answered, looking back down at the scroll.
"In certain texts they may be called something else, but most will use these names." She explained.
"Mistress what's the difference between conjuration and summoning ?" He asked, as he re-read the scroll.
"Ah, well, conjuration uses magic to create and then summon something. Like this…" She answered, raising up her hand.
A bright green fire appeared in her hand, then slowly morphed into the rough shape of a dagger. The flames then condensed and turned almost solid, as the mistress stabbed the ground. She quickly pulled it back out and what it left in its wake was a small charred hole in the ground. Ryo could feel his eyes bulge as he stared at the dagger. He hadn't expected it to puncture the ground like that.
"It will work like a normal dagger, and will even burn whatever it touches. The problem is, that it takes constant mana and control to keep the spell going." She explained, before dismissing the spell.
"Summoning is about moving an object or creature from one location to another. So, summoning a being from another plane is summoning magic, but you can also enchant a sword or other object with spells that allow you to summon them from a certain distance." She added.
"I understand now, thank you, mistress." He told her.
"That aside, today I want to teach you how to use your mana veil. Before you cast your first spell, you must first attain mastery over it." She said, giving him a big smile.
He remembered the mana veil from one of the books the mistress had given him to study. It was used to protect the user from the effects of their own spells. Without it, if a mage used the spell "Fireball" for instance, they would likely burn their own hands in the process! The mana veil was also used to activate a spell, sending it in the direction the mage desires.
"Usually, at mage schools they would have an instructor guide you through the process, starting with a weak or useless spell." She remarked, moving forward to grab ahold of his wrists.
"My ways are faster, albeit a little more painful." She added, right before she closed her eyes and muttered something.
Black tendrils shot out of her body and bored into his flesh, before he understood what was happening. Pain shot through him as the tendrils wriggled underneath his skin. It felt like they were trying to separate his skin from his body. He spasmed and writhed uncontrollably on the ground as he tried to break away from the mistress. Usually he would never try to do such a thing, but his body acted of its own accord now. Thankfully, unlike last time, it didn't last as long, and soon she released him. Ryo laid there for a moment, gasping for air, as his body twitched with the residual pain.
"Mmm… so cute, seeing you like this." The mistress purred.
"I gave your mana body a brief shock, which will make this entire process a little easier." She added.
Ryo knew he couldn't lay there forever, or the mistress would get angry. He forced himself to sit up, waiting for her next instruction. His body felt like it was shaking, and his mind felt dull. Grabbing his hands again, the mistress intertwined her fingers with his.
"Now, start meditating like we have practiced." She instructed, closing her eyes.
Ryo did as she asked, but found it much harder this time. He was still recovering from the hideous black tendrils, which made it difficult to calm his mind. After several minutes he was able to control his breathing though, finally entering a meditative state. However, this time he felt a strange sensation, as if a warm blanket had encompassed his body. It was such a relaxing feeling; he felt the desire to get lost in it. Wanting to know more about it, he tried reaching out to it.
The sensation would shy away, escaping him, making Ryo want to learn more about it, to pursue it. When he felt as if he was getting closer to understanding it, he felt a stinging pain across his face; the sensation cruelly disappearing along with it! Opening his eyes, Ryo could see the mistress was enraged. Her hand was held up high, about to slap him again, before she restrained herself.
"You are lucky, little boy!" She said, through gritted teeth.
"If you were not of use to me. I would kill you without hesitation!" She cursed, lowering her hand.
"I-I-I'm sorry, mistress." He stuttered, not sure what had just happened.
"Do you even know what you just did?!" She asked, shooting him an icy glare.
"I'm sorry mistress, I'm not sure what happened." He admitted, still not sure why she was so enraged.
"Ignorance does not excuse your actions!" She spat, the veins in her forehead bulging and pulsating with each word.
"My deepest apologies mistress!" He shuddered, bowing so deeply that his head touched the ground.
"You will be punished later." She growled.
"Yes, mistress!" He answered as dread filled his body.
"Now get up, you idiot." She snapped.
"Yes, mistress." Ryo acknowledged, lifting his head back up.
"Close your eyes and meditate again. Try to replicate the same feeling you had before we stopped." She told him, still giving him an icy glare.
Ryo closed his eyes and did what the mistress had asked of him. He was already in trouble and didn't want to upset her any further. When he entered his meditative state nothing felt different. Focusing his mind, he tried to recall the sensation from earlier. After a few minutes, he felt a thin fog surround him. It swirled around him, gently dancing across his skin as it went. It felt pleasant, but it was far from the feeling he had before. For almost an hour he tried to recreate the sensation, with no success. Opening his eyes, he looked at the mistress, knowing she would get angry again.
"So, did you feel it?" She asked, standing up.
"No mistress, I… I couldn't fully replicate what I felt earlier." He replied, shaking his head in dismay.
"You are years away from doing something like that. But you felt something, correct?" She pressed him, walking over until she was looking down on him.
"Yes, mistress." He answered, looking up to her.
"Good, because I could see the veil forming around you. With my help you can begin learning how to cast the "Ice Shard" spell." She stated, motioning him to stand up.
"I hope you have the incantation memorized." She said, walking behind him.
"Y-yes, mistress." He mumbled as he quickly clambered to his feet.
"We will take it slowly at first, since you're a virgin at this." She whispered into his ear, as her hands grabbed him by the waist.
"Now, form a mana veil around your right hand." The mistress continued, as she slid her hands up to his chest.
He quickly closed his eyes and focused his mind. To his surprise, the mana veil he had felt the first time was there. Pushing it toward his hand, he felt a tingling sensation.
"That's it, now raise it until your palm is pointing at that tree. Good, now take a slow, deep breath in and try to feel the surrounding mana." She told him, her breathing becoming louder in his ear.
Doing exactly as she asked, he could feel an unfamiliar sensation settling around him. It was like there was a thick mist enveloping him; he felt it every time he drew in a breath. Is this what mana feels like? He asked himself, marveling at the sensation.
"Yes, now draw that mana in and direct it toward your right hand." She purred, as she gently caressed him.
Just like with the veil, he reached out with his mind and tried to grab a hold of the mana. It felt like he was trying to bail water with a net though and took him several minutes to gather even a small amount. Only when the mistress spoke up did he stop trying to gather more.
"Now, begin the incantation for the spell, as you visualize a shard of ice forming near your open palm." The mistress instructed, pressing her chest against his back.
Ryo recited the spell exactly as he had practiced so many times before. As he chanted the spell, he could feel another strange sensation deep inside of him, moving up to his right hand. He felt the air around his hand growing cold, as he heard the crackling of ice forming. Too excited to listen to the mistress' next words now, he opened his eyes. A small ice ball was forming a few centimeters from his hand. It shocked him to see such a thing, so much so that he forgot to finish the chant. This caused the spell to stop and the ice to fall to the ground in front of him.
"Oh my! Inexperienced boys are all the same, they finish before the fun begins." She mocked him.
"It looks like not only do you need to be punished later, but more training is in order as well." She sighed, digging her fingernails into his skin.
"I'm sorry, mistress" He apologized, trying to ignore the excruciating pain she was inflicting on him.
He was still stunned that he could use magic. Although the mistress had told him he could, and he had been training for this day for so long, it all felt so unreal to him still, as if he was in a dream and he would soon wake up in the mistress's room. Ryo looked down at the ice ball in amazement, then back to his hand.
"Now, let's try this again." The mistress said, snapping him out of his daze.
This time he listened carefully to what the mistress said, repeating everything he had done before. Just like Robert always said, if he wanted to get better at something, he needed to work hard at it. He went through each step carefully, feeling each sensation as it arose, whilst committing them to memory, so he could practice them later. Just before the chant was finished, he heard the mistress say.
"Now, using the veil, imagine pushing the ice forward with all your might."
The chant finished as he imagined shooting the spell forward. He felt something click inside of him, before hearing a thud. Ryo opened his eyes and found the "Ice Shard" he had cast was embedded into the ground three meters in front of him. The mistress walked past him and sauntered up to it, before bending down to examine it closely.
"So weak, so small." She mumbled, poking it with her finger.
"But I guess that's to be expected, since it's your first time." She teased, standing back up.
"Thank you, mistress." He replied, giving her a bow.
"From now on we will practice this spell during every lesson. You are not allowed to cast this spell without me around though, is that clear? Not until I'm satisfied you can use it without killing yourself that is." She instructed him, turning back around to face him.
"I will do my best. Thank you, mistress." He responded.
"No need to thank me, little boy." She remarked, walking up to him.
"Do you have questions regarding what we've done today?" She asked, peering down at him.
"I-I-uh…yes, mistress. I read in one of the books you gave me about spell tiers. What level is the "Ice Shard" spell?" He stumbled to say.
"It's a tier-three evocation spell. Why?" She responded, softly brushing his cheek with her hand.
"I was just wanting to know more about the spell, mistress. Is it normal for mages to start with a third-level spell?" Ryo wondered.
"Hahahaha! They wish." She laughed, gently slapping him.