As a week passed, Adrian and Amber spent most of their time reading the magical textbooks they had purchased in Boreshire. Adrian, specifically, chose to learn Evocation magic, first. He believed it would be more useful in the short term, as he wanted to get powerful enough to compete with other Artists as soon as possible. Amber, on the other hand, wanted to learn Transmutation magic first.
Adrian assumed it was because she wanted to learn how to heal her wounds perfectly- which would inevitably help her whenever she found herself beating on the next poor fool she saw. Adrian didn't care, regardless, as both of her chosen schools of magic would help her in combat. If anything, he liked that their party composition had already begun to balance.
Daniel, as he had nothing to do, spent most of his time leisurely reading books. Whenever he did have something to say, it was usually to ask the twins for info on their progress. Occasionally, the twins would ask Daniel a question that had arisen during their studies, but Daniel didn't prove very useful in that regard. He only knew the basics of magic theory, after all.
At the moment, Adrian had already learned the basics of magic from the first spellbook he read. Amber had done the same and had already moved on to her second book. At its core, magic wasn't very complicated.
There were three ways to cast magic. The first, Sorcery, was the hardest to learn and the most dependent on natural talent. To cast Sorcery, Adrian would need the specific blood type to do so. Afterward, he would only have to create a mental image strong enough for the desired effect to happen. He didn't need to learn any incantations, magic circles, or even how different elements reacted when exposed to each other. The magic was done for him- like he was only pressing a button. Adrian had the blood type to use Sorcery, as did most mages, but he chose not to learn it. It was, after all, one of the weakest types of magic. Most sorcerers- a subclass of mages- couldn't cast any complicated spells because the magic in their blood couldn't naturally handle the degree of stress such spells created.
Daniel had told him a very compelling phrase soon after he learned of Sorcerery, "The strongest sorcerers aren't human." Because of that, Adrian saw Sorcery as a waste of time.
The second type of magic was called Mysticism. Out of all of the types of magic, Mysticism was the most complicated, but also the most powerful. Mysticism worked by borrowing the powers of other creatures- usually gods or demons- to create powerful spells or abilities. Unfortunately, the actual result of the spell was entirely decided by the patron- the one that the mage called upon. There were some cases of a simple healing spell gone horribly wrong thanks to the wrong patron being involved.
Mysticism is split between two branches of belief. Warlocks, a popular subclass of mages, often used Mysticism in their magics. Warlocks often signed contracts with devils and demons and selected them to be their patrons. The other subclass, clerics, followed the orders of a benevolent god to do justice to the evil forces of Aoera. In life, they were slaves to their patron god, but they would ascend to become angels after they died.
The final form of magic, called witchcraft, didn't depend on anything more than the mage's intellect. Witchcraft was the slowest to learn of the three forms of magic, but it was also the one with the best results. To learn Witchcraft, mages would spend months or years practicing their magic to perfection. They would have to memorize incantations and magical circles, as well as practice several hours a day. Eventually, with the right amount of practice, witches and wizards would reach a stage that users of Mysticism and Sorcery could never dream of.
Amber and Adrian both chose to study witchcraft, as Daniel had recommended it upon explaining the three forms of magic, but both of them were having trouble with actually performing magic. They understood the material just fine, but the most they would be able to do was create sparks from their palms.
This proved as physical proof that they were mages, of course, which excited Adrian and Amber as soon as they saw it. However, after witnessing nothing but sparks arise from their efforts after more than a week of reading, both of them were beginning to grow impatient.
They knew what they were doing wrong after reading up on the subject, but knowledge of what they were doing incorrectly didn't help them. The slightest mistake in their incantations would create an error that ruined the entire spell. Their pronunciation was completely off and it seemed to be leading nowhere.
They needed a teacher- one that was better help than Daniel- and they needed one fast.
About two weeks after their journey began, Adrian and Amber eventually gave up on learning witchcraft. They chose to ignore Mysticism, as it was far too dangerous to experiment with and eventually settled on Sorcerery.
On the same day they confirmed their decision, Daniel met with them outside for dinner. He held two plates in his hand, each covered in cooked venison, as he approached the twins.
"I still don't approve of your decision," Daniel sighed as Adrian and Amber took the plates away from Daniel's grasp. He put his hands to his hip, then gave a deep sigh, "But, if that's what you want to learn, I don't see why I should stop you."
"We've given it thought, don't worry," Adrian told Daniel as he smiled. Adrian sat down on a nearby log- which had been placed there earlier by one of the guards- then scooted to the side to make room for Amber.
"After some thought you settled on the weakest type?" Daniel asked, the tone of his voice full of confusion.
"We considered all of the pros and the cons," Amber explained. She sat down next to Adrian, then began to cut the cooked venison into bite-sized chunks with her fork, "The advantages and the disadvantages, I mean. If we had the time to learn witchcraft, we would've chosen it. However, we don't have that luxury."
"By the time we get to our destination, one month will have passed. That leaves only eleven months left for training," Adrian smiled, "Eleven months isn't enough time. We need to gain an edge as fast as possible."
"That's when the game begins?" Daniel sighed. He rubbed his hair, frustrated, then looked back at Adrian and argued, "Yet such a decision will bite you back in the future."
"Perhaps, but there's something you're forgetting," Adrian smiled, "We're Artists. As we grow stronger, our bodies will be able to improve past the limits that your kind is held back by. The burden that normal sorcerers suffer from won't affect us."
"If anything, we've come to realize that Sorcerery was made with Artists in mind," Amber chuckled, "It took us two weeks to realize it, but we eventually got there."
Daniel opened his mouth to argue further, but he froze and stared at Amber for a moment instead. Then, as his shoulders slowly relaxed, he turned back to Adrian.
"You have a point," Daniel murmured. He put his hands in his pockets, then straightened his posture before he turned around. As he walked back to the carriage, he shouted loud enough for the twins to hear, "I won't try to stop you, but if you disappoint me, the Order won't be happy."