The black marble castle had tall, impenetrable walls. It was guarded by fierce undead warriors.
It was truly an amalgamation of undead horror all mixed into one castle.
"Did magic create this?" Jason was mesmerized by the castle. This was the kind of power he needed to kill the demons and avenge his parents deaths.
"Yes. Magic created this. Magic can create anything, it's just a matter of figuring out the right rune." The skeleton studied Jason closely.
"Can you teach me to do stuff like this?" The question was innocent enough, any child would want to learn magic, but the fact that said magic was necromancy was morbid in nature.
The glint in Jason's eyes was the glint of a boy who had lost everything.
"If your willing to work harder than you've ever worked before it's possible. Your soul… it has an odd temperament to it. Death magic is your talent, I can tell." Jason looked curiously at the skeleton. He, talented? He always knew he was bright but to be able to fast magic was a dream come true. When he was with his parents, Jason had always dreamed of becoming and accomplished mage for the kingdom. That way he could retire his father and make them live rich lives.
A look of excitement flashed across Jason's face but he quickly hid it.
"Please. I would be honoured to be taught by you." Jason had learned etiquette from his mother who wished to prepare him for a higher education. Jason had always shown an astounding talent when dealing with numbers so she wished him to be a scholar.
Jason got on one knee and looked up at the skeleton in reverence.
"Very well. From this day forth, I will teach you magic. But, you must sigh a soul contract with me." Jason paused for a moment. Was he really in a position to decline? No, he wasn't.
"I accept." If a skeleton could smile, the skeleton in-front of Jason would.
"Alright then!" A black light shone from a ring on the skeletons hand, and a piece of paper was produced.
"I, Nabrax, take you Jason as my disciple. You are to take me as your one and only master. Betraying me means your soul will be obliterated." Jason felt chills down his spine. Obliterated? Quite harsh…
Jason steeled just resolve and spoke.
"I accept." The skeleton put his hand above Jason and tugged. Blood rushed to Jason's hand and leaked out his finger. A couple of drops landed and we're dissolved into the paper.
"Argh!" Jason gritted his teeth but endured the pain.
The skeleton looked down at Jason.
"That level of pain will be nothing by the time your training is over." Jason gulped. Even with the passive aggressive threats of the skeleton, Jason's excitement and anticipation was on full speed ahead.
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Jason could still remember the wonder of first seeing the castle and become the skeletons disciple. Nabrax has proven to be a master of magics. He's taught Jason the basics that most mages start out with. On top of that he even formed a ritual circle to increase his total mana by draining it repeatedly.
Life under Nabrax has truly been a blessing. Jason could now be called a beginner mage! It only took five months for him to become one.
'Still. It's never enough to Nabrax…' Jason was slightly disappointed. The void his parents left hasn't been filled. It likely never will be filled. His fathers constant reinforcement is greatly missed.
Jason couldn't help it. He is still a boy, mage or not nothing can change that.
Jason flipped through his Grimoire until he found a spell difficult enough to use.
He picked up his wand.
'Nabrax said a wand chooses its master. Despite that, I'm still using a basic wand…' Jason's wand was basic in every way. It was bland and smooth. It looked like nothing more than a special stick.
"Fireball it is." Flame, as described by Jason's Grimoire is a basic fire spell. It is the upgraded version of flame. The only difference is it has more velocity and shape to it than flame.
There were generally two ways to use spells. One was to inscribe a tune into your choice of casting. This was for more complex runes. The other was to actually memorize the rune. The mind Is the gateway to magic, so to use magic visualizing the rune is enough.
Jason thought of the rune in his head. He visualized what he wanted. The size of his spell, the heat.
A scorching ball of flame appeared from the tip of his wand. The fireball rapidly expanded and became large. The fireball shot out of his wand with great velocity and collided with one of the skeletons. The skeletons bone quickly turned to ash as it met the flame.
"Hah, always feels good to cast a spell!"