He didn't start with a fire spell. Ender wasn't that dumb apparently…
"Okay. So dad said that he is called the god of time and space… That's a whole new level of humbling… Anyway! I should have a strong affinity toward those types of magic then. What about mum though? I have no idea what her affinities were."
In front of Ender, lay multiple spell tomes. They were all from different schools of magic. However, the ones from the rarer schools, barely contained anything useful in them. The more abstract a kind of magic was, the more closely kept it was.
"What to do, what to do? I don't have anything on space and time. Heck, I've didn't even know that they had their own dominions. I know that, some type of space magic is used in sorcery. In conjuration, to be precise. I don't have any books on conjuration though."
Ender scanned the books he bought. His sight stopped in one of the more expensive books in his collection. A whole, five hundred dragnariums were spent on it.
"Abjuration. I suppose it's as good place to start as any."
Abjuration was a subcategory of sorcery just like conjuration. Though, the former was more common that the later. Abjuration magic focuses on protection, warding, and dispelling magic.
Ender grabbed the book and sat down to read the first few pages.
After a few minutes, when he though that he grasped the most basic concepts of abjuration, Ender moved to the spell list. He couldn't wait any longer…
The spell list was quite short!
"Only one of them… Five hundred dragnariums for a single spell." he murmured in disappointment.
Brushing his disappointment aside, Ender looked at the spell.
"Basic shield spell. The required mage rank to perform it is, high rank 1 mage. This spell creates a transparent, semi-permeable energy barrier around the caster, serving as a protective shield."
"The primary function of the shield spell is to deflect and absorb incoming attacks, including physical and magical projectiles. It is designed to provide a layer of protection against a wide range of threats, making it versatile in various combat situations."
The book then proceeded to give instructions to the caster on how to successfully casting the spell.
In Ender's unexperienced opinion, the book wasn't going into enough detail with the instructions.
"So many dragnariums for so little…"
Ender wanted to cry for his loss.
After re-reading the whole thing a few times and making sure that he understood everything, Ender proceeded to try out the spell.
"Aegis Defendere!" he chanted.
Nothing…
In frustration, Ender stared at the empty space in front of him, hoping to see even the faintest glimmer of the spell taking shape.
He decided to retrace his steps and dissect the instructions within the book further. Every word, every symbol, every nuance needed to be scrutinised.
After a few more minutes of continuous casting and checking the instructions, Ender finally got something.
"Ae-gee-is De-fen-de-re!" he carefully enunciated, making sure each syllable was pronounced precisely as the tome had described.
A shimmering, translucent, and colourless energy field surrounded Ender.
"SUCCESS!!" he shouted.
A connection was made with Ender and the spell.
"It's as the book said! Continuous spells, form a connection with the caster. I wonder if ..?"
Suddenly, the shield popped out of existence.
"It worked! So, I can just stop supplying the connection with mana and the spell disappears," Ender concluded.
The book didn't mention how to stop the spell.
"A testament of its quality… Though, I suppose it could be basic knowledge for mages that's why the book didn't mention something as basic as that. I should be thankful that it even mentioned the mana connection."
"Aegis Defendere." Ender chanted again, making the shield appear before him again.
He leaned closer to his creation.
"Hmm. This doesn't look too dependable. Is there no way to improve the shield's quality or do I have to learn a better shield spell for it…"
Ender proceeded to spend most of his evening casting the spell shield again and again. By the time it reached midnight, Ender managed to create a sturdier looking shield.
"Huff, huff. I dare say, practise does make perfect!" Ender said out loud, while being surrounded by a static translucent and colourless energy field.
It wasn't shimmering anymore!
With a final huff, Ender stopped the spell.
"This should be enough for today. I should head back home."
Having already gathered the previously scattered books inside the cloth pouch, Ender stood up from his sitting place and made his way out of the forest.
Or so he thought!
With the only light source being Angrose's moon and the distant stars, the inside of the forest was way too dark for any human to find their way around.
Ender couldn't really see where he was going and followed the path that he thought he previously took.
HOWL!
'SHIT. SHIT. SHIT!'
Ender knew there was a chance, but for it to actually happen.
"Just my luck, just my luck!" he muttered while running in the opposite direction.
He had ventured deeper inside the forest instead of getting out. And as if that wasn't enough, it was also night time!! Not only did he barely see a few meters in front if him, but there wouldn't be anyone close by, to hear his dying screams.
Rustle. Rustle.
Ender looked back for the source of the sound.
'Is it some wild animal, or perhaps a magical creature? With my luck? I wouldn't bet on a wild animal!' Ender thought mockingly to himself as he ran, hoping that whatever was chasing would either give up or stay behind.
The rustling in the bushes grew louder and more pronounced as Ender continued to flee through the darkened forest.
'I should have brought a light source with me, or at least a weapon.'
The fact that he still couldn't make out what was causing the disturbance, made his heart race with fear.
"Ah. I bought a knife!" he exclaimed.
Suddenly, the rustling stopped and Ender turned around to see the beast that stalked him. It was a wolf.
It couldn't be a simple wolf though. No, no!
It wasn't like any wolf Ender had seen before. This one was enormous, its fur a dark, shadowy grey that seemed to blend seamlessly with the night.
The wolf's eyes briefly locked onto Ender's, and it let out a low, menacing growl. Ender could see sharp, gleaming teeth as the creature bared its fangs.
Desperation and fear welled up inside Ender as he backed away from the approaching wolf. He had finally started his quest to learn magic, though it seemed that it would be cut short in the depths of that dark forest.
The wolf lunged forward, teeth bared and claws extended.
Ender whispered the first thing that came to mind.
"Aegis Defendere."
He poured a lot of his mana into the connection, hoping that the shield formed would be strong enough to save him.
A translucent barrier sprang into existence just in time to block the wolf's jaws from ripping Ender apart. The creature's jaws snapped shut on the magical shield, its teeth mere inches from Ender's face.
"Curses!" he shouted while trying to hold the shield from failing and himself becoming the wolf's midnight snack!