Nick was feeling extremely pleased with himself.
(Never mind the emotions that I'm feeling right now. The dean says that the nature of the magic attracted by the spell on my magic scroll is probably different than what I probably envisioned...well, I actually didn't consider the nature of the magic when I was creating the spell. What an oversight! Also, since my spell involves a new magic language, how exactly do I continue exploring this language, after all, I wrote it by accident?)
The dean waited patiently for Nick to sort out his thoughts.
"Dean Gecko, I actually didn't think at all about the nature of the magic that would be used in the spell since I was unfamiliar with that line of thinking. Can you explain what determines the nature of the magic."
The dean rubbed his chin and spoke:
"The reason that expert spell makers are so rare is because creating laws that are suited for an certain affinity is quite difficult if you do not possess that affinity yourself. Of course to determine what nature the magic in your spell and by extension the nature of your spell will take, you need to assess the purpose of the spell. The magic scroll you gave me earlier with the spell 'Great Circle' is very good in a theoretical sense but to make it applicable, the right kind of magic must be involved in its application. Normally for that kind of spell, space magic would be the most suitable but apparently you discovered a kind of magic even more suitable via your unique language's laws. That is also what tends to determine the nature of a spell and its magic, the laws that are used to make it. Most Magicians that have their own unique language say that the language is borne from their own specialization and affinities with a specific kind of magic."
Nick was starting to understand.
(So he is saying that my spells work the way they do because: 1, the purpose of the spell and 2, the likely affinity that my spell's laws have to attract a certain kind of magic.)
"How do I explore my unique language further so that I can determine its affinity for a certain kind of magic?"
The deans eyes shone when he heard Nick's question. The dean raised his right hand and pointed at Nick.
"Well my dear student, do you know where all the affinities of a Magician stem from? It's their soul, the soul is closely linked to the mind and is the ultimate source of all their memories, wills and emotions. You discovered this new language, and believe me, it was likely not a complete accident that you did, it's likely that you have a certain affinity for a kind of magic and your language was borne from that affinity in order to better make use of the magic. If so, the laws involved with your language's affinity is definitely somewhere in your soul because affinities are themselves borne from laws, laws that you do not yet understand. My specialization happens to be soul magic. I can help you interact further with your soul's affinities, but there is a 'small' price to pay. If I help you, you must agree to continue exploring the art of spell making and in the future, when I want you to create spells for me, you must do it, of course I'll pay you appropriately for your services. Do you agree?"
The dean still had his right hand raised at Nick when it started emanating a deep purple light. Nick looked at the dean's hand and it was like all of his conscious memories since childhood flooded his mind at this time.
(What the fuck? That's some really creepy magic, dredging up all my trauma like that. He might as well be giving me a mental prostate exam. Whatever...his offer is compelling since if I had to examine my soul's affinities myself, it would take a long time since I don't even have a mindscape yet. Sigh, this is one those times where it's more profitable to take a risk and see what happens.)
Nick decided to humor the dean.
"I agree to your proposal."
The dean smiled in response to Nick's consent.
"Good."
The dean said slowly while the deep purple light coming from his outstretched right hand intensified. Nick felt an intense pressure come over him, his entire world was now bathed in purple light and he was unable to move. In a moment, Nick was unable to bear the pressure he was feeling and completely collapsed, his vision going dark.
(What the hell is going on, is the dean trying to kill me? No, that's not right, the academy's faculty are not allowed to kill students willfully, those are the rules.)
"What do you know about the rules, fool."
Nick heard a voice he could not recognize. It was definitely male and had an imposing base.
"Huh, who are you?"
Nick heard no reply in response to his question, instead his vision returned and the pressure on his body went away. Nick realized that he was now lying on the ground in a grassy field, the sky was dark and gloomy with no stars. He could now see, but the place was so gloomy that he couldn't even tell what time of day it was. Standing up, Nick could see an area filled with trees in the distance.
"Go to that forest, there is something waiting there for you."
Nick heard the imposing voice once again but no matter how much he tried to ask the voice for an explanation, he received no answer.
"I should just do what the voice says, not like I have any alternatives."
Nick made his way towards the forest. He walked a distance that he felt should be about one kilometer before getting to the edge of the forest.
"God, I hope I don't die from entering this place. That dean really screwed me, putting me in whatever situation this is. Note to self, don't trust Magician's no matter what their titles are."
Nick grudgingly entered the forest. After walking some distance Nick heard what sounded like speaking so he decided to walk towards the voices. Going past the trees and forcing his way through bushes, Nick eventually came to small clearing where six figures surrounded another figure that was chained up on the ground. The six standing figures seemed to not be wearing clothes at all, they had yellow eyes, yellowish fangs protruding from their mouths and thick brown hair visible all over their bodies. They were pointing at the shadowy figure chained on the ground in turn, encircling him, saying:
"Bastard! Did you think that we, difficulties, would not finally encircle and bind you, making you as pitiful and helpless as you are now. This is what you get for walking down a path that you are ignorant of. We will definitely tear you apart."
The six standing figures laughed and jeered at the shadowy figure on the ground. Nick didn't know what was happening but decided to wait from behind a tree to see what would happen. The shadowy figure spoke in the midst of all the jeers:
"Difficulties, I did not mean to aggravate you but the only reason you found me was because I chose to sing my favorite song while going on my journey. Even now, while you are encircling me I will still sing my song."
"On my journey in the distance far away, I see my desires clearly."
"My soul aches for change and grace."
"No matter the pain, I will carry on..."
The shadowy figure on the ground started to sing amidst the difficulties. The yellow eyed, hairy figures sneered at the shadowy figure and one of them that was bigger than the others spoke:
"This bastard is a lunatic, not caring about us difficulties and still singing songs. Brothers, lets stop wasting our time with him, destroying such a lunatic has no value for us. You better not come our way again or we will not let you go."
After making that declaration the six hairy figures left. After waiting some time to make sure that they had really left, Nick went over to the figure on the ground and asked:
"Do you need some help?"
The shadowy figure groaned and said:
"Please pull these chains apart, the difficulties can chain you down for a time but their bindings are always loose, easily unraveled by purposeful effort."
Nick took hold of the chains and pulled. The chains actually came apart fairly easily and the shadowy figure stood up. This figure was shaped like a man with an athletic build and had a stern, gravely voice but no matter how Nick looked, he could not make out the man's features, his whole body seeming like a shadowy blur. Nick asked:
"What is your name? Who were those six creatures from before and why were they here?"
The figure looked at Nick and spoke:
"My name is Uncertainty and I walked into this forest in search of something."
Uncertainty looked towards the direction that the hairy figures left in and said:
"Those creatures are known as difficulties. As for why they were here...don't you know young man? Uncertainty will always be found in the midst of difficulties."