Chapter 4

  “Must you walk so agonizingly slow, Rurik?”

  “Ha! Why the rush, my purple-feathered bombastic travelling companion?”

  Plumbase wished he could just die. 2 moons. 2 ENTIRE moons of this. He had known the Knight Captain to be eccentric, but he always made a point to never spend longer than a couple of minutes with the Mouse, let alone actual weeks of constant interaction. They had just left one of the bordering villages on the Eastern side of the Burrow, with little success. To say that the Scribe was in the mood for Rurik’s overwhelming positivity was a massive overreach.

  “Because, we need to make it through the Burrow and all of these villages nearby before we head to the Western settlements. And then we have to meet with all of the Squirrel clans. At this rate, the snow will reach the Fort again before we do.”

  “Indeed, my plumage-crested avian friend. Though, our job is to find the best and brightest as per the Commander’s orders. I assure you, this method of testing is most thorough. Quality over quantity as they say.”

  “Gods please don’t call me an avian. You’re associating me with those flying Predators. And do you really think these villages will have anyone like that?”

  “Indubitably! I myself came from one of the border villages in the East. Trust me!” Rurik let out a hearty laugh, his red-brown mustache flowing in the gentle Spring breeze.

  “Ugh. Well. Next up is the Burrow itself so what kind of assignment are you going to dish out this time?”

  “Hmm. I have several ideas already. And there’s one bit the Fort and the Commander are personally interested in.”

  “Oh? What is it?”

  Rurik straightens the edge of his mustache, chuckling briefly before turning to the Scribe.

  “Tell me, what do you think caused the failed harvest up here in the Northern Sunfields?”

  __

  Graham stood in front of the Dragon, a massive flaming sword in his paws. The Dragon had already taken a beating from Graham’s impressive strikes, and blood oozed out of several wounds all over the Dragon’s torso. The spiked tip of his tail had been removed already, laying in a pile of rocks several feet away from where the two were squaring off for what would be the final time.

  Suddenly, Graham launched himself forward faster than any arrow, taking the Dragon entirely by surprise. The Dragon barely had time to lift a claw as Graham’s upward swing caught the Dragon’s claw at just the right angle, cleaving straight through and severing the claw while continuing into the neck of the Dragon. The sound and feeling of steel meeting flesh engulfed Graham’s perception–until the unmistakable whoosh of a wood flying at his head brought him back to reality.

  “GRAHAM!”

  “Huh?”

  Graham shook his head and ears as the shout of his Master brought him out of the daydream he had fully committed to living in for the rest of his life. Just in time to see a wooden sword flying at his head. Barely moving his head out of the way, he looked over at the source of the blow, a fully gray Mouse wearing a red robe holding the wooden sword in a relaxed posture as if he didn’t just try and take Graham’s head off.

  “Instead of daydreaming about something unreasonable, get back to swinging your sword.”

  “Sorry, Master. But it wasn’t that unreasonable.”

  The gray Mouse looked at the younger brown Mouse with an eyebrow raised as they stood in an empty cobblestone courtyard.

  “Did it include a Dragon or some other sort of magic beast?”

  “It’s…possible. But I—“

  “Unreasonable. You’re not slaying anything right now. Take your proper stance and swing. 500 more reps. Let’s GO!”

  A groan escaped Graham as he assumed the fighting stance he had been practicing since starting his training last Summer.

  “Master, how long before—“ whoosh “I get to practice something new?”

  Whoosh

  The gray Mouse’s expression didn’t shift. He somehow even looked more unimpressed than before.

  “I’ll tell you what. If you finish those 500 reps before lunchtime” whoosh “I’ll show you something new today: magic. Specifically, enhancement magic.”

  With a fire right and properly lit underneath Graham’s spirit, he launched himself into his sword swings, making sure to pay close attention to his stance and footwork so as not to be told to repeat the entire set.

  __

  His arm felt like it would fall off, his paw was bleeding, and he had only been told to repeat the set one time, but Graham was the happiest he had ever been as he sat cross-legged in front of his Master. The promised lecture on magic was about to begin.

  “Boy, I hope you’re ready to take notes. Tell me, what do you know of magic already?”

  “I know there’s elemental magic like fire, water, earth and air, and that nature magic that the Druids use. But I don’t really understand how it all works.”

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  “Ah, so we’ll need to start from the beginning, then. Very well. Let us start with the two types of energies our bodies contain. Do you know what they are?”

  “Physical and mental?”

  “Close but not quite. Vital and Spirit are their names. Though in essence, they each respectively represent physical and mental attributes. Both are necessary in order to use magic, and how much you have of one or the other will determine what kinds of spells you can cast.”

  “How do I know how much of each I have?”

  “You’ll have to start casting magic of different kinds and basically exhaust yourself repeatedly to know. Everyone has their own limits. Though there is a test of sorts to determine how much of each energy you possess. But we’ll get to that another day. You’re nowhere near ready for that.”

  Graham drooped his ears. Disappointing. But not the end of the world. Magic is magic. Gotta start somewhere.

  “Anyway, for any given spell, a certain proportion of Vital to Spirit Energy is required. For example, a type of spell where you’re lobbing a ball of fire will require far more Spirit Energy rather than Vital Energy. And the reason for that is you’re projecting energy into the world around you, outside of your body. On the opposite end of the spectrum, a spell that makes you move faster will require more Vital Energy, because it’s self contained in your own body.”

  “Huh?”

  The gray Mouse sighs as he collects his thoughts before turning to the confused, yet eager young Mouse sitting cross-legged in front of him.

  “Think about it like this: Vital Energy manipulates your body or things directly near your body. Spirit Energy is your way of influencing the world around you. Both are necessary for magic, but both have their quirks. As do the people who practice magic. For example, a Warrior–who would focus on strengthening his or her own body–is more likely to train their Vital Energy, therefore they will have a larger pool to pull from. Because of this, the Warrior’s magic will likely include spells that make them faster, stronger, or improve their weapon of choice somehow. In fact, it’s common practice for people who favor that sort of fighting style to invest the time to learn this magic. That is what we are learning today: enhancement magic.”

  “So does that mean that someone who primarily uses fireball type spells like a Mage will be using only Spirit Energy?”

  “Again, partially correct. You’re quite good at half measures aren’t you?” Graham gave his Master a scowl. “As I said, all spells require the right proportion of Vital and Spirit Energies. The key takeaway is that all spells require both energies. No matter the spell. The fireball spell you mention will be made up mostly of Spirit Energy, but not 100%.”

  “What happens if I use all my Vital or Spirit Energy?”

  “Nothing pleasant. Vital Energy is tied directly to your physical self. So think: exhaustion, thirst, and even shorter lifespan. Spirit Energy is a little more…complicated. It’s not been worked out exactly what it is. It just seems to make you….well…you. So when someone is depleted of Spirit Energy, their emotions go haywire, they lose focus, motivation, and sometimes their sense of self. I’ve even seen a Mage suddenly fall into a deep slumber, unable to be woken by those around her. That’s why dealing with Spirit Energy is considered dangerous, and only the most mentally disciplined are allowed to become true Mages.”

  “How do you even train Spirit Energy then? I imagine that Vital Energy just comes from physical effort right?”

  “Exactly. Strengthening the body is the quickest way to increase your overall Vital Energy. Though keep in mind, the word strengthening does not always imply muscles. Spirit Energy is a little different. It is far slower and requires deep thought, meditation, and time to train. Some even believe that age is a primary factor in the size of one’s Spirit Energy pool.”

  “And what do you think is the primary factor? That sounded skeptical.”

  “Well, in my experience, life experiences seem to make a significant difference. I’ve met children who have been through terrible childhoods with massive pools of Spirit Energy. But you must not speak of this. There was a time where that was the common belief. And raising children in harsh environments with the intent of creating soldiers was an unfortunate reality. The practice has been outlawed, thankfully. No, the more likely answer is that there are some who have innate talent in magic.”

  “I think I get it.” Graham brought his paw up to his chin in thought. “So then, how do you actually use Vital or Spirit Energy? I know about the whole ‘draw a picture and poof’ part. But how do you get from here to there?”

  “By drawing a picture I’m assuming you meant the Sigils?”

  “Yea, I’ve seen my friend do it. She’s a Druid so she knows some Life magic. She draws a leaf in the air and then poof, cuts and bruises and pain are all gone.”

  “Think of the Sigils as intent. You harness the right proportions of energy and draw a Sigil. The Sigil is what takes the offered up mix of energies and converts it into an element. For example, making yourself faster involves mixing Vital and Spirit Energy into your legs and feet, granting you a burst of speed. If you were to apply that mix of energy to the Fire element, you would leave flaming steps behind you, or in extreme cases, combust and catch nearby objects on fire. Painful, but you’d be very fast indeed. In the same way, infusing the Air element will grant you a much cleaner and safer burst of speed, hence why it is the more popular version.”

  “But wait. If Sigils are intent, do you even have to draw certain symbols for the elements? Couldn’t you just wave your hands and make the spell happen?”

  “Yes, you absolutely can. Though doing so requires extreme mental clarity. Drawing the Sigils in the form of the element you’re intending to use is just a mental exercise. Why, there are even Mages who can draw two Sigils at once, unleashing devastating combination spells.”

  “Coooooooool. I wanna meet one of those Mages. What if your hands are full? Like I use a sword and a shield, does that mean I’m screwed?”

  “Language. And no it does not. You can technically draw Sigils with anything so long as you can properly mix the energies. Most people use their hands because they’re an easy focal point. But with practice, you don’t even need to move. Observe.”

  His hands folded behind his back, Graham’s Master stared directly into his eyes when a Sigil of what appeared to be three wavy lines outlined in white appeared before him suddenly. With a brief flash of light, the Sigil disappeared and the Master started floating in the air right before Graham’s eyes.

  “Whohohoaaaa. That’s so cool!”

  “Don’t get too excited. You’ll be starting at the bottom with basic Air spells. Just know that you won’t be touching Fire anytime soon. I’ll not have you destroying the Burrow because you want to see how big a ball of fire you can make.”

  “That’s…fair. Totally.” Graham was definitely going to test that out.

  “Also, I touched on it briefly, but if you get the mix of energies wrong even with the correct intent, the results could be disastrous. Even the smallest of spells could go haywire. The spell I just did? If I mixed in too much Spirit Energy, I would shoot up to the roof of the Burrow. Now then, stand up so that I can show you how to summon your Vital and Spirit Energy.”

  “Yes, Master!”

  Ding Ding Ding

  “That’s the City Hall bell. It seems they’ve called for a gathering. Strange. Come, young Graham. Our training can wait.”

  Graham couldn’t stop the groan from coming. He drug his feet behind his Master as they both exited the stone courtyard of the Master’s house and made their way down to the city center of the Burrow. Though sad to leave behind his magic training, a small spark of curiosity flared to life. City Hall gatherings were rare, and usually not for good news. This day is getting more and more interesting.