9 Chapter 7.5: Lessons

"Are you even listening?"

Rhaegah snapped out of his deep thought looking up at Nygel who'd been speaking to a statue for some time now. "Magic is like self expression.....is that what you're trying to tell me?"

The elder mage thought for a while and after a few moments he replies "In summary, magic is the effect of what your mind can create, and your will and mana can project. Magic as an expression is a new concept so I'll work my way through it" He sat facing Rhaegah as the others went about their business except Herke, who seemed to always want to be wherever Rhaegah was...And Auia as well. Nala seemed to always disappear until she needed something. Rhaegah took a mental note to observe the Terra demon who in his opinion was a master at stealth.

"Magic is the projection of a person's thoughts in form of action" Nygel trailed on drawing Rhaegah's attention "Your magic is powered by your mana core. The projected magic differs from each individual based on the nature of the core..... Something akin to personality". He gestured towards Auia who went eyes wide when all the attention was on her "Auia's water magic can never be the same as any other person. The basic form of elemental manipulation is the same at the start until the mage encounters their core. This is evident in the spell cast where the power projected by the mage is revealed"

"So you can't copy a spell?"

"Any spell can be copied, but the projection will be different based on how the core perceives that spell" Nygel replied him making Rhaegah's basic understanding of magic complete. "Spells are even more complicated.....I'll explain" Nygel says holding a hand to stop whatever question Rhaegah was already about asking. "The reason why your use of magic is as it is is because you have no knowledge of your school"

"School?" Rhaegah's brow shot up "There are eight schools of magic that house all spells" Nygel replied.

This trip started out as a swaying deathtrap when they left Faireim as storms suddenly brewed as though cast by someone and brought with it many creatures with it, most harmless marine life with the occasional appearances of creatures Rhaegah termed as sharks as they didn't differ in many ways besides the fact that these short legs in addition to their large fins. He was beginning to feel like this was another waste of time if the answer to his questions was elsewhere. This exchange with Nygel made all the occurrences before that time moot. "And what are the schools.....I believe I at least have to know them"

"The Divine school of magic.....The Force school of magic..... The Infernal school of magic..... The Arcane school of magic..... The Acoustic school of magic..... The Chaos school of magic..... The Elemental school of magic..... And the Mana school of magic"

"For now you only need know two...the Elemental school where your lightning falls under, and the Mana school that prioritizes mastery of the energy that resides in all things" Nygel ended "I understand why I have to learn more about the Elemental school but why the Mana school?" Rhaegah's question made Nygel confirm that the boy wasn't one to simply follow instructions blindly but would question everything. "Mana is the energy that resides in all things..... People objects plants and even spells" Rhaegah had a thought but waited to let Nygel conclude "Learning to manipulate the very energy that flows in everything is something that should pique anyone's interest don't you think?"

That statement had more to it but Rhaegah had more to learn and pushed on "So how do I learn spells?" he asked and after Nygel explained he was now already exhausted by the thought.

To cast a spell one would need to learn the language of their school. Hence he as an elemental mage would need to learn Primordial..... The language of the Elementals. Nygel had Auia aid his explanation by casting a spell.

The half elf stepped towards the side of the ship facing the open sea. She stretched a hand out and with specific instructions from Nygel, she cast the spell. Right before her outstretched hand, a ball of light formed. Around the ball of light, inscriptions formed in a foreign language and spread out in various patterns around the ball. Suddenly small circles formed enclosing the various writings both individually and in pairs. A large circle of light formed round the the entire display and enclosed everything around the ball of light sending a small wave of mana around signifying the spell was done.

Suddenly pools of water rose from the large ocean body and began forming the shape of what Rhaegah concluded was a great flame. "Please consider my own desires before demanding such a task in the future" Auia stated to Nygel and after a respectful bow, walked to another region of the ship to do absolutely nothing. "Again with that attitude" Rhaegah thought and turned to face Nygel. "The ball of light is the core of the spell. It is a concentration of whatever amount of mana to be used for the spell"

"Hers was a bright blue core..... Does that mean anything?" Rhaegah asked trying to confirm his guess "Yes indeed... The core of the spell resonates with the core within you. So casting a spell instantly let's the enemy know what your core's attributes are"

"That concludes The Base. The base is the core I mentioned it is the fundamental part of a spell. Next is The Content. This refers to the inscriptions that form the spell. The base connects with the caster's core and words manifest around the base. The words are inscribed in the language of the source of the spell. All spells have their sources from the various types of magic. For instance, element based spells no matter how complex are written in Primordial...the language of the elementals, holy and dark based spells are written in Hallowed and Infernal respectively and so on. Without the caster having knowledge of the language, the mandala cannot be formed"

This meant Rhaegah had to learn Primordial else he'd have to rely on his superhero use of his powers forever. "But to learn an entire language in its written form? Isn't that a bit too much?" Rhaegah cried out rubbing his head "Most mages spend years learning and some don't even finish their practice before death takes them. A mage is always learning.....and yes you have to learn it if you want to truly wield your powers" Rhaegah sighed in defeat knowing there was no quick fix for that and there was no use trying to battle that now "Finally, we have The Bind. This is the circle that encloses both the base and the contents giving the mandala its signature circular form" the whole concept of a mandala had been broken down into three impossibly simple steps yet what Rhaegah saw from Auia's spell was a combination of many processes before getting to the desired mandala. Still this was of no real use to him now as he had no contents for the mandala yet. "A caster must have the ability to contain the base and contents of the spell hence the spell breaks apart and depending on the complexity of the contents and the amount of mana that created the base, the breaking of a spell could be disastrous"

Rhaegah understood the conditions for spell casting as hopeless as it seemed. "Hold up..... I remember casting a spell a while ago" he looked over at Nygel who seemed to always prove himself to be a mind reader "Or have you already successfully casted a spell?"

"Can't say for sure but I remember a mandala appearing before anything happened" he thought back and instead of hopelessly trying to remember the markings on the mandala, he tries to remember the sensation that brought about the spell.

Lightning cackles were heard and he opened his eyes to see that indeed a mandala had formed around him. This mandala had inscriptions on the edges right below the bind but was hollow the rest of the way to him. Focusing on his mana he was able to make sure the spell didn't go off as he shut his mind to the image of the 'Dragon Cry' which would be disastrous if set off now. Nygel went eyes wide as he observed the mandala before it dissipated leaving Rhaegah panting, the strain evident on his leaning figure.

"That was indeed a spell. The appearance of a mandala signifies the successful casting of one. But this one was incomplete for some reason....how did you come to learn this spell?" Nygel asked wondering how he was able to cast a spell before ever knowing how "I'm not sure what happened exactly but after Auia told me to find my core I spent a while trying to focus and find mine" Nygel was surprised at how fast Rhaegah picked up on new things "Then I saw myself or at least a projection of myself. But I looked deprived of everything..... It was like I was almost dead, starved more likely. And when the projection vanished, I simply knew how to cast that spell Dragon Cry"

"DRAGON CRY?!" Nygel exclaimed taking a step back at the mention of the name. Realizing he had revealed that there was more to the spell judging by the mixed signals of surprise and curiosity Rhaegah showed, he motioned to speak but caught a glimpse of a Rh'aive, a large bird that wasn't common but not so rare that you wouldn't come across one when traveling. Atop the Rh'aive sat Symmone who leapt off the bird landing gracefully as though it was second nature to him. The bird looked just like a large hawk to Rhaegah making him wonder what other creatures existed in this world. "How goes the lesson?" he asked Nygel after a nod to Rhaegah "He won't be casting spells for the time being" was Nygel's reply "I see... The other matter has been dealt with"

Rhaegah felt the air tense up as Nygel sighed and placed a hand on Symmone's shoulder "I promise it was worth it"

"Rhae" Herke called out from the same spot he'd been standing with Auia coming to join them. "So you're stuck without spells" he added when Rhaegah walked up "The great dragonborn.....our hope for Valoren has to go back to the basics of spell casting" Auia voiced what was already in his head "Yeah cos it's my fault I grew up away from all of this" he shot back staring coldly. It seemed everyone forgot that he only just found out about magic and Valoren when Nygel came to him.

"Well that's something you do not see often" Nala's voice sent shivers down Rhaegah's spine cos she was nowhere to be found a moment ago. Looking towards where she pointed, Rhaegah lost all thought as out of the water leapt the scaled humanoid creatures he'd only ever heard stories about.....Mermaids "and a merman?" he thought at the sight of the male amongst three mermaids. Yes these were mer-people but looking closely he was almost sure he saw legs laying straight under their tails. "Well that changes things". Amidst the fascination, Rhaegah could clearly sense something ominous coming towards them. The thought was confirmed when the mermaids scurried off in various directions.

Nothing but the sound of the waves could be heard. "That is one impressive barrier" Nygel's voice broke the silence stretching a hand out facing nothing. A bright gold mandala formed and a second layer, a piece of the scenery broke to pieces revealing a large ship..... It's size rivalling theirs. All around the ship people scurried about getting ready for what they had learnt to expect on the sea..... Battle.

"So much quality on one ship..... Must be our lucky day" a husky voice spoke from behind them dragging their attention straight to the source. Auia had been rendered speechless as her swift turn was cut short by the feeling of a blade on her back. She wondered how he got there in the first place. Suddenly people began landing on the ship and spreading out trying to box everyone on the ship in. Rhaegah noticed that the ominous vibe he picked was still not present. The figure behind Auia suddenly appeared before him without any prior movement looking down at him.

Rhaegah only registered the scar across the man's face stretching from over his left eye straight down to his chin. He instantly felt like a priced good under the stare sending a bead of sweat down his face. The smile of one who knows the value of all things... The audacity to attack a random sailing ship... The insane killing intent he could sense from him..... This was a pirate.

The figure flickered away revealing the same person still behind Auia with a smile that assured his dominance. "An afterimage? That kinda speed is possible?" Rhaegah realized increasing his uneasiness "A half-elf will be an adequate source of entertai-" a slight whoosh followed by a maddening scream rendered all that meaningless as the pirate screamed in pain after having his arm cut clean off. "To finish that statement is to end your life" Symmone spoke coldly as the pirate writhed in agony. An unspoken order was suddenly carried out as Herke, Auia and Nala stood ready and sped off in various directions towards any enemy they could find.

Auia raced towards one pirate swinging her already drawn sword for a deadly strike. The pirate dodged the swing almost effortlessly returning with a hit pushing her a few feet back. She winced in pain.... Then stood frozen as the pirate's cowl slipped off revealing a white haired elf. None other than Rhaegah noticed this and thanks to all the movies and anime he knew what that meant.....death. Freezing in the middle of a deadly scenario could only be caused by shock or extreme fear, none of which mattered to Rhaegah as the elf drew closer to Auia.

Rhaegah stood in awe as the elf was caught at the neck by Nygel who literally appeared out of nowhere. "Of all the things that could occur..... You were the unfortunate one" Nygel looked towards Auia who was now in tears "Worry not child. We will protect you" he continued turning to face the struggling elf "and act on behalf of your anger" he ended, as a large golden mandala formed over the ship casting a gold glow on everything on the ship.



The air went dead as all the pirates were slammed onto the deck of the ship by an unseen force. "Dragon Aura" Nygel simply stated before dropping the unconscious elf. Rhaegah felt the same thing everyone did.....Nygel's anger.

"Guess they were all talk after all" Herke commented trying to break the awkward silence that befell the ship. Rhaegah looked at him in disbelief..... The pirates were in no way weak, Nygel was just too powerful. "Even Symmone didn't seem like taking the pirate's arm was any trouble.....what are these two?" Rhaegah watched as Auia fell into Symmone's arms gripping him tight still sobbing. Rhaegah wondered why the sight of another elf would have such an effect on her. Symmone took her below deck as the crew members went about apprehending the pirates before they regained consciousness.

Rhaegah said nothing further and walked towards Nygel who seemed to be expecting him. "What was that spell?"

"Dragons are the most powerful beings in existence. The release of a dragon's deadly aura is enough to kill most creatures instantly, but with precise control I can let out just enough to render most people unconscious"

"You can use dragon magic?! How?!" Rhaegah asked not convinced just anyone could use such magic "I never mentioned it? I am dragon-born as well"

It took everything Rhaegah had to remain stable "You're dragon-born?!" nothing but those words were uttered from him. His mind went blank instantly. He'd been wondering just how many dragon-born existed and the possibility of meeting one, and he had met one from the very beginning? "I was born with the soul of the gold dragon of control"

*This short chapter was a means of breaking down the concept of magic and spell casting (excuses.... I know) but subsequent chapters will have the original lengths..... Thanks

*Disclaimer- Any quote from the start till the end of this book that sounds familiar probably is..... though it's not like one goes searching for them. I'm a fan of so many different shows and have picked up too much from them.