5 Chapter 4 - Mages 101

"Good morning professor!", said, Damien, while Robert nodded on seeing Marcus enter the library.

"Oh! It is good to see two knowledge-hungry individuals in the morning.", exclaimed Marcus with pleasure as he saw Damien and Robert's face filled with eagerness.

"We shall start with a history lesson of the Black Dragon empire.", said, Marcus, while passing two books to the duo.

"The Black Dragon empire was formed 3500 years ago. The first emperor, Maximus, was a member of the Shamans on the dragon continent of A'pagorevminoz. It is said that in his early years Maximus met the Black Steel Dragon, who took Maximus under its wing as an apprentice and named him Maximus Carinus Tyceon.

During Maximus' training period the Black Steel Dragon contended for the title of the Dragon Emperor which he won by defeating ruthlessly and single-handedly five champion dragons and then the White Goldhorn Empress.

After the Black Steel Dragon became the emperor, Maximus completed his training under him.

Later, Maximus expressed his wish to go to the human occupied continent of Pandora; the dragon complied. Hence, Maximus arrived at the continent riding on the back of the Dragon Emperor. On reaching the continent the dragon disguised himself as a commoner human and roamed around along with Maximus, in order to widen his knowledge of the human society.", explained Marcus in detail.

He paused for a moment in order to see if the duo had any questions. Damien's attention was concentrated on the book in his hands for a long time. While he was looking at the illustrations of Maximus' travels, a question had come to his mind.

(O : lets name dragon continent A'pagorevminoz . R: Aapagoo... wtf? O: Done!)

"Professor, why is the name of the dragon not mentioned in any of the sources of history?", asked Damien while looking Marcus in the eye with curiosity.

"Only Lord Maximus and Lord Orren knew his name", explained Marcus as he was intrigued by Damien's question, "It is said that knowledge of a dragon's name is one of the greatest forms of knowledge there is. A dragon's name is extremely powerful and if one speaks the true name of a dragon, it is said that one could be the cause of the descent of a disastrous calamity. It is also said that the dragon had forbidden the lords from ever telling his name to anyone."

"Anyways, we must continue."

"After several months of travelling, Maximus and the dragon were introduced to a dwarven blacksmith unbeatable in his craftsmanship. Maximus was successful in convincing him to join his group on their travels. In the near future, they would form a bond of friendship unlike any other. This dwarf, as you may know, was lord Orren, the creator and the only Ruby ranked scholar of the Scholar's academy.

Several years after they had roamed the Elvan empire and the human lands, which were divided into several smaller duchies, Maximus comprehended the cause of the great misery of his people - this system - and was encouraged by the dragon and Orren to take over the human lands. Though reluctant at first, Maximus later agreed to the idea, realizing that the only salvation was a complete change is a structure."

"Maximus formed an advanced army consisting of rebels and bandits who were against the duchies and trained them in the ways of the draconic martial arts, which to this day is only taught to the strongest warriors of the kingdom. Orren, who brought nearly 500 dwarves under his wing, created state-of-the-art weapons for the 15000 men army.

Slowly and steadily, Maximus waged war on the Duchies. Starting from the North, in a span of 2 years he was able to reach the gates of the central Duchy of Duke Matthew, who refused to surrender and employed the help of the vampires from the Blood Haven empire to defeat Maximus.

The vampires wreaked havoc on Maximus' army and nearly killed him. This was the greatest mistake of the Duke for it angered the Dragon Emperor beyond measure."

"Thus began the greatest massacre that has ever occurred in Pandora. The Emperor unleashed the Divine Dragon Flame on the entire Duchy and the borders of the Blood Haven Empire.

Several million men were reduced to ashes in an instant. Nothing remained. The grounds were destroyed beyond repair and this land is now known as the Holy Trinity Barren Expanse. After this event, the remaining Southern Duchies signed a pact with Maximus, pledging their loyalty to him for retaining the control over their territories. Maximus, not wanting to cause any political unrest, changed the court system to that in which there would be only one Grand Duke, one Marquis and only one Earl, among whom the territory would be divided according to rank after the carving of the capital..."

"Wait for a second Sir. Didn't you tell us that 'Holy Trinity' was formed because of a fight between a Dragon and an Angel?"

"Ah! That? That is an old folklore from my home town, it was just a joke in order to incite your curiosity," Marcus laughed.

"Okay, that is enough history for today. We will take a break now, after which we will continue on with some arithmetic and start with the magic lessons.", paused Marcus while Damien stood up to get some water for his Professor. After the break, they studied for 2 hours while Marcus took notice of how well versed the duo were in their arithmetic skill.

(R: why would you teach them maths? O: They have to suffer...)

***

After their Arithmetic lesson, Marcus began explaining the two about Mage ranking and Mage skill test.

"Now how much do you two know about Mages?", Marcus asked.

"Sir, Mages are the beings who can control mana and cast magic", answered Damien.

"Sir, I believe that Mages are those who understand the principle behind mana to cast spells and accomplish tasks", Robert said, looking at Damien from the corner of his eye and grinning within himself.

"Both of you are partly correct, but the correct definition of a Mage would be- a being who seeks the truth behind the principles of the universe in order to exercise their control over the world".

Damien began scribbling in a book while Robert repeated the sentence in his mind.

"Now what do you know about mana and magic?"

"Sir, mana is a special component of the world other than energy and matter. It can be converted into matter and energy and back again. It can be controlled by a Mage and the phenomenon caused by mana is called magic."

"Indeed you are correct Damien, all mages harness the power of mana to cast magic.", Marcus nodded his head in delight. Robert, on the other hand, was slightly amazed. 'Damien is already so knowledgeable? Ahh! The bookworm also has his days', thought Robert.

"But sir, how do mages cast magic?", inquired Robert.

"Mages use the power of their soul and phrases spoken in a definite order to influence mana. They then compress that mana via a medium like a wand or a staff, or they use spell formations inscribed on a medium, and with the detachment of mana formation formed by the medium, a spell is cast."

"That sounds difficult!", exclaimed Damien with dismay.

"That is exactly why not everyone has the ability to become a true mage!", said Marcus with a tinge of laughter. "Now, let me tell you about the Mage ranking system..."

"Mages are divided into several ranks. The trainee stage, also known as the Herald, is when a human starts to sense and manipulate mana in minor amounts. After this stage is the first 4-ranks, namely - Neomage, Guardian, Crusader and Titan. With each rank, a significant power difference occurs. As an example, a Guardian would not be killed even with the combined efforts of two Neomages.

I, a Crusader-ranked mage will be able to kill you two just by releasing my aura. ", he continued while the two faces opposite his went pale.

"Do you two know that your father is even more powerful than me?", Marcus said, smiling.

"Father is so strong? No wonder he is an Earl!", exclaimed Robert and the two brothers shared ecstatic glances.

"Yes, according to our empire's rules the noble positions are given by merit, which means that if you two fail to reach the power level of your father, then your family will have to descend to the rank of Count."

"I will become stronger than father!", declared Damien enthusiastically.

"Sure, Damien, you will. Now, let me explain to you the Mage assessment which takes place every year during the end of summers...", said Marcus as he started to describe the test.

"So, the test is divided into 3 phases - Elemental affinity test, Spirit aptitude test and the Ability test. The Elemental affinity test will tell you about the two basic elements that you have an affinity with; the basic elements include- Earth, Wind, Fire, Water and Lightning.

The proportion of the affinity of the two elements differs from individual-to-individual. They are never exactly the same for two people. For example, Damien and you, Robert, may have an affinity for Fire and Water. However, Damien's fire affinity may be 2.5 or something times more than his water affinity. While on the other hand, Robert may have his affinity for Fire 2.8 times more than his affinity for water. Any questions?". Robert and Damien shook their heads.

Marcus continued, "Then there is the Soul aptitude test which determines the quality of your soul and the current mana capacity. Mana capacity is the amount of mana one can influence before exhausting oneself. The quality of your soul determines the speed at which you can increase the mana capacity and recover your spirit stamina. It also tells us about your advancement speed as a mage. Although, in recent times these two tests are taken together at once. I hope you two understand what I am saying."

"Yes, sir!", confirmed the two with vigour, a fire burning in their eyes.

Marcus, with an amused look on his face, said, "Good. Now the last test - the Ability test! As you would already know that the Mage assessment test is compulsory for all children who turn or are about to turn 14 that year. However, the 3rd part of the test has a condition-only Heralds are allowed to give their test. A Herald is also known as a pseudomage and can slightly influence or detect the movement of mana but cannot cast spells.

Comparatively, it is easy to become one so you two should aim to become a Herald as soon as possible." Marcus looked at them with anticipation in his eyes and continued, "So the Ability test determines your ability. An ability is a unique spell which is embedded in the soul. Although similar effects can be produced by magic, the abilities are more versatile and powerful. Sometimes, magic cannot produce the same effect. For example, my ability is 'write'. I can draw anything or produce an image on any surface!"

Marcus pulled out a sheet of paper and caressed his hand over it. A portrait of Robert and Damien together was produced on the sheet. The children's eyes popped out as they saw magic. The portrait was lifelike as if the two had looked into a mirror. Marcus smiled at these two innocent creatures. He could feel in himself an uncommon liking towards the two.

"Do you two know that Humans are very lucky in this aspect? While other species have their abilities determined by their bloodline, albeit with variations, we humans have different abilities! It is possible for two people to have the same abilities but all the mankind does not share the same one."

"Sir, could you explain how the abilities of other species are same, but with variations?"

"That is something you learn after becoming a Herald so pardon me... However, let me tell you about the ability ranking. Abilities are divided into groups, depending on several factors. It is possible to evolve one's abilities although it is very rare. They are ranked as - D, C, C+, B, B+, A, A+, S, SS, SSS. While B class is the aggregate, A+ signifies very rarely. S class is for 1 person in a hundred million, while SSS class is something that has never been found. However, it is speculated that the first human emperor who brought peace in the chaotic age and ended the great war had an ability belonging to this class!"

As Marcus finished the sentence, the Grandfather clock nearby struck 12. Marcus concluded the session by informing them that he will not be taking classes for the coming five days due to an important travel plan.

"Danny, come to my room in the evening. I wish to talk to you about Father's letter.", said Robert when they were left alone.