Preparing for Academy 1

"First after I teach you how to call light and dark magicles I will provide you some ways to train to use them properly. The dark element as I have stated can be used to get rid of waste and illnesses and the like. However that is only when it is used properly. The dark element can also cause damage, essencially it tries to break down anything it comes into contact with. I am sure you have noticed that when you call magicles to your will once you release them the resultant spell cannot hurt you right? So I don't fear you hurting yourself with dark magic but beware of using it near others until you have a good grasp of what you are doing.

Next, over the next two to three years when I visit I expect you to show me your progress with light and dark. Once you have mastered calling them to a degree I will take a few days to teach you the basics of spell casting. I say two to three years because I plan to recommend you to attend a magic academy when you are six. To attend you will need to learn to read. I will make arrangements for someone in town to teach you a few days a week.

Magic academy will teach you how to form actual spells once you collect the magicles. Magicles need to be arranged in a certain order to perform spells like fireballs and tornadoes and such. Going to academy will teach you about this and allow you to learn specializations if you are interested. We can talk about that later though.

Now I need to get back to my patients. Don't look so glum I won't go back on my promise. However it will take more time than just a few minutes to teach you properly so you will need to return tomorrow. I will stay in town specifically to teach you. This will also allow me to recommend someone to teach you to read and write. Let's get back"

Jerod nodded and they returned to the waiting room. Madam Zell said a few words to Martha about wanting Jerod to come back tomorrow and also told her about wanting him to attend a magic academy. She let her know that she would set up tutoring lessons for reading and writing with someone in town and assured her that there wouldn't be any payments necessary.

And so Madam Zell continued to diagnose and treat the rest of the patients in the clinic and Jerod and his family returned home. Martha explained the opportunity to Cal quietly behind the family as they walked. She didn't want to make the other children jealous by talking about magic academy in front of everyone.

The following day Jerod and his mother returned to Madam Zell.

"You may leave him with me for the day Martha. I will make sure he is fed and taken care of so you can return in the late afternoon so you don't have to return in the dark."

"Thank you Madam Zell! Jerod, you need to be good for Madam Zell okay? You need to do what she says and work hard. This is an opportunity for you to be more than just a farmer or soldier when you grow up."

"Yes mom! I will work hard!"

Martha turned and left with a small tear in the corner of her eye. Jerod had always been a quiet child. He was very curious and seemed to always be observing everything around himself. She knew he was different from his brothers and sisters and that this would be an opportunity that would forever change his life. She just didn't expect that she would have to prepare for him to be out of the house so quickly. The rest of the children would remain in the house until they were between 12 and 16. If either of the boys decided to join the army they could leave as soon as they turned 12 to start training whereas the girls would likely be in the house until they turned of age at 16 and would find a husband. This made her extremely sad thinking that she would essencially lose six years of spending time with her baby boy.

After Martha left Madam Zell took Jerod back into her garden to start her demonstration and explanation of light and dark magic.

"Now little Jerod, pay attention to the explanation first and then I will demonstrate the collection of the magicles. Once we are done with that I will let you ask questions and you can have some practice time as well. Later I will take you and introduce you to your reading and writing tutor. Do you have any concerns before we begin?"

"Actually I do have a question or really a request. You said yesterday that magicles have to be structured in specific ways to cast real spells. Could you show me a demonstration?"

"Hmm.. Well I suppose it is only natural to be curious. How about I show you a spell if you can prove to me you are paying attention to my explanations about light and dark magic? I don't want you to get too far ahead of yourself before the lesson begins."

"Okay! I am ready then!"

"Right... Now we will start with light magicles. Let me drive one point home first. Once you are able to understand calling to light magicles you will have an extremely easy time learning to call the dark magicles. Many people confuse light and dark to be opposites, but if there was no light there wouldn't be darkness. Also, if there was no darkness there would be no light. I know it is confusing to think about but any healer you speak to will preach this mentality.

Light magic has the ability to heal but when used in certain ways can also cause damage. Just like dark magic can be used to remove an infection from someone's hand instead of just removing the hand. It is all in how the magic is used.

Let me ask you, when you are calling to fire, water, earth, and wind magicles what is the sensation you have? Many people describe it in a different way so this will help me to teach you how to call the light and dark magicles."

"Well... Basically when I collect magicles I envision what I call the spirit inside of me and make it vibrate at a rate that calls the elements. Each element has a different rate they respond to."

"Spirit? That is an apt name to call it. It is generally referred to as the soul. It is interesting that you are able to move it to different speeds as you wish. That may be why you are so adept at calling elements in large quantities. Most people develop a connection or a feeling when they are trying to communicate with a specific element. Once this is established they just remember this feeling or connection and they are able to gather the elements that they want. You aren't the first person I have heard of describing how you call the elements but you are certainly more effective than anyone else at this basic level.

Hearing your explanation though means that it may be a bit easier to teach you. Since you can see magicles when they gather are you able to see anything else when this is happening?"

"Not clearly. When I was learning how to draw in the magicles I had observed my family doing chores and had noticed that their soul vibrated. However when I tried to vibrate to the same frequency they did it didn't work for me."

"Great! So you are able to at least somewhat see manifestations of the soul! If we refer back to what I mentioned before everyone has their own connection or feeling when communicating to magicles so what works for one person generally won't work for someone else. The exception to that is light and dark magicles. However, it is different than other elements, this is because the other elements are commonly found in our surroundings making them easy to call forth. With light and dark magicles we essentially are creating them with our own mana.

Hmm.. Mana is basically a resource inside our bodies that allows us to manipulate magicles. I am sure when you were learning at home there were times when you found that you couldn't cast any more spells after doing it for a while right? This happens when our mana in our body is drained from usage. Now this resource naturally replenishes itself over time, it can also be replenished through external means such as potions or special items you can wear.

Now, you need to remember this as using light or dark magic uses mana faster than using the other elements. This is why healers aren't as common as battle mages. Not everyone has enough mana to be able to heal for long periods of time. Most battle mages know a few simple healing spells that will help them to stop their bleeding or numb pain, however these spells are generally used as a last resort as casting one healing spell is the equivalent of casting multiple attacking spells.

That should be enough of an explanation for now. Since you are able to observe the soul to a degree we can jump into the demonstration. I want you to watch me closely. I will gather light magicles around my hand. Instead of watching my hand though you need to pay attention to every part of my soul you can see."

Madam Zell then proceeded to call forth light magicles to her hand. Jerod and Lindsay observed everything they could see of Madam Zell's soul for a few minutes before they noticed something different than usual. Normally when they observed the light spell being cast the magicles would collect only briefly. Knowing now that the magicles for light magic weren't being collected from the air they saw the magicles coming into existence at her finger. After a bit a light magicle would circulate back towards her body and merge in while another would come out. This phenomenon continuously happened like a closed circuit water route. After noticing this they tried to follow what happened to the magicle after is was absorbed back into her body and found that there seemed to be an energy current moving towards her chest.