Another lesson

Between all the practice he had gotten and three sisters helping this time, the previously challenging climb proved a breeze and the four siblings soon found themselves inside a familiar cave. Familiar to everyone except Lynn, that was. After the introductions had been made, and Seph had congratulated Lynn on her pregnancy, Vel left his sisters with the old man and headed outside with Fal.

No more than 10 minutes later Vel was looking at the remains of two completely annihilated trees, the wreckage smoldering. “That was well done, Lordling. You didn’t even fall over this time!” Indeed, he had been prepared this time and kept his balance. “I didn’t even put full power into those two bolts, and yet I blew up a tree with each…” Vel trailed off and Fal nodded gravely. “Yes, you did. It is good that you understand how seriously dangerous your own powers are, a lot of battlemage recruits need to have that beaten into them.” Fal looked at the remains himself. “And no recruits have this level of power. Hell, few seasoned battlemages could match this.” He looked back to Vel. “You can maim and kill with the flick of a finger. It is not a thing to take lightly.“ Vel nodded. “I suppose learning control and moderation is every bit as important as growing stronger.” Another nod from his instructor. “Yes, and it is good that you understand that. Now, lets us move on to something else. You seem to have the basics of this part down, and then some.”

The merc unsheathed his sword and handed it to Vel. “Here, take this, and see if you can feel it.” He wondered what he was supposed to feel only for a moment. As soon as he gripped the hilt, something within the blade kind of pulled on him. Maybe that wasn’t the right word, but he was aware of something inside the sword, he felt it in his magical reserves. “I definitely feel it.” Fal nodded. “That’s to be expected, but still good.” The large man pointed at the weapon. “This is a battlemage’s weapon, a flameblade to be precise. They are made so magic can be focus into them. In this particular case, fire. Weapons need to be made for one kind of magic specifically, and it doesn’t work with all kinds.” Vel nodded this time. “So, you can use flame magic?” Fal snapped his fingers and a little burst of flame erupted. “Yes. I have the gifts of lightning and fire. It is not common for mages to have more than one gift, but not unheard of either. What I have is a rare combination though, and one with incredible destructive potential. It is unlikely that you who we already know has two gifts will have fire too, but there is no harm in trying.” That made sense to Vel, and he nodded once again.

“Igniting the blade isn’t easy and it takes most people a lot of practice. What you need to do is focus on that little bit of magically reactive material inside it, that is what you feel pulling on your reserves. Do that now, really feel it and try to see it in your mind’s eye.” Vel did so and was pretty sure he succeeded. “I think I’m doing it.” Fal chuckled. “We may well be about to find out. Next, you’ve got to channel fire into it, all while keeping that connection.” That part sounded trickier. “How do I channel fire?” His instructor inclined his head. “That is the hardest part, and one that is difficult to teach.” He paused to take a breath. “Something that can help is to have a verbal component, often called a spellword. A word you associate with fire, but not one you use regularly. Personally, I use the Shwili word for fire.” So other languages were an option, that made the choice obvious to Vel. “The old Vashkai word for fire is hrild. I think I will try that.” Fal seemed to approve. “That is an excellent choice, go ahead and try it. Feel the connection to the blade, form your magic into flame and channel it into the blade. Don’t be discouraged if it doesn’t work the firs ti-“ Vel didn’t mean to interrupt his instructor, but he felt the connection to the blade, and the timing just seemed right. “Hrild!”

The blade ignited in a full-on blaze, startling Vel so badly he nearly dropped it. “Fucking shit!” Fal looked dumbfounded. “How do I stop it from burning?” His teacher had neglected that part. “Sever your connection with the blade, it shouldn’t be hard.” And indeed, it wasn’t. Vel stopped focusing on the thing inside the weapon and the flames vanished. The sword looked exactly the same as it had before, no damage or anything. Vel realized the metal wasn’t even warm. Amazing.

“Okay then, you definitely have fire magic too. Remarkable. Three gifts is nearly unheard of, and I have certainly never heard of anyone having the same three gifts as you do.” He shook his head. “I can see why the old man considers you to be so important. With your powers, you could almost conquer the world.” Vel suppressed a smile.

They spent the rest of the lesson focused on fire. It didn’t come nearly as easily to Vel as the lightning had, but by the end he could ignite his hands, which was significantly harder than igniting the sword, and even throw some small fireballs. It wasn’t nearly as effective as his lighting bolts, but Fal seemed impressed by his progress. “The fact that you can do all this after only two brief lessons is, quite frankly, fucking insane. It shouldn’t really be possible.” Vel shrugged, not sure what to say to that. The merc just chuckled. “I think that’s enough for today though, let us head back and save the old man from your lady sisters.”