Dravincia

by Blake Severson

  “That might be another problem. I was not joking when I said our peoples did not have the best relationship. They may be somewhat hostile around her. I don’t know if anyone would outright attack her since she is a woman, but I also doubt she is going to feel very welcome in a city of humans.” He said, sounding downcast.

  “We can cross that bridge when we get to it. For what it is worth, I appreciate you swallowing those prejudices and being nice during your introduction. I saw the struggle play out on your face. I know it can be hard to get past ingrained hatred when you need to.”

  Rowan gave Arthur a lopsided grin, “I have no personal problem with dark elves myself and have never run ill of one before, so I only have the things that have been constantly repeated around me to fall back on. I think that helped me push through since I was never personally subject to any wrong from a dark elf. I am not sure if others will able to do the same. We also know almost nothing about this woman. Why is she out in the middle of the forest on her own anyway? It just seems like nothing but trouble.”

  “There are things we don’t know, but I could argue almost the same thing about you. I honestly don’t know you very well, personally, other than our interactions today. I’ll keep an eye on her for anything suspicious, but I think she could be beneficial to us helping get the town back in order.” Arthur told him.

  Rowan winked at him, “I am sure you will be keeping your eye on her. Not that I could blame you with how beautiful she is.”

  Arthur laughed, “I agree on that as well. Let’s get this little trip finished up. We have a lot of things to take care of when we get back. All these supplies need to be sorted out and worked on. The meat will have to all be quartered and salted. I am sure we can get Daniel to assist with some of this. The hides will need to be scraped and prepared for use, and the other herbs and things we have found will need to be put up in storage. Daniel will handle most of the food items, and as soon as we get a decent amount of stock together, I want us to get a plan together to start providing some food to the town.”

  “This is going to take more people than just Daniel, you, and myself, but if we can get the foundation started and try and get the town back on their feet, I think we have a better chance of getting the place back in order. We can start by finding some of the other necessary craftsmen, if there are any others in town, to start bringing into the fold. Enticing them with some of our food and some supplies to work with should get most of them to help out as we need, and of course first and foremost I want to make sure we have something in place to discretely make sure the women and children are provided for no matter what.

  Once everything is back in order, and everyone is contributing, this won’t be an issue anymore, but the women and children will have to be fed quietly, so we don’t start a mad rush of people trying to get food without working for it. I know Daniel has already been trying to help some of the women and children on his own, so I think with what we bring in today, it will help him greatly.” Arthur continued.

  “While I don’t mean to offend, and I do appreciate what you are trying to do for the village, what is your purpose in this? As far as I know, you do not know anyone here and are from an unknown land. You did not know about the local problems or the lords until you arrived, and now you are trying to face off against these people and help out a whole group of strangers. The situation just makes no sense.” Rowan said.

  “A fair question, to be honest, the main reason is that I am essentially on a divine mission here from a Goddess to assist this land in fixing some of its problems. I am also unable to return to my previous home, so I need to make this home a good one. If I am going to be living here for the foreseeable future, I need to make it a place worth staying.” Arthur answered.

  “If that is the case, then let us make the village something worthwhile again. I didn’t end up coming to the village until right around the time the decline started, but I do remember the stories of how great the place used to be and I remember seeing some of the evidence to support it before everything started falling apart from neglect and abuse by Lord Golgara. If we can find some more to help us on our hunting trips, it would be useful. This forest has always been dangerous, and there were rumors that people kept disappearing because of the Dark Elves and the Goblins when they ventured in here. That is why almost no one will brave it.” Rowan told him.

  “We will have to work on it, but I look forward to seeing the results,” Arthur told him. They continued in silence for a few more moments until Arthur turned to Rowan and motioned that he was going to go speak with Allendria at the front. Rowan gave him a quick smile, followed by a wink as Arthur left. Arthur sped up slightly so he could get out in front of Rowan and the cart and catch up to Allendria. He noticed she was scanning the area in front of her constantly in what he could only imagine was her trying to find something she recognized.

  “Find anything familiar yet?” Arthur asked the dark elf.

  She gave him a frustrated glare followed by a sigh, “Nothing yet, but I am rather sure we are at least headed in the correct direction. Although, it appears I may have signed on for a little more than I had thought. From the sounds of things, you are trying to bring a village back from the ashes, and I am not quite sure if that is metaphorical or not.”

  Arthur chuckled, “Honestly, it may be a bit of both. The village is pretty run down, but most of the trouble is the local lord. He has a band of cronies he sends out every few months to strip the poor people of pretty much everything. Due to this, they haven’t been able to support the village very well. There was almost no food before the lord’s men stole most of it, so they do not even have what they need to plant more. Combined with the horrible state of repair on many of the buildings, and the place isn’t far away from being a ghost town.”

  “I have started the recovery process and have been able to get a couple of locals involved to help in the endeavor. The village only has one hunter that is skilled enough to brave the forest, and the rest of the villagers are too terrified of the forest. It is often said in the village that any that enter it are usually never seen again. While that is very possible, especially for the ones without much skill, I am not sure how true that is. I guess from your statement, you must have heard the conversation. I guess the hearing ability of the elves is not overly exaggerated.”

  “We do have excellent hearing, honestly. Although I haven’t quite decided how much of your eyes I want on me yet.” She said with a smirk.

  Arthur’s cheeks flushed in embarrassment, but he quickly recovered and gave her a lopsided grin. “Sorry about that, just guy talk.”

  “Uh-huh, next time, you better remember how good my hearing is instead. Rowan’s concerns about the woods are not unfounded, though. It isn’t uncommon for some of my people to kill people they see as invaders if they get too close to our patrols. The goblins tend to patrol as well, but we haven’t been patrolling much with our internal struggles. Many of our kind don’t share this prejudice, but there are a few groups. I will honor my agreement, though, and do what I can to help you. How far along are you in magical studies? What basic spells do you have as a foundation to work off of? I am not by any means close to a master, but elves, in general, tend to have a better understanding and connection to the magical forces, so we usually have a breadth of knowledge.”

  Arthur looked downcast from her statement, and she studied his face carefully. Her gaze stared into what felt like his soul until he relented with an answer for her.

  “To be quite honest, I know practically nothing about my magic. I know absolutely no spells of any kind, nor do I know how you learn one. The only thing I have managed to do was to manipulate the earth a bit, but it didn’t seem very useful at the time and just seemed to steadily drain mana with no real reward.” Arthur told her sheepishly.

  “How in the name of the Immortal Ones do you have magic but absolutely no understanding of it? It isn’t something you can normally just discover without a teacher of some kind.�
� She asked, exasperated.

  “Well, I was fortunate enough to find a magical tome that granted me earth magic. While it taught me the skill, it did not teach me how to use it nor any spells with it.” Arthur told her.

  Allendria’s eyes got so full he thought they might pop out of her beautiful face. “You found a tome that granted the skill of earth magic? A Magical Tome has not been seen in more than 50 years. There haven’t been but a handful discovered in 300 years. You must have some incredible luck to find one of those. It does increase the difficulty of my job, though.”

  “I’m sorry for being so much trouble, but at least now you can understand why I needed so much help,” Arthur told her sincerely.

  “You are at least correct in that regard. I assume I can skip over some of the more boring details and history of magic and start with some fundamentals for you to become more familiar with how magic works and ways to take advantage of it. It appears we are in for a long discussion.” She said with a sigh.

  Chapter 13

  Magical Instruction

  “Your magic has a specific feeling to it, or at least it should. Earth magic is usually described as a thrumming or low drumbeat type of feeling inside your senses when trying to control it.” Allendria told him.

  “Now that you mention it, that was the kind of feeling I had when manipulating the earth the way I did. I wasn’t very aware of the sensation myself, at the time, but now that you mention it, I can distinctly remember that feeling.” Arthur told her.

  “Well, each branch of magic has a different feel to it. I can control two different magics, I am considered a bit of an oddity myself, to be honest, because I have learned the opposing magics of water and fire. Typically, magic users will attempt to learn complementing magics before incorporating a third. My fire magic feels like a pleasant warmth on a bright summer day when I use it while my water feels like standing in a cool, running stream. The key thing to any of the magic is imagination. Magic isn’t limited by anything but your imagination. The spells I referred to before are just building blocks. Many times when someone is taught a magic skill, the person instructing them also teaches them a basic spell or two to get them used to the way the magic is controlled.”

  Arthur nodded in understanding at this. So far, it seemed pretty straightforward.

  “Once you have the basic knowledge of this, and have some practice, mages can develop their spells. I am not sure if you have ever noticed, but this world rewards ingenuity. Unique ideas are usually rewarded greatly, and this is why imagination is so important. For instance, I know one common spell taught to earth mages is to make a small earthen wall. It is typically no more than about one foot tall and three foot wide, but it can be constantly built upon with the same spell. The main benefit of creating, or discovering a spell is that it becomes a known spell at that point and, once known, can be cast with ease as long as you have the specified mana cost. Mastering a spell is also important. The more times you cast a specific spell, the more your mastery level of it raises. Mastery levels grant bonuses for the spells when you attain them. It could decrease the base cost of that spell, and in cases of a spell such as Earthen Wall, it could also increase the standard size of the affected area. For instance, that same spell at mastery level two may create a wall that is two-foot tall and four foot wide.” She went on.

  “Wait, you mean I can just do anything with my mana that produces a specific effect, and this can make a spell for me? Why didn’t it do anything when I was manipulating earth before?” Arthur asked.

  “Did you ever try and do anything with a specific goal in mind? You have to have a specific goal, and it has to be something of measurable use to be classified as a successful spell completion.” She told him.

  “Well, I guess not, I remember just shaping the ground in different ways, but I never tried to cause any type of meaningful change with a specific outcome,” Arthur told her sheepishly.

  “I would suggest you try and get the earth wall spell unlocked first. It may not seem like much, but it can be very versatile, especially to someone trying to help a struggling village survive. Being able to build earthen walls quickly can help construction projects as well as defense. I will warn you that discovering or creating a spell will be a challenge. As you noted before, your mana will drain quickly as it did when you were manipulating the ground. It will do the same when you attempt to discover the spell. It is prevalent for creating spells to require an extensive amount of mana, but the key benefit is that once discovered, their mana cost becomes a set amount and is usually much more efficient. Couple that with mastery, and it gets even more so. To start, you will need to envision the exact wall you wish to make. For the discovery, I would suggest you try and make one that is one foot tall, one foot wide, and three feet long. This is the typical basis for the earthen wall spell. Why don’t we take a break for a couple of minutes, and you can try?” she said.

  Arthur nodded his head and waved Rowan over to him. “Let’s stop here for a few minutes and get a quick snack and a drink. I am going to try something with Allendria.” Arthur told him.

  “I am sure you are,” Rowan said with a sly grin, “try to make sure she doesn’t beat you bloody for it.” He told Arthur.

  Arthur ignored him, and he and Allendria moved a little ways away from Rowan. Arthur wasn’t very concerned with Rowan finding out about his magic, but he didn’t need the distraction of the guy gawking and prodding him with questions while attempting to concentrate.

  Arthur stretched his hand to the bare spot of ground in front of them and called forth that familiar thrum he had felt before. He concentrated hard on the place and visualized what he wanted to see.

  The ground started swirling and rising. It looked like a sloppy mud puddle with kids splashing around in it and creating rising waves of earth. It rose until it had reached the one-foot mark and then started to expand. He could feel sweat beginning to drip down his face as he managed to get the area to a small one foot square block, a glance at his mana showed he still had one-hundred mana left, so he focused on the block and began to expand the length of one side to try and stretch it out to the three-foot requirement Allendria had mentioned.

  He then noticed that the strain became much worse. He watched the small little section of earth start to expand, but when it reached the two-foot mark, the force of will was getting to him. Not only that, but he checked his mana reserves and saw they had dropped drastically. He had gone from one-hundred mana to sixty. The initial block had only cost around twenty mana to make, but expanding that block one foot took twice that. Gritting his teeth and pushing through the effort caused sweat to cover his body, but he was determined to not get distracted.

  He saw the wall slowly expand, and there was a flash in his vision. He wasn’t sure how, but he could tell that it meant he was almost out of mana. He was determined to finish this though and pushed through while ignoring the flash. He kept watching the small section of the ground slowly expand until he saw it reach the size it needed to be and heard a quiet chime which was accompanied by a red flash in his vision. He noticed his mana status had a flashing red twenty on it and realized it took him precisely one hundred mana to complete this. That was going to be tedious if he could only make such small stretches of a wall for such a high cost, especially with his low mana pool and regeneration rate. He looked to his notification and was slightly startled.

  Congratulations, you have discovered the Earth Magic Spell: Earthen Wall. You have gained 250 experience in Earth Magic for discovering a known spell.

  You have gained 60 experience in Earth Magic for successfully casting Earthen Wall.

  Spell: Earthen Wall

  Requirements: Earth Magic

  Mana Cost: 20 MP

  Cast Time: 2 seconds

  Description: Creates a wall of earth that is 1’ x 1’ x 3’.

  Mastery Level: 1

  Allendria wasn’t exaggerating, Arthur thought to himself. It had drained every bit of his mana to discover
that, but the final spell ended up only costing a base of twenty mana. On top of that, she had told him the mana cost could get better with mastery. Arthur turned toward Allendria, who had been carefully watching him. He was breathing heavy as he looked her in the eye. As they looked at each other, a slow smile started to creep on each of their faces, and then suddenly, both burst into laughter.

  “Well, that was rather exhilarating!” Arthur exclaimed.

  “I am rather impressed. I have rarely ever heard of anyone successfully creating a spell on the first attempt. Usually, it takes a few failures before they can finally figure out the best way to manipulate the element to what they want. The best part for you, though, is it gives you something to build your magic skill. Now that you understand how to create spells, the sky is the limit for you when it comes to your earth magic. I also know you are unfamiliar with anything in magic, as you have stated multiple times, so I want to make sure I tell you that any spell learned can be initiated by visualizing the effect and the area and willing it to happen. Now that you have officially learned it, the effect will start as soon as you will it and will take the designated time for casting shown while using the designated mana amount from your mana pool.” She told him.

  “I guess I’ll have to work on developing some better spells over time then. Earthen Wall makes for great primitive defenses but would cost a lot of mana and a tremendous amount of time to make it useful. I wish it could be reliable for building buildings with, that could be a good way to help the villagers with their run-down houses, but an earthen wall would not be able to support the weight for buildings properly. I’d need the walls made of stone.” Arthur said dejectedly.

  Allendria smiled at him in a placating manner, “That is possible, I am not an earth mage myself but studying at my home, we were made aware of many uses of each style of magic. I know an earth mage can transmute an earthen wall into a stone wall, and I recall it having something to do with aligning the crystalline structures necessary to make it happen, but alas, I was not an earth mage and had not earned the chance to learn it. I would suggest you find a good source of solid stone and examine it with your magic, once you have an idea of how it looks to your magic you could try and realign the structure of one of your earthen walls to match. I have seen magic-users create stone walls directly without making an earthen one first, but they were advanced in their craft.”