Deep in a forest lay an inconsequential village. And away from the village was a cottage. Near the cottage was a stream. And next to the stream was a little girl, humming to herself as she watched the tadpoles swimming.
“Liara! Lunch is ready,” a voice cried from the cottage.
“Coming Grandma!” the little girl yelled over her shoulder.
As Liara scrambled up from her perch, she patted her hands down on her simple rustic dress and began running barefoot back to the cottage. Hi! My name is Liara Gurden and I am six years old. And today is the best day of my life because today. I! Become! A Mage!
“Today, you will not become a Mage.”
“Whaaat!” Liara cried. It was after lunch, and Liara’s grandfather was beginning Liara’s first magic lesson.
“Today, you will become an Apprentice.”
“Oh!” Liara squeaked. “That’s okay then.”
“I’m glad to hear that child,” her grandfather replied with a warm smile. “Remember that this is a privilege. Most don’t start until they’re ten, though perhaps nobility and royalty may start a few years earlier. But, you’ve been such a diligent child this past year, so this privilege is your reward.” Plus, retirement is so boring, he thought.
“Right! I’ll be sure to listen to you carefully and practice really hard!”
“Good. Now the first thing we have to do is make sure your mana channels to your mana pool are unblocked,” he said, taking her hand. “This may sting a bit. Oh, good, your channels are already clear.”
“Yes!” Liara cried, pumping a fist into the air.
“Okay, now let’s start trying to move your mana. Visualize your mana like a pool in your abdomen. It should feel cool in your gut, like mint tea on a summer’s day. There are many theories as to the nature of the mana that resides in your body. Within the kingdom, most mages prefer the Avelian interpretation, though you’ll find competing schools of thought throughout the world. Regardless, let’s focus again on moving your mana. First, visualize a—”
“Wait!” Liara interrupted, “I’m confused.”
“That’s alright child. A mage’s life is one of many questions. Some say that mages are simply scholars in the end, but I digress. What’s your question child?”
“Why are you teaching me how to move my mana?”
“Huh?! Oh. Well, you have to be able to move your mana to perform any magic.”
“But, I can already move my mana,” Liara replied, holding out her hand. Suddenly, a ball of mana began to float above it, which she passed back and forth between her hands, then had it circle her head twice, changing into into various geometric shapes as it did so. When it landed back in her hand, she split it out into ten balls of equal size, which held out aligned between her two hands. “See?” she asked innocently.
“Remarkable,” her grandfather muttered under her breath. “How long have you been manipulating your mana child?”
“Mmm,” Liara hummed, looking upwards into her memory, “maybe a year or two. I sometimes get really bored.”
“Huh. And I assume you can perceive mana too?”
“Yup! I’ve seen my magic, and your magic, and Grandma’s magic. And some of the villagers too!”
“Hmm. Well, I suppose that we can get started on your first spell then. Let’s see…” Hmm, he thought, most Apprentices start with Light, I’m concerned that Liara was practicing her mana manipulation for so long without telling me. Spellcasting is safe enough with appropriate precautions, but her recklessness may come back to cause trouble. So maybe a little burn now would save a lesson later.
“Your first spell,” Liara’s grandfather announced, “will be Firestarter. It is, as the name implies, a means for starting a fire. It is a common cantrip among the populace, and thus is popular house magic, mostly for lighting stovefires or fireplaces. It is also common among travelers for starting a campfire when on the road or out in the wilderness. While simpler than other fire spells, it is relatively mana expensive, and so cannot be used for extended periods of time.”
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
“Woah.”
“Now, take a small amount of mana, like one of those small balls you had at the end there, and bring it forth onto your hand,” he closed his eyes as he began to speak reverently, “Then, impress your intent and will upon the mana. The mana is to become hot, spark, and then come alight. It shall be a small flame, but with you may create a fire to drive away the dark and the cold. The fire is the progenitor tool of humanity. With it, we—Child!” he cried out, after taking a peak through his closed eyelids, “Why didn’t you say anything?”
Before Liara’s hand floated a small flame, flickering every so slightly in the breeze. “Oh? I was enjoying your lecture. Please continue Grandpa!”
Two months later, Liara’s grandfather sat on the porch of the cottage, watching Liara practice her magic. He was chewing his lip, and seemed to be staring at nothing.
“You’re troubled,” Liara’s grandmother announced as she exited the cottage. “I see it all over your face. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong,” he sighed. “And that’s just it. Liara’s taken to magic just like a fish to water. I didn’t even need to teach her mana manipulation. And she’s already mastered spells from several different fields of magic. Fireball, Firestarter, and Flame from the fire school. Shield and Barrier from the shield school. Launch and Earth Wall from the earth school. Ice Spear and Ice Needles from the ice school. No major setbacks, no major interruptions. And she seems to be progressing at a fine pace, I think…. It’s been a while since I was Apprentice, so I think two months for all that should be fine. Fast maybe even. What do you recall?”
“You know I was never much of a spellcaster myself.”
“Yes, dear, we all love your enscribed artifacts. And your enchanted clothing is quite delightfully subtle. But surely you must remember some of your spellcasting from your apprentice days?”
“Mmm…” Liara’s grandmother murmured. “That’s the thing though. Three years as an apprentice before academy and I don’t think I mastered even that many spells. And certainly not from such a breadth of different fields of magic.”
“That too. She picked up Firestarter so easily that first day I thought for sure she was a fire mage. But then she picked up Ice Spear in such a short time as well. I was at a loss, so, the next day I did the simplified affinity testing on her, but I didn’t sense any preference from her. Like at all. And while I think that’s true for nearly a quarter of apprentices, there’s something here that feels different. Given what we’ve practiced so far, I’m still not sensing even the barest hint of a preference or innate understanding of one school over another.” He lapsed into silence for several minutes, as small whumps sounded from the distance where Liara was pelting a boulder with Fireballs. Suddenly, he piped up, “Do you think she’s a polymage?”
“A polymage? You tell me. I’m not the spellcaster.”
“Ugh, I don’t know.” Liara’s grandfather sighed. “I only ever met two, and that was only in my later years, so I don’t think education ever came up as a subject with them. I suppose I can just go ahead and teach Liara all I know, but I only have a handful of more fields that I know any spells in. After that, we start getting into the more esoteric fields of magic, which is where I understand polymages really excel.”
“Well, maybe we’ll just have to invite some old friends by. Edwin’s a decent lightning mage, and he’s only about a day’s travel away.”
“True. But lightning is always fraught with danger, even coming from an ally, let alone learnin gas a student. Let’s put him low on the list. But it’s a good idea. I’m sure between the two of us we can come up with a few old friends with some experience in other fields.”
“Good. That said, if you really do start running out of things to teach her, I suppose I could get her started on enchanting.”
“That’s a good idea. But I wouldn’t limit it to enchantment. I would also begin teaching her enscribing runes.”
“Runes?! That’s a very high level topic. She’s six.”
“I’m not suggesting you get theoretical with her about how to convert spells into runic form. But she may as well get started with the runic alphabet, and some of the common runic circles, like Lightsource or Hotplate. And you know far better than I that a very high level of control is required to carve runes with magic. It’ll be good cross-training with her.”
“Fine. I’ll start thinking up a curriculum. I think I have a beginner’s primer somewhere. But I won’t actually have her create any artifacts for a while. I don’t store enough materials for her just to use willy-nilly, and we don’t have the finances to purchase much more.”
“That’s fine. She’s only six.”
“True. But speaking of artificing, are you going to train her in any weapons?”
“Weapons? Why should I? She’s a perfect fit to be a spellcaster.”
“You know very well that spellcasters are terrible at close quarters. How many pure spellcasters do you know died because an enemy got within arms’ reach?”
He grunted at that. “Too many.”
“And how many do you know that were saved from a close quarters’ enemy because they had basic proficiency in a weapon?”
“Too few. Edwin’s one though.”
“Well, there you go. Besdies she’s a child. She should be trying anything and everything. And even if she ultimately doesn’t pursue that path, it calms my heart to know it might just save her.”
“Alright, alright, you’re preaching to the choir. Just need to figure out if we know anyone in the village who will do so.”
“Why not Ronald?”
“Ronald? He hasn’t touched the sword since he retired here. Why would he train her?”
“I don’t know. He has a soft spot for her, as does most of the village. All kids cause capital T trouble at some point, but she hasn’t. Sure, there’s mischief, but it’s so benign it’s adorable. But you’re right, you shouldn’t ask him. She should ask him.”
“Now that’s a good idea."
So, what do you think?
