Chapter 15: Dar’s Introduction to Basic Magic

The clerk of the bank wore a monocle to examined various items as requested of his service. Scorpion’s gland was a material dropped from a scorpion that raised the clerk’s eyebrow. What would the clerk of a bank want with scorpion’s gland was beyond Morr’s imagination. The venom sac looted from the black scorpion was far more impressive, though. The more he observed the venom sac, the more his eyes beamed with excitement.

“Impressive, very impressive.” The clerk commented. “I will gladly take these scorpion’s glands off of your hand. 1 gold and 500 silver coins per piece, for a total of 12 gold coins. However, I won’t accept the venom sac.”

“That is fine.” Morr slipped his card into the window slot.

“Please give me a moment.” The clerk busied himself with storing his newly acquired 8 scorpion’s glands.

Morr walked towards the bulletin board and occupied himself with its content.

The first post he picked up discussed about the dangers of the 5th floor. A black scorpion, supposedly an anomaly, had appeared in the spacious room that they thought was a resting zone. A call-to-arms notice was urgently wanted. The anomaly scorpion had already claimed its first victim: the life of a valiant wizard. The bottom of the post was signed by “a regretful warrior and his party.”

“Here you go, Aisling.” The clerk slid his card into the window slot.

“Thank you.” Morr pocketed his card.

The second post he picked up offer 1 million gold coins for a Hy-braysl shield, or willing to trade items of sufficient value for it. Morr immediately placed it back without a second thought. The idea of paying back his debt was already trouble enough. Earning 1 million gold coins? Just what in the world would he have to do to see that in his lifetime?

Last post he picked up was from a frequent writer by the name of Gratt Fumes.

“Don’t tell me to calm down, buddy. But thanks for letting me know. I appreciate ya. I’m looking for a priest path and wizard path with the spell, [Light - 1: Beag Ioc] and [Earth - 1: Beag Creag], respectively. I can guarantee that this scorpion in the 5th floor will die, and we will split the loot evenly. Meet me at the entrance of Mileth Crypt by sundown, if interested.”

“I wish you the best of luck.” Morr placed the post back onto the bulletin board and left.

Mileth College facilitated a home for those who didn’t want to walk the path of an adventurer. Those who wanted to live an easy life or just wanted to get through life with a stable income would come here before becoming fully independent in life. Rather than seeing adventurers in leather armors or steel armors with lethal weapons in hand, the people here were dressed in casually clothing, drifting from one building to another.

Relaxing on the many benches stationed besides the paved road was a common scene for them. Many culinary shops can be seen, hoping that students will dine at their place. Eating, casually talking, and hanging out with friends were some of the few activities students and scholars enjoy together. They reminded him of his younger years, when he was just a child who was set on a railroad track through school.

“But those days are over.” Morr enjoyed the scene of their blissful ignorance.

“BOO!” A feminine voice shouted from behind.

Morr turned around and saw Priscilla with her cheeks puffed up. It was more comedic, rather than spooky. Her natural beauty drove home the feeling that she could never scare anyone, not with that face.

“Didn’t expect to see you here.” Morr said.

“Neither did I.” Priscilla said. “What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to learn a few things about the surrounding area. I also want to refresh my memories on how magic works.” Morr answered.

“Why?” Priscilla shockingly asked. “I guess you can… but what’s the point? You’re not walking the mage path, so I don’t see why you would spend time on that.”

“It’s just something I want to do. At least at this very moment.” Morr said. “What about you?”

“Then this is perfect!” Priscilla clapped her hands and smiled. “I was just on my way to attend Dar’s lecture.”

“Who’s that?” Morr asked

“Dar, the Dark Wizard. He’s a very insightful Mundane.” Priscilla grabbed Morr by the hands and cheerfully led him towards the lecture hall.

The Lecture Building of Philosophy had many rooms with different labels to identify easily. Upon entering the Hall of Theology, they were bombarded by the silence of a hundred people. Everyone in here, whether they were adventurers or a normal citizen, they had their eyes glued to a mysterious man in a dark green wizard hat and robe. An uneasy darkness blocked his face, and two red eyes glowed from it.

Morr and Priscilla grabbed a front row seat.

The wizard waited a few more minutes until the clock above his head rang 6 times.

“My name is Dar, and I am the Dark Master Wizard for Mileth City.” Dar introduced. “We’ll be borrowing this room and won’t be talking much about theology. If this is why you’re here, then please leave before I start.”

No one left, and their butts were firmly attached to their seats.

“Hey, isn’t that a Mundane?” Morr asked.

“It is. But look all around us! There are so many faces!” Priscilla whispered.

“Huh? You can see their faces?” Morr asked.

“It’s thanks to Dr. Mav’s vial that he gave me. I don’t know how long it lasts, but would you believe me if I told you I cried this morning when I saw the innkeeper’s face?”

“The innkeeper must have a really beautiful face.” Morr commented.

“Well, she does.” Priscilla chuckled.

“Silence, please. If you wish to talk, then the door is that way.” Dar pointed to the door. Upon seeing the two in front ceased their chatter, Dar continued, “Let’s get this lecture started with.”

“Although I said this won’t be about theology, I do want to first start off with the ancient tongue that magic originated from.” Dar said. “Who can tell me what the phrase ‘Tuatha de Cormier’ mean?”

“Children of Cormier!” Priscilla happily answered.

“Tuatha de Cormier, or Children of Cormier, were recorded as the first people to set foot in Temuair (Earth-Sea in Tuathan). And they brought the Tuathan tongue with them.” He continued, “The Children of Cormier founded the ancient civilization of Hy-braysl, and as a result, they later discovered Kadath, the home of the Gods. Records suggests that Luathas, the God of Divine Knowledge, was the God who grant the Children of Cormier the ability to sense mana and create magic. It is important to remember that as we venture further and progress magic, we also know the roots of it all.”

Morr raised his hand and asked, “How do we know that this is all true?”

“Visit the Lecture Building of Art when you have a chance.” Dar replied. “You’ll be surprise to see the preserved records. Moving on, our current magic system today comprises of our current tongue and the Tuathan tongue. Anyone here walks the wizard path?”

Instead of raising her hand, Priscilla immediately jumped towards the center, where she attracted all the gazes in the room.

“Aisling, cast a basic fire spell on this paper.” Dar placed a piece of paper on the ground.

“[Fire - 1: Beag Srad]” Priscilla invoked.

A red, magical circle appeared under the scrap of paper and burned it to ashes.

“To break this down: the contemporary magical system involves a set of element / magnitude / Tuathan spell, before any spell will go off. Here we have ‘Fire’ as the element, ‘1’ as the magnitude, and the fire spell ‘Beag Srad’ in Tuathan tongue.” Dar lectured. “It is important that you understand the hierarchy of magic system in Tuathan tongue. Beag means lesser, so ‘Beag Srad’ is the weaker version. ‘Mor Srad’ would be the stronger version of Srad, and ‘Ard Srad’ will be the strongest fire spell available in the Tuathan magic system.”

Morr clapped his hands, and soon found himself to be the only one clapping. By the looks on the others’ faces this seem to be common knowledge, at least to those with a root in magic

“The Tuathan magic system requires a long incantation, but thanks to modern developement, we have shortened it to half of our language and half of the Tuathan tongue.” Dar informed. “Wind, water, fire, earth, light, and dark are the primary elements in this world. Studying those elements will take you far, and I highly recommend anyone who is serious in studying magic look into their dynamics.”

“Until you become a master of a specific element, it is highly recommended to stick to this magic system for ease of understanding.” Dar lectured. “Of course, once you become a master of your path, you may do whatever you wish. Maybe you’ll be the one to develop a new spell one day or progress our magic system even further.”

Morr clapped again, amazed at all the information he just learned.

“To end this lecture, I would like to remind you all that it is important to remember our roots, that is, our magic system is thanks to the Children of Cormier.” Dar concluded his lecture.

Everyone got up and left the hall, most with a disappointed look on their face.

“How was it, Priscilla?” Morr asked.

“It served as good review material, but I already knew most of this stuff. The stuff about the Gods and Hy-braysl surprised me though.” Priscilla replied.

“I wanted to find more about the kind of magic the Church used, but I guess I can’t expect much from a beginner’s course.” Morr said. “Have you seen Pontiff around?”

“I did. Apparently he’s in the process of acquiring a Mileth Citizenship, and had been spending most of his time in the Temple of Glioca.” Priscilla informed.

“Temple of Glioca?” Morr inquired.

“You know, the temple directly across Mileth College.” Priscilla said. “It’s hard to miss.”

“So that’s what that giant temple is.” Morr said. “I wonder what he’s doing in there.”

“It’s a temple, so… spiritual prayer?” Priscilla guessed. “Anyway, wanna go hunt?"

“Sure. Let’s do it.” Morr gave an enthusiastic thumbs-up.