A Conjuror's journey

Swallowing the last bite of bread, you respond, "Master Cynric would be best."

"You want me to call you master? You're not really just an old pervert are you?" The audacity of this girl!

You bop her on the head with your staff, earning a venomous glare in return. "It is traditional, considering that you are my apprentice."

Grudgingly, she nods in acceptance. "Fine, but don't get any funny ideas, I am betrothed already."

"That is disturbing, but you need not worry about such things from me." You reassure her as you head up the stairs to sleep.

-------

Rested, fed, and watered, the two of you are once again in the walled off courtyard.

Blocking the only footpath out of the area, you announce, "Now before we begin today's lesson, I need you to give me a list of spells that you have already learned and their effects... preferably without running off this time."

Louise blushes at that and looks down at her feet. You're sure that she said something by the way her head moved, but no sound came out. Subconsciously checking her for signs of Muffle, you ask her to repeat herself, getting a whisper about explosions. Sighing, you reach out and poke her with the base of your staff. "I have heard rabbits louder than you, now speak up so that we can get started."

Red faced, the girl looks up and lists out her spells, increasing in volume with each one. "Levitation: causes explosions. Transmutation: causes explosions. Water spells cause explosions! Wind spells cause explosions! Earth spells cause explosions! Fire spells cause huge explosions! Everything I cast explodes!" She stomps and crosses her arms petulantly. "Summon Servant even summons a peasant and blows them up like it's a joke!"

"That last part might have been my fault, I did teleport to the exact same spot that the boy was standing. My magic was obviously stronger than his body, so..." You shrug. "Have you tried spellcasting without using that silly little stick?" You ask, pointing at her wand.

She huffs in annoyance. "Of course not, that's impossible! How am I supposed to do magic without the necessary foci?"

"Well, that is as good a starting point as any. Let us begin our lesson." You say, taking a moment to think up an explanation simple enough for the pre-teen to understand. "Each person has their own inner well of power with which to perform spells. This is what is known as your 'magicka reserves'. You must learn to channel this energy into the world around you, shaping it to your will. We will start with a simple spell known as Frostbite. This spell is taught to beginners due to it not having an intricate spell-lattice."

"Just focus Willpower? Alright, I'll do my best... What is the incantation?"

Tilting your head, you use a minuscule drop of magicka to prepare the spell, generating a few flurries around your hand. "We are performing simple destruction magics, not summoning Daedric gods or debating with dragons. No incantation is necessary, simply concentrate on using your magicka to make your fingers colder and slowly extend that feeling away from your hand." You instruct.

The girl puts on an arrogant stance, but you can see the trepidation on her face as she holds out her right arm. Seconds go by and nothing happens. Eventually, her frustration becomes too much and she ignores your instructions not to use her wand... knocking herself down with a blast of soot.

Curling into a ball, she tries not to let you see her tears, but fails rather miserably. "Maybe... maybe I can't do it because I'm not really a mage after all... M-maybe I don't really have magic and this is Brimir's way of punishing me for trying."

"Nonsense." You declare, once again bopping her head. "Even back home, many believe that only a select few individuals can use magic and this has lead my countrymen to be distrustful of magic as a whole. This assumption is false, anyone can learn magic with sufficient study and practice."

"B-but that's not true! Only nobles can use magic, that's the defining trait of nobility. If commoners had magic, somebody would have noticed by now." You can tell that this has been a major sticking point in her life.

"Tell me, child. What do you know of where magic comes from?" You ask, sitting against the wall.

Gathering herself up into her little teaching pose again, she seems to be happy to be back in familiar territory. "Everyone knows that Brimir, the Holy Founder gave magic to the nobles during his crusade against the elves, so that we could lead the common people once the war was over. Though the hated enemy of mankind unfortunately survived, the Founder's blessing has lived on through the nobility so that we may one day take back the holy land."

"Wrong on all accounts." You say with finality, silencing her with a glare when she tries to object. "Magicka is the raw energy of Aetherius, the realm of the gods that lies beyond the stars. The stars themselves are the holes left in reality from the gods fleeing when the world of Nirn was created. You see, there exist many pockets of reality in Aetherius and these are known as the realms of Oblivion due to a number of beings known as the Daedra that prey on mortals. Nirn is a world that was Created by the gods and it required many gods to sacrifice their power, most were unaware of this fact and this is why they fled, tearing holes in the sky."

You draw in the dirt with the end of your staff, creating a series of concentric rings with spheres of varying sizes. "The best representation of the myriad realities is as such." You say, pointing to the diagram. "Mundus, the realm in which you can find Nirn, was placed in the center by the god Lorkhan. Surrounding that is Oblivion, which is impossible to draw properly due to the fact that it is effectively infinite and possessed of infinite realms that are infinite in distance to each-other while sometimes existing in the same place simultaneously. Moving on, you see the Aetherius, the realm of the Magnus and Magne Ge. This is where the surviving gods fled and their stars are visible from every realm, causing many different effects when in specific alignments."

You stand and clear your throat. "Keep in mind that this is a very basic explanation and that many have spent their entire lives studying the nature of reality without finding all the answers, even many immortals."

A keening sound escapes Louise's lips and you decide that it might be best to let her digest this new information. "Right... take a little while to meditate on that. I shall return with lunch, keep practicing." You take her wand before adding, "Scream if you give yourself frostbite... the wound, not the spell."


-------


Three hours should be enough time to get over the complete destruction of your worldview and religion. Standing, you gather up the fish that got trapped by the little dam you made in the stream. You wander into a house and cook the fish, ignoring the current occupants shocked faces, and head back to your apprentice.

"I hope that you find fish agreeable." You say as you walk into the courtyard. This was probably a bad idea, seeing as how Louise squeaked in surprise, slipped on a newly formed patch of ice, and exploded in a miniature blizzard as she spun to the ground.

As the snowflakes clear enough for you to see clearly, you notice the icicles all around the two of you start exploding. Soon enough, the courtyard is in ruins and Louise is screaming due to her left arm looking thoroughly frozen up to the elbow.

Choose 1
[] Heal her wounds and encourage her, this was a rather large step forward. Cost 100 Magicka

[] Shake your head in disappointment and walk away.

[] Knock the girl out and amputate the limb, no need to waste magicka.

[] Write in

------

What do you do afterward?

Choose 1
[] Continue spellcasting.

[] Alchemy time! Maybe the girl can help you find the necessary tools.

[] Enchanting lessons, a necklace of regeneration would have been useful today.

[] Stealth training seems to be a safer option, hopefully Louise doesn't think you're giving up on her magic.

[] Write in.

Immediately you are at Louise's side, ignoring her increasing panic at the sight of fire bathing her frozen limb. It's just Flames, it isn't even a strong enough fire spell to seriously hurt somebody without trying, so her worries are misplaced. You hold her in place until you're sure that she is completely thawed, the smell of smoldering fabric being your indicator.

"Impressive." You say with a smile. She merely whimpers and clutches her purpled limb. "I leave for three hours and you manage to go from not creating a snowflake to bathing the area in ice. Very impressive indeed."

Her face is a conflicted mess of emotions as she cradles her arm. "B-b-but my arm! What am I going to do... I don't... I'm not sure if a water mage can fix this."

You laugh at the knowledge that local mages are even less powerful than you had suspected, not even capable of simple healing spells. "It is fortunate then, that I will not be taking you to a water mage."

"Why not?! I can't return to mother missing a limb!" She shouts in outrage.

You bop her on the head once more. "Silence, I usually only need my Restoration skills for myself. Give me a moment unless you desire for feeling to be returned before the flesh is healed." With that, you gather magicka into a glowing ball of light and push it into her heart, letting her body direct the Heal Other spell to where it is needed most.

The child is wrapped in a golden glow for a moment and after inspecting her hands, she stares up at you... Is that worship you see in her eyes? "Can you teach me that?"

"Eventually, though learning restoration is painful." You pat her head. "Now, judging by the way your targets exploded after you froze them, I would say that Destruction is type of magic you are suited for. We cannot say for sure until you have tried the other schools of magic first, but the way your magic wants to explode is rather obviously geared toward Destruction." At the mention of her ice exploding, she looks at her arm with wide eyes and then sighs in relief. "With that being said, let us continue with Frost until you have mastered it and can cast without needing your full concentration. It is the safest Destruction spell after all, we wouldn't want to see how your inexperience in casting effects the Sparks spell."

The two of you eat lunch as you walk, putting distance between the destroyed scenery and yourselves before anyone arrives to investigate.

--------

"Prof- Master... Why haven't I seen your familiar yet?" Louise asks as she sits beside you, taking a break after two hours of freezing the river while you randomly tossed stones at her.

You are fairly sure that she is not talking about the Summon Familiar spell, you haven't bothered with that pathetic conjuration in almost forty years. More likely she means the companion creatures that the children at the school had.

"Well, little one... I do not possess such a creature, so it would be rather difficult for you to find it." You laugh at her befuddled expression. "Very few mages bother with such extravagant wastes of resources where I come from. Why feed and care for a pet that is of limited use when Conjuration allows the experienced mage to summon a being fit for any situation as you need it?"

The girl has a rather expressive face for one that tries so hard to appear controlled. "Summon a... you mean to tell me... you just perform a summoning ritual whenever the whim strikes you?! That's... that's... Blasphemy!"

"Oh, that little religion about the dead racist... I thought you were over that after our talk about the origin on magic." You say, perplexed at her outburst. Did she just ignore the whole lecture?

Blushing, she stumbles for words. "I... Well, yes... but... Six thousand year of history! How can you just deny that?! Where would you have even learned about all those things you explained? The Church would have your teachers burned alive for the mere suggestion that Brimir isn't who we know him to be! And... And RACIST?! Elves are evil, vengeful beasts that want to kill us all!"

You sigh at another culture forcing ignorance on their children. The Mer hatred is as bad here as it was in Windhelm. "Your priests are of no concern to me and of course the elves would be upset with humans, though I doubt it is as bad as you were taught. Elves live for a very long time, it might have been the current generation's grandparents that were being hunted by Brimir... think about that for a moment. How would you feel about a race of people that breed like rodents compared to your people, all the while spewing outbursts of bilious slander and violence?"

Louise remains pensive for a while before going back to freezing the water, the increasingly rare exploding icebergs floating downriver before detonating. After a few minutes, she says over her shoulder, "Maybe you're right... but don't think that I missed how you never said where you're actually from. Nothing you say fits with anything that is taught in Halkeginia... except maybe Germania, but you don't look like a Germanian."

You hadn't really noticed, you were more focused on the Mer hate, being Breton tends to make one wary of such sentiments after all.

Status: Healthy
Magicka: (550/650)

Choose 1:
[] Answer truthfully, it's not like you're trying to hide it.

[] Sigh with false sadness and tell her that you don't feel like explaining it to her at the moment.

[] Deflect!

[] Write in.

You don't really feel like talking about Skyrim at the moment. "Maybe I am from Germania, but not ancestrally linked to the natives? I might tell you about my homeland if you manage to hurt me in a spar."

"What?! You only taught me one spell! How am I supposed to fight someone with the title of Grand Sorcerer with a blast of cold air?!" The girl raves, seemingly forgetting that she almost lost an arm to the same spell.

Mockingly, you toss your stolen dagger into the dirt before her. "I never said you could only use magic, only a fool ignores their options in a fight. Now..." Your words trail off as she picks the dagger up and the strange runes on her hand begin to shine brightly. The shock on her face transforms into glee as the light settles into a dim glow.

With an unsettling grin, Louise shifts into an unfamiliar stance and you draw your longsword. You don't have nearly as much training with the weapon as the child appears to posses, but keeping your staff in your off hand should give you higher mobility than her.

"Are you ready, little one?" You ask, smiling at the glare she gives you for the pet name.

Rushing toward you, she shouts out, "Stop calling me that! I'm almost an adult you idiot!"

Your attempt to deflect her attack is easily countered as she spins your blade around and thrusts toward your chest, forcing you to levitate backward to land on a tree branch. Hiding your surprise, you taunt her. "So easily angered, I guess I shall have to beat that out of you as well. You had better be grateful."

Somehow, she easily outclasses you in skill when it comes to weapons, that much is obvious. Sheathing your sword, you toss a Fireball toward her, forcing her behind a tree for cover. A quick casting of Invisibility has you creeping toward her from the side, striking the girl in the gut with your staff before picking her up by the leg and tossing her into the middle of the clearing. Retching into the dirt, Louise is defenseless, but you go easy on her this time and only kick the dagger out of her reach.

Walking in circles around her, you taunt some more. "What will you do now, child?" A pause as you turn to walk the other direction in case she strikes out. "You. Cannot. Fight. What. You. Cannot. Find." Each pause last for a different length than the others and is punctuated by a jab with your staff. "Just give up. Surrender. We can stop."

Instead of responding, she rolls onto her side and freezes the ground all around the two of you. It would have been a great plan for finding you, tracking your footsteps in the frost, but she hadn't completely gotten over her accidental explosions and you were forced to pick her up and levitate away. You still took some damage though, getting thrown into a tree and landing on Louise. At least you got most of your Magicka back from the blast.

-------

The two of you, bruised and battered, end up back at the inn somehow. Louise can't keep the smug look off her face when she sees the cut on your forehead, but you didn't want to waste energy fixing such minor wounds. Refusing to eat anything, the girl heads up to the room and goes to sleep. You eat your soup and think about needing more money, this diet is monotonous. Walking toward the stairs, you just know that she's going to claim that explosion as a win.

Status: Cut and bruised
Magicka: (600/650)

Choose 1:
[] A deal is a deal, she did hurt you... in a suicidal move.

[] Stupid child should know better, no enemy would fall for that.

[] Leave in the night, you won't waste your time on someone willing to throw their life away.

[] Write in

After the upcoming confrontation, you:

Choose 1:
[] Continue teaching her spellcasting.

[] Alchemy, a minor potion would have healed these irritating bruises

[] Enchanting, the girl should learn to harvest souls and enchant her clothing.

[] Stealth training... forcing her to crouchwalk for hours isn't revenge, it's training!

[] Write in.