The Lighthouses and the Pit (Fantasy Mage Quest)

Pivot. Step back. Lunge forward. You spend the next week tirelessly training with your shortswords, Dagger swiping at you every time you make a mistake with your footing.

She takes you outside briefly, to the Trade Ring, where she haggles with a merchant over a few loaves of bread, and apples, and other such things. Normally, she tells you, the Guild would have someone do that for them, but times are hard at the moment, what with most of the Bladebound trapped in the Pit. Your days are full, though, and you meet no-one else. No other Bladebound in training, surprisingly enough. No other apprentices around.

"Dagger?"

"Yes, Swallow?"

"Why is nobody else here? Apprentices, I mean?"

"Only one group goes to the Orange Lighthouse a season, and after three months of training we send you into the field on some job or another. You're the only one this season. Nobody to test yourself against, unfortunately."

A second week passes, and Dagger continues to drill you. Your fundamentals remain poor, but at least you don't fall over your own feet. You're not the equal of a master swordsman, but with your improved mobility and magic-given sword skills, you could probably kill a regular one. You eat bread, cheese and apples every day, until you think you're going to go crazy, and Dagger leaves you to meditate, coming back with a side of beef she has roasted later that evening.

You'd think you'd spend your time exploring the halls of the Guild, meeting people and exploring the town, but you've had very little time for yourself. You've spent sunup from sundown training every day, and you sleep as soon as you're done with dinner. Still, you're a little better than you were before, trained enough to be a danger to someone other than yourself.

In the meantime, you start to notice different uses of your magical power, little variable ways you can sever the distance between two points, little tricks with the skill that allow you easier options.

You focus on one, specifically.

Note - these cost zero magical investiture. They're just applications of your current skill, and you'll be able to learn these at any point simply by applying more time. You'll also get better versions of these naturally as you level up Severing Distance (if each swipe with the blade severs five meters instead of one-half a metre, it'll be able to sever ninety percent of the distance instead of thirty. Sufficient investment in Severing Distance will make skills like Bladefall and Bladeleap less useful unless you need to fall or jump really far.)

[ ] Bladefall

It really sounds a lot better than it is. But cutting through distance while falling is no easy feat, but you can do it reasonably quickly. Reduce any falling distance by one-third, allowing you much better survivability when falling.

[ ] Bladeleap

Difficult at best to time, even moreso than Bladefall, Bladeleap is simply practicing cutting away distances while jumping, seeing where next to cut while moving horizontally in the air. Increase horizontal leap distances by (up to) one-third.

[ ] Inconvenient Slices

This is much more of a 'trick' than the other two. Sever distance near and around your opponent in frustrating ways - if they're a foot away from where they expect to be, they very well might stumble and fall. Difficult to use in combat regularly, but may create openings that were not there otherwise.

[ ] Just Focus on Training

No, don't worry about little tricks. Focus on your swordsmanship. Become the warrior before you become the mage.

---

As the weeks move on, you find Dagger gives you a little more leeway, and in your third (and second-last) week of training, you've given a few hours on your own every few days. She forbids you from visiting the other Guilds, though, stating that 'Not all mages are as generous to the newly-Ascended as we are. I don't want some paranoid Glimpse knifing you because you might be a threat to them some day.'

Your head rolls with choices, and you decide to...

[ ] Visit the Trade Ring

You've been there two or three times. Surely you can go shopping! Well, you have no money. But surely you can go exploring! You might be able to barter for something, or the services of someone.

[ ] Explore the Guild

It's a big building - a few libraries, other training halls, rooms, and armories. Why not explore a bit? You might learn something useful, or discover a piece of information you could use.

[ ] Visit the Shield Ring

You grew up there. You can't remember most the details, but you do remember Father Matthias. The orphanage, though not the name, or where it was. Bits and pieces run through your head, and if you want to make sense of them, perhaps the Shield Ring is the place to go.

[ ] Obsessively Train

Take time off? Pah! Time to train more! MORE! You will be better at the choice made above. Will make you a tiny bit more Stubborn.

[ ] Disobey Dagger - Visit Another Guild

This may not be the best decision, but you feel like Dagger could very well be lying to you. You'd have no way of knowing, after all. Better to check somewhere else, see what the truth is. (May harm your relationship with Dagger if found out.). Write-in a guild - Glimpses, Shaderunners, Tremorfeet, Fleshcrafters or Spellthieves.