Chapter 35: Unlearning

James woke up in a good mood this morning. Sunlight crept through the shuttered window in pale golden slats, warming the floorboards and the tangled sheets alike. He looked over at a sleeping Alice. Her dark hair fanned across the pillow, one arm tucked beneath her cheek, lips parted just slightly with every slow, even breath. ‘Mom has come around and blessed the rotation. Now all I need to do is figure out how to have her join.’ He stood, ready to face the day and more lessons from Kael, the battlemage. His body felt loose, rested—a rare luxury. The bruises from yesterday’s training had faded to dull yellow smudges along his forearms, and even the persistent ache behind his sternum, the one Kael said came from channeling too much magic too fast, had quieted to something almost ignorable.

As he dressed, Alice rolled over. “Last night was wonderful. I can’t wait for my next turn.”

“Me either. You were great,” James replied, smiling. He pulled his shirt over his head and laced his boots, stealing one last glance at her before slipping out the door.

At breakfast, he sat with Kael. The battlemage was already halfway through a plate of eggs and dark bread, a mug of something steaming at his elbow. The tattoos on his forearms—those spiraling, interlocking glyphs that James now understood were far more than decoration—caught the lamplight with a faint iridescence, as if the ink itself were alive. “Today is the start of the second week. Here is your payment,” James commented while handing Kael a gold coin.

Kael tucked it into a pouch at his belt without a comment.

“You have done well for someone starting so late. A mage normally starts training before puberty, letting their body grow accustomed to the stress that magic places on them as they mature. You seem to be unaffected by the stress and pain that comes with learning magic.”

James twitched, remembering the wheel, the constant grind, the whips when he misbehaved. In comparison, this was a piece of cake. Not that he’d say that out loud, instead.

“Compared to the wheel, this is easy,” James commented.

“Perhaps to your body. But this week, we start on the spells that require balance, monitoring, and attention. The pain will be a distraction until you have achieved mastery.”

After breakfast, they returned to the same field for training. The morning air carried the clean bite of dew-soaked grass and turned earth, the field stretching wide beneath a sky streaked with high, thin clouds. A pair of crows argued in the oak at the field’s eastern edge, their harsh calls punctuating the stillness.

“Today we will start on basic shields and escapes,” Kael said.

“Escapes?” James asked

“Yes, it is helpful to break the grip on another mage’s spell. Ari used a force spell to hold you against the wall. An escape spell can break the opposing spell, allowing you freedom to attack. You will learn to cast the spell and immobilize your opponent. Then you will learn to cast the nullifying spell.”

“Casting implies it takes time,” James commented.

“No, casting is the word that describes the act of throwing a spell at a target, whether they are a man, beast, or monster. Now stop interrupting.

The first spell of the day is a shield.”

Kael demonstrated a shield by casting it on a tree. The air around the trunk shimmered for a fraction of a second, then went still—no visible change, nothing to indicate anything had happened at all, save for the tiniest distortion if James squinted hard enough. “Now try and damage it.”

James picked up a stone and hurled it at the trunk. The rock sailed true, then stopped inches from the tree, hanging motionless in the air for a heartbeat. Then it dropped straight down and thudded softly into the grass.

Kael lectured, “You can set up a shield to deflect an object, freeze it like this one, burn the object up, or even have it return it to the attacker. Each shield has its own strengths and weaknesses.

The deflecting shield is the simplest and takes the least amount of magic to establish and maintain. But if you are part of a group, the diverted object may injure or kill one of your men. This shield is often confused with the effect provided by armor. So if you want to minimize the risk of exposure, use this one.

The freeze shield is my favorite. It removes the risk to others and demoralizes the attacker – they know there is magic there. But a smart opponent will use projectiles such as caltrops that can injure if stepped on.

The burn shield is an advanced freeze shield. The attacking object freezes, and then the magic causes it to catch fire and burn to ash. This spell requires the most expenditure of magic and should never be used in cities, as the risk of the building catching on fire is too great. Its best use is if someone grabs you. They will lose interest in everything once they are on fire.

The return spell is the one to use while on caravan or patrol duty. If you are attacked from the shadows, the immediate return of an arrow or stone will disrupt your attacker’s plans.

But for every shield, there is a spell that can pierce it. So you must learn to have the spell ready at all times, save for the activating thought. If a threat is detected, you can be protected. This will give you time to counter the threat.”

“How do you gather enough magic for these spells? Right now, it takes time for me to gather the power for even the simplest spell,” James asked.

“You have two paths that can be followed. You can practice until you can quickly gather all of the magic in the surrounding area, or you could craft a magic storage device to hold the power until it is needed. I use this method. I store the magic in the tattoos on my body. As I walk, my spells automatically gather the magic and top off the tattoos. The storage tattoos are carefully placed on my body for immediate access. Next to each one is a shield glyph.”

“Could I get tattoos?” James asked.

“This is a long process. First, you must prove that you can charge storage devices. Then the tattoos’ placement must be calculated for your body, and the triggering glyphs must be tailored to you. Then they must be placed on your body and tested. Once they are correct, the drawing is used as a template for the tattoo. Finally, it is practice, practice, practice.”

“Can you draw them on me? If I am serious about this, I will need all of the help I can get.”

“Yes, I can draw them on you. But when I convert the drawings to tattoos, I will not use ink, just the needle. You will have all of the capabilities without alerting everyone that you have this reservoir of power available. In hindsight, I should have used this option. Your opponent will look down on you as a muscle-bound idiot rather than a trained battlemage.”

“Excellent, I will follow your advice.”

“Now stand and start gathering the magic in this clearing. This field sits on a ley line, so the magic you draw is quickly replaced. While you are gathering, I will show you how to identify a ley line. In a few hours, you will have enough training so you can draw directly from the line.”

“Alright. I will start.”

“Do not use your hands, just your feet. You want to develop muscle memory so that you are constantly replenishing your magic as you walk. The key is to be subtle. A dramatic gesture sounds good in an ancient story, but not in real life. You want to be underestimated. Do not give your enemies a warning.”