Chapter 6: Learning Arts

The following morning the wake-up, once again entwined in each other’s arms and legs, with Brandon up moments before Tracy. He is again watching her as she comes up out of sleep and opens her eyes. Seeing him there, looking at her with a smile, Tracy cannot help but to kiss him deeply. Soon, they are out of bed and dressed and heading to breakfast.

Breakfast is porridge and fruit, again. Soon, they are finished and on their way to the Magi’s house. They were told to be there within an hour of sunrise. They have to rush, and they make it with minutes to spare. They are going to see about getting awake arranged in the mornings so that they are not rushing in the future.

When they arrived, the Magi lets them in and has them join the other three students in her training room. Inside the indicated room, they found two young males and one female, all three of whom were already reading the provided manuscripts. A moment later, Magi Naragami joined them in the room and handed each of them to manuscripts you wish them to read and instructed them to read the first chapter. When they were done, the Magi questioned each of her students on what they had read. Each of the five students had something different that they were reading, so the questions and answers were quite different. When the Magi finished with her first three students, she asked Brandon and Tracy what questions they had for her. After some consideration, Tracy asked about learning healing spells. The Magi responds that there were spells she could teach, but if Tracy wants to learn to heal, she would need to seek out a Shaman or other type of healing expert.

Tracy let out a small sigh, think the Magi, and informed her that she would stay on to learn the basics of magic and what healing spell she could.

When the Magi looked at Brandon’s eyes were sparkling with excitement. You could see the interest and enthusiasm in his eyes.

“You seem quite excited and ready to begin,” says the Magi to Brandon.

“Yes, Magi, I am. There is so much that I wish to learn,” says Brandon.

To the other three members of the class of student Magi, Magi Naragami says, “continue with your reading. We will test your new understanding and ability to use what you’ve just learned.”

Next, Magi Naragami takes Brandon aside and has him sit within a distinctive formation embroidered on a unique rug that sits in a corner of the room. She instructs him to sit there, calm himself, and begin to breathe naturally. Minutes pass by when the Magi begins to ultra mystical phrases combined with hand seals. As she does this, a glowing show slowly begins to encircle Brandon. At first, it is transparent; then, as she continues her chant and hand seals, color begins to suffuse the shell. Each color starts out very transparent but slowly becomes more and more opaque. It soon becomes apparent to Tracy that the shell is going through the colors of the rainbow. By the time that Magi Naragami finishes the shell surrounding, Brandon has taken on the appearance of a rainbow.

The test concluded, the shell vanishes without a sound. Speaking his name, the Magi brings Brandon out of his meditative state. The first thing he notices when he looks up into the Magi’s eyes is a look of wonder and excitement.

“Brandon, it is going to be a great pleasure and honor to teach you the ways of the Magi. You are like a hatchling Wyrm. You are full of promise and greatness if you survive and grow into your powers,” says the Magi.

Magi Naragami can see that he has questions and heads him off by asking him to return to his seat and continue reading while she tests Tracy. As Brandon returns to his position, Tracy can see the excitement in his eyes. She wants to ask him what happened, but the Magi calls her to take her place in the formation, and begins the same test she performed with Brandon, but this time with Tracy as the subject.

The test goes much the same way as it did with Brandon. Only somebody like Magi Naragami would be able to see the differences between Brandon and Tracy’s tests. With the test done, she can only shake her head in wonder at the unbelievable opportunity that has come to her.

Bringing Tracy up out of her meditative state, the Magi drags her back to her space and instructs her to continue reading as well. She then has the other three students, one at a time, explain what they have learned in today’s readings. When that is done, she takes them one at a time to test them on their ability to make use of the new knowledge. When she is finished with this task, she turns them over to an apprentice of hers, who she instructs on what she wants them to do for the rest of the day. She then turns her full attention to the amazing couple remaining in the room.

“Both of you are exceptional in your prospects as Magi. Someone like myself can only dream of finding a single student like yourself. Yet, here I am, with two unique individuals with clean slates and strong affinities and all of the elements. Most people have only one or two elements that they are attuned to. Even fewer have three, and it’s a rarity to have an affinity for four elements. To not only have an affinity for all the elements but to have them balanced and with incredible depth is unheard of.

“Therefore, the good news is that I am delighted to be your instructor. The less than good news is that I will have to charge you double of what I originally stated it would cost,” says Magi Naragami, which causes Brandon and Tracy to frown.

Cutting off before they can say anything further, she tells him that the reason for this is due to the extra time and effort she will have to invest in them, as well as materials that will be needed that go beyond the original price she quoted them.

Tracy and Brandon look at each other and soon come to an agreement without saying a word. Tracy looks at the Magi and states, “If that is how it must be, then we accept. However, does this mean that we will be training separately from the other students?”

“Yes, it means that I will be instructing the two of you separately, on what would normally be the off days for training. This will allow me to give you my full attention as is befitting of two hatchling Wyrms such as yourselves.”

Tracy gets an odd look on her face, but before she can see anything, Brandon lays a hand on her shoulder and waits for her to look at him. When she does, he tells her that she’s not speaking of earthworms or other invertebrates, but instead that she is using the term that means grand dragons, spelled Wyrm. Hearing this, Tracy’s face takes on a different look. One that is slightly confused but at the same time noticeably excited.

“Today, I will have you read, and I will answer questions. After that, we will engage in some rudimentary spellcasting techniques. At the end of this day, you will return three mornings from now. That’s when things will become much more interesting for the three of us,” says Magi Naragami.

For the next few hours, Brandon and Tracy are involved in reading and asking questions to assist in their understanding of the material. At one point, Brandon asks about finding out what their skills and attributes are because the manuscript specifically mentions them.

The Magi smiles and tells them that it is a simple thing to do and explains it to them. A moment later, each of them is looking at their individual attributes page, which suddenly appears in front of their eyes, blocking out their vision. With some practice, they figure out how to change the size, colors, transparency, and other options.

When either of them pulls up their status window, what they discover is a little disconcerting. It states in their windows that there is a glitch, and a lot of the information they expected to find is missing. Original values for stats are there, but none of the modifications for their attributes.

When Tracy pulls up her screen, it shows the following:

~~~~~~~~~~

Name: Tracy Forrester

Rank: Novice

Race: Terran Human [Glitch!]

~~~~~~~~~~

All Attributes modified by?Glitch?% & 50% for Tri-Core)

~ Strength: (11|!!) - 0

~ Agility: (12|!!) - 0

~ Constitution: (10|!!) - 0

~ Intelligence: (12|!!) - 0

~ Wisdom: (14|!!) - 0

~ Perception:(18|!!) - 0

^ Dexterity: (12|!!) - 0

^ Charisma: (14|!!) - 0

^ AC: (!!)

~~~~~~~~~~

Classes: Spellcaster - Novice (81% bonus to cast under stress) and Fighter - Novice

Crafting Class: Null

Cultivations

>Body Cultivation: Null

> Qi Cultivation: Tri-Core - Stage: Vapor (Halfstep Condensate) Modifier: 3

>> Currently requires 65 units to achieve Condensate Stage

>> Bouns to resistance vs. harmful spells and debuffs:??%

> Mana Cultivation: Stage: Vapor Modifier 3 || Mana-well: 95 units

>> Mana Regeneration: 10.56 per minute - Would require approximately 9 minutes to fill Mana-well from empty (Tri-Core bonus of 1.81 applied)

~~~~~~~~~~

Brandon’s information is much the same, though the base attribute values are slightly different. The missing information was an enigma; it also restricted their ability to assess the fullness of their talents.

When they ask Magi Naragami about it, she shrugs and tells them, “I have never seen such before. In time, we are sure to find out. Now, back to today’s studies.”

~~~~~~~~~~

The initial reading they are assigned covers mana cultivation, mana channels, the Mana-well, and similar introductory knowledge used as a foundation to build upon. When they finish the reading, Magi Naragami tests them on their understanding, which is even more detailed than what she provided in the materials that Tracy and Brandon read. She wasn’t aware of the knowledge that had already been imparted to them upon their arrival.

Once they completed answering her questions, she began teaching them Fire Spark, which is a cantrip (instant-cast without hand seals). Brandon has no problem perfecting the use of this cantrip due to his experience with Mana-bolt. Thus he can prove his proficiency with it by lighting a candle within minutes. Tracy, on the other hand, does not have the experience of casting anything before this; so, she practices until she, too, can light the candle.

With this task completed, the Magi sends them home with the reading material and instructions to read the next couple of sections. She will answer questions in three days when they return, and then she will test them on their understanding of the new information. They pay Magi Naragami the six gold for 18 days of training over the next thirty days.

With their training for the day out of the way, they decide to head to the Inn. Breakfast was about six hours ago, and supper won’t be for a few hours, so there is no hurry. As they are walking, they discuss the day’s training, their curious attributes pages, the test they went through in the morning, and soon find themselves about to walk out the outpost’s gate. As they realize this, they nearly trip over themselves as they come to an abrupt stop.

“How’d we end up here? The Inn is that way,” says Tracy as she points in the direction of the Inn.

“No idea. Let’s turn around. We must have been too caught up in our conversation,” responds Brandon.

With that, they start walking back towards the Inn. Minutes later, they are again at the gate.

“Bran, what the fuck is going on?”

“I don’t know. Let’s turn around again, but this time let’s stay silent and watch where we’re going.”

Turning around for the second time, they start walking to the Inn only to find themselves back at the gate. This time, they can feel something pulling at them.

“Tracy, something tells me we should follow whatever is guiding us. Just be ready in case it’s a trap of some kind.”

“If you say so. This is just too damned freaky,” Tracy says in response as she takes her batton in hand and passes through the gate with Brandon.

Doing their best to be aware of their surroundings, they follow the force that is guiding them like an invisible hand. An hour later, the two of them find themselves coming to an old dried-up riverbed.

This place has been dry for ages, and the soft mud long since dried into a rock hard substance. There are signs of water-worn stones all over the place, though only a few peek out here and there. It is to one such cluster of stones towards which they are drawn.

“I don’t know what’s leading us, but something here seems to be our goal. Would you keep watch while I see about digging some of this up,” Brandon asks Tracy.

“Sure. I’ve got your back,” she tells him.

With that, he begins to carefully work the debris loose with his hands. Slowly, Brandon gets frustrated and begins scrabbling at the rock and dried up mud with his nails and fingers the way a dog or badger would. He does this without thinking and soon is up to his wrists below the surface. Slowly, he widens the hole until it is half a meter in diameter and close to thirty centimeters deep.

“There’s something here. I can feel it,” he tells Tracy, who looks down for a moment to see what kind of progress he has made.

“You dug that out with your hands?”

“Well, yeah. I don’t have any tools,” he says, wondering why she’s asking such a silly question.

“Bran, that’s dried up mud that’s almost as hard as rock and stones,” she says as she bends down and picks up a piece of the dried mud and slowly breaks it apart with difficulty.

“See, it doesn’t come apart easily, but you’ve just dug out quite a hole with just your hands,” she continues.

This causes Brandon to stand up and take a look at what he has achieved in the last half hour or so. His eyes go wide when he realizes what he’s done. Looking at his hands, he doesn’t find a single injury. Not even a bruise is evident. His nails are also in good condition, where they should be torn up from the abuse.

“This is a very strange place. You know that, right? Anyway, something is just a little deeper. I just know it,” he tells her.

Tracy is already back to watching for trouble and doesn’t bother to look at him when she tells him, “Well, hurry up. I don’t want to be late for dinner, or to be out here at night if I can avoid it.”

Immediately, the sound of digging resumes. It continues for another half hour when Brandon lets out a surprised yelp.

“What’s wrong, Tracy asks as she turns to see what’s going on. What greets her eyes is a hole that is now 150cm in diameter and nearly as deep, and while that is surprising in itself, the real surprise is what is inside the freshly dug hole.

Brandon is sitting, naked, in a stone tub that is filling up with something. It’s not water, but it seems to be a fluid of some kind. As she watches, Brandon groans and stretches his arms and legs and relaxes and closes his eyes. Without thinking, Tracy strips and joins him and discovers an astonishing feeling suffusing her body.

As they sit in this ancient tub, which is just large enough for the two of them to sit comfortably and relax, they forget their surroundings and slowly nod off. When they come back to their senses, they feel refreshed, and as if they’ve been treated to a day at a spa. Getting up, they get dressed and look back at the tub in wonder. It seems odd that something like this should exist so close to the outpost but has not been found before this.

Brandon drinks most of his water and asks Tracy to finish it off. Once it is empty, he dunks it in the rejuvenating pool and fills it to the brim before closing the container. With that done, he’s ready to head back to the outpost. However, before he does so, he speaks in a voice that feels and sounds ancient. The words have no meaning to him, but they have a power that can be felt for kilometers.

As the last syllable passes his lips, the ground is swept clean, and the tub vanishes from view. Both of them are surprised by this but say nothing. Taking his hand in hers, Tracy leads the way back to the outpost.

From this day forward, for as long as they are staying at the outpost, they make a nightly visit to this place to spend at least an hour in the pool. Always careful to avoid being followed.

~~~~~~~~~~

The next day, they go to the dojo, and, as it was with Magi Naragami, they are tested before anything else. The tests are to evaluate their strength, speed, and endurance and take three hours. Master Wong does not run the tests. He is too important to do that. Instead, one of his students, a young man close to their own ages, put them through the paces.

The first test seems simple when they are told what to do. Standing in a shallow depression with intricate formations etched all around it, the trial begins. For the first five minutes, they feel nothing. Then they can feel weight slowly increasing across their bodies. It isn’t anything to worry about, so they stand there and wait. By the time a half-hour has passed, the two of them are sweating from the exertion of staying upright. Still, it is manageable. When the test ends at the end of an hour, they are trembling. Their muscles feel as if they’ve been through the hardest workouts of their lives.

“Here, drink this,” Tran tells them as he hands them each a cup of refreshing tea. The tea is quite good, and soon, they are feeling energized, and the pain in their bodies vanishes.

The next test is a bit different in that they go through a unique obstacle course where they must complete it as quickly as possible. There is no walkthrough to give them a feel for the layout, not that one would help as the entire course is continually changing. One moment it might be dry sand, the next, it could be a swamp. They could be going up a hill one moment and dropping down a steep mountainside the next. Everything tests their reactions and speed. This test ends an hour later with both Brandon and Tracy sweating and exhausted, again.

Once again, Tran offers them a cup of tea to rejuvenate them. Once they are ready, he takes them to the final stage of the test. This one is even worse than the first two combined.

Though it is similar to the first test, in that they are standing in a shallow depression with formations etched around its border, that is where the similarity ends.

For an hour, the couple experiences a variety of pains. The pain ranges from minor aches in their joints, to shattered bones and cracked teeth. It feels as if their entire bodies are being ground to dust only to reform and continue. The pain starts out at a manageable level. However, by the time it ends, it is so excruciating that most would have passed out or quit. No one informed them that they could quit any of the tests. Because of that, they were under the impression that they had to endure each one to the end.

With the final test complete, Tran offers them one last cup of restorative tea and then takes them to Master Wong and tells him of their standing in each trial. While he considers their scores, the two of them wait patiently.

Master Wong is surprised, not so much by their scores (he’s seen better), but by the fact that they endured each test to the bitter end. Not once did they indicate a desire to quit, or give up. Many make it through the strength trials and the agility test, but it is maybe one in one million who endure all three tests to their conclusion.

“The trials indicate that you both did very well. You both have great foundations in strength, agility, and constitution. I will be happy to take you on as my students,” Master Wong tells them.

In unison, Tracy and Brandon offer Master Wong a Bao Quan. This is the salute mentioned previously and consists of the cupping of the right hand in the left fist, and it is used to show respect. Master Wong returns it but with a nod of the head instead of bowing.

They discuss when they will be able to train, explaining that they will be in training three days a week with Magi Naragami starting in two days. This ends up working out for them to be able to train six days a week, as one of their days with Magi Naragami is the day he does not open the dojo for training. They pay the ten silver for the day, as even the trials count as part of their training. Before they take their leave, Master Wong provides them each with a manuscript he wishes for them to study before they return in the morning.