The next day was\nannounced by a glorious sunrise, etching the few wispy clouds overhead with\ngold and yellow. Long before the sun rose fully, Dilmir departed his house into\nthe still quiet Eld\u2019rin, low mists covering the ground as he walked. In the\nhalf light of dawn, he made his way towards the center of the massive city \u2013\nthe place where four especially long roots, one from each of the four trees,\nmet and tapered into the ground before joining beneath it. Here he selected the\nbroad side of one of these roots and settled himself to wait. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Slowly, the sky\ngrew brighter. The mists retreated to the dark corners, though the place that\nDilmir watched was still covered with them. Soon, bobbing towards him through\nthe fast fading darkness, he saw the object of his waiting. Ilrin detached from\nthe mist and came to meet him, her eyes still drowsy. \u201cMorning,\u201d she said, a\nlittle vaguely. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dilmir smiled.\nHe knew she would liven up in a few minutes, as she always did. Together, they\nmade their way towards the massive gate, which unfurled as they approached it,\nallowing a new day to enter the city. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The ground in\nfront of the city, save for a path leading to the gates, was riddled with small\nroots coming from the massive trees of Eld\u2019rin. They formed large rings on the\nground, the grass within the rings being sunken, forming many small craters. It\nwas within these slightly hollowed out spaces that the mages of Eld\u2019rin taught\ntheir pupils of magic, the thing that set the elves apart from the barbaric\nhumans to the North, aside from their features. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Having trained\nfor two years here already, Ilrin and Dilmir separated, and went to wait for\ntheir trainers in their separate fields of grass. Soon, mages and their charges\ncame trickling out of the giant city, and began spreading out over the field. Dilmir\nsoon spotted the mage that had been assigned to him, grudgingly, he was sure,\nhobbling over the roots towards him. Elmir was an old elf, far older than most\nof the elves in Eld\u2019rin. It was rumored that he had been alive when Eld\u2019rin had\nbeen woven into its present state, many hundreds of years ago. Lines creased\nhis face, sprouting from below his eyes in deep furrows and running throughout\nhis face. His hair, still somehow quite thick, was a frail-looking shade of\ngray. His angular features, common to all elves, were sharply defined as the\nsun hit them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Elmir stalked\nsilently past Dilmir, his face blank, his mouth drawn. He took up a position\nthirty paces from Dilmir, and then, ignoring the fresh sunlight that poured\ninto his eyes, turned to face him. \u201cBegin,\u201d he said, the single word as flat as\nhis expressionless face. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dilmir sighed,\nbut closed his eyes and delved deep into his mind, searching for the elusive\nstream of magic peculiar to all elves. Elmir was an elf of few words. His\nexpression never faltered, and he never gave away his feelings. He had been\ntrained well in his day, and he now sought only to pass his training on to\nothers, although Dilmir, perhaps, had not been whom he had had in mind. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most elves would\nhave had to hunt for their magic for awhile; part of the training was to help\nthem discover where it was. Dilmir, however, knew exactly where his magic was\nwherever he went. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Power seethed\nwithin him, boiling and frothing, yearning to be let out. At first it had been\neasy to control, in the years when he first came to Eld\u2019rin, but over time it\nhad grown, he was unsure why, and now he could only keep it in check with his\nmind. This proved to be easy enough, though distracting at times. When Dilmir\nwas called upon to use his magic, however, he had great difficulty in selecting\nthe proper amount. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He had been\ncareful, for seven years, never to let his power escape him. The elves still\nremembered the night he had slain the wolves, they didn\u2019t need any reminders.\nToday, however, was a day Dilmir had been dreading for several months. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Elmir\u2019s voice\ncut into his thoughts, forcing his eyes open. \u201cToday,\u201d he said, his voice as\nslow as thick syrup and conveying nothing, \u201cyou begin to learn of spells. But\nfirst,\u201d he added, \u201cyou must be tested. Summon for me a globe of water.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dilmir smiled,\nthough very briefly. It was customary for the day to start with a review, and\nthis particular request was a trick. He knew because he had failed at it at\nleast a hundred times before Ilrin had worked it out and told him. Instead of\nsearching through the air for particles of water, as most beginners did, Dilmir\nknelt, placing a hand on the ground, and extended his magic towards the earth\nbelow it. He was careful while he did so, using only the magic that he needed,\nkeeping the rest within himself. Once he encountered the hard-packed ground\nbefore him, he directed a steady stream of magic at it, allowing the power to\nflow into the ground smoothly. As he did so, he focused on the magic, causing\nit to shape and alter the earth so that it would give up the water below it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Magic, by its\nvery nature, altered things. It was by this that the elves could sense and use\nit. They had the power to control it, and the way it changed whatever it\ntouched. The trees of Eld\u2019rin had been grown by such means. Elven mages had\nlong ago sown enchantments of growth into their bark, causing them to become\ntall and thick. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The ground\nbeneath Dilmir\u2019s palm steadily grew soggier, until a little pool of water\nformed on top of it. Dilmir then focused his mind on the water, causing it to\ncling to the magic he laced it with. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Magic was not a\nmystical force that could not be explained. It was a tangible part of Feylund,\nas common as the air through which it floated. Magic which the elves had not\nyet used could sometimes be seen in the dark corners of the Great Forest. A\nshimmering ball of faint light, a curiously growing branch, all were signs of\nmagic, most of which the elves still did not understand. Only when it was used\ndid magic become passive, submitting itself to the will of its caster. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Satisfied that\nthe water would remain in place, Dilmir carefully slipped his hand beneath it,\nand picked it up. He glanced up at Elmir. He had done the exercise perfectly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Elmir\u2019s face\ncould have been compared to a tree with ease. No flicker of surprise, no pleased\ntwitch of the mouth escaped him. \u201cVery good,\u201d he said, his voice once again as\nflat as the plains to the South. \u201cNow we shall begin on spells. I want you to\nset the patch of grass before me on fire, and then put it out. But this time,\ndo so from where you stand.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dilmir frowned.\nThis wasn\u2019t a spell, this was an enchantment impossible to cast. All elves had\nto touch what they enchanted, for it was a rule of magic. If they did not, the\nmagic would seep from their palm and float away in the air, free once again. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Elmir\u2019s visage\nremained impassive, however, so Dilmir stretched out his arm, forming the magic\nwith his mind before releasing it. Once the enchantment was fully completed,\nDilmir released it at a piece of grass three paces from Elmir, practically\nthrowing it with his mind. It zoomed forward, a faintly shimmering ball of\nlight in the rays of the young sun, but then dispersed, dissolving into the\nair. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe trick,\u201d\nsaid Elmir, his face acknowledging nothing, \u201cIs to use energy as well as magic.\nInfuse one with enough of the other to get it across the intervening space\nbetween you and your target.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dilmir nodded.\nIt had never occurred to him that spells would simply be enchantments with\nenergy. He had always thought they were some higher form of magic, requiring more\npower, but he was relieved at their true nature. It was hard enough to keep his\npower in check. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Concentrating\ncarefully, Dilmir formed the magic at the ends of his fingers. Once the spell\nwas complete, he paused. How much energy should he use? Undecided, he put a\nlarge amount into the enchantment, and then released it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
With a loud\nwhoosh, as if a tree branch had cloven the air, a dart of red light leapt from\nDilmir\u2019s hand and struck the ground. The place burst into flames instantly,\nhot, orange, smokeless flames that neither grew nor receded, kept in place by\nthe magic that had created them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Elmir nodded\nbriefly. \u201cNow put it out,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once again,\nDilmir formed an enchantment, and once again, he placed the same amount of\nenergy into it. He decided to simply end the flames, rather than douse them\nwith water, as the former would not cause any smoke. As an afterthought he added\nan enchantment that would cause the grass to grow back. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Concentrating on\nthe dancing flames before him, Dilmir released the magic. At first, he thought\nnothing had happened. But then, the fire flattened, as if it had been covered\nwith a blanket, and then went out, a ring of blackened grass spreading from its\ncenter. In another moment, new grass had pushed aside the burnt blades, and all\nthat was left was a faint patch of ash. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Elmir stood\nobserving the place where, moments before, a fire had been. After nearly a\nminute, he said, \u201cVery good. Most elves take time to cast their first spells,\nbut you seem to have caught on quickly.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dilmir froze.\nHad he done too well? Had he used more magic than he should have? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If he had, Elmir\ndid not show it. \u201cVery well,\u201d he said, looking once again at Dilmir. \u201cLet us\nmove on to other spells. You will find that they differ from enchantments more\nthan you might expect.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The day wore on.\nElmir did very little other than prompt Dilmir in the right direction; he\npreferred to have him find things out for himself. Dilmir felt he might learn a\nlittle faster if Elmir showed him how to do things, but he remained silent. No\nelf would criticize their teacher. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
By the time the\nsun climbed to the peak of its path, Dilmir had learned a good number of\nspells. While enchantments were based on slow and careful focus, spells were\nbased on quick action. That explained why mages always used them in combat;\nthey were fast and required far less focus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Finally, the\nmages dismissed their pupils. Dilmir saw, out of the corner of his eye, Ilrin\nstand by the gate, waiting for him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
After a long\nscrutiny of the sun \u2013 elven eyes were not as easily blinded as those of humans\n\u2013 Elmir remarked tonelessly, \u201cVery well. You may go.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs ihr selenar\nimil, manithar,\u201d muttered Dilmir before turning and hastening towards Ilrin.\nThe phrase was the customary farewell to a teacher. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ilrin waited\nuntil he reached her, and then, together, they turned into the city. Dilmir was\nalready tired from casting spells, but the day was only half over. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The next day was announced by a glorious sunrise, etching the few wispy clouds overhead with gold and yellow. Long before the sun rose fully, Dilmir departed his house into the still quiet Eld\u2019rin, low mists covering the ground as he walked. In the half light of dawn, he made his way towards the center … Continue reading Chapter Four – To Form a Spell<\/span>