The interlocking rings of the spell construct swam before Kothar's eyes. He had been staring at the page for what felt like hours, engraving the image into his brain. A mage's first spell construct allowed for the conversion of pure mana into the more specialized elemental forms, however, one's constitution determined if their body could endure the much more volatile elemental mana.
Pfffzt. The construct flickered out again, as Kothar misaligned one of the anchoring runes.
His head pounded, he had fought off great armies, but creating a purely imaginary structure to convert a strange energy, that was new to him. Frustrated, he slumped forward, leaning his head on the desk. Tired, Kothar began to drift off to sleep.
In the narrow space between dream and reality, the mind gains the freedom to do extraordinary things. For the past day, his mind had been in a fixed routine of attempting to create the construct and it continued to create the construct as he drifted off.
The final rune clicked into place as he shaped it with ease, no longer forcing the construct to mesh together.
Mana surged toward the construct, and the rings began to spin. A spark formed in the center, with more sparks joining it, creating a swirling ball of lightning in Kothar's chest. Unaware, Kothar had created the construct that he had struggled with for the whole day. Click. The door opened, and Ophil glided in, smiling at the sight of Kothar's face on his desk, drooling over his papers. She lifted him up with remarkable ease and placed him on his bed, gently covering him with a blanket.
Kothar awoke with a start, he immediately noticed the swirling ball of energy that had formed overnight.
He leapt out of bed and rushed excitedly to the courtyard eager to cast his first spell. Tam was sat in the courtyard, in his usual spot by the tree.
"Well, you look excited, I assume you're ready to cast?" Tam stood up, walking over to Kothar.
Kothar nodded and took on a wide stance, while his outstretched arms cupped an empty circle of air. Kothar pushed strands of the lightning through his arms, the surging, tingling feeling was strange, almost painful. A small ball of lightning formed between his hands, it was faint and barely visible.
"That's it, son! Fire at the tree when you're ready." Tam crossed his arms and waited.
Kothar pushed his arms forward, sending a lightning bolt toward the tree they usually sat under. A loud crack echoed through the courtyard, the bolt struck the tree, sending up a flash of flame.
"Alright. We're getting some practice targets in here, if this tree takes any more punishment from the two of us it'll be done for." Tam said as he brushed the soot off the tree.
"Well done, son. Now, I'd like for you to get some more training before you go on that excursion you've been telling Simon all about. That Skysteel isn't going to be found by anyone anytime soon, Janul Forest is a massive place." Tam explained to Kothar. For months, Kothar had been begging to go explore the world on his own, and when Simon had told him of the piece of Skysteel that had been rumored to land nearby, he had found the perfect excuse.
"I'd like for you to teach me some sword arts before then, Father." Kothar replied, a smile spreading across his face.
"Hmm, that's very unorthodox, but I do know the Southern Mages are virtually indistinguishable from warriors. As they say, all paths lead to One." Tam ran his hand along the hilt of his sword, deep in thought.
Tam cut a branch from the already battered tree. He tossed it to Kothar.
"You'll only be learning the very basics, clouding your head with swordplay is a good way for you to waste that magical gift of yours." Kothar watched as Tam demonstrated the basic forms that he knew, slicing, stabbing and cutting with the branch. He tossed the branch to Kothar.
"Do these forms before and after you meditate, once they become habit, you should be able to deal with anything that gets too close for you to cast in time. Most mages learn defensive spells early, but I guess the best defense is offense huh?" Tam said, laughing. Tam began to demonstrate the basic sword forms, drawing his curved steel sword and slowly moving through the motions.
They light faded from the sky as Kothar watched Tam, doing his best to emulate his sword forms, he grasped them surprisingly quickly, thanks to his entire lifetime of combat experience.
The next day, Simon and Kothar were sat at the long dining table, enjoying a light meal of fruit and candied nuts.
"Why do you want this Skysteel so bad anyway?" asked Simon. They had just finished a lengthy study session on the intricacies of utilizing runes in metal work.
"Well, it's used by lightning mages to create wands and staffs." Kothar said plainly, peeling an purple colored fruit with a small knife.
"I know that, but weren't you asking me about smithing a sword?" Simon had a curious look on his face.
"Hahaha, take a look at this." Kothar pulled out blueprint of an elegant blade, curved and bladed on only one edge it was about 1.2 meters long. The spine of the blade had a long groove within it, either side of the groove was linked by strands of metal that formed intricate runes.
Simon peered down at the blueprint for a few minutes, a look of understanding slowly dawning across his face.
"Absolutely amazing, you're incorporating the elemental mana storing properties of a staff into the sword." Simon exclaimed.
"I can't take all the credit, I adapted it from a design I found after Father told me about the Southern Warriors." Kothar explained, showing Simon the many reference designs he had collected.
"Nevertheless, this could be revolutionary for battle mages!" Simon said excitedly.
"I'd prefer to keep it to myself for now, it'll be a useful trump card." Kothar dampened SImon's excitement.
"Absolutely, a hidden advantage in battle can turn the entire tide. Come on now, shall we cover the unique flora and fauna of Janul forest." Simon said as he left the living room.
After a weeks of intensive training and lessons from Simon, Simon and Tam felt he was ready.
Kothar returned to his room from a productive trip to the markets with Simon, they had purchased some rations, a few healing balms and some other useful odds and ends for his trip. Kothar spotted a wooden case on his bed, within lay a short blade, slightly longer than his forearm, useful as both a tool and a weapon.
A handwritten note lay on the black lacquered sheath, "For the unexpected, be vigilant and remember your lessons.-Your loving Father, Tam." Kothar sat down smiling, he slowly drew the blade from the sheath by the cord wrapped handle, revealing a robust double edged blade of fine blue steel. Kothar packed the rations into a leather satchel, throwing in a few books on alchemy and smithing. He looped the sword belt around his waist and headed out into the evening glow.
Ophil watched as Kothar left from her rooftop greenhouse, a sad smile on her face.
"They grow up so fast." She whispered to herself. Raising her hand up to her face, she blew on the handful of seeds on her palm, a green glow suffusing them as they floated down from the roof and lodged themselves all about Kothar's clothes and belongings.
"Stay safe my child."