Magic Training (Darren and whoever he invites.)

[Zilo]

Sitting in the camp away from everyone sat a lone man. Standing there for a moment he looked down at his hand. He had heard that almost everything could use magic to some extent if they trained for it. But to him magic was like a foreign design. One that he could not comprehend, it seemed almost useless to dream about it. To be able to use it, the varden had reached outside of Belatona. And that was an achievement on its own. No matter how hard he thought. He could tell they where lucky thus far. Sighing to himself he stood up and looked around for a second making sure no one was around him and headed out into a near by forest.

Sitting down for a second Zilo thought to himself what he had read in books. Magic is sort of like life essence. The stronger and more spiritual aware you are. The more of a chance you could use magic. But that book had been rubbish. He had been told other wise by some elves. That some might not even be able to learn it no matter how hard they tried. Sitting down he yawned and sprawled out in the wet grass. He started thinking about the Riders that where in the Varden now. The king was still stronger than them. But for some reason they didn’t give up. Not to mention he heard rumors of some of the Riders the Empire had where older than the elves queen.

After a few hours of thinking he sat up frustrated that he couldn’t figure this out. All the books he had read had told him that it would be possible. Though magic was an ancient art. There was still some today that knew stuff from the past. He had seen others use magic. Like the elves in the Varden. They constantly used spells and wards to protect their allies. And then there was some of the human magicians that where able too. But for some reason they always said they could not train him. From what he had gathered, they had either hated him. Or in elves case did not want to teach their magic to a normal human.

But Zilo couldn’t blame the elves for that one. Long ago a war had erupted between the races and sent them into hiding for a long time. Standing up now he started to walk deeper into the forest. The sound of a small stream could be heard. The smell in the air came from the apple trees further down. The sun sat almost towards the east. It seemed that they had a couple more hours of sunlight. And that was something he was not to happy about. In a few days or even possibly tomorrow they would attack the city Belatona. And that wasn’t going to be fun.

Recounting the battle she had been in. He had more men with him now so that he would be able to fight better. Though he preferred to have someone that had magic with them he learned most soldiers disliked it. That really confused him though. Why would anyone hate magic? Why would soldiers think that something is abnormal and that it is a gift that should be destroyed? Thinking as he walked further into the forest he heard a small twig snap from something hidden in the trees. Stopping there for a moment he reached behind his back slowly and pulled his axe to the front. Sitting there he waited for the creature to come out. Slowly at first a figure started to appear…..

(Left it open for if you want something to do ^^)

[Darren]

Raising Thieren, Levonla knocked the branches aside as he stepped out into the place he usually went for some peace and quiet. To his shock, there stood a single human with a huge axe, raised and ready to attack.

“Lower your weapon, human!” Levonla snapped, and with a wave of his hand, the axe flew out of the man’s grip, embedding itself into a nearby tree.

Looking at the warrior in the eye, he sat down beside him, his spear lying across his lap.

“Forgive me for reading your thoughts Zilo, warrior of the Varden. I am Levonla, mage of the Varden. You seem to be very interested in magic. Magic is something that is very hard to master. For a human it may take decades of training before they are able to use the simplest spell. There are many words in the Ancient Language, misuse of one word or sentence could lead to the death of the magician. If you do not keep your mind guarded well, an enemy magician could take control of you and force you to kill either your comrades or yourself.”

He sighed, running his hand over the polished golden Brightsteel tip of Thieren.

“I would be able to teach you the basics of magic, and how to defend your mind from enemy magicians.”

Standing up, he heard the rustle of leaves as someone dashed out from behind a bush, dressed in dark clothing and holding a sharp dagger. As the assassin charged at Zilo, Levonla spoke a word, slashing the air with his spear.

“Kverst!”

A gash appeared on the assassin’s chest, drawing blood as he collapsed to the ground, convulsing in his death throes.

Walking over to the convulsing assassin, he drove the tip of Thieren though the man’s head, putting him out of his misery.
“An assassin in the Varden?!” he exclaimed, looking around for more assassins. None appeared and Levonla flicked the blood off his spear.

“How did they find our camp?!”

[Zilo]

Blinking slightly Zilo was surprised when the dragon rider from Varden stepped out. He wrenched the axe out of Zilos hand with a simple swipe. Surprised and a little envious he felt a presence wrap around him. It left a trail with it. The beautiful melody danced in his for a bit and when it withdrew he smelt something wonderful.

“Smells like the pine of the forest.” He said starring at the man in front of him. He was a little happy now and it soon faded. When an assassin came out of no where, the blade came closer to Zilo, a small dagger the size of a pin knife. And a dark green coating on the end, seeing that he decided to try and step back. As he did he heard the dragon rider behind him murmur a spell. Suddenly the assassin flew back and was stabbed by a spear.

Blinking softly he ran over and grabbed his axe. “I don’t know how they are here! But there must be a spy letting them know our weakness!” He said turning around and around trying to find out what was going on. Sighing in defeat he walked closer to the elf and stood beside him. Zilo seemed to tower above him at a six foot five. His muscles where defined as well. Holding his axe in his hand he stood there.

“Thanks for the help. But if I didn’t give away your position he might have actually been stopped by you.” He said smiling at the Elf. “I know when you focused on me we let our guard down that’s my fault…..Uh…..” Thinking for a moment he remembered what an elf had said about a riders name and how to formerly say it “Elda Lovenla Shur'tugal” He said with a few mispronunciations. But in all he said most of it correctly.

Thinking for a moment he just processed through his head what the man had offered. "Really.... You would teach me?" He said his eyes almost in tears. And not only because he had been offered a teacher. But and elf at that. And not only an elf but a rider. Almost in tears he did something most wouldn't expect from the hulking man. He picked the small elf up in a hug that seemed almost like being hugged by a bear. "Thank you Elda Lovenla Shur'tgal." He said smiling at the man in front of him.

[Darren]

“Thank you, Elda Lovenla Shutugal.”

Smiling, Levonla replied to Zilo, rubbing his sore sides from his bear hug.

“It’s pronounced Levonla, Zilo. Anyways, I am glad to teach you Zilo, faithful warrior of the Varden.”

There was swooping sound as a golden star glittered in the sky, and then shot down towards where Levonla and Zilo were standing. As the glittering star swooped closer, it took the form of a majestic golden dragon, moonlight sparkling off his scales.

‘Levonla, I felt the presence of an unfamiliar mind. Is everything all right?!’ boomed Raziel, baring his razor sharp fangs at Zilo.

“Everything is fine, Raziel.” replied Levonla, “There was an assassin that attempted to assassinate Zilo here, but I stopped him. I am very concerned that the assassin knew the location of our camp. There must be a lot of spies for the Empire in our midst!”

‘If I find any spies, I will eat them from the feet upwards.” proclaimed Raziel, flexing his sharp claws, making deep gouges in the dirt.

“Good to know.” chuckled Levonla, and waving his spear over the dead body of the assassin, a rift opened in the ground and the corpse fell in. Another phrase in the Ancient Language sealed the rift, and the body was gone.

“When would you like to begin your training, Zilo?” inquired Levonla.

[Zilo]

Standing there suddenly something came into his view and Zilo saw a dragon. The stars sparkled off of its golden scales. Surprised and to see the teeth snapped towards him. Reaching out without thinking he touched the scales on the nose and felt a sudden protection from the dragon. Surprised a dragon had been so close to him he started laughing. “Wow this day is just getting to be a bit better.” He said turning his attention back to levonla. He blinked for a minute and rubbed the back of his head laughing softly and then thought for a minute.

“I want to train before the battle of Belatona. And I want to continue practicing before Urebean. I won’t to learn to protect myself from magic. I want to learn to protect my own sanity.” He said pointing to his head. “I also want to learn how to cast wards around me without draining to much of my energy.” He said remembering reading a book how wards where mysterious things. If woven right they wouldn’t drain energy constantly. But if one did not know how to wove them right, the spell would constantly drain energy. Turning back to the man and smiled.

“I’ve always dreamed of having a dragon of my own. I believe what the king is doing wrong. I don’t fight for the people or my race. I fight because I care for beings like your dragon, I respect them. To be blunt I feel no hate against the riders enslaved by the king killing the men around me. Because if they had a choice they wouldn’t do this, or at least that’s what I believe.” He said remembering that his father had told him that dragons’ where rare now because of the king killing most of them. “And because that man. I don’t care for his name. Must die, I know I won’t be able to beat him. But if meet with a dragon on the battlefield I don’t want to be a useless tool.”

Standing there strong and firm as he spoke he softened his voice. “I want to be able to protect myself and my men without killing the rider and dragon….” He said. Normally warrior didn’t care about what would happen to others. They cared about their men yes. But not that of the enemies, most thought it would be better to kill the dragons on the field. But he was different. Still being eighteen he had more wisdom than most men. And that was something he was proud of. He was able to read write, that is how he learned so much from his fathers library.

[Darren]

‘The Ancient Language is very powerful.’ Spoke Raziel, his mental voice echoing in the midns of Levonla and Zilo.

‘To mispronounce a word or phrase can result in the death of the magician. Also, casting a spell can burn a lot of your energy, casting a spell when you are not physically or mentally ready for it can result in death also.’

Nodding his head, Levonla spoke softly to Zilo.

“I will teach you the Ancient Language and the proper way to use the words. It is up to you to practice the words I teach you over and over again so the proper pronunciation is used. As Raziel said, mispronouncing a word could result in harm.”

Bending over, Levonla picked up a smooth pebble from the ground. Handing it to Zilo, he sat down on a fallen tree trunk.

“A stone in the Ancient Language is called stenr.” He lectured, “Your first spell will be to levitate the stone off the ground. To do this, you say ‘Stenr Risa!’.”

The stone leapt out of Zilo’s outstretched hand, floating a couple meters in the air.

‘If you have any questions about how to say things in the Ancient Language, feel free to ask us.’ said Raziel, ‘For example, the name of fire is Brisingr or Istalri. Do not attempt to cast the spells of fire yet, you are not prepared for that.’

“Go ahead!” exclaimed Levonla, “Give it a try!”

[Zilo]

Listening to Levonla speak about how there was more to magic than just the ancient words filled his curiosity. He didn’t know that there was more to it than he had known already. That even a tiny mispronunciation could ultimately lead to his death. Sitting there blinking a little bit he didn’t know how to respond to that. There wasn’t really much that he could do at the moment.

Standing there for a few second he drew in his breath as a gasp seeing the stone float. Thinking quietly he listened to the words. Stenr meant stone. Risa meant float. Standing there dumbfounded seeing it float in the air he nodded softly. Concentrating on the stone he took in a deep breath and spoke the words. “Stenr Risa!” the stone moved a tiny bit. And then fell straight back down into his hand.

Sitting there cursing at himself for only making it rise no more than an cm from his hand. But that showed he had some magic in him. Sitting there for a minute he took in his breath and spoke it once more. Suddenly he felt something weird. He had mispronounced Stenr and instead of the stone rising he felt himself pick up slightly. Panicking he released the spell and felt the energy leave him quickly. Breathing heavily he looked at the two of them.

They were telling the truth. That if he messed up once than he would drop dead. Regaining his composure and spoke once more the words for the stone to rise, suddenly it gently came off of his hand. A little higher this time. But the drain on him was too much. Though it being a centimeter or two off his hand felt like it was a toll on him greater than any physical training he had ever done. Standing there he was feeling a little light headed?

Standing there he looked at Levonla and smiled slightly letting the rock drop. “I think I’m a little tired right now.” He said feeling himself sway a little bit. That trick such a simple one yet from his one mistake his entire energy was drained from him in a matter of seconds. Standing there he focused one last time. But to no success was he able to lift the stone anymore. But each time he said the words. He felt like he was getting weaker. Finally seeing himself sway he sat down… “Sorry it seems I’m no good at this magic. Elda Levonla" He said smiling. "Maybe the others where right i should just to swinging my axe like a normal human." He said smiling being honest and truthful.

[Darren]

"Zilo, you must learn some magic to protect yourself!" exclaimed Levonla, concerned.

'You must not give up so easily, little one.' Raziel said, 'Be strong!'

"You have used up a lot of your energy, but I am extremely impressed that you managed to move the stone!" added Levonla excitedly, "For many people it would not even be possible to even make the stone twitch!"

Smiling at Zilo warmly, he clambered onto Raziel's back.

"What we are going to do next is learn how to shield your mind from attackers." he lectured.

'When you feel people begin to probe your mind, focus on a single phrase or memory and keep repeating it. You must not think of other thoughts, It will weaken your defence and allow the enemy to penetrate your mind, and read your thoughts.' said Raziel, slowly inspecting his claws one by one.

"I will attempt to penetrate your mind, Zilo." said Levonla, "You must attempt to defend yourself, or I will read all your thoughts about what girl you fancy or whatever."

He laughed, a beautiful, musical sound.

"Anyhow, I'm not sure if I want to know what you do at night by yourself. So you'd better do good job in defending your mind."

"Shall we begin?"

[Zilo]

Sitting down for a moment Zilo thought the words over at what his master had said. And nodded gently to being ready. He decided one reason others don’t go into the minds are the feelings they had. So what he had fill his mind on the spot was despair, agony, loss, hate, fear, and sadness over his father death. And the one strongest was revenge towards the kind. Letting his death and the kings words to repeat in his head. He made it where he thought he had an excellent defense.

Closing his eyes and sitting there thinking to himself, waiting, resting, and relaxing, with the thoughts in his head, making a dark cloud surround him, but levonla had read his mind once before. He had seen that Zilo kept up hope. And didn’t falter, his mind was light and curious one of emotion before. But now touching this he would feel all those pains at once. And yet there wasn’t a single drop of insanity in the thoughts. But instead a strong sense of determination, he was ready.

Taking a deep breath he sat there still as a rock starring at his master the thoughts…images repeating in his head. Giving him the emotion to shield his mind. To make a mask of darkness cover it. The sense inside of the cloud was thought destroying once touched. Because of the agony the hate and the sadness all in one, this would probably surprise Levonla from what he had once felt when reading it at first. And to see such strong emotions coming from one that was only nineteen it was exciting probably but also. Terrifying that on the first try such strong emotions guarded him.