บท 3: Chapter 3: Learning magic is (not) fun!
Okay, time for a short history lesson in Kobold lore: Our brood mother is called Delia and is a divine dragon. Legends say she set the earth itself on fire and gave the world, fire, the four seasons and even volcanoes! When her work was done she burrowed into the core of the earth and was never seen again. Humbug, if you ask me but it's a nice story to tell children. It at least beats a horny death god kidnapping the spring goddess as an explanation for why winter is such a bitch to have around.
Anyway, our lineage to a fire dragon explains why most of us can use fire magic, not everyone mind you, why would anything be that easy, eh? Nope, about 7 out of 10 Kobolds can use magic, the rest are just completely normal and have zero ability to make fire without a match. So now I have to rely on chance again? That sucks!
As soon as I was old enough to walk I sat down with the storytellers, who seem to be this wise old folk and 100% magicians. "You want to learn from us, child?", they said as if their fairytales and cautionary fables weren't super boring. Don't eat rotten smelling fruit, walking alone at night is dangerous, "the fool who trusts a goblin", that's so obvious, like don't drink acid! I bet if Kobolds knew what acid was, there'd be a story about a young Kobold drinking it and dissolving from inside out in gory detail. I just want to learn magic goddammit! Can I at least turn the stories into songs? Oral history can be delivered through both stories and songs, didn't they know that? Make it catchy and maybe more kobolds would listen to your guff.
If it smells like a Goblin foot, don't eat it.
Even if the taste is good, don't eat it.
Fruit needs to be fresh and sweet.
Something, something guaranteed…
I'm still working on that one but you get what I mean.
Even just putting a rhythm under these stories helps to memorize it. Get some people to play the drums while you talk and emphasize the important bits with music. See how this is more fun than just listening? I begin underlining my learned stories by chanting and dancing to them and giving them a fitting mood and meaning. Soon the other disciples try mimicking me so I give them dance lessons: And now turn and do a few of these steps, and now lower your voice because this is a scary part, make it interesting and put up a show! The old Storytellers look at me as if I turned blue.
"But that's so frivolous.", I hear them say. But in the end, even they can't deny my methods get the crowds to the nightly orations. Place among the storytellers: Check.
Next: magic training!
So, magic has 3 components. Direction, Element and Intensity aka how much mana you want to spend. If you overspent, you might die of exhaustion?! Take the spell that sets yourself on fire for example: "Cau" means "Self" "Inca" is fire, obviously, and "foris" means you spent as little mana as possible. But just knowing the words isn't enough, the everyone would throw fireballs around. Nope, you need to meditate to feel the mana flowing in your veins mixed in with your blood. If you can feel it collect the mana in your palms…. Palms… collect… what?
That's like trying to control the flow of blood! Even if you can feel it burning inside of you it's not like I can stop the flow of it. Ok me, concentrate, just imagine the fire on your hands, imagine it burning, the heat, the light, the noise and smell of cinder and ash….
Cau Inca Foris!
Kapow
Was that a small spark?! I'm a high wizard!! I immediately fall to the ground, too exhausted to move… damn I have single-digit MP….
The Storytellers tell me to start working out. Mana is tied to physical fitness? Really? So it's both MP and SP? All this talk about performing and training reminds me of all the dance lessons and running I had to do to keep up with the auditions. Every day I was jogging my 5k, did calisthenics and rehearsed steps and lyrics with the other members of the group was currently employed in. Hated every second of it but that's what you did to fit the Idol mold. Thin, not too Athlet but able to dance for hours on end.
So, my new life begins where my old one ended. Laps around the settlement, memorization of lyrics and training performances. Weeks later, all I can do is a flash fire before falling to the ground again. Learning magic sucks balls! But at least my stories are a hit. I get more listeners than the old ones now, suck on that! Once my magic is good enough I'll add fireworks to the show and everyone will love me!
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