บท 22: Training on the Road (3)
Alex read as much as possible, as fast as possible, but he kept being interrupted by one or another person. He was reading the first twenty pages when Ratamir announced someone would join their journey. Alex glanced up and saw a bulkier white elf with more than 1,90 meters entering the wagon. It was difficult to guess his age now that Alex knew elves could live for hundreds of years, but if he were going to bet, he would assume the kid was as young as him, probably less.
"This is Rer'Til. He's now an adventurer like you two," Ratamir announced and pointed to the kid to sit on one of the benches. Upon close inspection, Alex saw that he had narrow purple eyes and a big smile, making his eyes look like a fine line. He waved his hands to Alex, and he only nodded back. Alex wasn't the kind to don't show manners, but he was busy. Seven days without reading? That would be terrible.
Ratamir closed the wagon, and the youth before Alex stretched his legs. The young man returned to his book. The Arch Magus was describing the nature of magic in Tevia.
The book explained that Arcanite stored the magical power that mages called Eather or simply Arcanite Light. The Arcanite was fueled only inside dungeons. All the researchers believed Eather to be concentrated in those places.
"Aether can't be created by mortals. As soon as Arcanite Light is used to perform magic, it's gone forever, and only other ore will suffice the need of the mage for the energy. I and other mages studied how to overcome our inability, and we will keep researching it until the Last Leveling arrives. Still, for now, the consensus is that Arcanite Energy is a product of the ancestral magic that locks monsters away and is, to this day, a mystery to our society. A man of Faith would say, facing these facts, that the Gods are the only answer for the existence of Aether inside the Arcanite ores…"
"What's your name?" the voice came from the other side of the wagon. Alex only looked at the kid with the top of his eyes.
"Valther," he replied, looking back to his book, and the other elf just stayed there in silence. The Arch Magus was now explaining that to draw the light of the arcanite, the mage needed to learn a unique breathing technique that mages developed through years of study. The method consisted in—
"My name is Rel'Tir," the other elf said,
"I know," Alex replied, sighing and returning to his book. Eager to understand more about the breathing technique, Alex continued reading. Still, the Arch Magus only briefly explained the process of cycling the Eather to the one's magical core. The author considered the method a secret reserved only for the school mages.
"He's always like that?" The other elf was now addressing Tina, who just shrugged and kept looking to the road outside the wagon, not giving much attention to the other guy, too, "This trip is going to be incredible. I'm locked here with Mister Fun and Miss Amusement,"
"You can always walk," Alex replied, trying not to give the boy too much attention, "It's what we did until arriving in your city,"
"No, thank you." The boy replied, and Alex understood he could finally take a look at his book again, and that was precisely what he did for the next minutes,
"Arcanite light can do nothing without the proper triggers. For easy understanding, you can see the arcanite light and the token as the fuel to the magic and the runes as the trigger that activates it. The quantity of light, the mage's connection with his token, and the rune's complexity will determine the spell's strength. A mage full of Arcanite Light, but with a disposable token and a simple rune, will only kindle a torch, but a mage full of Arcanite, sacrificing a personal token and with an intricate rune, can set a large city on fire in an instant."
Wow, that's real power… Alex thought, moving up his head and finding the gaze of his new companion locked into his eyes. Annoyance was minor to describe what the young man had on his face, but it wasn't hatred. He's feeling rejected. Alex could sympathize with that. He had felt like that several times. The worst of them were the days Alex was with an adoptive family, just to be returned to the orphanage one week later. But he had no time to lose, and apologizing wasn't his style.
Alex returned to the book, but it was becoming harder to concentrate. The Arch Magus was about to describe what a token was when he heard something banging against the bench, something metallic. Alex tried to ignore that and read the book,
"A token simply connects the wielder of magic to its soul. Magic is nothing more than language. When a mage absorbs Arcanite light into their body, they listen to nature's language.—
TAP/TAP/TAP
When a mage sacrifices a token, he hears the soul's lament—
TAP/TAP/TAP
When a mage writes a rune, he's speaking the magic language, catalyzing it—
TAP/TAP/TAP
Alex looked up and saw the boy tapping his ring against the wooden bench with a wicked smile. If the idea was to bother Alex, he had managed it, but he wouldn't give him the pleasure. Alex could ignore a tapping sound. Giving a cold shoulder to a bully often hurt his ego more than a slap to the face,
"Hard time reading? You should've thought about that when you mistreated me one hour ago," Rer'Til said, widening his smile. Alex returned to his book,
"Keep reading," TAP/TAP/TAP. Tina chuckled at his side, and Alex grimly looked at her,
"Are you having fun?" Alex asked, and Tina just nodded, chuckling even harder. "Fine," he sighed, getting up and opening the wagon door. He was about to jump to the road when an arm gripped his hand,
"Who do you think you are to turn your back on me? Acting like a black eye—"
Alex hit his punch in the nose of Rer'Til with all the strength he could muster, making a flat sound. The boy fell like a rock on the wagon's floor,
"Fuck off, I'm reading, stupid."
Alex jumped to the ground and could only hear the boy moaning on the wagon floor, and for that, he put a smile on his face. Alex could be grumpy sometimes, and the fact that the system was pushing him to his edge wasn't helping to control that. Of course, he could buy a bigger fight with the other elf, but that would cost time, and he hadn't time. He needed to read.
Alex examined the road ahead and felt safe to walk and read simultaneously. It wouldn't be easy, but he could manage. They would probably stop to eat lunch soon, and after that, he would go back to the vehicle, hoping for the new guy to be silent now, or he would be obliged to make him shut his mouth again.
When a mage absorbs Arcanite light into their body, they listen to nature's language. When a mage sacrifices a token, he hears the soul's lament. When a mage writes a rune, he's speaking the magic language, catalyzing it through his body and using the token and the Arcanite Light as the fuel to perform the spell he specified with the rune.
The concept of a trinity of magic made all sense to Alex. It was just like igniting a fire.
Three conditions were needed to create fire. Fuel, heat, and oxygen. Alex couldn't tell precisely what the arcanite, token, and runes were in this comparison. Still, it made it easy for him to understand.
Alex almost tripped on a rock but kept walking and reading simultaneously, too involved in the book to care about the heat or the discomfort.
"Runes are the key to transforming natural energy (Arcanite Light) and soul energy (from a destroyed token) into magic. It's easier to understand runes than to write them. And writing a rune on paper is much simpler than forming one in your mind. The complexity of the magic a mage wants to perform dictates the complexity of the rune needed. Think of it like giving directions to someone. You could give a basic idea and hope they find their way or write detailed instructions to ensure they reach their destination."
Alex closed the book. The reading took almost three hours, and he felt already tired. 60% percent of the book was gone. Out of the three requisites of the trinity, the only one he could have was the token. He needed to learn the breathing technique and the writing of runes, which needed to be fast. He was thinking about opening the book again when the carriage halted, and he almost tripped on it.
Ravi hurriedly left the carriage, holding a bottle of wine in one hand. The human had replaced his grim for a gigantic smile,
"Time to lunch, at least for you guys. I don't eat while I'm drinking. Cuts my appetite for drinking, you know," Ravi said, waving his bottle hand to Alex as if he hadn't treated him poorly five hours ago. Alex didn't find the babble of a drunkard in his voice, "Eat and be ready. After lunch, I'll train the three of you on the sword."
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