“Excellent. Now, shape the mana as the spell matrix demands, visualize in your mind’s eye how the energy should flow, and… release!”

     I gritted my teach and did as Ahn’Khareen ordered, feeling the flow of mana orient itself in my body, and uttered the command phrase to the first spell I had ever been taught.

     “Light!”

     It was a physical sense of relief as the energy left my body, and I staggered as a wave of exhaustion hit me after the spell was cast. But when I opened my eyes, hovering above my right hand was a small ball of light.

     A month had passed since I had agreed to be Ahn’Khareen’s apprentice, and almost all the time I had spent cleaning her lair was now being used to study magic. It was quite a bit simpler than I had imagined it would be, but that didn’t make it easy. The first three weeks we had spent simply going over the most bare-bones fundamentals of magical theory and had only started working to actually cast a spell these past few days. That spell of course, was Mage Light.

     “Good. Now, shape the next section of the matrix, and proceed.”

     Closing my eyes I refocused my thoughts inwards, feeling the shape of the spell that I had already cast. Reaching out with my mind, I subtly altered the shape of the matrix.

     “Follow.” Sweat was beading down my forehead and back, but when I opened my eyes again the magical ball of light was floating just above and behind my right shoulder, illuminating the dark room around me without being in my line of sight.

     “Next.”

     My teeth ground together as I reached out with my magic once again. I had managed to nail the last two sections of the spell, but this final section was always the most difficult. Pointing with my hand, I directed the spell matrix to move away from my body, and float in the air.

     “Stay.” My knees almost buckled, but the light drifted away from me, and hung in the air to illuminate the entire room.

     “Ha! Haha! I did it!” I crowed, trying to pretend like I wasn’t about to fall over from exhaustion.

     “Indeed, you have.”

     A bony hand reached out from behind me, and gently smacked the back of my head. Instantly I lost focus on the spell, and the light disappeared as the energy dissipated without a matrix to hold it in place.

     “You have demonstrated proficiency in understanding the fundamentals of spell matrices, much faster than I would have ever guessed. Faster in fact, than I did when I was first learning magic.”

     I tried not to preen, at least until Ahn’Khareen’s next words took me down a peg.

     “But your focus is terrible. You bleed mana like a sieve, and it takes you far too long to cast a spell. Mage Light is one of the simplest spells, thus when properly cast it should take only a second to resolve and use only a thimble of mana.”

     I deflated slightly, the achievement starting to feel hollow. The annoying thing was that she was right, I was exhausted from using so much mana on such a simple spell. I understood the theory of it all just fine, in fact it wasn’t too terribly difficult. I had studied calculus in high school as part of my AP program, and a lot of the math involved in making and understanding a spell matrix was on pretty much the same level as calculus. Granted it was different, but not necessarily more complicated than what I had studied back home.

     I wasn’t sure exactly how intense the school system was on this world, if one existed at all, but I was guessing that a lot of my rapid progress in understanding the theory was due to a higher knowledge of math than the normal person. If both myself and a hypothetical person from this world both started studying magic at the same time I would probably be years ahead, since I already knew the math while they would have to build up the knowledge of it.

     It was in casting the spell itself that I was having trouble. Whereas I might have a much easier time in knowing the math behind the magic, feeling the mana flow was much more difficult. Mana itself just felt… weird. Ahn’Khareen had explained that every mage felt it differently, and she felt her mana come from the ground, channeling it through her body like how a tree moves nutrients from its roots to its branches. For me on the other hand, drawing in mana felt like pulling in electricity from the air, and holding it in my body until it exploded outwards.

     “You must learn control.” Ahn’Khareen explained again. “Only draw in as much mana as you need, and no more, otherwise your spell will bleed mana and become less efficient, not more.”

     “How do I know how much mana to draw in?” I asked, sitting down on a chair and grabbing a glass of water, honey, ground ginger and vinegar to sip on. It was supposedly like a sports drink for mages to replace the energy used in spell casting.

     “You have managed to gather enough mana for the spell to be cast. But remember that more mana than is needed makes it more difficult, not easier. Can you feel how much mana you used for the last spell?”

     I frowned, and focused inwards. Trying to feel how much mana I had used was like concentrating to feel how much air my lungs were drawing in with each breath, and remembering how much the last breath, or spell, contained was more difficult than I thought it would be.

     “I think so?”

     “Then use a little less than that. Most mages have the opposite problem than you do, William Amsel. They do not have nearly such a large nor strong connection to the mana of the universe as you do, and so they often draw not enough mana into their bodies, and their spell cannot go off. Thus, they must draw a little more mana each time they cast a spell, until it finally casts.”

     “So, you’re saying that I’m better than the average mage?”

     “What I am saying is that you have a stronger connection, but they can be more economical with their spells because they know how to regulate their mana more. You may be able to channel more mana, but the average mage would handily defeat you in a duel as you are now.”

     I sighed and took another sip of the honey water. I knew what she was saying was true, but it was just so damn difficult to keep track of so many things. How much mana I was drawing in, focusing on the spell matrix, shaping the mana to fit the matrix, channeling the finished mana out while keeping it intact, it was all so complicated.

     Ahn’Khareen sighed as well and sat down next to me. “Do not be disheartened William Amsel. You have been making great strides in a remarkable amount of time. I know of no other student who has gotten to where you are in as short as this past month has been.”

     “Why is it whenever you cast a spell you don’t say the name?” I asked, changing the subject. I was sick and tired of hearing that I was advancing so quickly, but I still couldn’t cast the most basic spell without nearly passing out.

     Ahn’Khareen didn’t blink, she couldn’t, but over the past month and a half I had gotten used to her body language and I could tell the question had caught her off guard.

     “Because I do not need to.” She said after a moment. “Speaking the name of a spell helps apprentices to finish shaping the mana, it is a short cut in understanding. However, upon mastering a spell, the need for that last step of speech is removed. As well, it helps in some cases such as combat, where telling your enemy what spell you are casting is often a poor tactical choice. For more complicated spells, rituals mostly, often chants and mnemonics are used to help ease the strain on the mages mind. Why do you ask?”

     “Oh, I was just wondering. It feels silly to keep saying ‘Light,’ and ‘Follow’ all the time. Like I’m in some kind of fighting anime.”

     “…Anime?’

     “Oh uh, it’s a kind of entertainment from back home. My world, I mean.”

     “Ah, I think I see.”

     I sincerely doubted that but decided not to follow up on the explanation for both our sakes. “Like I said, it just feels weird.”

     Ahn’Khareen was silent for another moment, then stood up. “Retrieve your grimoire William Amsel, I have decided on what to do for the next step of your training.”

     I quickly swallowed the rest of the honey water, then grabbed my grimoire from where it was resting on a small table.

     “What am I learning now?”

     “Something that might be easier for you to learn. You are naturally inclined to take in large amounts of mana, so let us use that for our own benefit, instead of having it work against us.”

     Several hours and a new spell in my grimoire later, I was facing Ahn’Khareen in the Great Hall. She was perhaps fifty feet away from me, and I could not have been more nervous.

     “Are you sure about this?”

     “The best way to learn is by doing.” She responded. “Now, form your spell and cast it!”

     Swearing quietly to myself, I drew in the mana from the air, feeling it’s crackling energy concentrate in the center of my chest as I focused it and aligned it with the spell matrix I had just been taught. If anything, the new spell was even easier than Mage Light, and after perhaps thirty seconds of concentration I opened my eyes.

     “Shield!” I called, and felt the energy leave my body.

     Amazingly, it didn’t exhaust me quite like the other spells had. Oh, I had certainly felt it, but it wasn’t nearly as strong as before. When I opened my eyes however, a slight shimmer hung in the air in front of me. Pressing my fingers against it, they met hard resistance as if I was touching a plane of glass.

     “The Shield spell is simple but requires power.” Ahn’Khareen explained across the distance between us. “Two kinds of shielding spells exist, the first being what you see before you. It is a strong shield, able to reflect blows, and uses a large amount of mana right when you cast it. However, with enough force or repeated blows it will crack and fail, shattering the mana construct.”

     “What is the second kind?”

     “The second form of the Shield spell requires constant concentration and a steady supply of mana but is more flexible than the flat plane of force you have just casted. Now, be on your guard!”

     “Wait, what?”

     I didn’t get a chance to say much else before Ahn’Khareen levitated a rock the size of a baseball in front of her and sent it flying at me. I yelped and turned away, trying to cover my head with my arms. The rock impacted with a loud crack, but to my surprise and relief, I didn’t feel any pain. Opening my eyes, the shield I had created was shimmering with a soft light, before becoming translucent once again. The rock was wobbling on the ground before the shield, having bounced off it.

     “What the hell!” I called angrily. “That could have killed me!”

     “Congratulations!” Came the response. “Quite a successful shield, combat magic might be your area of expertise. I never cared too greatly for it, as more often than not it requires large amounts of mana to be thrown around with little regard for delicacy. But perhaps for you that might be exactly what is needed.”

     “I think you’re missing the point!” I spluttered. “Why did you do that?”

     “Do you think this world is kind? On your first day in this world, you nearly died. It was only through my skills as a healer that you did not. As much as I enjoy your presence in my home, you will not be able to stay here forever. Shall you suffer the same fate as you did earlier, but with no ability for defense?”

     “Well, I…” Damnit. She had a point. “Okay fine, but do you have to use rocks? Those could really hurt!”

     The low, dry rattling laugh filled the hall, and I suddenly had a very bad feeling.

     “Very well, I will not use rocks.” Instead, small balls of fire started orbiting around Ahn’Khareen. “Prepare yourself.”

     “Wait wait wait!” I called, but she wasn’t listening – or didn’t care.

     A bolt of fire flew at me, making a terrible whistling noise as the flames licked the air, but splashed against the translucent forcefield floating before me.

     “Gah!” I said, falling on my ass in surprise. “That’s not fair!”

     “Life is not fair!” Ahn’Khareen responded, taking several steps forwards as I scuttle backwards.

     Another bolt of fire whistled in the air and flared against the shield, but this time I heard a crack and thin jagged lines appeared in the center of my protection before the spell simply collapsed into nothingness. Acting quickly, I remembered the incredibly simple spell matrix Ahn’Khareen had just taught me a few hours ago and managed to summon another shield with a desperate cry.

     “Shield, oh my god Shield!”

     “If life if not fair, then you must take every advantage you have, to force fate to bend to your wishes!”

     A third attack quickly followed by a fourth shattered the shield again.

     “Now you are open!” Ahn’Khareen crowed, releasing another bolt of flame.

     I reached for the magic, and it reached back, electrical tendrils of power arcing through my body as I breathed in. The spell matrix was already prepared, burning bright in my mind’s eye, and all I had to do was fill it with mana.

     The fire bolt came hurtling in but splashed against the shield less than an inch away from my face, bathing me in heat as if I had just opened a hot oven’s door. The light of the fire nearly blinded me, and bright spots danced in my vision as I furiously tried to rub them away.

     “And again!”

     I couldn’t see her, but I could at least hear her cry and I rolled to the side, hearing the crack of fire against my shield.

     But it didn’t break! I could still feel it, the shield’s matrix somehow was still active over to the left of me, leaving me exposed. Unless…

     Thinking quickly, I reached out to the shield’s matrix and tweaked it slightly, just as I had done to the light a few hours ago.

     “Stay!” I cried, directing it forwards. God, I hope I’m not too late!

     I heard the now distinctive whistle of a fire bolt flying through the air and ducked, but instead of feeling the heat of the flames all I heard was a soft sigh.

     Slowly I looked up and saw in horror that my plan had worked. Ahn’Khareen’s last fire bolt had in fact hit my shield – which I had placed a few inches in front of her. The fire had hit the shield and broke it, but had also caused flames to fly backwards and Ahn’Khareen’s black dress had gone up in flames.

     “Oh God!” I cried, and scrambled forwards and started to pull of my own robe to stop the fire.

     Ahn’Khareen simply held out her hand to stop me and wiped away the fire with her other hand like she was brushing off some dust, snuffing the flames out immediately.

     “And that should teach me not to wear a nice dress while doing combat training.” She said, shaking her head. “Do not panic my apprentice, you did well. It was my own fault for being overconfident.”

     “I’m so sorry!”

     “For what? The dress? Your concern is well appreciated, but I have many more. I am quite impressed with your progression however.”

     “You are?” I still wanted to go over and make sure she was alright, but Ahn’Khareen was already picking burnt pieces of cloth out from between her ribs.

     “Of course. A simple Fire Bolt could not harm me. But your speed in putting up the shields was impressive for having only just learned it and adapting its matrix on the fly was inspired. I see I shall have to modify my future lessons.”

     I let out a shaky breath, relieved that she was okay. Then the relief flashed into anger as quickly as one of her attacks.  

     “Well, what the hell was that about? Fire? That could have killed me!”

     “Please, like I said, my healing has saved you once, and I could do it again. It was necessary for you to learn your limits.”

     “Did I have to learn them like that?”

     “Better to learn now, in a safe and controlled environment, then out in the wild without any kind of support. I will not apologize for my methods, as you have seen improvement already. Granted Shield is a simple spell, but improvement is still important.”

     I let out a long sigh as I thought about it. Annoyingly, she again had a point. “Can you at least tell me if you’re going to do something like that again?”

     Ahn’Khareen’s green fiery orbs danced merrily in her eye sockets. “Why that would ruin the point of the exercise, would it not?”

 

--##--

 

     The next few weeks were hell. Ahn’Khareen decided that, with the success of the first practice fight, combat training was the ideal way to teach me “practical” magic. So at any point in time she would swoop down upon me and force a quick confrontation. Most of the time it involved Ahn’Khareen challenging me to a duel, which was apparently a common way of fighting between mages. Sometimes however, she would ambush me, forcing me to react instantly to avoid being hurt. I knew she was holding back the full extent of her powers however, since even in the times when I didn’t get my shield up in time, I was never wounded too badly. I did have to spend no small amount of time receiving magical healing while she lectured me on the importance of always being prepared. Of course, since she was a lich and didn’t actually need to sleep, she would sometimes ambush me at the most awkward times, such as the middle of the night when I wasn’t awake. I quickly learned how to start sleeping very lightly.

     The frustrating thing was that it worked. I got used to casting my shield so quickly and so often that it became almost instinctual, and with practice came a greater understanding of exactly how much mana I needed to cast it with. The next spell Ahn’Khareen had taught me was a simple Force Bolt spell, like the Fire Bolts she had been casting in my first fight but without the chance of lighting things on fire. That quickly became second nature to cast as well, since if I didn’t retaliate in response to Ahn’Khareen’s attacks she would use increasingly more powerful spells until she inevitably had to heal my wounds.

     As the days and weeks passed and I became more confident and skilled, I added more and more spells to my grimoire as my understanding of magic grew. While I wasn’t yet as comfortable casting such spells like Minor Flame or Wind, which allowed me to conjure small flames or gusts of wind respectively, or Arcane Hand which was a kind of telekinesis, I was still growing more competent overall. The most important thing for me, however, was just being able to use magic. I still felt like I was on cloud nine as soon as I even looked at my grimoire.

     Here was magic, like the kind you could only read about in pulp fantasy books. I had devoured more than my fair share of those books during my brief time on my old world, and it had been my dream to be a wizard. And despite the annoyances, despite the random ambushes and burns or scrapes, I was happier than I had ever been.

     When Ahn’Khareen told me over dinner that tomorrow’s training would be held in her laboratory however, I knew that something was different. Ever since she had shown me around her home I had been told to stay out of the laboratory, and although I was much more comfortable around her I still maintained a healthy respect for her rules considering that she was a walking, talking skeleton which could cast magic.

     When she did show me into her lab the next day however, my unease deepened into actual fear. It wasn’t a dungeon or anything scary, just the opposite in fact. It was immaculately clean and well-lit with magical balls of light. No, the fear came from my misunderstanding of what Ahn’Khareen had meant when she called it her laboratory. My mind had immediately gone to the science experiments I had done in high school, with Bunsen burners and beakers and lab coats. Ahn’Khareen’s laboratory was nothing like that, and the closest comparison I could make was to a morgue.

     Four stone tables were aligned in a square in the center of the room, and each held a body. A body was perhaps going a little too far, as only the bones of the creature were arranged on the stone slabs. One was obviously human, another was a large dog, one was a rodent of some kind, and the fourth skeleton was a bird. The world started to spin slightly as I stared at Ahn’Khareen, standing in the middle of the skeletons.

     “Wh-what is this?” I said, taking a step back and trying to fight down my breakfast that was threatening to come back up.

     “The next step in your education.” Ahn’Khareen said, gesturing at the skeletons. “You have demonstrated an admirable grasp of spell theory and manipulation of mana in the past weeks, enough where I considered you able to begin specializing in a field despite the short amount of time you have been studying.”

     “Why are there bodies?”

     “Is it not obvious?” She said, head cocking slightly to the side. “It is time for you to learn how to be a necromancer.”