Chapter 18.

  “The Well is the source of all magic in the world,” I said slowly, looking into the eyes of the six future mages sitting before me.

  The six of them sat at a long table, and I sat across from the. We were ensconced in a small room deep in the ground, hidden behind numerous secreted doors and down long passages and hidden doors. We were as far down one could get, deep inside the city of the Vale.

  “The power of The Well is required to make any kind of magic happen. We know the spells of The Way of the Mark, and we suspect even The Motorized, draw on this source of power, though we’re not sure how they do it. Not yet. We’ll need to investigate that further. The Well itself is often described to be a finite pool of energy, though that’s not exactly true either. I will clarify momentarily.”

  “Have any of you heard the stories of Aiden and his band of Spellcasters?” I asked.

  Bend nodded, while the other five shook their heads.

  “This group of mages earned legendary status within the ranks of The Way . Like many mages, they helped those in need and fought off bandits, but they also managed to pull off a series of miraculous stunts that became the stuff of stories and songs. Some of these exploits might be exaggerated in the stories I heard, we’re not entirely sure. When I first trained our library keepers told me about a time they once transported an entire army a hundred miles in an instant.Aiden’s Spellcasters also reportedly fought off giants, battled leviathans of the deep oceans, and even cast a collective spell, that is a spell cast as a group, that turned whole enemy armies to stone. In some stories, these Spellcasters could also jump into a place called the Ether dimension, a place outside of time on an entirely different plain.”

  The soon-to-be mages chuckled, thinking these stories simply tall tales.

  “Our records are clear: these mages were amongst the most powerful of all of recorded history. Sadly, these exploits require skills we don’t understand today,” I said.

  Bend eyes glistened. I saw there a deep desire, a hope. And I knew that look?—?I myself had worn it once, and I’d seen it on other faces in the past. Bend wanted to make feats like those of legend, real in the world again.

  “These stories may be exaggerated, but they’re based actual events,” I said. “Aiden and his Spellcasters performed valiant acts worthy of sharing for generations in campfire stories. You have the chance today to become just as powerful as they once were. I tell you this not to fill your head full of tall tales, but to remind you that the stakes are high. There really are monsters and leviathans and other evils that must be defeated. Once you begin walking the path of The Way, danger will find you. It is inevitable.”

  The four men and two women listened carefully, some scribbling notes on small scraps of parchment, soaking up every word.

  “Before I teach you the tenets of The Way itself, simple though they are, let’s begin with the basics spell casting,” I said, changing my approach. “Every spell draws on three sources of energy: The Well itself, which is all around us, your own internal magical spark, and the energy of some kind of matter. Those three sources of energy together help determine the power and scale of your spell. The combining of the three will become second nature to you with practice, and in principle, you can do nearly anything, provided you understand the mechanics. Every spell also requires a trigger of some kind: Usually, the trigger will be the words of the spell, hand gestures, or a movement from the caster, or a combination of these things.”

  “Finally, there are two laws with which you will become intimately familiar. First, all magic use is subject to a rule known as The Law of Commonality. The law says this: the more common a spell, the less powerful it will be in its use. In other words, the more mages who know a particular spell, and use it, the less powerful it will be. Therefore, keeping spells to yourself is actually an advantage for us. For this reason, the passing of spells between a master and an apprentice is a sacred trust, and a common practice. Since just about all the mages in the world are dead and gone, this means that each spell I will teach you will be more powerful today than they will be five years from today, when your apprentices also know the spell. Does that make sense?”

  My new apprentices nodded, and I heard the sound of scratching quills on parchment as they copied this down. I repeated The Law of Commonality for those taking notes.

  “The second law you must learn and understand is called The Scale of Rarity. The Scale of Rarity says this: the rarer the matter you use in your casting, the more powerful it will be in your spells. Gold will create a more powerful spell than common sand. I will draw up a chart that shows you the general Scale of Rarity later today.”

  Bend raised his hand. “These two laws seem to be related,” he said. “I asked my previous master how and why they were connected—but he didn’t know.”

  I nodded in reply.

  “Clearly, these two laws are connected, with rarity lending power in both cases,” I said. “This relationship has fascinated scholars for centuries though no one really knows exactly why this is the case.”

  I cleared my throat and looked around the room, then continued.

  “There are nuances to these laws as well,” I continued. “For example, the weaker a spell gets the less another mage knowing the spell will actually affect its weakness. It’s a curve. Let us say that one thousand mages have knowledge of a spell, which significantly weakens the spell. If two thousand mages know the spell, it will still continue to weaken, but it will decrease in strength slower the more mages know it. Make sense? Any questions?”

  Willow called out her question. “Mage, can you show us an example of these laws with a spell?”

  “Of course,” I turned to my pack and pulled out my cup, and a small rock. “When I used to cast my longtime water spell, ten years ago, I could take a small rock of roughly this size, and fill half of this cup with water, thus.”

  I held up the small rock in my hand. In my other hand, I hefted my old, battered cup, which I’d had for many years.

  “With far fewer mages now in the world, here’s what happens today.”

  I waved my hands, whispered several words under my breath, and drained the small rock of its matter. The rock disappeared from my palm. I heard a couple of gasps from the room. Some of them had never seen magic of The Way in their entire lives, living in a culture dominated by the Motorized.

  I completed the spell, transferring the matter to the cup, which suddenly overflowed with water, some of which spilled out onto the floor.

  “Do you see the difference?” I asked. “This is much more water than this spell would conjure in the past. What is the law that determined this result?”

  Bend raised his hand. “There are fewer mages alive who knows the spell, so the spell has more power today than before. So, The Law of Commonality.”

  “Good. That is the basic principle. Now watch.”

  I pulled out a small piece of steel, about the same size as the small rock I held in my palm before.

  “This is a piece of steel, about the same size as the rock. But other than that, this is exactly the same spell.”

  I pulled out an empty pitcher perhaps four times the size of the cup. Then, once again, I drained the piece of steel of its matter and it puffed into thin air?—?gone. No gasps from the room this time. I wove the spell again, directing the matter into the pitcher.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  The instant I completed the spell, the pitcher was full of clear water, and again, it filled up so full that it spilled out onto the floor.

  “Why did this happen? Which law is at work?” I asked.

  Greer cleared his throat and spoke in a gruff voice, “Both laws are at work here Mage. The Scale of Rarity because the steel is a rarer kind of matter than a piece of common granite, making the spell more powerful. But also, The Law of Commonality is work’n because fewer mages know this spell, so the spell itself is more powerful than it once’n was.”

  “That is correct,” I said. “Now, any piece of matter can be used, even an alloy like steel. However, that brings up some simple rules you must know. First, there is one element that cannot and should not be used in spellcasting and that is blood, human or animal. It is absolutely banned by the Way as the Keepers of the histories tell us that spells using blood lead to madness. You should also know this: the Way also outlaws the use of any other part of the human body to cast a spell.”

  Shade raised her arm. “How does one create a completely new spell?”

  “Ah, good question Shade,” I replied. “The creation of a new spell is another sacred process of The Way. It is the primary way we keep our casting fresh and uncommon, and therefore, powerful. In fact, there are almost infinite ways to create new spells, and there are multiple spells that exist to do some of the same things. But it takes time, practice, and determination to create them anew. Why do you ask Shade?”

  “I have some interest in this process,” Shade replied. “I don’t know why but I have long suspected I had the spark. I’m drawn to the idea of creating spells and imbuing objects with magical power. I don’t exactly understand why, Mage.”

  “I can teach you, Shade,” I said with a smile. “We will get to it. But for today, let’s all practice that very basic water spell. With water so scarce in the midst of our decades long drought, this is a critical survival spell for each of you to learn and know.”

  Bend cast the spell first, and filled up the cup immediately. It turned out that he also knew a different spell to generate water using a completely different motion of his arms and wholly different words, and his spellcasting was flawless.

  Briar and Willow took some time to learn both water spells, as this was their first exposure to spellcasting. Willow was quick to try the spell and after seven or eight tries, she began to get the knack.

  Bend worked with both of them to master the spell, while I worked with the others. Greer picked up the spell up quickly after a couple of tries, and with his internal spark so strong, not only did he learn faster than the others, but his spells were naturally more powerful and aggressive.

  Shade learned the spell on her third try and pressed right away for more information. This too was her first spell, but just knowing she had the spark had opened up a new world to her. She wanted to know more as soon as possible.

  Ehren, the quiet teenager, had an intensity in his eyes that betrayed what appeared an iron will. Despite the intensity, Ehren was quick to smile in his youth, and he was clearly beloved by Dirk, Bend, and the others in the resistance. They doted him like a beloved younger cousin.

  After an hour or so, each mage managed to produce the spell, however roughly, and for four of them, it was their very first spell cast. Already we saw a minute lessening of the power of the water spell just by their knowing how to perform it.

  I gathered them all together again. The young mages chittered and talked excitedly?—?sharing their experiences with one another. Seeing the thrill they felt, I recalled the day I began my own training when I was just twelve years of age. I’d been tested by a mage traveling through our small hometown, and after determining I had the spark, he invited me to travel with him back to the Grand Library of The Way of the Mark. It was on that journey that I first learned to cast this very water spell.

  I smiled to myself as warm memories washed over me. I hadn’t thought of this particular mage or the Grand Library in many years.

  “Well done, all of you,” I said when they’d all sat back down.

  “Most of us learned it in three tries too,” Briar cracked, smiling at his own lack of initial fluency with spellcraft.

  I smiled. “It will come with time for all of you. Any questions?”

  “Mage, why are there not more like us in the world?” Bend asked. “Is there not a school or central association of mages located somewhere on the other side of the world?”

  I watched Bend as he asked this question, then looked at the group. They were all suddenly curious and hopeful.

  “Growing up in Vale, you know about the persecution of magekind that exists here,” I said. “Around four decades ago, the persecution that began here in Vale spread all across the known world. Vale’s motorized forces sought out any concentration of mages in the world and fought them. After a time, they couldn’t even fight back, so the Motorized simply eradicated them. It began slowly and grew over time, and eventually The Motorized killed mages everywhere they went. It’s uncanny that they knew where to look and that The Motorized could kill mages in such a swift order. Those of The Way of the Mark were strong, but they didn’t realize the significance of the danger until it was too late. I don’t know how many are left?—?and I fear I am one of the last.”

  The room went quiet, somber.

  “This is why I am here,” I said. “All of you need to know how serious it is to train in The Way. You are already breaking the laws of Vale by doing this, sitting here in this room, with me. But most importantly, you are now part of a select company?—?as there are very few mages left. Those who remained retreated to the wild, became hermits, and abandoned being a part of mankind. However, my slim hope is that The Motorized have become complacent as mages of The Way once were.”

  “How did you survive then, Mage,” Willow asked.

  “For many year, I lived in a small mountain hamlet on the other side of the world. It was far from here, and far away from any cities, settlements, or villages. So, by the time the Motorized came to us, there were almost no mages left. Those loyal to the Way had been killed before I knew it was happening at the level it was. I began searching for those of The Way, and came across a desolation—the Motorized had razed our entire order.”

  “Mage, the Motorized are a scourge on our city, and the world,” Greer growled.

  I nodded, taking a beat to breath deep and slow.

  “This is a good transition,” I said. “Before we train anymore, I want to teach all of you the simple tenets of The Way of the Mark. If you are to pass on what I teach you, you must know these things. Get out your parchment.”

  The young mages took out nubs of charcoal and more of the parchment we’d handed out earlier.

  “Tenet number one: honor others of The Way,” I said. “And when you meet another member of The Way, always share a single spell in greeting. This builds trust and camaraderie among mages.”

  They scribbled carefully. A thrill went up my spine. This was the first tenet I learned when training with a series of mentors at the academy where I’d first learned the nuances of spellcraft.”

  “Tenet number two: keep the histories and pass them on to your apprentices,” I said. “Share the stories of mages past in order to protect yourself from The Weakness.”

  “The Weakness?” Willow asked as she scribbled down the second tenet.

  “Yes,” I said carefully. “This tenet is difficult because knowledge of The Weakness has been lost over the centuries. Today we know that there is a Weakness, and I’ve heard and read many theories about what it might be. Studying the stories, which I will share with all of you, can yield us a few hints. But some of the histories have been tainted, or rewritten, or lost over the years. We will discuss this again.”

  Bend, wrote all of this down, while Briar studied my face, a curious look in his eyes. “You have a question?”

  “So, there is a side effect to performing spells, some kind of damage done to mages? And because some of us just started performing spells, we may already be susceptible to it, or damaged by it, whatever it is?”

  “That’s right Briar,” I said, turning this to the whole group. “Let’s consider this an investigation we’re all involved in together. We must hunt for The Weakness every day.”

  Briar nodded, sobered, jotting down more notes on his parchment.

  “Tenet number three we’ve already talked about: Mages of the Way can use any substance or matter to form a spell except blood. Human or animal blood. It is forbidden. And it is also forbidden to use the matter of a human body to form a spell.”

  They wrote it down.

  “Finally, tenet number four is simple: protect the Innocent. Use the Way for defense, not for offense unless innocents are threatened.”

  “But I thought you were a battle mage?” Shade asked. I had shown all six mages the tattoo on my chest, and explained what I could about each of the four symbols in the shield.

  “I am. I was trained to use spellcraft to fight,” I replied. “However, I should seek to use it to defend myself or to defend the innocent. Like all of you, and the people of this city. This tenet is often misunderstood, and perhaps that’s one reason mages were all but killed off by The Motorized. They were too slow to fight back. Sometimes, fighting back against tyranny is defending the innocent.”

  “I understand that, Mage,” Shade said. “But are any restrictions to the kinds of offensive spells we can create?”

  “Not necessarily,” I replied. “This is more of a norm than a hard and fast rule. The Way has long been a defensive art form, a practice that preferred to help those in need over attacking one another. But with enough imagination, and a larger mission against enemies presenting a threat, we can create almost unlimited useful battle spells.”

  Willow nodded.

  “Everybody ready to try some more spells?”

  We moved into the next room one after another. I stood to follow them but noticed Bend still sitting down, looking down at his hands.

  “Bend?”

  He looked up, tears glistening in eyes. “Mage.”

  “You okay?”

  “I just wanted to say thank you,” he said. “I’d lost all hope that I would ever complete my training, or that Uof would ever face another foe of The Way. Until now.”

  He stood up slowly, wiping his eyes.

  “Thank you Bend,” I said. “I was at an end myself— I don’t think I would have lasted another week without all of you.”

  I stuck out my gloved hand. Bend grabbed it and shook it firmly.

  “Let’s take them down Mage,” he said, grit in his voice. “The Motorized have oppressed this city, and so many others in this world, for long enough.”

  “We fight back starting now,” I replied.

  Bend grabbed me in a hug, wiped his eyes once more, and steeled his face.

  “Starting now.”