Elyndris stood alone in a field outside of Harrowpine. Daggat hadn't come back yet, which meant she had the perfect opportunity to practice and refine her magical skills. Zuss was off doing… whatever it was she did all day. The others were preparing that night's dinner, a particularly fat goblin that Elyndris had found. Only Hunter agreed with her that slow roasting would render the fat wonderfully.

She reviewed her spell components. Her old reliables, Force, Energy, Beam, and Focus were memorized. She had spent every available moment working on memorizing these components, and that work was starting to pay off. At the time, she had a particular advantage. She could see the magic. That meant she was able to memorize the spell engines from their base concepts, not just the physical form they happened to have at that moment.

That vision was gone, for the moment, so the spell components in front of her were giving her more trouble. Crystal and Field. Elyndris could send the shapes, but only when she tapped the glass cubes that contained the geometric shapes that represented the mental images required to cast the spells.

Already, she had discovered the effect of Crystal plus Beam. A long pillar made of crystalline material. That material disappeared shortly after being summoned. Melting like ice, but leaving no residue.

Beam and Field were her two directive spell components. They guided the shape of her active spell components, Energy, Force, and now Crystal. Her final spell component, Focus, was a Spell Engine Drive. It modified whatever piece of the spell it was attached to.

The number of spell engine components she slotted together decided the level of the spell. Her goal was to become comfortable with level three spells.

She could copy and store spells she made, but that wasn't something she wanted to rely on. Rather, those spells were best saved for emergencies. Right now, she had her go-to energy beam spell. Focused energy funneled into a beam directive. The result was a fine, hot bar of energy that burned through most enemies.

But the casting of magic on the fly took a lot more work. Outside of her explosion spell, which she had repeated hundreds of times, it still took her upwards of half an hour to form a level three spell.

This spell was a double Crystal funneled into a Field. As far as she knew, there were two ways to increase the amount, or power, of a spell component. Either feed two of them together, or increase the complexity of that component. The former was easier, but took more time to mentally develop. The latter was much more difficult; Elyndris had yet to master this. In theory, it would allow her to cast more powerful spells as fast as the weaker version.

So far, it had been thirty-five minutes of focus. She lost the spell many times, but finally, the spell was in place. Now all she had to do was open the floodgates of her mind and allow mana to flow into the space she had constructed. She did so.

With a cracking noise, crystal structures spiked from the ground around her. Each crystal was maybe a foot tall and sprouted smaller, sharp crystals. The area was maybe twenty feet wide, and Elyndris was right in the middle of it. Luckily, she wasn't pierced by her own spell.

Excited clapping drew Elyndris's attention away from her spell.

"What do you want, Lycan?" She asked.

Ivory stepped through the micro-forest of spikes like a trained dancer, "I heard you were practicing magic. I thought I could help. Some."

Already, the crystals were disappearing. This could be a VERY useful spell.

Elyndris turned to face her, "I am. What do you know of magic?"

"It's my primary choice for both offense and defense when the mana is available. I am an accomplished mage, for my people at least."

"And what do dogs know?"

Ivory's tails stopped wagging, and she let out a faint growl, "I don't HAVE to help you, you know."

Elyndris sighed, "I meant no real disrespect. I've been… on edge, lately."

Her ears perked up. "Anything I can do to help?"

"Depends. Are you losing your one edge you have in a world that hates you and everyone you know?"

Her ears drooped again, "Maybe I can't help you with that. But! I know magic. What do you know?"

"I can form spells. Combining spell components in various orders to achieve different effects. I know about active components, directive components, and drives. Currently, I am working to comfortably cast level three spells."

Ivory waited a moment. "Is that all?" She asked cheerfully.

"I know essence types can affect spells differently."

Ivory nodded, "Who taught you magic?"

"A zombie child we found in the attic."

"Oh, that makes sense. Well… you might be missing SOME basics."

Elyndris leaped towards her, landing feet away, "What don't I know?"

Ivory took a step back and laughed, "For a start, do you know how your statistics affect your spell casting?"

"Intelligence is a requirement for many of the skills relating to magic."

"True. But I meant in the process of casting a spell. For instance, this crystal field spell. It's very rough."

"What do you mean?"

"There's no personality to it! No flair or imagination."

"I don't have any shaping components."

Ivory sat down in a cross-legged position. It was now dark, but that didn't bother either monster. "Let me start from the beginning, and you'll pick it up."

Elyndris loathed being taught, but her experience with Daggat had tempered that feeling. So, she sat and waited patiently. Perhaps this knowledge could keep her from falling even further behind the others.

"Three statistics assist in the forming of spells. Intelligence, Will, and Charm."

"Charm? Really?"

"Yes! It is important, but we will get there. First, intelligence. It helps you form more complex spells. The higher your intelligence, the greater and more accurate your memory, and the better your mental accuracy. What is your intelligence?"

Elyndris checked, then coughed, "Let's focus on the lesson."

"If I am going to help, I need to know where my student is at."

Elyndris mumbled something.

"What?"

"Seven."

"Seven?!"

"Yes."

"And… you are trying to be a mage?"

Elyndris bared her teeth, "THIS IS NOT A SPELL CASTING FORM!"

"Okay, okay! I get it. Will and Charm?"

Elyndris barked sharply.

Ivory shook her head, which sent a cascade of shaking down her entire body, "Let's move on. Will is sort of like mental constitution. The higher it is, the better your mental stamina. Have you ever lost focus on a spell?"

"Several times."

"That's because your will isn't strong enough to endure the strain."

"So, a high intelligence and will will mean I can focus on complex spells for longer."

"Which, in turn, makes it so you don't have to start over several times, saving a LOT of time. You get it!"

"What about charm?"

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

"You mentioned a shape component. Well, every spell comes with one, sort of. You can use your imagination to sort of… guide the spell. Into shapes or have the spell move. I'll show you. What spell components were in that spell?"

"Double Crystal and Field."

"Oh, thought so. I know those."

Ivory closed her eyes. Five minutes later, crystalline spikes slid out of the ground. Not with a crack like Elyndris's but with a slicing sound. Each crystal was curved and bladed. They circled the pair in a spiral.

Elyndris marveled at them, "Amazing, these crystals are more deadly than my own."

"I added longevity so the crystals wouldn't fade, but otherwise it's the same spell."

"Explain, wolf. How did you make them so sharp?"

Ivory wriggled her nose at Elyndris, but answered, "Charm, as an attribute, governs mental perception and understanding. Empathy, artistry, subtlety, and ego. This is why it is so adept at social interaction. With high charm, you are better able to empathize with others, recognize the… wiggly bits of a person's mind, and apply that to how you interact with the world naturally. Charming folk don't even do it consciously. You following along?"

"I… think so. Some of this I knew. It is good to refresh the mind. Solidify the knowledge."

"This is why a lot of scholars will train up their charm, too. It allows them to better understand artistic subtext."

"That is all well and good, but how does this relate to spellcraft?"

"Artistry! As one casts a spell, they can imagine the outcome. The spell is shaped, subtly, by that image. With higher charm, you begin to intuit the limitations of this and can apply greater control. It is key to avoiding killing allies with your spells."

"I will try this! Give me… some time."

Ivory yawned, "Go ahead, I'll read a book."

Over the next half hour, Elyndris forged a spell of crystal, focus, and beam. She wanted to see how Focus would affect Crystal while she was testing this new idea. Did Alfred not know of this technique, or had he simply not had the time?

Eventually, she formed the spell. This time, instead of allowing the magic to have free rein, she focused on an image.

With a snap, mana hardened into a long, slim tube. It fell to the ground and broke into three pieces. This time, the crystal wasn't so jagged. Instead, it was knobbly and smooth. Except at the tip, where a maw was supposed to be. Instead, it was a mess of sharp points. The material of the crystal had changed as well. Through her tremor sense, she could tell the crystal was purer. Almost solid. Missing the tiny imperfections that it had before. That must have been the doing of the focus drive.

"Great! With more charm, you could even make little shapes. I know some mages who can create full tapestries with a thought."

Elyndris cackled in delight, then suddenly stopped. She turned towards Ivory suspiciously, "This is invaluable information. I do not presume you've shared it for free."

"Well, it's an investment. I am hoping you're party can help me with a problem I have."

"What is it?"

Ivory gave her an appraising look, "I suppose, of anyone, you might appreciate the idea. Once you are strong enough, I'd like to hire your party to help me rid this forest of the wargs."

"Oh, is that all? Easy. It will take only an afternoon."

"Maybe… they can be quite scary. Creatures of the dark depths of ancient caves. They hide their number and their power. I don't even know how many there ARE of them."

"I assure you, wolf, a trifle for the likes of us. Once we rid this forest of our quarry, I am sure the others will gladly reap experience from your foe."

Ivory's tail wagged in delight, "I thought you would understand. There is another point with charm and magic. But this applies to skills, too. Any shaping or moving ability is influenced by charm. Think of it like mental dexterity. Daggat's telekinesis is a good example."

"And Zuss's shadow stuff. With more charm, could she craft deadlier weaponry?"

"More complicated weapons, sure. I've studied her power; it is one of the wargs' uses. They use it differently."

"How so?"

"They use it to form armor, mostly. I like how Zuss uses it better."

"I have more spells to experiment with, if you wish to help further."

"Sure, let's have some fun!"

So, the two worked on Elyndris's spells the rest of the night. They experimented with different combinations and orders.

Field focused the spell in a low, wide area around the caster. It also followed the contours of the landscape, falling downhill or climbing over rocks. Along with the field of spike ability, Elyndris discovered a field of force through everything around her into the air. At the moment, the force was weak, too spread out. With some practice, it might trip foes or even throw them away. A field of energy scorched the grass around her in a flash.

Another discovery was Crystal combined with the other active spell engines. If she placed Crystal before Energy, then they formed hot and glowing, but faded much quicker. The other was around, didn't do anything except summon energy as normal. Neither mage knew why.

Placing Crystal before Force caused the crystals to explode. The other way around did, luckily, have a noticeable effect. Ivory did not see it, but when the force exploded from the point of the spell, it became focused and sharp. Piercing explosive power that could, potentially, punch through armor.

Finally, the last spell of the night. Elyndris combined Energy, Beam, and then Field.

First, a thick beam of energy blasted into the ground. Then, from the point the beam hit, heat radiated out, lighting fires and scorching more earth. A direct attack with a weaker area attack at the center.

Each spell sent a thrill through Elyndris. Each piece of knowledge learned further increased her destructive capabilities.

Ivory wished her a good night before retiring, but Elyndris was too excited to sleep. What was Energy then FIELD, then Beam?

However, she was interrupted before she could cast. Wandering in from the forest edge was Daggat.

Elyndris hopped over to him, "About time! What were you even doing?"

He waved his one arm at her, "Heeeey, Elyndris. Long day. Dinner ready?"

Daggat wavered on his feet; he seemed absolutely exhausted. Drunk? Then she noticed the rhythmic drip, drip, drip coming from his wound. The smell of goblin blood wafted towards her.

Ah, he was bleeding out. Low on blood. She opened the chat menu.

Mage of Mass Destruction: <Hey, Hunter. Found Daggat. You're going to be mad.>

Elyndris

True Name: Elyndris

Soul: Monster

Genseed: Larva [ 1 Str, 1 Dex, 1 Con, 1 Int, 1 Wil, 1 Cha; minuscule Size] — Full Growth Bonus: +1 to all attributes, +6 growth points, +1 biotrait

Base size: Small [Largest Size: Larva; Mighty Strength; Great Bulk]

Monster Level: 15

Attributes 11 (0/12) (Base growth, +5; Larva, +6; Devotion, +1): Strength: 17 (Genesis, +2; growth +6; Devotion +1, Dual-Physiology +3) Dexterity: 7 (Genesis, +2; growth +5) Constitution: 16 (Genesis, +2; growth +5, Dual-Physiology +3) Intelligence: 7 (Genesis, +2; growth +5) Will: 7 (Genesis, +2; growth, +5) Charm: 7 (Genesis, +2; growth, +5)

Feats: True Angel - Encounter a true angel. Reward: Skill choice unlocks. System Knowledge - Discover the system. Reward: System Aptitude skill. Vile Concoction - Willingly drink a diseased brew. Reward: Disease Resistance. Devotion [layered feats] - Offer a prayer to Sahrzuel, Ithrenial, Mythraziel, Vaelion, and Zenthaviel. Reward: Experience gain, +2 skill points, +1 random ability, +1 growth point, +1 biotrait. Blasphemy - Blaspheme the angels. Reward: A curse upon you. Mighty Intellect - Raise Intelligence base to 15. Reward: +1 Skill point. Mighty Strength - Raise Strength base to 15. Reward: Size increase Fledgling Mage - Successfully cast a spell. Reward: Spellcraft skill. Mighty Constitution - Raise Constitution base to 15. Reward: Disease Resistance biotrait. Recursion - Be affected by a recursive effect. Reward: Infinite Limiter.

Skills (0/3) (Mortal Levels, +0; Devotion, +2; Mighty Intellect, +1): Burst of Strength: 1 (Ability Skill: Strength 5) Pounce: 1 Construct Capacity: 1 Spellcraft: 1 [Source: Fledgling Mage] Infinite Limiter

Biotraits (0/16)(Monster Level +14; Devotion +1; Larva +1): Disease Resistance [Source: Vile Concoction, Mighty Constitution; Mutations: Rot Resistance] Metamorphosis [Mutations: Swift Change, Extra Form, Rebirth; Apex Reached] Enhanced Touch [Mutations: Tremor Sense (Boon)] [Structural] Complex organs [Structural] Limbs (Legs) [Structural] Limbs (Tentacles) [Synergy] Dual-Physiology — Redundant Organs — Muscle Helix Great Bulk [Structural] Jaws [Synergy] Energy Distributing Flesh [Mutations: Energy Transference] — Force Distributing Flesh — Heat Resistant Skin Predator Bark

Other: Biotrait Potions Used: 1/5

Curse: Ungenesis

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