Gavin sighed, looking at his apprentices. At last, he said, “Maybe so. Still, I expect I will learn just as much from your training as you will. My learning may not be in the same subjects as yours, but I suspect it will take place nonetheless.” Gavin took a deep breath and nodded. “Very well. Let us begin. We will start with the one, essential truth: the effect is shaped by the wizard’s intent.”
Gavin walked over to stand inside the arena’s center ring.
“My research leads me to believe that the major achievement of the Fundamentals of Spellcasting class is the casting of the Light spell,” Gavin said. “Mariana, is that correct?”
“I don’t know that it’s the major achievement,” Mariana said, “but it’s certainly what the instructors use as a first casting.”
“Did you prepare any spells this morning?” Gavin asked.
“No,” Mariana said.
Gavin smiled, saying, “Good. As I understand the Light spell, it is a simple Conjuration that produces a sphere of white light over which the caster has some marginal control. Is that so?”
“Yes,” Mariana said.
“Excellent,” Gavin said, and he invoked a Word, “Nythraex.” A sphere of blazing, white light about the size of a honeydew melon appeared in the air a few feet to Gavin’s right.
“But white is so boring,” Gavin said. “What about green?”
Gavin invoked the same Word. The white sphere didn’t even dissipate; all the other colors faded from it, until only green remained.
“Someone, pick a color,” Gavin said.
“Battle-mage burgundy,” Mariana said, while the others were still drawing breath.
Gavin invoked the same Word once more, and the green sphere shifted into a color that matched Mariana’s mantle. Having seen him invoke Words before, Lillian, Wynn, and Braden didn’t seem especially surprised. Mariana, however, gaped.
“The effect is shaped by the wizard’s intent,” Gavin said, indicating the sphere of burgundy light. With a thought, Gavin cancelled the Conjuration, and the burgundy sphere vanished as if it had never been.
Gavin stepped out of the ring, took a deep breath and released it. He worked his lower lip between his teeth for a few moments. His eyes went to Mariana.
“Mariana, you’ve cast spells before?”
“Yes, I have.”
“The first time you cast, did anything untoward happen?”
Mariana frowned for a few moments and shook her head. “Not really. Why?”
“The first time I invoked a Word of Power, I fell unconscious for about two days,” Gavin said. “Granted, my first invocation did a little more than create a sphere of light, but I have every reason to believe the experience will not be pleasant. I had hoped you were already past that, but perhaps it is restricted to wizardry. As much as I would like to spare all of you this, the fact is that pain is a part of who we are; it is the price we pay for what we are able to do. To begin, we will draw straws, and whoever draws the shortest straw will create a sphere of light.”
As no pieces of straw were handy and Gavin hadn’t thought to visit the stables for some, he cheated, focusing his mind on the image of pieces of straw of different lengths and saying, “Nythraex.”
As he was now outside the arena ring, the full force of Gavin’s power slammed into his apprentices, visibly staggering them and leaving them breathing hard, as the desired straws appeared in Gavin’s left hand. While his apprentices composed themselves, Gavin shuffled the straws and held them up so that no one could see which was taller or shorter.
“Okay then. Who wants to draw first?” Gavin asked.
The four apprentices looked to each other, their expressions making it obvious no one wanted to go first. After a couple heartbeats, Mariana squared her shoulders and stepped forward. She pulled the second straw from Gavin’s left and stepped back. Wynn approached and drew the left-most straw. Braden drew what had been the second straw from the right, and Gavin handed the last straw to Lillian.
They held their straws up to compare them, and for a moment, Wynn looked a bit faint when he saw that his was the shortest by far. After Wynn, it would be Mariana’s turn, followed by Lillian. Braden’s straw served as an excellent analogy to his height, making him last.
“So, does anyone need to use the privy?” Gavin asked. “Now’s the time.”
No one budged, and Gavin looked to Wynn. “Very well. Wynn, step into the arena ring, please.”
Wynn swallowed hard and did as Gavin said. Gavin followed him. He stopped just outside the ring and knelt, writing out the Word they would use in the common script to keep from imbuing the scribing with power.
“Now then, Wynn, listen to me very carefully. Picture a fist-sized sphere of white light in your mind. Focus on that image, and push all other thoughts out of your mind until only that remains. Whenever you feel you’re ready, invoke this Word to conjure the sphere.”
Wynn closed his eyes and slowed his breathing. Everyone stood silent, and Gavin wondered how successful at focusing his mind Wynn would be. The boy wasn’t exactly known for calm reasoned thought, after all. After a short time, Wynn opened his eyes and dropped them to the ground where Gavin had written the Word.
Wynn took a breath and said, “Nythraex.”
A white sphere of light comparable to a medium-sized apple popped into existence just off Wynn’s right shoulder. He didn’t notice it, though, as he clutched at his midriff and collapsed to his knees, screaming in agony. Everyone winced, and for the briefest moment, Gavin relived the memory of what he had endured in the alley before falling unconscious.
Gavin stepped into the ring and knelt beside Wynn, who had yet to scream himself hoarse. “Wynn,” Gavin said, “you have to master the pain. You must force your mind and body to push it away, control it, define its limits. You’re more than strong enough for this, and now, it’s time to prove it. Forget about me; it’s time not to let them down.”
For several moments, Gavin thought Wynn hadn’t even heard him over his screaming. Suddenly, though, a shudder went through Wynn as he moved his arms away from his midriff and stood. Tears streamed openly down his face, and he didn’t look that steady on his feet…but he did stand.
“Good man. The first step is always the hardest, and you’ve just taken it,” Gavin said and leaned close to Wynn to whisper into his left ear. “Both your father and Roshan would be proud of you.”
Wynn nodded and started walking out of the ring. Gavin walked at his side and allowed Wynn to set the pace, ever alert for the young man’s knees buckling. Wynn wobbled from time to time, but he reached the nearest set of bleachers all on his own.
Once Wynn was seated, Gavin turned to face Mariana. Before Gavin could say a word, Mariana nodded, squared her shoulders, and entered the ring.
The following day, Gavin and his apprentices were on their way to the arena for that day’s studies. They passed the summoning classrooms and found a most unexpected sight before them. Valera, Kantar, the Magisters of Illusion and Enchantment, and Bella Roshan stood to one side of the corridor about a dozen yards past the last summoning room.
Gavin stopped, and the others stopped behind him. Gavin scanned the faces of those waiting for him with an appraising eye before speaking.
“In all my months of coming down here to study, I’ve never once seen anyone below the base-level summoning classrooms, and now, I find four magisters and the Curator of the Library.”