Magery and the Fine art of Running...

[Emizael]

(( as overheard by Emi, in a bar late one night...))

" So, you wanna know the secret to being a Mage?" The small crowd leaned in closer to the fabulously garbed exotic-looking young lady twirling both a wineglass and a few fancy coloured lights about her head. She flicked the hem of her long silken skirts up a short bit, just over her small ankles, much to the shock of some of the other ladies present, and more to the glee of the men...

" The secret is distance. That..and running."

She looked at the dumbfounded faces at her in the small group of hangers-on, sighed, and began to give an impromtu lesson...

" Everyone knows that there are three schools of Magic. You got, Fire, Frost, and Arcane. Every school has its own strengths and weaknesses, yeah, but ..the trick is, early on, you really want to play to the abilities that best give you the chance to survive! I know everyone here is thinking, " Just teach me to throw a fireball, and I will win! " Well, you won't, not really. Because the first time you throw a fireball, and the monster you wing it at shrugs off the pain and stabs you in the neck..

First things first. Very early in your career, you will get certain options. Those options are specialized powers that will assist you in casting your spells.

If you are thinking that Fire is going to be your specialty down the road, then, the first thing you need to do is make the casting time of your Fireball quicker. {Improved Fireball} will not only make you throw your fireball quicker, but, when something is in your face, chewing on you...you will notice the difference. By your 14th season, your fireball will be a half-second faster then anyone else's. You think a half-second don't matter? Ask a warrior just what can happen in one half-second. Seasons 15 and 16 need to be spent learning the Grande Arte of {Flamethrowing. } This will give you SIX that is, SIX more yards of range, on your fireball. Not only is it fast, but, you have more range, and thus, more time to pummel the enemy with death, before they get to you, and return the favour. For the next three seasons, improve your Fireblast! { Improved Fire Blast} is my best friend. I'm telling you, when you can throw out a fireblast every second, the enemy doesn't stand a chance!!!

Personal Choice defines the next layers of talent for the Fire Mage. Some go really quickly for the Pyroblast, aiming for the big guns. I never did, really. { Incinerate, Ignite, and Impact} were my next choices, and I never regretted them. Stunning, more damage, burning. Yeah. Buring. Oh! { Burning Soul.} I would be remiss if I didnt tell you about burning soul.. That talent, see, it makes your fire magic harder to slow down, that is, when something is trying to melt your face, or chew on you, or stab you in the neck. Baaju doesn't like that...no no. Well, that should get you started on the early trials of the Fire Mage. Anyways...its late, I will come back here tomorrow eve, and tell you about the Frost and Arcane Mages tomorrow!

The crowd groaned a bit, some calling for the mage to stay and talk, with offers of coin and food and drink...but the mage just fixed them all with a knowing wink and a smile, and then, in a very theatric puff of smoke, dissapeared!

[Nedward]

Nedward sat in the corner of the bar nursing his glass of well aged scotch while the girl prattled on at the centre of attention. Not that she was that wrong; rather, she missed the point. Of course magic was about distance and speed of incantation, and running. Traipsing around out of doors and in the worst of places in nothing but a robe made that clear enough.

"What about you Ned?" One of the crowd called out to the old gnome as the girl slipped away. Nedward scowled. They didn't really care about learning the craft, they just wanted a little entertainment. When Nedward failed to respond, another voice put in, "Come on, old codger, if you could tell a young mage one thing, what would it be?"

Ned looked up and snapped, “Become a warlock. You’ll live longer, be more useful, and have someone to die for you.”

Ned drained his glass, hopped down from the chair, and headed for the door. Just as he was about to leave, a rough voice snipped, “Ach, yer wastin’ yer breath. Old Neddie don’t know half o’ what he claims, if you wan’ truth.”

Ned stopped and turned around, spluttering. The nerve! Some ham-fisted dwarf, insulting his knowledge of the magical arts? Preposterous!

“Not listen here you over-grown lump of dead weight, I was teaching gnomes magic while you were still nothing more than a glint in your father’s eye. I had mastered the arcane and begun a study of the incendiary arts when you were learning how to drink ale. So don’t you even start with me!”

Unsatisfied, Nedward berated the crowd. “You want to know... what you need to know about being a mage? Mages need to THINK! Plain a simple. For example, can a mage fight two or three equal opponents at the same time? Well?!”

Several in the crowd tittered at Ned’s infamous temper, including the dwarf who buried a smug smile in his tankard of ale.

“Two!” someone shouted.

“Why?” Ned asked, tapping his foot.

“Ummm, because two is easier?”

“No. No. No. Go be a paladin if you want easy. A mage fights ONE or maybe TWO opponents, because...that way they can control the fight. Fireball, Scorch, Fire Blast, Frost Nova, Polymorph (with his hands, Ned indicated that the first three attacks were against one opponents and the polymorph was on the second). Back up. Finish the first. When the first is defeated, then finish the second. Think. Control.” Ned tapped his large head meaningfully.

“But I’ve seen an ice mage kill four or even five monsters at once while they were frozen!” a bright-eyed young woman contradicted.

Nedward snorted. “Hmph. It’s true, ice magic has the best ability to slow and freeze, but it also doesn’t do the greatest damage. Whoever that mage was was probably just showing off, fighting monsters far beneath their power, I bet! Against equal opponents, or more powerful opponents, take it from old Ned, you want to fight one-on-one. Use your head. Plan your attack, isolate your opponents, use your crowd control, and win. I wont take on three unless I have to, and even then, I’ll probably run. Which,” Ned looked around darkly, “…is also smart. Don’t let any fool adventurer tell you otherwise.”

“So which is the best school of magic?” a man asked.

Ned considered for a second. “Ice or Fire. Arcane is underpowered. I mastered it, but wouldn’t recommend it.”

Someone whispered, “I heard he was kicked out of the Arcane School for turning his master into a sheep.”

Someone shouted. “Give us another question, Ned!”

“Eh? Another question? Alright, let’s say you’re in a team of three.” Ned waved his hand in the air vaguely, “Mage, healer, and warrior. And the fool warrior rushes in to a group of five enemies. What’s the mage’s job?”

A handful of responses were shouted out at once. “Fireball!” “Freeze them!” “Do as much damage as possible!” “Sheep!”

Ned scowled. “No! No! NO. Wrong! You are all not paying attention!”

There was a general murmur. Ned waited impatiently. When it started to subside, he continued, “Has the warrior got their complete attention? If not, throwing a fireball into the mix will likely get you all killed. You start out small. Scorch, Scorch, THEN Fireball. Same goes for polymorph! Anyone knows that damage over time will ‘break’ a sheep. Look at your enemy! Is he bleeding? If so, you will be hurting your team casting polymorph. Ice? Save your ice! You might need it …or the healer might need it… when the battle goes wrong. Bah! It’s obvious. The mage’s job is to THINK.”

Ned turned and stormed out. Behind him the crowd called out for more, but Ned was tired. He’s artheostitisis was acting up again. Maybe another ‘constitutional’ back at his flat would help.

[Emizael]

(( about time Ned chimed in...))


The crowd was a bit rowdier the next night, the bar being full of successful adventurers and soldiers of all types, and there was much merriment and drinking as the man called Nchaser entered the bar. He saw his apprentices right off, a small group of brightly clad robe wearing humans off in the cramped corner closest to the firepit. Many of the locals were giving the Apprentice Mages some space, but with the general overcrowding, Nchaser still had to shoulder his way through the throng of men and dwarf and gnome to reach the small table.

At his approach, the apprentices all fell silent. Tall, dark, and somewhat brooding, the Wizard Nchaser looked foreboding in his simple brown robes, with his unadorned staff. He allowed himself the small moment of presence, and sat at the table. He gave a wide grin, suddenly, his perfect white teeth gleaming from his dark features.

"I am to tell you about Arcane, and Ice, I am told. From my Teacher, to me, to you...I will tell you how, I do what I do."

The apprentices sighed, and one pushed a cup of ale in front of the dark skinned man, and watched carefully.

Nchaser sighed, his barrel chest rising and falling steadily.

" Look, you, and pay attention."

" The early powers of Arcane are often misunderstood, and quite often, undervalued as ...underpowered, or...not strong enough to provide the power a Mage needs to crush enemies. Hah! As if crushing enemies was the soul purpose of this power we are allowed to wield. Allowed, yes, I say...because we are only borrowers of this power...Not its masters. "

Arcane is a difficult school. Generally, its uses are for support; that is to say, Arcane is to provide assistance to the others of your team. {Arcane Sublety} was the first talent I learned. Reducing threat, the enemies ability to percieve you in combat, has to be one of the greatest abilities an Arcane Mage can have. Next, {Arcane Focus}, and {Improved Arcane Missles}. The first lowers a creature's resistance to your power; the other will the intrepid Arcanist to unleash his spell no matter the interference. Try that with a fireball or frostbolt, and ...your relatives will mourn you."

He pauses here a moment, and drinks from his amazingly ever-full cup...and looks at each apprentice in turn.

" Arcanists are rarely flashy. We don't need the big bangs, and the loud flashy blocks of ice to announce us. With Talents like { Magic Absorbtion} and {Arcane Concentration} we become the living batteries of Mana, and rarely run out. Oh, we may throw a fireball or two, or the occaisional frostbolt, but...our real specialty comes from unhinging Arcane Missle after Arcane Missle, easily resisting any enemy magic, and entering the Clearcasting state thanks to {Arcane Concentration} and thus, casting our spells for free. Then, of course, { Arcane Fortitude} makes us the toughest of all mages, by increasing our Armor by Half of our Intelligence! Later on, we get { Arcane Intelligence} and {Arcane Mind} which, not only increase our raw brainpower, but allow us to regenerate mana faster, even while in combat!"

" Now, that is only a small portion of what the Arcanist can do, but...for now, let us set that aside and talk about Ice, shall we?"

The dark skinned man looked at the confused faces of the apprentices. " What, you didn't know that I was the teacher of both?"

[Emizael]

He smiles his soft smile, for an instant, the stone of his face seemingly softened in the reflecting firelight. The sursurrus of whispers and quiet conversations dulled around the table, leaving the assembled mages in solitude. He looked into the eyes of each apprentice before him in turn, gauging their merits, weighing his words carefully.

One of the apprentices coughed abashedly, squirming a bit under that abyssal glare. Nchaser looked away from them then.

"Younglings, listen. Arcane is subtle, and yet, powerful. It may limit your choices of attacks, but those you do use, become nearly impossible to resist. Fire, on the other hand, is brash, insistant, and either works, or doesn't. It is, like any fire, unpredictable at best, but a sure route to easy carnage. Ice, though, is another thing altogether. Slow at first, and steady. It takes time to unleash the true might of Frost, time and preparation, but...nothing can withstand its might. Unparralled in the arts of protection, and glacial in persistance, Frost, is unbeatable."

" There are two key powers very early on in the Frost Specialist's career. { Improved Frostbolt} must be first. Again, speed and alacrity are the best friend of a mage, and if combat must be had, the fastest spellslinger usually is the one that walks away without permanent scarring.

{ Elemental Precision} is the second. Adaptible for use with fire as well, ( see how useful Frost is?) this talent lowers the cost of casting your frost and fire spells, which means, simply put, you will have the ability to throw more spells at your target. Combine this with the insidious nature of the talent to actually *weaken* the opponent by lowering his ability to resist those powers..."

"{Improved Frost Nova} should be learned next. That spell, no matter how useful, is a pain in the ass to cast, and the magic is difficult to summon with any speed. This talent should be considered a shortcut, in the fact that it will enable you to refresh it in your mind...faster. I don't really need to explain to you all how that is a benefit, yes?"

There were grins all around the table then, the apprentices finally comfortable sitting near the dark-skinned man.

" To truly showcase the power of Frost though, you should look into { Ice Shards} and { Piercing Ice}. The first can cause your spells to burst for tremedous force against the enemy...and the second, the second empowers all your ice spells considerably, making them that much more deadly."

" The lot of you have made it thus far, and the Lady only knows how. Baaju has accepted you all for intermediate training. Pack your bags, and head to Hillsbrad, apprentices. She will meet you there in three days time. NOW GO!"

As he hurled those last words at the apprentices, they one and all nearly fell over themselves, hopping and scattering to thier preparations. Feeling eyes upon his frame, he scanned about the inn, finding himself now the center of attentions for all the patrons.

" Good evening, good people, and good night! " He dipped low in a bow, and with a flourish belying his massive frame, the Wizard Nchaser leapt into the air, only to vanish.

[Nedward]

The following night, the bar was more crowded than usual. So busy, in fact, that Nedward had to hop up on the table and wave a flaming brand in the face of one lummox before he was given his usual seat. And even then, the follow's face darkened like he was thinking about taking a swing at the old gnome. That was, before a particularly loud-mouth dwarf stepped up and began to loosen his mace. Nedward glared at the dwarf, not needing any help, but the stocky fellow was already lumbering off to get more ale. Dwarves!

The bar was buzzing with talk, and the reason for the crowds soon became clear: the bar was becoming known as a place when magic was discussed and lessons given openly. Nedward looked up from his scotch to see a half-dozen eyes following his every movement.


"What?!" he barked at them. No good. They only pressed in more. No one even responded. They just sat there with vapid smiles on thier faces, waiting. Nedward had half a mind to cast Blast Wave upon the lot of them. Or better yet, his newest incantation, Dragon's Breath. That would teach them about playing with magic!

"Mr. Underhill...Mr. mage? Sir?" A young boy stammered forward, evidently egged on by cowardly friends.

“Go away boy, I’m busy.”

“But, Sir, I want to learn to be a fire mage. Like you.”

Nedward clinked the ice back and forth in his glass and studied the boy for a long moment. No dirt on his fingernails, which said he wasn’t from a family of labourers, but half-threadbare clothes said not from gold either. A spark of intelligence; no more.

Nedward smacked his lips, and replied. “Stick to Arcane. And go apply at the College, not to me.”

“But you said Arcane was under-powered!”

“Exactly. Less likely you’ll burn yourself to a crisp. Now scoot!”

A general guffaw went up around them.

Nedward went back to nursing his drink, but when he looked over a few minutes later, the boy was still standing there, a strange mixture of stubbornness and nervousness in his face. Something about the boy reminded Ned of himself so many years ago; and the boy was being respectful, what with the standing silently waiting bit. Nedward finished his glass, then sighed. The warm sensation of the scotch soothed his old joints.

“You’re lucky I’m in a good mood today, boy. Sit down. What’s your name?”

“Cadworth. Cadworth Elvisson”

“Hmph. Alright, Cadworth. You want to know the truth? Fire is the best school. The others wont admit it, but that’s the fact. I can take out most opponents in two, maybe three spells. Even those opponents with up to four years experience more than me. But the bane of fire? Resists and immunities. Focus on your power with fire, but you will need something to fall back on. SO…don’t forget to study! Increased damage in fire spells is well and good, but you need to be smart! Intelligence can’t be replaced.”

The boy said nothing. Nedward ordered another drink.

“And another thing. You want to win...out there?" Nedward waved towards the world outside. "You need to master instant-cast spells. Fire Blast, Blast Wave, Dragon’s Breath, and Cone of Cold, even Frost Nova… particularly Frost Nova, come to think of it." Nedward pursed his lips thinking of the number of times a well placed Frost Nova had saved his skin. "But! But, most important, is instant damage. Of course I have perfected my Fireball spell. But you will get one, maybe two of those off against an enemy before they are on top of you. If you want to fight someone, you need to be able to pour out the damage before they even get to you. After all, if they don’t touch you, you wont get hurt.”

“And take those elemental mastery classes, to make sure they don’t resist.”