Apprenticing under Jurguth

[shorty13]

***note pls feel free to make comments, suggestions, and thoughts on the story in between my posts of the story of the time Masoj trains under Jurguth


Masoj Foret walks out of his house onto the dirt road to the edge of the Yirod Woods,  a medium sized forest with tall trees, mostly pines, that only blocked about one half to a third of the light shining down upon it leaving a nice layer of grass below.  Masoj is wearing some light leather armor, tan in color, and carries his sheathed axes on his hips.  He brings a backpack with lunch and dinner for that day and a notebook so he will not forget anything he is taught in it.  The road to the woods is long, but it is worth it thinks Masoj.  He knows that not many mages who try to become adept in two ways of magic find a master in his or her two ways.  Masoj does, and his name is Jorguth.

The sun is rising above Kloredell up the deep blue sky.  There is a slight wind, just enough to rustle the leaves in the trees and kick up some dust once in a while on the dirt road.

“How kind and forgiving will this Master be?” “How many students will be training with me for the next week?”  “Is this Master Jorguth even good, or is he one of evil?”

These are the questions Masoj asks himself as he walks along the path, kicking a stone around on the way.  Eager to meet his master and learn great magic from him, he picks his pace up to a jog.  Finally he reaches the edge of the woods.  He sees three other students waiting for Jorguth, who will start in about five minutes.  Masoj introduces himself to the other students, all around his age at 16.  Their names are Fluric, Dotriler, and Xajon.

At last a man appears out of the woods.  He is wearing a robe with images of purple flames emerging from the bottom and what appears to a phoenix spreading out on the back.  His has red eyes and stands about six feet, four inches tall, towering over the four of the trainees. 

“I am Master Jorguth.  I am an expert in both the red and azure fields of magic, yet concentrate higher in red.  For the time of your stay, I will be your master and you all shall be my apprentices.  I expect nothing but the highest respect for yourselves, each other, and most importantly for me.  Now follow me into the woods.”

The four students follow Jorguth into the woods.  They hear howling in the distance and rustling in the bushes.  They stay close to each other and to their master until they come to a stop.  Masoj looks around the clearing they are now in.  It is fairly small and has a human sized rock in the middle.

“This is where you will be staying for your stay.  You should appoint one of you to stand guard each night so the wolves won’t eat you in your sleep.  The students look at each other wearily.  Now let’s move on.  We have much to do and little time.  The more you pay attention and try, the more material we will cover and the more you will learn. Much of what we do will be in the forest, yet some will be outside on the edge so we don’t burn it down.”  The master grins. “I hope everyone has fulfilled their prerequisite to start this training.  I asked all of you to learn how to focus your energy in a sphere, a task you probably learned in your schooling. I want you to first focus on your red way magic, and then start to admit your azure way into the sphere.”

Each student holds out his hand.  As they concentrate their bodies start to gain a red glow and a redish orange sphere about a foot and a half in diameter appears hovering above each hand.  As each student focuses azure energy into the sphere, light translucent waves flow from their head to the sphere, which in turn starts to turn a deep purple.

“Good.”  Jorguth watches as the spheres disappear.  “I want you to focus your energy, both magics at the same time, into every spell you cast.  It will make it stronger and have better effects.  I will teach you on spell today.  Then I will allow you to scout the area and get a good sleep for a hard work tomorrow…and may just save your life tonight.”

Jorguth takes a step back and casts a shockwave emerging from all sides of him, knocking the students over, but not injuring them.

“That is a simple spell! Only a fool wouldn’t know that spell by now,” exclaims Dotriler.

Jorguth casts it again, except this time the shockwave only shoots out in the overly confident student, blasting him a few feet on his back.  “The shockwave spell is a simple azure spell that can be very useful in some sticky situations when alone.  However, it can become useful and versatile in groups when learned how to use it correctly, and strengthened with red magic.  Focus your mind on an object and block everything else from it.  Then cast your spell.”

Masoj tries the spell, focusing on the rock in the center of the clearing.  However, the shockwave emits from him in all directions, knocking everyone down.

“You have to block everything else from your mind and focus purely on your target.  And please don’t fire a strong wave so if you screw up again we only are forced a step back at most.”

Masoj tries again and is more successful.  A shockwave shoots forward to the rock and blows the grass around it down momentarily.  The other students cast the spell, and they all repeat it to get practices at it.

“Now, creatures around here are not very brilliant, but they are not dumb either.  They know that a shockwave won’t kill them and will still press on to eat you if hungry enough.  This time focus in your red magic in addition to azure.  This will create a shockwave with a small wall of fire on the edges, burning everything it blows over.  When you become stronger in your ways, you may create streams of fire emerging outwards as well within the shockwave.  However, if you concentrate too much of your red way in, you will just create a small harmless spark or flare. Most creatures around here will not tamper with you if you burn them.”

Xajon is the first to successfully cast the burning shockwave.  Within five minutes, there is no grass left around the rock.

“Well done.  The sun will set in two hours at most.  I highly suggest you map out the woods in the meantime and learn about each other.  Then, as soon as it is dark enough, I suggest you get to sleep quickly for the long day tomorrow.”

The students go together in a group and scout the area for an hour before returning to the clearing to wait the onset of the dark.  They speak and learn much about each other.  They decide to switch out the guard throughout the night.  Fluric volunteered to go first followed by Xajon, Jorguth, and then Masoj.

[shorty13]

    The three students awake after a good night sleep.  Masoj had been awake for a few hours already, practicing some spells, because he was the last one on guard for the night.
        “So what’s for breakfast?” says Fluric with a smile. “Don’t suppose Master Jorguth knows any unique cooking spells?”
        “Why do you call him Master?  He is just a simple hermit who happened to have lived longer than us and therefore has more experience.  When I’m his age I’m going to be a much more powerful wizard than him.” states Dotriler with a grunt.
   “Because he is stronger and more knowledgeable than us whether you like it or not,” exclaims Masoj “besides it’s more likely you’ll blow yourself up or something before you come close to his age.”
   The three of them laugh.
   “Alright, let’s stop picking on each other, I’m starved.  Let’s go hunting,” states Xajon flatly.
   
        The four of them quietly walk through the woods looking for an animal.  At last they spot a deer through a thicket.  Fluric raises a sword horizontally then uses his mind to shoot it through the unsuspecting deer’s abdomen.  The three of them rush over to the deer and bring it back to the clearing where they prepare and cook it.  Soon after their meals Jorguth appears from the thicket wearing the same robe, though strangely clean.
   
   “I hope the four of you have had a filling breakfast.  You will need it.  I will teach you some more spells.  However, as the spells become increasing in difficulty, they will drain you of both your mental and physical strength.  You may need to rest after casting some spells several times.  Don’t be afraid to do so as I don’t want any dead elves in my woods…at least not yet.”
   “The first spell I will teach you is Side Scorcher.  It is not taught in many schools because it is not thought of as honorable.  Some call it cheating and think lowly of this spell because often the target of the spell, even while facing the caster, will not see the effects launching at him until he is hit.  The caster will cast the spell and a spray of scalding hot embers and sparks shoot at him from the side, severely burning the target and often just out of the target’s peripheral sight.  However it is difficult on the caster because you must know how far your target is away from you and can give you trouble judging exactly at what distance to cast the spell on.  The key words to this spell are easy: Fiersca lairt.  Make sure to stress every other syllable or the spell will fail.”
   The students practice the spell for ten minutes.  All of them are able to cast it with ease, sending burning particles at the rock.
   “Now I will teach you a harder spell.  One cast of this spell may kill your foe by burning it alive in seconds if it does not receive immediate healing.  It is called Flame Pyre.”
   Master Jorguth casts the spell.  Upon uttering the final syllables, the rock is immersed in a small pillar of extremely hot fire.  The fire is about ten feet high and has a diameter of about three feet.  The students watch in amazement.   The rock turns red and cracks down the middle.
   “Remember the key words: Jahie voegue scotair corue illantre.  If miss pronounced, you may end up sending a pillar of fire on yourself, or cause an explosion harmful to everyone around, even yourself.  I will repeat the words again.  You must also perform a simple arm movement in sync with the wording to get the results you desire. Remember, you must let the magic flow from your body.”
   Jorguth moves his hands up above his head, clasps them, and quickly brings them down in front of him.  He repeats the spell so the students can get the wording and movements correct.  The students try the spell several times.  Fluric manages to create a small single flame on the rock after a minute.  As they practice more, Masoj is the first one able to cast the spell successfully, though the fire was not that hot and the pyre itself was smaller.  Dotriler eyes Masoj and mutters to himself.  He then tries the spell again and is also successful and has the same results as Masoj.  None of them are able to successfully cast it again at this time.
   “Okay now I believe it is time for lunch.” Claims Jorguth.
   Jorguth snaps his fingers and bowls of hot soup appear in front of each of the students.  Fluric chuckles, being right about Jorguth’s cooking abilities.  Then they sit and eat in silence for a while.  After they eat and are rested up, Jorguth stands up.
   “I will teach you one last spell for the day.  It is an azure spell so you will have to relax your mind.  It is referred to as self illusion.  It essentially makes two copies of you to confuse your foe and possibly stall for time.  If someone attacks one of your copies, it disappears.  If he hits you, all copies disappear.  The trick is you have to be mindful of your entire body, or your copies may be lacking something they shouldn’t be. “  Jorguth chuckles briefly.  “You have to bring your hands together in front of your chest then extend them outwards, palms out, while you mutter the incantation: spiris repetitious.  Dotriler, why don’t you go first.”
   Dotriler smiles and casts the spell.  It fails.  Frustrated, he tries again without any results.
   “You must have a clear mind, and your actions must be in sync.”
   Dotriler tries again.  This time he casts the spell successfully and a copy of Dotriler appears on either side of him.  Dotriler smiles widely at his success, until everyone else starts laughing.  Dotriler looks at his copies and realize they have no noses.
   “Like I said, you must be mindful of your entire body,” says Jorguth with a chuckle. “Now, that is all I will teach you for today.  Go and practice your spells,  I will see you tomorrow.”

[shorty13]

“Gah, I wish we would learn new spells already.  We’ve been going over these simple elements for almost two days now,” thinks Masoj to himself.  Jorguth has been giving small lessons to the students, boring all except Xajon, who just sits and seems to absorb everything without a word.

“Are we going to learn new spells today Master?” asks Dotriler.  “I know you may think this is important, but I feel learning different spells would be more beneficial.”
   “To what? You trying to prove your dominance above anyone else or your knowledge of the ways of magic?” Shoots back Jorguth.  “I am going to launch you four individually through a test tomorrow where you will need everything I teach you, so you better listen.”
   
   Masoj, Fluric, and Xajon look at each other wondering what the test could possibly be. 

   “Now before you perform this test, I will teach you one powerful spell.  It is an enchantment spell, but it requires a few seconds to cast and total concentration.  It relies on both your red and azure way magic and is very difficult to successfully cast.  It does not require any words, just your clear thoughts.  You will need to channel all of your thoughts into one spot in front of you.  You will need to let the magic flow from your body and mind into this ball.  Once you have completed this, you will need to throw the sphere upon whatever you are enchanting, usually yourself.  Once you do so, you and everything you are directly touching will become enchanted with the power of the red and azure way.  The effects on a living creature or person include vastly increased speed, strength, and agility.  If you put enough energy into it, your spells will be much more effective as well, and you might have an easier time casting spells. It also includes what is referred to as enhanced reflexes. Essentially, you will subconsciously be viewing one to two seconds into the future, giving your body an extra second or two to react.  Weapons you wield will additionally cause whatever it hits to burn.
   “So why don’t we just constantly keep up the enchantment if it is so great?” asks Fluric.
   “Because it only lasts about a couple minutes and after the enchantment lifts, you are left almost too physically tired to fight, and too mentally tired to cast spells sufficiently for a short time.  In fact, if a failure to cast it also drains your energy.  That is also why it is very hard to practice this spell.  Once successful cast is good, but it takes time to perfect it.”

   Jorguth concentrates hard in front of him, holding out his right hand, palm up.  His body glows red faintly and streams of light purple shoot out erratically from his head to the growing sphere of swirling purple and red.  After about 5 seconds, the sphere streams into his hand, up his arm, and throughout his body.  Faint purple flames emit from his body.  Jorguth equips a sword and slices through a small tree with ease.

   The students glare in amazement and start to practice the spell.  Each student casts the spell between two and four times, all failing, before they grow too weary to cast again.  Masoj and Xajon both manage to summon a small sphere, but it disappears quickly both times.

   “I will take my leave now.  Get good rest for tomorrow if you want to come out alive,” says Jorguth just prior to disappearing into the woods.

[shorty13]

   The students wake up.  After eating another deer, Master Jorguth walks into the clearing.  Today he is wielding a tall staff made of a very dark wood.  The shaft has five small purple diamonds aligned vertically.  At the top, the staff breaks apart and holds a deep red crystal, gleaming in the sunlight.

   “I hope you are ready.  Be careful, for the dangers where you are going to be teleported to may just kill you if you are not careful and do not keep your wits up.  My master put me through the same thing.  Believe me; you will need more than just magic to get through it.  If you live to the end, I will teach you some powerful spells. Now go!”

   Masoj looks around to see the faces of the other students, but they are not there.  He is suddenly in a room of stone, lit by lanterns.  Looking around, he spots a metal door on the far side of the room.  He goes over to it and listens for noises coming from the other side.  He hears nothing.  He opens the door and looks across the room.  There is a large pit of which Masoj cannot see the bottom spanning the width of the room.  Across it are several floating greenish-blue blocks.  Masoj steps on a block, but after a second it begins to descend.  Realizing the longer he stays on it the faster the block falls, he lunges himself up onto the next block.  He gathers his strength and steps to the next block.  This time, the block ahead of him falls, and soon the one he is standing on descends.  He musters his strength and jumps across to the next block and quickly sprints across, finally reaching the other side of the room.
   Masoj hastily opens the door in fear the walk way he is on will also fall into the abyss.  He takes a step into the large, well-lit room and finds ten kobolds, short humanoid creatures with the head of a dog, all turning to look at him, weapons ready.  Masoj quickly draws his axes as one of the kobolds points at Masoj and throws a spear at him.  Masoj deflects it with his axe and tries to evaluate the strength of the kobolds, which are now running towards him.  Masoj quickly summons a burning shockwave, which knocks down the five charging kobolds and lights two on fire, burning them alive.  Masoj quickly casts a weak shield around him as two kobolds across the room nock their arrows and shoot at him.  After they deflect away, Masoj casts a fireball, landing squarely into the middle archer, and blasting the surrounding two to the floor, severely injured.  The three kobolds that survived the shockwave stand up.  Masoj uses his mind to throw them against the left wall, while starting to charge to the right at a group of three kobolds.  The three kobolds come up to his chest in height and are all wielding a scimitar and a shield.  Just before he comes within striking range of the three kobolds, which brace for his attack, Masoj lunges to the side, putting the left most kobold between him and the other two.  Masoj quickly decapitates the surprised creature with a quick stroke of his right axe.  The other two then jump at him, slashing at him with their swords.  The elf dodges one blow and deflects the other with his left axe.  Masoj quickly comes up with his right axe onto the right kobold, but is blocked by its shield.  Masoj blocks a blow from the left kobold and kicks the right to the side with a powerful side kick.  He follows this up with a swift side-swing with his right axe into the side of the helpless creature.  Masoj quickly checks to make sure no other kobolds have gotten up, then looks at the remaining kobold.  He is twenty feet away from his target, which had taken a few steps back from the elf.  Masoj throws his right axe at the kobold, and guides it above its shield into its skull.  Masoj takes his time picking up his axe, resting for a moment.  The Kloredian takes a few deep breaths and opens the door to the next room.
   He opens the door to the next room.  It is a smaller room than before, and has seven doors all around it.  In the middle of the room lies a simple stone pedestal with a golden key resting on top. Masoj walks over to the pedestal and notices there is an inscription on it that reads:
      
      After the rays have vanished below,
      It comes and wanders to and fro.
      Beneath the greatest light around,
      It sings its loud, echoing sound.

      The correct door will lead ahead,
      Choose wrong and you will end up dead.

   Masoj observes the doors closely and notices that on each handle of each door is a small picture of an object or creature.  There is a shield, sword hilt, panpipes, drums, bear, wolf, and crow.  Masoj picks up the key.  Almost instantly, the ground starts to shake and chunks of rock from the ceiling begin to fall.  Masoj tries to think quickly knowing the room will probably collapse within moments.  He goes to put the key into the door with the sword hilt picture, but pulls it out before turning the knob and runs over to the wolf and opens the door.  A crash sounds off from the previous room as Masoj quickly slams the door closed.

   Masoj scans the room, but sees nothing.  The room is lit with two torches; however they blow out after a few seconds.  Masoj listens for sounds in the room as he walks to the door on the other side.  As he reaches for the doorknob, he immediately hears a faint noise, and feels slight vibrations in the ground.  The origin of both appear to be closing in on Masoj.  He lunges to the side quickly and hears a thud on the door, but sees nothing when he looks over.  All of a sudden, Masoj feels a sharp pain across his back as though a blade had slashed him and is shoved forward into the ground.  Masoj quickly rolls back up.  He casts a burning shock wave, expanding from all sides of him.  He hears a thud of two creatures being blown to their feet to his right and sees a couple flames and smoke rising from what seems to be mid air in two places.  One of the smoke patches charges at him at high speeds, while the other seems to move in a circle around him.  Just before the smoke reaches him, Masoj sidesteps towards the middle of the room and sticks his left axe blade out in its path.  The axe is flung from Masoj’s hand out against a wall.  All of a sudden, a jet black feline tiger, much like a puma, appears dead on the ground where it collided with the sharp blade.  Its head is split in two.  Masoj realizes that this was his first encounter with a Night Tiger.  He quickly looks for the second plume of smoke and finds it quickly, but it is beginning to stop.  Masoj quickly throws an axe at the creature making it bleed.  Masoj sees the blood stains on the invisible fur coat and watches its movements carefully.  Masoj uses his mind to send his axe back into his hand.  He notices the blood begin to sprint towards him and lunge up into the air.  Masoj shoots a stream of fire from his hand towards the incoming predator, and hits it perfectly, and watches it appear dead in front of his feet.
   Masoj gathers himself together and casts a simple healing spell to temporarily hold the gouges on his back closed.  He then walks over to the next door ready to face his next challenge.

   “So you have reached the end,” a booming voice sounds off from the shadows of the dimly lit room, the size of a large tavern.
   Masoj tries to see what the creature is that speaks to him, but cannot make it out until it steps into a lit area of the room.  Before elf stands a ten foot high human.  It has a large sword with gold-reinforced hilt.  The man has leather armor much like Masoj, but it is dyed jet black.  He wears no helmet, revealing his short black hair.
   “Who are you?”
   “I am Daemtri, but most refer to me as death.  Now you shall learn why.”
   Daemtri points his sword at Masoj from across the room.  A stream of dark energy shoots at Masoj and hits him square in the chest, propelling him into the wall at his back.  Masoj throws his hidden shuriken at the man’s chest, but it stops in mid air and falls to the ground.
   “You cannot kill me!” says Daemtri with a laugh.
   Masoj mumbles to himself and casts a fireball in the human;s direction, but Daemtri counters it with another dark blast.  Daemtri casts dark cloud, which quickly creeps over the floor to Masoj’s feet, but the elf blows it away with a simple wind gust spell.  He then casts a shockwave at the goliath, but it has no effect so he tries to push his foe into a wall with his azure way, but Daemtri slams Masoj into a wall yet again.  The human then sprints over to the fallen elf and brings his sword down upon Masoj, who in turn crosses his axes to block the powerful blow.  He quickly twists his blades around the sword and pulls Daemtri down close enough to kick his face with his heel.  Masoj then gets up and parries another blow from the sword.  Masoj then takes up the offensive and attacks the half-giant with his axes ferociously.  Clashes ring out as metal collides.  Masoj cannot however seem to hit the man and is caught off guard for a kick in his stomach.  Masoj bends over, holding himself up with a hand.  He looks up to see a sword falling down upon him.  He rolls to the side and lets out a quick stream of fire at Daemtri, which hits him in the side.  Daemtri becomes frustrated and uses his sword to block the elf’s attacks and try to throw in a couple punches with his right hand.  Daemtri blocks Masoj’s next strike and attempts a powerful punch into the elf’s face.  Masoj, now expecting this, side steps, sticks his foot out, and pushes Daemtri forward with his azure magic.  Daemtri trips over the foot and almost falls face first into the ground, but saves himself by bracing against the nearby wall.
   While the human regains his balance, Masoj concentrates on his outstretched hand and forms a swirling sphere of purple and red.  He then clutches into a fist and draws the sphere throughout his body.  Daemtri comes in for a charge, but Masoj easily dodges and takes a side swipe at Daemtri, slicing his right side causing him to flinch.  Masoj uses this moment to take another step to the human’s back and kicks him back a few feet.
   “Fiersca Lairt!” shouts Masoj and watches a spray of ashes shoot out into the side of Daemtri, a few landing in the cut Masoj sliced open, causing a moment of agonizing pain.  Daemtri quickly turns to face Masoj, glowing in a purple flame and now striking quickly at Daemtri.  Daemtri blocks the first attack, but his sword is knocked away.  Masoj continues to slam his axes into the gut of the human, scorching him in the process.  Daemtri teleports to the other side of the room to get out of the fray and try to pull himself together.  Masoj turns around to face Daemtri.  He charges at Daemtri with incredible speed, dodging a couple blasts of dark magic.  He takes an indirect hit to the shoulder, but presses on.  Upon reaching striking distance, Masoj slices off Daemtri’s left hand and chops through his right leg.  The human falls onto one knee, allowing for Masoj to quickly chop off his adversary’s head.
   Masoj’s purple flames fade away and his legs give way causing him to fall on the floor.  After about two minutes, Masoj stands up and slowly walks over to the wooden door on the far side of the room.  He walks out and finds himself back in the clearing where he had been staying the last couple days.  Xajon, Dotriler and Master Jorguth are there.
   
“Congratulations! You three must be very tired.  You may all get some rest and a good-night sleep.  I will keep watch,” exclaims Jorguth.
   “Where is Fluric? Is he still in the dungeon?” asks Masoj seemingly worried.
   “Yes…well at least his corpse is.  Unfortunately he did not make it past the Night Tigers.” Stated Jorguth emotionlessly.

   Masoj suppresses his anger and sorrow.  He had become good friends with Fluric, in addition to Xajon, since his stay in the woods.  Jorguth pulls out three neatly coiled ropes from his robe.  The ropes are silver and sparkle in the sunlight.  They are about fifty feet long and unusually light.
   
   “To recognize your success today, I bring you some high-quality elven rope.  Knots you tie in this rope will not come apart by itself or by force.  If you want to untie a knot, simply give the rope a slight jerk and it will come apart by itself.  It is strong enough to support many of the heaviest dwarves and light enough to be carried without notice.  It may come in use sometime in your travels.”
   
   Jorguth gives each of the remaining students a coil of rope.  Each student bows in respect and thanks him.

   “Tomorrow we will take a day trip up a mountain.  For now, get some rest. The trials surely took more energy out of you than you think.  I will guard you three for the night so you can all get good rest.”

[shorty13]

   The next morning after breakfast, Jorguth leads the three others on a hike.  They pass through the woods, over rivers, and up a volcano.  As they hike above the tree line, Masoj notices lava flowing slowly to their right.  They hike up to the top of the caldera before Jorguth begins to speak to them again.

   “Look out across the landscape and take everything in.  Magic derives its power from many places and many things.  The brown way draws its power from the woods and the living.  The blue way draws its power from the sky and the water.  The crystal and dark ways derive their power from the good and bad of the soul.  The red way draws its power from fire and the body while the azure way originates its power from the mind and air around us.  If someone were to destroy all forests and animals, or forcing people into slavery and therefore destroying their soul, magic may be lost forever.  It is our job as mages and wizards and warlocks to protect and preserve this power. Magic works best when combined with other ways just like how people get things done better or quicker when in a cooperative group.  If one element is gone, it affects everything else.  Take a look around and remember this.  On our walk back I want you all to think about where your power truly comes from and what pushes you to do what you do.”

   Jorguth casts a spell and bowls of stew appear in front of the students.  “Eat now to regain your strength for the return trip back.”

   The group gazes out beyond their site in thought before they slowly head down the volcano.  They hike in silence, taking in their surroundings and becoming immersed in thought.  They reach the clearing by dusk.  Jorguth stands guard once again while the others sleep soundly.

   
   “Follow me,” commands Jorguth as he leads the group to the outskirts of the forest.
   “This is the last day in your training with me.  I will teach you a few spells.  It is up to you to practice them on your own along with everything else I have taught you.” Jorguth pauses for a moment.  “First I will teach you the object shifter spell.  It is a negative enchantment you cast on your foe.  It makes them see you in a spot adjacent to your actual position, making it almost impossible to hit you.  To cast it, you must look at your target in the eye and utter the phrase: illusious jorais.  Now practice this spell.  When cast upon a target, a white ring will circle your target’s head, invisible to themselves.”
   The students cast it successfully on each other and get the spell down in about ten minutes, after getting the pronunciation correct.
   “Well done.  Now I will teach you a purely devastating red way spell.  It will drain almost all of your energy from you.  Due to this, I will not cast it, nor will you practice it right now.  For a successful cast, you must have speak the words of the spell.  Write this long for it takes a while to memorize:
Aicano Aicano Jerhesh Diello ferosh ferosh xahgriel drostige forstend coraye klendeen auhostay.  Pillar of Fire I summon you come down, come down, let the flame renew!
   A huge pillar of fire hundreds of feet in diameter will plunge into the ground from the sky.  The impact of it hitting the ground will send out plumes of fire all around.  You will be able to slowly move the pillar as you desire.  This spell will destroy anything and anyone it hits, good or bad.  It is only used in dire situations in great wars, so I do not expect any of you to use it much at all.  Practice the pronunciation of the incantation so you can get it down for when times are indeed dire.”
   
   “That is enough for now.  I will now teach you the Blaze of the Phoenix spell.  It is extremely deadly.  You will shoot a phoenix made of pure fire from inside of you.  You will be able to fully control its flight path.  When it flies through something, the person or object will be instantly incinerated in the intense heat.  The phoenix will last about five to seven seconds.  If you stop the phoenix before its duration is up, you have the ability to explode it.  This will create heavy damage in a large area.  The key words are: Pyris Phoenix.  Now watch my movements so you may cast it successfully.”

   Jorguth spreads his arms out from his body, then brings them to his sides and thrusts them forwards, palms out while uttering the phrase needed to cast the spell.  A bird of fire flies out from within Jorguth and flies up into the air, exploding after two seconds in a dazzling display.  The heat can be felt by the students, who are about ten feet away from Jorguth at the time the spell is cast.  Masoj, Xajon, and Dotriler practice the spell.  It is Masoj who firsts successfully casts the spell.  Dotriler and Xajon then both cast successful phoenix’s slightly larger than Masoj’s.

   “Your training with me is over.  Now go back to your homes and practice all that I have taught you and remember the lessons I shared.  I will go along with my travels to distant realms,” says Jorguth just before disappearing in a plume of purple flames.

   
   Dotriler turns to Masoj and Xajon.  “Finally I am free of that man.” Dotriler swipes his right hand from left to right across his body, sending Xajon into a tree.  He then quickly tries to cast a fireball in Xajon’s direction, but Masoj catches on and casts a gust of wind, causing Dotriler to shoot it up into the sky.
   “What are you doing!?’ screamed Masoj.
   “No one is going to stop me from becoming the most powerful mage in Kloredell.  As I see it right now, you two are the only ones capable of slowing me down.”
   Dotriler throws a ball of pure red and azure energy at Masoj’s feet.  Masoj tries to jump out of the way but is too late.  The explosion sends him sliding across the ground.  Xajon stands up and mutters a couple words.  A large red meteor forms ten feet above Dotriler’s head, forcing him to stop casting another spell and take evasive actions immediately.  Masoj uses his mind to throw Dotriler into a nearby tree, but while in the air, Dotriler casts a flurry of flares in their direction.  Masoj and Xajon take cover behind a boulder.  Dotriler stands up and casts Side Scorcher on Xajon, which severely burns him.  Dotriler then sends out a massive shockwave, blowing Xajon into a rock and Masoj into a tree.
   “Now, you see my true power.  Now, you will die.”
   Masoj glances over to see a semi-conscious elf moaning on a nearby rock.  He quickly looks over to Dotriler and sees he is staring back at him, beginning the incantation to cast the burning phoenix spell.  Masoj quickly launches a stream of fire at Dotriler to interrupt his casting, forcing him to dive to the side.  Dotriler shoots his arm out and raises it up.  Masoj feels his body beginning to levitate and slide up the trunk of the tree he was leaning against.  Suddenly his neck restricted and he started gasping for air, unable to get any to his lungs.  Masoj quickly looked around, knowing that he will die if he doesn’t do something now.  He looks back at Dotriler and soundlessly levitates a small branch that was lying on the ground behind Dotriler.  Masoj concentrates on the branch and stabs it into Dotriler’s back and through his stomach.  Masoj fell to the ground, coughing uncontrollably.  He looks up at Dotriler and launches a stream of fire into Dotriler’s stomach.  Dotriler’s eyes widen as he is blown back into the ground on fire.  He screams for a moment, and then all goes quiet.
   Masoj looks over to Xajon, and begins to cast the low level healing spells he knows on the severely injured elf.  Xajon regains awareness of where he is and gives Masoj a look of pain.  Masoj helps Xajon walk to the nearest town to get some medical attention by the high seers.
   
   Masoj walks up to his door.  The moon shines brightly and illuminates the land below.  A howl can be heard from the distant woods of where he trained.  Thousands of stars litter the sky with magnificent beauty.  He walks into his house with a sigh and goes to sleep in his own bed.