Side Story - Eyn and Weavy - Chapter 2 Apprenticeship

Author's note: Hey, let me know what you think :). I know this was a very slow chapter with quite a bit of exposition but I hope it'll pick up with the next ones.

Chapter 2 Apprenticeship

Eyn woke up the next day and couldn’t stop smiling. He quickly activated his telekinetic shield and watched his mana deplete slowly. Walter said he’d have to wait for a couple days or even weeks to train this skill with him but he didn’t mention anything about Eyn working on it himself. Five minutes later he had to stop and start meditating. Using up his mana constantly was a good start he thought, next time he’d be able to use more attacks before his eyes started to blur.

A knock on his door made him lose concentration. He didn’t know how much time had passed but he had meditated at least ten times, the skill level had sadly not risen but he felt like it was close.

“Yes!” He shouted after nobody entered.

“Boy. You will come with me today.” The big man Harthome said from outside the door, crouching down a little to see Eyn on his bed.

“Did Walter ask you?” He got a grunt in response, likely an affirmation. Quickly dressing, he rushed out of the door where Harthome was waiting, handing him a hammer, “What’s that for?”

The man held up the second hammer he had, a much bigger one than what Eyn had gotten and lifted it up, then hitting the air in front of him.

“What will I have to hit?” Eyn asked but didn’t get a reply, the man smiling to himself as he walked down the hallway, the boy following behind as he looked at the simple hammer in his hand. Maybe I’ll get to fight something?

Again Harthome’s hand stopped him, moving the hammer a little to change its angle. He nodded before Eyn hit the glowing iron again, sweat dripping down on the hot plate, a hiss resounding when the droplet landed. His shoulder ached, as did his arm and head. Fifty strikes, the smith had said but he felt like it was an unachievable goal. The first ten had been easy, the next ten more difficult and now that he was reaching forty, he questioned if his arm would fall off.

His arm however did not fall off. Eyn’s sight was a little blurry as he sat down on a nearby bench. Harthome chuckled and continued the work, shaking his head lightly.

‘ding’ ‘Strength +1’

An easy point of Strength but Eyn was completely spent. His arm ached at the sudden overexposure to manual labor, his only respite that mind magic worked without him moving his body. Using his shield while he paused his forging work brought another joyous moment.

‘ding’ ‘Telekinetic Shield reaches lvl 4’

Lifting his arm in triumph was definitely not the brightest idea he ever had, wincing at the pain. “Come now, you’ve paused long enough.” Harthome said and gestured him back to the forge.

A pale face, Eyn shook his head and gestured to his unmoving arm. “You have another one of those, don’t you?” The smith asked and held the handle of Eyn’s hammer towards him.

“Is this really necessary?” He asked in a whisper when he stood at the forge again, holding the hammer in his left hand.

The smith smiled and looked to the door, “I’ll be honest boy,” He looked at Eyn in turn, “I don’t see you as a smith. Still, it’s not bad to experience this.”

Eyn didn’t completely agree but he couldn’t deny the results of his growth. He might not have been working on his mind magic skills a lot but his Strength had gained another free point. The next day he worked with Walter on his magic and helped out a little in the common room. His skills already became harder to level quickly, mostly due to the lack of danger he was in. Walter explained that to him on the third day when he asked why none of his skills were leveling despite him using them all the time.

Instead of simply using his spells, Eyn started to try and understand them, modify them. Instead of just activating his Mind Rupture spell at Walter, he thought about being more subtle about it. His control was lacking and his spell slipped from his grasp every single time, activating the normal way as it always did.

He asked the man about it at the end of that day. Walter put down his glass and smiled at the boy, “Bright are we? Seems you have a knack for your magic other than just possessing the required class. There are ways, yes. Especially with magic but also with swords and shields. It’s less about circumventing the skill and its level and more about truly understanding it, utilizing it to its true potential. Few ever do and simply rely on the most basic of activation. Some will experiment and find ways to use their skills after years of training and fighting.”

Eyn had opened pandora’s box, “I myself found some new uses for two skills when I passed level one fifty. Took that squad of soldiers by surprise…,” The barkeeper mused. “Still, you need the levels to enhance the skills’ potential but experimenting early never hurt anybody. If you want to become a powerful mage, I suggest focusing on your skills early and then on levels. It should allow for better classes down the road.”

Walter’s advice was more than welcome, encouraging even. After a week of training with the man, hammering with Harthome, reading with Lucia and learning about necromancy with Indra, he would’ve likely grown frustrated with the little progress he made in anything. Smithing was most definitely not a talent of his but he fought through the sessions nonetheless, not complaining about it anymore. Necromancy was interesting but he was most interested in reading with Lucia. It wasn’t the reading itself but the contents of said reading.

The woman had a lot of books on enchanting, runes and magic itself. Eyn was allowed to borrow one book at a time and ate them up every evening before he would sleep. He reported to his master every other day, when the demon was even around that is. Despite his growth, Weavy seemed to have little interest in the boy. His training would kill me anyway…

The thought at least comforted him a little but he had offered his life to his master, to learn mind magic from him and not from Walter and the others. He was a guest in their den and would adhere to their wishes, as much he had learned from his master. Eyn knew the necromancers didn’t necessarily trust Weavy, not because of his magic he realized but because he was of another race. A demon. He had no idea where they came from but Lucia had talked about summoning demons before but that it’s very dangerous business.

One had invaded their place a while ago and nearly killed people but Ilea had saved the day. The woman that was traveling with Weavy. A Shadow…, Even the village boy had heard of Shadows, the legendary mercenaries traveling through the lands to uncover its secrets and explore never before seen parts of the world. Demons were neither evil nor good, Lucia had explained. They were complicated beings like humans or perhaps other races too. It was understandable that humans would want to be on their own but Eyn knew at least grandpa Bones wasn’t human, not anymore at least.

The skeleton had asked him if he was interested in digging and shiny stones but after seeing the smaller skeletons hammer into the walls with their pickaxes, he had bad flashbacks to Harthome’s smithy work, declining with that explanation.

The weeks passed quickly, Eyn kept busy throughout it all. He was learning about magic, his own skills and their limitations as well as the world. They were open and taught him without reservations, denying him answers to his questions with explanations instead of a simple no. His status looked a tiny bit more impressive after all that time but he had a long way to go, he knew that.

Name: Eyn Howard

Unspent statpoints: 0

Class 1: Mind Mage – lvl 25

- Active: Mind Rupture – lvl 5
- Active: Telekinetic Shield – lvl 5
- Active: Suggestion – lvl 2
- Active: Acceleration – lvl 6
- Active: -
- Passive: Fortitude – lvl 3
- Passive: Mana Sense – lvl 5
- Passive: -
- Passive: -
- Passive: -

Class 2: None

General Skills:

- Elos Standard language - lvl 8
- Identify - lvl 12
- Meditation – lvl 9
- Pain Tolerance – lvl 5
- Mental Resistance – lvl 5

Status:

Vitality: 50
Endurance: 34
Strength 27
Dexterity 25
Intelligence 83
Wisdom 80

Health: 500/500
Stamina: 322/340
Mana: 721/800

He wondered how the status of someone like Weavy or Walter looked like. I don’t even have all the slots filled yet…, His thoughts were interrupted when a knocking resounded from his room’s door. “Yes!” He shouted and sat up on his bed. It was early morning but today he was supposed to train with Harthome and the smith didn’t get him anymore. Ten more strikes for every minute he was late had taught him to be there early.

Am I late? His thoughts scrambled as he rushed to put on his shoes. The door opened but it wasn’t Harthome out there. It was Indra, the necromancer. Their training sessions had been reduced to once a week, his aptitude and interest for necromancy low at best.

“Good you’re dressed already. We’re going out today. To the city.” The mage said, looking tired despite the early hours.

Maybe he doesn’t need to sleep… like granpa Bones. “Right now?”

The mage nodded, Eyn falling in behind him. “I hear your training is going well. Have you thought about your second class yet?”

Eyn hesitated. It was the question that didn’t let him sleep at night, ignored as best as possible not to get his gears moving. There was so much to learn yet and the possibilities were endless. “I haven’t decided yet…,” Their steps resounded through the tunnels before Indra opened a door to a section he hadn’t ever seen. Uneven steps led upwards into the darkness.

“Hmm… well you have several interesting teachers here. I would suggest necromancy of course. Having undead humans or monsters fight for you while you use your mind magic could be devastating.” The man suggested, moving the candle holder in his hand forward to illuminate the steps. “Of course learning about dark magic from Walter or Harthome can be beneficial too but you don’t strike me as a hands on type of fighter. More a magical tinkerer like me.” He laughed and breathed heavily when they reached the top of the stairs. Eyn wasn’t out of breath, confusion apparent on his face.

What is his Endurance stat? He didn’t dare insult the powerful necromancer. “Is dark magic really hands on?” He had heard little about it, Harthome talking about using it during smithing while Walter mentioned ranged magical attacks.

“Oh yes it is. There are ranged varieties but you wouldn’t call an archer not hands on would you?” The man said and held a finger to his mouth when they reached an exit. The wooden door creaked when it was opened. Eyn held his breath and followed the man out. They were in a natural cave now, Indra activating a rune near the door that made it blend in with the stone, nearly invisible in the pale light of the candle.

The two walked through several caverns before coming up on a wall of stone, a hidden crack pointed out by Indra, leading them out. Eyn opened his eyes wide when he smelled the nature, trees and earth. Apparently he had lost his sense of time. It wasn’t morning at all. The moons shined down on them, one of them partially hidden by clouds. It was not the brightest of nights. Indra set the pace, walking into the forest quickly after checking their surroundings. Eyn followed close behind, trying to be as quiet as possible. He knew about the beasts roaming the wilderness. Some had even strolled through their village at night, thick doors and stone houses keeping people safe most of the time. Torchlight and a couple guards helped as well to deter wild animals and monsters in the area from attacking, in bigger numbers at least.

He had learned from Lucia that his village was situated between Riverwatch and the Kingdom of Kroll, being part of the latter. A lot of adventurers traveled the road to the west and the forests around them were training grounds for many of them. Still, every night his father had barricaded the windows and door to their small house, keeping Eyn’s mother close and his sword closer.

Indra stopped and lifted a bunch of large cloth from the wagon hidden beneath. It was filled with ore, likely mined by Neeto. Eyn additionally spotted a crate filled with bottles, Walter’s Ale probably. Eyn shifted his view to Indra when he felt the magic. It gathered around the man and flowed around him, getting closer and closer to his body before it rushed into the ground before him. Eyn took a step back when the skull of a horse suddenly punched out of the soft earth.

“There you go, in one piece today!” Indra said a little too loud, looking around to see if he had alerted anything. “How’ve you been Molly?” The undead animal didn’t react in the slightest when he pet its bony head. Metal chains ending in hooks were put between the horse’s ribs and connected to the wagon. Another small push of magic made the animal move, Indra walking beside it. “Come on boy. I’m afraid we can’t ride it.”

Eyn smiled apprehensively and rushed to the man’s side, glancing at the undead horse pulling the heavy cart. Two wooden wheels lined with metal fought against the uneven terrain. He didn’t know if they would even reach a road but at least Indra seemed to know where to walk not to get caught in between trees.

The clouds thickened but no rains interrupted their travel, the two lone figures soon reaching a road that led to Riverwatch. “You could also learn about enchantments from Lucia.” The necromancer suggested after a while of silence. Eyn was getting thirsty, annoyed that he had forgotten to pack something. He just nodded at the suggestion but barely listening. The winds rushing through rustled the leafs above, making the boy look up quickly. “You are quite apprehensive. Is this the first time you’re out at night?”

Eyn looked at him and shook his head, “I’ve been out at night before…,”

Indra smiled and looked forward again, “I mean out in the wilderness.” This time he didn’t respond. “It’s a weird feeling isn’t it? I dislike it.” The mage finished and made the horse walk a little faster.

Is he scared too? Eyn asked himself. It was more dangerous in the wild at night, everybody knew that. Even traveling by day wasn’t safe. “Why are we traveling by night master Indra?”

The man glanced his way, “Necromancers. Mind mages, a dark magic smith, a skeleton and now even a demon.” He said and shook his head, “You must understand that none of that magic is welcome among humans, at least not with most of them.”

Eyn didn’t understand. He had lived with them for a month now and they were much nicer and smarter than anybody in his village had ever been. They hurt me because of my magic. He had never understood. Something had clicked in his mind a couple years ago when he was playing with one of the wild cats that roamed around. The animal had clawed at him suddenly and rushed away. It was the first time he had done something with his mind. He hadn’t gotten a class yet but it felt right to him, to experiment further and see where it would lead.

Eyn had always been bad with chopping wood, with fighting, cooking and even helping out in the inn. When he showed his newfound talent to his friends and parents it had changed everything. He thought they were angry at him for not being good at any of the other things, to go to the city and become a capable smith, warrior, guard or anything else that would benefit the village. “Why?”

The simple question nearly made Indra trip, the mage looking at the boy with a thoughtful expression. “That is not an easy question to answer. You are a mind mage. When you’re stronger you’ll be able to attack someone’s head directly, with unseen magic. I think an ability like that can be scary to people.”

“But I’ve seen people move fire in their hands, capable of burning whole trees down in minutes. An adventurer I once saw could cut through a small tree with a single swing of his ax!”

Indra nodded, “That is scary on its own, I agree. People know those things. People know swords, fire and water. They don’t know dark magic, fear it because it’s a strong force on its own, hard to control. Mind mages are supposedly used to torture people in the bigger cities. They are part of special military forces, at least I believe that to be the case. Necromancers like myself need corpses to use our magic, at least some of the spells. And demons… don’t ever mention demons my boy. Some rare ones have even come this far, killing whole groups of adventurers or merchants on the road.”

Eyn shook his head. Weavy would never do that…

“Not all of them are the same. Your master is reasonable and as much as he irritates me, he is a capable mage. Don’t tell him I said that. Most demons are wild and unpredictable, predators and killers without a shred of thought inside their heads.”

“Just like we are not all the same. You see, if everyone in Riverwatch would hate and fear our magic then how do you think we could sell all this?” He asked, gesturing at the wagon.

We could send someone else maybe? Eyn thought, identifying the man.

[Necromancer – lvl ??]