Chapter 164: Cantrips

Stryg rolled the silver locket between his hands. Feli had picked it out for him, she said it matched his silvery hair. Stryg did not particularly share her reasoning, he simply liked how it shined under the moonlight.

Stryg opened the locket and admired the ebon coin inside. He had to admit it was not the most well-hidden of places for an expensive ebon coin, but if someone wanted to steal it they would have to rip it off his corpse.

“Stryg, eyes off the shiny necklace,” Loh tapped her foot.

“Sorry, master,” he placed the locket over his neck.

His eye caught sight of the silver bracelet on his wrist; an amethyst infixed right at the center of chain links. The bracelet was a birthday gift from Loh, it was common practice among drow magi, it symbolized the bond between a master and her apprentice.

Stryg sat up straight in his chair, “I’m ready and listening.”

“Good,” Loh nodded.

She glanced at the empty classroom she had arranged for their training session.

“Stryg, I know this can all get a little dry after a few hours of lecturing, but trust me, you’ll need to learn all of this if you ever wish to be a competent grey mage. Curse spells aren’t like ward spells, the arrangement of the arcane words are incredibly important, as is the intent.”

He raised his hand, “I get having to write the words in the correct order, but what do you mean by intent?”

“Imagine you casted red spell, a wall of wards meant to fend off against water. Now, no matter what sort of water hits that wall it will be stopped. It doesn’t matter if it was rain, a blue torrent spell, or a glass of water, the ward spell will block all of it.”

“Unless I run out of red mana or the ward is overwhelmed,” Stryg added.

“Quite right. Curses are different, say you cast a curse that stops someone from breathing entirely.”

“Can you teach me that!?” Stryg’s eyes widened.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself. You’re still a novice, not even an adept, let alone a master, which is what you’ll need to be to learn that spell.”

“So it’s just like the shadow tendrils spell,” he sighed.

“Yes, now stop interrupting,” Loh flicked his forehead. “As I was saying, imagine you cast an asphyxiation curse, how does the curse know which person to target. Unlike the ward spell that simply stops all water, the asphyxiation curse won’t attack every person.”

“Um, you throw the curse spell at them?”

“Sometimes, but that isn’t the point right now. Intent is how you target your opponent with a curse. As you write every single arcane word you have to keep in mind the exact intent of your spell and who it will target, otherwise the curse spell will simply fizzle and do nothing.”

“That seems time-consuming, difficult even, especially in the middle of battle,” Stryg noted to himself.

“Indeed. There are several spell-forms that have long cast times, wards, curses, alchemy, and of course, enchanting. In general, the more time a spell requires to cast the longer it will last. Most spells take a second to cast and fade away just as fast, like a flame bolt. Some spells, like curses and wards, can take up to a few minutes to cast, but they can also last several minutes. Whereas an enchantment can take months or even years to finish, yet an enchanted object can last for centuries under the right circumstances.”

“I still don’t see how that helps me while I’m under attack,” Stryg said doubtfully.

Loh shrugged, “Fair enough. You are already quite skilled at writing the arcane language, so I don’t think it would take you that long to write and cast a curse spell. Oftentimes grey magi will stay in the back of a battle until they can finish casting their curses. Nonetheless, grey magi found a way to be effective in battle even without preparation. Cantrips.”

“Cantrips?” Stryg cocked his head to the side.

“Yep. A cantrip is a single-word curse spell. While the effects are weaker than a regular curse, they can be cast very quickly.”

“That makes sense,” Stryg nodded. “Master… What about the opposite?”

“Hm?”

“Can we make our curses last longer if we take more time writing them?”

“That’s not usually how it works. Although, there exist a few curses that can last years.”

“Can you teach me those?” Stryg asked eagerly.

“No, they are very advanced spells, even for me.”

“Oh, I see,” his shoulders slumped.

“I can teach you the three basic cantrips right now though,” she smiled.

“Really!?” Stryg’s slit pupils went round.

“Stand up and let's begin,” she clapped.

“Yes, master!”

~~~

Stryg alternated between the three cantrips, writing each one with a deft hand. There were no live targets for the curses, so he simply had to use his imagination.

“Try the rigidity cantrip,” Loh ordered.

Stryg let the grey mana flow into the tips of his fingers and began writing the arcane word in the air. A soft glowing grey sigil slowly formed.

“Usually curses can be cast from a mid-range distance and still affect their target. Cantrips need to be cast from fairly close, once cast the curse will latch itself onto the victim.” Loh pointed to the grey sigil, “This particular cantrip stiffens the muscles of its victim. The stronger version of this curse can even freeze their muscles altogether.”

“I’m guessing I won’t be learning the stronger version.”

“You still have a long way to go,” Loh shook her head.

“I'll train harder then. I’ll become the mage you wish me to be, I won’t let you down, I promise,” Stryg swore.

“That’s what I like to hear,” she grinned. “Now, cast the vertigo cantrip.”

Stryg released the rigidity cantrip, the grey sigil faded into dust.

“I wish I could write both spells at once, I can write with both hands simultaneously you know,” he said.

“So you’ve made it very clear in your ward training, a feat that still surprises my grandfather,” Loh’s lips curled into a cocky smile. “Still, unless you can suddenly multicast, one spell will be your limit.”

“Right…” Stryg muttered.

No matter how hard he tried he always failed to multicast two spells. The moment he would start casting the second spell the first would collapse and fizzle away. The more spells one tried to cast at once the more difficult it would be, yet even casting two spells simultaneously was a feat for master magi.

So how did the red-headed dwarf Kithina manage it? He would have to ask her at some point.

Stryg finished casting the curse, “Done.”

Loh inspected the sigil from side to side, “Perfectly written, as usual. This particular cantrip is more useful when fighting an armed warrior, not a mage. The curse causes the victim to lose their sense of balance and feel as if their world is spinning. Quite useful in a sword fight, I once casted a similar curse when fighting Gale in a duel.”

“You fought Gale? Clypeus’ elder sister?” Stryg asked in surprise.

“Back in the day. She was strong, I have to admit. But what made her the most annoying was her stupid name. Gale of House Gale? Dumb aristocrats and their penchant for naming their children after their family’s founder,” Loh shook her head.

“She’s technically Gale VIII.”

“Yeah, it’s still dumb.”

“Well… did you win?”

Loh stared at her open palm, “It was a draw.”

“Oh…” Stryg had a difficult time imagining either woman losing in a battle.

“Show me the last basic cantrip,” she said.

“Right,” he nodded.

Stryg released the vertigo curse and began writing the last spell he had learned.

“I finished the needle cantrip,” he stepped back.

Loh stared at the sigil, “Well done. Honestly, your chirography is better than my own.”

“Thanks,” he mumbled.

“Now the needle cantrip is quite useless against an ordinary warrior. All the curse does is cause the opponent to feel as if a needle was stabbing their back. Most warriors would shrug off the pain and keep fighting. But that kind of surprise pain could break the concentration of a mage and cause them to miscast.”

“That seems quite useful,” he said.

Loh raised a finger, “Indeed, just remember that these curse sigils are tangible. When you cast them onto your enemy make sure to place it somewhere hard to reach, like their foot. Then push your advantage.”

“Otherwise,” Loh slashed her finger through the cantrip’s sigil. The arcane word burst into grey dust and faded away.

“I didn’t realize curses were so fragile,” Stryg frowned.

“Not all of them are, cantrips are some of the most fragile.”

A knock rang on the classroom door.

“Come in,” Loh called out.

The door swung open, a dark elf stepped inside. He was carrying a large cage.

“Good afternoon,” Vayu smiled.

Stryg bowed his head, “Good afternoon, Professor Glaz.”

“Did you bring what I asked for?” Loh asked.

“Right here,” Vayu pointed at the cage.

Inside the cage were a dozen white mice with beady red eyes. Loh grabbed the cage and placed it on one of the desks.

She gave a side glance to Vayu, “...Thanks.”

“It was my pleasure,” he smiled brightly.

“What’s all of this for?” Stryg asked.

“I thought it best if you had an actual target for your curses. I asked Vayu to grab some mice from the purple magi’s department,” Loh said.

“My department carries lots of different kinds of small animals, the students use them as practice targets for their mind spells,” Vayu said.

“I see. I’m guessing I’ll be using one of these for mind spells sooner or later, then?” Stryg asked.

“Sooner than you think,” Vayu winked.

“For today we’ll be focusing on cantrips,” Loh said.

“Cantrips? Loh, you’re teaching Stryg cantrips?” Vayu said, startled.

“They are single sigil spells,” she said lightheartedly.

“That doesn’t make them easier to cast.”

“They’re basic cantrips,” she crossed her arms.

“Even basic cantrips are considered adept ranked spells.” Vayu leaned towards Loh’s ear and whispered, “I know Stryg’s talented, but you're setting him up for disappointment.”

“I can still hear you,” Stryg said.

“Ah,” Vayu scratched the back of his head.

Stryg ignored his teachers and opened the cage.

“Careful, they might bite,” Loh raised her arm in warning.

“They’re just mice,” Stryg reached his hand inside the cage.

The mice scampered backward, one jumped forward and nibbled at his blue finger, but his skin was too tough to leave a mark. The goblin’s clawed fingers curled around the mouse and lifted it up. Stryg pulled his hand out and closed the cage. The mouse squirmed in his hand futilely.

With his other hand, Stryg began writing the rigidity cantrip. He placed the mouse on the table and casted the curse. The grey sigil shot out and snapped onto the mouse’s white fur. The rodent squealed and fell over stiff, its tail gave an odd twitch every few seconds.

“I did it,” Stryg smiled excitedly.

“Well done,” Loh patted his shoulder.

“I’ll be damned,” Vayu muttered.

Loh wrapped her arm around her apprentice and grinned, “Stryg may not be an adept yet, but I’ll shape him up to be one before the mage tourney next year. He’ll sweep the competition, I swear it.”

Stryg’s cheeks turned a shade darker. She believed in him, he wouldn’t let her down.

“Talented in both purple and grey magic. I’m starting to understand what you see in him,” Vayu smiled.

~~~

The guards at the apartment’s front gate recognized Stryg and stepped aside for him. The young goblin stretched his arms behind his back and sighed in contentment. It had been a long yet satisfying day of training. He felt like he was finally making some real progress as a prime mage; he was beginning to have a grasp over his chromatic colors.

Stryg began making his way over to the stables to see Rhian when he spotted a luxurious carriage parked at the back of the apartment building. It was strange, such carriages would usually display House crests, yet this one had none. What was even odder was that he recognized the scent of the person inside the carriage.

Stryg tilted his head, “Maeve?”