“I travelled to the lands west of the Eternal City of Cirran where once a proud elven civilisation thrived. I strode throughout their majestic cities, saw the magic they could perform. Yet, for their thirst of power unsated, they reached for beings that twisted and reshaped them. Now, on lands wretched, only a handful of cities still remain, as their descendants continue endless fighting.”

- Traveller’s Endless Journeys

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**Gerard** .

Gerard raised his wooden axe and said “Then I’m coming!” closing distance to his son.

As many times earlier, Ion created three illusory images of himself and all of them started casting. He attacked one of the figures, which shattered as soon as his axe touched it. He continued with his weapon and attempted to hit the second figure, around which suddenly formed a glowing transparent barrier that blocked his strike.

Ion and his illusions pointed their fingers towards him and black beams of energy hit him before he had any chance to dodge, immediately draining his strength, making his armour feel heavy. Gerard retaliated, but slower now, shattering the illusion on the first strike, but his next was caught by the spear’s shaft.

The axeman staggered, as his son hit him with two Magic Missiles, following them by a spear thrust that he easily dodged. Gerard attempted to use Ion’s overextended position to score a clean hit, only to be stopped again by a barrier.

Another two magical darts hit him. He swiped once more, only to shatter the last of illusory images.

**Ion**

Ion casted Scorching Ray – a spell with which he burned himself long ago – yet the single fiery ray he has created had only a small effect on his father. Ion deflected some of his father strikes using his spear – thanks to draining his strength, he had at least a chance to compete with him in melee.

Another two Magic Missiles followed.

Gerard seemed to be visibly bruised now, even bleeding from some wounds, yet that didn’t seem to stop him. Ion casted another Scorching Ray and this time the spell was more effective – he could see parts of Gerard’s face badly burnt, traces of pain clearly visible.

The warrior shouted furiously and charged once again, forcing Ion to use Shield in an attempt to stop the strike. When warrior's axe connected with the barrier, the young wizard could feel his father pouring mana into the attack, shattering his shield and hitting him in the trunk, sending him on the ground and forcing air out of his lungs.

“You did well son, get up and we will try again,” Gerard said.

“C’mon old man, you know that I have to rest for some time to be able to cast again. You better go and grab some potion or look for a cleric in meanwhile,” Ion answered. He tried to not show it but was concerned a bit, seeing burns and blisters on his father's skin.

However, deep down, he knew that his father's wound only looked scary, and most of them were only superficial.

Ion still lacked the firepower to compete with his father. Gerard might not look like that, but was really tough; when Ion sparred against other soldiers rarely most of them was deciding yield after fourth Magic Missile cast. And they weren’t able to resist Fear like his father did when he still tried to use it against him in their first duels.

Against him, Enfeeblement was more useful. It not only reduced strength behind his blows but also made him more affected by the weight of his armour, effectively slowing him down. However, even with his strength reduced and wielding a training weapon, Gerard’s strength was something Ion was afraid; he wouldn’t want to ever face him equipped with his new enchanted axe...

“I’m afraid I won’t have time later today, so let’s train tomorrow again then,” Gerard answered applying some ointment on his burns and went to take care of his duties sipping a healing potion on the way.

Gerard could only take so much time to have a break nowadays.

“Pff…and you call yourself a wizard? You can’t even properly cast Magic Missile,” Ion heard an arrogant voice of a thirteen years old boy who was also a 1st circle wizard. The youth turned away and left training area. He was the duke's 3rd son and he seemed to have watched Ion's spar.

‘What problems does this arrogant bastard have with my spells?’ Ion thought not for the first time, ‘A pathetic, little child who looks down on others just because he is a noble… I'd like to see him trying to fight against my father...’

“Boy, who taught you your spells?” Ion saw a man, looking about thirty years old, clad in a wizard’s gown approaching him. He never saw him before.

‘It seems like my daily training with Gerard had an unusual amount of spectators today.’

“No one really… I learned most of what I know by myself,” Ion replied – recreating spells from dreams counted as self-study after all – before adding in thoughts, ‘And why is that guy calling me a boy, I’m sixteen already!’

”Ah, that explains everything. You see, some of your spells seem to be a little bit… unrefined. Like your Magic Missile or Scorching Ray. Everyone taught how to cast Magic Missile, as soon as he remembers the spell pattern correctly, is able to create at least three darts, more if he is willing to put larger amounts of mana into it. It’s the same for Scorching Ray…”

“But the first time when I casted it, I could only force a single Magic Missile trough one of my fingers, it was only after long training when I managed to cast them from both fingers at once…” Ion was sceptical. Why would Vision-he use defective spells, if commonly known methods were better?

“Fingers? Then that’s where your problems come from, look,” the mage said, and after a short phrase, a small glowing ball appeared on his hand, to be split into three shining darts that flew onto a training dummy at the end of the training grounds. “That’s at the lowest energy output. A spell pattern is designed in the way that any less than three would make it unstable. But it allows for a larger power output” He casted again, and now eight Magic Missiles flew from his hand, shredding a dummy into a pieces.

“On the contrary, your approach in casting Enfeeblement seems interesting enough to further investigate it. Would you be willing to trade your spell model in exchange for Magic Missile and Scorching Ray patterns?”

Ion was hesitant. Even if thanks to this wizard’s offer he would be able to improve his spells, it sounded like he was willing to offer him only a common knowledge, for something he deemed quite rare.

“By the way, could you tell me who are you, sir wizard?” Ion asked, trying to gain some time.

“I am Archibald, a High Enchanter from Velho Sovgrat.”

Ion's face showed a delight when he heard his words. A 'High Wizard' was a title commonly used to describe wizards capable of casting spells of a 6th and 7th circle of the school they were most proficient with. He could imagine what spells of that level could do.

The man he was talking with might be one of the most powerful wizards in the Rikse Kingdom.

“Velho Sovgrat? So you are from Earthen Call?” Ion remembered that guild from one of the books.

“Oh, it seems as if you spent some time researching about the world, it’s a good trait for a wizard. Well, our headquarters are located in that city and I lived there for a long time. We just teleported from there today and tomorrow we will be leaving towards Isvaarheim.”

“Couldn’t you just teleport all the way there then?” Ion blurted.

“Haha, that’s what common folk believes wizards could do on a whim, but in fact, a teleportation is quite limited; distance, energy supplied, mass teleported, need of a prepared receiving circle but most importantly leylines and their current position. If you are determined in your study and make it to the higher circles, you will surely learn about this someday… so, what about our trade?” Archibald returned to the main topic.

“As you see I’m just an aspiring wizard, but maybe such a master of Enchantment School could also give me some hints on Hold Person spell?” Ion decided to bargain for something more.

****

As it turned out, Archibald was really interested in Ion's spell. The wizard was willing to prolong his stay in Windhelm by a few days so that Ion could learn the basics of the art of preparing spellscrolls; contrary to what Ion had believed, copying each other spells wasn't an easy task.

Ion was baffled when he studied the spells he had learned from Archibald. Due to different arrangements and some differences in sigils those spells used mana differently. He could now create three Missiles on his palm, or even four when putting more energy, but each of them felt… a little bit weaker than a version from his dreams. It was even more noticeable with Scorching Ray; comparing to his old one, the three rays he formed with ease using a new pattern where much colder, yet their combined strength was higher. Because of that, and the feeling that his new spells were using energy more efficiently, he decided to research more on this topic.

After they concluded trade, Archibald was also willing to tell him more about his guild, convincing him to visit them in Earthen Call one day. Even if Ion wasn’t going to join Velho Sovgrat - things he saw in visions made him reluctant to join such an organisation now and be forced to follow its hierarchy - he still believed that going to that city after getting enough gold could be a good idea. It was partially because a second guild which had their headquarters there, T’ovenaar’s Warden, was known as the best artificers in Rikse.

****

Soon before his father left with the army again and also during the next months, Ion spent large amounts of time arguing with his family.

He wished to leave the town and travel around. See places like Cirran, one of the oldest cities known in the world. Visit Aethera University, which was said to be second in the magical knowledge only to the Xiria Magocracy. On his way there he wanted to uncover forgotten spells and artifacts from ruins – maybe even visit the Arcane Wastelands should he consider himself strong enough. He wanted to work as a mercenary mage to earn enough money to buy himself few enchanted items or even try to find someone willing to help him recreate the focus he recently often saw in his dreams... Yet his uncles were firmly against those ideas. On the other hand, his father, while still sceptical, suggested that if he really likes to, it might be better for him to join the army as a mage.

Ion considered Gerard's suggestion for a time, as being a wizard in the military would probably grant him few merits, but he eventually decided against it. Even if Rikse would support his growth, the kingdom would surely try to shape him in the way they would deem most useful for itself. He would not only have to follow a strict chain of command but also become aware of various political nuances that he had no wish to learn about. Moreover, anything he could gain from military, he would surely need to somehow repay in the future.

Finally, joining an army would not help Ion in a goal he deemed the most important – uncovering reasons behind his visions.

So far he was unable to find anything. He couldn’t recall any names that were spoken in his dreams. He even tried to refer to various books, searched about the architecture in hopes of being able to fit the cities he saw into the style of some country, but to no avail. Even the language he believed he learned from them wasn't recognised by any of the scholars; some even told him that he made it up.

Sometimes Ion wondered, maybe in his dreams he was not seeing his future, but someone's past? Yet he saw no records of events spoken in his visions; so either it happened in a land far away or many centuries ago. But whenever he saw the cities, they were far more advanced, with magic sprawling throughout the streets…could it really be the past, all that knowledge seemingly forgotten today?

This was another reason why Ion wished to travel and search for ruins; to find clues. Maybe he was just seeing the famous Cirran or some places in the Xiria Magocracy? Maybe during travels, he stumbles upon a nation or a guild that is still using ‘unrefined’ spells, or finds someone who would be able to recognise the patterns of runes on the focus he was seeing in the dreams and give him some hints?

After long discussions, they finally reached an agreement. Ion would still wait for almost a year with his travels until he reaches seventeen. Gerard also promised, that during this time he would be able to save some gold and use it to buy some items that would help Ion during his future travels.

****

“Shh… It’s in a cave over there,” said a youth clad in a camouflaging leather armour, a bow in his hands.

It was Ryan, Ion’s friend since they began training with guards years ago. Ryan dreamed of becoming a ranger and joining an army. A few months ago he asked Ion to go train with him in the forest and since that time they worked together many times.

Ion considered it as a great opportunity to get used to some travelling hardships and gain a real battle experience. Also, with so many soldiers on the front lines, people willing to cull the population of beasts and keep them out of inhabited areas were paid quite well, so Ion was able to better prepare for his travel expenses. For which he would be finally leaving at the end of next week; he already did most of the bureaucratic stuff concerning travel permits. It took almost three weeks.

Today, after three days of tracking, they found a cave of an owlbear which was apparently a culprit behind recent troubles with nearby farmers' livestock.

Ryan silently prepared a trap just outside of the cave, then nodded to Ion, who already casted Arcane Armour and Darkvision on himself. He could now see a huge monster sleeping a few meters into the shallow cave. The young wizard casted Illusory Image on himself, just in case he would need more defence when they start fighting with the animal. Then he murmured a short incantation and sent three Scorching Rays into the cave, quickly after them preparing another spell – Web.

An angry screech answered as the beast awoke, some of its feathers and fur flaming. The creature looked around for a moment, surprised, a serrated beak visible on its owl-like head. Before the monster could leave its cave, it was greeted with two arrows from Ryan’s bow. It tried to charge out of the cave, yet was stuck in the web which suddenly appeared on the cave entrance.

During times he spent hunting with Ryan, Ion found out that, at least for now, his magic was best used for restraining foes and limiting their strength, not directly attacking.

Before the owlbear could free itself, he was hit by two arrows again. When the beast broke loose, Ion released another spell - Slippery Ground, conjuring a greasy substance in the way of the charging monster. The beast fell prone. When more arrows hit it, the enraged animal moved forward recklessly only to stumble into the prepared trap, which crippled and slowed its advance. Few seconds and arrows later, this time assisted with some Magic Missiles and Scorching Rays the creature died.

“Well, that was quite easy,” Ryan said as they approached a corpse.

“I wonder, why it started to hunt so close to the villages?” Ion asked.

Before he got an answer, something pounced on him. Flat-footed Ion was only able to instinctively cover himself with Shield spell as a small – by the standards of owlbears – monster tried to peak his guts out. Two beasts quickly got rid of his illusions, when a third attacked Ryan, who abandoned his bow and drew a sword.

Ion used his spear to divert the attention of beasts surrounding him and sent Magic Missiles towards the first of owlbears. Claws answered, this time getting past his barrier and gnashing his chest.

Ion winced in pain.

With the young wizard's chant, his left hand began seeping unnatural shadows. He felt a surge of energy coming into him when he touched the beast, which collapsed as his wounds healed.

It was the first and only 3rd circle spell he was able to use - Vampiric Touch. So even if he was still a 2nd circle wizard, he could also be called a 3rd circle…Necromancer, as it was so far the only school of which he could use spells of that circle. Ion disliked this label – it’s not as if he suddenly decided to go around raising corpses everywhere…

Now, faced with a single enemy, he managed to easily take it down with Scorching Ray and two casts of Magic Missiles.

“I knew we had it too easy with the big one,” Ryan commented as he finished his enemy, and healed their wounds with some nature magic.

Ion tried to learn that spell for quite a long time, yet his friend wasn’t able to explain it to him in a way he could understand; seems like the magic used by rangers and druids is really different.

“Now let’s harvest some feathers, I heard that alchemists are paying well for them…” Ryan eagerly started to work on the carcasses, while Ion began meditating to regain mana faster. Just in case something decides to attack them again.

****

They spent quite a lot of time to skin the owlbears. Also, to make it possible to take all the stuff with them, Ion needed to prepare a spell, Floating Disk, which took him some time to cast. And it was a pain in the ass to navigate it between trees so their travel speed slowed down.

As the day was drawing to close, they decided to set up a camp in a clearing. For today’s dinner – owlbear’s meat.

Ion started to set Alarm spell around their newly formed camp while Ryan was preparing food.

Suddenly Ion heard voices coming from nearby. He quickly sent Message to Ryan, crouched near a tree and concealed himself with Minor Illusion cantrip.