(Jason, 16)

There are two types of dragons in the world. The first are red dragons. Those are the kind which are prone to anger and simply razing everything. Black dragons are generally calmer and more likely to demand tribute first, allowing lesser life forms a chance at supplying them and worshiping them before causing destruction, only doing so if the tributes are met. Red dragons generally don't demand tribute, instead simply taking whatever they want, be it livestock, gold, jewels, or people. A few red dragons want tribute, but most just steal.

The reason black dragons demand tribute instead of going straight to theft and destruction is because they are lazy. If they can avoid doing stuff, they will. However, setting up camp in their territory, even if they only just moved into it, is generally a bad idea unless one wants a personal visit from them.

That said…

"That's just Steven," I tell Niko. "He'll blow a fireball at us. Once he does, throw your best attack at him."

"Are you mad?" Niko asks. "You really want to stay here while a black dragon is here? And what do you mean, he's going to attack us?"

"He will," I look in the direction the dragon is coming from. "He lives on the mountains in the distance and I haven't paid his tribute demand, so he'll blow a warning fireball at us. Just throw an attack back at him."

"You are mad!"

"I'm not opening a gate unless you get over your fear," I say. "Not many people can say they threw an attack at a dragon and lived, either."

The large dragon stops around fifty yards from us, hovering in the air with its wings stretched out, its hindquarters hanging lower than its front legs. Makes it obvious the beast is male. Its tail moves slowly through the air, almost like a lazy snake that forgot it's floating and not on the ground. The dragon's grey eyes stare at us for several moments, then it opens its mouth as Niko drops to the ground and surrounds himself in barriers.

The dragon blows a fireball out of its mouth. It starts off only a foot in diameter, but quickly grows to ten feet. It flies well past us, missing us by almost two yards, and slams into the ground probably a hundred feet behind us, exploding as it scorches the land.

"Alright, Niko," I send a bolt of force at his barriers, shattering them all. "Your turn, strongest attack. Look, it's just floating there, waiting for you to do so."

"You are the most mad person I have ever met," he says. "Please just open a gate out of here."

Sighing, I hold my right hand out to my side, a thin spear of air forming above it, and I take a step back, aim, and then step forward, bringing my hand forward to throw the spear. It soars through the air and slams into a grey barrier that forms in front of the dragon. A small barrier large enough only to stop the spear.

Then, the dragon turns around and flies off, and Niko stares at it in shock and confusion.

"You know," I say. "The weird thing is that he doesn't usually show up if someone else is here. Maybe he just doesn't like being around the elderly? They and Uncle Zach are the only ones who've been out here before. Well, Uncle Zach isn't exactly old, but maybe Steven has a thing for younger people?"

"The weird thing," Niko looks at me. "Is the fact that you attacked a dragon and it flew off… and then acted like that was normal."

"It is normal," I tell him. "He's never actually talked to me, and we're not in his territory. He doesn't make tribute demands. First time he showed up and did that fireball thing, I freaked out, didn't think to open a gate, and hurled lightning at him. He deflected it with his barrier and flew off. It became a regular thing. Any time I'm out here alone, he shows up within a few hours and does that. I figured out that it only takes one spell from me and he leaves. I think he's bored. I call him 'Steven' because it was better than 'black dragon'. He's obviously got personality, and 'black dragon' kind of strips it away, even if it gives you a good idea of what he is."

"You regularly exchange attacks with a dragon?" Niko looks ready to faint.

"I wouldn't call it exchanging attacks," I say. "He misses on purpose, and never sends it close enough to actually burn us, even if we get uncomfortably warm. Look at Aurum – he's as calm and composed as can be. That should tell you how often this happens and how safe it is. If Steven wanted to, he could kill us all and we would never have a chance to survive unless I used a gate within moments of sighting him."

Niko takes probably five minutes to process things before he speaks again.

"Is there… anything else I should know about this place?" He asks.

"Hm," I think for a moment. "There are some trolls closer to the mountains. If you've never dealt with those before, they are tough, slow, strong, resilient, and have a high regeneration. Blasting off their head isn't necessarily enough to kill them. I once turned a troll to ash, and it still had the gall to regenerate."

"How do you kill them?" His frown tells me that he's never fought a troll before.

"Keep on wounding them until they run out of mana," I answer. "Their regeneration is an inherent part of their makeup, sort of like with a dragon's anti-gravity magic. They don't consciously use it, but it works anyway. They do have decent mana pools, but most trolls can't use magic and they don't recover it quickly enough that a proper team of Slayers would have an issue, even fighting against three or four of them. I'd say they'd be the only other thing to worry about here, besides Steven. They sometimes wander a bit close here and need either encouragement to leave or a thorough beating.""

"Encouragement to leave?" He asks.

"Yeah," I nod. "Fire is particularly effective against them, as their regeneration has a harder time working against cauterized injury. Even without having people to deal with, trolls have an innate fear of fire. Make enough of it, and they'll usually leave. I sometimes harvest their blood, it's good for certain types of healing potions."

"You use blood in healing potions?" He looks wary of me now.

"Many healing potions do," I tell him. "Most you would buy from an alchemist's shop contains blood. There's a reason there's a saying among alchemists, 'if the customer don't know what's in it, they're more likely to use it and save their life than to not and die'. It comes, quite literally, from many healing potions – especially the most potent of them – using blood as an ingredient. Any creature with a high regeneration rate you know of, it's blood can probably be used in a healing potion."

"I think I would rather stick to holy magic," he mutters, then looks at Aurum with a wary gaze. "We are not here to ride your horse all day today and tomorrow, are we?"

"No," I answer. "Actually, I wanted to teach you a little more advanced magic."

"But your advanced-"

"Separate from that," I say. "Your abilities are good, but raw and without proper training. Most of the students at the university have spent the last three years attending a magic academy. You are self-taught, and have been for years, but there are some areas you're lacking where they have education. The majority of your spells involve either basic barriers, or simple generation and manipulation of the element. To be honest, I was surprised after learning this that you were actually able to hit the targets, you probably worked hard to be able to do that."

"It was not feasible to train much more than that back home," he nods, looking ashamed.

"Nothing to be embarrassed about," I say. "Your magical power is greater than most our age, and you have a high amount of mana. Those are both pluses. In addition, your elemental control is above-average for our age, and those who attend an academy has trained it in regularly for at least two years. Those are both areas you are excellent in, Niko. It's your pool of spells that is lacking. You come from a nation of non-magicians that has dealt with other nations of non-magicians. The only way you know how to make spells is from ancient texts that may not have been entirely accurate."

"Is that bad?" He asks.

"Not if your magical is still red," I answer. "And even then, the answer is 'iffy'. Everyone's magic is unique, different. How we shape it into spells is also different. By using someone else's path, you are weakening your own magics. Magic – true magic – is an expression of ourselves. When you cast a flame to light a candle, you shape it the way the texts described to you, yes?"

"I have never done that sort of spell," he says. "That is a way to perform fire magics?"

"You can't make fire that small?" I ask, and he shakes his head. "Huh. That's one of the basic spells. You can create a firebolt?" He nods. "Do you do it the way the texts described?"

"Yes," he answers. "They gave three separate methods for shaping the mana into it."

"And you use one of them?" I ask.

"Yes."

"Do you use the incantations given by them as well?"

"Yes."

"An incantation," I say. "Is intended on assisting you in visualizing the spell. Two people generally will not use the same one. As you've seen, I don't want my training group members to use incantations, at least in the training sessions. This helps you to visualize without the aid.

"When you use someone else's incantation," I continue. "You limit yourself to those words, as whether you like it or not, the incantation does affect how you see the spell you cast. A talented enough magician can override that."

I snap my fingers and create, then send, a firebolt of ordinary – orange and yellow – flames off into the distance.

"Flames the burn hot and bright," I generate an identical firebolt. "Pierce my foes with all your might."

The firebolt shoots off into the distance.

"Identical spells," I say. "One with an incantation, one without. I am sure you have noticed that with each incantation you have used for the firebolt spell, the firebolt has come out differently. That's because you're interpreting the incantations differently, even if in minor ways. However, you won't have the full effect they had, as how they perceived the words was optimal for them, and how you perceive them is different.

"Now," I say. "When you shape your mana into the firebolt using the pattern the tomes described, does it feel like you're doing the spell wrong?"

"Yes," he nods.

"That's because," I say. "Of one of the first things magicians are taught. The rule is 'follow your instincts to shape the mana'. Casting spells is an inherent trait to humans, we have an instinct for how to shape mana into the spells we're trying to cast. The better your visualization, the better this instinct works.

"So," I gesture with my hand, and a quartet of stone training golems rise from the ground. "Hit the leftmost one with a firebolt shaped the way you normally do. Hit the left-middle with a firebolt shaped the way you normally do, with the incantation. Hit the right-middle one with a firebolt shaped by the way your instincts tell you to. Hit the rightmost one with a firebolt shaped the way your instincts tell you to as you use an incantation of your own design to visualize."

He nods, then aims at the first golem and shapes his mana into a firebolt of red and orange flames. It travels slowly, barely covering the ten feet between us and the target. Then, he moves in front of the second golem and aims.

"Bolt of flames, bolt of power, pierce through my foes with blazing might."

A slightly-stronger, slightly-faster firebolt forms and shoots towards the second golem, its splash against it barely better. Then, he moves in front of the third golem and focuses, listening to his instincts as he visualizes the spell and shapes his mana into it. This time, while it's not as big as the previous one, it's a bit faster, striking the golem with more force, its splash actually leaving behind char marks, even if only by a little bit.

Niko stares at the golem in shock.

"Now do an incantation you make up," I tell him. "To help you visualize it. Take your time if you need to."

He nods, thinking it over as he stands in front of the final golem. Then, he raises his hands and shapes his mana into a spell as performs the incantation he came up with.

"Burning hot as summer's sun, come forth, piercing bolt, and burn my foes."

Though the bolt is the same size as before, its heat is definitely a little bit hotter, based on how it's only of yellow and orange flames, and most of it's yellow. It's also shaped more like a bolt rather than a mass of flames.

Niko pushes his hands forward, and the bolt soars to the golem, slamming into it and creating a much larger splash of flames, which scorch the golem and the ground.

"Now look at the first one," I say. "And the second one… then look at the third and fourth."

"I see your point," he nods. "May I perform an inquiry about magical affinities?"

"Go ahead," I answer. "I'll see if I can answer it, and if not, we can always ask Papa Samuel."

"I could not find much on earth magics," he says. "And never anything on curse magics. Most of the spells in those texts were fire magics with some ice and water magics."

"Makes sense," I say. "Since they were from magicians living in a cold climate with lots of snow. Being able to manipulate it and make fire would be a benefit, especially since manipulating something already there – like the snow around you – only requires that stage of casting, without the need to generate first."

"When we did the testing for the university entrance exam," he says. "I tested for a high affinity for earth magics and a higher affinity for curse magics. My affinities for fire and water magics were at an acceptable level for entry as well."

"What do you think magical affinity is?"

"Your ability to use and control an element or type of magic," he answers. "The more you use a magic, the higher that affinity becomes."

"That is only one part of it," I tell him. "The other part is innate affinity. You've never used curse magics and have barely used earth magics, yet have high affinities for both. That means you have a high innate affinity for those."

"Oh," he looks depressed. "Curse magics are illegal, yes? That means I cannot use something I have a high affinity for."

"Not all curse magics are," I tell him. "And it all depends on where you are. For example, we are in the Unwild Lands. There is no law here, no governing body. You can use any magic you would like here."

Which is why some darker organizations put their bases in the Unwild Lands or in neutral zones between nations. The prefer the latter, as the Unwild Lands tend to have stronger beasts living inside, and it becomes pretty expensive to live here for most.

"That said," I say. "There is a very useful spell that combines curse and holy magic, with a touch of earth magic if you want additional power. The corpse of an ogre or corrupted beast will taint the land and the surrounding areas."

"Yes," he nods. "We always try to gather them and burn them in a contained area due to this. Even their ash will cause this tainting, which ruins what little grows where we are."

His eyes widen in horror.

"Over five hundred-"

"When I use fire against an ogre or corrupted beast," I interrupt him. "I add in a purification aspect to my flames. Their corpses will do no tainting, and nor will their ash. Not everyone can do this, however. Do you know what decomposition is?"

This is a serious question, as I have discovered that most people do not know the process, and Papa Samuel told me that only farmers and such usually do. Most just know that some animals eat the carcasses of others.

"Yes," he nods. "It is when nature breaks a corpse or dead plant down into soil, to use as the basis for new plants and life."

"Excellent," I smile. "You know the basics needed for one of the spells that curse magics can do. Using curse magics, you can decompose dead living things. This means you can break down an ogre or corrupted beast after you have slain it, accelerating the process at which it turns into soil. By adding in a certain purification element through holy magic, you can prevent it from tainting the land."

"And the earth aspect?" He asks. "You mentioned it's possible to add that in as well."

"Yes," I nod. "As you are turning it into dirt, you can combine the elements of curse and earth to strengthen this and speed it up and take less mana and require less power. The tradeoff for that is that it takes more skill with all three elements."

"Okay," he says, then inspects the golems. "What kind of magic are these?"

"Earth," I answer. "They're stone golems, though not true 'golems' as they won't move of their own accord. While they rose up from the ground, they weren't actually formed of the ground, so they didn't involve transmutation, the conversion of one thing to another. They're basically summoned stone, like most launched earth attacks. If you want to learn how to do them, we can focus on earth magics for awhile, then I can teach you."

"Okay," he nods, then yelps as Aurum nudges him from behind.

"He says 'hi'," I smile a little. "I think he wants to know if we're going riding again, he normally rides for longer."

"O-okay," Niko says as Aurum walks over to me and nudges me.

I place a hand on the horse's snout and communicate with him for a few minutes, then he walks off and I look at Niko again.

"I told him I'll ride him again in a little bit," I explain to my confused friend. "What do you want to do now? Work on magic? Eat? Something else?"

"Work on magic," he answers.

"Alright," I say. "Oh, before we continue, can I ask you a favor?"

"You may," he responds.

"Don't tell anyone about me taking you out here and giving you private lessons," I say. "I'm not referring to horse lessons, I mean the magic lessons. It can cause issues if people find out I'm teaching you in private, but there are also those issues I mentioned before."

"I will not," he dips his head. "It is embarrassing enough to be behind our classmates as the only representative of my people. Thank you for these, Jason. Please do not make others aware that I am taking private lessons."

"Of course not," I smile. "I'm just helping you out as a friend, Niko. I would rather avoid embarrassing you when possible. I'm not Jacob."

Niko snorts in response to that.

(Jacob, 16)

"What are you thinking about?" Tasha asks as we begin the first dance, and I flick my gaze over towards Niko.

"Lina and Niko," I answer. "Did you see his gift for her?"

"A comb that one could buy in any shop," she nods. "Do not tell me you believe it inappropriate, cheap, and disrespectful to buy something from a commoners' shop rather than having it made as a gift?"

"Of course not," I answer. "If a gift seems to suit a person, then why should whether it is made in multiples or made unique matter? Lina enjoyed the comb, and Niko had a good eye when he thought it suited her hair and eyes."

"So what are you thinking about it, then?" She asks, giving a look to one of the other ladies who wishes to interrupt our dance. By the time I am facing them, they have moved on. "We just began dancing, do they really wish to interrupt you and your betrothed that soon?"

"Ignore it," I tell her. "You and I will share many more dances than they could ever hope to have with me, and you would not be so offended if they were one of the many lords around here."

"Because the lords will only dance out of custom or desire to speak business," she smiles. "While most of the ladies here desire you."

"You know that despite our arrangement since we were little," I pull her a little closer. "You are the only lady I have ever had eyes for, Tasha. And to answer your other question, I was thinking over the fact that Niko gave her a gift without a special occasion. That is less common the higher one's rank is, here in Varil. Among upper nobility and royalty, such a thing would ordinarily be among siblings or children and parents, not among lovers and betrothed. We would keep it until the next occasion for a gift."

Tasha gives me a small frown, and I smile.

"I am not thinking anything bad of him, Tasha," I tell her. "It actually caused me to think about that. Where did that begin? Why did it become custom for those who could afford endless gifts to only give them on special occasions. The necklace you are wearing, I gifted to you for this dance. I had the idea to have it commissioned six months ago. Yes, granting many gifts can cheapen their overall value, but why should we only wait until there is an occasion to do it just because of that? I have seen you twice since the necklace was made where it would have looked well. Neither time was anything special, and so I had waited for the original purpose of the gift. Do we really need a reason to bestow a gift to those we love?"

Tasha smiles at me.

"Am I to assume," she says. "That this means I will find myself with an increase in gifts from now on?"

"Perhaps," I smile back. "It may be unbecoming of royalty to act as a commoner in this regard, but if I want to send you sweets, dresses, accessories, and other items simply because I saw them or thought of them, then I should be allowed to, should I not? A commoner cannot afford to waste money on frivolous things, yet they do for the ones they love.

"Tasha," I smirk when I catch another of her glares aimed at someone I cannot see. "Stop with the looks. I have a dance card, and they are not on it right now. If they approach, I will inform them of that. To insist after would be rude and disrespectful to not only myself and my current partner, but also to all those awaiting their turn."

A slot has a minimum of one minute and thirty seconds, though it is customary to never go above two minutes.

"I was not aware there was a card tonight," she tells me. "My father never mentioned it to me."

"Only royalty has cards tonight," I inform her. "And I ensured that you were first on mine. You also have two full dances, rather than a single slot."

"Alright," she smiles again. "Knowing you, Jacob, there is already a gift idea running through that scheming head of yours."

"I am not scheming right now," I let out a small laugh. "And a gift should not be simply to give a gift, but from the heart. If I have to think of a gift, then it is not from the heart. The next time inspiration for a gift hits me, I will not keep it until the occasion where it suits bestowing, unless there is reason to wait, such as for the Harvest Festival gift."

"That is only a few weeks away," she smiles. "Will there be another large party this year?"

"Papa enjoys throwing them to celebrate the harvest," I nod. "Autumnal equinox every year. There are parties all throughout Varil for it, so why should royalty be any exception? The streets will be filled with people celebrating another year of harvest and another season's bounty, gifting their prayers to the gods for another year of success."

The party here in the palace is part celebration, part masquerade, and Papa always make certain it is grand. Though it is an event for royalty and nobility, it still honors the same customs that the commoners celebrate as well.

"Now that I think about it," I say. "Jason has never had a proper Harvest Festival, has he? Perhaps we can spend some time in the city with him and Alex before the palace's celebrations?"

Thinking about Jason, the Harvest Festival, and autumn inspires in me something that I think would look incredible on Tasha, and I smile.

"What?" She asks.

"Nothing," I tell her. "Let us finish our dances, shall we? I do have a card to go through, and once it empties, we can go for a walk in the gardens."