“Madam Elf, are you a vegan?” I asked with a mouthful of food.
“Cohen! She has a name, and you know it.” Mother gave me a dissatisfied look, “and you are not talking while eating, that’s rude.”
I groaned as she stucked my head, grabbed a glass of water and emptied my mouth, “They are tough to pronounce! Mr Winged-man name is particularly hard for me…”
“Never mind that, auntie will do just fine.” Madam Elf combed my hair, “Really rare, black hair. How pretty.”
“Her Elf Majesty…” Mr. Wing’s hippie face looked just like his son, “Are you sure pretty is the right word for a boy?”
“Well, of course, Steven got that specialty look from you. Can’t you stop that silly face?” Mr. Dwarf’s voice is just as loud as uncle Maiza.
“Enough, you two quit picking on each other.” Windsor’s father swinged his wine glass, “Cohen, my name is short, just call me Earl.
“Some earl! You’re nothing more than a dummy mage guy!” Mr. Wing laughed, “my magic will beat your ass!”
“Yup!” Mr. Dwarf held up his fists, “I’ll cut you off with my axe!”
“Will you?” Uncle Earl said casually, “As long as you are fast enough.”
“You know, we have kids around here,” Mr. Sandman, who’s been silent from the beginning, said, “Stop arguing, for god sake.”
“Oh, Cohen, you don’t have any magic, do you?” Auntie Elf cut in, “Let me take a look, is that alright?”
“Sure,” Mother gladly answer, “with her majesty’s help, we can definitely find the reason!”
“Excellent, anything relating to magic, her elf majesty is professional.” Father nodded.
“Thank you! Aunt Elf!”
“Cohen, relax.” auntie elf put her hands on mine, “There will be no pain.”
I could feel a pleasure trace of coldness extending from her hands. Is that magic?
The cold slowly went through my arm, then became weaker when it turned and passed my shoulder. And it disappeared before it could barely reached my chest.
“Curious,” She frowned, “Cohen, let me try from the other end.”
“Sure.” I said.
Then her blonde finger tipped between my eyes. This time the magic felt like threads! They flown and spinned everywhere in my brain as streams. Finally they all gathered within a place as big as a infant fist, then they got bypassed and went down to my chest again.
“Curiouser and curiouser!” Auntie Elf put back her finger, and spoke to mother, “The magic currents I sent in were not rejected by his body. And I’ve altered the elements and retried. All of them dissipated without exception, which countered my expectation, that they would gather somewhere. There was a place in particular, my magic was hindered there.”
“Is that where the problem is?” Father asked anxiously, “Which part is it?”
“Right here,” Auntie Elf pointed at my forehead, “Somewhere behind here.”
“Can you fix it?” Mother asked, “Is there any chance Cohen could learn magic?”
“I can’t say anything for now,” Auntie Elf thought, “Considering his current condition, I would suggest teaching him theories on magic.”
“So be it!” Mr. Earl said, “We still have a few days to kill, we’ll take care of him.”
“Good idea!” Mr. Wing added, “I’ve got some magical tricks for you as well.”
“Your stuff…”
“What is it?”
“I’ll laugh about it…”
“What! Inlighten me! Ass face!”
“Yeah, my axe’ll kill you!”
“Guys… there are kids around here...please.”
A torch of flame was dancing on the palm of my untie elf. And I watched it contracted and expanded astonishingly. Then it turned bigger than my head and shot.
“The use of spells, there are two aspects.” Madam Elf offered her smile, “First, the level of your meditation. The higher the level, the greater power it will be. Meditation will determine your spells are powerless or strong. Like when I was dealing with fire, the lowest lighting spells will takes an ordinary person a few months. Then the mighty Diablo Wrath is followed by the medium fireball. The question is why it takes some mages their lifetime to become a aremage?”
“Not that I’m denying their hard work, then comes the second aspect, the understanding of magic.”
“Understanding?” There was subtle things came to my mind.
“Yup.” Madam Elf looked at me gentle, “Your understanding on magic is crucial. A person, no matter how great his magic is, he need to practice the spells. Like the previous fireball, people with less knowledge of it will launch it after the chanting. Then he chants again to prepare his next spell, whereas a person with greater understanding, he will hold the ball until it charges to the right size, then release it. Afterwards, he still has his mind controlling the fireball on its flying path. This way, there is greater chance hitting the target. Compared with using spells blindly, this way will save on your mana, and virtually increase its power. Sure, one is free to do so on all element spells. An excellent mage will have to learn to calm.
“Magic, is not perfect!” Mr. Wing looked serious instead of funny, “Magic one end, physical is to the other end, some guys could ignore magic attack, and there are people who’s able to defend physical thread. Then what’s the solution?”
“There is a solution! You know, spears and shields co-exist harmoniously in this world. Knowing this, you need to think your ass. The way is to combine the two! Like this! Look at that tree!”
He spread his wings like a whirlwind and float into the sky. Then he started to murmur while took the bow behind his back. Bowstring drawn like a full moon. White light began to appear on the tip of the arrow. Then he shot, the distant tree shook twice, then returned silence.
“Wicked! Right on target!” I yelled excitedly. Mother taught me about politeness.
“That’s good, very precise!” Uncle Earl who was standing with Madam Elf said, “We saw that, very precise indeed!”
“You!” Mr. Wing’s face redden while he saw Madam Elf was chuckling. He flashed down then grabbed me towards the tree.
“Take a good look at it!” Mr. Wing put me down, “Is it that simple?”
I examined the tree. While it was standing straight, the trunk was blasted into piece and sealed in the ice.
Gosh, an arrow can do that?
“Did I make myself clear?” Mr. Wing said proudly, “The power of combination! Arrow destroy the target, magic seals it. One can only fend one.”
“OK… loud and clear! I’m very well impressed!!” I admitted I have to copy Steven’s hippie face.
“Well, magic…” Mr. Earl was slow and laid-back as always, “... magic is very picky on its user.”
“Spells are art!” Glanced at Mr. Wing, Earl continued, “The importance lies in precise aiming and smart hiding.
“If you understand what I said, you need to observe your opponent carefully, and look for his weakness. Correctly evaluate his strength and decide which spell to use. What’s next, take advantage of any objects conceal your present then narrow your appropriate distance. Finally you are ready to release the spells.
“To release your spell, slowly… gently… finish your chant, without being heard…” Mr. Earl quietly slide his fingers in the air, “Shield its light, care your spell like a lover… and release it without hesitation.”
His arm waved around, and continued, “In most cases, acting as I said, your spells will not be dodged. In some instance, like being scouted, or having an enemy without shame, then you need to run away. Hell, we are mages, not warriors. Don’t underestimate running. You need to learn to run, keep your distance and prepare for your next spell. Avoid incoming strikes while keep troubling them with, let’s say you tusks, or anything puzzling, until beaten down!”
Glimpsed at me, Mr. Earl asked, “So much for now, do I make myself clear?”
“Cohen get them all except for one thing!” I said.
“Good job, ask questions, what is it?” Mr. Earl looked quite delightful, “Say it, let me enlighten you.”
“I don’t understand, what is a lover?”
“Oh yeah! Same question here!” Mr. Wing laughed out loudly, “Please enlighten me, Earl!”
“That… this question… where’s my wine…”
“But what is a lover…”
“Let’s have some delicious wine, your Uncle Earl is tired… let’s pick it up tomorrow…”
“But…”
“Go and check out over there, Cohen. Mr. Dwarf is showing off his martial arts!”
“Alright.”
Diablo wrath, a top class, wide range fire spell.
Archmage, level of the mage classification. Levels of mage are Stage Mage, Junior Mage, Arch Mage, Sorcerer. Due to the difficulty, most people were halted at Stage level for life.