Jehundik Vanyik
First Circle Apprentice of the Bronze Tower
Physical Traits:
Healthy
Well Fed
Well Rested
Fit
Uninjured
Skills:
Local Folklore: +5
Woodsmanship: +4
Herbalism: +4
Archery: +3
Spear Fighting: +2
First Aid: +2
Gardening: +2
Possessions:
Sturdy Hunting Bow
Thick Fur Cloak
Sharp Steel Knife
Well-Made Blade-Headed Shortspear
Tarnished Magical Copper Armband
Bronze Necklace
Worn Boots
Aged Iron Cap
Several sets of Woodsman's Clothes (including leather belt and cotton trousers and shirt.)
Belted waterskin (full, holding a litre and a half of water)
Linen Robe
Hip Quiver (Full)
-Twenty-three ash-tipped arrows.
A Satchel (Full)
-Extra Bowstrings
-flint
-a whetstone
-Twenty five feet of straw rope.
-small empty pouch
-depleted supply of leaf wrapped tea herbs
-fine foreign wine (full)
-ten silver coins (an eye on one side, a shattered spear on the other)
-one copper coin (a pointing hand on one side, a shattered spear on the other)
-Set of Herbalists Tools (Including mortar, pestle, and small blades capable of precisely hooking or cutting under good lighting.)
Rat Sack (empty)
You continue your academic studies into a variety of subjects. The library has a rather diverse collection of books on herbalism, and so your studies into that field meets with no shortage of material. In fact, the material is so prolific that over the course of the next week most of your time on the subject is spent simply on assembling a list of books for future reading, and reading a few brief excerpts of each to get a grasp of what might be found where. As you had previously surmised it's not hard to track down books on magical theory for the disciplines of Fire and Light. At their lowest levels both disciplines are fairly straightforward, fire magic being used for heat and of course... fire, from balls of it to great fields and walls of flame, and with light being used to brighten areas and sustain plants indoors. Intermediary practitioners of both arts however begin to learn different, less obvious applications. Seeing as the texts you have available are for beginners they arn't terribly clear or specific, but advanced fire mages can curse their enemies, and possess powers with themes of consumption and desolation. Advanced Light mages can abjure illusions, see far off places, and some even possess a technique that allows them to focus light into a potent blade of energy. Your practical studies are still greatly limited, and you are allowed only to bring a single book to your room at a time for that practice. It is however pointed out to you that there are a great many completely empty rooms if you wish to practice without fear of destroying anything.
You do not limit your studies to that which is most available however, you also do what you can to learn about other disciplines of study. Included within the library are texts on other basic magical disciplines, such as the illusory school of shadow magic, the northerner's "mist" magic used to bend water and air, the magic of earth and stone used primarily by the old empires to build, and the Plant based magic of the local swamp people, apparently held in disregard.There is also the field of enchantment, while it is it's own skill-set enchantment relies on other fields of magic for it's effects, and alchemy too behaves in a similar way, though the use of magical herbs is sufficient for many alchemical mixtures. The resources on alternative schools of magic within the library are frustratingly limited, and you are sure there is a great deal more out there for you to learn, there also seem to be implications that these are only some of the most basic kinds of magic, that there are other arts too difficult for the uninitiated. In these alternate books are mentions of the "Shadow Towers", apparently a collection of subterranean mages, and the "Storm Keep" where mist mages learn their discipline.
Your Archery practice fairs better than last week's, though you are beaten handily in sparring by most of your opponents. You suppose if you keep it up the challenge of combat against real fighters will prove good for honing your edge.
You continue to focus your efforts on learning more about your potential masters during the time you set aside to socialize, particularly spending time with their current apprentices. Suafelta apparently has her three apprentices focus mostly on helping her with her research, which currently is focused on magical plantlife. She's a diligent teacher, but demanding of the time of her apprentices, though the assistance they render her gives them incidental limited access to texts they wouldn't otherwise be able to find in the first floor library. Baleckar is the opposite in many ways, rendering only whatever tutoring he's asked for, but also demanding little time of his four apprentices. He has his apprentices run errands for him however, delivering messages, and fetching supplies mostly, and this means his apprentices are in ideal positions to "overhear" things and make connections with a diverse array of people. Viskesha's two apprentices are mostly tightlipped about what working for her is like, at least at first, after your initial questioning they begin to drop hints that working with Viskesha is profitable in a number of ways, most particularly when it comes to the acquisition of knowledge both mundane and magical. Masik apparently focuses his tutoring of his apprentices on practical matters, and expects them to accompany him on "field missions" when he represents the interests of the tower. He does make sure his apprentices are well funded however, whatever they need for basic equipment and research materials is well provided for.
You havn't made up your mind yet on who you will seek out as a master, but Suafelta and Baleckar at least you seek out to talk with about what they have to offer.
When you arrange a meeting with Suafelta she strikes you as a somewhat dour, tired person, though not exactly unfriendly. She's very straight to the point and no-nonsense, explaining that under her you would receive competent training in both disciplines of Fire and Light, in addition to getting as well as access to many of the resources used for her own study. She adds that she is currently studying Alchemy and plant based Biomancy, an advanced discipline involving the manipulation of living matter. As such she's interested in you as an apprentice partially due to your current skill set, as she does not currently have anyone she can trust to seek out the intriguing magical plant-life of the nearby swamps.
Baleckar is much more relaxed when you meet with him, while he's mostly human in appearance his slight oddities in look serve only to give him an exotic sort of handsomeness. As a gift he offers you a rather expensive bottle of wine, though he warns you against getting caught drinking any of it in the Tower. He tells you that he considers his apprentices allies rather than merely tools to be used of, and that if you serve under him he will never try to strongarm you into doing anything you do not want to. He would rather think of any relationship between the two of you as colleagues doing favours for one another rather than superior and inferior respectively. He asserts that as long as the relationship between the two of you remains mutually beneficial he's willing to entertain any future favours you might have to ask of him, whether tutoring or putting in a good word for you with someone who you would like a similarly beneficial relationship with.
You have yet more time to dally with the finalities of your decision, whether to seek out information, attempt to curry favour or to attempt to gain something from the attentions of those attempting to court your apprenticeship.
Author
Topic: Seeker of Spellcraft (SG) (Read 50202 times)