@RAM: Personal defense is nothing. We want a competent and worldly wizard, not a king who knows how to defend himself + some party tricks.
Anywhoo.
The Shaping of Something Greater: Bjorn's Journey
A Foreword
Arstotzka prides itself on its knowledge and mastery of the natural world. Thanks to the tireless efforts of our Mathemagicians, we know much about the reality that surrounds us.
A true education isn't achieved through pure study, though that is an important part. A true education is achieved through seeing in person how Arstotzkan knowledge shapes and exploits the world around us. This is why in order to reach his full potential, Bjorn must travel through Forenia. To see what we're fighting for. To see the people that'll be subject to his rule. To see our mastery of magic and reality at action, and to truly know the power of magic.
Bjorn won't just learn spells. He won't just learn some tricks. He will learn of Magic. Its raw power. How it can be used and exploited. He will be taught of the base our Kingdom shall rely on for the rest of its time. He will experience it practically, and won't just study the theoretical fireball at the academy. He won't just cast fireballs, but will know how they work.
By the end of the year, Bjorn will be ready to become something greater than anything Arstotzka has seen.
The Academy
His journey will start at the Academy, just like any other apprentice-in-training. It is here where Myark shall meet with Bjorn. Bjorn will study at the most intensive classes under our best teachers with the best possible resources all dedicated to him. Out of class, he will train and practice one-on-one with Myark.
He will learn the fundamentals behind magic - how it works. He will dive into the guts of the mechanics of Mathemagics. He will earn the process through which Crystal is summoned from the aether, and how we have refined on that process. He will learn how magic is channeled through a wizard. He will learn how circuitry operates, and how magic interacts on tiny scales. It will be through his studying at the Academy that Bjorn will truly learn how magic works. This knowledge shall form the base of the rest of his education. With a comprehensive knowledge of how magic works, Bjorn will know how to exploit it. He will be able to make informed decisions regarding any element of magic. He will be able to make the best use of his spells instead of mindlessly parroting the motions and phrases taught by teachers. If he comes across some magical phenomenon he hasn't seen before, he will be able to learn about it and easily determine what it is using his fundamental knowledge, instead of being stumped at the unknown.
Bjorn shall even visit the labs where our esteemed top Mathemagicians convene every day to come up with new types of cannons amazing and groundbreaking designs; Bjorn shall learn of the process behind our designs and how we use magic to dominate in the battlefield and to innovate everywhere else.
Throughout all this process, Myark will be there for him. He may not enjoy it, but Myark shall guide Bjorn through his time at the academy. He shall ensure that Bjorn fully understands what he learns. He will grant Bjorn supplementary knowledge that is only acquired through decades of combat experience. He will practice and train with Bjorn whenever Bjorn isn't studying under our best teachers.
Eventually, Bjorn's relatively short time at the academy will be over. Thanks to his natural intellect, the dedication of the Academy's resources and Myark to him, he will know far more about how magic works than any other apprentice.
The Falcon
It is at this point that Bjorn, accompanied by Myark, shall make his way to the battlefield. And throughout this entire time, Myark will always be helping and teaching Bjorn as well as protecting him.
But first, Bjorn is given his first Falcon. Over the course of a few days, Bjorn will be introduced and familiarized with the best available Falcon. Myark shall teach him how to command and control it. Over the course of his journey, Bjorn's falcon will always be at his side. The two will grow attuned to one another; familiar to one another.
The Falcon will truly become Bjorn's familiar by the end of the year. Bjorn will continue using this falcon for the rest of its life, and will gain valuable experience with his first familiar.
The Journey
Bjorn and Myark shall board a Crystalclad bound to a port next to the mountains. Over the course of Bjorn's trip on the seas, Myark shall teach him the most important spell known to Arstotzka: The Fireball.
Bjorn will practice with the use of the Fireball and its variants with Myark. He will observe the operations of the steam cannons and steam engines aboard the Crystalclad. He will become familiar with the importance of the Fireball to Arstotzkan society. By the time they arrive at the Mountains, Bjorn will become familiar with the Fireball. His time at the academy taught him how it works, but his practice here will allow him to truly hone his skills.
In addition to studying the Fireball, Bjorn will spend some amounts of time each day studying the crystal structure of the ships. He may have learned of Crystal at the Academy, but here is where he will see it in action. He will watch as the crystalline steam engine bearings repair themselves from the routine damage, and more.
The Mountains
The Mountains is where Bjorn will begin maturing into a fine wizard.
Bjorn and Myark shall accompany the local Mage Hunters as they eliminate the remaining opposition from the mountain. Bjorn will see his first combat use of the Fireball and his Falcon. He will meet with the occupants of the sparse villages located in the Mountains, and he will visit the metal mines. Bjorn shall learn things here which the Academy could never hope to teach him.
Bjorn shall learn of our fierce weaponry here at the mountains. A future king must know what his soldiers fight with. He shall start with the AS-HAC-1, under the guidance of Myark. Bjorn will learn how to operate the already-easy-to-use weapon, but with Myark teaching him and his knowledge from the academy, he will know how it works.
With this knowledge, Bjorn won't just be taught to use the AS-HAC-1. He will be able to exploit it to its fullest potential. He will know of every part in it and how it works to create the bigger picture. A future king doesn't need to know how to use his kingdom's weaponry. He needs to know where to use it; why to use it; how it works. It is with this knowledge that a kingdom can be properly ran.
Bjorn shall also be taught the use of the HA1 and the HC1-E. This teaching should only take a few days at most, as they largely share the same parts and training of the AS-HAC-1; just at a larger scale.
Eventually, Bjorn will be brought to Myark to one of the Mountains' Towers of Frost. Bjorn will be shown circuits at action here, and with his knowledge from the Academy, Bjorn will easily learn the application of circuits and how they interact to shape reality. His time at this tower will be short, but it will teach him much.
Finally, his time at the Mountains will eventually end, and Bjorn will have to leave in order to make it back to Arstotzka by the end of the year.
The Trip Home
Bjorn and Myark shall embark home on a AS-STV-1 Restless. Except Bjorn won't just be a passenger, here. By now, Bjorn will have learned much of the fireball and how to use it and will have had practical experience using it both in practice and combat.
Bjorn will power the train. He will run the steam engine through the trip home. This shall teach him resilience and determination as he builds on his experience with the steam engine from his time on a Crystalclad. He will be pushed to the limit of his abilities as he strains to continue powering it. Myark will push him to keep on going even when he feels he may break.
By the time they arrive at Arstotzka, Bjorn will be experienced with magical endurance, resilience, and most importantly, determination. With his experience both with the steam engine and the cannons back at the Mountains, Bjorn will know truly how magic is used in Arstotzka's machines and technology.
The Crystalworks
Finally, Bjorn and Myark shall make one last stop before arriving at the Palace. They shall meet the Foreman of the Crystalworks. Bjorn will be guided painstakingly through the course of a day into the process in which modern machine crystal is created. He will build on his knowledge of circuits from the Academy and Frost Tower. He will build on his experience with Crystal from the Academy and the Crystalclad.
Bjorn will see how circuits summon in Crystal. He will learn how the Crystal is shaped. He will see the process in which new crystal formats are created. By the end of the day, Bjorn will know how Crystal is created, and how exactly it works. He will have extensive knowledge of a material essential to our kingdom.
A Conclusion
Ultimately, Arstotzkan society is not a society of spells. It is a society of knowledge and machinery. In Bjorn's time as king, he will not need to know a few party tricks. He will need to know of Magic - the one thing his kingdom is built upon.
A future king must know how magic works. He must know how the weapons his soldiers use work. He must be aware, knowledgeable and skilled with the practice integral to all of Arstotzkan society and the continuing war with Moskurg. In the end, it's not memorizing spells that matters, but rather knowledge of how it works. With this knowledge of magic and the technology used in Arstotzka, Bjorn will be able to make informed decisions. He will be able to easily further his knowledge of magic in the future. He will know how magic can be exploited and used to further Arstotzkan dominance.
Bjorn will be something greater.
Bjorn shall become the first Wizard-King of Arstotzka.
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Topic: Wands Race - [Arstotzka] {COMPLETED} (Read 393786 times)