[Encanto] 7: Learning Tamrielic Magic

[A/N: For Patreon, will be writing a chapter for Dungeon Fic then the advanced chapter for cafe]

Sitting in a lotus pose for over an hour was not exactly what I expected to do, but if this was how I could learn to do magic and cast spells, so be it.

Tolfdir was sitting just across from me in the same pose as me, meditating.

He taught me a weird breathing technique that is supposed to help me feel the Magicka in the air and inside me.

He chose to have me do this method because apparently, it was the safest and easiest for beginners to learn.

He mentioned it typically took days if not weeks before someone would feel the Magicka in themselves and their surroundings, but it took me only a couple hours to realize what Magicka really felt like.

It was the very energy I sensed when I first arrived here, why it took me so long to realize and notice this, I had no idea.

Something I did notice after a thorough investigation, was that I was filled with this energy, and it was the very thing fueling my gift.

And after sensing how much Tolfdir had compared to me, I was surprised to find that I had even more 'Magicka' than him!

Suddenly opening his eyes, he looked straight at me.

"It seems you have succeeded, though I do wonder how you are managing to look into me so soon," he stated before laughing with a smile on his face.

"Is it uncommon?" I asked, curious.

"It's uncommon for those who have only just begun to sense Magicka to go from being able to sense it in themselves to sensing it in their surroundings and inside that of other people," Tolfdir informed me.

"Now, are you ready to learn your first spell?" He continued, with me replying with a nod in response.

"Wonderful, there are multiple spells a Novice can learn, but I recommend two spells, [Flames], and [Healing]. Two useful spells for many situations you may find yourself in the future."

"First, you must learn to guide and will the Magicka within your body to flow to your hands. Guide it, don't force it, otherwise, you would only hurt yourself."

Doing what he said, I found it surprisingly easy to guide the Magicka from the center of my body down my arms and to my hands.

"Then?" I asked.

"I want you to picture a candle, picture the flame, imagine it is right before your eyes, then, grab it. Not with your hands, but with your mind, will the candle's flame into reality," Tolfdir instructed.

It took a few moments, but suddenly a small flame burst into life in the palm of my hand, and I could feel a tendril of Magicka flowing from my palm into the flame, fueling the spell.

It was taking a minuscule amount of magicka to fuel, so much so that it felt like I wasn't losing any Magicka in the process at all from fueling the spell.

"Yes! That's it, be careful, if you supply too much magicka into the spell, it will explode! Slowly withdraw the Magicka from the spell until it extinguishes, or just completely cut off the flow if you can," Tolfdir warned and instructed me.

Doing what he said, I immediately cut off the flow of the Magicka, causing the flame to fizzle out and extinguish.

"Wonderful! Now onto learning the [Healing] spell, a useful novice restoration spell that allows a mage to mend any minor wounds and injuries they may obtain in their journies, only use this spell for minor wounds and injuries, if you try to use it on anything serious without the proper knowledge of the body and the injuries, you may only end up worsening the wound and your condition. Better to leave it to someone trained in the Restoration School, do you understand?" Tolfdir asked with a stern gaze.

"I do."

"Good. I have lost too many students due to their carelessness."

Afterward, I asked to learn a novice spell for each of the other Schools of Magic, the Schools being of Destruction, Restoration, Alteration, Conjuration, and Illusion.

With Tolfdir being a Master Alteration Mage, he taught me the basic [Oakflesh] spell, that would harden my skin to that of bark, greatly raising my natural defenses.

However, for other spells, he recommended I learn either through study or from the other Teachers the college offered.

So, I thanked him and informed him that I would seek to learn all I could about Magic, including Alteration, and in response, he told me that if I had any questions I could ask him at any time.

---

It had been a great many years since I played Skyrim, and to be frank, I couldn't remember anything about it anymore besides very vague details or facts that remained in my memory, such as Alduin being the main antagonist of the game with a goal of either destroying the world or reenslaving the men and mer that inhabited it and the basics about the world and the main quest.

So, I had a goal in mind. I wanted to either find or create a spell that would help my memory.

If I could remember everything I once knew about the game, then I'd have a massive advantage over Alduin and any other problems this world would have.

If the world followed the lore, then Alduin and the other dragons would be countless times stronger, which would mean that they'd be a very dangerous threat to my future survival in this world.

I didn't even know how long I had till the dragons appeared, due to not knowing the date of their arrival, so I had no idea how long I had to prepare.

Did I have a year? Two? Five? Ten? Or did I only have a month?

This was why getting my hands on a spell to help me remember was so crucial.

So, I began researching and reading through the many widely available books and tomes available in the Arcanaeum, the college's library led by an Orc by the name of Urag gro-Shrub, who was quite protective of the college's books and tomes.

After days of research and reading, I found a mention of elderly mages having to use spells to keep their minds and memories in top shape, it didn't mention how to cast these spells or where to learn them, so I did the next best thing, I decided to ask Tolfdir.

Luckily, I found him in the Hall of Elements watching over all the students who were practicing in their free time, I also noticed a particular smug high elf who was looking at the students like they were fools.

"Tolfdir?" I asked from behind, causing him to jump a little.

"Please warn me next time, you may give this old man a heart attack," He told me with a chuckle.

"What can I help you with, Salem?" He asked.

So far, only three people in the college knew my name, Tolfdir, the Archmage, and Urag.

"I was wondering...do you happen to know any spells that help with remembering?" I asked quietly, not trying to draw the attention of the High Elf.

"Remembering? What would you need such a spell for?" Tolfdir asked, baffled.

"I forgot something important, something I 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 to know."

"Alright...Well, I do know of one spell that does what you want, however, only Expert-Level mages should cast it due to how dangerous it is," He informed me.

"Dangerous?"

"Any spell can be dangerous, but spells that target the mind? Those can be especially dangerous, especially if the caster can't protect their mind in case the spell fails, do you understand?" Tolfdir warned me.

"I do, ill properly make sure I have defenses set up in my mind before I attempt using such a spell, do you have any guidance for me on where I could learn such a spell?" I asked hoping that he knew such a spell.

"Of course, every Teacher in the college is trained in such Magic, however, I won't teach you, if you wish to learn the spell, I can set you in the right direction, however, I will not help you further, not with that spell, if you have any other questions you can come and ask, but I will not be responsible if you continue down that path," He told me with a serious tone.

"I understand, and thank you."

"I hope you find success, too many have failed to correctly cast the spells, causing countless mages over centuries to go mad, die, or go into a comatose state," Tolfdir told me, looking off into space likely remembering someone who failed to properly cast the spell.

I did end up getting a list of books he suggested I read before attempting to learn [Mental Fortress] and [Mind's Palace]

These journals and books he recommended went into great length over the dangers of using magic on the mind, the true dangers of Illusion Magic, and some books about various other things in regard to the topic.

It was obvious Tolfidr was attempting to persuade me to drop it, but I wouldn't.

Not that it means I wouldn't be as careful as possible.

It would take some time before I completely read through all of these books, but hopefully, soon I should be able to cast the spell and remember everything.