//------------------------------// // Bonus Chapter 1, I AM A LICH! // Story: The Rainbow Portal // by Thunder Quill //------------------------------// ”You wanted to talk to me?” Imloch asked Twilight from his place on the mantle. ”This really is demeaning…” He muttered. Twilight giggled sheepishly, “Sorry, I can’t really put you down somewhere so you could be upright, and holding you in my magic for the whole conversation would be a bit...odd.” she turned to Jason, “Thanks for bringing him with you here.” she said. Jason smiled, “No problem, I actually had a question for you, but it can wait until afterwards.” He responded. Twilight nodded, “Ok.” she turned to the mantle, “I was interested about the last time we talked, and you said you knew multiple forms of magic. I wanted to have a bit of an interesting topical research on magic with you.” ”Alright, what do wish to know first?” Imloch asked. Twilight tilted her head, “Well, when you and Emily were at the house, you were talking about how you can use magic on your own, but Emily thought only she could use you. Can any magic user use you as a staff, or is it a secular thing?” she asked. ”Anyone actually can use me, provided they are from my bloodline, Imloch explained, ”I am what is called an Enchanted Object, and some Enchanted Objects have requirements for use. Only those from my bloodline have the ability to use me.” Twilight pouted, and her horn glowed, “So if I were to try and use you,” her magic picked him up from the mantle and brought him closer, “it wouldn't work, because I am not in your family line?” she surmised. ”Correct, you could use me as a melee weapon, hence my blade, but you could not access my power. He explained, ”Since you asked me a question, I believe it is fair that I ask you one. She smiled, “What would you like to ask me?” she asked. ”I’ve seen you use magic, and it seems to just flow, when I had a body, well, every wizard has a certain amount of spells to cast in a day, then he/she needs eight hours rest, then another hour to prepare their spells again. Where do you get the ability to cast on demand?” He asked her. Twilight tilted her head, thinking for a minute as she put him back on the mantle, “Well...each spell cast by a unicorn takes a bit of energy, the more complex and high powered, the harder it is to cast. For some unicorns, their magic is restricted to what their talent is, but since my special talent is magic, I can practice any spell in the spell books, and learn to use it. If I cast a lot of high level spells, I would get tired, but casting low level spells like telekinesis doesn't take much energy to do.” she explained. ”Ah, so you are more of a sorcerer than a wizard, see, as I’ve said, Wizards have to memorize their spells every day, but a sorcerers magic comes from within, they cast until they run out of Spell Points, as it is called, and then have to use something else, like a club, for running out of Spell Points does nothing to one’s physical abilities.” Imloch explained. “For a unicorn, if they cast a high level spell that is beyond their capacity, there is a chance that they could get hurt, and for me that is also true. I need to practice slowly and not go over my limit, or I could damage myself.” Twilight said, “But how your people used to do spells sounds interesting...” ”It actually really isn’t, anyone could become a wizard, provided they have the dedication and patience to actually sit down and learn the spells. I believe it is your turn to ask a question.” Imloch replied. Twilight nodded, “I believe so. How are you able to speak, if you are currently a staff? As far as I know, if a unicorn uses anything to help them with magic, they cannot speak.” ”Yes, but also, this is a different reality, different rules apply for the same things The way I speak is me projecting my thoughts out loud, it’s a trait that all sentient objects share on my world. It can get very annoying at times though, my sword started complaining whenever goblin guts were spilled on it.” Imloch chuckled, ”It’s been 6987 years since I saw him last.” He said wistfully. Twilight was a bit green from the prospect of guts being involved, and she coughed, “Alright...I think it is your turn now to ask me a question then...” she said, coughing. ”Are there different spell schools?” Imloch asked, ”Like Necromancy, Enchantment, stuff like that?’ Twilight shook her head, “No, there are a few spell schools, but all of them teach the same thing. I was in Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, which was one of the schools for the higher level unicorns to learn from, and I being her personal student, I would have all of my classes with Princess Celestia.” she replied. ”That isn’t what I meant.” Imloch responded, ”I do not mean a university of Magic. Necromancy is the power of death, unlife, and the life force, Conjuration is the summoning of creatures, and so on. Think of it like different book genres, there is fantasy, science fiction, non-fiction, historical fiction, and so on. Each of them show a different story. Do you see what I mean? Imloch asked. Twilight nodded, “Yes I understand what you mean. We do not have any type of schools for that, because most unicorns are not skilled enough for that sort of thing. We also wouldn't have any classes for necromancy, because we believe that we should not disturb the dead, and magic to bring a pony back to life had been used before, and it didn't work to well. It wasn't pretty, and has since been a forbidden form of magic, as it disturbed the final resting place of a pony, who did not look happy to have been disturbed, and should not be used.” ”When I use Necromancy, it summons a spirit from somewhere, and depending on it’s strength, the spell creates an appropriate shell for it, such as a skeleton or a zombie. The highest necromancers of all were called pale masters, or also Liches. I was one of them.” He laughed suddenly, ”My skeleton arm could make one greet death in an instant if I wished, and it was great for scaring drunks.” His laugher calmed down a bit. Twilight backed up a little, “Alright...but to answer your question better, no, we do not have specialized school like you apparently did, because most unicorns aren’t strong enough, and can only do little things. The most a normal unicorn could do is levitation and telekinesis.” ”Yes, your dressmaker friend Rarity is exceptional with it, even I do not have that level of control. But this chat has got me thinking about something…” Imloch stated. Twilight shifted on her hooves a few times, “What is that?” She asked. ”Well, when Emily cast that spell, she didn’t use any incantations, which is the only way I can use magic, I just choose not to say them out loud… That also was not one of my spells…” Imloch said, ”Could Emily also be using Equestrian style Magic?” Twilight tilted her head, “Hmmm...well, I wouldn't rule it out, but she might just have different magic preferences then you. While you're a necromancer, she could be some form of shielder...” ”You don’t understand, every spell that is cast in my world has an incantation, no matter what form of spell, even when I used my firewall spell, it had an incantation. Mage Shield, same thing. And specializations have nothing to do with it, though, If I had to guess, Emily would be an Evocator, mages that specialize in combat magic.” Imloch explained. Twilight frowned, thinking, “Well, then perhaps she does have Equestrian magic, since the first time she used you was in Equestria to hit that nightmare monster, so perhaps her magic is based in Equestrian magic now. Even unicorns need to memorize the spells in the spell books to cast them though, I don't think she had a spell to make that wall.” ”It is possible she used telekinesis to lift that wall of earth out of the ground…” Imloch mused. Jason stared at both of them, “I have no bloody idea what you’re talking about, either of you.” Twilight looked over at him, “I didn't realize you were still here, I thought you had left to go somewhere already.” She said, surprised. “I did, and got Emily,” He pointed behind him, “We’ve been standing here since you were talking about Imloch being a Lich.” He deadpanned. “Wonderful timing honestly.” Emily said, walking into the doorway, “I couldn’t understand most of it, since it was all about magic, but it sounded interesting.” ”My offer to teach is still open.” Imloch said, ”No spells if you don’t want them, but some information if you want it.” Emily frowned, “As much as that sounds interesting, my answer is still no.” She replied. ”As you wish.” Imloch said, ”Twilight, thank you for talking with me, but Emily and I have to go to that place to do that thing.” He said, teleporting into Emily’s hand, ”He’s gonna ask her on a date,” He whispered so only Emily could hear him, ”We should probably leave them alone.” Emily sighed, “I'm going to bring him back to the house, then go on a jog to see if I can run any faster than I can now.” She said, walking out of the room and outside. Twilight frowned, “I still had more to speak to him about.” She complained. “There was so much to ask.” “He’ll be back, he was excited for this as well.” Jason said, glancing out the door, “About that question I wanted to ask…” Twilight looked at him, “Oh right, what would you like to talk to me about Jason?” She asked, sitting down. Jason rubbed the back of his head, his face suddenly really red, “Well, I was wondering if you wanted to see Star Mares with me?” He asked hopefully, pulling out two tickets from his pocket, “It’s at Friday, eight PM.” Twilight hummed, “Well, I will have to check my schedule to see if I’m free at that time, and I do want to see it, so I will have to get back to you on that until I’m sure that nothing else is going on at that time.” Jason looked a bit bummed, “Oh, alright, get back to me whenever you can,” He placed one of the tickets on the table, “Just in case.” He said, “I should probably get going, I kind of want to explore Whitetail Woods a bit.” He began to walk out the door. Twilight nodded, “Alright.” she said, “Do you know where Spike is? I need to see if anything has been scheduled for Friday, and he keeps the schedules for me.” she said, looking around. Jason smirked, “Where else would he be?” He asked. “Rarity’s.” Twilight chuckled, “Well, could you check on him and see if I have anything scheduled that day? I think I do, but I'm not quite sure...” Jason smiled, “Sure thing.” And he walked out the door.