The next morning I browsed the bookshelf in the living room where I kept most of my spells. This would be Trixie’s first time with this magic, so she would need to start at the beginning. Over the course of my studies I found that numerous mechanics had crossovered from the ‘game world’ to the ‘real world’.
The magic of Fire Emblem was divided into numerous ranks, each one obtainable through practice and exposure. They follow as such: E, D, C, B, A, and S. With each new rank came new spells to be learned, more powerful than its predecessor.
So, I would need to get the starting tomes of each aspect: Fire, Wind, Thunder and Flux. I was still hesitant to teach Trixie any Dark magic. It was arguably the most powerful of the affinities and the advanced spells had the potential to cause some serious damage.
However, I would be here to walk her through the correct methods of using this magic. Should she ever run into any trouble I would do my best to aid her. I wouldn’t be a very good master if I failed in that regard.
I suddenly felt my token give off a signal, indicating a received message. I grimaced as I took it out and opened it. Much to my displeasure, it was another message from Pecila.
Well, for one, my name is Pecila. Two. I totally knew knew that, I mean your voice did say something along those lines. Three, I have totally good Ethics. I’m trying to be a hero after all. Four, It was a reference to Bohemian Rhapsody! Everyone’s heard of Queen! Five, I hate killing. I have killed one pony but I have regretted it ever since then and it’s been over a thousand fucking years! Six, I pity your lost sense of humor.
-Pecila
I scowled at the page, my anger starting to rise. I could almost imagine her irritating voice, mocking me with every ridiculous point she made. I levitated a quill to me and wrote out a reply.
From your responses I can clearly tell you are an individual with less than stellar intellect. In this regard I take everything you write to me with a grain of salt. I have never heard of Bohemian Rhapsody and assuming everyone knows of it is a foolish prospect in of itself. Before you write to me again carefully consider the words you decide upon.
With a huff I closed the tome and returned it to my robe. I wouldn’t allow a distraction such as this to ruin the rest of my day. And besides, today was about Trixie, not me. Today was her next step of becoming a mage.
I stepped out of my home, a small bag slung over my shoulder. I made my way to the side of the building, Trixie following close behind me. She had a wide grin on her face of which I found rather infectious. I stopped a few yards away from a few makeshift training dummies I had spent some time making last night. While the craftsmanship wouldn’t pass any inspection, I was rather proud of my work with a needle.
I dropped the bag and turned towards Trixie. “So, ready for the next step in your training?”
Trixie raised her head proudly and placed a hoof upon her chest. “Trixie was born ready for this moment!”
I pinched the bridge of my nose in agitation. She may be a bit more humble than she was in the past, but she had retained her obnoxious speech. I’ve put up with it for this long, but not any more.
“Trixie,” I began, “You need to drop the theatrics and the third person speech.”
She looked at me in surprise. “The Great and Powerful Trixie always speaks like this!”
“Well, that's going to stop!”
“Trixie will not-!”
“ROBIN THE TACTICIAN WILL NOT HAVE ANYONE SPEAKING IN THE THIRD PERSON IN HIS HOUSE!”
Her ears flattened against the back of her head as I lost my temper. I forced myself to calm down before I continued, "Trixie, how much longer are you going to dwell on the past? You need to make a decision. Are you going to become a powerful mage or are you going to remain a show mare?"
She stared at the floor as she considered my words. Her decision came soon after as she raised her head and stared back at me with new light in her eyes. "Trix - I want to become a mage."
I smiled at her and rested my hand upon her shoulder. "Good answer. Now, let's get started."
I levitated four tomes from my bag and hovered them in front of Trixie. "Here we have Fire, Wind, Thunder and Flux. My magic branches into four different fields, aptly named Fire, Wind, Thunder and Dark. I plan on having you understand the concepts of all fields of magic before I release you from my apprenticeship."
Trixie looked at me in surprise and asked, "Isn't dark magic illegal to practice?"
I chuckled at her expense. It's not surprising that Celestia would ban dark magic. It’s evil, unpredictable and powerful. “The Dark magic you know is banned, yes. However, this brand is a little different. For one, it won’t corrupt the user since the spell is mainly coming from the tome itself and not from within you. Secondly, I’ve set up mental blocks in order to maintain my own sanity, just as a precaution. That’s something we’re going to work on later. Right now I want you to choose a tree of magic. While you’ll be able to eventually master every magic, it’s best to have a tree you’re comfortable with.”
Trixie examined each of the tomes, her gaze lingering a tad longer on the Dark tome. Much to my surprise, however, she pointed a hoof at the yellow book.
“Tr-I want to focus on thunder magic.”
“Thunder magic, huh? This tree has quite a few powerful spells. For now though, you’ll start with Thunder, the lowest ranked magic which is…” I trailed off.
“E rank,” She immediately replied.
“Right. Since you’re just starting out, the only magic accessible to you are any and all tomes that fall under the E rank. Know that each tree is separate from one another and the only way to advance in a field is through training.”
Trixie raised a hoof and I had to stop myself rolling my eyes. I gave her permission to speak.
“How long does it take to reach the next rank?”
“That honestly depends on how long and how often you’re willing to train with the magic. If you trained everyday for six hours it might take you… roughly three to five weeks.”
Trixie’s eyes widened in surprise. I told her the learning process would be tedious, but never really put a time to it. Guess I should take it a step further and break the news to her. “That’s also just for the first rank. It usually takes slightly longer to achieve the next rank and so forth. To reach to final rank can take anywhere from six to eight months and to fully master it can take up to a year.”
With each milestone I threw at her she appeared to grow more and more tired. A pity considering we haven’t even started training yet.
“O-One year!?” She stuttered, “but, to master all the fields, it could take up to four years or more!”
I had to hold back a sarcastic reply about her being able to do basic math. “It does take a long time to learn and master this magic. However, it is also one of the most powerful available to you. As cliche as it may sound, with power comes responsibility. Between the time from start to finish you will learn the proper ways of handling this magic.”
Trixie sighed and lowered her head. “Yes Sir.”
I lifted her chin with a finger, forcing her to look into my eyes. I gave her a gentle smile. “I’m not forcing you to learn all the magic I have to offer you. Chances are you’ll only be under my wing for a year at most. My job as your teacher is to ensure that you know what you’re doing. After that, you can find your own way.”
She held my gaze for a few moments longer before breaking out into a small smile. I took that as her acceptance and offered her the tome which she took in her magic.
“Now, before you start throwing around bolts of lightning, I’m going to discuss the proper use of this magic. Be sure to memorize everything as it could be the difference between life and death.”
Trixie grimaced at the mention of death, but maintained posture otherwise. These ponies are too skittish for their own good.
“Some of this you already know, but I will go over it again so that the information is ingrained into your mind. If you have any questions at all don’t be afraid to ask.”
Trixie nodded in understanding. And so, I began my lecture.
“The magic now available to you is very different from Unicorn magic. It is impossible to cast a specific spell unless you have the correct tome. This is because you are not taking magic from yourself, but from the tome. The magic within the tome reacts with the Ancient Language allowing the use of spells.”
Trixie raised her hoof and I nodded at her. “If you’re only using magic from within the tome, then where does that magic come from?” she asked.
“Good question. The magic actually comes from yourself, but it’s a two step progress. Before using the book, you need to push your own magic into the book where it will dwell until needed. If the magic within the tome is drained, you’ll be unable to cast any spells. Think of the tome itself as a catalyst while the language is a program which activates it. Because of this, only those who understand the language may cast a spell.”
“Now, for as powerful as this magic is, it does come with some handicaps. For starters, as I’ve said before, you can only use this magic so long as you have the correct tome. In addition to that, you need to read it in order to bind yourself to the book.”
“You are not required to read the entire book in order to bind yourself to it. All it takes is a few sentences, maybe less. You’ll know when you’ve established a connection, as you’ll feel it. Beyond that, I can’t explain it any further. As you become more and more familiar with the language the required reading is lessened. For example, it only takes me a few words before I feel the connection. It should also be noted that you are not required to read the text every time you wish to cast magic, just once is enough.”
I found myself starting to pace back and forth in front of Trixie. Coughing softly, I forced myself to remain still.
“The connection between you and a tome is strong, but fragile. Should a tome be wrenched from your grasp and tossed aside, you’ll find yourself unable to cast the spell. Always be sure to keep the tome secure by your side so as to not lose or accidentally drop it. The second way the bond can be broken is by your own doing. Only one tome can be used at a time and therefore only one spell at a time. If you want to switch spells, you must read the text of the new tome, and create a new bond. This in turn will sever the previous bond you had.”
I suddenly clapped my hands together, startling Trixie. “And that’s all you need to know at the moment. There is more, of course, but I will withhold such information until I think you’re ready for it. For the next few days I’ll be supervising your training at all times. Until then, I don’t want you practicing this magic outside my knowledge.”
Trixie straitened up and responded curtly, “Yes Sir.”
I tittered inwardly at her consistent formality. It seems I had truly embraced the path of the teacher.
I gestured to the yellow tome beside Trixie, “Try binding yourself with the tome.”
Trixie brought the tome before her and opened it, silently reading the words to herself. After roughly 20 seconds she closed the book, looking at it curiously. “I-I think it worked. I felt a tug of some sort…”
“Well, there’s only one way to find out,” I said, pointing at one of the training dummies, “try to cast the spell and aim for the dummy. Remember, don’t use the magic inside yourself, but the magic within the tome.”
Trixie closed her eyes and remained silent. I watched as she twitched slightly, grimacing in pain. I guided her, “Don’t force the magic out. Let it flow easily through your body.”
She gave a small nod before inhaling deeply and steadying her breathing. I watched in satisfaction as a thin bolt of yellow lightning shot out from her horn, hitting the dummy directly in the chest. The bolt did little then shake the mannequin, but it was a start.
Trixie’s eyes were wide in astonishment and I watched in amusement as her grin grew wider and wider with every passing second.
Things were about to pick up around here.