Among the followers of Merlin, there are two schools of thought when it comes to spell casting: the school of wands and the school of staffs. The school of wands prioritizes mobility and ease when it comes to casting spells, while the school of staffs prioritizes maximizing the output of their Flux into the surroundings, creating the most potent effects.
However, both schools rely on a fundamental truth—a medium is essential for channeling the Monad Current. Wands, staffs, and runes serve as conduits, allowing a mage to shape and direct the blessings granted by spirits.
These mediums do not directly interact with the Monad Current. Instead, they interact with the spirit of Oneness inherent in oneself. The spirit of Oneness, in turn, manipulates the Monad Current within the physical world to call the associated spirits and create the desired blessings.
Few exceptions exist. Normally, people cannot directly interact with the Monad Current superimposed upon the physical world without a medium. Yet, some have transcended this limitation, having undergone a particular trial.
They are marked by a sunburst symbol upon their foreheads—a gateway to the Monad Current itself. Among all the mages in Italia, only Elastra is known by the kingdom to wield such a gift.
One will always require a medium to call the desired blessings unless one has passed the trial of Enlightenment—or perhaps, they were never fully human to begin with.
This becomes the basis of invocation-type spellcasting, where a medium or innate gift is required to call forth spirits. There is also the ritual-type spell casting, where sustained devotion through repeated actions—such as creating a thousand blades or lighting a thousand flames—can serve as a conduit, through the development of a bond with a spirit over time.
With this understanding of magic deeply ingrained in Elastra's mind, the pair of elves made their way towards the wand shop, Lume et Lignum. The shop is nestled within the winding streets of an old magical quarter, its sign glowing faintly under the evening sun. Ivy creeps up the stone wall of the aged establishment. A small bell chimes melodically as the pair enters.
"Coming!" said a small voice from the back, soft and masculine.
"Ah— the Grand Magister. Greetings," said the blond owner. There is something peculiar about his ears that the young elf immediately pointed out.
"One of us! One of us!" she shouted, "Elastra, look! He's one of us!"
Embarrassed at having his ears pointed out, the man can only chuckle while covering them. "That's right, little one," he muttered, eyes flicking to Elastra, "This must be the one from the rumor—Elastra's little daughter."
Eve blinked, momentarily caught off guard. She stole a glance at the eldest elf, hesitating. "This again?" she muttered under her breath, shifting uncomfortably. It felt strange—like a mistake that requires correction—but she lacked the strength or the desire to amend it, with her words of denial being stuck in her own throat.
Elastra exhaled, casting a quick glance towards Eve before meeting his eyes. "Something like that," she admitted, "She's under my care, so just keep it to yourself, alright?"
The blond elf nodded. He asked Elastra, looking to change the topic, "Well, I know you don't need a wand, so is the little one ready for one? She's going to Arcanum, I take it?"
Eve was stirred from her reverie as she stared at the eldest elf. Her brows furrowed in thought before her eyes widened with realization. She exclaimed, "That's right! You didn't use a wand when you fought the cultists!"
Elastra merely responded by pointing to her sunburst mark, "The spirits have truly blessed me." She said so with gusto and a smirk.
"Alright. Come this way, then, young one," the elven man said, "At least now, I can relish in the fact that I am no longer the youngest elf in town."
"Ahh... That's right. You're reaching the two centuries mark now?" asked Elastra.
"I've passed it a couple decades past, I think. I stopped counting after the first century," he noted.
They followed the man into the store where shelves brimmed with tiny sticks and imposing canes. Eve stared curiously at each of the items that were on display, each humming a natural tune into the Monad Current. The wands whispered with a soft, fleeting tune, like a breeze weaving through a gentle drizzle. In contrast, the staffs resonated with a deeper, more powerful cadence, their presence akin to distant thunder rolling before a storm.
"Typically, I would suggest staffs for someone her age," the man said, walking over to the wands, "Then again, based on what I've heard, she's hardly a normal child. Best prodigy in the last three centuries or so, I've heard!"
"So, wands should be enough for her and possibly even better," he said, grabbing onto the wand that is the thickest among the pile of wands packed onto the shelf, "This one's been overlooked for years—too rigid, or so they claim. But for someone that easily generates a tremendous flux resonance, it might be just right."
"You're not trying to pawn off your unwanted junk, are you?" stated Elastra coldly.
The man laughed, "Hardly! Please do not accuse me of such a foul thing."
"Grand Magister, your enlightenment brought you a greater sense into the Monad Current, correct?" asked the younger elf, to which the Grand Magister merely gives a blank stare, "Then, you yourself can be the greatest judge of the effectiveness of the wands."
"Remember. Mediums are not merely for getting the greatest flux resonance output. It's also about getting the precise flux resonance needed," the man noted, "You've probably forgotten this, having never relied on one yourself."
Elastra nodded before tapping into her enlightenment. The hum of the Monad Current surrounding her fills her senses. She took a moment to exhale, grounding herself amongst the torrential sensory input.
As she gazed at Eve, she felt her chest swelling at the great torrential flux radiating from her. The constructive interference from her and the background Monad Current faintly reached her at a short distance away. There was no doubt in her mind of Eve's unique talent.
And yet, something felt... off. Within the torrent of the Monad Current, a particular void stood. An area where the Monad Current was weaker than it should be. A dampened flow, as if a flux was interfering with its natural state.
Few things came to her mind. Typically, the blessings that lower the surrounding Monad Currents are those that hide, obscure, or make themselves unknown. The typical spirits include that of the Deceiver, Nocturnis.
She whispered to the elven man, "Watch over Eve for a while. Something just came up."
She walked outside of the store to the side, where she noticed the dampened Monad Current flow. With her Enlightened Vision, she saw the area of darkness next to the store's windows.
"Lux!" she shouted, while bringing her hands down. A ray of light shot down from the sun into the area of darkness, illuminating it. She saw the outline of a man of shadow peeling away like burned paper. The man covered his eyes as the searing light ripped the shadow from his skin.
She stared at the man, green bulbous growth covering his entire scalp, and extending into his forehead and cheeks. Wavy green vines slithered about from his shoulder blade, extending out into the air from his sleeveless tunic. One of his arms was covered with fur while the other was covered with scales.
He looked up and stared at the Grand Magister in shock before whipping his arm forward, his green vines whipping out from the shoulder blade towards Elastra. She ducked, the vines cracking above her head while she propelled herself towards the spy.
Then, she felt woody roots crawl up from the ground beneath her, enveloping her ankles. "Ambustum!" she shouted as the roots fizzle away, having been eaten by fire. Flames surged from her back, racing toward the attacker. The heat simmered in the air, sweat beading on the man's face as the heat stopped mere inches from his face.
"Claudo Motio!" she shouted as a bolt of energy raced out from her fingertips towards the man, who had begun to move backwards to race away from the Grand Magister.
The attack missed, flying above his head as the man began to shrink, the fur on his arm growing out and enveloping his entire body. His limbs shrank, and his bones cracked. His muscles tightened while his ears grew into a triangular shape.
Elastra had to stop as a sudden green mist enveloped the man, the grasses around growing quickly into a thick shrub. Mushrooms sprouted on the walls of the wooden houses, as she held her breath and whispered, "Clamare." The wind began to push the green mist away from her.
As the green mist receded, she saw the man vanish, a small cat zooming away in the distance onto a shop's rooftop. She shouted, "Clamare!" as winds gripped her and tossed her onto the roof of the wand shop. She exhaled, her breath unsteady from the sudden burst of magic.
She straightened, brushing off the stray embers clinging to her sleeve as she scanned the horizon where the cat had disappeared.
A spy—skilled enough to mask their presence from her Enlightened Vision. She turned back to the wand shop, using the blessing of the Spirit of Wind—the blessing "Clamare"—to get down.
There was no doubt on who the person was this time—a cultist with the type of attacks as the one that was transporting Eve. If the cultists had begun to move then, they need to reconsider their strategies of merely hiding Eve.
Perhaps, an uneasy alliance with the Purging Hands is at hand. She narrowed her eyes. They needed to decide the next step—before they made theirs.
A frown was etched onto the shopkeeper's face, noticing Elastra's empty, stony gaze. "Is something the matter, Grand Magister?" he asked.
"Just..." Elastra's gaze was brought back into reality, her eyes flicking to the male elf slowly, "Just... thinking about how much you're going to rip me off..."
She covered her unease with a smug chuckle.
"Grand Magister, I am wounded..." he mocked, grasping his heart, "I assure you, the prices are going to be the most reasonable. You won't find a better deal elsewhere."
"Well, matters not," she scoffed, "The textbooks ended up being cheaper than expected. Has she chosen a wand?"
"Ah... You see. From our checking, indeed the wand I've talked about was the most appropriate wand for the little one," he stated, gesturing Eve to approach them.
Eve held up a wand made of twisting branches. Nestled among the twists lay crystals, faintly translucent. Their darkened hue, along with their glass-like clarity, created an illusion—one that seemed to make them flicker in and out of vision, as if slipping through perception.
Elastra just nodded, the thought of sending Eve to her dorm quickly filled her mind. 'It's for her own protection,' she told herself.
"How much is it?" she asked the young elven man.
"100 Damars," he said, noting that 1000 Damars enough to buy a cozy villa in the middle of town, "is what I would say. I'll say 50 Damars for you, Grand Magister. I'll can't be charging the eternal pillar of Medici the usual price, after all!"
Elastra murmured herself, "Last time I brought a wand for an apprentice, it was only 10 Damars".
"And how many centuries ago was that?" he asked back, "Never mind that the textbooks have a new, much cheaper method to be made - the wand-making process has always remained the same"
Then, the conversation becomes muffled and disjointed. The two pair continues to converse but not much detail can be gleaned.
The creaking of the door wakes Eve up from her reverie, herself being unaware of being in a dream. She yawns, getting up as the door is pushed open by a heavy hand. A feminine voice is heard, trembling with shaking and stuttering evident. She comes from behind the door
"J-just my luck. Not only I failed last year's promoting test but n-now I've got to be roommates with kids. Not just kids but a Damaris, too..." she signs before looking at Eve.
Then, she releases a fake wail and a mock cry, "And the elf too!"