The greatest archemages of Illandrios, near the ends of their lives, destroyed the ensouled artifacts they’d used through their lives, forging them instead into swords. These swords were held in trust by the city, and whenever a warrior reached a knighthood, they were allowed to present themselves to the hall of blades. The means by which the early Illandrian knights tested their suitability is lost, but each sword that bonded a knight granted them great magical powers of the Font for which their creators had the greatest affinity.

  -Bladed Knights by Kysin, the 195th High Librarian

  ---

  “Simply fascinating,” Grand Master Lonin said, not for the first or even fifth time, as Kole finished his summary of his abilities. “And you learned Mind Spike from a traditional spellbook in just a day?”

  Kole nodded and said, “But I haven’t optimized the Will cost yet.”

  As if that made the feat any less impressive. In fact, the confidence with which he asserted he could further optimize the spell suggested just how impressive his recent developments were. Optimizing the path of a spell was no task for a wizard of Kole’s age, even a gifted one.

  The first five or so years of wizarding education revolved about learning existing spells, relegating customization of spell for much later. There was after all thousands of years of magical knowledge to draw upon, why spend time recreating the wheel when there's already a countless suitable models for any occasion?

  “So,” Lonin said, after a long silence. “How can I help you?”

  “Excuse me?” Kole said, not at all expecting that response.

  The professor let out a small chuckle.

  “You were expecting me to try to convince you to quit PREVENT?” he asked,

  Kole nodded.

  “Will you?” Lonin asked.

  Kole shook his head.

  “I assumed as much. So, instead of frustrating both of us pursuing that path, I ask again. How can I help you?”

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  “Be my mentor for PREVENT?” Kole asked, hoping for a second unexpected response.

  “That I cannot do. I don’t have the knowledge or skills to properly train you for that path, nor the time to do so if I had.”

  “Well, then, could you help me find a mentor?” Kole asked. “I need someone who knows about my spellbook’s abilities, but I can’t go around advertising that I have an ensouled artifact. If you could tell people about my situation on my behalf, and find someone trustworthy and willing, that would help.”

  Lonin considered the request, and then said, “That’s a good idea, but have you considered Professor Underbrook?”

  “No...” Kole said, trying to see why that would be a good suggestion. “He doesn’t seem particularly interested in the more theoretical parts of wizardry. What guidance would he have for navigating traditional spells?”

  “That is true,” Lonin agreed, but then added. “But what guidance do you currently need for navigating traditional spells?”

  Kole opened his mouth to speak, expecting a deluge of areas he needed help, but found no words came out.

  In all his advancements in wizardry the past few months, it had never occurred to him that his needs for a mentor would have changed alongside them. He no longer needed a mentor with knowledge of traditional wizardry. It would be nice, but it was no longer a requirement for him to progress at a reasonable pace. He’d passed any sort of reasonable pace.

  After a moment, he simply said, “Oh.”

  “Oh indeed,” Professor Lonin said.

  “Does he take apprentices?” Kole asked.

  “Not usually,” Lonin said. “He doesn’t like ‘babysitting,’ or so he says. But I think I could convince him to make an exception for you.”

  “Really?” Kole asked. “Why me?”

  In response, Lonin gestured to the window with the rift beyond.

  “You can likely handle yourself well enough to keep up with his preferred teaching method, and you have a sense of spectacle he looks for.”

  “Spectacle?” Kole asked, knowing that Underbrook had a flare for the dramatic, but he was uncertain how Kole had something similar.

  My default is to hide, the opposite of spectacle, he thought, but then realized that was no longer true.

  Sure, he did hide, turn invisible, or use his Fade ability, but it was now just a tool in his arsenal, not his primary means of facing conflict.

  Once more in response, Professor Lonin gestured to the rift.

  They talked for a while longer, Kole asking about the details of some pathing techniques that still confused him, and Lonin helping fill in the gap in his larger self-taught skill set.

  As Kole moved to leave when the meeting was over, Lonin stopped him at the door.

  “One more thing,” he said. “There is the matter of the consequences for your misadventure.”

  Sometime later, Kole left with a stack of annotated experimental spellforms that Lonin was working on. Each was fully drawn out, but they lacked the Will intent that turned them from strange squiggles to invaluable vessels of arcane knowledge.

  Kole would have to fill each in over the remainder of the semester. The task wouldn’t be hard, especially if he used his spellbook, but it would be boring and time consuming. Which, he supposed, was the purpose of a disciplinary action.

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