Rowan stepped into small rune knight office that held his latest client. The mage quickly walked up the solitary man who was sitting in front of a desk, reviewing some papers. “So errr.. are you the guy that needs some recruits trained?” The man looked up over his papers after awhile and grunted before replying, “Yea, got 24 fresh ones out that back door, they’ve already passed their physical examination, and that lot out there have claimed they have some experience with magic. All you gotta do is make sure that they’re telling the truth, and if their casting is shabby you train ‘em up. Can ya handle that?” Rowan considered the task for only a brief moment before nodding. “Good, now head out there.” As Rowan made his way for the door, the man snapped his fingers and added one more thing, “Oh, and there’s 24 magic staffs on a rack on the far side of the courtyard, after you check that they can use magic, I want you to have ‘em practice with those, since that’s what they’ll be using.” Again, the mage nodded before heading out into the courtyard.
Rowan strolled over to the middle of the training grounds where he was met with 2 lines of men. They watched Rowan curiously, obviously expecting someone… older… and perhaps bigger, but they maintained their posture, knowing that looks were always deceiving. Rowan studied the men in returned, sizing them up. He could barely sense any magic power from the line of recruits, but he did sense it nonetheless. With a sigh, he stopped walking and faced them. “Okay, let’s see what you guys have, hit those training dummies over there with everything you’ve got.” The men were surprised by the sudden command, but they immediately dispersed into pairs and began casting spells in the general direction of the targets. It was quite frankly, one of the saddest examples of magic Rowan had seen. Sure, they were definitely casting magic, in a variety of elements at that. Fire, ice, a few bolts of lighting here and there, but the strength of the spells was essentially the equivalent of slapping someone in the face with a few cotton balls. Rowan shook his head and clapped his hands together. There was much work to do.
First, the mage had the recruits stop wasting their energy on the flimsy attacks. He thought he should first teach them how to more efficiently use their magic power. After they had lined up again, Rowan pondered for a moment, thinking of the best way to explain to the men on improving their magical attacks. After a few moments, Rowan faced the recruits and began explaining. “Okay, right now, you guys are using too much of your magical power to create weak attacks. You need to focus your energies into concentrated points, which will solve both problems at once.” The recruits muttered amongst one another, but grudgingly accepted the mage’s advice before trying it out. There was an instant improvement, and the recruits could feel it. Rowan went around encouraging the recruits, and their performance soared beyond what they were accomplishing before.
At about mid-day, Rowan had the recruits take a lunch break, encouraging them to relax as much as possible. He knew that magic worked the best when he casters were calm, well-rested, and relaxed. In the meantime, he studied the magic staves that the sergeant had referred to. The mage found that they fired off pure magical energy, in a non-element form, which was obviously good for all situations. Rowan also found that the staves fired off a projectile slightly stronger than the amount of magical energy that was invested into it, which he figured was for the not-so-magically adept. All too soon, the lunch break was over and the 24 men were back into the courtyard before Rowan could get his own lunch. The mage sighed and patted his growling stomach before addressing the men. “Everyone get one of those staves over there! Your sergeant wants you guys training with ‘em so let’s get started.” Rowan surprised by how much improvement the staves gave to the recruits. The magical weapons not only amplified the strength of their spells, but made aiming the spells easier. All they recruits had to do was point and concentrate on feeding the staff energy. Rowan shrugged and realized his job was done before heading into he sergeant’s office yet again. When he walked in, he noticed the sergeant was in the same position as before. “Well, errr I’ve trained the recruits, they’re in magical fighting shape.” The man simply grunted before searching around in his pockets for the payment. “Mhm… you can leave now.” Rowan graciously took the money and left, satisfied with another job well done.
((804 Words))
Rowan strolled over to the middle of the training grounds where he was met with 2 lines of men. They watched Rowan curiously, obviously expecting someone… older… and perhaps bigger, but they maintained their posture, knowing that looks were always deceiving. Rowan studied the men in returned, sizing them up. He could barely sense any magic power from the line of recruits, but he did sense it nonetheless. With a sigh, he stopped walking and faced them. “Okay, let’s see what you guys have, hit those training dummies over there with everything you’ve got.” The men were surprised by the sudden command, but they immediately dispersed into pairs and began casting spells in the general direction of the targets. It was quite frankly, one of the saddest examples of magic Rowan had seen. Sure, they were definitely casting magic, in a variety of elements at that. Fire, ice, a few bolts of lighting here and there, but the strength of the spells was essentially the equivalent of slapping someone in the face with a few cotton balls. Rowan shook his head and clapped his hands together. There was much work to do.
First, the mage had the recruits stop wasting their energy on the flimsy attacks. He thought he should first teach them how to more efficiently use their magic power. After they had lined up again, Rowan pondered for a moment, thinking of the best way to explain to the men on improving their magical attacks. After a few moments, Rowan faced the recruits and began explaining. “Okay, right now, you guys are using too much of your magical power to create weak attacks. You need to focus your energies into concentrated points, which will solve both problems at once.” The recruits muttered amongst one another, but grudgingly accepted the mage’s advice before trying it out. There was an instant improvement, and the recruits could feel it. Rowan went around encouraging the recruits, and their performance soared beyond what they were accomplishing before.
At about mid-day, Rowan had the recruits take a lunch break, encouraging them to relax as much as possible. He knew that magic worked the best when he casters were calm, well-rested, and relaxed. In the meantime, he studied the magic staves that the sergeant had referred to. The mage found that they fired off pure magical energy, in a non-element form, which was obviously good for all situations. Rowan also found that the staves fired off a projectile slightly stronger than the amount of magical energy that was invested into it, which he figured was for the not-so-magically adept. All too soon, the lunch break was over and the 24 men were back into the courtyard before Rowan could get his own lunch. The mage sighed and patted his growling stomach before addressing the men. “Everyone get one of those staves over there! Your sergeant wants you guys training with ‘em so let’s get started.” Rowan surprised by how much improvement the staves gave to the recruits. The magical weapons not only amplified the strength of their spells, but made aiming the spells easier. All they recruits had to do was point and concentrate on feeding the staff energy. Rowan shrugged and realized his job was done before heading into he sergeant’s office yet again. When he walked in, he noticed the sergeant was in the same position as before. “Well, errr I’ve trained the recruits, they’re in magical fighting shape.” The man simply grunted before searching around in his pockets for the payment. “Mhm… you can leave now.” Rowan graciously took the money and left, satisfied with another job well done.
((804 Words))
