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| - "Pfft. Where I come from, marching songs are supposed to be spirit-lifting," said Hobenrûd rather rudely. "This was not a marching song. It was a song da...my father used to sing to me during the wars against Ruivoca. He sung it the day I became a general. To remind me to take things seriously...differently from some people, I don't think war is all fun and games," she replied, upset. Hobenrûd seemed really distressed over this. "I don't think this is all fun and games. But what, do you think of that song when you're in the battlefield? Do you think those crazy screaming people running towards you are equals? Nope. You just say 'They're the enemy!' and you kill them, as fast as you can. So you can go all 'hollier than thou' as much as you want. But I bet you barely thought about the people you killed a day ago." Anita remained silent. She was not about to tell these war-mongers how she had painstakingly helped bring the fallen Ruivocan soldiers into the hospitals as well, treating them as humans at long last... Hobenrûd grinned again, triumphantly. "And besides, as far as rhythm and rhymes go, I still think my song was better," he said. Drindell entered the conversation for the first time. "Oh yes. True poetry, I must say." Hobenrûd scowled at him, asking: "What, do you know any better?" He assumed a mock-thoughtful expression the said "Hmm...no. I was too busy learning how to shape reality itself to learn any good song." "You keep talking about your magical powers but I've never seen you do anything useful," Hobenrûd taunted him. Drindell was visibly displeased. "Maybe because I was too busy helping our eight hundred soldiers resist an army of over eight thousand enemies, lad! I am not some street "magician" that performs tricks on command. My powers are not to be wasted on trifle matters." "Whatever then. Just know that the Fanniganians ran away at the mere sound of that song. That's how much it helped us in battle." said Hobenrûd, trying to defend his song. "Oh, I believe that. I can already picture the enemy fleeing with their hands on their ears and screaming. But don't worry, lad. It's not your fault if Ruivocan bards aren't worth the food they eat," said Drindell, jokingly. "Well, I bet Priscilla liked the song. Didn't you, Priss?" the other man said, looking at Marin. "What? Oh...well I...Drindell, you're not as I imagined at all. I thought you were older," she changed the subject, masterfully. Prompting Hobenrûd to scowl again. "Well..." Drindell said, "I know I look barely thirty, but I'm actually thirty-five, you know?" Marin snickered, before adding "Actually, I look at least forty. But I thought you'd be...I don't know...older. A wise sage and all that." Drindell seemed to have understood. "Ah. Yes. Most of the wizards take a lot more time than me to reach the same level of knowledge and skill. Some never do." "So...can you explain anything about magic to us? Nothing complicated, it's just that we've been through enough to understand that knowledge of magic can help us to achieve our goals," she said. Drindell thought for a moment. "Well, I'll try to explain it the easiest way I can think of, since you probably didn't have basic education yet. Let's see...many ages ago, a man called Vurghees discovered, probably by accident, that if he said 'Fargotafis' while holding a cicada wing, it glowed brightly. Some say the Gods bestowed that knowledge unto him, but I don't know about that. All I know is that he didn't stop there." he said, slowly, seeing if he could see any sign of understanding on their faces. Anita continued from there: "He kept doing experiments. Saying meaningless words while holding meaningless things. He discovered some other spells, like simple elemental magic and healing. He then did his best to discover a pattern in the various he managed to do." Drindell seemed slightly upset for the interruption, but satisfied nonetheless. "Ah. So you do know something. How come you didn't teach them?" he asked. Anita shrugged and told him "Well, I didn't actually have time for that since I needed to help them rescue you. Besides, my knowledge of how magic works is more...limited." Drindell was somewhat confused at this. "Hm? What you...Oh, a sorcerer! I keep seeing more and more of them these days. I suppose it is easier to learn, but I prefer the flexibility of classical magic myself...caham, anyway, Vurghees wrote this book 'Encyclopaedia Magicka' Many other people, before him, had discovered some spells by accident, but he was the first to write them down for the future generations." "Now, after Vurghees, other people also researched magic. And expanded our knowledge of what is called magic nowadays. They discovered various kinds of magic. Like conjuration, in which some kind of matter disappears and other appears. Like when I said I could conjure a ship earlier. Usually, the ingredients have little to do with the result." "Besides conjuration, there is also summoning, in which matter changes state or is moved somehow. Sorcery, that deals with the craft of special magical artifacts, that channel magic more easily. And Evocation, in which matter appears without a previous loss of matter. For example..." he took a long and thick bone from his bag. "I can use this mier femur to cast a simple fireball as many times as I need. Although some wizards believe that, possibly, some very small part of the bone actually disappears." Marin looked at the sky, trying to digest what she learned. "So...all this...'matter'...where does it come from? I mean, it doesn't come from nowhere," she pointed out. Drindell smiled, impressed. "Well, there are many theories about that. Some wizards believe that the Gods see what they are trying to do and create things to aid them." he rolled his eyes to demonstrate that he thought it was nonsense. "Others think that, somehow, it is transported from other worlds. That, when we do these spells we, somehow, weaken the division between our world and others. Like a world made of fire would spit out fireballs when I cast a fireball spell, since some kind of 'portal' would open." Marin looked at him for a second and stated "So...no one knows?" Drindell chuckled, before answering "Pretty much. That's why they call it 'arcane', lass. But one thing is certain, either way. It works." A little time later, Hobenrûd, that was some meters ahead of the rest of them, shouted: "Hey! Guys, we're here!" Anita beamed. "Great! I've never been in a ship before," she said. Gilbert looked at her. "If last time I went to Sumdo is any indication, you'll regret saying those words soon enough."
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