The Dragon of Charred Scales

Songs of Magic

Jacob

All the way to Master Shiekgane's classroom I could feel the presence of other dragons following me. I could not see them or hear them, but I could feel their magic, and feel some of the air they moved as I flew here. Must be the guards the Greatest Elder have assigned to us. Or maybe these are for me, and Oculeera has her own set. That would make more sense, assuming there are enough guards for such an arrangement. I figure I will find out soon enough.

A wall of warm air met me as I walked through the massive doorway. All the classrooms are meant for any size dragon, which means whoever is heating the air must be using massive amounts of magic. Regardless, I ended my own warming spell. Luckily, I am not wearing my dragon frame coat. It does not fit well anyway but no need to take it off.

"Sit right down, young one. I have an important lesson and we need to not waste any time in order to complete it. And it must be completed before you leave," Master said right after I walked in.

She had not warned me of what today's lesson entails. I am going in blind, and from the tone of her voice, this is either a very important lesson or just something the Greatest Elder really wants me to know. I can do nothing else but obey.

"Before you ask, because you will, you do have four guards assigned to you. Oculeera has four assigned to her. Two for each twelve-hour shift. You will not see them or be able to interact with them, but you can feel them, hopefully."

I nod, though it was not a question.

"Do not let it distract you. Especially not during today's lesson. You know of the three types of spells, intuitive, concentrative, and complex. Within complex, there is a tool you can use for any worded spell really but comes in handy during certain situations. This tool, and future knowledge of spells, will give you the ability to craft, sometimes with help, some of the most complex and greatest spells dragon kind has ever used. But much of what I am about to teach you, like many topics, must stay within the confines of dragon kind. This tool is not unheard of among some Laku, but none of them know the true potential."

Advanced magic? Why so soon? I would ask, but obviously there is no time for questions today. Into the deep end yet again.

"This tool is called the chant. You have heard of it before and have probably heard it being used. Most Laku understand its ability for ongoing spells and for organizing one's thoughts for longer spells. But it is so much more than that, more than just saying the same words over and over in a song form."

Her wing pointed to a small fountain over a small distance to my left that I had seen before. Water sits only in the bottom pool, not in any of the tiers above. It is made of rocks from the nearby mountains, melted together and shaped by magic to form a simple but elegant table sized fountain.

"Imire da waplo okira, imire da waplo okira, imire da waplo okira..." Her voice, normally a little gruff, took on a softness as she spoke the words as if to a beat. In the back of my mind I translated them to "let the water flow," verified by the fact that water is slowly streaming out of the top spout. The flow stopped with her voice.

"This is but a simple example. You can achieve much the same without a chant with the siphon effect temporarily or with a carefully worded complex spell. But for a novice, it is good practice."

"So, do I need to use a singing voice, or can I just say the words normally?"

She shook her head. "Many do just fine using normal speech. But the beat helps in remembering how the chant goes. A single mistake is cancelled out by the effect of the whole chant except for ongoing actions but changing the chant itself over time can lead to two spells sapping your strength, or even Turning."