Blademaster Ascension

24- Spells and Schemes

[  level-1 spell : ghost hand
   Description : a spell that uses ether to manipulate one of the main elements, air, according to the caster's will to take a solidified form and mimic the actions of a human hand. The strength and speed of the hand relies on the caster's potential, affinity with air, efficiency in using ether and experience.  The whole spell can be categorized into three steps.
Firstly,  the caster must channel the ether inside them with a high degree of control, usually gained by practicing in the seeker and collector stage.
Secondly,  the ether must be condensed into a single rune as described beneath without even the smallest mistake.
Lastly,  the caster must divide their focus on the target of the spell and the rune condensed with ether and picture the particular action they want the disembodied hand to perform. If the the caster's will and concentration is strong enough, then the hand will appear and do as he wishes. However, it is a temporary spell and each action performed by the hand will consume the ether within the rune and based on the caster's efficiency with the condensation, the hand will soon disappear. ]

Underneath the glowing passage was a fairly simple looking symbol, resembling a twisted line. Rowan closed his eyes and tried to picture the rune inside his mind. Runes seemed to have a very widespread influence among mages. For reasons unknown, the runic alphabets could be used in spells, Inscriptions and many other branches of magic. However, the book had no answer to the question 'why'. Apparently, they were discovered among legacies which used ether as their primary base of advancement and power. In the last two centuries, their use had increased exponentially due to the resurfacing of many legacies and currently, knowing your runes were considered general knowledge among young mages who were affiliated with any decent academy from the Triumvirate's empire.

Howeve, Rowan wasn't familiar with runes and this caused him much trouble when he started learning spells. Thankfully, his first spell, ghost hand, was based on one of the simpler runes in the book. This was also the reason why he decided to learn this spell first.

Eyes closed tightly, Rowan pictured the twisted line in the void that appeared in his mental landscape. In the dark, formless landscape, a line began taking shape, spiraling and spinning, with a tinge of rough edges and a glowing translucent shell, just as described in the book . Holding the picture still for a few moments, Rowan opened his eyes.
In the last three days, he had brewed five more batches, three successfull and two failure. This had pushed his average success rate three percent higher. But that was barely enough to satisfy him. He realized that although his mistakes were next to none while brewing, he lacked the experiences and wisdom that came with years of practice and devotion in the patch of alchemy. The more he practiced, the higher his efficiency will rise, but it would be by no means a fast ascension. From now on, his success rate will definitely become slower. Perhaps even passing over sixty percent would be extremely difficult.

Although he didn't have to worry about his provider's complaints since he had already  reached the fifty percent benchmark set by her, he still had his own aspirations. Chances of concocting potions so precious was a novelty to him, something he wouldn't be able to do once the deal was done. So he wanted to make the best of it while he had the chance. There was only eight days left to the deadline. His practice of spells would have to wait till then.

Days passed slowly. Rowan's life had fallen into a routine. Wake up in the morning, concoct potions, take some rest in the evening while gathering ether inside himself, then go back to potions, then go to sleep for a few hours. The regular sessions of collecting ether ensured that he would remain more or less refreshed and energetic throughout the day. This considerably raised his speed of concoction. Ten days later, he officially reached the sixty percent success rate milestone. His hardwork had paid off. Now he only had five more batches left.