Chapter 3: Learning

"How does magic work? What is magic?" I asked the wolf.

"Magic is a field as vast as the sky. There's always something to discover about magic... Magic is everywhere in the world. Humans use magic after they have succeeded in forming what we call a core. This core can grow according to the magician's talents. There are, it seems to me, ten levels in magic."

The wolf looked at me and seemed to smile again.

"How old are you?"

The question caught me a little off guard. I thought about it, and he seemed more and more sure that I was 22.

"I'm 22, it seems to me."

"Human mages form their cores before they come of age, between the ages of 10 and 14. It's almost impossible for an adult to form a magic core."

"So how can I use magic?"

"There are plenty of types of magic, human magic isn't the only one out there, and it's no better than any other."

"Big wolf, you're not answering my question..."

"Big wolf? Hmm, I like that nickname. Call me that from now on."

I sighed, this wolf was obviously eccentric.

"To answer your question, you can use magic if you can sense it in what's around you. I'll help you."

All the other wolves moved aside. I made a small pile of moss and sat cross-legged in front of it. The big wolf approached.

"Close your eyes, breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out."

I closed my eyes and did as he asked. After a few minutes, I didn't notice any change. Suddenly, the wolf put his paw on my back. And I felt a kind of warmth spread through my body. I saw... What did I see? A multitude of white, red, green, blue, purple, black dots... A myriad of colors. It was just beautiful, and I let the wolf know.

"Well, you seem a bit gifted. Now concentrate on the red dots and try to draw them towards you. If you can, hold out your hand and imagine throwing a fireball."

How could I attract the little red dots? I don't know how I did it or how long I tried, but after a while they came towards me. I gathered about ten of them. I think that's enough. I held out my hand and visualized a fireball. I felt something leave my hand and suddenly, close to me, I smelled burning and also heard the sounds of burning moss. I opened my eyes and saw the burning moss. I was amazed that this was the first time I'd ever used magic.

I turned and saw the wolf who had moved away.

"I've managed to use magic!" I said with a big smile.

He shook his muzzle, "still glad that my goddess's chosen one isn't completely useless."

I said nothing, I was too ecstatic about using magic, but still, in the back of my mind, I wondered who this famous goddess was. This gave me an idea.

"You can't tell me who this famous goddess is, but can you tell me if there are any other gods or goddesses?"

"Yes, there are others, good ones, neutral ones, kind ones. Don't look at me like that, human. As I've told you, you'll get the answers in due course."

I grumbled inwardly at this answer.

"Besides, human, how do you expect to cook meat? Don't you have anything to cut it with?"

Ah... I'd forgotten that little detail...

The big wolf curled up his lips and seemed to laugh.

"I lied to you human, meat's not for you. You're going to catch the fish in the lake, and you're going to use magic to do it. You'll have to manage on your own. Hurry up and learn, otherwise you'll starve to death..." And the big wolf sneered.

The big wolf turned away from me and went to eat what the other wolves had brought back. I looked at the fire, all joy gone, the fire would soon die and it had been useless. I was despondent.

With a sigh of resignation, I headed for the lake. Were there really fish in there? Even if the moss diffused a certain bluish light, visibility remained approximate.