It was about two days of travel by foot from Rolen's home to Winchester. It took around two and a half days on this trip because of the pace that the Wizardess and her new apprentice went. When they finally arrived in the city, Rolen was impressed. It was much more beautiful than he imagined, and even more crowded. On the way to Torrena's home, they passed women buying and selling at market stalls or chatting at street corners, children running and playing, and men talking solemnly as they walked down the paved streets. There were people in beautiful, fancy clothes, and a few in back alleys who wore only dirty rags. The city was a big place, and not everyone there was as well off.
When they arrived at Torrena's house, Rolen found it in keeping with much of what he had seen. It was two stories high, and fairly wide. It matched many of the other buildings externally, but once inside it was much different. The walls were painted a pleasant shade of blue, and the walls were lined with wooden shelves. The amount of books visible just upon entering delighted the boy. From this room there were a few exits, one leading to a kitchen and dining room, one to a room filled with books and instruments of magic, and some stairs leading up to the next floor.
During the next few days, Torrena gave her new apprentice some time to get squinted with his new surroundings, and to read whatever he liked. She also gave him a few books she waned him to start reading, both on elemental components and on pure magic. He devoured them. He had wanted a chance like this for years, to read to his hearts content on subjects that interested him and appealed to his curiosity. He also had some chores that he was set during these days, but they weren't bad. He had chores at home that he found much more rigorous. Even though his family had been farmers for generations, he didn't have much muscle or stamina. He was no use in heavy fieldwork, and so he only helped with planting seeds and weeding his mother's small gardens. Here he had to sweep or dust upon occasion, help with various errands, or other small tasks such as these.
As the days went by, he began to receive direct lessons from Torrena. She had him read sections from various books and then explain to her what he read in his own words. She questioned him on a few details and then let him return to whatever other book he might be reading for a while. In this way she gradually eased him into studies. The books he read in his free time were also about magic for the most part. Another type of lesson Torenna used was a discussion format, and sometimes she used a drawing board to illustrate what she was teaching. Occasionally she demonstrated magic.
Then one day, over a month into the apprenticeship, she decided he was ready to start learning a Cantrip, a type of spell that required very little energy and could be used many times in many situations. It required much memorization and practice to learn a cantrip, but once you knew it you could use it forever. She had decided teach him the Mage Hand cantrip. She called him into the study room, and motioned for him to sit down as he entered. Once he was settled she began.
"Rolen, you've been doing very well with your theory studies. I think you're ready to learn a spell. It is a simple but useful spell called Mage Hand, and it will allow you to make a hand of energy appear in the air and do tasks for you. For example:"
She paused for an instant, and then with a motion of her hand, the Mage Hand appeared. Without any movement from Torrena it flew over to the bookshelf, picked out a book, brought it to the table, and opened it to the page about Mage Hand. Rolen was impressed, and showed it. Torrena got up and exited the room, calling back as she did so.
'Study that. Remember every detail. I'll be back in half an hour with lunch. Don't try casting the spell yet, just study."
The Mage Hand she had cast closed the door behind her and then vanished. Rolen watched this happen and then turned to the book to study. Half an hour later, he was so absorbed that he hardly noticed when Torrena entered the room. She put down a plate with some bread and cheese next to him and tapped him on the shoulder. Once she had his attention, she pointed to the plate.
"There's your food. But here's what you have to do: you can only eat what you can pick up with your Mage Hand. No food until you can finish that plate with Mage Hand."
Rolen stared at her for a moment. This was interesting... and it seemed like it would be fun, assuming he could actually do it and didn't end up starving. He reviewed the page once more and then attempted the spell. He focused, and the energy began to gather. He used the trick Torrena had taught him for gathering it faster, moving his hands with his eyes closed, feeling the energy, and pulling it in like yarn. Now for the difficult part: getting the hand part down. He focused on fitting the energy into a glovelike shape, but it was difficult. He tried to follow the instructions in the book, but as he focused on the words instead of maintaining the energy, it dispersed into the air again. He gave a frustrated sigh and began again. The same thing happened, with the energy dispersing as soon as he looked at the book. He adjusted his strategy and set to studying the book again. Once he had studied it for a solid fifteen minutes, he tried again. This time he was able to get the energy into a fairly accurate hand shape, although the thumb was a bit awkward. He tried moving it over to the plate, but he couldn't get the fingers to pick up the food. He tried again, this time just maneuvering a piece of bread by bumping it with the hand. He got it to the edge of the plate and then hit it with the thumb so that it fell into the palm of the hand. He moved the hand towards his mouth. He had nearly succeeded! But then, in his excitement, he lost focus, and the chunk of bread fell to the floor. Torrena shook her head, half impressed with his strategy and half upset because he had let himself lose focus. She picked up the chunk and put it in a waste bin, and then told him to try again. After a few more half successes, during which he dropped some back on the plate and some on the table, and lost the spell a few times, he was finally able to maneuver a piece of cheese to his lips and take it in his mouth. His hand shot up in the air, the spell dispersed, and he was pleased to hear Torrena's gentle clapping.
When they arrived at Torrena's house, Rolen found it in keeping with much of what he had seen. It was two stories high, and fairly wide. It matched many of the other buildings externally, but once inside it was much different. The walls were painted a pleasant shade of blue, and the walls were lined with wooden shelves. The amount of books visible just upon entering delighted the boy. From this room there were a few exits, one leading to a kitchen and dining room, one to a room filled with books and instruments of magic, and some stairs leading up to the next floor.
During the next few days, Torrena gave her new apprentice some time to get squinted with his new surroundings, and to read whatever he liked. She also gave him a few books she waned him to start reading, both on elemental components and on pure magic. He devoured them. He had wanted a chance like this for years, to read to his hearts content on subjects that interested him and appealed to his curiosity. He also had some chores that he was set during these days, but they weren't bad. He had chores at home that he found much more rigorous. Even though his family had been farmers for generations, he didn't have much muscle or stamina. He was no use in heavy fieldwork, and so he only helped with planting seeds and weeding his mother's small gardens. Here he had to sweep or dust upon occasion, help with various errands, or other small tasks such as these.
As the days went by, he began to receive direct lessons from Torrena. She had him read sections from various books and then explain to her what he read in his own words. She questioned him on a few details and then let him return to whatever other book he might be reading for a while. In this way she gradually eased him into studies. The books he read in his free time were also about magic for the most part. Another type of lesson Torenna used was a discussion format, and sometimes she used a drawing board to illustrate what she was teaching. Occasionally she demonstrated magic.
Then one day, over a month into the apprenticeship, she decided he was ready to start learning a Cantrip, a type of spell that required very little energy and could be used many times in many situations. It required much memorization and practice to learn a cantrip, but once you knew it you could use it forever. She had decided teach him the Mage Hand cantrip. She called him into the study room, and motioned for him to sit down as he entered. Once he was settled she began.
"Rolen, you've been doing very well with your theory studies. I think you're ready to learn a spell. It is a simple but useful spell called Mage Hand, and it will allow you to make a hand of energy appear in the air and do tasks for you. For example:"
She paused for an instant, and then with a motion of her hand, the Mage Hand appeared. Without any movement from Torrena it flew over to the bookshelf, picked out a book, brought it to the table, and opened it to the page about Mage Hand. Rolen was impressed, and showed it. Torrena got up and exited the room, calling back as she did so.
'Study that. Remember every detail. I'll be back in half an hour with lunch. Don't try casting the spell yet, just study."
The Mage Hand she had cast closed the door behind her and then vanished. Rolen watched this happen and then turned to the book to study. Half an hour later, he was so absorbed that he hardly noticed when Torrena entered the room. She put down a plate with some bread and cheese next to him and tapped him on the shoulder. Once she had his attention, she pointed to the plate.
"There's your food. But here's what you have to do: you can only eat what you can pick up with your Mage Hand. No food until you can finish that plate with Mage Hand."
Rolen stared at her for a moment. This was interesting... and it seemed like it would be fun, assuming he could actually do it and didn't end up starving. He reviewed the page once more and then attempted the spell. He focused, and the energy began to gather. He used the trick Torrena had taught him for gathering it faster, moving his hands with his eyes closed, feeling the energy, and pulling it in like yarn. Now for the difficult part: getting the hand part down. He focused on fitting the energy into a glovelike shape, but it was difficult. He tried to follow the instructions in the book, but as he focused on the words instead of maintaining the energy, it dispersed into the air again. He gave a frustrated sigh and began again. The same thing happened, with the energy dispersing as soon as he looked at the book. He adjusted his strategy and set to studying the book again. Once he had studied it for a solid fifteen minutes, he tried again. This time he was able to get the energy into a fairly accurate hand shape, although the thumb was a bit awkward. He tried moving it over to the plate, but he couldn't get the fingers to pick up the food. He tried again, this time just maneuvering a piece of bread by bumping it with the hand. He got it to the edge of the plate and then hit it with the thumb so that it fell into the palm of the hand. He moved the hand towards his mouth. He had nearly succeeded! But then, in his excitement, he lost focus, and the chunk of bread fell to the floor. Torrena shook her head, half impressed with his strategy and half upset because he had let himself lose focus. She picked up the chunk and put it in a waste bin, and then told him to try again. After a few more half successes, during which he dropped some back on the plate and some on the table, and lost the spell a few times, he was finally able to maneuver a piece of cheese to his lips and take it in his mouth. His hand shot up in the air, the spell dispersed, and he was pleased to hear Torrena's gentle clapping.
