Legend of Ransera

123 Searing 2

Ivar had been attending a series of lectures about the using traversion to phase. It was a natural next step for people of his skill level and they were distinct from any other classes Ivar had ever taken. He recalled sitting amongst other students, notebooks open and quills at the ready.

Over the past few weeks, Ivar's notebook began to fill up with the details of how one could actually make their body incorporeal. Despite all the theoretical knowledge, Ivar knew that it wasn't enough to understand phasing conceptually. And so, after all those intensive lectures, Ivar was ready to move to the next phase, pun intended. He was ready for practice, ready to bring the theory to life.

Ivar found himself back in the familiar confines of his shared dorm room with a desk strewn with books and parchment. But it was his space, his own little corner where he could focus and be relatively undisturbed with his thoughts.

Ivar pulled out a hefty, worn-out book from his bag. He thought it was the perfect object to practice phase on. His eyes focused on the object before him. He stretched out a finger, pointing it towards the book, aiming for a single, thin page. His breath was steady, his concentration unbroken.

Remembering his teachings, Ivar began. He concentrated on his finger, tried to connect with the slipspace. He could feel something, a slight tingle, an invisible force. He nudged his finger forward, waiting for it to phase through the page.

Instead of passing through, his finger caught the edge of the page, tearing it. Ivar let out a sigh of disappointment. He had to be more careful, more controlled. He couldn’t afford to rush it, to force it. He had a suspicion that this ability was all about finesse.

Ivar tried again, focusing harder this time. His second attempt, however, ended like the first, with another page torn. Frustration welled up inside him. But he couldn't give up. Not yet. For hours, Ivar sat at his desk, practicing, failing, and trying again. The room was filled with the sound of torn pages and muttered curses.

After so many attempts Ivar's desk ended up littered with torn pages. He looked at the mess, the book now noticeably thinner. He’d always been a slow learner when it came to magic. It was one of the reasons why he still hadn’t requested a second rune yet. Feeling a little defeated, Ivar sat back, rubbing his eyes. They were starting to ache from the intense concentration.

He shook his head, clearing away the negative thoughts. He couldn't let himself get discouraged. He squared his shoulders and looked at the book again. He had one more idea he wanted to try.

This time, instead of trying to phase his finger through a single page, he aimed for the entire book. He stretched his hand out, focused his energy, and pushed. He held his breath, waiting for the familiar resistance of solid matter.

It didn't come. His finger went about an inch into the book like it wasn't even there. That was... unexpected. Ivar stared at his hand, a little dazed. Phasing through something rigid was somehow easier for him than something flimsy.

With a sigh, Ivar leaned back in his chair, thinking. He would have to go back to the books, do some more studying. Maybe there was something he missed, something he overlooked. Maybe there was another way to approach this.

He took a moment to stretch his stiff body, hearing the satisfying pop of his joints. He made sure to take a big gulp from his flask before attempting another go at his phasing technique. But before he could even start, a knock on the door disrupted his focus.

His roommate, stuck his head in, eyebrows raised.

"Still practicing? You're really going at it. At least come get a bite to eat."

“Alright, I’m coming.”

Ivar picked up the much-abused book from his desk, tracing the ragged edges of pages that bore the brunt of his relentless practice sessions. He decided to pick his roommate’s brain.

“Have you ever tried phasing through a whole book?"

"A book? No, I can't say that I have. Mostly been sticking to smaller objects, you know? The professor did say it'd take a while to get the hang of bigger things."

Nodding in understanding, Ivar’s grip tightened on his book, its edges digging into his palm.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. It's just... I've been trying to phase through some pages all afternoon. But I can’t seem to get it right. But when I tried going through a book it actually kind of worked for a second."

"Well, phasing isn’t easy, mate. It takes a lot of focus and control. And you know what they say about magic. It doesn’t always behave the way we want it to."

The dorm's corridors ended abruptly as they entered a place on campus where food was available for purchase. Now, as they stepped inside, they were immediately met with a bustling, noisy space filled with their peers, all eagerly digging into their meals. It was a typical afternoon scene.

They quickly found an empty spot near the corner, dropping their bags onto the long wooden bench. Bronn got up first, promising to bring back some food. Ivar, feeling the fatigue creeping back, decided to wait, choosing to spend the few spare moments to rest his eyes. Not long after, his classmate returned with a big chunk of buttered bread for them to split.

Ivar ate a few bites then showed his classmate what he was talking about earlier. Again, he tried to phase his finger through the book. This time, he was trying to get a feel for it, to understand the sensation and to control it better.

The familiar resistance was there, but this time he could feel a slight give, a bit of movement that hadn't been there before. It was progress, however slight. His classmate scratched his cheek and nodded his head.

“That isn’t so bad. You’ll get the hang of it, don’t worry. I don’t think I could phase through something so thick either.”

Chomping on the soft, buttered bread, Ivar found himself lost in thought. His teeth sank effortlessly into the baked good. Suddenly, a new idea struck him. He could try phasing his teeth through the food. It sounded absurd, but it was a chance for practice.

He glanced at the bread, half-eaten in his hand, his mind already working on how to apply the phase theory to this rather mundane situation. It was no solid wall or incoming attack, but it could be a start. And nobody would notice if he screwed up a few times.

Turning back to the ongoing conversation, he tossed out a question to his fellow student.

"Do you think once we’re strong mages, if we want to get onto the other side of a wall… would it be easier to vault to the other side or phase through it?"

He casually chewed, trying to subtly phase his teeth through the bread. The first couple of tries were unsuccessful, the crunch of the bread still present.

His friend shrugged.

"Depends on who you ask. I’d pick phasing since sometimes it’s awkward suddenly appearing in front of someone. Less things can go wrong."

Their conversation continued, sprinkled with shared jokes all while Ivar kept his focus split between the chat and his unusual experiment.

After several failed attempts, he finally managed a successful phase. His teeth didn’t crunch into the bread but slipped right through it and he nicked his tongue in the process. The idea had sounded so good at the time but biting one’s teeth together hard was jarring.

His friend looked at him.

"You alright? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"I just bit my tongue."

“Ouch!”

Finishing off his meal, Ivar decided that it was time to rethink his approach to practicing phasing. If he wanted to master this skill, he needed to do it smartly and safely. Lessons learned, even through mistakes, were valuable. His roommate said his goodbyes then vaulted away to who knows where leaving Ivar alone.

Ivar opted to walk back to his room and happened to pass a pair of classmates in the courtyard, their concentration etched on their faces as they honed their magical skills. Both were better students than he was and had already attained a certain mastery over their abilities.

One swung a metal rod through the air. Instead of blocking or dodging, the other simply stood firm. At the last moment, they phased and allowed the strike to pass right through them. They'd chosen a metal object since supposedly it was not possible to phase through organic material.

The ease with which they executed this advanced maneuver made Ivar jealous. He admired their skill, their confidence, their control. That's what he aspired to someday do with his magic. Instead of going back to his room to nurse his bleeding tongue he decided to sit and watch their fight for a while. He learned a lot just by watching and seeing practical uses of phasing in a fight. It was hilarious when they messed up too. Sometimes they couldn’t phase in time and they’d get hit much to the onlooker’s amusement.