Magical Chance

The Road To Magic

"Just remember Claus, there will always be ups and downs in life, but never lose yourself. And if you ever do, there will always be people to help you find your way back. We'll miss you, but you'll do great things for the world. Come back and visit now."

Claus Kunora was thinking about the last words he heard from his mother before leaving. He was now sitting in a carriage on the way to the capital, Kaytolis. That was where he'd begin his studies of magic, with the watchful eye of the royal mages in Playdus Academy. The ride was long and bumpy from his home town of Krypt on the outskirts but the ride was quiet and had little noise, if any. It felt like the route being taken was purposely out of the way. Claus just sat and thought. What can I do as a mage? What is it that I'm trying to accomplish? Why did I leave everything for this? Claus knew the answer for the last question. It was simply that the opportunity arose after it was found out he had the gift of mana coursing through his body. Claus just wanted to sleep, knowing the trip would take a day or two. Yet he kept himself up, not wanting to be found sleeping alone in the back. The carriage was empty aside from Claus himself. The seats were cushioned with red pillows and the walls were decorated in a long spiral like pattern. He looked along the pattern to see where it would lead as if curved and swirled along the walls. There was no end, but it put Claus at ease.

Suddenly, the carriage bumped once more and set Claus off the track of the spiral. He decided to put his ear onto the walls of the carriage and realized that he could hear voices outside. The commotion of everyday life, people cheering and shopping and whatever else went on. Then the carriage stopped.
"Aye kid, come on out," a voice said who Claus had recognized as the driver. He'd introduced himself as Zlone when Claus was first taken. Claus reluctantly got up and opened the carriage door. The light blinded him for a second but his sight quickly readjusted. Standing before him now was a roughed up looking man and a building with a sign which read "Motel".
"We'll be staying the night here and finish the trip tomorrow," Zlone said as a Claus took a moment to look around. It wasn't the capital like Claus had thought but a small town. It was still gigantic compared to the small village he'd come from but the town was large. Zlone then walked in and Claus followed.

The interior of the place looked like a tavern of sorts with many booths and tables amidst the first floor, while the visible upper level held many doors presumably leading to rooms. Zlone took the lead walking right up to the bar, as Claus followed in tow. Zlone then began to talk while Claus looked around. The place was almost empty, with only a few others seated at the bar. Claus then saw something catch his eye on one of the tables. He walked over to it and picked up what looked to be a book of sorts. He picked it up and flipped open the pages. Other than the first, the whole book was blank.
"So this is what a real grimoire looks like," Claus assumed as he spoke to himself in a light whisper. He went back on over to Zlone, pocketing the grimoire into his holster, given to Claus when he was chosen as a mage.
"It's not stealing when somebody has abandoned something, it's finding a new home," Claus could hear his mother saying a while back when he'd picked up a lost toy in the woods one afternoon and cried about taking it.

He stood behind Zlone for a few moments longer, before he turned around and spoke to Claus.
"I felt bad since nobody else was chosen on the outskirts so I figured you'd want to explore and rest before arriving. You've got the rest of the day so feel free to explore," Zlone said before yawning and heading upstairs.
"Oh, thank you sir," Claus said as he made his way up the steps.
"By the way," he began to say before turning around," Our room is 204. Remember that but if you don't, just ask the lady working at the front for my name." And like that, Zlone had disappeared into his room.

It was about half an hour later when Claus has settle on a tree on the outskirts of the town before pulling out the grimoire he'd found. He decided that maybe he could teach himself how the magic worked before he begin classes. It might have been an advantage over others. Claus sat down and began to read the spell on the first page.
"AE Augmentation: Chance," Claus read the spell's name before skimming the rest of the page.
"Remember Claus, somethings are always able to be inferred at the first glance, while other inferences take time to see," Claus remembered his mother telling him once, while learning about Tynaim, the language of the kingdom.
"Okay, So argumentation means to amplify or support in a way and a chance is a possibility, not guaranteed. It's a chance at augmentation," Claus began to speak to himself.
"Now further down the page, AE would seem to be Aqua Element, or water, so it's a water attributed spell with a chance of amplifying something. Seeing as this spell is an aquatic element, it's likely the whole book was supposed to be a water elemental grimoire, also supported by the dark blue coloring," Claus continued on. He analyzed the page over and over for about an hour or so more before finally deciding to see if the spell would work. He stood up and looked at the tree he'd been sitting on before holding out the book as he'd heard mages do.
"AE Augmentation: Chance," Claus said. Nothing happened and Claus could only think he looked dumb.
"AE Augmentation: Chance," Claus chanted again for nothing to happen. Claus then thought the spell might have only had a rate of occurring, making him think to do it over and over.
"AE Augmentation: Chance," Claus spoke softly.
"AE Augmentation: Chance," Claus said more questionably. Claus went on about it for a while with no avail and began questioning the legitimacy of the grimoire. After a while, the night swallowed the sky and yet Claus still kept on trying. He was focused on seeing if anything would ever happen.

"So this is where you've been kid," someone spoke from behind Claus, making him jump as nobody had been around the secluded area for a while. Claus whipped around to see Zlone laying on the wall of a building watching him.
"Uh... hi," Claus stuttered.
"I'm not going to ask where you found that but if you wanna cast any type of spell, you need to be sure of yourself and have a full understanding of the spell's capability," Zlone said eyeing up the grimoire Claus was holding.
"Alright then," Claus muttered before turning back to the tree.
"AE Augmentation: Chance," Claus said confidently and a bit louder. Nothing happened once again.
"Not like that, put your soul into it," Zlone told Claus, who simply nodded and followed his instruction.
"AE Augmentation: Chance!" Claus said, now on the verge of yelling, yet nothing happened.
"No, that won't do. You need to shout it and have the confidence, now yell for everyone to hear!" Zlone said now shouting to try and boost Claus up.
"AE Augmentation: Chance!" Claus yelled as the grimoire light up in its dark blue color. A magic circle in the same color appeared beneath the tree.
"Shut up you bloody drunks! I'm trying to sleep!" an elderly feminine voice shouted from far away. It distracted Claus as the grimoire faded and the magic circle disappeared.
"I guess the spell just doesn't work," Claus said a bit disapprovingly to himself.
"Nope, the spell worked, it's just that it's Chance Magic, meaning that it isn't only has a chance of happening," Zlone told Claus.
"You seem really knowledgeable about this stuff, are you a mage?" Claus ask Zlone, curious about why he seemed to know how everything worked.
"No, not me, but my brother. He was taught young by an elderly mage here in this very town," Zlone told Claus.
"Really now," Claus said now intently listening to Zlone as he slid the grimoire back into his holster.
"Yep, I went with him while he learned since our parents were always busy. I overheard and watched many a lecture," Zlone explained.
"And the old mage," Claus inquired," Is he still around?"
"Yeah, he is. Now I technically don't have to get you to the capital for another three days so maybe having you go visit the old man might be of some assistance to you," Zlone said. Claus silently cheered to himself before Zlone started talking again.
"But we're gonna have to get some sleep, I'll take ya over tomorrow," Zlone said.
"Alright then, let's get going," Claus said leading the way back to the motel.

Sometimes it's the most simple details that mean the most. The air had lost moisture and the ground had lost most of its water, while the tree had grown another two inches.

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New Spells

AE Augmentation: Chance
MC: 3
A spell that has the chance of amplifying traits with the use of surrounding water or manifested water if another usable spell is available.