Taraquin

Chapter 45

A week has passed since Zane arrived at the Motherwell School of Sorcery. Day after day, he's worked on perfecting his spells and speeding up the quickness in which he uses them. When he's not practicing magic, he's spent his evenings reading his Grandfather's book of potions and other free time practicing with his Father's swords. Though Dekker has been with him for almost every moment of the day, Zane has been stuck in his own head, lost to his drive to learn more.

Dekker awakes to the sound of swords hacking away at a log outside his window. He rolls out of bed and crosses the large room to investigate the commotion. He pulls back the curtains to discover Zane, barely lit up by the torches that line the courtyard, using Hagan's swords as he practices different assaults on the practice log. Dekker startles as the morning bell chimes loudly, signaling their wake up.

"Damn it!" He curses the bell before he slowly begins getting dressed. By the time Dekker finishes putting on his clothes, Zane is already in their common area when Dekker enters the room. "What the hell are you doing up so early?" Questions Dekker as Zane puts away his swords.

"Sleep is a crutch for the weak," jokes Zane.

"Are you calling me weak?" Laughs Dekker as he grabs a book and tosses it at Zane.

"I was only kidding," deflects Zane as he dodges the flying book.

"So why were you up?" Redirects Dekker.

"I created and tried out a potion that I read about in my Grandfather's book. It's a sleep spell that is supposed to wake you up at whatever time you desire and you feel more rested than you would if you had slept the entire night. I've been up almost all night training and I don't feel even remotely tired," admits Zane.

"That's amazing! Can you make some for me?" Dekker asks excitedly.

"Of course! I'll make more for both of us and we can train while everyone else sleeps tonight"

"What other crazy spells have you learned from that book?" Questions Dekker as his interest grows.

"There are tons of strange things in it. There's one where you can locate anyone with the use of a map, there's another that makes you appear old, and then I saw one that can change your appearance to make you look like someone else. There are literally thousands of spells in this book. It's no wonder my Grandfather was able to do things people had never seen before," explains Zane.

"That's insane!" Laughs Dekker. "We should try some of the others as well."

"I plan to!" Admits Zane. "I think we should try to create a new one every day, that way we can get to a point where we have each of these potions on hand whenever we need them. Plus, we would know how they work and how long they last as well."

"I can't wait! Can we just skip class today and learn potions instead?" Whines Dekker.

"I doubt Ademar would be happy about that," laughs Zane. "I'm also not willing to find out what he'd do if we made him mad."