Elzor Umberspore

Princex of the Deep Elves

Love one troublemaking princex and their dragon bff

I was bored so I made Elzor in Hero Forge.

197 A.D

The royal palace at the capital city of New Eleanore had been renovated and reconstructed countless times since it was first built almost two hundred years ago. Back in those early days, as the newly appointed Court Spellbinder, Elzor had direct control over his wing of the palace. Ensuring he had access to all the facilities that he would require in his position. One such amenity was a set of meditation rooms. Although quite simple in the palace’s initial construction, these days the floors were layered with brightly polished black and white tiles, a colourful quilted meditation rug taking centre place, and the walls were etched with carvings like the entirety of the splendid royal palace. Drade, who had come from much simpler means, would often marvel at the luxurious palace he now called home. Even after several months of living here.

It was in one of these meditation rooms that Drade sat, cross legged, opposite Elzor. His palms rested easily in his lap, his head was tilted forward and his mess of neck length brown hair fell across his face. Synchronously they drew long, deep breaths. Otherwise remaining completely motionless. The room had no windows and was kept lit by several electric lights fixed to the walls but a small watch lay between the two to keep time. It was gold with an inlaid silver pattern. Drade knew it must have been expensive, not only was it ornate but it was specially cased to be completely inaudible.

Eventually, their eyes opened in unison. Drade exhaled slowly and a wide grin crossed his face. “Wow,” He murmured in deep relaxation. “That feels amazing.” Elzor chuckled loudly and deftly jumped to his feet, rubbing his pale blue hands together. “Yes, I expect it would. We’ve attuned a large amount of magical energy in this room together.” After quickly stretching his arms and legs, which had lost some of their feeling due to the long inactivity, Elzor picked up the watch. “Three hours and forty five minutes.” He exclaimed. “I do believe that’s a new record for you my boy.”

Drade slowly and tenderly stood up. He had an acute awareness in all of his senses. He could see the faintest flakes of dust floating in the lit room, hear the swishing of Elzor’s robes, and feel the very air as it flowed against his skin. But most of all, he felt a mysterious energy pulling at him from the world beneath his feet. Like an ethereal anchor tethering him to the earth, almost replacing gravity itself.

“I can feel it,” He said in sudden realisation. Elzor looked at him questioningly. “I can feel the energy, I’ve never felt anything like this.” Elzor nodded knowingly. “I knew we would have this breakthrough soon. You have improved so much since you arrived fifteen months ago. When we first started these sessions you couldn’t even meditate for five minutes.” Drade smiled sheepishly, standing in place, feeling blissfully rooted to the magical energies. The impatient and impetuous boy from Durst Ridge seemed a whole other life, long forgotten.

Elzor rubbed his smooth chin as he continued to talk. “Meditation cleanses and relaxes the soul and the body. Like tuning a radio, we more clearly receive the pure magical energy that us Spellbinders draw on to cast our spells.” He stepped closer to Drade, who began to sense the immense breadth of the power that Elzor was capable of channeling. “But you already know that,” He put his pale blue hand on Drade’s shoulder, his mysterious pure black eyes looking into Drade’s hazel ones. “So I think it is time that you finally learn what it really means my boy.” “Really? Cast a spell?” The smile on the boy’s face grew. “Yes, this is the perfect opportunity. Be mindful though, attuning your body to these magical energies is a long process that will take a lifetime to master. This is only a simple spell, and it may take some practice to cast easily.”

Drade nodded quickly in agreement, and Elzor stepped back. The Eriarnore held out his right hand and, with a swift flourish of his wrist, a luminous ball of light appeared in his hand. He held it there for a second and with a similar gesture, the light disappeared again. “Several key things to keep in mind” He said, as Drade slowly repeated his hand gesture. “Precise hand movement is not nearly as important as will. You need to feel the energy flowing through you as you harness it for your spell. Dragon Magic is feeling and intuition.” Drade didn’t really understand what that really meant, but he readied himself, holding out his hand. He concentrated on the anchoring feeling of the energy and envisioned the floating ball of light in his hand. He inhaled deeply through his nose and exhaled through his mouth. And with a flourish, swished his wrist around.

And there, in his upturned palm, was absolutely nothing. “Not to worry.”Elzor said encouragingly. “Casting the first spell is always the most difficult. Once you know what sensation you’re looking for, it will come much more easily.” Drade continued to try swishing his hand a few more times in quick succession, but to no avail. He could feel frustration tearing at the edges of his senses, the perceived attachment to the world he felt before was waning. “No,” Said Elzor, stepping close to Drade again. “Don’t allow yourself to be distracted, embrace the flow of power surging within you. Harness it, feel it. The power will bend to your will but you must also give it the freedom to swell within you.” Again, Drade sensed Elzor’s incredible gulf of potential energy. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply. The magnetic energy welled into him again. Loosening his muscles, he embraced the sensation of the ethereal magic spreading into his arms and fingers, like a strange, soft tingling. He held his hand up again, and swished his wrist. For just an iota of a second, he felt the sensation of resistance against his hand movement, as if his fingers were catching onto the fabric of the universe itself. He followed through with his gesture, pushing against the resistance, pulling through the magic from within himself.

Drade stood there in a stunned silence as the bright orb of light lay in his hand. “YES!” He shouted, He jumped up and down for a moment but then stopped, worried his lapse in concentration might cause the light to dissolve. But Elzor chuckled. “No, once you’ve already cast the spell, it exists and you do not need to maintain it.” He closed his hand around the orb, its weightlessness gave him the impression that it would be fragile, but his squeezes didn’t seem to affect it whatsoever. He turned his hand upside down, but the globe remained stuck in place.

Elzor strode over to the light switches next to the door. He flipped them off, but the clear white illumination from Drade’s spell lit the room almost as brightly. “Congratulations Drade,” He said with a smile on his normally passive face. “You have just cast the light ball spell.” Drade continued to stare at the orb of compounded light in his hand. Although it was brighter than the battery powered torches Drade had used, the light did not seem strain his eyes. “This is the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen.” He said simply. There were no words he could possibly use to describe the mixture of wonderment and pride he was feeling.

He waved his arm in the air suddenly, throwing shadows over the walls. “Hey, can I throw it?” “Only you can know that, it’s your spell after all.” Answered Elzor flatly. Drade attempted to pitch the light like a ball a few times, but it stayed firmly stuck in his palm. Elzor strode forward and caught the boy’s arm mid swing. “Not like that.” He whispered. Drade grinned with realisation, and closed his eyes. With a deep slow breath he felt the magical tether again, feeling the power flow through his veins. He reeled and threw the orb. Again, he felt the sensation of a moment of resistance, like his hand catching an otherworldly hook, and pulling it through into the world with a burst of energy. The light left his hand and flew through the air until it hit the wall at the far end. It held its place there, the etched walls casting strangely shaped shadows.

Drade whooped out loud. “Now I kinda sorta know what you meant by that weird advice you were giving me before.” Being aware of how to channel the energy and the sensations to anticipate, Drade cast several more light ball spells, and threw them consecutively against the wall. “Magic isn’t an exact art.” Elzor continued with his lesson, “As I said before, it will take you your life to master. While stance and gestures do help channel the energy into a spell, it is the will that is the most important.”

Drade nodded and looked at many balls of light stuck against the far wall. It was so brightly illuminated he couldn’t actually see the engraved surface. After having cast so many spells in quick succession, he didn’t even need to consciously focus on the energy flowing through him anymore, the spells just came with his will and the hand movement. “How about we try this.” He said after a few moments of quiet thought. He held up his left hand, and slowly swiped it to the right. He felt that familiar moment of resistance, and the lights on the far wall began to disappear from left to right along with his hand movement, until the room was left in darkness.

Elzor laughed out loud and patted the youth on the head before heading back to door and flipping the lights on again. “That’s it my boy!” He exclaimed loudly. Drade’s smile stayed firmly planted across his face, he had never felt more proud of himself than at that moment. Living with his parents at Durst Ridge, he had never felt any sense accomplishment. His grades were poor, and he was always getting in trouble for one reason or another. Especially when compared to his best friend Darius, the brave and popular son of a knight. But here he was, one of the first humans to cast a spell in two hundred years.

“This is just the beginning!” Exclaimed Elzor, putting his hand on Drade’s shoulders. “ But I think that will be all for today,” continued Elzor, “I guess you would want to fill in the other apprentices.” It was as if Elzor had read Drade’s thoughts. The boy laughed out loud and quickly ran to the corner of the room to grab his satchel. As the euphoria had mostly worn off, his natural inquisitiveness began to return. “So, if I hadn’t wiped those spells, how long would they have stayed there?” He asked, slowing down on his way to the door. “That would depend on how much magical energy you load into your spell.” Replied Elzor in his usual slow speech. “Because your body is only just now opening itself up to magic, it probably wouldn’t have lasted any longer than an hour. Learning to regulate how much magic you use in your spell is a skill that we will cover in future, but until then the power and length of your spells will fluctuate randomly.” Drade thought for a moment. “You said that you chose me and the others ‘cos we were more receptive to magic? Does that mean that only a few people can learn it?” “Anyone can learn magic.” Responded Elzor, picking up his own bag. “But some people have a clearer attunement than others. Magic comes easier, and they can cast more powerful spells.” “You would think there would be more Spellbinders around.” Said Drade, now deciding to wait for Elzor by the door. “Even before they were wiped out in the war.” “Taking on an apprentice means a retirement of one’s career as a Spellbinder. The commitment you make to an apprentice is one that you will have for the rest of your life. Not all of them did, and those that chose to would only take on one, two at most.” “But you took ten.” “Well, I’d hate to brag my boy, but I do happen to be immortal.”