you know it won’t hurt me, doesn’t mean I want the power tested on me! I should troblet your sorry backside!”
Sam smiled and then lowered Kael to his side. “Only if you could, old man.” The fighter moved to stand beside his trainer. “Don’t be mad. You know I love you.”
BJ grumbled and moved away.
“So what’s next?” Sam inquired, looking down at Kael.
Kael’s magic subsided. “I can see you like this form of training. Let’s try a new command. The word for ice is kelek. I want you to do the same as before, but instead of commanding fire, I want you to command the word for this new element.”
Sam lifted the blade. “Val arna, kelek nug!” Kael once again extended, and an ice-cold flame appeared around his blade.
“This is cool ... no pun intended,” Sam exclaimed. “But why would I need both fire and ice? Why not stick with one?”
Kael grumbled. “Sam, for such a smart man, you ask the dumbest questions. Do you think you would fight a fire-breathing dragon with its own element?”
Sam shrugged. “Okay, okay. I see your point. So are you telling me that there are dragons on this world?”
“The dragons live on Dragonia,” Kael replied. “You won’t need to worry about them, but other enemies are also immune to certain elements. You may find yourself in a battle where you’ll need to use a specific element to strike down your foe.”
“Okay, okay. So ... if I’m fighting a beast of this nature, it’s probably going to have magic of its own, right? How do I fight against that?”
Kael’s blade pulsated. “Finally, an intelligent question. At any point you feel the need for protection, you can use the word vaur and the name of what you need to be protected from. For example, you could say vaur nem. This will protect you from an enemy that uses water as a weapon. If you need to protect those around you from this same foe, you can use the words vaura nem, which will extend the area of protection to 15 paces around you.”
Sam thought a moment. “Let me get this straight. Let’s say I’m fighting one of these fire-breathing dragons. I would say Val arna, nug kelek to bring forth the icy flame on your blade, and then I would follow this up with Vaur nuar to protect me from its breath of fire. Is this what you’re saying?”
Kael confirmed.
BJ patted Sam on the shoulder, “Way to go, bonehead.” The training continued.
Meanwhile
The Town of Mountain View
As the two women were browsing through the local school of magic, Helga explained that Shalee would need to keep useful substances on her person. “To command advanced magic, Child, you’ll need more than just your staff. I find that this is one of the Peaks that many of my students enjoy most.” The older woman lifted her hand and gave Shalee a high-five. “I love to shop, Child.”
After the exchange, Shalee snapped her fingers. “You can say that again.”
Before Helga could say anything else, Shalee sauntered across the room and looked at a display of belts that hung on a wall painted blue-green. The shelves above the belts were white and a number of jars had been placed on top of them. Like Helga’s store, the jars were labeled.
After choosing a wide, black belt, Shalee commanded Precious to change its appearance. A light erupted from the leather as the transformation began. When the light faded, something far more fashionable and useful was left behind. The pouches that hung from the belt were now gone and a number of new, smaller pockets lined its length. The silver and onyx buckle that was once in the shape of a basic hoop now looked like a dragonfly. Its body was black and its wings were silver and possessed intricate detail.
“I think I might be able to wear this now,” Shalee said as she waved her arm and snapped her fingers. She pulled the belt off the hook and strapped it around her waist. “I wasn’t about to wear that hideous thing the way it was. It didn’t have any pizazz. Can you believe that?”
“Everything is fashion with you, Child,” Helga chortled while she shook her head. “Pay attention. We need to choose ingredients for those pockets so that Precious can create the effect you desire. It’s like cooking. When you bake, you need more than leaven.”
Shalee nodded impatiently. “Yeah, I know. So what are you getting at?”
“Well ... your staff is able to