Spring 2, 115
Caelum wanted to become stronger, and he wanted to do that sooner rather than later. The aelf he had met the day before wanted Caelum to show his mettle. It was also a big ask, requiring a great deal of commitment, perseverance, and drive to improve in such a short amount of time. Caelum had started at a library since he wanted to learn more about what kinds of plants were in the area and felt that it would be a good place to start in order to pick which plant he wanted to bind with next. A vast assortment of papers adorned the ancient oak shelves as he meandered over the dusty shelves.
He discovered a book that he had actually read years ago, back in his early days as a humanoid. He'd spent many a class with the aelf children poring over the book. Grasping it in his hand reminded him fondly of his playtime boyhood; he had not been the most focused student, frequently daydreaming rather than devoting himself to serious study. Caelum started quietly reading aloud its contents.
The text told him that even the most fundamental forms of Magic required a fuel source such as Saol or Aether. These sources can ultimately be controlled and managed to produce a variety of effects that would not be possible otherwise, such as moving water, breathing fire, or creating illusions. The most popular way for doing this is to use magical items or take on some form of personal magic. Although he tried to approach it from a different perspective, Caelum already understood all of this. He knew that many fuel sources were ordinarily not visible to the unaided eye.
There was more to read, such as that not all races were equal when it came with the ability to manipulate these fuel sources and there wasn't always a visible indication of who could hold more or less. Caelum adjusted is position as he thought about the aelves and humans he'd lived among. He'd seen various siblings that were clearly less magically inclined than others. One friend's youngest brother and sister could use aether more skillfully than the friend could.
The librarian, an old aelf with a thin, snow-white beard, cleared his throat, drawing Caelum's attention. "Looks like rather simple material. If you're interested, I could find you something much more thorough. For the day, would you rather check that out? Be a shame to find out you've been wasting your time."
Caelum agreed and thanked the man, ultimately checking out another book. It was a pleasant day with a cool wind blowing through the forest. The weather was in good balance. While studying, Caelum was getting a little hungry, so he chose a route that would take him to a restaurant that he had grown to like. There was a human bazaar not too far away that was lined with good eats.
Even though it was a family-run business and the location was busy as usual, the precision and sophistication with which the cuisine was prepared made the brief wait worthwhile. He waited for one of the chef's daughters to clear his plate while seated at a table, deep in concentration on the book that made the wait almost imperceptible. It included a variety of training techniques for using one's Saol with druidism and improving one's ability to manage it; these two things appeared to be related.
Caelum ordered some pork, nodding his head in appreciation as they brought him something to drink. There was just something so wonderful about this fairly straightforward dish. He had not exactly become a regular here but he sometimes spoke with the other regular customers when he was bored. It was a cozy atmosphere that kept him coming back for more. It was a fairly busy place for humans to visit during their meal breaks, though he didn't think he'd ever seen an aelf choose to eat here.
The book also went into some popular plants to bind with along with some less popular options. Caelum figured that it was about time he binded with something other than the large tree he'd been advised to bind with to begin with. He'd chosen the giant sequoia because it was one of the largest trees in the forest. It had massive roots and could easily wrap around someone and overpower an enemy, but the tradeoff was that it was hard to provide enough saol to create it because it was so large. He supposed another benefit was that it could create some armor in the form of bark, but it was hardly anything special in that regard. Any tree's bark was better than nothing, though he yearned for something better.
He started to consider realistic places for him to seek out some of these plants in the book. He had heard of several training grounds where aelfs tended to practice. Surely there would be useful varieties of plants there... Typically, Caelum had tried to take things on solo but maybe this was part of the problem; by depending too heavily on his seclusionary tendencies, he might be hampering his own progress.
When Caelum's lunch arrived, he was nearing the end of his chapter and thanked the server before digging into the platter that was set out for him. Every taste was as perfect as he had imagined, and he continued to read while he ate. It was hard to focus when the food was this delicious though. The young dragon was a little let down as the book started to get dry because the first chapter had been so interesting.
Caelum closed the book, paid for his meal, then headed out to one of the training grounds. He saw a handful of aelves practicing using their druidism to manipulate some of the trees. There was no instructor, it seemed to be a simple group of like-minded aelves that were there to do some routine practice.
"Hey," he called to them as they shot vines out of their hands in unison. They stopped to see who was calling out to him.
A few looked at him quizzically, but a couple said the word 'dragon' or at least he thought they did from a distance.
"Come to join us?" one called out. None of them looked unhappy to see him. If anything, they looked eager to see him prove himself.
"Well, really I came for advice," Caelum admitted as he rubbed the back of his head with one of his hands. "See, the only tree I've bound myself to has limited applications… I think I'm ready to take on something new. So I thought, who better to ask than druids in the middle of training."
"We would love to help you aelf friend," one said with a smile. "Tell us, which of our wonderous trees have you binded to so far?"
"The AElheim Sequoia," Caelum said as he pointed a finger to the side. A rotating flurry of incredibly thick roots shot out of his fingertip, rotating in a slow motion before he ended the spell and allowed the roots to drop to the ground. He had plenty of Saol to fuel what he just did, but it still winded him to use so much so quickly. He'd wanted to show off, that was all.
"Not a bad choice for beginners," said another aelf. "but limited, as you say. What do you want to do with your magic? We can help guide you, perhaps even take you to what you seek."
"Well, to be honest I think that it would be great to be able to make armor and weaponry, perhaps there's something here that would be better suited for that purpose?" Caelum had thought pretty hard and he thought it made sense since his main use for druidism thus far had been defensive.
"Hmm, the obvious answer is the AEtumetal. It's the best choice for general weaponry, but druidism is more than simply creating wood." He held out his hand and in his palm he formed a dagger that he showed to Caelum. Another aelf did the same, but with remarkable better quality.
"See, it depends how good you are at making weaponry. Your wood working abilities are more important than the material you use."
Caelum held out his own hand. He focused on creating a dagger and the best he could do was a small, slightly curved stick with an edge that was fairly dull. "It seems you're right," he said with a chuckle. "So, do you recommend I still bind to this tree, the aetumetal I mean."
"Yes, it's still a good option. But you should practice your woodworking. I just wanted to make sure you understood and did not get confused if you could not make a masterwork weapon on your first try."
Caelum nodded. "Thank you so much for your advice and insight. Is the tree nearby? I'm not sure I've ever seen a tree with bark that looks anything like the dagger in your hand." It was metallic looking, but also wooden at the same time. It looked exquisite.
"Not nearby, no, but I will take you." He waved goodbye to his friends who continued their training.
Last edited:
