Mother of Learning. Arc 3 Incomplete

«Good morning, Kiri!» yelled Zorian back, engulfing the shocked Kirielle into a hug. «Oh what a wonderful, wonderful day this is! Thank you for waking me up, Kiri, I really appreciate it! I don’t know what I would do without my wonderful little sister.»

Kiri wriggled uncomfortably in his grasp, not used to receiving such a gesture from him and unsure how to react.

«Who are you and what did you do to my brother!?» she finally demanded.

He just hugged her tighter.

«Something I can do for you, sonny?» asked Kyron. «The class has been dismissed, in case you haven’t noticed.»

«Yes, I’ve noticed,» Zorian confirmed. «I just wanted your advice about something, if you can spare the time.»

Kyron impatiently gestured him to get to the point.

«I was wondering if you knew any means of countering mind magic,» Zorian said.

«Well, there is your basic mind shield spell,» Kyron said carefully. «Most mages agree that’s all you need as far as mind magic protection goes.»

«Yes, but that spell is a bit… crude,» Zorian said. «I’m looking for something more flexible than that.»

«Crude, yes,» Kyron agreed, suddenly becoming more interested in the conversation. «Often useless, too. A simple dispel is enough to strip the protection off the target, and a proper mind mage will ensnare your mind before you even realize you’re being targeted.»

«Then why do most mages think it suffices?» asked Zorian.

«You know why most mind magic is restricted or forbidden?» Kyron asked. It was a rhetorical question, apparently, because Kyron immediately launched into an explanation. «It’s because it’s most commonly used to target civilians and other mostly defenseless targets. Most mind mages are petty criminals that use their powers on the weak-willed, and cannot be called a master of anything, let alone mind magic. It’s rare for mages to encounter mind mages that know how to use their powers properly. Still, even a moderately talented mind mage can easily ruin your life, to say nothing of magical creatures with mind-affecting powers on their disposal. There are methods of dealing with mind magic without resorting to warding spells, but most find it easier to practice mind shield until it’s completely reflexive and they can cast it on a moment’s notice. Or just carry a spell formula for the spell on their person at all times.»

«And these other methods are?» Zorian prodded after he realized Kyron wouldn’t say anything more.

Kyron gave him a nasty smile. «I’m glad you asked, sonny. See, not too long ago, the combat magic class had a much more demanding curriculum, including what was called ‘resistance training’. Basically, the combat magic instructor would repeatedly cast various mind spells at students while they tried to fight off the effects. It was quite effective at making students innately resistant to common mind-affecting spells like sleep, paralyze, and dominate. Unfortunately, there were a lot of complaints from students who reacted particularly badly to it, and after a number of scandals where teachers and student assistants were discovered to have been using the training exercise as an excuse to punish students outside of proper channels, the practice was discontinued. An overreaction in my opinion, but I was overruled.»

Zorian stood in silence for a moment, trying to digest this information. Was that really the best way to deal with mind magic? He got what the idea behind it was — it worked on the same principle that shaping exercises and reflexive magic did, burning the defense procedures into his soul the same way repetitive movements burned certain reactions into muscle memory. It just sounded so… mindless. And probably very painful.

That’s when he noticed Kyron was giving him a very predatorial look.

«How about it, sonny?» Kyron asked. «You think you have what it takes to go through it? I’ve been wanting to revive the practice for some time now, to be honest. I promise I’ll go easy on you.»

He lied. The very first spell he cast on Zorian was the ‘Nightmare Vision’ spell. Whatever the spiders had to say, it better be worth it.

Zorian’s eyes abruptly shot open as a sharp pain erupted from his stomach. His whole body convulsed, buckling against the object that fell on him, and suddenly he was wide awake, not a trace of drowsiness in his mind.

«Good morning, brother!» an annoyingly cheerful voice sounded right on top of him. «Morning, morning, MORNING!»

Zorian took a deep breath and focused on the image of what he wanted to achieve until it was so real he felt he could almost touch it. Billowing streams of mana erupted from his hands, invisible to the naked eye but easily felt by his senses — a mage could always feel his own mana, especially while in the process of shaping it. In little more than a second, everything was ready and he set the effect loose on the little pest lying on top of him.

Nothing happened.