Maq glanced around nervously. Ever since she'd taken over as CO of the Stomping Grounds, several of the other mercs had become curious about what she called 'magic'. In a flash of annoying brilliance, Dan Crasher, her creator and one of the few humanoids still alive able to use magic, had suggested that she hold a seminar on magic and the basics of it. Unfortunatly for Maq, he'd set everything up, then fell back to let her teach the class. She had never been very good at teaching, and feeling the several dozen pairs of curious eyes on her made her feel rightly uncomfortable. She took her place at the front, quickly trying to organizing her thoughts.

"So...uh....you want to learn about magic, do you? Okay, well where to begin?" Maq muttered, still trying to collect her thoughts while fighting the blush that rose to her cheeks as everyone stared at her.

"Well, first off, magic isn't some slight trick of the hand or a bunch of mummbled words that make no sense. True, in the begining of our training, we'll recite something, but the words are just a way of helping us to do what we want to do. What we call 'magic' is really nothing more then manipulating the natural order of things, so we have to be careful what we do. When we want to cast a spell, we pull in whatever we need from around us, and focus it on what we want to do. We use what is called 'will', so you'll you'll hear use say something along the lines 'to Will something to happen'."

"I thought magic came from within." One of the mercs blurted out.

"Only partially. For example, if you wanted to throw a fireball, you'd pull in the heat from all around you and from within you, collect it inside of you, then release it to wherever you want. Same goes for most other elemental spells. That's why my water spells are more powerful near a large body of water; there's more there to work with. It also means that my water spells are weaker in dry, hot areas, and it's possible for me to dehydraite myself and everything around me if I'm not careful. However, if you want to create something out of nowhere, lets say you want to create a metal sword to fight with, it would all come from within. This takes quite a bit more energy and power to do, so it's not an area for you to experiment in without instruction. Most people have to reach a level of 7 or greater in order to pull that off, and even then, it's very difficult for them to do.

"Also, you should note that everything you do, though you do pull in everything from around you, does take energy to get it to perform the way you want it to. Random magic is very dangerous, so we teach focus before we teach major attack spells. Focusing your magic takes a great deal of energy and concentraition, and in the begining, even the slightest spell will leave you feeling drained. After you've practiced enough, though, it should take less effort, and therefor it wont be as draining, but it's still possible for you to tire. It's also possible to use so much magic that you could kill yourself. Once you've willed something to happen, it will continue to drain away your energy until it's complete. You could have no energy left to keep breathing or keep your heart beating. That's why we rarely use magic. It's sometimes easier to do things with your muscles and back.

"What are these levels you mentioned?" Another merc asked.

"It's a way of mesuring your skills and their power. There are 10 levels, 10 obviously being the highest." Maq looked around at some of the blank stares she was gettin, and decided to elaborate.

"A level 1 mage usually is very clumsy, and can't control their abilities all that well. They can pull off one or two tricks, and that's about it. A level 2, however, gains a great deal more knowlege, but still has control problems. They're better at pulling off simple spells, such as light spells, and they start experimenting with things like fire and water and the other basic emlements.

"Level 3 is where you learn have control over yourself and a majority of your magic, and you know how to focus it. That's the level where you start throwing all those fun things around.

"Level 4 you learn how to power up your spells so they can actually do damage, and you learn special manipulation skills like levitation, although at this stage all you can really do is pick up a feather or something else that's light.

"Level 5 is where you actually become a threat. Though before, you can do damage, it's usually not significant enough to harm a person. At this level, your shots should be as powerful as a plasma blast. " Maq smiled to herself as several of the mercs began taking vigorous notes. She paused long enough to let them catch up to her before she continued.

"Now at level 5 and below, you're under the rule of a master, normally a level 8 mage or higher. During those levels, you teacher will show you those incatations that most of you now associate with magic. These help to keep your spells under control so you don't end up hurting someone on accident. It also takes so of the strain off you, and helps to train you to focus your mind. Also, you master will want to be around you at all times when you're practicing magic, to make sure he can squelsh any mistakes you might make. However, once you're at a level 5, they'll start to let you practice on your own more often." Maq paused again, glancing over to where Dan sat. They shared a brief smile, remembering back to the days when Maq had been training under him for so long. Turning her attention back to the mercs, she continued.

"Level 6 focuses more on the mind then anything else. Most spells should be able to be performed without any incantaitions, although that usually will leave you feeling somehat drained after awhile. Also, you learn how to focus your powers inward for such things as healing and the like. Learning to create something from nothing also comes into play at this time. Most level 6ers have proven that they take magic seriously, and as such spend their time studying, since there's quite a bit to be learned at this stage.

"After level 6, your levels simply imply how powerful you've become. A level 7 person has most of the knowlege they need, and has no further need for instruction. Anytime they want to know about something, they know where to go to study it. Though they can't do everything, they can cause a significant amount of damage and most of their spells have the effect of a fully powered-up plasma blast. The only difference is that they don't tire as easily from doing so, since they should have had enough practice. Creation still is difficult, but simple things like food and symetrical objects arn't too hard to create.

"At level 8, you're allowed to take on apprentices of your own to teach them magic. This allows you to re-learn some of your older spells, so they don't fall into disuse. Also, things like self levitation, or making yourself able to fly for very short periods of time, usually comes into play about now. The reason you don't try it before now is if you fail to do it correctly, you'll have to fall back on your studies to come up with another way to stop yourself from hitting the earth.

"At level 9, you'd have been able to join the ranks of the magic counsil at the Tower of Sorcery. However, since there are so few mages left in this wolrd, and they are so widely scattered, that this tradition has fallen by the wayside. At this level, you're able to create things without much effort, and you strike out on your own to try and become a level 10.

"Only someone of a higher rank, however, can acknowlege your ascention from one level to the next. This person is normally your initial instructor. But, you cannot be promoted to the same level as they. You'll have to find someone of higher rank before you can ascend. You don't become a level 10 until you're able to defeat another level 10 in battle. Usually this is done with several other level 10 witnesses, but since there are few mages left, this tradition has also fallen by the wayside."

"Just how many level 10 mages are there now?" the first merc asked curiously.

"As of right now, I know of only 2. One is Dan Crasher, my father and creator." Maq motioned to Dan, who gave a short wave. She smiled wickedly. "He's doesn't use magic as often anymore, so he doesn't look like the sort, and he's a bit scatter-brained at times, but he can bite the tops off of mountains if he needed to. Unfortunatly, he's also a lazy slob, so he's more likely to allow someone else to deal with whatever comes up." Maq was rewarded with a level glare from Dan, while several of the mercs snickered. Coughing slightly to keep from laughing herself, Maq ignored his gaze. "The other level 10 mage is someone I hope you never run into. Her name is Lady Knickara, and she's more likely to blast you into oblivion then teach you."

The students seemed a bit nervous about that. Maq smiled sweetly, then continued with her lecture.

"So, now that you know about the levels, lets review the founding rule of magic. The most important rule of all to remember, don't ever try to will anything out of existance. If you want to get rid of someone, kill them with a sword or blaster. If you want to destory something, burn it. But don't ever try and make anything vanish. The purpose of the universe is to create things. If you try and uncreate something, even something as small as a pebble, then the power will turn back on you and rip your very being apart. This isn't a good area of experimentaition. If you find yourself on the verge of saying 'Be Not', 'Vanish', or something like it, stop and get yourself under control. That's the other reason that your teacher has to be around you at all times before you mature. They can keep you from doing things like this." Maq looked over her notes, ignoreing the nervous looks of the mercs in front of her. She looked back at Dan, who was still sulking from her earlier comment.

"Also, it should be noted that using magic makes a...."Maq paused, her brow furrowed in thought. "...let's call it a noise. Normal people can't hear it, but those other people with mage powers who are close by can. Though you might not think much of that now, there might come a day where you'll want to be quiet, like in a battle, so it's nessicary to learn how to mask the noise your magic makes. Depending on what you're doing, the amount of noise a spell makes varies. Translocation, or moving an object from place to another like a teleporter, makes most likely the loudest possible noise. Elemental attacks, mainly light spells, make the quietest noise." Maq shuffled through her papers, and decided that it was time to wind things down.

"The ability to use magic is latent in everyone, however, not everyone can focus themselves enough to bring it to bear. In other words, you all have the potential, but not all of you will be able to perform. Most mages, when they look back, discover that the first time they used their power, it came at a time of great emotional stress, usually anger. However, this is what we call random magic, and there's almost no control over it, so it's power varies." A sudden thought came to Maq, and she turned to Dan. "Y'know, I just thought of something. When most people discover and use their talent, it's usually out of rage at someone or something. But a person's first response to an obstical is to destroy it or wish it away. They're first use of the talent was to will something out of existance, and it turned around and destroyed them. Maybe that's why there arn't too many random mages nowadays." Maq chuckled slightly as the assembled mercs shifted uncomfortably.

"I think that covers the basics, don't you?" She asked him sweetly. He grunted and agreement, so Maq turned back to the assembled mercs. "That's about it boys. If you still wish to learn magic, Dan would be more then happy to accept you as an apprentice. I, however, cannot personally teach you magic, since I'm currently just a level 7. Come and find me when I ascend to the next level. Good day gentlemen." And with that, Maq left the mercenaries to their own devices.

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