Year 2535, 1st of Winter’s Reign, Hour 19 – Norrg’kl, Yorn’s Workshop – Solaria’s POV

In the few weeks after the Hearth’s Warming ‘bonding’ between Yorn and myself, a new year comes to fruition. Back in Equestria, the new year would be met with celebration and a night drinking.

In Norrg’kl however, nothing interesting happens. Beyond seeing a few new faces, the day continued on as normal. Despite never partaking in such events, I did miss the atmosphere that the day would provide.

“Finish that sword, then we can break for food.”

Yorn’s voice snaps me from my thoughts of the past. I don’t respond to him, rather choosing to finish sharpening the iron sword in front of me. I had expected to use the grindstone, especially for such a hefty blade. But Yorn, with his practical sense, told me to learn the hard way first. Not that using a whetstone is difficult, but the amount of time it took was proving to be inefficient.

He uses such slow methods to complete his work, yet he can perform magic. I wonder why he doesn’t use his abilities to assist his tasks…

While I daydream over Yorn’s possible magic abilities, I finish the one side of the sword. I had done a decent job, although some clean-up is required. I set the whetstone down onto the workbench before walking back to Yorn’s living area. Like always, Drukl greets me in the form of excited bouncing around my legs.

Yorn is already preparing something as I sit at the table.

“You’ve told me and shown me your magical abilities, but you never use them beyond prying into my mind,” I abruptly say. “Why is that?”

“That question took you awhile to ask,” Yorn responds. “And for your information, I use them plenty.”

“I meant outside of your cheap telepathy. Can you even perform any other spells?”

Yorn sets down the ladle he’s using.

“My telepathy is not cheap,” Yorn retorts. “and I don’t exactly have a reason to use any other spells. Besides, from what I’ve noticed, it doesn’t work the same as your magic. It’s more-so a passive power I have. This is on top of the fact I don’t know any actual spells.”

“Were you never exposed to magic?” I ask. “I thought you said your mother had your magical tendencies.”

“She did,” he replies. “but we didn’t have your spell tomes in Clan Brutus, and I’ve never had the luxury of a teacher, or even another outside of my mother that shared my abilities before.”

“Well, I’d be willing to teach you some new spells if you think you’re up for it.”

“That sounds like an interesting offer. Although, I can imagine most spells won’t be useful to me unless they hold practical uses.”

“Plenty of magic is practical,” I say as I think over the less extravagant spells. “I could teach you Telekinesis, Kinetic Dispersion, Illumination…”

Kinetic Dispersion?” Yorn’s question is laced with confusion. “That doesn’t sound simple…”

“It basically allows the caster to control where the kinetic energy from their physical strikes goes. As an example, I could punch a target and cause the energy from the punch to, instead of falling on their armor, to be directed to their spine. Although, for someone with extreme magical talent, this spell is redundant.”

“It sounds like you could still use it effectively if you wanted to.”

“I can, but considering I already have the physical strength to match, it still remains redundant to me.”

“Really,” Yorn quips. “well that explains why you’ve been breaking every single piece of metal I had you practicing with.”

“Oh, forgive me for taking your suggestion of ‘strike the metal hard’ to heart… Or perhaps I was growing frustrated with constantly crafting solid metal poles…”

“I’ll teach you how to make weapons and tools in due time. Be patient,” Yorn reprimands. “Besides, I’m already having you work with such craft anyways.”

I sigh with exasperation.

“Sharpening swords and actually making them are two different things.”

“Yes, and learning to make them is complicated, as well as requiring lots of practice,” Yorn says as he serves the food and brings the bowls to the table. “I’m trying to avoid overwhelming you.”

“You’re talking to the Unicorn that went from a Private to Captain of the Guard within 144 years, whom had little proper education. The previous record was somewhere in the 400s. Trust me, I can handle complicated.”

Yorn rolls his eyes, not speaking.

“Tell you what,” I offer after finishing half the bowl. “Start teaching me more important stuff now, and I’ll help you expand your magical potential.”

Yorn ponders over my deal, remaining silent as he and I eat.

“What will you start with?”

“Telekinesis as it’s the easiest. Then probably Illumination… Actually, I’ll have to show you Magical Measurer first, to find out the number of Drops in your Magic Pool.”

I notice Yorn staring blankly at me.

“I understood exactly none of that…” He mutters.

“Looks like I’ll be showing you the fundamentals of magic as well,” I snort.

“We can do that after today’s work.” Yorn says, standing and walking towards the work room.

“Heh,” I chuckle. “It’ll take more than an evening to teach you anything of importance.”

We both head back into the work room, myself returning to sharpening the other side of the sword. Yorn slides a long metal bar into the forge, pumping the bellow to increase the heat within.

We both remain quiet, me personally thinking over where to begin in my to-be magic lesson. I figure Yorn is doing the same.

1st of Winter’s Reign, Hour 30, Norrg’kl, Yorn’s Living Room – Solaria’s POV

“Hmm, too bad outside is a freezing death-zone. Your home is too small to properly practice magic…”

Even with the cleared living space, the room is still extremely compact compared to any other place I’ve practiced. I also feared that the collateral damage that came with magic would cause several things to break.

There was also Drukl to get in the way.

“Is there somewhere we can practice around Norrg’kl? Like training grounds?”

“There is,” Yorn says. “But it’s reserved for guards only.”

“Aah, svist,” I mutter. “Oh well, here will do for now.”

I point to Yorn’s chair. “Sit.”

Yorn sits into his rocking chair as I take mine.

I take a glance at Drukl. Thankfully, he’s unconscious in his bed, drooling into it. For his sake, he’ll stay that way until I’m done teaching Yorn for tonight.

“Now then,” I lean back into the chair, resting my elbows onto the armrests while setting a fist against my palm. “Tell me what general knowledge you know of magic, so I know where to start.”

“Uhh, okay…” Yorn replies. I can tell he’s caught off-guard by my request.

“Well, I was taught that magic is an other-worldly power gifted to the Minotaurs by the All-Father, so that our kind may live in prosperity. Since the All-Father is a kind deity, he also shared this power with the rest of the world’s creatures. But the Horned Devils abused the All-Father’s kindness and hoarded the magical power for themselves, which is why they have great magical power and the Minotaur’s don’t.”

Yorn pauses his, rather rude history lesson to wince at my shocked and slightly offended stare.

“Okay,” I eventually say after several awkward seconds of silence. “Beyond the extremely racist and rude morals to that, interesting information, it’s completely wrong.”

“Yeah,” Yorn says. “I had figured. Sorry.”

“Worry not,” I wave off his apology. “I’ve been hit with worse insults.”

“Anyways,” I begin the lesson. “Magic actually is an energy that is within every living organism. Every creature, from an insect to an Ancient Dragon contains at least a speck of magical power. Obviously, some creatures hold more than others, and some, like Unicorns, have the ability to use that internal magic externally. Technically, any creature smart enough to understand how to use it can, but unless the creature has a form of conductor, it won’t be easy. That’s why Unicorns and Alicorns can use magic so easily; our horns. These are our conductors.”

My arms drop onto the armrests.

“But enough of the historical fundamentals. A more important aspect of magic is your Magic Pool. It is what judges your magical capabilities and is what every spell is measured against. What fills the hypothetical Pool is called Drops. The Drops are the actual measurement, compared to the Magic Pool which contains the Drops.”

I stand from the chair, ambling towards the center of the living room while speaking.

“Now that I’ve explained what magic is, let’s begin with the actual spells. To cast a spell, one must first ignite it, either through speaking a specific phrase while channeling magic or by mixing magical frequencies, in which either is usually combined with certain hand movements. But back to igniting. What would work best for you would be speaking the spell. Since you were able to cast Incineration, I’ll assume you know a few words of the Aligonic language. I doubt you happen to have an Aligonic dictionary lying around?”

I walk to Yorn’s bookshelf and perform a half-hearted scan through the titles.

“No, I don’t,” he replies. “I only know the words for, uh, Incineration, from a book my mother had.”

“Well, I suggest you find one if you can, because Aligonic is the language which magical spells were binded with. Technically, it’s a dead language, but it can still be used for igniting spells. Regardless, I’ll teach you the words I know.”

I remain silent for a moment, recalling the correct pronunciation.

“To cast Telekinesis for example, one would speak the class of the spell as well as the spell itself. So Telekinesis would be… Xelpilquos Tendekil’vanoia.”

I wince at the horrible pronunciation, realizing that without a dictionary or language guide, this would be extremely difficult.

“Don’t try and repeat that, those words are Old Ponish, not Aligonic. They don’t work. Anyways, when you channel magic, channel the word as well. Feel the meaning and combine the two. Don’t worry about casting it now, though. As for the other way to ignite spells…”

I fall silent again, thinking over how to even explain it.

“Explaining how I mix magical frequencies isn’t exactly easy to explain. It’s more of a Unicorn technic that we all have the instinctual sense for…”

Another pause.

“I can use colors as a placeholder… As technically, I still see colors when I mix the frequencies anyways. So, Unicorns can see magic in different colors. Each classification of magic holds its own color, as well as each sub-class. As an example, Offensive spells can be orange, purple, silver, and more, Defensive are teal, Manipulation are yellow, and so on. We can combine the different colors to make more complex and unique spells.”

I gesture for Yorn to stand, watching as he does.

“I’ll start you out with a simple spell, one that’ll be used to judge your magical potential. It’s a spell called Magical Measurer. The name is self-explanatory. Once you learn it, I’ll have you continuously use the spell until you pass out.”

“That sounds dangerous,” Yorn says, a hint of nervousness in his voice.

“Don’t worry, it’s completely safe,” I reassure. “You won’t be casting it until tomorrow.”

“I don’t fully know how to explain this to you, since I don’t know the Aligonic words, and you aren’t a Unicorn… your best chance as of now is to try and to see the frequencies as colors. I doubt it’ll work, but one never knows.”

Yorn nods.

“Okay, close your eyes and try to imagine… the color yellow. Not gold, not neon, just yellow. No shapes or details, only yellow.”

A moment passes as I follow my own instructions using frequencies. I quickly find the balance, having done so numerous times before. Yorn is heavily concentrating, so I wait a few more moments.

“Now, add the smallest drop of pink, like a splash of paint, right in the center of the yellow. Visualize the colors interact and mix with each other. Then, when you’re ready, mix in magic. Let the energy flow and wash with the colors. Finally, once you have the right combination, pull it into your palm.”

I will the power into my own palm. A flash of red appears in my hand and the spell comes to fruition, bearing the color of my magical essence. I watch the ball of magic shimmer and shift, the light humming power tickling my ears and the slight vibration of my horn touching my forehead.

Still holding the spell, I look at Yorn. He holds his hand out in front of him, still concentrating had. Several minutes pass.

Eventually, he drops his hand.

“I tried to do what you said,” Yorn glumly says. “But it wouldn’t work.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I reassure. “I had doubts this would work for a non-Unicorn. Tomorrow I can look at a few places and see if I can find anything worthwhile. We’ll pick this up when we can get our hands on an Aligonic dictionary,” I say.

A yawn escapes me.

“For now though, I need sleep.”

Yorn yawns as well, nodding in agreement. Without another word, we both climb into our respective beds. I quickly fall asleep, needing rest much more than I had previously thought.

2nd of Winter’s Reign, Hour 8 – Norrg’kl, Yorn’s Living Room – Solaria’s POV

I awake from a restless sleep, noticing the heavy weight of Drukl atop my legs. I quietly growl, using Telekinesis to lift him back to his own bed. I deeply yawn as I stand from the cot, running a hand through my fiery tangled mane. After roughly brushing it over to the left, I walk over and sit down at the table.

“Looks like you had a rough night,” Yorn comments from the kitchen.

“You could say that…” I reply, my voice sluggish.

Yorn pulls a cylindrical container from a cupboard. Within, he removes several leaves I don’t recognize. After separating the soup into separate bowls, he adds the leaves into one. The leaves instantly dissolve into the soup. That bowl is set in front of me.

“Drink this. The Chillcrisp leaves I mixed in will help boost your energy for the day. Although they tend to have some side effects…”

“What type of side effects…?”

“After 20 hours or so, there’s a chance you’ll end up more tired than you were before you consumed them.”

“Eh…” I grumble before drinking the entire bowl.

Within seconds of finishing the soup, I feel my energy rapidly growing. Soon, I felt I had finished sleeping for a week straight and had enough power to take on the entirety of the Dragon Lands.

“Wow… this really has an effect…” I say, having to contain an energetic burst to my speech. “Are you sure this gives me energy, or replaces my blood with electricity?”

I look at my hands. Both are vibrating slightly.

“And… are you sure this is safe for… Anthows?”

My heartrate slowly increases with each passing second. I feel a jolt of adrenaline as I stand and ignite Effect Reversion, casting the spell onto myself. As soon as the spell activates, my heartrate and shaking hands return to normal, the energetic flow in my veins dies out, and I return to feeling sluggish. I collapse back into the chair, face planting onto the table, giving a deep sigh of relief.

“Are you alright?!” I hear the panic in Yorn’s voice. “I’m sorry! I swear, I didn’t know!”

“I’m fine…” I grumble out, too tired to feel any real anger. “Next time though, let me check out the substance before you mix it with my food, okay…?”

“Okay…” I hear Yorn sit down again, although I don’t hear him eat.

With a sigh, I stand and walk to the door leading to the workshop.

“I’m going to go and try to find an Aligonic Dictionary…”

I don’t wait to hear a response, simply pushing my way into the workshop. Near the door to the shed, I grab a sack containing the items F’jub had requested as payment.

”Let’s see,” I mumble, going over the list. “a metal sewing awl, six leather-craft needles, twenty-seven nails, a metal prong punch, a coat hanger, and four ball bearings…”

Why four ball bearings, and only twenty-seven nails…?

I shrug, gathering all the items and return to the living room.

“Finally paying F’jub?” Yorn asks.

“Only if he’s actually done with it.”

I cast Exposure onto myself before leaving Yorn’s home. I cross the street to F’jub’s shop, ready to receive the new cloak he had been working on for the past few weeks.

As soon as I enter, F’jub appears from the back room.

“Oh, you,” he says with exasperation.

“Yes, me,” I reply with a dead tone. “You know why I’m here, so no need for you to get snarky with me.”

F’jub mockingly laughs.

“Don’t tell me what to do in my shop…”

“Then don’t give me that attitude. Just get me my cloak and I won’t have to beat you to death with this coat hanger…”

F’jub rolls his eyes, retreating to the back room. Several minutes of silence pass. I come within inches of investigating the wait when he returns. In his arms is an exquisite cloak.

From what I can see, it’s made of real fur; the rich, dark brown shades making for a striking contrast to the paler browns of the old synthetic cloak. When F’jub passes the cloak to me, I notice the interior is layered with a different material. A light brown mesh that feels as soft and warm as the furry exterior.

“Impressive,” I say, being more grateful than my voice was letting on.

“Huh. Coming from you, that’s a tall compliment.”

“Don’t get used to it… Here’s all the nonsense you wanted.”

I pass over the sack of assorted items as well as the coat hanger. After he receives the payment, I leave the shop to face the winter weather. When I’m out of eyesight from F’jub, I wrap the new cloak around myself. It’s unbelievably warm and comfortable, more than the cheap synthetic cloak had ever been. It feels warm enough to keep me safe without Exposure, at least when there wasn’t a blizzard active.

With my day slightly better than before, I head right from F’jub’s shop, briskly walking to the shop bearing the name ‘Griffonian Garnishes.’

I walk into the shop, seeing the same short shelves holding different knickknacks and baubles. The Griffon running the shop isn’t present, although noise comes from another room behind the counter.

I glance around the interior, spotting two promising bookshelves along the left wall. I walk over to it, slowly looking through the various books that rest upon the shelves. The first shelf is filled with all sorts of fiction, ranging from mysteries to science fiction from several cultures. I ignore it, beginning to look through the second shelf when I hear a hoarse voice yell out.

“You!”

I turn towards the sound, seeing the gray and white-speckled Griffon pointing an accusing claw at me, his large yellow eyes glaring.

“You destroyed my shop!” he squawks. “Get out!!”

I blankly stare at him.

“That was over two years ago,” I snap. “And I only flipped a single shelf…”

“Yes! A shelf filled with valuable items! Now OUT!! Before I force you out!!”

I roll my eyes.

“Fine,” I reply, retrieving my coin pouch and waving it in his direction. “I guess my coin will be spent elsewhere…”

I turn away to leave, intently listening for the desired reaction. After a few seconds, the Griffon speaks again.

“W-wait! Perhaps I was a bit hasty. If you have coin to spend, then please… buy to your hearts content. Although, I must ask that you don’t destroy my stuff.”

I smirk before pulling a straight face.

Griffons are too predictable…

“If you insist.”

The Griffon poorly hides his anger behind a smile before returning behind the counter. I walk back to the bookshelves and start to search through the second shelf. Once again, the top half doesn’t yield what I’m looking for.

I don’t know why I’m expecting a dictionary on a dead Anthropony language to be in a Griffonian shop in the Minotaur Lands…

As I think this, my eye catches a maroon cover wedged between a set of pale green books. I pull out the red book, the title reading Guide to the Aligonic Language: Third Addition.

I look through the first few pages, instantly recognizing the long and complicated words of the Aligonic language written upon the pages.

Unbelievably convenient, but who am I to complain...

I close the book and tuck it under an arm, walking up to the counter where the Griffon is intently watching my every move.

“How much?” I ask while setting the book onto the countertop.

“Thirty Gyffs,” the Griffon replies instantly after I finish my question.

“Thirty?! That’s ridiculous!”

“Well, the book itself is worth five, and the twenty-five is for the damages you caused awhile back,” the Griffon gives me another false smile.

I scowl, pulling my coin bag out and placing fifteen coins onto the table.

“Five for the book, and ten for ‘damages.’”

“I’m sorry, but there’ll be no nego—”

I slide a single coin from the table, giving the bird a dead stare.

“If you think—”

I slide off another coin.

“What are you going to do?” I say. “Tell the guards that I refused to pay for ‘damages’ to your shop from two years ago, without proof? They’ll laugh. Besides, you should be thankful I’m even giving you anything. I could easily refuse, and you’d be powerless to do anything about it…”

The Griffon gives me an angry glare, sliding the thirteen remaining coins from the countertop into his clawed hand.

I grab the book, refusing to break the glare until I turn and leave through the front door.

2nd of Winter’s Reign, Hour 22 – Norrg’kl, Yorn’s Living Room – Solaria’s POV

“I’m starting to feel…dizzy…”

“Good,” I reply, checking the time on my watch.

After returning to Yorn’s home, I quickly found the words for Magical Measurer and taught them to Yorn. After telling him how the spell works I had him cast it. He had cast the spell nearly two hours without feeling any effects. Finally, he was reaching the end of the rope.

“I… think I’m going…to… pass…” Yorn’s eyes roll back and he drops to the floor with a trembling crash.

The yellow glow in his horns and his hand disappear. I read the time again and write it out before calculating his Magic Pool.

“Twelve drops,” I say to myself aloud after a few moments. “That’s on par with most amateur Unicorns…”

I set the quill down onto the table before igniting and casting Telekinesis. I grab Yorn’s unconscious body and lift him onto his bed. Drukl nudges Yorn’s hand with his snout, letting out a whine.

“Relax, He’s not dead.”

Without waiting for a reaction, I make my way to the shop area. I open the storefront and begin to wait for customers.

==|000|==

“Uhhhgh…”

I hear a loud groan from behind me as I finish slipping the Gyffs from a fresh transaction to Yorn’s safe. I look behind me to see Yorn himself coming into the shop, a hand clutching his forehead.

“Is it common to have such a nasty headache,” He groggily asks.

“After Magical Measurer,” I amusedly say. “Most definitely. It’ll go away in a few hours, though. At that time, we’ll jump into actual spells.”

“Fine,” Yorn grunts. “I’m going back to sleep.”

He returns through the door to his shop. Another Minotaur walks in through the front door, constantly glancing at me as he looks at what Yorn has on display. I simply stand behind the counter, leaning against it as the satisfying feeling of anothers fear fills my heart.

2nd of Winter’s Reign, Hour 30 – Norrg’kl, Yorn’s Living Room – Solaria’s POV

After closing up the shop, I return to the living area. Yorn is asleep in his bed, although stirring as I walk to my cot. I hear a yawn as I remove the dagger from my waist and adjust my mane to cover my blind eye. After I’m satisfied with styling my mane, I look at Yorn.

Already I can tell he’s looking less groggy. I cross my arms in front of me, waiting for him to fully wake up.

“Well, are you ready to continue our magic lesson?”

“Food first,” he mumbles.

“No, magic, then food,” I say.

Yorn gives me a disgruntled groan.

"It won't take that long…" I exasperate.

"Food first," he repeats, standing and walking to his kitchen.

"Stubborn bull," I mutter, walking back to my cot and sitting there impatiently.

Thankfully, either through his politeness, or knowing that ticking me off wasn't a smart move, Yorn only finds some simple foods to eat. After a few minutes, he returns to the living area. He pulls over his rocking chair closer to my cot and sits in it, giving me his full attention.

I don't say anything at first, waiting to see if he would try and do something else. After feeling satisfied that he wouldn't, I grab the Aligonic dictionary from the end of my cot and begin to walk Yorn through similar steps as Magical Measurer, except with Telekinesis instead.

“Okay, like with Magical Measurer, Telekinesis is cast the same way. Both share the same categorization of Manipulation,” I flip through the book I bought earlier, finding the words. “Therefore, igniting Telekinesis would be… X'Ehlplq'Muos Tnd'Ehklvnqia.”

Hoping the words were pronounced correctly, I hand the book over to Yorn, showing him the words. He stares at the book, confusion written across his face. After several minutes of staring at the page, he begins to read the words. Each pronounciation is extremely poor. Yorn sighs.

“For what you say is a simple spell, this is certainly a difficult way to cast it.”

“There’s a reason this language had been changed twice,” I say. “But if you want to cast magic, this is the only way. Just keep trying.”

Yorn nods and continues to try and properly say the words. Minutes pass as he repeats the phrase. Eventually, as Yorn speaks the words with a palm out, a burst of yellow magic appears in his palm. He jolts at the sudden appearance, before widely smiling at his success as his horns slowly start to glow yellow.

“Good,” I compliment. “Now time to cast the spell.”

I gesture to the stick I’ve set onto the floor in front of him.

“Imagine yourself grabbing this stick with your hand. Now do the same with Telekinesis. Feel the magic wrap around the middle of the branch as your fingers would.”

Yorn’s hand slightly closes as he concentrates on the stick. His yellow energy surrounds the midsection of the branch, causing it to glow yellow.

“Now, like you would normally, lift the stick with your magic.”

Yorn lifts his hand upward, gritting his teeth in his attempt. Shakily, the stick slowly lifts from the ground. It floats a few inches in the air before dropping back to the ground.

"Good. Very good," I complement as Yorn cancels out the spell. "You learn quickly."

"Thanks," Yorn replies.

I can hear his heavy breathing.

Using the spell must be more taxing on him that it is on myself. I forget that he’s getting old for a Minotaur, despite being nearly 200 years younger than myself...

“That’s all you have to do for tonight,” I say. “Now that you know how to ignite and cast it, the next step is to practice igniting the spell as well as levitating light objects. That’ll increase your stamina with it. And heed my words when I say light. Lifting heavier objects than that stick could quickly and easily drain all your magic.”

Yorn nods. He walks to his kitchen, filling a mug of water and downing it in a single shot.

“That was an interesting experience. I’m excited to do more,” he says after wiping his mouth. “I’m going to catch up on some work I missed out on.”

“Go for it,” I reply. “I’m too tired to care as of now.”

Hopefully I can get some actual sleep tonight…

I prepare myself for a night’s rest, eventually climbing onto my cot. I look over at Drukl. He’s dead to the world as always.

He can’t fool me…
I roll over to face the wall, the effects of sleep quickly taking effect.

Author's Note

I never know what to say here, outside of the copy-paste. Oh well.

As always, please leave your comments!

Here's a better explanation of the spells used if you're interested, written in this Google Doc.

--Thanks to HoneyBacho for assisting with editing and world continuity