Conjure Water

Time flew by, and Shawn and Merry had spent ten whole days reading.

Over those ten days, Shawn had gone through the stack of books in front of him several times, nearly committing them to memory. His comprehension, which surpassed that of others his age, combined with the magical knowledge he had learned in his previous life, allowed him to understand the books far better than the Elf sorceress had expected.

The Elf sorceress was very pleased with Shawn.

At this rate, perhaps in another ten days, Shawn would be ready to try casting Conjuration spells.

That day, Shawn and Merry meditated in their room.

Meditation was meant to improve one's mental strength.

Arcane Energy filled every corner of this world, but casting spells required mental power to manipulate it. Of course, while meditating, one could also slowly absorb the Arcane Energy drifting through the world and store it in one's body. Then, when the need arose, one could draw on it to cast spells quickly.

Shawn had already started studying other, more specialized books on magic.

The first one he read was a book about summoning Water Elementals.

The Summon Water Elemental spell described in the book didn't call forth a Water Elemental companion capable of fighting. It simply summoned the ubiquitous Water Elementals and gathered them together to form water. Anyone who had played the game knew this was the so-called "Conjure Water" spell, the simplest Conjuration spell.

Shawn had a remarkable talent for magic. It was probably due to the Elf blood flowing through his veins.

After all, during their evolution from Dark Trolls into Night Elves, the Elves had bathed in the dense Arcane Energy around the Well of Eternity. After millions of years of exposure, their magical talent had surpassed that of every other race on Azeroth.

To go from knowing nothing about magic to being able to cast the simplest Conjure Water spell in just ten days was an astonishing feat.

Though the most Shawn could summon was enough to dampen someone's clothes.

"Shawn, I'm thirsty."

Merry closed the last book in front of him and called to Shawn.

As a real human boy, fifteen-year-old Merry had managed to read and understand an entire stack of books in ten days. There was no denying he was very clever.

"Open your mouth."

Shawn held out his left hand. Pale blue light gathered slowly, and a water ball the size of an egg quickly took shape. Then Shawn casually tossed it. The ball followed a perfect arc and dropped into Merry's mouth.

Merry licked his lips and muttered, "Finally finished! I wonder what the point of reading all these books was. They don't even teach us any spells. If only I could learn Conjure Water too. I could go out and do tricks for money."

At this, Shawn couldn't help laughing. He pointed at Merry and teased, "Merry, why is money all you ever think about?"

Merry counted on his fingers. "Look, with money, I could buy nice clothes and delicious food, a fine horse, a sturdy, comfortable house, and a beautiful, gentle wife... See? Money's great!"

Merry made a convincing case. Even Shawn almost believed him.

But Shawn knew very well that in a world like Azeroth, teeming with fantastical creatures, only strength truly mattered. Money? Hah. Had Merry ever seen a destitute mage? Any mage was richer and more powerful than a noble!

And now that Shawn could cast Conjure Water, he could be considered a mage, in a way. Not a proper mage, of course—at most, he was an apprentice.

There were no real spellbooks in their room. If they wanted to learn actual spells, they would have to find one of the Elf mages. The Elf sorceress had told them to come back after they had read and understood all the books.

If he hadn't been waiting for the future legendary mage, Meryl Winterstorm, Shawn could have gone to see the Elf sorceress five days ago.

And today, Merry had also completed the task the sorceress had given him. So the time had come.

Night fell.

Lately, a tense atmosphere had hung over Stromgarde. Arathor's troops were gathering, and Emperor Thoradin had issued an order that every noble was required to obey. Humanity had to form an alliance with the High Elves of Quel'Thalas to jointly fend off the Trolls of Zul'Aman.

When the lips are gone, the teeth feel the cold. It was an obvious truth.

Emperor Thoradin, who believed in the strength of Warriors, certainly wouldn't put his hopes in the human mages of the future. Even the High Elves weren't entertaining such a fantasy. What Quel'Thalas truly needed wasn't a few dozen novice human mages—it was the full might of the human kingdom.

The Arathor Warriors and the royal knights.

They were the ones who would save Quel'Thalas.

When Shawn and Merry found the Elf sorceress, she was leading four other mages in enchanting armor and weapons for the Arathor knights.

Light shimmered in the Elf sorceress's hands. Dense Arcane Energy and the multicolored elements of earth, fire, water, and wind gathered in the room, then converged on an exquisite runed wand.

The Elf sorceress waved the wand, drawing a detailed pattern on a knight's armor. Once the pattern was complete, she took out a palm-sized crystal vial and removed its stopper. A small pinch of pale green, peculiar dust seemed guided by some unseen force as it settled evenly along the lines of the design.

The armor glowed pale green. Soon, the glow faded, and the pattern slowly disappeared. The valuable knight's armor had become an even more precious enchanted item.

"Rare-quality equipment. Permanent low-level enchantment."

Shawn's eyebrows rose.

Blue rare-quality equipment meant that this knight's armor was of exceptional quality. Enchantments could be temporary or permanent. Temporary enchantments usually required no spell components, and their effects lasted only for a limited time. Permanent enchantments required precious materials, and their effects lasted a long time—in theory, forever.

As for a low-level enchantment, its quality was equivalent to that of green uncommon equipment. It wasn't worthy of an armor like this. In Dalaran, this would be a terrible waste. But...

This was Stromgarde, 2,800 years in the past.

There weren't as many mages as there would be in later ages, and the few Elf mages had very little in the way of stored spell components. The materials the Elf sorceress could use now were all made on the spot, and there wasn't much to go around.

Only officers of at least intermediate rank and knights could receive permanent enchantments. Lower-ranking officers had to make do with temporary ones.

You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. It wasn't that the mages weren't up to the task; they simply didn't have the materials.

The Elf sorceress noticed Shawn and Merry arriving and gestured for a nearby knight to take away the enchanted armor. Only then did she turn around. Fatigue was hard to hide in her eyes, but she managed a faint smile. "Shawn, you're here. Have you finished the books?"