***
“Power or Ability,” Azrael started in his schoolmaster voice “Is what we call the talent to either use energy outside of our bodies, or make energy within it, harnessed for feats that go beyond the normal scope of human capacity.”
They had finished their meal, and were now sitting beside the fire. Normally Glint hated it when Azrael got into teaching him things, but not that time. The dark haired man was giving him precisely the kind of information he had wanted, begged for, his entire life. Thus the warrior was at once silent as a statue and bursting with questions.
“What makes up who we are, Glint?” Azrael asked, stupefying Glint for an instant. But then the warrior came up with something.
“Our personalities, right?” he shot.
“Well, that is an answer,” replied the now once-more teacher, “or perhaps the third of one. Popular belief is that there are three distinct spheres of existence. This theory is quite old, and has since been elaborated upon, but its base stands. There is the physical sphere, in which our bodies and this world reside. Then there is the mental sphere of thought and the spiritual sphere of spirit, personality, and soul. In that sphere, things that are considered beyond concept exist as ethereal interpretation. These three spheres are interconnected in layers. At the top is the spiritual or astral realm, as it is sometimes called, then the mental or psionic realm, and then this physical sphere. For example, what we consider a fire’s heat would be close to the ideas of rage and excitement in the mental sphere, and build-up and release of energy in the spiritual sphere. Due to this, the spiritual sphere is the highest and magicians are also known as high Ability users.”
That rubbed Glint the wrong way, decided the young warrior. He ventured to ask “so are magicians the strongest? Better?”
At that Azrael pondered for a while. He listened to the howl of the wind as if to draw inspiration then said, “Not at all. A warrior can best a magician in physical combat, and a magician would be able to break a warrior’s soul or his motivation to attack.” Glint smirked and Azrael continued, “It sounds silly, but can you think of something worse than say, becoming a lifeless husk? A moving body with no personality or soul inside of it? Being to driven to self hate? Being plunged into a nightmare? Or having all your energy destroyed before you can attack with it?” he grinned, stroking his chin mischievously, “Perhaps, being turned back into a Normal?”
That possibility was petrifying to Glint. He gathered his cloak more tightly around him. He had thought physical strength was everything, but perhaps that was not the case. Being turned back into a Normal... he shivered. “So what is important, if the type of art isn’t? How do you protect yourself from someone who practices an art from another sphere? Do you need to learn something from each?”
“Hardly,” said Azrael with a laugh. “That is actually too difficult, almost impossible. A person is always advised to stick to one sphere of existence, and one art at that. Going beyond that would cause you to overreach yourself, and end up destroying your mind, body or soul, depending on the art you were trying to learn. Different arts would conflict inside of the user.” He seemed to think for a bit. “If you were fighting a person who had only strength, and you were armed with naught but speed, what would you do to change the situation?”
“Either get stronger, or get so fast he can’t touch me,” answered Glint. Then he understood. “So if you get so good at your own art, it would protect you from others somehow?”
“Indeed.” The man smiled with approval at Glint having figured it out, “And instead of telling you how that works, I shall show you. I myself am a magician, neither a psion who deals with mental energies nor a body energy arts practitioner, such as yourself. However, on what we call the road of power, I am much, much further along that you are.”
Glint just took another bite out of his bowl of steaming rabbit stew. “Alright, I can accept that much,” he said finally, relishing the taste of rabbit. He knew Azrael was probably stronger than him. “And how are you going to train me in fighting against people with different arts?”
“All energy arts share a common concept, and that is the harnessing of energy. Whether physical, mental or spiritual, there is always a mark left that can be seen by a trained eye. A shadow of that is what you sometimes glimpse with me. I shall spar with you until you are able to see that mark, and then you shall deal with it as you would with an arrow. Dodge as if your life depends on it.”
“Does it?” asked Glint cautiously. “What is your art anyway?”
“Oh no, you are in no danger of dying. It’s ironic really, because I am a necromancer, a master of the spiritual manifestation of death.”