Shadows over Nothross | Page 8

with vibrant colours, with the wind
bringing some nightly chill. It seemed that even when it was already
definitely summer in Anchorfall, here north, the past winter was still
trying to keep its feeble grip.
"Well, distant part of the world we are in", Facyr said, and turned to his
friends. "Has any one of you ever been here?"
Faira shook her head. "I've only been to the southern Furinel."
"My experience with Furinel is limited to a few longer visits to
Moonbay and one week's stay in Furinia", Gnedrnygr said.
"I've been here a couple of times, working as a caravan guard. Oh, this
reminds me of home", Facyr said. "Clean and fresh air. Do you get a lot
of snow here? I've only been here in the late summer."
"Yes, lots and lots of snow. I've noted spring comes here only a week
before Grycia, and the winter week after", Realn said.
"So this is kind of like Grycia - the summers are short, but luckily
there's not much snow."
The discussion around the camp fire had been quite lively over the
journey. The adventurers had learned a lot about Furinel's royal houses,

their customs and how they differed from Varmhjelmian ways. The
earlier night, Realn had talked at length about Furinel's economy, and
Facyr found Realn's speaking skills fascinating. He was a person who
believed any amount of money was "too little anyway", and couldn't
understand a whole lot of how the world of the finance really worked.
Yet, Realn's description on history of the Furinel's commerce had kept
him awake the whole time, even deeply interested. He had even asked
questions.
It was a cold clear evening, and there was a lot to talk about, and what
was better place to talk than a warm camp fire deep in a calm, sheltered
spot the middle of wilderness?
* * *
Gnedrnygr had found a like-minded person. He found Realn, all in all,
a fascinating person to talk to, in a purely professional sense. He had
once been a teacher of magic, and now tried to rekindle this profession
by teaching Faira; yet, it had been a long time since he had last
wobbled over to the Anchorfall's academy and debated with the fellow
magicians. Over the journey, they had talked a lot, and he found
himself spending a lot of time with her.
Now, after Realn's interesting financial presentation, Faira, Facyr and
Aleln went to prepare their tents for the night, while Gnedrnygr and
Realn debated about the nature of magic. It would become a frequent
hobby over this journey, Gnedrnygr thought. Gnedrnygr had observed
that while Realn was not a very advanced magician - she had only
recently taken the path of magical arts - she showed a lot of potential
and knew a lot about the foundations and theoretical background of
magic.
"Now, I'm sorry if this is a bit strange question", Gnedrnygr said, "but
in Colemia, we had very little exposure or even knowledge of the elven
ways of magic, and I can't say I got too much illumination on this
mystery when I was in Bluebrook. Could you explain some of the
underlying principles of it to me?"

Realn sighed. "The truth is, there's not much to explain. Our magic may
look very different, but in fact, we're talking of the exact same magic.
Magic is magic."
"Yes, yes, I know that fundamentally we're talking of the same forces,
same procedures, same equations. But the way it's practised is different,
is it not? And from what I've heard, elves are ahead on every field of
magic..."
"Some scholars might disagree, though I'm rather reserved myself. We
discussed this pretty throughout in the Academy of Arcane Arts. Some
said elves are ahead and will always be, others argued the very
existence of Infinite will prove that humans will eventually surpass us,
as there's no practical limit on how the power can be derived from the
Infinite."
"The Infinite?" Gnedrnygr thought. "Ah, you are referring to the
Foundation of Magic?"
"I believe that's what the humans call it."
"But that's just a mere theoretical model. It says nothing about the
individual's ability to use..."
"Precisely!" Realn interrupted. "So you are thinking exactly like the
majority of magicians."
"And you aren't? You believe the Foundation of Magic will somehow
make humans masters of the magical forces?"
"No. All I'm saying is that they have a very good point." She smiled.
"Can you describe how you think the Infinite will affect people's
work?"
"Well, truth to tell, the Foundation theory only appeared when I was
already leaving Colemia, but, oh well..." Gnedrnygr scratched his head.
"I'd postulate - excuse me, guess that the Foundation represents pure
magical force, and individual's capabilities determine how and what

kinds of powers they