core of magic, potent and vivid. He felt the warmth of her arcane power breath through him. Adjusting his control of the shadow cloak that he had spun around her, he reached out to brush against her presence, feeling the magical energies respond to his touch.
Looking up, he saw Adrianna staring at him, wide-eyed, mouth slightly open in surprise. She then smiled wolfishly, and he reddened in embarrassment. Though he had known Adrianna for years now, he had never had a moment with her that was so intimate.
The cloak of shadows fell from Adrianna and the ball of flame spluttered as Lucius' control was disrupted by a flood of emotion.
"Concentrate" Forbeck said, apparently unaware of what was passing between his two students. "We have a long way to go yet, Lucius."
The next exercises took a while to work through, as Forbeck pushed his levels of concentration further and further. Every time Lucius' mental control failed, Forbeck would start him again from the beginning.
First, Adrianna's cloak of shadows was brought back into existence. Then Lucius was commanded to flood his muscles with power, greatly increasing his strength and physical endurance, before he created an invisible shield that he had to manoeuvre to deflect small stones that Forbeck pelted him with. He was told to cast his mind around the warehouse to locate the nearest vermin - and then suck its life out with the most vile of death magics.
Each new task required a new strand of energy to be pulled, teased and shaped, even as Lucius tried to maintain the other conjurations. He was not always successful, and he received a particularly painful lesson when his shield failed and one of Forbeck's pebbles caught him on the temple. Even then, he was proud that of all the spells that failed from the break in concentration as his world spun around, the flame in Adrianna's hand was not one of them.
Finally, soaked with sweat, Lucius thought he had achieved what Forbeck was searching for. With the ball of fire, stone shield and cloak of shadows, he had three spells running simultaneously, and he felt he could keep them going for at least a minute or two longer. However, Forbeck still wanted more.
"Feel the magic flow through you, Lucius. Reach out with your mind, and search the remaining threads. You have always felt their presence, but I want you to become ever more familiar with them. Imagine a time when you can control any number of them. Don't see them, feel them."
Reaching out, Lucius could clearly visualise the spinning threads, three of them static and stable as he continued to draw upon their power.
He brushed against each thread, drawing a murmur of satisfaction from Forbeck as he passed over two of them, triggering a tremor in those forces that Forbeck could feel. While Forbeck was a far more accomplished Shadowmage than he was - would likely ever be - the master was limited to just a few forms of magic, as were all Shadowmages. It was Lucius' ability, perhaps unique, to feel all forms of magic that had drawn Forbeck to him.
The threads that he was still taking power from felt taut and straight, while the others seemed to snake around his fingers, ready to be moulded and forged. Slowly, Lucius made his way from strand to strand, sensing each one's energy and potential. He reached out for the next and felt... nothing. An empty place that should be filled. All he could feel was darkness, and a chill cold swept over him, freezing his mind. Lucius stared straight into a void, a region of absolute, utter nothing.
Crying out, Lucius fell, the conjurations forgotten.
Lucius came to and opened his eyes to look up at Adrianna's face, her expression a mixture of curiosity and concern. Her hand was brushing his brow, and his head lay in her lap.
"Are you alright?"
Lucius frowned, trying to recall what had happened. "I think so."
"You gave us quite a scare," Forbeck said. "I've never seen a loss of concentration do that before - not to someone as proficient as
Looking up, he saw Adrianna staring at him, wide-eyed, mouth slightly open in surprise. She then smiled wolfishly, and he reddened in embarrassment. Though he had known Adrianna for years now, he had never had a moment with her that was so intimate.
The cloak of shadows fell from Adrianna and the ball of flame spluttered as Lucius' control was disrupted by a flood of emotion.
"Concentrate" Forbeck said, apparently unaware of what was passing between his two students. "We have a long way to go yet, Lucius."
The next exercises took a while to work through, as Forbeck pushed his levels of concentration further and further. Every time Lucius' mental control failed, Forbeck would start him again from the beginning.
First, Adrianna's cloak of shadows was brought back into existence. Then Lucius was commanded to flood his muscles with power, greatly increasing his strength and physical endurance, before he created an invisible shield that he had to manoeuvre to deflect small stones that Forbeck pelted him with. He was told to cast his mind around the warehouse to locate the nearest vermin - and then suck its life out with the most vile of death magics.
Each new task required a new strand of energy to be pulled, teased and shaped, even as Lucius tried to maintain the other conjurations. He was not always successful, and he received a particularly painful lesson when his shield failed and one of Forbeck's pebbles caught him on the temple. Even then, he was proud that of all the spells that failed from the break in concentration as his world spun around, the flame in Adrianna's hand was not one of them.
Finally, soaked with sweat, Lucius thought he had achieved what Forbeck was searching for. With the ball of fire, stone shield and cloak of shadows, he had three spells running simultaneously, and he felt he could keep them going for at least a minute or two longer. However, Forbeck still wanted more.
"Feel the magic flow through you, Lucius. Reach out with your mind, and search the remaining threads. You have always felt their presence, but I want you to become ever more familiar with them. Imagine a time when you can control any number of them. Don't see them, feel them."
Reaching out, Lucius could clearly visualise the spinning threads, three of them static and stable as he continued to draw upon their power.
He brushed against each thread, drawing a murmur of satisfaction from Forbeck as he passed over two of them, triggering a tremor in those forces that Forbeck could feel. While Forbeck was a far more accomplished Shadowmage than he was - would likely ever be - the master was limited to just a few forms of magic, as were all Shadowmages. It was Lucius' ability, perhaps unique, to feel all forms of magic that had drawn Forbeck to him.
The threads that he was still taking power from felt taut and straight, while the others seemed to snake around his fingers, ready to be moulded and forged. Slowly, Lucius made his way from strand to strand, sensing each one's energy and potential. He reached out for the next and felt... nothing. An empty place that should be filled. All he could feel was darkness, and a chill cold swept over him, freezing his mind. Lucius stared straight into a void, a region of absolute, utter nothing.
Crying out, Lucius fell, the conjurations forgotten.
Lucius came to and opened his eyes to look up at Adrianna's face, her expression a mixture of curiosity and concern. Her hand was brushing his brow, and his head lay in her lap.
"Are you alright?"
Lucius frowned, trying to recall what had happened. "I think so."
"You gave us quite a scare," Forbeck said. "I've never seen a loss of concentration do that before - not to someone as proficient as
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