How often does a person get to see the look of shock and dismay on a dragon's face?
This kind of attack seems to be more effective than any weapon that Rowan could wield.
Of course, this was not done intentionally on Rowan's part.
Rowan was left on his own, in a forest full of monsters. Reading and writing was not on the list of skills that he needed to keep himself alive. Like all skills, constant practice is needed so that it will not be forgotten.
Reading and writing was not a priority for him. Words were not going to help him escape any monsters.
Besides, here was nothing for Rowan to practice reading so he forgot most of the written words. Not to mention studying was never his strong suit. Currently, at most he remembered numbers and few of the letters. Everything else was forgotten over the years.
“I thought my greatest challenge with you would be your comprehension. Little did I know that you are more ignorant than a newborn monkey. It seems I would need to teach you from scratch.”
Vulcanus looked around the library. The books that had been floating in the air slowly gathered themselves and formed a small pile.
“Perhaps it is better that way. There are other things that require my attention and I cannot spend all my time educating you. Currently there are no books here for beginners here. I will have someone teach you in my stead as I am needed elsewhere.”
With a snap of his fingers, a burst of flames appeared and flew right in front of Rowan.
It wasn't regular fire that Vulcanus had summoned.
This one was shaped like a human, except they were completely wrapped in flames.
“I have summoned a fire elemental. It shall be your instructor for the time being. Once you have completed the basic education, it shall inform me and we can continue with the initial plan.“ With that said, Vulcanos walked away.
Rowan stared at the flaming elemental. There were no features that explain its gender or any outstanding characteristics, except for the fact it was flaming humanoid.
“So can you talk? What do I call you?” Rowan asked out of curiosity.
You may call me anything you wish.
A gentle voice spoke in Rowan's head, startling him.
To be able to talk, have a library and summon a fire elemental? Vulcanus must have been greater than Rowan thought. He thought dragons only relied on there natural might, but Vulcanus seems to have sought external sources to further improve himself. Fortunately the dragon never actually saw him as a threat. From what Rowan saw, Vulcanus had enough power and knowledge to match any kingdom. Rowan would not be surprised if the dragon also had wealth hiding somewhere in these caves. Of course according to the dragon, some of the books here are priceless, so maybe he didn't really need any gold?
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A voice broke Rowan out of his thoughts.
***Red, as Rowan named the fire elemental, had been a great teacher. While there was nothing for him to write on, the flame elemental would shape the letters and sentences out of flame and float them in the air for Rowan. It would then tell him his mind to repeat them out loud. At some point, it had conjured writing tools for him to practice on.
Some would question if it was wise to use fire magic in the library, but Rowan noticed that none of the flames Red used actually did any harm.
Rowan had decided on the name of Red after getting tired of calling the ‘you’ all the time. It just didn't seem right for some who were teaching him. He had considered another name, Flamie. Both were equally horrible but Red and Flamie were the only names his brain could muster. In the end, Rowan decided on Red for simplicity.
There was a small cavern set aside outside the library cave where Rowan could rest after a day of learning.
Who knew that studying could be so exhausting?
Even in his dream he was still seeing words
As it turned out, It took Rowan about three days for him to remember all the letters again. Then about it took a full week before he could write out words and sentences. The reading skills slowly came back to him the more he practiced. He was already reading some of the books Vulcanus had told him to read.
Maybe he was smarter than he thought?
Rowan was currently going through the books about blessings that Vulcanus had instructed him to read. The dragon hasnt shown up after dropping him on Red, but Rowan did not mind it. He found a lot of interesting information about blessings.
The book he was currently holding was thicker than his head. It had been daunting at first, but he soon learned to enjoy reading it. Rowan still struggled through some of the sentences and words,, Red was always nearby and ready to answer any questions.
Blessings with the word plant in them were rare. However there were a lot of blessings that had an effect on plants. For example, the
Another example was
. Any seeds sown using this blessing would not wither and was guarantee to grow. There was also the
Rowan's favorite discovery was how someone used their blessing to grow grapes the size of cannonballs. The kingdom that the person had resided in had actually used the fruit as replacements for ammunition during war time. They were more effective than one would think, with the kingdom becoming victorious in the end of the war. The grapes later became a trademark of the kingdom. Sadly the Kingdom no longer existed and the farmer with the blessing had long perished.
Of course stories like these were rare, but welcome surprises. It was more common to find someone using their blessing for more mundane tasks such as their daily living.
Elves, as Rowan found out, was the race with the most blessings related to plants. It didn't come as a surprise, but what did surprise Rowan was the amount recorded. Elves were an elusive species, at least for humanity, so how was the author able to get the information on their blessings which could be considered extremely personal?
On that matter, how did Vulcanus get such a book?
A question he would have to ask the dragon the next time he met him. Rowan could imagine how enraged the elves would have been finding the book and most likely hunting the author for releasing such information. They were known for their grudges and hunting down people for far less.
Rowan focused on what the elves did with their plants. While not all of them were blessed with the ability to manipulate plants, the elves didn't need a blessing. They could easily control plants due to their own natural affinities and magic. The elves used their magic to nurture the plants for their own uses such as growing food, or material for weapons. Sme had even turned the plants into guardians for themselves.
Looking at all the things that could be done, Rowan couldn’t help but let his imagination run wild. He couldn’t wait to actually start training on how to use his blessing.