It took me a moment to dredge up the correct Words for that, and another moment still to get the balls moving in the correct directions. Any of the other apprentices would laugh to see me struggle like this—to them, this was child’s play, an exercise their mothers would have taught them when they were small.

“Basic skills that all mages are taught during their childhood include the rudimentary shields and wards, making and extinguishing fire, efficient use of magic and energy, soothing frightened animals, and blending in with your surroundings,” Iannis continued. “By the time a mage is ready to begin their apprenticeship, they should have mastered the spells associated with those skills, and at least one signature spell taught by their family.”

“Signature spell?” I asked, then cursed roundly as one of the balls dropped onto my head. I tried to grab it before it fell to the ground, but the motion broke my concentration, and the rest of the balls fell as well, bouncing harmlessly away.

“Start over,” Iannis said mildly, and I took a deep breath to curb my frustration. Once I was calm again, I reached out with my hands and spoke the correct Words to levitate the balls back in my direction. Iannis nodded approvingly as I got them back into the air and started spinning them in circles.

“Very good. As I’ve mentioned before, fluency in Loranian is essential for the apprentice curriculum, and is also considered a basic skill. The general curriculum includes the history and theory of magic—which you have already begun to study—healing, offensive and defensive magic, and mastery of the elements.”

“Air, earth, water, and fire?” I asked. One of the balls began to dip down, but I got it back up before my spell unraveled again. Ha. I was getting better at this!

“Yes, and while that sounds simple, there are many applications of elemental magic, such as spells relating to weather and agriculture. Any mage worth his salt should be able to ensure his people can grow crops and have enough food for themselves, and a surplus for trade as well.”

I only nodded, not willing to disrupt my concentration again. A week ago, when we’d started this exercise, I wouldn’t have even been able to listen to him talk. I would get to the point where I could hold a conversation, but not today.

“In addition to that, there are around two hundred standard spells that any mage is expected to have fully mastered before graduation, and each mage should have mastered an additional hundred spells in their specialty, if they have chosen one.”

“Specialty?” I asked. One of the balls stopped spinning for a second, then started up again as I glared at it.

“Yes. Mine, for example, is healing. Another mage might be better versed in magical warfare.”

“I want to specialize in that,” I announced. To my delight, the balls didn’t even jitter.