Something useful (Hob)

[Soen Spellflinger]

"Ignesco, Conglacio, Motus Terrae, Obex..."

The little magician sits in one of the castle's courtyards beneath a tree, swinging his staff idly and mumbling the "spells" taught to him years ago. They're not really spells, just alterations of the Force. They were taught under the disguise of magic to help Soen focus. It's all he knows, and he's not very good at them. He's practicing though, just as Hob said he should. Speaking of, the dwarf promised to teach him more today.

"Wonder where he is..." Soen mutters, resting the staff against his shoulder.

[Evil Hobgoblin]

The staff hops from Soen's shoulder, landing neatly in Hob's outstretched hand. "Poor, your focus is," Hob commented.

He twirled the staff in his claw-tipped fingers, then stopped it by thumping it into the ground. "More will you need to know."

The small creature looked up at Soen, as though analyzing him with a critical eye. "You have never seen outside your mind, have you?"

[Soen Spellflinger]

Soen grasps clumsily for his staff, sulking a little as Hob berates him. So what if he's not focused, it's not like he's ever really needed these skills before. He's still working on it, is that so bad?

"You have never seen outside your mind, have you?"

This snaps him from his self-pity, usurping the emotion with confusion.

"I what? Whaddaya mean I've never seen outside my mind?"

[Evil Hobgoblin]

"If you are to See, you will first need to learn to open your inner eye."

Hob crooks a finger, beckoning Soen. "I will teach you how. Come."

[Soen Spellflinger]

Soen stumbles up and walks after the dwarf, dumbfounded by the oldster's mysticism. See? Open his inner eye? He takes his staff as he passes by it, clutching tightly to it as a great swell of nervousness rises in his heart.

"Where are we going?" he asks, trying to cover his nervousness with conversation.

[Evil Hobgoblin]

"Inside."

Hob leads the young adept into the castle and down to one of its lower chambers- a sparse room with bare walls and no furniture. From inside his robes, Hob produces a candle and lights it by passing a hand over the exposed wick. The flame gives a slight jump as Hob sets the candle on the floor, then settles into a slow bob and weave.

Hob then gestured. "Sit, and look into the candle."

[Soen Spellflinger]

Soen sits hesitantly, almost hugging his staff as he folds his arms and tries to warm himself. The room is cold, and the flame of the candle isn't making enough heat for him even to notice. The magician looks reluctantly into the dancing fire, feeling very self-concious of how stupid and silly he must look, gazing into a candle as if it could show him the meaning of life.

[Evil Hobgoblin]

Hob stepped backward, towards the edge of the candle's light. "Focus on the flame, you must. Relax your mind. Breathe deeply."

The candle flame seemed to draw Soen's attention from everything else nearby, as though it had suddenly become the most fascinating thing he had ever seen.

[Soen Spellflinger]

He draws a deep, steadying breath without realizing it, settling into a calm state of mind as the world goes out of focus. His vision is full of the soothing orange colors of the candle's flare, and he could care less about anything but it.

[Evil Hobgoblin]

Words floated into Soen's consciousness. "Energy is in the flame. See it. Know it. Let it imprint itself on your mind."

A pair of claw-tipped fingers tugged Soen's too-heavy eyelids down. It took him a moment to realize that, inside his eyes, a vague impression of the candle flame continued to flicker.

[Soen Spellflinger]

The flame's colors change as his eyes close, turning to the complementary blues of the orange fire. The effect fades, leaving him with the vague impression of movement.

[Evil Hobgoblin]

The impression does not fade with time. Over the course of several minutes, it becomes clear to Soen that Hob is somehow touching his mind and also that the movement is linked to the actual bobbing and weaving of the candleflame.

[Soen Spellflinger]

The dwarf's movement within Soen's mind makes him shudder and make noise of protest, but he doesn't try to force Hob away. As strange as it feels to have the dwarf present there, the way it synchronizes with the soothing weave of the candle's flame makes it better. His focus changes from Hob's mental touch to Hob's intent; what's the big idea, Hob? Soen'd like to ask his teacher out loud, but can't be bothered to do anything more than think it.

[Evil Hobgoblin]

A few seconds after Soen thinks of his question, it is answered. The candle flame grows vast and all-consuming; the smallest part of its structure is visible as though he could see it with his naked eyes. Small, glowing globes spin and whirl, matter and energy dancing on the stage of time and space.

[Soen Spellflinger]

Soen gets the big idea. Nothing about the flame is hidden from him. He sees how it forms, how it shifts and contorts, how it keeps itself alive. It's awe-inspiring for the boy.