The Sorcerer Who Loved Magic But Hated Reading

The sun was low in the sky, stretching long shadows across the grassy clearing behind the academy's stone walls. Alaric lay on his back, arms spread out, gazing at the sky as though it could give him an idea. His friend Elyas stood nearby, his hands buzzing with energy and sparks spinning around him as he smiled.

"Come on, Alaric! Show me your magic!" Elyas called, shifting excitedly from foot to foot. His robes rippled lightly, glowing faintly with his energy.

Alaric sighed and stretched lazily. "Eh, what's the point?" He squinted at Elyas through half-lidded eyes, his voice thick with disinterest. "I don't even know what to call it, alright? 'Magic' is a bit... vague, don't you think?"

Elyas raised an eyebrow. "You still haven't figured out what kind of sorcerer you are? You've been at this for how long? You can summon fire with a snap of your fingers and control the wind with a thought!"

"Yeah, yeah," Alaric muttered, picking at the grass next to him. "Fire and wind are easy. It's like... instinct. But I don't know what to call it. What if I accidentally summon a hundred chickens or something? And then what, huh? What do I say? 'Oops, I guess I'm a chicken-summoner now?'"

Elyas snorted, his magic dissipating into harmless sparks as he shook his head. "Come on, just give it a try! You've got something. You've always had something. Just... focus on it. Don't overthink it."

Alaric reluctantly sat up, rubbing his face. His fingers brushed through his messy hair, and he exhaled a long breath. "Fine. Fine, I'll try. But I'm not promising anything spectacular."

He held his hand out lazily, fingers curling like he was half asleep. A faint glow flickered in the air before him, a ripple of something strange, like the air was being distorted. The ground beneath him trembled ever so slightly. It wasn't fire, it wasn't wind. It was… something else.

Elyas stepped forward, eyes wide. "Whoa. What was that?"

Alaric blinked. The glow faded, leaving only a faint trace of warmth in the air. "I don't know... I think I was trying to—" He waved a hand dismissively, clearly frustrated. "It's not... it's not the point. How do you even name something like that? Fire's easy. Wind's easy. But this?" He snapped his fingers, a tiny spark fizzling out. "It's just... meh."

Elyas chuckled. "You're impossible. You know, some sorcerers spend years trying to figure out their specialty, and you're just lying there, sulking about naming it."

Alaric smirked, leaning back on his elbows again. "Maybe I'll just call it 'I can't be bothered magic.' You know, for days like this."

Elyas laughed, but then a sudden thought crossed his mind. He snapped his fingers, and the wind picked up around him, swirling in small circles. "What if it's not about naming it? What if you just let it... be?"

Alaric tilted his head, watching Elyas's wind playfully toss his hair. "Yeah, sure. Let it be. Like the mess I'll make when I accidentally set something on fire because I forgot to name my magic properly."

Elyas raised his hands in mock surrender. "Alright, alright, Mr. Lazy Sorcerer. But you know, whatever it is, it's definitely not 'meh.'"

Alaric sighed, watching the sunset paint the sky orange and purple. He stretched his arms above his head, feeling the first stirrings of something within him again, but didn't act on it. "Yeah, well, I guess I'll figure it out someday. Or not. No rush."

Elyas grinned. "You're impossible."

"Tell me something I don't know," Alaric muttered, as he finally let his magic stir, lazily, like everything else in his life.

Elyas watched as Alaric stretched lazily, his fingers brushing the grass like he was trying to remember the last time he'd cared about anything.

"Alright," Elyas began, his voice soft but insistent, "if you're not going to name it, at least you could figure out what it is. There's a whole library full of ancient texts, spells, and knowledge. You might find something that sparks an idea."

Alaric turned his head just enough to see Elyas out of the corner of his eye. "A library?" he groaned, as if the very word was a physical burden. "Nah. Books are for nerds."

Elyas sighed and walked over to flop down beside him. "You say that, but I don't see you summoning a hundred chickens or accidentally burning down the academy just because you can't control your magic."

"Hey, I've never summoned chickens," Alaric muttered, still half-watching the clouds. "I said I might, not that I have. I'm not stupid."

"Then what's the problem with learning a little more about what you can do?" Elyas prodded, his voice a mix of concern and frustration. "You've got all this power, and you're just... wasting it."

Alaric rolled his eyes and turned his head to face his friend fully. "Look, I don't need to go to the library. It's dusty, it smells like old paper, and the people in there are always mumbling in some dead language that sounds like a bad joke. Plus, it's boring."

Elyas threw up his hands, exasperated. "You don't have to read every single book in the place! Just... just one! Pick a book, any book, and find out what's in it. Maybe it'll be something simple, like 'wind magic' or 'earth manipulation'—something you can actually name."

Alaric sighed dramatically and flopped back down on the grass, his arms spread out again. "I don't care about names. Who needs them? Magic's magic. Who cares what you call it as long as it works?"

"That's not the point," Elyas countered. "What if you're missing out on something more—something you can control, something that can help you grow as a sorcerer? You could be great at something, Alaric, but you're too lazy to even try."

Alaric raised an eyebrow, his voice teasing. "Great? You mean, like you? The kid who always follows the rules and spends hours studying the same thing over and over again?"

Elyas smiled, a small, knowing grin. "Maybe not like me. But still... you've got something in you. And that's worth figuring out. Don't you want to know what it is?"

Alaric paused, staring up at the sky. The golden light of the sunset was fading, the air cooling. He didn't answer right away, but there was a flicker in his eyes that suggested the seed of thought had been planted.

"You know," Alaric said slowly, "you're kind of annoying when you're right."

Elyas chuckled. "Hey, I've got to get you out of your comfort zone somehow."

Alaric groaned but smiled, albeit reluctantly.

"Fine. Fine. But if I get stuck reading some musty old scroll, I'm blaming you."

Elyas jumped to his feet, grinning. "Deal. Come on, let's go. The library's got more than just musty scrolls, I promise."

Alaric groaned again but stood up, brushing off the grass. "Yeah, yeah. Just don't expect me to enjoy it."

"Just think of it as an adventure," Elyas said, already walking ahead.

"Right," Alaric muttered under his breath, catching up reluctantly. "An adventure with old paper cuts and no chickens. Exciting."

Elyas laughed, shaking his head. "You'll thank me later."