B2 – Chapter 15: Fortune favors the Elf

The book Tristan was holding was not like the spell primers from before. There was no fluff at the front, no author introduction. It was the basic components of the spell type, and a table of contents listing page numbers for the various Orders of spells done in a two-page spread.

The name of the spell on one side with the gesture, and the other side containing the spell phrase and other information. It was a relatively small tome, and taking stock of the spells, he saw that only three of each Order were listed. The book was not written by a single hand, either – it contained lots of different nib strokes from many, many quills.

Flipping back to the start, he began reading:

Fortune entails being able to change the odds in your favor. This spell type is very finnicky and it is difficult to determine if it is working or not. It seems to respond better to those of Elvish heritage.

The spells all have a set duration, and seem to work better when spoken in Elvish, so that is the language you will see below. Translations to the Standard Tongue are provided.

An important note is that these spells cannot influence anyone but the user.

Tristan flipped to the First Order spells, intent on memorizing the spells through rote repetition.

Flipper’s Favor (First)

Spell Phrase: “Onni on aina puolellani.” (Luck is always on my side).

Spell Gesture: Ball your hand into a fist, and then tuck the thumb inside the hole the other fingers make between them and the palm. Hold the fist so that the thumb’s backside is facing up. Then, as you state the spell phrase, ‘flick’ the thumb out. This is best done when flipping a coin.

Other Notes: The coin will come up whichever side you are thinking about; make sure you mark the sides! Most coinage across the Realms has some type of marking already, so this should be easy. This spell can be done with anything that can be flipped over; but works more consistently with coins. Lasts for five seconds after casting.

Lucky Instinct (First)

Spell Phrase: “Kunpa minulla olisi tästä huono tunne.” (I wish I had a bad feeling about this).

Spell Gesture: Take your thumb and place it in the crook between your middle and ring fingers, folding those fingers over towards the palm to ‘pin’ the thumb in place. Then, stack the index finger atop the middle finger, and the pinky atop the ring finger.

Other Notes: This spell will last for an hour and will give you a weird sense of something being ‘off’ if an action you would take would result in less-than-optimal outcomes.

Near Miss (First)

Spell Phrase: “Tämä ei voi mitenkään osua minuun.” (There’s no way this is going to hit me).

Spell Gesture: Place both hands face-down at chest-height. Palms facing down, extend your thumbs so that they point at and touch each other. Pull this in just under the ribcage. Straighten all remaining fingers and point them directly forward. Then, as you speak the spell, move your hands around your midsection, keeping the thumbs flush with your body, until your shoulders have retracted as far as they can.

Other Notes: This spell will last for an hour. Anything that would cause you harm that is not guided directly by hand (e.g. a rock thrown would qualify, a stick being swung would not) has increased probability of missing you.

Tristan stopped at the First Order spells and stood up. Walking over to Obadai, he cleared his throat a little bit and the man pulled back from the eyepiece. “Do you have a coin?”

Obadai chuckled, “Going to try one of those spells?”

“Humor me. I want to see if there’s any truth to this thing about Elves being better suited for this spell type. I’d rather do that than waste time learning it if its not going to be valuable.”

The Archon reached into a hip pouch and pulled out a small copper coin. It was marked with King Arinclex’s likeness on one side, and a crown on the other side. He handed it to Tristan, “Go ahead. Do your thing.”

Tristan smiled, “Right. You call a side.” Tucking his fingers into his palm and placing the coin atop, he flicked his thumb up, spinning essence crucible and muttering the spell phrase. “Onni on aina puolellani.” (Luck is always on my side).

As the coin was mid-air, Obadai shouted out, “Crown!” Tristan focused on the opposite side, and the coin clattered to the flat boughs below…head-side up.

The Archon frowned, “Huh. Well, let’s do that a few more times.”

Tristan nodded and what followed was thirty consecutive coin flips, where the Archon would call it in the air, Tristan would think the opposite, and the coin would come up the side Tristan was thinking about. On one instance, he thought about it landing on its edge – and it did so briefly before clattering over to the Archon’s side.

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Obadai sighed, “Well…looks like it does work for Elves. But, just to compare.” He took the coin, and they repeated the test for another thirty flips, and found the distribution to be about even. “That confirms it to me,” Obadai muttered. “The spell works for you.”

Tristan smiled, “Well…what about applying it to something else?” He went to the edge of the platform and peeked over, spotting a handful of fairy dragons lazing about on a branch below. “Do we have any flat thing, like bark, that is spiky on one side?”