Valerion moved his fingers, and, with a flash, everything disappeared from the table. He gestured at the flames in the fireplace to rise higher; then he sank deeper into his armchair, smiling.

"So, today you will begin your study of defense magic", he started. "The branch of defense magic encompasses some of the most basic applications of magic; essential knowledge that should be in the possession of every sorcerer, regardless of skill level. One of the reasons why I thought that this would be a good starting point for you is that the fundamental spells are very simple to draw, and require little effort to be cast. Defense magic is about reflecting energy and relies mainly on concentration, so, through your training, you will be able to direct your efforts on energy channeling while you become acquainted with some elementary shapes. But, primarily: defense magic is simply so useful - if properly understood and intelligently used, it can be life-saving -- well, that was rather obvious and you knew that, but --".