In its most fundamental, and some argue most powerful form, Magic is the art of understanding. It requires no technology, no wands or staffs, and no spells other than the mage himself and his understanding of reality. The physical sounds of spells and the intricate dance of rituals were merely mnemonic devices, an abstraction meant to help the practitioner take a glimpse at the fabric of reality itself. Indeed, magic stands in stark contrast to the lower arts of sorcery, alchemy, voodoo, divination, and conjuring, for a mage can cast cataclysmic incantations impossible by other methods. And so it was that the greatest mages in these days were the ones blessed with the greatest perception, memory, and intelligence. Yet so complex were the invocations that all were forced to specialize and even those most devoted to their training at The Academy or The Lyceum might hope in a lifetime to have adequate recollection of three True Spells, or four most. Ordinary wizards content themselves with two, and it was not uncommon for the village mage to know only one, or even none.

But among these precursors of magic there was an exception. A genius of vast intellect, prodigious memory, and inhuman perception who came to be known as the Invoker. A man who not only mastered all the lower arts, but also learned not four, not five, but ten spells. But before there was the Invoker, there was Carl. This is not the story of how a man reshaped our understanding of magic, how he fought a fundamental, nor how he rediscovered the Sempiternal Cantrap – the only know invocation of immortality. But rather, this is the story of how he came to be. This is about how he befriended the future Grand Magus, King of Skywrath, and an Ancient, all three of whom help him become who he is.

[Note 1] I will try to go for weekly chapters, but school is busy for an IB student. [Note 2] Yes, this is set in the world of Dota2. No, it's not a fanfic, I am not going to be trying to squish in characters for not reason, and it supposed to be read like a normal fantasy story. [Note 3] I try to spell-check these but mistakes will appear. Please leave any suggestions in the chapter comments.