Dragon arts are Thundermarch's tradition of elemental magic, bringing fire, lightning and air together under the imagery of dragons and storms. The tradition honors Tianlei, the storm god. Its practitioners do not all command the same elements.
Practice
Students learn to control their spells and movement together. Jin used lightning and air, directing wind to lift him across gaps and steady his footing on cliffs. Zhang combined fire and lightning in combat and used flames to propel himself. Talent in one element does not make a student equally capable in another: Zhang's fire worked poorly at the height of Jin's first mountain trial.
Training
At Cloudrift Temple, Master Han taught students through years of lessons, study and sparring. Instruction included Thundermarch's history and cities as well as elemental practice. Han overwhelmed Jin's attempted counters with lightning and air, knocked him off balance, and attacked before he expected it. He taught that an enemy would not wait for him to be ready.
Jin's trials tested practical use of magic and survival:
- Mountain ascent: He retrieved snow from the highest peak above the temple, using air to cross difficult ground.
- Solitary journey: He set out for a week in the freezing mountains with only two small Essence cores, his clothing and no provisions. He had to follow a mapped route, enter a cave and retrieve a particular stone.
Casting consumed his limited stores. Using electricity to melt snow and kill prey helped him survive, but Jin was not yet strong enough to draw power directly from the world. Exhaustion and depleted cores could leave him unable to cast.
Outside instruction
Visitors from Xalmyrra brought additional methods to Cloudrift Temple. Khoradyn taught Jin through punishing exercises in ice and earth magic, while Kren drilled him in precise air magic. Sparring against Rhalyn's divine enchantments exposed weaknesses that elemental practice alone had not overcome: one blow required immediate healing. These were additional lessons from the visitors, rather than abilities shared by every dragon-arts student.