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Refining the Unrefined

It was no secret that Edmund had a talent for brawling, and getting himself out of difficult scraps. Unlike the more subtle approach of his teach, Edmund was adept at tackling his problems… a bit more directly. Rather than try to have his larger-than-life protege fit a mold that wouldn’t fit quite as well, Enigma chose to help Edmund perfect his own talents.

As the mind mage knows, the Magistrum is home to more than just magic and scientific teachings. It’s houses knowledge of all sorts, including instructors in martial arts and warfare. If someone like him can be taught how to wield a sword, then imagine what a natural combatant like Edmund could do if his reckless street brawling could be refined with a bit of discipline.

The results speak for themselves. As expected, the storm mage took well and quickly to the additional training regime. No one will ever accuse him of being defenseless without his storm magic.

You’ll see that LittleBadWolf is responsible for a lot of my art from this time period, September of 2020, and beyond. I respect their skill as an artist and still keep an eye out on their work.

While Edmund came to Enigma as a novice mage, he was always, from the first draft, a character who was more than happy to get into a fight, especially for the right reasons. And as an intelligent young man, it was impossible to think that he would suddenly have access to facilities that offer formal training in combat and martial arts and refuse to take advantage of them to raise his street fighting to a whole other level. I also like what this says for Enigma, choosing to help Edmund become his own man rather than a carbon copy of his Professor.

That said, I’m amused at the last sentence I wrote in retrospect. No one would ever reasonably expect that someone as big as Edmund couldn’t at least throw his weight around in a fight, but magic would probably be the surprise.