Sage Yun was surprisingly young. A well endowed female with a wizard hat and a luscious aquamarine robe that looked a little too tight for practical movements. Still, a sage would probably someone of importance hence Arthos decided to keep such comments to himself.
"Greetings, I was told I could learn some spells here. "
Yun turned her head and smile. " Very well, since you a newly arrived hero, I shall share a few pointers. There are many ways to use magic. It will depend on your ability to visualise and an affinity to the elements. To use a spell, you will need to have an image of a particular rune. A mental image, drawing the rune symbol with your staff, using scroll papers or even carving on tools will suffice. Each having its benefits and weaknesses. Then, focus your mind on the image and channel your energy into it while visualising what you want it to do. Here is a book of common runes. I'll demonstrate a spell for you." The sage then pointed at the air symbol in the book and proceeded to trace it out in the air. The tracing shimmered suspended in the air. She then stared at it and a gust of wind shot forward, leaving a blade mark on the nearby wall.
Arthos burned the image of the rune into his mind and emulated her actions, but just after he finished tracing the rune, he got distracted and the tracing fizzled. Just as Yun wanted to correct Arthos, he pictured the rune in midair and channeled his focus through it. A slight gust shot forward and lightly nicked the wall. Yun smiled. "That is a good attempt. You can experiment with the other runes on your own."
Arthos bowed respectfully and looked around the courtyard, people were bustling around and he could see those training with swords, bows, and all sorts of weaponry. It did look like all skills required some form of action sequence or symbol to activate.
"Too much work. I'd rather stand in a spot and throw out spells. " Arthos felt that he wouldn't be able to keep up if it required too much physical activity. Laziness is the virtue of efficiency. Mental imaging came a lot easier for someone who studied engineering and taught physics anyway. It will do for now.