“To grasp magic is to know what makes Eryth’s heart move, it is the lifeblood of the ground we tread on, the air that sustains us, the water that quenches your thirst or the fire that warms your hearth on a cold winter’s night …” quote from Nys’vera Aesterith during her speech at the Symposium for Magic and Enchanting.

“Where do we start?” Arthur asked as he rubbernecked the pile of tomes on the table. [Mana Sense] was excited from the magical presence that he could feel diffusing off the leather-bound books.

“First, we need to make sure you can read the Erythean script. These tomes are written in whichever language the author was most proficient. If you apply mana, the World will advertently translate it for you and you’ll read through most of them without much difficulty.”

“So, even reading requires mana?!” Arthur balked at the revelation.

“Only mage-born have the ability to read magical script and spell books. After all, they're the ones the tomes were made for.”

“Are there people who are not mage-born?”

“Some of the races on Eryth are more attuned to mana than others. We have elves and half elves for instance, dragons, fae-folk and a slew of other less known races among others—".

According to the draconic woman, every creature on Eryth had some mana in them no matter how miniscule. Those who had little by just for household cantrips and spells. People who lacked mana capacities sufficient to perform above-average spells called mundanes and those who had some sort of magical capacity that accorded them the affinity to use magic were the mageborn.

“However, not all mage-born are mages. if they haven’t studied magic or haven’t had the World give them the class they're just that...mageborn. Therefore, mage-born are people who simply have the aptitude for magic. Though I should warn you, using the term mundane on nonmage-born is considered derogatory.”

“ A roundabout way of answering…,”Arthur pointed out. Aeskyre glowered. The human quickly ducked his head and retracted his off-handed remark, “Though I can’t say I don’t appreciate the information. It's good to know there's a magical hierarchy of sorts with mages on top. Can't say I'm fancy being at the bottom of the totem pole. ”

“I said I am not that great of a teacher did I not?,” Aeskyre scowled. “ For a being such as I, magic is instinctual; I don’t even need the World to assist me in casting my spells. By will alone, I cast great magics that are beyond your mortal ken.

Understand however, that the World only makes it easier to cast spells. It preserves and streamlines the spell matrices on your behalf . Thus, each subsequent spell cast is more accurate, powerful and mana efficient; otherwise you’d have to recall the entire routine from scratch.”

‘Like the records of Akasha.’ He mused, finding the term familiar to him.

“Right right, I am not complaining,” said Arthur as he placated the draconic woman. “Imagine trying to do that in the middle of battle...mages would've been all glass and no cannon.”

Aeskyre looked at him with crescent slitted eyes and harrumphed. She shook her head, then continued,

“Back to the matter at hand. Erythean script is also referred to as Common or the World’s Tongue. You should be able to pick it up quite easily. Since we are speaking Common right now.”

“We are? That’s weird I didn’t even notice. Wasn’t I speaking English just yesterday?”

“Of course you did. Even for this English language you speak of, the World’s translation was done from my end; you wouldn’t have noticed unless you paid attention to the movement of my lips—”

“You managed however, to automatically pick up Erythean Common when the World’s voice acknowledged your affinities, skills and class. But will not belabor the point.

In that vein, however, I wanted to give you a magical artefact to help you get up to speed. First, I’ll need you to write your English alphabet to attune the artefact to the language then we’ll go from there.”

Aeskyre materialized a magical artefact from thin air. It was a monocle made of a silver metal that had a green tinge on it. Resembling a halved pair of spectacles, it retained one of the temples and a bridge instead of the conventional monocle that was held in place by a squint of the eye. In his [Mana Sense], the monocle also had a rather strong presence.

Unprompted, Arthur wrote the English alphabet. Thereafter, he passed the monocle over them like he would a magnifying glass. He was elated to see the way the artefact changed each letter into Erythean script or its equivalent wiggling in mid air before they gained solidity.

“Done—?” Aeskyre looked up from what she’d been doing.

“Er—”

“Great, we can start on your introduction to magic. First, magical theory then work on your casting for magical practicals.” Aeskye said as she picked up a gray tome with metallic accents.

Embossed on the cover were some runes and Erythean lettering. It was about the width of two of his fingers and by guesstimates, it wouldn’t take more than five days if he applied himself to it. Compared to the rest of the tomes on the table, it was relatively small.

“Here is ‘A Primer on Magic for Mageborn’ by Nys’vera Aesterith. Let’s see how far you can read. Since it’s a mageborn’s introductory literature, it shouldn’t be too hard.” said

“Should I know Nys’vera?” Arthur asked, rolling the strange name over his tongue. “I got a spell yesterday too. Can I practice that?”

“Hrm, eventually you are supposed to if you continue pursuing magic. Also I insist you hold off casting that spell until I tell you otherwise. You have to learn that the World is an aid first and foremost, not a crutch. Do you understand what I mean?”

“Yea, I guess.”

“Good. Let’s get you used to casting your spells without the World, before not after. You will find it much easier how your spells matrices come to you.”

“Alright, if you say so.”

‘Damn, at least she's done better than some college professors I knew.’

“I will leave you to it. Felicitous reading; I will be out for a while. It’s been a long time since I stretched my wings. I should be back within three quarts.”

“Huh, come again? What’s a quart? Is that time?”

Aeskyre looked at him as if he'd grown inane. Then seemingly coming to a realization, her expression changed.

“Ah, that’s correct. A quart denotes an even division of Erythean days. Don’t ask me who came up with that, Even I have no idea”

“So my watch is useless then?”

“Your timekeeping artefact? Not to worry, that will be easy to fix with time—” She grinned. Arthur deadpanned, ‘Horrible, horrible pun.' but his reaction bounced off her skull.

“—After all you will be picking up enchanting along the way. Part of enchanting lends itself to artificing. Perhaps the World might even recognize you as an inventor.”

“Okay then, I will leave you to it. Enjoy whatever passes for leisure around here.” Arthur said, cringing at the studying he was about to do. Gods above, he never thought he'd be buried in books again. No, he actually loved books, it’s the wrong ambience, reading not for leisure but because he’d been told to or he had to that made it feel like such a chore. He’d not felt that way since his college days.

‘Well.. there's no time like the present’ he reflected. As Aeskyre's footfalls receded into the hallway, he was once again...alone.

Silence fell over the gazebo, the little island of marble, sitting in the midst of a sea of treasures as gold and other baubles glinted under the light of magical sconces. Arthur made a deep exhale as he clasped the monocle’s temples against his head and secured the bridge snugly on his nose .

Magic tome in hand, he made himself comfortable on the couch and started reading. He lamented that there was no music accompanying his perusal.

If only he could get his phone on; the thing was dead. He had a charger but no outlet to charge with. ‘No matter,’ he thought, ‘magic should be able to fix that later’, as he thumbed through the pages of the primer on magic.

Whoever Nys’vera was, they were an excellent author. The prologue to the book stated that she was a half elven mage who penned the tome at the prime of her life. . After the prologue was the first chapter, A Treatise on Mana which he found captivating.

Before we begin, It should be noted that Aether is an archaic term used to refer to the incorporeal energy that permeates the veins of Eryth or ley lines as they are popularly known. It has been accepted that the source of all mana, in its pure unaltered state are the leylines.

Mana is Eryth's lifeblood and can be found everywhere on from the bottom of the Oceania Cern'Orbis to the Alkerdian Rift, to the tallest mounts of the Everfrost and floating islands that sojourn her skies, Aether is everywhere.

In contemporary magical literature and for the entirety of this book and subsequent volumes, we shall refer to aether as mana. However, if you wish to ascertain when the divergence and etymology from the use of the aforementioned diction occurred, you may refer to Arfeath Skyborn’s journal, Forays into Oriendal.

Many [Scholars], [Sages] and [Archmages] have for eons, debated the origins of mana. However, a conclusive definition yet eludes us.

I fear only the Primals and the gods might know from whence it came but they have never been so forthcoming. However dear reader, we still have a somewhat tentative understanding of what mana is and what it can do.

We therefore, would not focus overmuch on the philosophical discourse surrounding the genesis of mana because it need not be said that it is a tale as old as time.

Writ earlier , a description of mana is provided but I shall once again, reiterate the same. Mana is an intangible form of energy found everywhere on our dear Mother Eryth. Though intangible, we can feel it and sense it, and for the gifted of us see it with our magical sight.

We can also harness it, to bring about visible effects that are typical of most schools that belong to the Materia branch of arcanry (see chapter on Introduction to Schools of Magic).

Materia is a school of magic that best exemplifies the harnessing of magic, for example a simple [Fire Bolt] spell is a visible and tangible manifestation of magic, because we can see the fire and feel its effects—

—for a fact that mana exists in various forms. Like water, it exists as a liquid, solid and a gas. It embodies all the properties of the four primary affinities Aer, Aqer, Pyr and Ter but let it be noted that it is more than these respective states.

Recall that mana is incorporeal, so while you would be hard pressed to find air inside a rocks, mana has no such limitations against such obstructions. Again note that there is a clear distinction between the incorporeal and the corporeal.

Aer, Aqer, Pyr and Ter are altered forms of raw mana and can therefore be found everywhere in varying quantities depending on the environment, their physical counterparts, air, water and earth (archaic form-eryth) are not…

—various forms of mana from its base form, to its solid form respectively are referred to as mana, magicore and mana crystals. This naming convention was universally accepted after an agreement between [Scholars], [Sages] and [Archmages] in year 1502 AC (Antefall Calendar) ;(refer to Skyborn’s Forays into Oriendal). Each state of mana has various properties that we shall look at in-depth in subsequent volumes of this book.

—difference between aspected and unaspected mana is that aspected mana is attuned to a certain affinity. That is why, a mageborn who is attuned or awoken to a certain affinity for example Aer, will be called an Aer-aspected mage while their counterpart who has awoken to Aqer will be called an Aqer-aspected mage.

It is easy to confuse between aspect and affinity, so its needs be reiterated that aspect is the state of taking on the properties of a certain affinity, while affinity is the natural inclination to behave in a certain way or to arise from a certain origin—

By the time Arthur closed the last page, it was late afternoon, the 15th quart going by Eryth’s hours. Nys’vera’s book had cemented Arthur’s introduction into the world and academia of magic. Looking up from the tome, he saw that Aeskyre was watching him attentively—he didn’t even see her come in.

“Er, sorry. I tend to get lost in books sometimes,” he said as he put away the monocle. “How’s your day been?”

“You need not apologize for being a bibliophile [Lost Worlder]. I just enjoy getting a fluster out of you, that's all.” Aeskyre replied teasingly as she cupped her cheeks.

“I would say my day was rather uneventful. I hunted us some fresh meat. Storm wyverns, bah, what troublesome pests.”

“Did you just say you got us wyvern’s meat?” Arthur asked with a one arched brow.

“Yes, of course. This is my lair and I will not suffer noise from those flying lizards. They’re such animals. Ugh!” she groaned with the ire of a corn farmer cursing ravens.

‘Uhm, so wyverns are pseudo dragons, but to dragons they might as well be monkeys...scratch that, winged monkeys. Annoying...but with teeth and claws’

While Arthur had known Aeskyre for less than an Erythean day, he could admit that the dragon woman could be rather expressive at times.

It was far removed from the regal demeanor he'd come to expect from her when he encountered her for the first time. Perhaps confining herself to a simulacrum made her mental faculties…sensitive.

“You’re thinking something rude again aren’t you? Need I remind you—”

“No! What makes you think that? It’s not what you think…”

“Your thoughts are all over the place. What are you hiding?”

“Nothing, nothing at all. I just thought how surreal it is to be talking to a dragon in the flesh.”

“Don’t mistake my generosity for familiarity peon. I am not your peer.” Aeskyre sneered.

‘Ah, Ms. Haughty's ba—’ he wanted to think, but promptly abandoned that line of thought before they could cohere in his consciousness.

’Damn it woman, can't even have my own thoughts to myself. Feck!’he scrambled that line of thought too. But Aeskyre had already latched onto his stray thoughts. She gave the man a knowing grin full of sharp teeth.

Arthur could feel the cold sweat clinging to his back as his neck hairs stood on end

“Ha! Got you. You should have seen the look on your face. You were as white as a wraith. Don’t worry about it, it’s not like I could take a bite out of you.” Aeskyre flipped her wrist jokingly. “Things like these are common to assuage the boredom when you get to be as old as I am.”

“No— I can imagine what you must be thinking and I am not telling you my age. Just know I am old enough to be your great grandmother; just don’t let me catch you calling me an old hag.”

“Ahaha, very funny.” Arthur chuckled deprecatingly as he unclenched his pale and clammy fists.

“ You seem to have finished the Nys’vera’s primer. Good. The World might see it fit to bestow a [Scholar] class when you next slumber. I would advise you to reject it.” She warned. Arthur gave her a questioning glance.

“— it won’t add any value to you unless you want to be a desk scribe.”

“ That so? I didn’t know you could interact with the World.” he shuddered. As if having an omniscient all pervasive being that spoke to you in your sleep wasn't hitting some ridiculous levels of uncanny.

She said World. To Arthur, the announcements from the World felt like your own voice talking back to you in monotone while orating your skills and classes like a cold AI.

“While the World may be impartial and rewarding of effort where it is due. It does not mean it is a cold unfeeling tyrant that forces archetypes upon living beings. If anything it is most understanding of people’s needs. It is always your choice whether you choose to accept or reject the class being proffered.”

“Thank you for the heads up” he smiled uneasily.“ I’ll watch out for it. By the way, I have been meaning to ask. Where exactly is here? I mean, where does your lair exist on Eryth’s map?”

“I forgot that you just happened to drop from beyond the veil. If you must know, my lair is cloistered on an archipelago of aerlands belonging to a long dead civilization…”

Aeskyre's lair was a system of caves housing the intact remains of a civilization called the Antecessors. The Dragon just happened to repurpose it for her convenience, with her formidable magic.

As for the name of the aerlands and their location on maps, she had no idea what those below called it. Names tended to change , especially when you were a dragon with several centuries worth of lifetime to live.

That said, Aeskyre got a map, old and worn from overuse from whoever knew where. After a painstakingly long period of time, she pointed out their location. Sturm's Keep.

‘Islands floating in the sky, huh?'

“We're in the middle of nowhere.” Arthur pointed out.

“Excepting storm wyverns, and [Aership Pirates] no self-respecting soul would stoop to exploring around these aerlands. Even the pirates know better than to come traipsing around my domain”

“What about the bones outside the cave?”

“That refuse? Tsk, just some rambunctious whelps who wanted to strike it rich . I should remember to clear out their bones sometime.”

“Er, I heard you mentioning aership twice now. Are those what I think they are?”

‘If civilization has grown up around floating aerlands, surely with magic air transportation should be common, right?’ Arthur held out hope

“Yes yes, a dwarven invention—” she waved away Arthur's assumption as if was beneath her. “The landbound’s attempt at taming the skies. Of all the people, a half dwarf had in the sky has got to be the most ironic joke if I ever heard one. Have aerships piqued your interest already?”

“Yes,” Arthur replied as he wrung his palms, “Something came to me in a dream yesterday. I can't stop thinking about flying; I think I used to do it alot, where I came from.”

“It was a matter of time,”Aeskyre's expression softened in resignation. “It just so happens I have some dwarven titles on aerships...” Said Aeskyre as she gazed towards her library.

“I have no use for them either; you can have them.” Thereafter, random books and rolls of parchment flew out from the shelves onto the table which Arthur eyed with interest.

“Is aership technology that common? I would think it is easy from the way you have blueprints like this…” Arthur commented as he looked over the parchments.

“So many questions…” the draconic woman huffed. “You’re rather enthusiastic about aerships. You know that I know what you want to do and I won’t discourage you. What I am trying to say is, the fact that aerships have yet to evolve for over two centuries is testament to the difficulty of their construction—”

“Dwarves hoard their inventions like dragons would hoard gold. Learn to temper your expectations if all fails. Either way, the fact that Sturm’s Keep is an aership graveyard should provide you with lots of materials and references if you choose to go ahead woth your plan.”

“There’s a saying from my world, part of the journey is the beginning. So I won’t know if I don’t try. Forget about building with dwarven techniques, I have my [Lost Worlder] knowledge with me.” Arthur grinned

“The things about technology are the ones I remember the most, not all my memories were lost to me,” said Arthur as he tapped the side of his temples.

‘My diploma in avionics finally pays dividends,’ Arthur mused.

“Do you mind replicating my pens? I wouldn’t want to run out of ink and I don’t see myself using quills.”

“By all means. I have more than enough mana for [Replication] spells. But hear this [Lost Worlder], for your own good, you shall not abandon your magic studies for a frivolous pursuit.

It does not bear repeating that you’ll need some knowledge of enchanting and artificing . And let me be the first to say ; human, you are now treading on the realm of magitech”