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Arc V Chapter 7

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23rd Ignis Solar 753 AAC

Iris raised her index finger, completely immersed in her lecturing mode. A gentle smile adorned her lips. “Anyway, do you have any questions so far, Edelgart? Or should we call it already a day for today? All this talk about magic might be a bit too much for someone uninitiated such as you.” It was obvious that Iris was trying to divert her attention and postpone their lessons to another day after frustrating her with an endless flood of information, but Aurora wouldn't submit so easily. She would persevere and stand her ground.

Aurora and her doll raised their tiny hands, eager to prove her participation and enthusiasm. Now she had to quickly come up with some convincing questions ... The lessons were drier than desert sand, yet they were necessary. Fortunately for her, the workings of magic exuded an air of familiarity. Names and terminology differed, yet the overall structure remained the same. Aether. Accumulation. Mana. Invocation. Phenomenon. It was a breath of juvenile nostalgia. The lessons reminded her of her own past, of older days, of simpler days.

Iris beamed at her. “Yes, Edelgart?”

Aurora asked her question, cradling her doll, “Sister Iris, so if I understand correctly, then aether and mana are more or less the same?”

Iris nodded. “Correct. They are essentially two sides of the same side.”

“... ... ...” Aurora had gathered as much. “Aether is around us, meanwhile mana is inside us.”

“Yes, more or less.”

“But if mana is inside us all, where is it? How does it enter our soul?”

“That is ... an ... excellent ... question, Edelgart.” Her query pleased Iris.

Aurora and her doll raised their eyebrows. Really... Was it?

Iris took a deep breath. “You see, the process of accumulation is a bit of a complex matter. As you know, it marks the transition from aether to mana. Our soul attracts the surrounding aether and turns it into mana. That much is clear. These are the basic principles. But how? How does it work exactly? The idea is that every living being is born with a so called soul. It is unique to sentient beings. The soul describes an abstract, metaphysical force within us. It is in a certain sense the inner force of our existence. Some scholars argue that the soul is merely a subtype of magic. Others argue that it is a product of our will. The church says that it is a fragment of our innate divinity. In the end, it doesn't matter. Whether it is a magical force or something else, the point remains, the soul is there, and that is what matters. Our soul is what enables us to perform magic. It serves as the conduit between aether and mana. It is also the catalyst between mana and phenomenon. The soul is thus essential. It plays a crucial role in all stages of magic.”

“...” Aurora nodded. Iris made her point clear. Soul. Important.

“We are all born with a soul. Nevertheless, not all souls are born equal. Quite the contrary, in fact. Some souls are weaker than others. Some souls are stronger than others. And some souls are considerably stronger than others. They burn brightly like a beacon in the darkness of the void. It is the strength of our soul that grants us mages the gift of magic. The soul waxes and wanes as we age, but its fundamental strength remains predetermined by our lineage and our blood. It is a fate we cannot change.

Now, every soul attracts aether by nature, but all to a different degree. Weaker souls less. Stronger souls more. The stronger the soul, the stronger the pressure it exerts on our surroundings and the higher also its capacity. The stronger the soul, the more aether it attracts, the more aether it can process, the more mana it can ‘store’. Your soul serves in a certain sense also as a container. It fills up with mana until your soul reaches its maximum. Every soul can only hold so much. Any aether that goes beyond this threshold cannot and will not be processed. Does this answer your question?”

“...” Aurora and her doll merely nodded. It did. Extensively and more than sufficiently.

Iris clapped her hands together. “Wonderful. Then let us proceed to the next stage, the invocatio, better known as the invocation. The invocation is the second phase of magic and the intermediate stage between what mana and phenomenon. It is when magical energy in its abstract form, mana, transitions to magical force in its concrete form, the phenomenon, the final product of magic.”

Iris closed her eyes, focusing on the palm of her hand. Aurora and her doll observed her actions closely. A scarlet red aura manifested. Traces of mana were fluctuating through the air. “We mages gather our mana. We draw forth the energy within us, and through the strength of our soul, through the strength of our will, we guide, we direct our mana to manipulate reality. This is the invocatio. This is when the incorporeal mana enters the physical realm. Our magic thus produces a tangible physical force, a phenomenon, something that is, something that exists.” Her words followed action. A tiny flame sprang forth from the palm of her hand. The flame glimmered in the room, yet there was no doubt, this was a display of genuine magic.

Iris beamed, proud of her achievement. “This is what we call magic, Edelgart, but it obviously doesn't end here by a long shot. This is just the beginning.” Her palm closed and from one moment to the next, her flame was snuffed out. What once was, was no more.

“...” Aurora tilted her head in confusion.

Iris smiled. “Because a major part of the invocatio is of course spellcrafting. The art of spellcraft is crucial to the phase of invocation. Because unlike accumulation, the invocation is a more tricky affair. Whereas accumulation is generally innate and mostly a passive process in the sense that we are gathering the vast majority of our mana subconsciously, the invocation is predominately an active step, which means that the invocation requires actual skill and effort. It is a step that requires training and practice. It is a step that requires time and patience, no matter your blood, no matter your lineage, no matter your talent, no matter the strength of your soul. This is why magic needs to studied and mastered. It is also the reason why the fact that you possess mana doesn't necessarily mean that you are able to perform magic. Accumulation and invocation are two radically different steps with different sets of requirements, although they nearly always correlate, for obvious reasons. Those who exhibit a gift for accumulation, exhibit, as a general rule of thumb, also a gift for invocation. Nevertheless, the fact remains that accumulation and invocation are different. This is why proper spellcrafting is so important. Especially, when it comes to higher and more advanced forms of magic. You were watching me when I summoned the flame, right?”

Aurora nodded. “I was.”

“Good. Then you probably noticed that I didn't use any chant or magic circles, didn't you?”

“You didn't?” Aurora feigned ignorance.

“I didn't. You see, in order to perform an invocation, your mind must stay sharp and focused. Your mind is not allowed to waver, otherwise your invocation will fail, and your gathered mana will disintegrate and return to your soul. Fortunately, creating a flame is probably the most basic fire spell. It is an easy spell. It is a beginner spell. So the invocation doesn't require much thought or preparation. A mere thought suffices for an experience mage to perform such a spell with.” Iris resummoned her flame in the blink of an eye. Her flame reappeared. “It is not much of a challenge. However, this is not the case for higher magic. The stronger and more potent your magic, the more difficult the spell, the more focus you require, the slimmer your margin of error. Eventually, the point comes where our talent will fail, and our magic begins to struggle. This is where spellcrafting comes in. The art of spellcraft teaches us about how to use a spell, how to perform a spell, and how to construct a spell. The spell helps us to focus. The spell helps us to gather mana. The spell helps us to guide our mana. The spell helps us to efficiently generate force. This what makes spellcrafting such an essential tool of our skill set.”

“... ... ... ” Aurora turned to her doll, looking for help. Iris's lectures turned out to be a tad more informative than she had expected to get herself into. Perhaps too informative. And worst of all, her lectures showed no signs of stopping ... Quite the contrary ... The spirits that she called. Now her commands they ignore. How fitting ...“... ... ... ”

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