The video starts up, a large face looming in it’s view.

“Hey, did you get that thing running? He’s not going to be here all day.”

The face is male, with brown hair and teal eyes, and it furrows it’s eyebrows.

“Yeah, just a bit grainy… there we go.”

The view, indeed a bit grainy, focuses.

A moment later, the face moves to the side, revealing the wall of homely wood, with a hearth between two seats. On the left is an elven woman, sitting in a reclining chair with nice leather upholstery. On the right is, well, a 3 ft 3 in tall gnome wearing purple robes with yellow accents, who is also sitting in a similar chair, just seemingly more comical, due to how his head doesn’t even reach the top of the back of the chair.

The elven woman leaned forward, her standard black and grey robes of the newspaper immaculately tucked and folded, “So, Archmagus Smith, you have said that you would be willing to offer an insight into the workings of magic?”

The gnome, Smith, nods quickly, “Indeed, yes! After all, knowledge is key for developing magic! Well, in any outward form.”

The elf takes out a notepad, “And what do you mean by that?”

With a wave of his hands, some sparkles appear out of the air above Smith, “I’d love to explain! See, everyone has inalienable access to magic. You have a soul? You have magic!”

The sound of scribbling goes on for a few seconds, “So, anyone can be a mage?”

Smith nods, “Certainly! Of course, never expect everyone to be able to cast magic. Some even purposefully avoid learning! And, what’s better, is that they still become as powerful as a mage can be!”

“How so?”

Smith holds his hands out, and an image of a beautifully woven tapestry appears out of the air, “Well, let me give a brief demonstration of how magic works, firstly.”

The image zooms onto a few strings in the tapestry, “Now, I’ll be using one of my own spellforms for this. It’s only a bare fraction of a fraction of the Weave, but it will work.”

The elf waves her hand through the image where it nears her, “An illusion?”

“Of course! It is useful for far more than simply tricking people. It works wonderfully for demonstrations! In any case, all spellforms are made by taking some of the strings of magic, and weaving them together into a spellform. Fairly common knowledge, yes, but much of the nuance is lost in the margins. See, each string is more than a generic thing. Each individual string, is like none other! There are similarities, but no exact copies! Phenomenal, yes?”

The elf is still taking notes, and nods along, “Incredible, yes. But, where are you going with this?”

With another wave of his hands, the image focuses on one string, deep blue in color, “Now, my simply showing this particular string is a bit of a breach of protocol, but I couldn’t resist. See, this string demonstrates several things. First, you’ll note the color. It’s color dictates its elemental alignment, such as the usual four, but with so much nuance! For example, this one is a deep blue, which means it is water aligned, but it contains elements of pressure! The darker the color, the more it is usually mixed with other elements, but that is a whole discussion all it’s own!”

“So, what are these strings made of?”

With a grin barely constrained by his face, Smith goes on, “I’m glad you asked! See, technically, these strings are called the Flow of Magic, but it’s simplest to think of them as strings. They are made of pure potential, but they carry the intentions of it’s past. For example this string,” it zooms in even further, “Seems rough, yes? A bit like it was roughly woven together? That is because it has a touch of demonic energies lingering in it!”

The elf raises an eyebrow, “So, this is demonic magic?”

With a shake of his head, he continues, “No, it was used by demons for a time, but it has since been passed through. The strings aren’t stationary, they move through the hand of the god of magic, who ensures the Weave doesn’t fray and tear. Without them, no one would be able to cast magic! But, back to the materials. See, many types of magic influence the material of the strings, like how Fiendish magic turns a string so twisted, it’s hard to distinguish it from more conventional, Elemental magic.”

The elf taps their quill on the notepad, “How does a wizard cast a spell, then?”

Zooming back out, the tapestry is visible again, “This, is how. We wizards take these strings, and weave them into these spellform tapestries. Now, to beat you to your next question, you can manipulate any strings your soul impacts. Think of it this way, your soul is a marble on the tapestry of the Weave. The strings you pull down, are the bits you can manipulate. Now, the weight of your soul marble is based on the strength of your soul. As to how to determine, or even increase your soul strength? No one knows! Well, at least I don’t. I think it has to do with significant events, putting pressure on it, but who knows?!”

Tap, tap, and more tapping, followed by some scribbling, “So, Mr. Smith, you mentioned earlier some purposely keep themselves in the dark, and are just as powerful as mages. While a definite observation, how does this happen?”

The illusion shifts to a… boiler? “As you can see, this is a boiler. A fascinating device that unfortunately few have access to. It boils water, and funnels it through piping to different things to relieve the pressure of the steam. Now, as to how this is relevant, is to provide a good medium for explaining. See, the magic in the Weave is constantly flowing, from point to point. But, a soul creates an indent, making the magic build up slightly around your soul. So, this pressure on your body, as it is the physical vessel of your soul. To use a boiler, the magic is building pressure on your body, since it has no outlet. This is not a bad thing, but rather the opposite! It refines your body, into a more streamlined, more powerful thing.”

“Well, then what about those that stretch into the realm of magic, but aren’t proper casters?”

The illusion has a couple valves turned, with steam coming out their ends, “Well, you can open a couple of valves to release the magic, for example, but the steam builds faster than it’s released, unless you put more effort into learning the ways of magic. For example, paladins strike a balance, releasing their magic as fast as the pressure builds. I believe it’s their discipline and their oath, being similar to a wizard's dedication to learning. I could be wrong, of course, and isn’t that wonderful!”

“Then, how does it work for a full spellcaster?”

“We have full control of our valves, storing and releasing magic, at our whims. We take this magic, to weave our spellform tapestries! It’s marvelous, seeing others form their spellforms, and glimpsing their artistry.”

The Elf takes a few more notes, before pausing, “Then, if that’s how spell casting works, then how are magical items produced?”