V

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Arc V Chapter 6

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23rd Ignis Solar 753 AAC

“Hmpf ...” Aurora and her doll were sitting on their chair, pouting and grumbling, her arms crossed in rightful and justified indignation and her feet dangling in the air without purpose. She was a little girl, so she had every right in the world to be unreasonable. It was her privilege.

Iris called her mana reserves average! Average!!! AVERAGE!!! Ridiculous! Ludicrous! Laughable! Absurd! Calling her mana reserves average ... Even going as far as to doubt her ability to perform magic! Nonsense! Baloney! Only because she went to such great lengths to suppress her presence and hide her mana pool from the prying eyes of a second rate ... No third rate ... No fourth rate mage with delusions of intellectual grandeur!

“Hmpf ...” Aurora continued pouting, puffing up her cheeks. Never before in her life, she had suffered such an inconceivable humiliation! Never before, she had been subjected to such disparaging and baseless defamation! But fortunately, she was a reasonable human being and willing to overlook Iris' transgression. After all, her words were not the product of malice, but the result of her excusable ignorance ... It also helped that Iris provided her with a kettle of herbal tea and an exquisite arrangement of biscuits. They lessened the weight of her slight and made the decision to forgive her considerably easier.

“Nom ... Nom ... Nom ...” Aurora was thus nibbling on her biscuit, with the crumbs of his slain comrades filling her cheeks to the brim. His comrades and he turned out to be very tasty ...

A heavy thump interrupted her thoughts. Iris slammed a thick tome down on the table before her eyes, the weight of paper clashing against the strength of wood.

Aurora and her doll gazed at the tome with curiosity, still nibbling on her biscuit. De origine et principiis artium magicarum. De aethere, elementis et mana ... It was a rather lengthy title for a mere compendium on magic ... “Mwhmat mis mthis, Sister Iris?” The crumbs in her mouth rendered her words indistinct.

Iris placed her arm on the tome. “This is a beginner manual, Edelgart. This is your introduction to the magical arts ...”

“...” That made sense ... Aurora continued nibbling on her biscuit. Her biscuit continued being very tasty.

Iris resumed her lecture, “You will read and study the manual under my guidance. I will assist you and explain where necessary.”

“Oh ...” Aurora and her doll tilted their heads, doing the best to feign interest. Her ears didn't like the sound of the words ‘read’ and ‘study’. They both sounded like a lot of work and trouble just for the sake of collecting local information, but her options were sadly limited ... The fickle nature of reincarnation. “So you are my personal tutor, Sister Iris?”

Iris mustered a wry smile. “More or less ... As for you, you can read, can't you?”

Aurora nodded vigorously, her doll in her arms. “A little bit. We studied the letter Z yesterday.”

“...” Iris mustered a heavy sigh. Her exasperation was plainly visible even to the naked eye. She had clearly hoped for more. “I guess ... that is at least something ... Though it seems that teaching you will require a lot of work ...”

“Understood~.” Aurora clenched her fists. “I will give my best~. Promised~.”

“...” Iris merely smiled, her gaze directed at her and her doll. “Time to start the lesson. Let's start with the basics. Edelgart, tell me, what do you know about magic?”

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

“What is magic? What does magic mean to you? What do you know about magic?”

Aurora was thinking, the gears in her head working hard. “I don't know ..., so far I have only seen you and the elves in action. You have fire magic. The elves had ice and wind magic. What I know is that you can do sparkly, shiny stuff with magic. Like woosh~. And doosh~. And boom~.” Her hands were wildly gesticulating to animate the noises.

Iris chuckled. Her youthful enthusiasm filled Sister Iris with nostalgia. “A simplistic explanation, but more or less correct. Fire, ice, and wind are indeed three of the eight elements of magic.”

“Anyway, ...” Unabated, Iris continued her sermon, her hand firmly placed on the tome. “To understand magic is to understand nature itself. To master magic, you must first master the foundations, Edelgart. Without a suitable foundation, you build your magic on sand, do you understand?”

Aurora replied with a nod.

“The art of magic, or magia as we like to call it, is first and foremost a method, a procedure, a technique”, Iris resumed her lecturing. “Traditionally and doctrinally, we distinguish between the so called states and phases of magic. Magic consists thus of states. Aether, mana, and phenomenon. And of phases. Accumulation and invocation. The states denote the various stages of magic. Meanwhile, the phases denote the transitions between the different states. Aether is turned into mana. Mana is turned into a phenomenon. As you can see, Edelgart, the art of magic is a not just a mere sleight of hands. It is a well defined sequence of steps. It is the ability to use the energy residing within you to create a phenomenon. You shape reality. You shape the physical plane of existence. That is magic.”

“Oh ...” Aurora and her doll were listening before making a mental note.

“Now, the states of magic are aether, mana, and phenomenon. Phenomenon is the end product of magic, its final result. It is the force that is generated by your magic. It is the flame of fire. It is the pillar of ice. It is the gale of wind.” Iris summoned a small flame inside the palm of her hand to demonstrate her point. “Aether and mana on the other hand are more complex concepts. In fact, aether and mana are closely related. They are both forms of energy, yet they are different. Edelgart, do you know what is the crucial difference between aether and mana?”

Aurora shook her head. “...” Aurora little girl. Little girls not knowing magic.

“Aether is in essence external, meanwhile mana is by nature internal.”

“...” A pair of question marks were floating over Aurora's head, her eyes blinking rapidly.

Iris returned to her explanation, “Aether is not only the most basic, but also the most ubiquitous form of magical energy. Aether is generally chaotic and volatile. It is diffused and diluted. Aether possesses the weakest presence among the three stages of magic, to the point that aether is hardly visible, yet it is the energy that surrounds us all. Aether is in the air, in the water, in the earth, in the plants and trees. Aether is everywhere and in everyone. This is the reason why we consider aether the energy of nature. It is the energy of the planet itself. Mana by contrast is a more refined form of energy. Mana is controlled. Mana is concentrated. Mana is strong. Mana possesses a far stronger presence than aether ever could. It is a more compact version of aether. It is our souls that gather, or rather accumulate, the surrounding aether and turn it into mana. Our souls serve as conductors to transform the aether within us into mana. This is why there is mana inside all of us. We all possess traces of mana, although the strength of our mana might differ. Mana is thus not the energy of nature, but rather the energy of man. It is an energy that is born from our souls, from the sentience and sapience of man. Nevertheless, the border between aether and mana is often times fleeting. It is often hard to tell where aether ends and mana begins. Especially, when it comes to beasts, spirits and demons. Are they using aether or mana? Do they have souls, or not? Because in the end, mana and aether are closely related. Strength and concentration aside, they are essentially one and the same, which explains why mana regeneration increases or why spells are more powerful in aether rich environments. The more aether there is, the stronger your magic grows. Do you understand, Edelgart?”

“... ... ...” Fresh acolyte and attentive student in one, Aurora and her doll merely nodded. Iris was tossing a lot of technical and magical jargon at her. Hardly much of a challenge for a keen intellect of her proportions ... And yet her head was veritably spinning in the face of such an onslaught of information ...

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