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Arc V Chapter 9

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23rd Ignis Solar 753 AAC

Iris raised her voice, “This ... This is an elemental chart.”

“Oh.” Aurora marvelled at the illustration in question. Apparently it was an elemental chart, which in retrospect seemed fairly obvious, considering its title and the conspicuous arrangement of circles. Elementa magica ... the chart was named ... An elemental circle and the corresponding denomination of the element adorned each corner. The clues were thus there ... No need to consult her doll for further advice.

Iris reclaimed the words, “Now, Edelgart, tell me, do you know how many elements there are~?”

“Yes~. Yes, I do~. I know the answer~.” Little Aurora jumped up, raising and waving her tiny hand in the pursuit of attention, putting her actorial skills once again to good use. The message was clear, notice me.

Her words elicited a soft chuckle. Her overly childish reaction amused Iris. “Oh, you do? How curious~. Then tell me, Edelgart, how many elements are there~? I am listening~.”

Aurora's chest swelled with immense pride, her chin high. Her question sounded like a trick question, which it was. There were six elemental circles, yet there were eight elements ... Once again, her experience as well as her empirical knowledge served her well. “There are eight~! There are eight magical elements, right?”

Iris raised her index finger, overjoyed. “That is ... correct ... There are indeed eight elements in total. Do you also know all of them, Edelgart?”

“Yes, of course~.” Aurora and her doll nodded in a sage manner. Their correctness was only to be expected. Her fingers started counting, one by one. “There is wind~.” One.

“Yes.”

“Fire.” Two. And the bestest of all elements, for obvious reasons.

“Correct.”

“Water.” Three.

“Yes.”

“Ice.” Four.

“Yeah.”

“Earth.” Five.

“...” Iris nodded.

“And last but not least, there is lightning. And of course, light and darkness~.” Six, seven, and eight.

“Splendid work, Edelgart~. That's all eight of them! All eight elements of nature. You have got them all correct.” Iris applauded, her clapping hands congratulating little Aurora her most recent glorious exploit. She even went as far as to reward her and her doll for their efforts with gentle headpat. Iris' tender hand was caressing her lustrous, black hair, much to Aurora's unspoken satisfaction. Her headpat was welcomed and appreciated.

Iris resumed her discourse, “Anyway, now, why do the elements matter? Why are the elements relevant to the use of magic? The answer is simple, aether and mana.”

“Hmm ...” Aurora and her doll mustered their cutest head tilt.

“As we have already discussed extensively before, Edelgart, aether and mana are two different states of the same type of energy, two sides of the same coin. Meanwhile, aether is ...” Iris threw her a probing look, hoping for her to fill the gap. Expectations were resting on her tiny shoulders as Iris was testing her knowledge.

Aurora clenched her fists, eager to oblige. Ever the dutiful student, she would not disappoint her master and teacher. “... external ...”

“... , mana is ...”

“... internal ...”

Her answer visibly satisfied Iris. “Commendable, you were paying attention, Edelgart. You are correct, aether is external, whereas mana is internal. Now, the point is that aether does not equal aether, and mana does not equal mana. Not every type of aether, nor every type of mana is created equally.There are differences, and that is where the elements come into play.”

“...” Aurora tilted her head in childish innocence. “What do you mean~?” It was more of a rhetorical question from her part, rather than a genuine one.

Iris beamed, a secretive smile masking her thoughts. “You will see~. Technically speaking, the elements represent a subdivision of the magical states. Neither aether, nor mana are monolithic, homogeneous forms of energy. Instead, they have different types of aether and mana. These types all possess what we normally define as an elemental alignment. Unaligned aether aside, every type of aether as well as mana exhibits an elemental alignment, which means they are by nature intrinsically aligned to a specific element. There is, for example, wind aether. There is fire aether. There is lightning aether. There is water aether, and so forth. The elements are thus an integral part of the magical world. They are inseparable from aether and mana.”

“...” Aurora nodded. So far so good. Her explanations were ... informative ...

“When it comes to the elements, we traditionally distinguish between two types of elements, the so called six classical elements, the elementa classica, and the so called aspecting elements, or aspects, the elementa aspicientia. Together, they form the eight elements of nature.

On one side, we thus have the classical elements. Anima. Wind. Ignis. Fire. Aqua. Water. Glacia. Ice. Terra. Earth. Fulmen. Lightning. On the other side, we have the aspecting elements. Lux. Light. Umbra. Darkness.

The reason for this distinction is the peculiar nature of the aspecting elements when it comes to aether and mana. Light and darkness are considered elements according to doctrine, yet they rarely behave like elements. Both, the classical elements and the aspecting elements, commonly occur in nature in the form of aether, obviously always with certain differences in terms of strength and quantity. As obvious as it might sound, if it is cold, there is a higher concentration of ice aether. If it is warm, then there is a higher concentration of fire aether. If there is a source of water, then there is more water aether. If there are rocks and stones, then there is more earth aether. The higher the sun and the longer the day, the stronger the light. The brighter the moon and the longer the night, the stronger the darkness. The elements wax and wane with the course of nature.”

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