Magical Instruction (1)

Despite their apologies, Gwen, Mord, and Rick decided that it would be best to separate the two.

Dr. Favar sat on a chair on the roof, staring blankly into the horizon.

"So... are we not going to discuss the fact that he could use high-tier magic without his hands?" Murdoc asked, leaning against a small table.

The astronomer took a sip of coffee.

Murdoc sighed. "You know, you could've handled that far better."

Zafas put the cup of coffee down. "I'm tired of all the looks. The words whispered when they think I can't hear. The rumors thrown around, accusations. And how can they not? I'm clearly a Krodian, the object of their hatred. And yet, it is not I who starves them and refuses to trade."

He stood up and leaned against the crenelles. "Then, perhaps the last living man from a dead kingdom tells me that I am scum? That we are enemies simply because I was born in the wrong place?"

He looked at Murdoc with tired, bloodshot eyes. "I'll not have it."

...

The research progressed slowly.

It was one thing to have access to every book on old and esoteric magic, and it was a whole other to read them all.

Goleil sketched the patterns he'd seen to the best of his ability, noting them down with charcoal on a yellowing sheet of paper.

He skimmed through a book at a time, looking for any sign of the strange symbols. He closed his twelfth book with a sigh.

Murdoc stopped beside him, having just come downstairs. "Not finding what you're looking for?"

Goleil looked at the man in scholarly attire. He seemed to be carrying a small blue book.

"Yes, unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be here."

"Well, maybe it's just because you don't truly know what it is you're looking for, whatever that may be." Murdoc sat beside him and passed him the little leather-bound book.

Goleil looked at the book, and it seemed to be simple, with no writing on the front or spine. Opening it up, it appeared to be handwritten, the flowing script beautiful yet legible.

"Principles of Magic. Volume 1. How many volumes are there?"

"Just one. I haven't written the rest for now."

Goleil's eyes went wide. "You wrote this?"

The court mage grinned. "Of course, dear Goleil! Ald told me to give you the best resources available. The best person to learn magic from is yours truly."

Goleil chuckled. "I see. Then, should I start with this? I feel like I might be wasting my time starting with something so simple."

"You mustn't get too far ahead of yourself. Were you a mage in the Sun Guard?"

"No, I was an infantryman."

"Then you should have no further experience with mana than circulating it and using it to empower you or your weapon physically. True magic is a little different."

He put out his hand, and tiny wisps of mana sparkled and danced. He grinned as he watched the blue light flicker. "Let me explain the basics to you since you have no prior education."

Goleil nodded, leaning closer. This was information directly pertaining to his strength, and he was learning directly from the best mage in the city-state.

A blue aura grew around the mage. "Mana is the soul's power over magic, the internal energy that makes affecting the external possible. We use it to supply our spells. The stronger the spell, the more mana we need to support it. By extension, the more mana, the more powerful your soul has to be."

Goleil thought back to how his own soul had doubled in size and how much stronger he was before and after that process. Even though Ty'Bral was in control of his body for only a few seconds, he could feel how much weaker it was than when he took on all those knights.

Goleil thought of something. "What would happen if two mages had the same amount of mana, but one had a much stronger soul?"

Murdoc grinned. "Great question; you learn quickly. There is much more to mana than simply how much you have. There is also the efficiency with which you move it. That has to do with two things."

He got up and gestured to his body. "Your physique, or your body's capacity for magic. And your soul's strength."

He beckoned for Mord to come over, who had been pretending to read a book by holding it in front of his face and zoning out as he stared at the first page.

"Now, imagine you have two mages with an equal amount of mana, and their physique is exactly the same. The mage with the significantly stronger soul strength wins handily."

He shooed Mord away, but he shook his head. This was far more interesting.

Murdoc sighed and sat back down. "Now the real question is why. See, when mana moves through the body, it's not moving on its own, and the soul is what gives it that propulsion through the mana circuits."

The mage held his hand out once again, and this time mana spun in a dazzling ring around his hand. "The more powerful your soul, the faster the mana can circulate, and therefore the more potent projected magic would be. The more potent the projection of magic, the more powerful the spell can be while supplied with the same amount of mana. Basically, your mana consumption is far more efficient."

"What about the physique? Why does that matter?"

Murdoc smiled mischievously. "Well, without the mana circuits, the soul's strength is useless. The mana has nothing to travel through, so without a magical miracle, if a person were to have no mana circuits or broken ones, they shouldn't be able to perform magic," He said, stressing the word shouldn't.

He chuckled and raised an eyebrow, "Though that's simply a theory."

Goleil chuckled as well, though it was a bit forced. "Of course... that would make sense."

Mord had zoned out.

"Do you know of the Circles of Magic?" Murdoc asked, flipping to a particular page in the blue book he had written.

"No, I assume they have something to do with spells?"

"A lucky guess, but not completely. The Circles of Magic are twofold. They are a formal ranking system, one for spells, the other for spellcasters. They range from zero to ten, though some have made it farther. The most notable are all historical figures."

Murdoc stretched and yawned. "Not to brag or anything... But I am a fifth circle mage, and so is Dr. Favar. You are lucky he didn't want to kill you, only teach you a lesson."

Goleil's eyes narrowed. "I don't have any frame of reference. How powerful is that?"

Murdoc chuckled as if speaking to a child. "Well, someone has to take care of pseudo-eldritch. You don't seriously believe it's the City Guard or the Knights of Redvale who do that? Even magic practitioners are far more powerful than they could ever hope to be."

Goleil's eyes went wide. "Of course... that makes perfect sense. I always wondered how they had done it. Do just the two of you take them down?"

The court mage smiled. "Goleil, even though we are very strong, even the weakest pseudo-eldritch is third circle. Often, just the practitioners are enough, but sometimes both of us are required, and we even need to call up the City Guard to help subdue it."

"What could the City Guard do to help?"

"Don't underestimate the power of man, Goleil. Never shortchange the power of human will."