Unlikely Source

The Library was dark, just like the night sky. Its empty halls were silent, seemingly untouched by the day's activities. Each book had its place, and each book was in its place.

The silence was like a dark shroud over the grand halls, save for a single candlelight.

Goleil sat in the darkness, pouring over the elemental magic section. In his hand, a small ball of red energy spun.

He sighed, straining his eyes in the dim candlelight. Murdoc had been right; magic was not a science and far more complicated than it appeared.

Goleil looked up at Ty'Bral with bloodshot eyes.

'That eldritch bastard is grinning...' He thought as Ty'Bral covered his mouth.

"Are you going to help me or not?"

Ty'Bral raised an eyebrow. "I thought you didn't need my help," He said, his voice muffled by his hand.

Goleil gestured around him, at the candlelight, at the chair he was sitting in. "When did I say that?!"

Ty'Bral pulled his hand away from his face to reveal a toothy grin.

"So, you admit you need an Elderlings help?"

Goleil stared into those red eyes, then glanced back at the book.

He rubbed his fingers against the leather binding.

'I refuse to give in just yet!'

Goleil sat back down and tried to "instill the mana with your best facsimile of what you wanted it to do," as Murdoc had said.

The red ball briefly flickered like a wisp of smoke before becoming smooth once more.

He slammed his hand into the table and roared like a wounded beast.

"Shut up, you animal! You may not admit you need my help, but we have been sitting here for over twelve hours! Have you forgotten that you possess Adthun and are trying to use it in a God's magic system?!" Ty'Bral shouted, throwing a book at him that dematerialized as it left his fingers.

"Of course, I know that!" Goleil said, as he unconsciously flinched at the imaginary book, "But what am I supposed to do with that information?!"

Ty'Bral sighed. "Have you ever wondered why you are so strong, even when you don't use much mana? You could command an entire stadium when you only wanted to command a single knight. What do you think that means?"

Goleil stared at Ty'Bral, his bloodshot eyes beginning to twitch. "I suppose that would mean Adthun is stronger than human magic."

Ty'Bral snapped. "Close, but the wrong word. It is not the magic that is stronger. It is the mana that makes such a big difference."

Goleil blinked. "What? How could I know that?"

"I don't care; I like seeing you struggle," He said as he chuckled. "Anyway, Elder mana, or sen, does not travel through circuits like human mana. Sen travels directly in the bloodstream, propelled by the heart. It is constantly moving, in flux."

Ty'Bral suddenly became transparent, only the thousands, hundreds of thousands of blood vessels becoming visible. They twisted and turned with his tentacles, his massive heart where his organs should be in the center of his 'humanoid' body.

"The one common trait all Eldritch have is a large body. A large body has a lot of blood, so I suppose the Elder Thing created Adthun to take advantage of this fact."

The vessels started to glow as Goleil felt his magic being used to 'circulate' Ty'Brals mana.

"When we circulate our mana, we get the hearts propulsion and the souls. Not only that but how magic uses mana is different. Mana supplies an entire process, but you have no understanding of this process, only the end goal. Sen is merely an energy source, so you must understand the magic you cast far deeper."

"Is that why it's so much more powerful? Because it's just energy?"

"That's correct, it doesn't do all the heavy lifting required for the spell, so its singular purpose makes it far more potent than versatile. It is shapeable, yes. But it is far more powerful as an energy source for other processes, like creating fire."

Ty'Bral snapped his fingers as Murdoc had, but instead of a brief gout of flame, a massive arrow of blue fire shot into the air and disappeared before it could slam into the ceiling.

"Perhaps playing with fire in a library isn't the brightest idea."

"Mm. You will have to apply these principles another time, outside the city. You're likely going to create a huge mess your first time," Ty'Bral said and chuckled nostalgically.

Goleil gathered his things, mainly a couple of sheets of paper, the blue book, and a charcoal pencil.

"Why do you say that?" He asked as he began walking towards the entrance.

Ty'Bral raised an eyebrow. "Sen is extremely volatile. As I said, you must understand the underlying concepts of things like fire, wind, and ice. It takes an extremely long time, something only Eldritch can afford. It's another reason why it's so much more powerful."

"Interesting. So you're saying that between understanding the concepts, controlling the sen, and actually doing the spell, it's going to be a mess?"

"Absolutely, not to mention the sheer amount of power you have. I'm proud to say that almost no half-step Eldritch is in my league regarding the quantity of sen. Not only that, your soul is abnormally strong."

Goleil imagined blowing himself up and half the city with him. Why did magic have to be so dangerous?!

"Usually, magic can't hurt its caster. It's bizarre and is often taken advantage of in combat. However, sometimes things can go awry. I imagine you'll knock yourself unconscious; it's the most common. Let's hope you don't lose any more brain matter. Elder knows you need as much as you can get your hands on."

Goleil tried to punch the eldritch, but his hand passed through. "Damn you, if only I could've met you while you were still alive!"

"If that had happened, you'd be very dead. I was not the strongest, more middle of the pack, but mere warriors could never defeat me."