Chp.7: Wild magic

Haku and Isaac went a little far from the camp. Even from that distance and even with the limited senses of a human one could see the crowd of beastmen coming out of the tents and going to listen to Zamor explaining to them that there was no danger and that they had ascertained that the mysterious sharks were very simple animals. "Why do you need my presence?" Isaac asked him. Until that moment, he had no recollection of Haku ever sharing her findings with anyone outside of his family unless absolutely necessary.

Haku looked at the sand shark carcass in front of him. His gaze was indecipherable for a moment. Then he suddenly asked: "Isaac, is it possible to use mana to communicate over long distances?"

Isaac was somewhat surprised by the question. "Well... I don't know of any way, if that's what you're asking..."

Haku shook his head. "I don't care if you know how to use it or not. I just want to know if it exists"

The mage thought about it, then he answered: "Well, technically it can be done, but it is a prerogative of those who know how to use light magic and dark magic. I know that some of the larger empires have been able to create methods to communicate to long distance using these two spells, and that's why some of them have become so powerful"

Haku understood Isaac's words. Having the ability to communicate instantaneously over large distances was a huge boon in the progress of any nation: it meant that those in command were instantly aware of any problems, whereas normally a messenger would take days or even weeks to bring back information. Therefore, for nations that possessed tools capable of putting their inhabitants in contact at any time, it was much easier to conduct and above all win wars, rapidly transforming kingdoms into empires. "All clear. Now tell me, can animals use magic?"

"What? No way! This is ridiculous!" Isaac exclaimed bursting out laughing. "Even non-verbal spells require a certain level of intelligence, which animals do not possess. Why such questions?"

Haku snorted, annoyed by the man's anger, and that was enough to make Isaac stop laughing; after which he pointed to the sand shark. "These creatures hunted in packs, but that, if they were normal animals, would be impossible. Animals that hunt in packs need some form of communication, but they don't have it. Fish don't have vocal cords, so they don't they can use cries to coordinate. Some animals use smells to communicate, but this is impossible under the sand. I thought they used movements, but besides the fact that it would be really difficult to perceive them under the sand, I noticed that some sharks were able to coordinate even while the others were out of the sand or even still flying. So how do they communicate so well that they not only plan an attack, but actually alter their strategy in the middle of it?"

Isaac was somewhat confused. In fact, thinking about it, this seemed strange. "Have you checked yet? Maybe they actually have vocal cords..."

"Without the lungs? Besides, I didn't hear them make a single sound the whole battle" Haku retorted. This removed all doubts: if a dragon, with its incredibly fine hearing, didn't hear anything, it meant that sand sharks really didn't make any sounds.

Isaac began to understand where Haku was leading to. "You… do you think these sharks use magic to communicate?"

Haku nodded. "Exactly. So I'll ask you again, Isaac: are you sure animals can't use magic? They too have mana and can use it to fortify their bodies like warriors. Is there really no animal that somehow mimics the abilities of mages?"

Isaac gulped. He realized that perhaps it had been unprofessional: he had dismissed the hypothesis a priori without even thinking about it. He tried to compose himself: "Well... technically some animals can use magic... but it's not really magic, or at least not magic as we understand it" he explained. "Animals use their mana by creating a kind of substitute for normal spells, but they are based not on knowledge and intelligence but rather on instinct. For example, this is how wyverns are able to breathe their blue fire; it's a real spell, but more of a sort of middle ground between fortifying one's body using mana and using the same mana outside the body to create magic. The experts of this subject call it 'wild magic' and there are very few animals that really use it. Most are super predators like wyverns, but even some animals that live in extreme conditions sometimes have this characteristic"

Haku reflected on those words. It was normal for creatures capable of using mana in that way to be very powerful predators: this characteristic would have given them great advantages in defense and above all in hunting. And it was also normal for creatures that lived in hostile places to have adapted such abilities, since it was easier to survive that way. "How exactly does this wild magic work?"

Isaac tried to explain it in simple words: "Well... as you well know, normal magic is about focusing the spell in your mind and then channeling the mana out of your body and giving it the shape you want. As a result, this requires a certain degree of intelligence. Wild magic, on the other hand, is based only on instinct: animals move their mana without thinking about it, using it as a defense mechanism. It is similar to what would happen if I touched a hot object: I would immediately withdraw the hand, but not because I thought about it, but because my instinct forced it on me. This is more or less how wild magic works: no thought, just instinct. And precisely because it is only instinct, the creatures that use it can use only one or two spells that are passed on through their heritage, they can't invent new ones like we do since instead we can wonder about magic, study it and try new things"

Haku nodded. "So, based on this reasoning, this wild magic can create some sort of surrogates for normal spells, even if not perfect. So, it could also replicate the communication system you told me?"

Isaac shook his head. "Light magic and dark magic are magic given by the gods, they do not exist in the mortal world. It is impossible for animals to replicate them"

Haku grunted. The gods were still a mystery to him, so bringing them up meant complicating things. He tried to think of an alternative, and it immediately occurred to him: "But we know that a hydra can communicate with its minions! And we too can connect to our avatars to..."

"Exactly: connection, not communication" Isaac stopped him. "The hydra is mentally linked to her minions, they are like extensions of her body. The same goes for avatars of you and your siblings. But communicating between two independent minds is different. The only way would be if the two minds were not two, but one..." while he was still speaking, he stopped and his eyes widened. "Wait... what if these sand sharks really are one mind? But they each have a brain..."

"Bees and wasps also have a brain each, but they possess a hive mind" Haku said, as a more complete picture began to form in his mind. "Perhaps these sand sharks are actually parts of a single organism, connected in mind. But instead of having many subordinates and a single queen, as is the case with bees and wasps, each of the sharks has a partially mind of its own and the rest is connected to the others. While bees and wasps have the queen as a brain and all the subordinates act as if they were legs and arms, in this case each shark is a part of the brain and together they form a complete brain"

"Partly autonomous, part hive mind... if we assume they use a hydra-like linkage system... perhaps it could work" Isaac murmured as he stared at the carcass in amazement. "Do you think you can catch some specimens alive? So we could..."

"I have a better idea" Haku said, then let out a high-pitched noise, so loud that Isaac had to cover his ears. After just a minute of waiting, Rhaegal appeared in the middle of the dunes, running breathlessly towards them. "What's up, brother? More sharks?"

"No, I just wanted to check something" Haku answered, and he quickly explained the situation to him. "Simply put, now you and I will turn two sharks into two avatars and then check if they are really connected or if our assumption is wrong"

Rhaegal nodded. "Are you sure? We don't have much hydra venom left. If you found out we were wrong, we would have wasted some unnecessarily..."

"Don't worry, I've already thought about how we could use these sharks, so even if we're wrong they won't be useless avatars" Haku replied. He certainly wouldn't have wasted such a precious resource just to test a hypothesis: he had something in mind for the sand sharks.

Rhaegal trusted his brother, so the two created avatars and transferred their consciousnesses inside the sharks. When they did they were almost dizzy: it was as if their minds were in two separate bodies. Of course, they felt most of the body they had moved into, but they could also perceive the movements, actions and thoughts of the other body as well. It was as if they were two distinct individuals and at the same time one. "Well, I guess we've proved our hypothesis" Haku said as he immediately slipped back into his real body, rather dazed. He would need a lot of training before getting used to that strange feeling.

Rhaegal shook his body a bit to recover, then he exclaimed: "This is amazing! Do you think we could replicate this with our avatars? That way we could use them without having to leave our main body!"

"Calm down, let's not jump to conclusions" Haku said. He too had thought about that possibility, but the situation in this case was very different: maneuvering two bodies with the same mind and maneuvering two but with the help of another were two very different things, and Haku doubted that he could have done it without go crazy at some point. Or maybe not? Well, at the time he had too little data available. It was better to proceed step by step. "Let's start with the simple stuff. Isaac, do you think you can replicate this link artificially, so as to create a way to communicate over long distances?"

"I will have to study this creature's brain thoroughly to find the organ that allows this connection to be made. Once that is done, it would simply take it and supply it with energy, and it would work great" Isaac said. "If I studied it further, maybe I could replicate the process... but I'm not sure. I'm not exactly an expert of wild magic. I would need many guinea pigs to..."

"We have enough corpses of sand sharks. I'll provide you with some, so you can do as many experiments as you want. And if that's not enough, I'll get you more, at the cost of scouring the whole desert if necessary" Haku replied. He absolutely wanted to have what the mage promised: a long-distance communication device, no matter how it was made, would be invaluable. Even though they already had avatars that could perform a similar function, what sand sharks had was much more efficient.

Isaac nodded. "Okay, I'll do my best" he said. "I'm just wondering why these sharks have such a characteristic. I mean, it almost seems like they should..."

The words died in his throat as he came to the same conclusion Haku had come to all along. The only explanation why sand sharks were so efficient in every aspect, including their ability to communicate and coordinate, was to hunt very difficult prey. "Do you think...?"

"That there is something bigger in this desert? Most likely yes" Haku replied. "Don't tell anyone. I doubt it's a dangerous animal, but if anyone knew such news it would only generate unnecessary alarm. The beastmen have already been scared enough with sand sharks, we don't need any more fear"

Isaac fully understood Haku's thought. "I won't tell anyone, you can trust me"

"Thank you. Go ahead and do your experiments then" Haku said, then he looked at the two carcasses he and Rhaegal had previously used. "In the meantime, we will give the beastmen something to talk about that won't create fear, but rather that will make them celebrate"