Eban Za'Darmondiel.
***
"Welcome to Eotrom."
The words coincided with the brightest light. A light that faded, if hardly, to reveal an infinite space centered by a dominating blue sphere. Our home, Amun explained to the many who came with us. My eyes, however, remained on the phantasmal divine tree stretching ad infinitum through this space. Truly divine. And yet nowhere near its potential.
It was a towering pillar of darkness with roots stretching through the pale rock in the sky to connect this dais with the other strange points in the distance. Placed on the far side of the dais, most of its trunk was unseen from the primary world orbiting Mani, Bithisarea. Only its winding abyssal branches, blending in with the black sky, could be seen from afar. Only because of their occasional arcane glow and their occlusion of the lights behind it could one assume the crown was hidden somewhere above.
It was explained as the central point of the realm, the crown, as it formed alongside his divine lair at the time of the realm's creation. Its branches crossed the entire realm, connecting the worlds woven within to allow for the rapid transit between them. As such, everyone in the realm could travel to Mani for the awakening ceremonies that would surely come about.
Like the Bodhi Tree, the place one was to pour their magical radiation was around and within the roots of that majestic tree. But in this case, such an act was concentrated in the Dark Room. And yet, in that hollow world, citizens who have died continued to live. That stood as an opportunity. Yet, it was my first duty as the Technical Archmage of Amun's organization to survey the trunk of this divine tree before addressing the crown.
Though, as I would soon learn, nothing was ever simple when dealing with him, the walking contradiction.
"First, I need to reiterate my blessings." He began."Telin's Grace makes me the God of Mana, more beloved to the energy than anyone else. Telin's Sight allows me to see the paths of anyone I meet, so long as I look into their eyes. Telin's Hand grants the humans beneath my wing a higher tier of affinity cores. The implementation to look into the eyes of the many legionaries is already taken care of in the Darkroom. So, the question is, if it's necessary for those awakening their cores to even have the Aphids?"
"Well." I shrugged. "I'll need more information to answer that. How do you get by without them?"
"I used to painstakingly write tomes for each individual." He snorted, rubbing his head as if he were embarrassed. "Now, I use a perk of my divinity to create the effect of the divine aphid using my ArcaTech, what I call augmented reality, what everyone else perceives as simple illusions. Naturally, it holds much more capabilities than the aphids, but that doesn't mean they aren't needed."
"You speak as if you know all there is to know about them."
"Well, I did read your books." He snorted.
"With just a touch?" I titled my head, skepticism stirring in my brain, despite all I knew.
"Indeed." He needed, grinning wide. "They're similar to the elven machinations said to be used by wood elves. One condenses mana into a seemingly biological form and imbues it with an affinity of some sort, giving it a purpose, and finally casting it as a spell.
"The aphids effect is twofold." He continued after my nod of confirmation. "The first is that they prune the tree around the fruits as they feed on the sap. The resulting sooty mold from their residue is what documents the paths of those evolved from the tree while ingesting the aphids that burrow into the fruit mutates their spirits, enabling them to see it, simultaneously creating a library of any path the tree has ever granted.
"The second and most important effect is that their feeding leaves holes in the tree that allows more magical radiation to seep into the tree and, in turn, flow out and enter the fruit, allowing the magical energies inherent to the tree to be imparted. In layman's terms, this means divine aphids allows for subclasses based on the owner of the tree. Not just a latent power within them or their physiology. Specialized subclasses.
"I imagine the Lux Families are the greatest example of this. I wouldn't be surprised if their guilds possess master classes that give their members a limited control over light or the many things deriving from it."
"It seems you did read it with a mere touch." I conceded. "To that end, I imagine with your repertoire of abilities formed from a wickedly arcane and divine nature, many new classes will come into existence. Especially when one considers the legendary classes the Troupe gained without the boon of the aphids."
"One question, though," He said. "What happens if someone drinks the sap of another tree and goes through the ritual again?"
"They'll switch guilds." I huffed; such an obvious answer. "Any subclass special to their first ritual is lost, along with the perk, although their other classes will remain. Other classes can open up to them, however, so it balances out. And, of course, their sprites change. Let's put that aside, however, and speak of mana."
"It's as I said before," He began. "It's akin to a type of ever-present, self replacing radiation with material properties that both acts and reacts with matter, energy, life, and conscious will; in order of weakest to strongest. It permeates all of reality at varying densities. Its effects are based on evolution, yet limited in lower concentrations."
That was indeed as he told me before. But unlike then, he pressed on. "In lands devoid of its main attractors, life and conscious will, mana remains static and grows stale. Conversely, it flows toward life and conscious will, seeking to cycle and, in a sense, renew or purify itself via a slight change.
"As mana flows through all living things- forming what I use as ki- it also flows through creatures preparing for life. Those creatures in gestation are, in a sense, cloned with mana, giving rise to the spiritual body. Subsequent mana is then concentrated within that spirit to form the mana well. Yet the mana used to do this is replaced. Thus, when the creature is born and later dies, there will be a net gain of mana in the realm should the mana well dissipate into the environment.
"Given this, region density rises logarithmically with population. The caveat, however, is the Trees of Life. Being living entities, mana cycles through them as well. And being so fucking gargantuan in scale, the aforementioned change made to the mana gives specific properties, aspects, or even affinities to the mana of each realm, dependent on the tree in question."
"Indeed. Naturally, mana is the very nature of Youtera, our Tree of life," I said, palming my chest. "However, Betrarth would be a greater example. The mana is reported to be of a primal nature. As a result, some of those settlers corrupted by the mana over the generations are said to have bestial traits. The famous Beast-kin.
"Consequently, the Marulean Tree of Life held natural properties, be they elements or natural phenomenon. Though, so too has the Marulean Tree of Life been dead and had been dead long before even the tomes I gave you was first written. Although it does imply it happened shortly after the Rending."
Amun seemed to pay that little mind, instead saying, "Maru's population is fairly low, although I don't know the number. The density was on the precipice of water when I left, though the approaching beam may change that. That aside, there are other variables to consider than the aphids and divine trees, lair stones. As God the of Mana, I have dominion over them.
"Naturally, there is a unique one for each of my domains. The stone you used to build the new Arcanis Praesyris was imbued with the essence of the World Weaver, dubbed a World Core. Similarly, those used by your brother to create a gravitationally bound region of distorted space and time were called Stellar Cores, made with the abilities I gave him. And then, for the more… revolutionary domains, there was more.
"For Engineering, the ArcaTech AI Core powers any machines or devices in its territory with an infinite energy source created from arcana. Yet the ones attuned to the Domain of Mana are truly special." He grinned in that mad way of his.
"Arcane Agate is essentially a lair stone with its own mana well, granting it arcana. As such, it forms an Extreme Mana Zone regardless of the structure it creates, and it holds complete dominion over it. Naturally, this was what turned Zimysta Falls into Cononthoth's lair. However, being a lair stone, it can take many forms, and there's a paragon version. The Sage Stone.
"Sage Stones essentially have the intellect of a humanoid. Like its lesser version, it holds dominion over the zones it forms, though it makes them much more orderly. Thus, I call them Sentient Arcane Invasive Neutral Territories, or Saints. Dungeons become Elder Dungeons that adopt the temperament and traits of the life it siphoned to grow; then use mana, materials, and life energy from those felled or dwelling inside to make its denizens, dwellers, or traps hold such traits.
"Monster Lairs became Monster Citadels. In this, the stone greatly enhances the host's intelligence and capabilities, plus gave it the means to alter its lair and influence the development of its cohabitants, including its young. As for towers, they create Sentient Spires, capable of conversing, educating, and making fabulous things within their walls, including things of magical natures attuned to its owner.
"On the contrary, I have some influence over divine trees as well." Amun continued. "However, there's little to be learned about it for now, as I only have access to one. Dubbed the Noctis Arbor, it was evolved in the sense that it permeates all Eotrom to link these worlds together and breach them into the Material Plane. Though it is deeply rooted and has spawned more lair stones, it has yet to produce any seeds. To that end, I'm wondering if the aphids have any impact on seeds formed from this one- the seeds that would become the future subguild's headquarters."
"Of course." I huffed. "Just like the aphids increase the energy flowing into the fruits to grant subclasses tied to the guild master, so too, does the process happen with divine seeds. As such, the seeds grown by the subguilds won't just become similar trees to yours, they will meld that divinity with the powers of those who gestated them."
"Excellent! I'm ready to get started when you are." He rocked back, grinning widely like a child until he caught my gaze and read my apprehension like a tome. "The chances of something wild happening when the aphids are created is astronomically high. As such, I intend to act preemptively by controlling the evolution. However, you still don't have the full equation, Eban."
Now it was my turn to read him - an impossible task, so I only shrugged.
"In nature," he explained, "many types of ants have a mutualistic relationship with aphids. As the former feeds on sap, they secrete honeydew, which is milked by the ants for protection. This changes the aphids to a certain extent. They produce fewer quantities of honeydew more frequently, and their it has higher concentrations of amino acids- the building blocks of proteins."
Pausing, he released an illusory array of strange symbols. Diagrams made of letters- elements, strung together like a weird fungus or something. Molecules, I soon realized, after a wave of mana came over me.
"My line of thinking is this," he said. "Being arcane creatures, the ants I'll create won't need to rely on the honeydew of the aphids for sustenance, nor will the aphids need protection. As such, the ants can process the honeydew into something else and perhaps secrete it onto the fruit. Or in this case, the seeds."
"That's disgusting. Let's do it." I morbidly grinned, excited by the twist. "What's the effect, though?"
"For the fruits, it'll be what gives the Prime's subordinates their inherited powers. For the seeds, I'll go with Iris' suggestion." Amun smirked. "General classes for the citizenry. Something that'll give perks for the chefs or farmers or merchants or some shit. Something to make the ordinary citizens and workers extraordinary, so they don't get swept behind by the tide."
My agreement came with an eruption of laughter. And when I calmed, he told me I would be officially titled the Legions' Technical Archmage when I completed my training. In turn, I was asked what personal goals I had for our return to the surface.
"I have a few contacts in Knighilia I'd like to see. I've only corresponded to them through scrying means, so that should be interesting." I said, shrugging. "Other than that, I simply want no more duties as Heart Keeper."
"We have Carbury for that." He snorted. "My first undying shadow. A unicorn."
"Oh, I bet the tree faeries hate you." I snickered. To which he snickered back, yet carelessly shrugged.
"That said, I do have the mind to add a few more members to the Troupe. It'd be nice to have someone in each class. Perhaps I can find a witch in Chaulort, but there's no rush. Then a paladin and a dedicated warlock at some point, but the latter may take some time. Before that, though," he sighed heavily. "We'll be building your most-prestigious university.
"Right now. So let's go."