Selena opened her palm and began chanting in a strange language. Her voice was calm and even, deliberately pronouncing every syllable. She spoke much slower than the Inquisitor or even Soltair, but I got the feeling that was only because this was a demonstration.
After a few words, bright sparks of light coalesced together, forming a series of symbols. The runes spun together, forming a single circle about her palm. They pulsed with the chant and disappeared right when she stopped.
A glowing ball materialized in her hand, floating just a few inches above her palm. "This," she said dramatically, "Is magic."
I stared at it for a few seconds, itching to give it a try. Unfortunately, I could only remember a handful of the words. The runes seemed simple enough, but I had no idea how to draw them in the air.
Smiling at my impatience, Selena placed a hand on my shoulder. "Magic is not an art to be rushed. Ignorance or misunderstanding can often be fatal. Before you use magic, you must understand what it is, and how to control it."
Nodding, I took a deep breath and suppressed my yearning spirit. Selena cleared her throat and began to lecture. I eagerly listened, memorizing every word.
"There are laws that transcend even the gods. They dictate how things work, like gravity or blood flow around the body. We can influence these laws with magic and bend reality to our will."
"What exactly is magic?" I asked.
"That's a topic of much debate, even among aged scholars. One thing that we agree on is that magic is throughout all things, perhaps the very thing holding everything together. It doesn't break the laws, only changes how they work. The larger the scope, the more magic is required. To command magic, a mage must sense and direct it using their mana."
"Was that mana I felt when I awakened?"
"Likely," she nodded. "It feels a little different to everyone, but look at it as a source of energy. Your life energy and strength are strongly tied to mana, and can even replace it in dire circumstances. Doing so is very dangerous, so avoid that if possible."
I nodded, filing away the warning. Although I wanted to use magic, I had no desire to shorten my second life any more than I had to. "So mana is my energy, which I use to summon magic?"
"Right. They can often be used interchangeably within a mage, but it's strictly referred to as magic once outside your soul.
I frowned at the unfamiliar term. Catching my confusion, Salena held up a finger. "Your soul is the essence of who you are and acts as a conduit for your mana. If it's damaged, like when you overuse magic, using mana becomes many times more difficult."
"Thanks," I said, absently rubbing my horn.
She smiled briefly and then gestured to the mages casting spells all around us. The brilliant lights of the magic circles reflected in her slanted elven eyes, giving her a sort of mysterious beauty. "As you can see, magic is manipulated through the use of spells, which are created and directed through magic circles. The more magic circles a spell has, the more powerful it becomes. Now, listen."
As she fell silent, the drone of dozens of mages' voices filled the air. As each one chanted, small glowing runes would appear, organizing themselves into magic circles until the spell was completed and an effect materialized.
"Because mana is so difficult to control, mages of times long gone created chants to aid in casting spells. The cadence, tone, and words of a chant are designed to shape and order the runes, allowing anyone with mana and the chant to cast a spell. Otherwise, you'd have to memorize the mana density, placement, and flow of each individual rune, which is all but impossible without seeing the flow of mana."
"Is it that difficult? Learning the chants seems like a hassle," I sighed but brightened as I recalled her last words. "How can I learn to see the mana?"
Selena chuckled, taking up a relaxed pose. "That's just something you're born with. Almost no one in our day and age can see the flow of mana, otherwise, chants wouldn't be necessary at all."
"Oh." My tail drooped in disappointment. I guess such a cheat-like skill couldn't be easy, after all. It didn't hurt to dream, but I shook my head and brought us back to the topic at hand. "So, how do the runes work?"
The elf straightened, taking on her lecturing tone once more. "In a spell, runes control the magic's range, scope, intensity, and direction. Everything, from the rune's placement to the amount of mana infused in each one, plays a role in executing the spell correctly. By tweaking even one out of hundreds of runes, you can completely change the spell. This can be helpful, like increasing the range, or dangerous, and cause the spell to explode. The unpredictability of that modification is another reason to stick to simple runes."
"Oh...then, if runes direct the spell, what's the purpose of the magic circle?"
She chuckled wryly and smoothed a lock of hair behind her pointed ear. "So many questions! Not that it's a bad thing," she added hastily, seeing my crestfallen look, "I admire your curiosity. For some reason, magic and circles are inextricably linked. We use circles to organize the runes, as each one provides a circuit for the magic to flow, connecting the runes and creating a cohesive whole. Each additional magic circle added into a spell exponentially increases the power, while conveniently giving us a system to rank them. Mortals are capable of casting up to ninth-circle spells. Anything beyond that is the realm of the divine."
By the end of the lecture, Selena's words were all beginning to jumble, and I had trouble keeping track of everything. She smiled and snapped her fingers, bringing my eyes back into focus.
"That's about it for magic theory. While it might sound simple, the true depths are barely being touched by the strongest mages. Do you have any other questions?"
I thought about it for a moment. "Just one. What are the different types of magic? The Shard said I had some sort of affinity for Fate magic, which makes sense considering I'm the Fate Hero. Does that mean I can only use one type of magic?"
"Of course not! I specialize in life magic, but I'm more than capable of throwing out anything under sixth-circle. Anyone with mana can cast spells of any type. If they have a particular affinity, then those types of spells come easier to them and use less mana. While you can cast fire or light spells, your fate spells will be much stronger."
"The Shard also said my magic was at 9th level. What does that mean?"
Selena gasped and stared at me with wide eyes. "Ninth? Are you sure?"
I reddened under her attention, slightly regretting bringing it up. "Yeah...the Pope seemed surprised, too."
"The pope knows? No wonder he let you live…" she blinked and shook her head. "Excuse me. I didn't mean that. When we talk about levels, it isn't so much about circles as it is about general strength and potential. We use it to describe how strong a warrior is, or the intrinsic talent of a mage or priest. With ninth-level magic, you have the potential to cast ninth-circle spells. It's not an exact metric, but close enough. Even so, 'potential' is a dangerous word. Mana, experience, and knowledge are all required to cast higher circle spells. Overestimating your ability could result in death, especially as more mana gets involved. Remember how I mentioned life force could be used as mana? Once a sixth circle or above spell is started, the casting can't be stopped without drastic consequences. If you run out of mana, but the spell requires more, it will forcibly take your life force."
"It might kill me?" Suddenly, I was a lot less eager to experiment with magic.
"Something like that. Many mages who reach that point fall unconscious or directly die."
Worried, I instantly thought of something else. "How do I know how much mana I have?"
"There's no exact way to tell. You'll get a feel for it when you start casting, but the best gauge you have is prior experience and how strong you feel. Just start small and don't push yourself, and you'll be fine. Now, is there anything else?"
I shook my head, which was stuffed full enough as is. I'd need a long time to properly process and understand everything she'd said. But, watching the mage surround me practicing, I couldn't help but want to experience it for myself. While a little unsure, I tentatively raised my hand.
"Can I try casting a spell now?"