Chapter 7: Chapter 6. Magic
Author: me
Type-Moon (Nasuverse)
Chapter 6. Magic
"Understanding is something you get by accident. It's like walking down the road and tripping over a rock. Once you understand, it is no longer a special thing." - Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg
*****
The dojo at the Emiya family home.
- So, where do we begin?
"Finally, I've been asking the old man to teach me Magic for almost a year, and now it's happening!" - You might wonder why Sora has such enthusiasm for Magic if in Terraria he fought with magical weapons, staffs and scrolls, but the thing is, he only used Magic through certain catalysts, Sora himself never made Magic.
Before we begin, I want you to remember something: in the Lunar World, experience breeds arrogance, and arrogance sometimes costs lives. As a Mage Killer, I'll tell you that even the strongest and smartest of opponents can be killed by their arrogance and hubris. I wish you would never forget that, thereby protecting yourself and those you love. - Kiritsugu's calm and blank face changed to one of seriousness.
- Never forget that. You, as the owner of such an amazing talent, can become proud and lose your guard, and that, as I said, will cost you your life. I hope that you will become a great Mage, or better yet, a living great Mage. - Before this he spoke in a rather stern tone, but at the end he suddenly changed it to a soft one.
- Now, Magic. The basis of all magic is prana. Chains are the reason people can manipulate prana. So the first lesson is to activate your Magic Chains. Chains, they are in the magician's soul, and their physical embodiment is in the body next to the nervous system. Magical Chains do not change and once damaged, they cannot be restored. Like any other organ, the number of magical chains is determined at the moment of birth and cannot decrease or increase, so that wizards from older families have more power. But it is possible to change their number artificially.
When Kiritsugu talked about the Chain Transfer Ritual, Sora immediately dismissed this method of increasing power. In particular, it is possible to establish a magical connection between a pair of mages and transfer their chains. Since the chains are in the soul, the transfer requires a fusion of body and mind, which is impossible for Sora because of the risk of revealing his origins as someone from another world. Although this process is already very imperfect, and as unsafe as organ transplants.
- For these and other reasons, many magicians try not to touch people's chains while they are alive, they try to get descendants with a large number of magical chains. Also number is not everything, as the quality and accuracy of chains is also an important factor that varies from generation to generation. In particular, the Aozaki family is known for mages with low quality magical chains, but high quantity, so everything is well compensated. At the same time, the Bartomeloys possess a special kind of chain, Blue Blood: Magical Chains of Nobility. - When the Mage Killer spoke of their Families, obvious displeasure flashed across his face.
- Do ordinary people have Chains? Even if not activated?
- Ordinary people rarely get magical chains, and it is considered a rare mutation. I know one priest whose chains are a gift from a divine ritual.
An interesting fact that Kiritsugu told me was that using magic chains increases the body temperature of a mage, so during his missions he could detect enemy Mages on the battlefield with a thermal imager.
- And so now to the practice. Magical Chains "open" when a flow of prana flows through them for the first time. From that point, they can be activated if desired, using a "mental switch. The images associated with the "trigger" are different for each magician. I will introduce my prana into your Chains, activating them, and you must come up with your own "trigger."
' Finally, I can become a Mage. Although if my assumptions are correct, I might be able to activate my Chains myself, but I won't be able to test it until after I activate them." - Thinking about this, Sora turned his back to him at Kiritsugu's request.
The man put his hands on Sore's back, and after a moment the other felt a chill and freshness spreading from his back, but before a second had passed, the cold changed to heat, and an electric shock seemed to run through his body.
Triggered, Sora didn't have to think about it for long, as the image of a creature hanging from an upturned cross flashed through his mind almost immediately, opening its only eye, looking through it as if peering into his Soul. At the same instant, Sora's Magical Chains activated.
At the same moment, in the Seventh Elemental, the spiritual lines and nodes through which mana flows glowed, proclaiming their awakening. The Magical Spirit itself, trembling with joy, began to pass all the mana produced through the mana system (the spirit lines and nodes).
The process of creating Magic: the accumulation of Mana by Magical Spirit, the passing of Mana through the Spirit Lines, increasing its reality, and the subsequent use of Mana to achieve this or that effect. It was this process that served to awaken me as a Mage.
"In the end, my assumption was correct, and I could awaken my own Magical Chains." - Spiritual lines are called many things: nadis, chakras, meridians, etc. In this world they are called Magical Circuits. Sora could awaken them through meditation, but the obvious disadvantage of this method is that it takes a long time. But by meditating long enough, one could accumulate so much Mana that the spiritual lines would activate themselves, thereby making Sora a full-fledged Mage.
While someone was rejoicing at becoming a Mage, Kiritsugu stood behind him in silence. Only when enough time had passed as for a normal pause did Sora turn around and see the shock on his face.
- What is it?
- The number of Chains is 72, the quality of Chains is unmeasurable.
"It seems my giftedness as a Mage has shocked my old man."
- That's a good thing. At least I'll be able to use more than three spells.
- That's not the point. You're already a user of Mystic Eyes, which in the Noble Color System are probably of the highest rank, rainbow. Now it turns out that you possess Chains, the quality of which simply cannot be measured. Any mage, upon learning of the existence of any one of these, would do anything to get you for experimentation or some magical ritual. In this world, I'm afraid you would be a Mage who would be hunted constantly by other Mages and other creatures of the Moon World.
- Well, then I should definitely study Magic.
- You take it too lightly. In the Lunar World, even the smallest opportunity to reach the Root is higher than any price you can offer. The madness of the Mages in relation to Root is astounding. That is why you must not allow anyone to cast a spell on you that analyzes the composition of your body. Better yet, if you don't use all your Chains at once.
"Why is everything so complicated? I just want to study Magic."
- Okay, we'll talk about that more than once. Now on to Magic. After activating the Magical Chains, the next thing the magician must learn is his Element and optionally the Origin. In the mystical element system, the Origin describes specific details about the mage, while the Elemental Kinship defines a basic affiliation with an element. Istok itself is the starting point that defines everyone's existence and guides their actions throughout life. The driving force that originated in Akasha, but which managed to "flow out" of Source and take material form.
All humans act in harmony with the driving force from which they came, from the moment they entered the world. This can rather be called instinct rather than conscious action. If a person awakens his or her Source, it becomes virtually impossible for him or her to retreat from it. In essence, Source is the "crystallization" of the Atman in the physical world; because of this, there are cases when someone without any Elemental Kinship, without any Magical Chains or talent for witchcraft, is able to cast spells simply by following his or her Source.
- Each wizard possesses some kind of Elemental kinship, and sometimes several at once. Usually it is one of the five European ones: Fire, Water, Earth, Air and Ether or the Chinese ones: Fire, Water, Earth, Wood and Metal. Nevertheless, there are those that can govern the Elements that are completely different from the basic ones. Sometimes this element coincides with the origin.
Standing up, Kiritsugu walked over to the corner of the dojo, sliding a plank and pulling out an all-black stone from under the floor. Only when he sat back down across from Sora was he able to see what the peculiarity of the stone was. It was a tablet on the surface of which strange symbols kept flashing, forming strange patterns. What was it?
- This is a tool for identifying your Source and Element. We can very easily recognize just your Element. But about Source... are you sure you want to know? -The old man asked me seriously. - Once you know your Source, there is no turning back. That will define you and the path you will take from now on.
Sora only nodded - "Better to know than not know. I guess I've always been... curious... I wonder what kind of person I really am on the inside. Like, when all the extra stuff is taken away, what's left? Even without the magical component, I'd be damn curious! That's what I came into this world for, after all."
- Haa... If it were any other kid in your shoes I wouldn't even give him a choice. Anyway, after all, we Mages are all a little crazy. So, put your hands on the tablet.
With that, Kiritsugu put his hand on the other side of the tablet. As soon as I touched the stone, rough surface of the tablet, Kiritsugu uttered a few incomprehensible words and the symbols, which had flashed chaotically in different forms so far, formed a magical circle. Sora felt the spell "scan" him. The Mage Killer watched the whole process carefully, and at a certain point a light flashed from his side of the tablet, and the magical circle under Sora's palm began to fade until it disappeared completely.
- Well? - The young Wizard's impatience was overpowering. To an outsider it would have looked as if Kiritsugu had decided to give Sora a gift, but he was, as a small child should be, impatiently waiting to see what the surprise was and prodding the poor old man.
- You have two Elements, Aether and Boundlessness. Boundlessness is the closest direct translation I could understand, though Abyss is also pretty close to the general definition. And the Origin is the Void.
What a funny coincidence the kanji name (Sora) means sky in Japanese, but it can also be read as (Kara), which means emptiness.
- I can't help you to know your Source, it's a personal matter for every Wizard. Examine yourself and the world around you, so you will understand the essence of your Source. But I can tell you that the Void is connected with Akashi, so be careful in knowing it. About your Elements, of course, the easiest will be with Ether, though it is the most complicated among normal five Elements of the European system, but at least we have its description and different magic books, by which you can understand its application, and Boundlessness is an unusual Element, besides it is not connected with something physical like Sword or some phenomenon, for example Lightning. I can assume that Boundlessness is related to space, but you'll have to study your Element, and I'll help in any way I can.
Hearing Kiritsugu's words, Sora thought seriously. Although his judgment was based only on the information he had recently received, he understood, even from it alone, that by studying the Magic of his Elements his fighting skills would be excellent. But first he would have to add more books and more experiments to his life, something he had never done.
- Well, I've given you the basic information and helped with getting on the path of the Mage, now you need to choose a school of Magic and start learning spells with your Elements. In the stash I got the tablet from, you'll find several books on Magic, you can have them all. I'm going to take a break, and if you have any questions, we'll talk tonight.
"The old man has health problems and he's only getting worse. It's all because of the damn dirt in his Chains!" - While Sora was thinking, his eyes, seeing Kiritsugu's soul, observed his Magical Chains, it felt like the dirt that Sora had seen during the fire a year ago was flowing through his spiritual lines mixed with Mana.
Heading into the house, Kiritsugu said afterwards. - Oh, and put the tablet back where it belongs.
"What can I do for him?" - Sora's mind raced.
"In my Astral Body (Third Initiation of the Soul) there was a scabbard floating from which emanated a holy aura of gold, it would surely help him, but then why won't Kiritsugu take it?" - Sora wanted with every fiber of his being to help the man who had saved him.
"Okay, there's no point in thinking about that now, we'll just have to ask him. Now, Magic." - Sora thought as he walked toward the hiding place in the corner, dragging the black tablet behind him.
Weekly Power Status
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