“Mana is the foundation of life, and Magic is the formula to harness the foundation. By using complex equations within the mind, we can effectively Mana by formulating ‘Runes’, or the ancient language of the World. Think of them as the sum of an equation, or a single letter in an infinitely complex alphabet. As long as you have the correct runes chained together into a Runic phrase, anything is possible.” A gaunt man in silken black robes turned around from the massive blackboard he was writing on, and asked a question to the 30 children in front of him. “Now, why do you think why we Mages have yet to take over the world?”
He dusted off his chalk-lined fingers and rested on his podium. The sounds of ambient chatter filled his ears until he finally saw a single hand raise. He nodded, giving permission for the child to speak.
“Because formulating runes is extremely taxing on the mind, as it is very complex.” The child, a handsome boy with greyish-brown hair and pale grey eyes, whose age was no less than 10, answered hesitantly.
“Very good Max.” The teacher let out a small smile, before picking up his chalk and returning back to the blackboard. “The Runic alphabet is composed of the basic 5 runes of elemental power, Pyro, Aqua, Terra, Aero, and Sylva.” The sound of chalk hitting the board rang across the silent lecture hall. “Then we have the more complex runes to follow up, Vulcun, Tempestas, Metallum, Cryo, and Sanguis."
"Following up, the most difficult runes to master and cast: Lux, Tenebris, Umbra, Thanatos, and Asclepius.” With a thud, the final rune was drawn out on the board.
“Now, tell me what each of the runes means.” He turned around again and eyed a quiet girl in the corner. She wore the standard academy uniform, a plain black dress shirt, and skirt, covered with a light white jacket with a golden academy standard embroidered on the breast. What stood out was her bright green eyes, a symbol of the heritage of the famed Rayne family.
They had descended from the legendary Archmage Julius Rayne, who thousands of years ago defeated a Cataclysm-ranked monster and chained it to the far north of Ascania, which now forms the Shattered Archipelago.
“Charlotte Rayne, if you may.”
At the mention of her name, she perked up and readied herself. “Uhm- in the order in which Sir had mentioned them, Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Nature for the 5 basic runes, then Magma, Tempest, Metal, Ice, Blood, Light, Dark, Shadow, Death, and Life.”
“Very good.” The teacher nodded.
‘As expected of the young scion of Rayne.’
"Of course, these are not all of the runes, as the runic alphabet is infinite in variations. There are still many, many magics that we know of that I shall not write down here. That is for Advanced Magic theory when you are all a little older." He coughed and dusted off the chalk, before continuing on.
“As Max has said, formulating runes is very complex.” He outstretched a hand, a small blue magic circle appearing around his palm. It was about the size of a dish, the ones you could find in restaurants around the capital.
“In fact, they are infinitely complex, a small mistake on any part of the final product would result in deviations from the standard. It is just as if you added 3.14159265 with 9.28308780, but you had used the wrong digit at the 7th decimal number, the final sum would be different, even by minuscule amounts.”
To demonstrate his point, the magic circle was broken down, revealing a grand total of 5 runes. He singled out one of them that was larger than the others and pointed to the board with his finger. “Aqua.”
“To formulate a magic circle, you need the main Rune, in this case, Water, as the centerpiece of your formula. Without a centerpiece, you cannot form magic.” Then he pointed to the other 4 runes that surrounded Aqua.
“These are the auxiliary runes that convey your will. They set the basic boundaries of how the magic circle should operate.” Finally, he pointed to the lines and diagrams that formed the magic circle. “Lastly, the diagram holds everything together. It is always good to use shapes as a beginning, the more angles, the more runes you can hold within. With these 3 components, you can form any type of magic.”
The runes in his hand merged back into a magic circle, as a ball of water hovered just above his palm. The class chattered with excitement, each of the kids hoping that they too, would be able to use magic.
"Later in the year, we will go over all of the runes, and by an extent, their magic families, written on the board." A ring of a bell stopped him in his tracks, signaling the period is over.
“Alright class, that's enough for today." He clapped his hands. "We will continue this tomorrow, where we will discuss further the different classes of magic, before moving on to forming your very first magics. Dismissed.” With his dismissal, the whole class erupted into activity, the gaunt teacher dusting himself off and exiting the room.
He could really go for a snack.
…
Shadow silently slinked across the academy grounds. They were out on a mission, one that their former master had given them many, many years ago. It was just hours before the Eclipse rose, the morning sun slowly creeping upward past the horizon.
The long shadows that they were using to traverse the academy grounds were at their longest, faint bits of light elongating the everpresent shadows. Finally, it stopped in front of the dormitory and stopped.
Scattering parts of themselves throughout the entire dormitory, they combed through each and every room, attempting to locate Master’s child. With so many shadows and a finite amount of rooms, it was only a matter of time until she was located. The shadows stirred, Shadow slinking forward, making their way towards the third floor.
‘Room 314’. Curious.
Phasing out of the shadows, a dark figure emerged from the shadowy corner, towering over the sleeping young girl. A hand made of shadows gently lifted the girl up, wrapping the blankets around her like a makeshift prison.
'Only 5 hours left.'
Minutes later, all signs of movement within the room ceased, with only the rising sun’s orange rays casting deep shadows into an empty dorm.
Following is a letter discovered in an sealed chest at the bottom of Captain's Crossing. The author's name is damaged beyond recognition.
-Unnamed Scholar, ????
Why isn't it possible? Why not?
I have travelled across the world, from the Eastern archipelagos to the Western highlands, I have seen every type of magic there is. Every single one of them uses the same disgustingly primitive form of casting, Magic circles.
(Unelligible), I know- for a fact-, that there exists better, simpler ways of casting spells. In the East, I had the pleasure of being allowed entry to the Nation of Witches, Laria. Even the name of that place draws horror from the common folk, and ire from the nobility.
But do you know, (Unelligible), what I witnessed there, in their grandious Academy Halls?
Magic, without the crutches. Glorius, wonderful casting using the very foundation of magic, Runes! Some of the more experienced Witches even casted magic by simply speaking the ancient language! It is only a pity that they were unwilling to share their secrets, but that is reasonable enough.
If it were only the Witches that have access to this... ambrosia, maybe I would not have been as invigorated... But it is very much possible for the common man to attain this forbidden nectar. Blessings of the gods above allow unrivaled control over their patron's element, and it is not outrageous to assume that the gods too, have their own special way of casting.
A peculiar fellow I had met earlier in my journey had enlightened me to a myriad of different new ideas about the core belief of magic itself-
[This part has faded away]
Do you see now? My dear (Unelligible), I have told you time and time again that Magic circles are a crutch that are only given to the weakest of mages, to help them stabilize their Mana and Magic; It was never meant to be used past that stage!
So why isn't it possible? Why can't I seem to replicate their methods, no matter how hard I try? That beautiful, simplistic yet powerful form of casting...
Please, I beg of you, (Unelligible), convince those fools at the Tower to rescind my exile. I believe the only thing holding me from a breakthrough is a simple lack of resources. Now with the Laria under siege, I am no longer allowed to stay here. I have the key neccessary to propell humanity forward by generations, even hundreds of generations!
I will write again to you soon, thank you for keeping a fool like myself entertained...
(Unknown Scholar)
[This letter now resides within the Library of the Moon, Laria's grandest library as a historical treasure. It is believed that the writings here belong to Precillis Amarel, one of the founding members of 'Magi Ultima', the most powerful school of human mages in existence, who revolutionized Magic by using the Scrolls to store ready-made Magic for instant use. Directors of 'Magi ultima' have made no moves to confirm or deny this.]
You Still alive?
I guess not