Tristan stretched, before taking out three small glass figurines and setting them in front of Velvet. The three looked the same, depicting a mage with a plain face, dressed in simple robes, with the only difference between them being the symbols on their hands, who numbered them by I, II and III.
“First, the mage you saw using this was..?” Tristan asked, looking at the figurines.
“Doireann Phorella.”
“I know the Phorella family. Nobles. Makes sense she knows the first steps for a Conceptualization. Anyway, the Conceptualization is the first phase for a mage to develop what will be considered their Magnum Opus. But… stop making that face.”
“I’m not doing any face.”
“Yes you are. The ‘I want that’ face.”
“You just told me mages have an ultimate spell. Of course I want one.”
“I didn’t say that. And sorry for ruining your delusions, but the only reason she has one it’s because she can follow the correct steps her family walked before her, evading all the wrong choices. You won’t even know where to start.”
Smiling, Velvet asked. “Can’t you teach me the first steps at least?”
“We have different Paradigms, so no. And even having the same Paradigm isn’t enough, since sometimes Escas just differ from each other by the mage’s personality. That’s why having a collection of all the trials and errors their predecessors went through is so helpful.”
“And if I don’t have that?”
“You might spend fifty years just for a useful Conceptualization.” Tristan took the first glass figurine, and pressed a button under it.
The figurine came to life, extending both arms forward. A circular light came from it, resembling Doireann’s Colosseum, just that instead of a wall, several immense gears made by symbols appeared.
Slowly spinning around the figurine, disappearing after a few seconds, just to repeat again.
“To reach the Embodiment stage, a mage must fulfill the two previous steps. This one is the first, called Conceptualization.”
“The Conceptualization phase it's the first step, containing the groundwork of what the Embodiment will become. For mages who know how their final Embodiment will look, that's to say, nobles or ancient families, that step can be started once Half Esca has been opened. For the rest, waiting until having a full Esca is recommended."
"Why?"
"There's too many things you don't know yet, and the Conceptualization must be made thinking about the future. If you learn or discover something that shakes your Concept foundation, the whole thing will have to be scrapped, which translates to losing years of work."
"The Embodiment reflects everything a mage knows, it's the culmination of their power, so it cannot be rushed. The difference between a mage with a solid base Concept and one who is throwing shit to the wall hoping it sticks is immense."
"Can't one mage have many Concepts?"
"Not really. Let me explain. Imagine your Esca is a labyrinth who goes from you to the Primeval Sea, and magic is the result of that sea water coming out. The more closed an Esca is, the less ‘water’ comes out, and the more that gets lost in the labyrinth. That stagnant water represents the corruption and miasma."
"Now, the Primeval Sea can simply push more water, and solve the labyrinth by brute force, but you, like any other mage, can’t do that. And not only that. For the Primeval Sea, the labyrinth is upside-down, which makes it easier for it to push the water, as opposed to the mage, who has to push countercurrent.”
If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.
"The Embodiment represents a mage who has found the correct path towards the Primeval Sea, reducing the brute force needed for it to do magic, and becoming able to use the ‘water’ straight from the source. Of course, a mage needs enough strength to achieve that. Reason why there's three steps, and why you should wait to reach a whole Esca before trying, since there's no one who knows any shortcuts you can exploit."
Processing Tristan’s words, Velvet nodded. “I see… What about the second step?”
“Structuralization.” Tristan turned off the first figurine, took it aside and grabbed the second. “Once you have a solid Concept, you begin to make the Structure.” Activating the figurine, another circle of light appeared, this time, the symbols forming the gears had joined, becoming thread-like. The illusion held on for longer, almost three times the first.
“The Structure…” Tristan started, before falling silent.
“Is the step you’re stuck on?” Velvet asked, suspecting the meaning behind her silence.
“Yes.” Smiling, Tristan teased her. “Were you expecting me to have a complete Embodiment?”
Hey now, that’s a trap question! It doesn’t matter if I say yes or no, it’s the wrong answer!
“W-well, what about the Phorella?” Velvet thought quickly, choosing to deflect the question. “Having a finished Embodiment for the future sounds great, but it also means that your enemies probably know about it, and have counters ready.”
“Exactly. The Phorella are mages under the Control Paradigm, and their Embodiment is called the Coronet Colosseum. It needs at least three people inside to work, as the Phorella weakens one party to buff another.”
That means… Doireann doesn’t hold the position of gladiator, as I supposed at first, but of the ruler, who decides who lives and dies.
Hm… So the reason why the Colosseum fell down so fast was because Dioreann changed her position from Ruler to Gladiator? If the Embodiment represents the final move of a Paradigm, it makes sense that it broke upon not following the Paradigm’s own rules.
Control is Domination, and she lowered her position to deal with me…
Shaking off her thoughts, Velvet asked. “At what level the Embodiment is usually completed?”
“At Two Escas at least. A mage won’t possess enough strength to completely push back the Primeval’s Sea current until then.” Tristan switched the second figurine for the third, turning it on. This time, the illusory gears were fully visible, the symbols forming them completely gone.
The Embodiment differs from mages not related by blood, and sometimes even from the ones related by blood, even when they have the same Paradigm… That means that even Hasdrubal can’t help me. Also, there’s the Chained Man thing, so mine might differ even more from other knowledge mages.
Looking at the figurine illusions, Velvet pondered in silence.
“Someone stepped over the spiderweb formation.” Hyde suddenly said, startling her.
Getting over the fright, she asked. “Do we know who?” By the threads' vibrations, Hyde could discern the intruder’s height, weight, mannerisms and overall appearance. That, coupled with their everlasting knowledge, allowed them to know who was trespassing just by having seen them once.
“The sour-faced guy. Guess.”
“Igern!” Velvet said, covering the grin growing on her face with her hand, least Tristan started asking questions. “Oh, they really sent him! Hahahaha, poor guy!”
“What’s so funny?” Tristan asked, once Velvet clearly failed to keep her trembling in check.
“Nothing, nothing, I just remember something really hilarious. Please continue.” Velvet waved her hand with carelessness. Igern could wait, it wasn’t like it was raining and she was leaving him outside like a wet dog.
She just hoped Igern just didn’t choose to barge into her house and break anything, or she would try to beat him up. Keyword try.
Can I defeat Igern with the Devil’s Blood buff? Velvet expected Igern to come in peace, just to negotiate the box. But she still kind of wanted to jump at him.
“Oh, right, that reminds me, look at this.” Velvet pulled out the box, showing it to Tristan, who grabbed it. “It’s a shield replicator. I got it from someone who was testing it with the wall to the Unnamed Forest.” Tristan started tinkering with it, just like Velvet did before. “I tested several combinations with the pullers, but didn’t manage to open i-”
Click.
The box opened, not holding on for even five seconds against Tristan. “See? This is the difference between Paradigms.”