[[Volume 1]]: Humble Beginnings
Chapter 1: In Medias Res
Tyrith awoke from his sleep, trying to remember his hazy dreams. As he stumbled off his bed and onto the wooden floor, he recalled a booming voice, shouting ["you're fated to fail!"] He also dreamed that he became the greatest Mage in the Empire, surpassing even the Founder, and blasting the enemies of the Empire to shreds.
Tyrith walked into the bathroom, and glanced in the mirror. His long dark hair covered his face as he ruminated on his dreams. He brushed his teeth to the quiet hum of machinery and wiped the dreams from his mind. Even though he knew he was lucky to be in school at 17 instead of working, he couldn't help but grumble a little. Walking into the kitchen, he greeted his mother and father, Kian and Wade.
["Good morning son. Have some breakfast"]
Wade pushed a bowl of oats with sliced apples in it across the table. As Tyrith ate, Wade and Kian chatted about the ongoing research at the academy. Kian asked Wade the same old question:
["Any progress towards the blue core?"]
["Honey, you know I gave up on that dream years ago. I've been stuck on the bright stripes for ages. I'm focused on researching how the structure and distribution of mana veins affect the efficacy of a Green cores Innate spell, and the ease of advancement. If I can make a breakthrough, then we may see a surge in the number of Green cores in the Empire..."]
["I know, I know. Just be sure to not forget yourself amidst your research."]
Tyrith finished his breakfast and placed his dishes in the sink. He picked up his backpack and piled in his school materials, waving goodbye to his parents. He stepped out into the thin haze that permeated the residential district these days. His train was due in a few minutes and he didn't want to miss it, lest he be scolded by his Basic Magic Theory teacher again.
He hurried to the bustling train station, and watched as the train pulled in, blowing large amounts of steam out with a loud screeching sound as it came to a stop. The gold trimmed marble doors opened with a hiss, and Tyrith stepped on. His eyes scanned the interior of the train, searching for his friend Wendt.
Seeing the blonde haired young man already sitting in one of the compartments, he sat across the table from. Wendt unzipped his jacket, raised his eyebrow, and spoke inquisitively.
["More strange dreams from wonder boy?"]
Tyrith sighed.
["Yup. This time I was a great Violet core, with dual attributes of Prophecy and War, and I helped the Empire conquer the Theocracy. I crushed their squadrons one after another, and in the end, even the Pope had to kneel before me."]
Wendt smirked.
["A Violet-cored War Mage huh. That brain of yours has an active imagination. A Violet core hasn't been seen in at least a hundred years. I'm pretty sure they all died off in the war to annihilate the Principality. I'll bet you're having these dreams because of the increased aggression of the Theocracy recently."]
["Whatever. Did you study for the exam? You can't afford to get another F, or they'll send you to the remedial school."]
["I studied, I studied. I even memorized all the inane names they give things."]
["Well that's great. Maybe you'll even get to graduate with me."]
Wendt frowned as Tyrith gloated.
["You don't think they would actually forbid me from graduating over a couple F's?"]
["They keep saying that the fundamental theory is the most important thing you can do until you Spark. Based on what I know, I'm inclined to agree."]
["Spoken like the son of an academic."]
The brakes of the train screeched once again, and it shuddered to a stop outside of the school. The great steel letters spelling "Radomir Instructional Academy" splayed across the fence enclosing the imposing building. Students streamed out of the train and in through the gates, into the highest rated academy for mages in the White Gold Empire.
Tyrith quickly moved through the halls, avoiding people walking lazily and chatting, and arrived at his first class of the day, Basic Magic Theory. He sat down in his desk, getting out his notebook. His teacher walked up to his desk.
["Ah Tyrith. I'm glad you decided to join us before class started this time."]
Tyrith replied indignantly.
["I already told you instructor, it wasn't my fault. It is exceedingly important for a budding mage to get sufficient sleep."]
["And I told you, it is exceedingly important for a budding mage to get a good foundational instruction in the theory of magic. Without the proper theoretical foundations, you will lost once you obtain the Yellow core."]
Tyrith's attitude calmed down a bit.
["I know. I promise you I actually studied this time. I'm hoping to get good enough grades to get into the best university for magical research."]
["Well then I hope for your sake you continue to take this class more seriously."]
More students streamed into class, and chatted, then the bell rung.
["Alright students, I hope you've all prepared well for your exam."]
The instructor began handing out exam papers, fresh from the press.
Tyrith grabbed his confidently, and mentally reviewed his studies while he waited to begin.
["Okay, begin!"]
The instructor took his seat and watched his students scramble to open the test.
Tyrith opened to the first question: {Q1 Please list the mana cores in increasing order of power, how to obtain them, what they do, and notable figures in history who had these cores (30 points)}
<"Okay, he's giving us a freebie for the first question, that's nice.">
Tyrith wrote quickly:
{It all starts with the Red core. This is the least powerful core. To obtain it, you must wait for your dormant core which resides near your spine to grow and reach maturity, usually happening around 18 years of age. Then, you need to inject sufficient mana into it in order to Spark it. Nowadays this is done with a Spark Injector, a mechanical apparatus which can help inject mana. In the terms of modern technology, Sparking is like starting the fire which will fuel your factory. A Red core enables you to absorb mana with much higher efficiency, and to channel to cast your Innate spell. Every person is born with a unique spell locked in their core, and only when they reach the Red level can they unleash it. The most famous person with a Red core was probably our founder Valen, thanks to his Innate spell, which allowed him to easily refine materials. This allowed him to unite the tribes surrounding his village and form the White Gold Empire.}
{Next, comes the Orange core. To advance to the Orange core, you must form a Foundation. The Foundation is the basis of a Mages future advancement, and it is perhaps the most important step for a Mage. In Factory terms, this is buying the materials for the shell of your first steam engine, and making sure your factory can hold up against the steady stream of materials which will soon flow through it. Once you build your Foundation, you are able to interface external equipment with your mana flow, and use it to enhance your spells. Thanks to the development in technology, you can interface with one of the many Attribute Analyzers to figure out what your first attribute is. The most famous Orange core is probably Eldric, who publicized the first Warrior Foundation, or Lirael, who created the first Research Foundation. }
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
{After the Orange is the Yellow. This is where you truly can become a Mage. To become a Yellow core you must complete your Internal Refinement, which is similar to building the internals of your first steam engine, so it can harness the power of the flames. Once you complete your internal refinement, your core can accommodate the magic of others, which allows you to learn spells other than your Innate spell. Valen was fairly famous a Yellow core, because of his vast compendium of spells he ended up acquiring. }
{After Yellow, is Green. To advance to Green, you have to undergo Mana Integration, where you spread mana veins from your core throughout your body. This is thought of as adding another steam engine to your factory. Undergoing Mana Integration allows you to dual cast spells. As well as this, thanks to the spread of mana veins, the second attribute stored in your core is able to awaken. The power of two attributes combined is far greater than one. A famous green core would be Nicholas the 2nd, who melted through the last bastion of local resistance against the Empire 500 years ago with his Dual Cast Flames of Punishment.}
{Following Green is the highest level in the world today, Blue. To advance to the Blue core, one must under go Soul Connection, where you connect your soul, brain, and core together with a main mana vein. Doing this unlocks a vast complement of abilities. Thanks to the mental connection to your core and soul, advancing to the Blue core allows one to project a Magic Domain into the world around them, a space where their actions carry more weight. The mental connection also enables Quick Casting, skipping certain parts of incantations, and in certain cases, skipping the incantation entirely. However the most coveted part of being a Blue core Mage is that it becomes significantly easier to invent your own spells. The exact cause of this effect is still not entirely understood, but it is thought that your soul is brought closer to the essence of magic as a Blue core, which allows you to tap into certain secrets. Inventing your own spells makes you a terrifying powerhouse. In terms of a factory, advancing to a Blue core is like hiring workers to take the product your factory makes to the outside world. Without a doubt, the most famous Blue core was Soraya. Her Space attribute allowed her to invent the Limited Teleportation spell, a priceless spell for transportation, which has greatly affected the flow of history.}
{After Blue is the Legendary Violet core. Currently, no one in the world is known to hold a Violet core. The method to ascend to a Violet core is also unknown. However, the effects bestowed by a Violet core are a testament the difficulty to obtain it. Violet cores are known to cast spells completely silently, as well as casting spells at a full sprint, without any indication of the casting process. They can fuse spells together and cast them to achieve great effects. Their domain is wider, stronger, and stranger. Fighting in a Violet cores domain is like fighting against the world itself. The most well known Violet core was Mikhail, the former Emperor. He accrued large swathes of land for the empire in the War of Inheritance, and was most well known for his fusion spell, Twin Moons.}
{After Violet core, I do not know. Perhaps there are greater cores out there, with even more mystical effects, but there have never been any rumors about them.}
{As well as the unique effects brought by each core, advancing a core stage will increase ones mana capacity, and allow them to cast higher tier spells.}
<"I even included the Factory metaphor he lectured us about, so that better be full credit full credit">
Tyrith moved onto the second question
{Q2 What are runes? List some commonly used ones, and detail them. What is a novel usage of runes which has impacted your daily life? (20 points)}
Tyrith pondered for a moment on how best to formulate his answer, before beginning to write.
{Runes are a method of channeling mana through a material to achieve certain effects. They were invented by the genius Ryath the Rune Mage. Runes are mostly useless on their own, however combinations of them are used to achieve certain effects. The most commonly used rune is the Mana Gathering Rune, which passively draws mana from the environment. Next is the Mana Channeling Rune which directs the flow of Mana. After that the next most common runes are probably the Elemental Runes, which transform Mana into their respective elements. I would say a novel usage of runes which has impacted my daily life is the Air Cooling and Filtration units which have recently been installed in the school. They use up to 300 runes to take air and mana from outside, remove the impurities, cool it to a set level, and circulate it throughout the building. This has greatly improved the quality of life of students}
Tyrith looked over his work, and at his pen, which had runes engraved on it. He moved on.
{Q3 Suppose you are a Green core, with Fire and Lightning attributes. Briefly explain what sort of Foundation would be best for you, and a fusion spell you could design to best take advantage of the attributes and the Foundation. Where would you use this spell? (10 points)}
{The type of Foundation that would be best for a Green core with Fire and Lightning attributes is a foundation which can accommodate large bursts and mana and channel that power. It would be great under the War Mage classification. A fusion spell to take advantage of these attributes and Foundation is compressing the Lightning into glass shards, and launching them with an explosion of Fire. This spell would be best used in a battle between many people, as it would deal a large amount of damage to a crowd.}
{Q4 What are the common Foundation types in the Empire? (10 points)}
{There are 7 common Foundations: War Mage Foundation, Battle Mage Foundation, Research Mage Foundation, Logistic Mage Foundation, Ruler Foundation, Defense Foundation, and the Generalist Foundation. The War Mage is best suited for large, ongoing battles. The Battle Mage is good at single combat. The Research Mage and Logistic Mage support and improve the Empire. The Ruler foundation is for those who want to manage a city, or a county. The Defense Foundation is for those who want to have the ability to defend themselves. And finally, the Generalist Foundation is good at a little bit of everything.}
{Q5 Describe the consequences of failing a core advancement attempt. (10 points)}
{The consequences of failing a core advancement fall into four general categories: Light, Medium, Heavy, and Death. The light category involves things like not being able to absorb mana for a couple days, getting a light cold, or getting a few cuts. In the medium category is mana sickness, a serious illness, and physical harm similar to getting stabbed. In the heavy category is falling down a core level, losing a limb, or even losing your core altogether. In the Death category, you die. The category you fall in depends on how badly you mess up during your advancement. It's practically unheard of to get a Heavy or Death penalty from trying to advance to the Orange or Yellow. }
{Q6 Theorize about a method to advance to the Violet core. (20 points)}
Tyrith had no idea where to even start, as he didn't even have an active core, so all he knew of Magic was theory.
{Based on the abilities the Violet core provides, it seems like a key tenet of being a Violet core is being integrated with Magic, as well as the world around them. Because of this, I think a possible way to advance to the Violet core could be to refine a Mana Crystal into an external core somehow, and integrate that core into an artifact, which would allow you to better integrate with magic, and project your will into the outside world.}
Tyrith finished the free response section of the exam and worked on the various multiple choice questions.
He looked up and surveyed the room, seeing if anyone else had finished their test yet. Wendt was sleeping on the cold marble desk, using his jacket as a pillow. Most of the other students were still furiously writing on the paper. A few of the top performers had turned in their exams. The instructor sat at his desk, reading some book and looking up every so often.
Tyrith took his exam up front and handed it to the instructor. The instructor smiled at him and placed it in a folder.
He slumped back in his desk, tapping his fingers as he thought.
Tyrith thought of the day ahead of him. Biology class, Physics class, lunch, and then Meditation.
A while later, the bell rung, and he walked up to Wendt and shook him awake.
["How was the exam for you?"]
["It was cake dude, I told you I studied. I finished it in 20 minutes and took a nap to catch up on sleep."]
["What did you put for the Violet core question?"]
["Ehhh, I just said that if you absorb enough mana you'll probably experience a qualitative change in your core."]
["Whatever you say."]
Later, in the time for Mediation, Tyrith sat with his legs crossed, focusing. In front of him, a mana gathering rune was inscribed into a gold circle on the ground. He focused his intent as he was taught, and tried to sense the mana particles gathering there. He closed his eyes, and slowed his breathing. In his minds eye, he saw nothing but darkness. As he breathed, small white specks appeared in the darkness. Following the guide the school provided him, he reached out with his intent, forming a transparent hand in his mind. With this hand, he took each speck one by one, and guided them to himself, and into his core.
After absorbing the mana into his body, he circulated it through his veins. After a few hours, he opened his eyes. His core was finally saturated, after years of learning how to gather mana, and filling his core. Soon, he would be able to attempt Sparking his core.