Connor tilted his head, he scratched his head as he asked a question to the question, “Charlotte the Red? Was she an Undead during your time or was she living?”
Evelyn shook her head, “No she was not an undead”.
Connor nodded his head as he continued, trying to think more, “Okay, well is there anything about her. She may have went by another name if she had lived when we were around”.
Evelyn shook her head as she began to wince slightly, the pain she was feeling from earlier seemed to have began to come back “Well, first off, she is an elf”.
Connor’s face showed a level of surprise and acknowledgment of the thought, “An elf? Who wasn’t undead, I haven’t seen someone like that in years. Unless she is hiding it, however, they are very proud of their heritage so that shouldn’t be a possibility”.
Evelyn nodded her head, “Yes, she was an incredibly prideful woman. If anything it was one of her defining traits. Included with that she was a masterful practitioner of Keltu Gauthen”.
Connor’s face seemed to scrunch as he began to think about what soul arts meant. Yet he had nothing come to mind as he shrugged, “I have no clue what that means”. He turned his head to Gloria as he began to ask, “Do you know what Keltu Gauthen are?”
Gloria seemed to be in contemplation for some time. Her face, even while she had her eyes closed and in thought, looked incredibly focused to the point of looking if she was not even in the same world as them. Evelyn began to see Gloria’s staff glow next to her as Gloria began to mouth words that were utterly quiet, yet sounded something like a prayer. He body was lightly glowing as she had entered what seemed to be a trance. After a few moments, the light was gone and Gloria opened her eyes. Yet she seemed to have no thoughts. Gloria took a breath in as she then shook her head and said with a sigh, “No it was never something I heard of, nor it is there any knowledge that I could even make an extrapolated form of magic it from other forms of magic I know of”.
Evelyn nodded her head as she said, “It is a form of Arcane magic that elves have a natural affinity for. It is the use of the soul to manipulate the spirit in all living things”.
Connor then pipes up, “Oh! I know someone who can do some weird things like that. He’s a taller man who lives out in the outskirts of the farm lands of Fellwinter”.
Gloria nods as she says something that she remembered, “Yes, I remember him-”. Gloria then looked to Connor like he had said something idiotic, “-he’s as practiced in magic as you are in bathing”. Gloria then turned to Evelyn as she continued, “The man Connor is talking about is using a primitive form of plant growth magic. He’s just using his energy to fill the land with more energy to make it grow more”.
Connor laughed as he said, “Hey you can’t blame me that sounds exactly like what Evelyn was talking about”.
Evelyn took a moment before she said, “No actually, I think he’s right”.
Everyone looked to Evelyn, they were all curious of what she meant. It seemed like such an odd, yet simple use of one's energy that it couldn’t be something as impressive as an Elven magic. As Elves aren’t seen as the most magically gifted beings, that would be Demi-gods as they had attained a level of divinity which gave onto them incredible amounts of power. Yet it was Elves who, even as mortals, lived such an extensive life span that any pursuits they dedicated themselves to would become masters of.
Evelyn continued, “Keltu Gauthen is very much like any other magic. Through the focusing, harnessing, and then the projection of one's own energy does magic form. However, Keltu Gauthen is very different as it performs multiple different yet fundamentally important additional actions within the process”.
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The group began to gather, as to hear such information was not something that could have been said to be a common event. Information was a currency among many, as knowing more would make surviving in the dungeon a higher possibility. As the longer one survived in the dungeon, the more possibilities they find. As the possibilities grow, so do their profits. The more profits they gain, the more luxuries they can afford, like riding in the cart to the city, paying the taxes to enter, eating food for the sake of feeling human rather than just sleeping to get rid of the feeling, and even being able to use those monster cores to gain power.
As a group, Connor’s group is always searching for ways to make more. This information could be valuable for both trying to make more money by either giving it to others or even to use for themselves. Evelyn then began to speak, “Well in the normal casting form, you would focus the energy within you, moving it through your body to then make it take on the power and form you wish it to take, and then when you perform the projection of that energy, you then perform one final alteration. In this form, you are able to focus the energy, now performing final alterations as then the spell begins to take on its form of ability”.
Gloria nodded with sincerity as she did understand the process of how magic would form. However, everyone else either nodded as a way to acknowledge that they were listening, however, they weren’t quite sure what she was talking about. There were then others who just allowed Evelyn to continue, ”Well where Keltu Gauthen differs is that in the moment of focusing, you perform projection”.
Everyone tilted their head as it sounded like doing magic wrong. Connor was the first to speak their mind, “You mean? You just, fail at magic? Doesn’t sound very smart to me”.
Evelyn waved her hand to dissuade their thoughts as before they fully arose, “When you project, you are setting your energy into the world. If it has now form what happens?”
Gloria answered quickly as she wanted to know where this was going, “You lose the energy as you let it out into the world”.
Evelyn nodded, “Well, you can change a spell after casting correct?”
Everyone nodded, knowing most mages can to some degree to gain new benefits of certain long-cast spells when needed, like lights, walls, and other spells. Evelyn then continued with this, “Well, all magic is in the end is the form we make our energy take, so, you still can exert control over it. Keltu Gauthen, makes use of this by then performing additional chantings after which then you can gain a greater spell, this is how you’d perform a group casting. As everyone puts energy into an area casting the same spell, they would all coalesce their energy. Keltu Gauthen, uses the energy around them that is beginning to mix with their own, and then bring it back into themselves. After which, you circulate the energy and then perform the same steps after, now with greater energy and an adapted affinity from the world around you”.
Everyone began nodding their head, now seeing where something like this could come in handy. Evelyn continued, “If used on a monster, you can know their affinity, and then alter your magics to counter that said affinity. Reading the soul in essence to understand it”.
Gloria nodded as she asked, “Well, that’s quite the interesting magic, one that seems simple, yet why would something as simple as that be enough to tell us who the person you are looking for is? After all, he could have inherited a simple plant growth magic”.
Adrith then spoke up, “Magic is not something inherited with ease”.
Everyone turned to Adrith as they began to see they can see a never-ending sea of golden wheat. Countless people tiling the lands and holding strange lanterns that glowed with energy now and again. Adrith continued to speak, “Magic can be taught, but to inherit would mean that it has been ingrained into your line so deeply that your soul holds onto it”
Evelyn nodded as she said, “Yep, so that is why I believe that that farmer you guys were talking about may be an important lead. Since even if he had inherited some latent plant growth magic, he must have some knowledge of Charlotte”.
Everyone nodded as they looked out, and saw guards beginning to come around the sides of the cart to see them out. They had made it to Fellwinter.
A city for many, is the last safe haven in the world. A home that has protected them since their forefathers.
And for some of the unlucky few, considered their most terrible prison.