Deep within the library, past the impressive foyer with its black-and-white marble flooring, down beyond the slowly turning, chaotic forest of dark, old wood shelves laden with tomes, further than the tall windows streaming in golden light, over a dozen hand-sized panels marching up along the walls, a boy sat on the floor, surrounded by books. Backed into the very back of a dead-end aisle, he leaned against the wall and read. The scent of old books filled the air, no sound but the slow brush of paper on paper as he turned the pages. His eyes blurred as he read, hair falling slightly in his eyes, though he barely seemed to notice. As if possessed, he read on and on, devouring book after book. The books moved from the left side to the right, stacking up beside his right knee. He reached for the next book, and his hand touched marble instead.
Ossian Vestal, Librarian of the Grand Magus’ Library, better known as Oz, lifted his head. He blinked, broken from a reverie, and looked around him. A shelf laid empty beside him, the final one in the library. He looked at the books before him, then waved his hand. They lifted off the floor and slotted into the final shelf, organizing themselves midair before they landed in neat lines. A stream of blue qi emerged from the books and coursed into Oz, filing up the very last gaps in an overfull core.
He took a deep breath, letting the energy circulate within his body. With that, I’ve read all the books on the first floor and the basement, barring the dark magic books. I think I’m ready to move on to the first stage!
The Universal Theory of Magic. Universal…Theory.
I don’t think I’m meant to comprehend it completely before the first stage. No, that would be ridiculous, right? It’s something an ascending mage couldn’t completely comprehend! So comprehending it from the first stage is ludicrous. But I think, from what I’ve seen, from what little I understand so far, I think…I think I can postulate a version of it for the first stage.
He nodded to himself, pressing his fingertips together. Rather than there being one technique, the Universal Theory of Magic, as I understand it, is better described as a set of simple, core rules that make up the heart of any cultivation technique. It’s something like the laws of physics, but instead, the laws of magic. The absolute magical truths of this world, that every magical technique must be built around.
If you understand physics, you can build better vehicles, buildings, and machines; if you understand the universal theory of magic, you can build a better cultivation technique, breathing technique, movement technique, et cedera, all the way down to individual spells. Any mage, regardless of technique, can and should understand the Universal Theory of Magic, at least at its most basic level, and, as long as they understand how to apply it, would benefit from doing so.
“I don’t have an absolute grasp on those rules. I don’t think I will for a long time yet. But from reading all the books on the first floor, I’m pretty sure that I’m at least on the right path.”
He pursed his lips, then, narrowing his eyes. Pretty sure? Now isn’t the time to be pretty sure. I need to be absolutely sure.
What’s the next step? Where do I go from here?
Before I move on, my path should be crystal clear. Any uncertainty will only blockade my future progress.
Crossing his legs, he entered a meditative pose. His chest rose and fell at a slow pace, his breath even. Qi flowed smoothy through his body. All the books he’d read flowed through his brain, swirling around in his subconsciousness. Passages rose out of the darkness and fell back into it, coming and going, the meaning rising to his mind without him ever specifically trying to divine meaning. Deep in the back of his mind, an idea took shape. A feeling, an instinct, a shapeless thought that couldn’t be easily given shape. He frowned, focusing on it. I understand it, but I can’t put it into words. There’s a comprehension there, but I need to fully comprehend what I have comprehended. As someone who’s in charge of the world’s largest library, naturally, I must be able to put my thoughts into words! It’s only when I’m able to synthesize a tome from my understandings and hand it off to the next generation that I will have truly comprehended Master Saoirse’s Universal Theory.
…Should I call it hers? She left it to me to comprehend it! Though it isn’t mine yet, either.
This feeling…this sensation. What does it mean?
Over and over, he circulated his qi. In his mind, he ran through the words of the tomes over and over again, circulating through the thousands of books one after another, reading two, three, four at a time. Martial techniques, mage techniques, scholarly techniques. Paths of bloody slaughter, forged with thousands of bodies. Paths of ephemeral and extreme magic, beyond the bounds of ordinary magehood. Paths of deep study, immersing oneself in the words of elders long dead and the search of the natural world, seeking the ultimate knowledge at the depths of the world. Millions of words began to take shape in his consciousness, slowly shaping a few simple lines.
There is no single path. Thousands of paths are valid, but for each person, only one path will truly lead them to enlightenment. Each single person has to seek their own path. To seek another’s path or traverse a path drawn before you, is to compromise your potential in return for the security of a path already walked. Even if you reach Ascension that way, your power will be forever stunted.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
Likewise, the flow of qi through one’s body…there are best practices, and different techniques for different situations. However, ultimately, one must follow their physical realities and inadequacies. If the flow is slowed or blocked… He looked at his black-stained wrist. Then alter your qi to flow more lightly through that path. Even if the qi ideally should flow smoothly through one’s whole body, it is better to adapt to ones’ physical state than to force the flow to follow some ultimate ‘form.’
The first stage of the Universal Theory of Magic is as simple as it is seemingly complex. The first step must be one you take yourself. The path you choose must be one you choose yourself! It’s simple to say, but difficult to undertake, to know what path is the proper one, to know what step is the correct one, with Ascension and immortality on the line.
Within his body, his qi stirred, drawn out by his thoughts. It swirled more viciously within him, moving faster and faster. In his mind’s eye, the clean-swept field appeared once more, the boulders set as cornerstones waiting for him.
All at once, Oz saw the entire space clearly, the horizons expanding far further than he had previously seen them stretch. What he had thought was a flat parcel of land sloped gently on the side of a hill, not flat at all, the land itself so incredibly small it could be mistaken for a hut’s lot.
He swept his hand, and the cornerstones and the lot were all swept clean. To those horizons, the entire ground flattened, shaped by that single sweep of his hand. A sharp, clean line cut into the side of the hill, completely scraping away the earth.
The qi within him stirred. I haven’t begun to use my full strength. Again!
He lifted his hand. Once more, the horizons expanded, revealing distant misty mountains, far, far away. Once more, he swept his hand, and where it passed, the earth flattened, hills becoming plateaus, then crumbling to nothing. The center of the space became a well-planed space, even and flat.
Oz looked at his hand. He clenched it into a fist. Without a word or a thought, he lifted his hand again, and for a final time, swept it across the land.
The entire earth flattened. The ring of mountains crumbled, leaving only the four most massive peaks. He gestured, and the mountains became the cornerstones of the space, each marking out the furthest reach of the foundation.
Oz let out a slow breath. He lifted his hands and pressed them down, centering himself. Closing his eyes, he opened them. “Good.”
Now, I need to pour my foundation. That’s the next step: to materialize my qi and form a foundation, bounded by the cornerstones. Oz gazed out across the space, and his heart refused. He shook his head. Instead, he lifted his hand again.
Again, again, again. Digging the earth down deeper, the mountains’ bases revealed with every swipe. Again, again, again. The topsoil vanished, and the clay beneath stripped away, until finally, he reached bedrock. Firm, solid, the corners grounded by the mountains, his foundation laid before him.
Good. Oz stepped forward. In his mindspace, he glided through the air, coming to hover in the center of the massive space. Qi flowed out of him, pouring down to cover the bedrock. From the bedrock, a massive building began to form, crafted from his qi. First the posts, then the supports, the walls and floors filling in plank by plank, building slowly constructing itself.
This is what it means to step upon the first stage. This is what it takes!
As his qi poured out, emptying, the building slowed. The construction began to tremble. Oz bit his lip. I understand. If I don’t finish the construction in one go, it’ll collapse…and if it doesn’t collapse, it’ll be forever weakened. I can’t stop here!
Ah, it’s a reminder to not bite off more than you can chew when it comes to setting the foundation, isn’t it. But to set a smaller foundation, equally, means to surrender one’s potential forever. It must be exactly as large as you can make it!
Luckily, I have my ways. He reached out to the library around him, to the blue qi that hummed, trapped in the pages of the books. The sea of knowledge, that strange blue realm he’d visited only once, tingled at the edges of his consciousness, waiting for him to reach out. All at once, it rushed into him. The qi of the sea of knowledge of the entire first floor poured through Oz and into his construction. Planks flew into place. Skeins of fabric became curtains as glass formed in windows. Within the space, shelves formed, and copies of all the books Oz had read appeared on the shelves. Even the fey books he’d read, sitting in the corner on a shelf of their own. The space wasn’t Madame Saoirse’s library, with its wandering shelves and single central hall. Instead, the library laid in an orderly fashion, shelf after shelf neatly lined up in rows and columns, organized around topics, with a few friendly reading areas set with stuffed chairs, chaises, and tables, comfortable and waiting for new patrons.
Like the library I knew back home, Oz thought, taking a deep breath. The unique dusty warmth of his home library seemed to fill his lungs, and a wave of comfort flowed over him. He looked at the library sprawling before him, and relaxed. This is it. This is what I wanted to build.
The energy from the sea of knowledge slowed, then cut off entirely as the building’s completion finished. Oz could feel it hovering just out of reach, an immense sea of power so deep and vast that he hadn’t even tapped a hundredth of it yet. He breathed deep, feeling a certain comfort in that, as well. I still have far to go, much to learn. There’s vastness in this world yet for me to discover.
As the energy inside him wound down and the building before him settled, his entire body trembled. A wave of energy ran through him, reinforcing him and transforming everything it touched. His qi passages strengthened, and his core widened and deepened. When he breathed in, qi rushed into his core as easy as air entered his lungs, with no need to consciously draw it. The passive qi intake didn’t account for much, but it still allowed him to absorb qi constantly, even when fully distracted. Kind of like how I can backseat read books, Oz thought, nodding.
He emerged from his mindspace and stood, stretching. First stage. I’ve finally stepped onto the first stage.
What next?
Oz eyed his backlog of things to do, then snorted. Well. At least I’ve got no shortage of things to keep me busy.