Leo

Berlin, Germany

Leo didn't know what to think or feel. One of his childhood dreams was coming true - magic was real. Yet, if he believed Heidi - he was in a bad situation. What she had told him did not inspire optimism. He was cautious about believing in everything just because someone told him something he liked to hear.

Leo gathered his bearings and stood up from where he landed on the floor, not staring anymore at Heidi. He brushed himself off and looked at her with a serious expression, now that he had witnessed firsthand that what she said contained some truth. However, he needed to get the facts before he decided what to do.

“Alright, let's say I believe you,” Leo began carefully, his brain working overtime. “What is wrong with me then?” he asked, sitting back down on the stool he vacated. Leo glanced to his right, where the exit was, just in case.

“Not exactly wrong,” Heidi answered, sitting next to Leo and casually grabbing her coffee mug. “Your body is undergoing changes that we do not understand. Those changes should form a natural mana core in you. Key word - should. It would enable you to cast spells with pure intent. Ones that are not restricted the way we are.”

Leo blinked a few times, confused. ‘Restricted?’ he thought.

Seeing this, she sighed, before continuing, “Let me explain in simpler terms and give you a bit of our history.

“Mages have been around on Earth for hundreds of years without you knowing. No one knows where or when the first one appeared. Our records indicate they were around when the pyramids were constructed and maybe even before that. And no - it was not the aliens who moved stones to build them, but us - mages.

“Our more or less mage-modern history started to be documented around the 12th or 13th century. Mages then formed the first mage clans and established proper disciplines. Clan Aer is one of the few oldest clans on Earth currently. Do you follow me so far?”

“Why clans? I mean, it sounds like an outdated feudal structure,” Leo asked, entertaining the idea.

“Well, yes, I suppose that is true. We formed the clans to secure mage-born children and raise them without having them join the Church's cause. Modern history taught in mud schools is plain wrong or a lie. The Church did not attract people to its banner. They took them,” she said.

“The church? What do you mean? Like Jehovah's witnesses?” Leo asked, chuckling, noticing that Heidi was not joining him.

“No, there is only one Church, despite what they might make you believe. They serve only one man, the Pope. But that is a topic for later. What you need to know is that the Church founded Christianity. Later, with time, they split up into various factions. The main players never changed, nor did their agenda.”

“Alright, alright, now this is starting to sound a bit crazy,” Leo commented, not understanding where she was going with all of this.

“I understand how it must sound,” Heidi interrupted, considering for a moment. “ I did not ask this before, but perhaps are you religious?” she asked.

“Not really,” Leo replied. “In childhood, I had my fair share of religious exposure, but it never stuck.”

“Alright, that makes things easier. As I said, mages have been around for a long time. Initially, they appeared naturally. At some point in their lives, they gained the ability to interact with the mana around them. That enabled them to achieve feats, such as living for hundreds of years, moving things around with their mind, growing entire forests, or healing people from deadly diseases. Everything you can think of as a miracle - was done by magic.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“As more and more humans started to walk the Earth, more mages appeared until their number reached a saturation point. Then the ambient mana did not awaken many more such natural mages. At that point, a method was discovered, allowing the Church to awaken a mana core in the human body. A Church mage discovered this method, and we still use it, as we do not have a better alternative.”

“A core? You mean like in cultivation novels?” Leo asked.

“Well, not exactly, but close enough. I am surprised you have read those…,” Heidi said, looking Leo up and down. “You see, a core is an organ that allows us to gather, contain and channel the mana around us. The mana is not as dense as it was hundreds of years ago due to pollution and other factors, but it is still there around us. A core acts in a similar way to how your lungs would. It enables you to unconsciously gather the mana around you and store it by holding it in.”

“Alright, so how does this affect me?” Leo interrupted. “I do not remember being a subject of some church ritual or something similar. Why are you saying I started to form a core?”

Heidi frowned, not sure how to explain this part. Her father was not clear about it. She went with what she knew from her childhood and said, “Core naturally forms when the saturation of mana within the body reaches a certain tipping point, which acts as a catalyst.

“Nowadays, this happens rarely, as mana is not dense enough in nature. We don’t know why the mana is not as concentrated. I also gained my core naturally. We are different. I was brought up in a mage family and exposed to large quantities of mana before my core formation. I do not know why it happened to you.

“Next, for you, it seems the mana did not start to form a core where it should be. We do not know why. What we know is your body continues to gather mana, and when it reaches a saturation point, it disperses it, similar to breathing. This process is not smooth. It is fairly volatile, and we are unsure how you are still alive or walking. We believe the dispersion will not last, and you will just burst from the excess mana accumulation,” Heidi finished.

“So you are saying that something triggered the changes I am undergoing? And you have no idea what exactly… And basically, I am dying?” Leo said, his mood souring rapidly as this was not the way 'you are a wizard' talk should go.

“In essence, yes, but we still have time, as the bracelet I gave you should manage the changes by limiting the mana in you. You must understand the basics before we try to fix what is wrong with you, as the fix itself will heavily depend on you.”

“Great. It is a ‘sit tight’ situation for me now,” Leo said and leaned on the table, grabbing his head with both hands to think.

“No, it is a ‘learn as fast as you can’ situation because you put yourself and my clan in danger,” Heidi answered.

He looked up at her. “Why? I do not understand this ‘clan and church’ business. Why bother with me if I pose some great danger,” Leo commented, eying Heidi suspiciously.

Heidi sighed again and continued, “Let me give you more background to understand the circumstances. There are four most common affinities: air, fire, water, and earth. Clan Aer specializes in air magic. There are others, but those are extremely rare. Next, affinity means the way how easily mana in the spell manifests in the world around us.

“An affinity means that some types of spells are easier to cast, while others are harder for the mage. Casting is a structured interaction with mana within and around us. We must do it through established spell forms. These forms are discovered and honed in the clans, as well as in the Church.

“When mana core forms, it gains an affinity, though, with time and training, it is possible to gain another affinity, enabling mages to cast different spells more easily. It is also possible to combine the affinities to form a new one.”

“Wait, so clans are like scholars focusing on certain magic types instead of a field of science?” Leo asked.

“At a very high level, yes. Next, along with an affinity, the core, when it forms, gains a mana saturation level. These levels are what sets us mages apart. It usually starts at gray, which is how it looks to us when we meditate and concentrate on our core, visualizing it in our mind’s eye.

“Next, it grows with time to brown, red, green, blue, purple, and white, in that order. There are some exceptions, though. White is the purest of the cores, basically pure mana. As far as we know, no person alive has a white core. We consider it to be the realm of gods,” Heidi finished.