Paxton stared at Zack for a moment and then said with no small amount of snark, “How do you think you eviscerated those men? You used magic, probably for the first time.”
Zack scoffed at Paxton’s ridiculous claim. While he could not explain how he killed the duke and his men. He did not think he was wielding magic or even had any magic in him. He responded, “Paxton, clearly I cannot explain how I killed all those men. However, I doubt I was using magic. I don’t feel like I have any magic in me.”
Paxton laughed at Zack’s comment, “Your comment is precisely why I know you are a natural wizard.”
Zack looked at Paxton incredulously, “How does me saying I don’t have magic in me mean I am a wizard?”
Paxton responded, “There are only two types of magic use that we know of in the universe, System magic users and natural magic users, also known as wizards. You are not a system magic user as you have no idea about the system. So, you are a natural magic user, and a powerful one at that. As a matter of fact, you are probably the first natural magic user in the world in at least 5,000 years.”
Zack absorbed what Paxton was saying, “You didn’t answer the question.”
Paxton nodded and continued, “A common misconception is that wizards have magic in them. The magic is not in a wizard. The magic is all around us in the fabric of existence. Wizards are not made of magic; they tap into the magic around them. They use it to express their will on the world. The more affinity they have to sense the magic, the stronger they were. Very few people are able to do this. Back in the old days maybe one in a hundred thousand people had the ability to tap into magic and use it as an extension of their will. Of those that could use magic, maybe one in another hundred thousand could use it as you did.”
Zack’s eyes went wide at Paxton’s words. He understood back on earth that magic wasn’t real. He now recognized that the concept of someone being magical is an earth misconception of how magic worked.
Paxton continued, “Because most people could not sense the magic and therefore could not use it. We spoke earlier of the tyranny of corrupt wizards. Well, this is what brought about the system via the Order of Acolytes. Essentially the system serves as a bridge or conduit to natural magic.”
Paxton frowned and fell silent for a second. He continued, “That is not exactly correct, hhhmmmm, let me explain it another way. The system does two important things that allow nonmagical people to use magic. First, it creates a place for magic to reside in a person as they are unable to just sense the magic in the world. So, they must cultivate magic and store it in themselves. By seeking out and using the system a person creates a base or well of magic within themselves Second, the system creates a structure that allows people to use that magic when they learn specific techniques. It is kind of like learning to play music. A musical instrument can make random noises if played with no talent or practice. However, a skilled musician, through years of practice, can make beautiful sounds to our ears. It takes years of dedication and effort to become an accomplished musician. The same is true for using system magic.”
Zack thought about the music metaphor and asked, “How do natural magic users fit into this metaphor?”
Paxton’s eyes lit up, “Excellent question, imagine not having to practice. As a matter of fact, imagine not even needing the musical instrument. A natural magic user or wizard as they are known, can just make the music happen by thinking about it and willing it into existence. They don’t need a conduit to the magic. They are the conduit. Let me clarify, they do have to practice, but not in the way system mages do. They practice through discovery and creativity. Perhaps most importantly, they practice self-control.”
Paxton paused lost in thought again and then as if in triumph said, Wizards are like artists, the greatest artists ever, whereas system mages are like mathematicians. If they don’t learn the math they cannot conduct magic. It is not an expression of will, it is an expression of technique honed over time supported by system rules.
Zack took a deep sip of his tea as he pondered what the wizard was saying. While he was not sure he was a wizard, he did know deep down, he had tapped into something powerful when he killed the duke and his men.
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They sat in silence for a good long while. Zack thought for a moment Paxton has fallen asleep. Zack got up to refill his teacup.
Paxton looked up and started talking again, “Let us go over the facts as they are right now. You are currently in the world of Eagan. My castle kind of sits outside of time. However, it is my belief that you will eventually end up in present. So essentially, we understand the where and when questions of your existence. I think we are beginning to understand the how. The interesting question we need to address is the why. Why are you here. We think it is because the system acolytes tried to integrate a non-magical world into the system. However, that does not explain why you were pulled along for the ride. I have a theory about why you ended up here.”
Zack processed what Paxton was saying and asked, “You think someone pulled me over on purpose?”
Paxton raised his eyebrows, “Well done Zack, that was quite perceptive. Yes, well mostly. I think one of two things probably happened. Someone on the inside of the Acolytes of the System knew that the integration was going to fail. Knowing the worlds would not integrate was probably obvious to anyone paying close attention. So, either they attempted to grab onto the world to force the integration and in doing so they ended up grabbing on to people there who were magically inclined and thus pulled you over.”
Zack interrupted, “Forced integration of a non-magical world would have had disastrous consequences for Eagan, right?”
Paxton nodded, “Yes it would have been very destructive and may have shut the system down. The system relies on the new magic to power itself. A whole world would have drastically drained the systems power. This makes me believe it was not done by accident. Your presence here is not a side effect of forcing the integration.”
Paxton took a deep breath, “The other possibility is someone in the Acolytes of the System knew your planet did not have magic. However, they must have also known there are magically adept people on your planet. Knowing the integration was going to fail, they sought to pull over the magically adept people into this world.”
Zack took a minute to digest this idea. He then said, “Well that does not make sense. Why would a person from the system want to pull over people from another world? Ones that would be able to wield natural magic. That goes against everything the system is founded on.”
Paxton replied, “That may be the most important question. Assuming they did not seek to destroy the system, they must have done it on purpose. I don’t understand why anyone from the Acolytes would want natural magic users here in Eagan.”
Zack thought for a moment and asked, “How could they have known some people from my planet were magically adept? For that matter did they know Earth didn’t have magic at all?”
Paxton replied, “Something you said earlier may hold a clue to this question. You asked me question I absentmindedly forgot to answer. Do you remember the first thing I said to you? I asked if this is really what you think wizards look like? Later in the conversation you told me your world did not have magic. However, when we first met, I was dressed in a ridiculous robe with a pointy hat. It was purple with stars embroidered into the fabric. I asked the question because that is certainly not how I usually look. When I sensed you entering the chamber I used magic to appear to you how you thought a wizard should look.”
Zack laughed, “That’s right, you did look ridiculous. You looked like a wizard for a children’s play.”
Paxton smiled, “Well the only way you could have had an idea of what I might look like is if you had an idea of what a wizard is.”
Zack said, “Wait I am confused, what does this have to do with my question about the Acolytes knowing if Earth had magic?”
Paxton put on a patient smile, “If Earth does not have magic how do you know what a wizard is? Not just know what it is, but have a word for it that is so close to our word for wizard?”
Zack cycled through a few different emotions on his face as he opened his mouth to say something then closed it. Then he opened it again and then closed it again still looking confused.
Paxton put his hand up and said, “I think this ‘earth’, your home world once did have magic. I think you somehow lost it. I also think the Acolytes of the System not only knew this, but also has visited Earth in the past.
Zach sat back in his chair and pondered Paxton’s revelation. Then he offered, “You know what is interesting about your last statement? Most of the ancient cultures on earth have an example of dragons in their lore. There is no empirical evidence that dragons ever existed, yet they are found in countless cultures. Cultures that never interacted. What if magic, wizards, and dragons were once present on Earth? This may explain why some people on Earth have magical affinities.”
It was Paxton’s turn to scoff, “Earth doesn’t have dragons?”
Zack replied, “Nope”
Zack drank another sip of his tea, “We do however have many very old stories of dragons and even wizards. In the modern world neither of those beings exists.”
Paxton replied, “I would bet my castle someone in the Acolytes of the System was aware of Earth’s non-magical status. I would further bet they also knew some people on Earth could wield magic.”
Paxton set down his tea cup and stared into Zack’s eyes, “I think they pulled magically inclined people over to Eagan on purpose. The question is why?”