“Father, can you teach me a spell?” I asked him, as he was writing in the desk of his office because it was a weekend and he didn’t need to go to work.

The office wasn’t out of the ordinary. A pair of bookshelves with books which were becoming easier and easier to read, a cupboard filled with glass cups and wines (which I belived they were mom’s as she was mainly the only one who drunk), and a wooden desk littered with writing equipment. The standard description of a private office.

It was also one of the few rooms in the lower floor of our house. The base floor was only composed of my father’s office and my parents’ bedroom. To be honest, those were the biggest rooms in the house. Then at the first floor everything else was there. The kitchen-slash-living room, the bathroom, my room (which I now notice it had been a repurposed storage room), and the balcony. Besides the weird layout of the building, our house was pretty big.

“How’s that?” After a while, father lifted his quill and looked at me.

“I made a promise with Marissa.” I told him. “More like a competition. I challenged her that I would be able to cast spells before her.”

“I see.” Father accepted that without a problem. “But casting spells will slow down your progress of sal men’ora, maybe even set it back. I can’t let you waste mana.”

I already knew that. A mana pool in its conception was nothing more than a ball of mana, if you used mana, you would affect the accumulation you’ve made. Every bit of mana removed from the ball would reduce its “density.”

Use too much mana and it will dissipate.

“That’s why I was thinking that you could teach me an easy spell that doesn’t require practice before casting it.” I explained.

“Let me get this straight.” Father cleared his throat. “You want an easy spell that you can cast on the first try?”

“That’s right.” I replied.

“I don’t understand your motive, I’m afraid.” Damnit, father. Stop using complex words to an infant. I don’t like filling the gaps.

“I am sure I won’t finish my mana pool before Marissa, so when she comes to tell me that she can cast spells, I want to improvise one.” I told him with a smile.

*

Tel’am was baffled by his son foresight and malice. “Sure...” He said half-convinced. “Mage Light is an easy spell that is taught to every ellari when they are young. Not mana expensive, and simple enough that you should be able to cast it first time knowing the full theory behind it.”

Mage Light was so basic of a spell that he could cast it without using mana. Well, his own mana that is. But weaving spells from surrounding mana was an advanced technique that had many inconveniences. Not a practical technique for such meaningless spells. Tel’am straight up didn’t mention this to Edrie as he would absolutely want to try it.

“Spellcasting is all about mana efficiency and formulae.” Tel’am began his lecture as his son listened. “It’s like a field of mathematics applied to magic. A better spellcaster is able to waste less mana, cast in a shorter time, and do more incredible things.”

Tel’am casted a Mage Light. The casting time was nonexistent, in one frame of the universe it wasn’t there, and the next the spell was cast. A seamless transition. Edrie was baffled by it. It was worth using his own mana to see his son expression.

“This is a Mage Light, but I didn’t spellcast it.” Edrie tilted his head in confusion. “Spellcasting is both the field and the process. When you use intrinsic formulas and optimize your casting, then you spellcast. If you just pour mana into a magical construct and hope for the desired result, you cast.”

“Okay.” Edrie nodded at him with un-children-like behavior. His gaze was attentive and methodical, something expected out of a scholar in a lecture, not a child.

Tel’am ignored his child’s gestures. He was getting used to it.

“More advanced practitioners and mages will refer plain casting byproducts as unstructured magic.” He pointed at the floating white Mage Light. “So, this is a casted Mage Light and unstructured magic. While unstructured magic is rapid in casting terms, is both mana taxing and less powerful as mana tends to leak and untangle.”

“Why do people use it then?” Edrie put his hand before his chin as he looked thoughtfully at his father.

“Sometimes there isn’t enough time to spellcast, so mages will weave their mana reserves around to come on top. But this is only applied to combat, most mages prefer to save mana and spellcast in every other practical situation.” Tel’am explained. “Although there is a type of mage that is prolific in casting.”

Tel’am summoned another Mage Light to make his next explanation more comprehensible.

“’Mage’ is a broad term, Edrie.” He began. “While I’m a mage, I’m not a spellcaster from books and mythos, I’m a craftsman of magical applications. Mage is a general word that can mean anything. But when people think of mages, they mainly think of two things. Wizards and sorcerers.”

He pointed at both Mage Lights, the one at the left became violet, and the right one blue. Tel’am started with his left.

“Wizard is who is prolific in spellcasting, always looking for ways to make more optimal spells, faster spellcasting, and more knowledge of the arcane.” He changed focus to the right. “Sorcerers, on the other hand, tend to use unstructured-based magic, being able to cast at prodigious rates. They look to constantly expand their mana pool, as it’s directly tied to how powerful they are.”

Edrie looked at both orbs of levitating light, swaying his head from side to side in a cute manner yet oddly calculated. “What is an arcanist, then?”

“Well, all magical affinity types possess a conjurer name like pyromancer, cryomancer, locumancer, arcanist, etcetera, and all are able to be wizards or sorcerers.” Tel’am told him. “An arcanist is a term used for arcane users or those who delve in the arcane mysteries. If you hear the word arcanologist, then it refers only to the latter. As it’s rather a scholar than a mage.”

“What I should be, then?” Edrie asked his father.

“Considering your mana problems, you are somewhat forced to be a wizard.” He explained. “And you are intelligent, which is the perfect trait for a wizard who makes better and better spells.”

“Can I learn the spell now?” Edrie pointed at the Mage Light.

“Oh, right.” Tel’am got distracted with his explanation. But he wanted his son to know all the basics about spellcasting and mage types as it was fundamental knowledge.

Tel’am got up from his seat and looked for something in the bookshelf. When he seemed to find what he was looking for, he had a quick look of the book before sighing and closing it.

“Edrie, I don’t have the formula here. If you can wait, I will make you one by afternoon.” Tel’am explained him. How could he not have basic spell formulas to teach his son? He needed to correct it. Mage Light would not suffice in the future.

“Okay.” He taciturnly accepted and went out of his office.

*

Father kept his word and delivered a writing of the inner working of the Mage Light spell. As usual, I understood nothing. Why does father keep forgetting that I am a child, unknowledgeable of the world? Obviously, I could somehow understand the mathematical equations he presented. And I mean it when I say equations. Not just a simple addition or subtraction, but a full, albeit simple, equation.

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

It wasn’t exactly that way, though. It was as if my brain would instinctively know how to do it. And I didn’t mean I was using my previous knowledge, no, such information was on my soul. My blank ellari brain had an instinctual reaction to this “spell framework”.

Well, I acted like I could not understand the equations, at least, how my previous incarnation did. How would a child know how to add and subtract if their parents didn’t teach it? Whilst I could comprehend the mathematical part, the whole magical structure surprised me. Some parts were crystal clear, yet others indescribable. I needed to convince father to give me classes.

Though mathematics isn’t the only subject involved into spellcasting, or at least, is not the only method available to achieve a spellcast. You could think of it as puzzle, where mana was the metaphorical pieces. Depending on the complexity of the spell, you may do a 4 by 4 puzzle, or one with a thousand pieces. I suppose this is the common viewpoint children have, but mathematics feels more natural to use.

For now, it was time to train.

Constant effort became the slogan of my new life. Maybe it wasn’t a grueling and strenuous task, but it had merit doing something for such a long period of time without faulting once. I also had nothing to do meanwhile, but let us ignore that tiny itty-bitty detail.

Father, thanks to some persuasion with Novela, let me be more agile with my mana pool practice. Five minutes, became six, six then seven, and then we arrived at the eight-minute mark. That seemed to be the limit, thought.

Mana Saturation Syndrome was a thing. I didn’t know the inner workings, but the better comparison I found was like trying to fill a wet sponge. You may try to dry a puddle with the sponge, but you will end up leaking more water than there was to begin with. In magical terms, I could puncture my mana pool and leak out mana, undoing weeks of progress.

And one thing I hated as much as not being able to understand things was being deprived of what was rightfully mine, my effort.

Be that as it may, I found myself closer and closer to finalization. As a gas that condensed in a liquid state, high quantities of mana became crystalized. And mana around my body began that process.

I have to say that a mana pool was both physical and spiritual in nature. Yes, weird concept. It took me some time to understand. Yet I could sense my soul slowly growing.

Mana crystalizes inside one’s body. It wasn’t a solid core, though. Instead of a nucleus of concentrated mana, small sockets, unnoticeable and harmless to the body appear. Once you drained your mana pool, they become inert and start gathering mana again, pretty much like a magnet.

At the beginning I felt repellence to such concept, having crystal cumulous inside my body, but it wasn’t that strange once you concisely think about it. An excess of salts and minerals can form stones in the kidney, this is similar, just the reverse. Not a detrimental effect, but a beneficial one.

I think.

About the spiritual aspect of the mana pool.

…

Yup, no damnedest idea.

I was a child of logic, not mysticism. Even though I have a superb soul affinity, the comprehension of the spirit overwhelms me. Is there a way to use my other affinity, the soul one, to optimize my mana pool formation?

Further research was required.

Was my soul affinity linked to the Lady of the River of the Damned? She was definitely a goddess of some sorts and was responsible for my reincarnation. Could that have affected my soul?

In the end all were nothing but theories. I would like to ask her, but I doubt that was possible. Wishing was free, though.

After father gave me the imprint of the Mage Light spell, weeks easily passed. The season of Frost arrived. I normally ignored seasons as climate doesn’t change in our city, but today was an especially chilly day.

I found that father had a tendency to divagate, like when talking about spellcasting he ended up introducing me to the mana saturation and the placement of the mana pool. And therefore, I began to divagate as well. To be honest, it was easy to lose the string of the conversation.

Father explained to me with precision how to conjure the spell, no stone left unturned. And I thanked him for it. Magical spell formation was the most alien concept I had found in this world. The oddly colored flora and the strange species that were the ellari seemed possible in a weird genetical way.

Magic… not so much.

He also explained that we didn’t need to go on great detail about the process, because when I became ten, I would go to school. Then, there the teachers would teach with great emphasis in magical theory as well as other subjects.

School, huh.

I wonder how it would be with my capabilities. Also, still about four years to go. I wasn’t six yet, so I had a bit of time. Father could easily teach me the basics, perhaps even Novela. As time passed, I became able to travel the streets of Ferilyn without the assistance of my parents as I was able to walk without tiring out, even if the opportunity hadn’t presented itself yet. So, I could visit her for some tutorship.

Or maybe not. Novela had personality, let the case rest there. I never knew what she was thinking, her mind was a fortress. Sometimes she was a sincere, eloquent woman, and another time she was grumpy and pragmatic.

Either way, if Marissa came through that door right now, I had to be able to cast the spell.

Knocks were heard on the main door. What in the River of the Damned? Impossible, statistically improbable. What were the odds?

Mother got up from the cushion sofa, putting a bookmark in her book, and went to open the door. I wasn’t nervous because I couldn’t cast a spell, I was nervous at the fact it was actually Marissa when I just talked about her. Do I have summoner powers? I looked at my hands.

Probably not.

I was too far away to hear who mother was talking with in the door, but she promptly opened the door to reveal an excited Marissa. I sighed. That excitement could only mean one thing.

“Edrie!” She shouted. “I came to show you my power!”

Mother chuckled at the phrase spoken by the little girl. “Come on in, Marissa.” Mother welcomed her.

She was led upstairs by my mother, whilst I sat on one of the garden chairs we had at the garden. I actually preferred sitting here rather than the pillow mountain we had for sofa in the living room. Not only it was a more familiar feeling, the warm sun rays and the chilly wind made the outside more comfortable.

“Come here.” I shouted from the balcony.

Overall, I liked our balcony. Big, spacious, and it received a lot of sunlight. The perfect place for some reading. You really didn’t want anything more apart from this.

“Have you finished forming your mana pool?” I asked Marissa from my comfortable posture on the chair. She didn’t seem to care about my lack of courtesy.

“Yes!” The child responded with impetus.

It seems I couldn’t even win to a child in something so trivial. Well, I knew this was a lost battle from the very beginning. I had too much of a disadvantage that not even I could compensate it with my knowledge and willpower.

“That’s good.” I spoke, unbothered by my loss. “Well, cast the spell.”

“Okay.” She responded.

Her fiery personality calmed as she concentrated for the spellcasting. Weird, she knew how to spellcast? I expected her to be more of the plain cast type. A sorcerer.

Father told me that casting was easier for children as it required imagination and imagery of the spell. Whilst spellcasting was pure old mathematics, in a way.

It was both more simple and complex at the same time, I had yet to grasp the full picture. Apparently, I lacked imagination and I was mostly unable to do sorcery. I was almost offended by such revelation.

Mana gathered around Marissa’s right palm. She was using both external and internal mana, interesting. Father told me such usage of mana was possible, but he vehemently refused to teach me how to do it. I didn’t know why.

I noted a small current of wind swaying my short childish hair. Marissa’s short ears (to adult ellari standards, still considerable nonetheless) trembled as she spellcasted. I had the sensation she wasn’t prolific with this method.

What made her choose such a complex method instead of an easier and more accessible one. Mana limitations, mayhap? She had a relatively high affinity for a child, so she could have a similar case to my own, related to mana pool size.

A full minute passed in silence as she invoked a ball of wind in the palm of her hand. It was fickle and small. I suspected a fly could pass through it without any harm, and the ball would most likely dissipate as a result. She wasn’t ready for this by any means. Yet.

“Congratulations on your spellcasting.” I didn’t undermine her effort though, so I clapped.

“Well…” She gathered her breath, beads of sweat sliding down her forehead. “How you make learning funny?”

“About that.” I stopped, rising my left arm before me.

Mana began to transfer from my body to the palm of my left hand. I felt my mana reserves dwindle a bit. Days of work went to waste. Basic equations that didn’t follow arithmetic, algebra, or common mathematical principles lay before me. A field of mathematics own to this world, manathics. Ugh, it sounds so stupid, but that’s the actual translation. Or the most accurate I could have made.

The best description for this “manathics” subjects was like a totally new field of mathematics where there waren’t really operations but approximations by imagery? In the form of runes and mana shape, you know? I couldn’t, I just couldn’t describe it. Either I was too stupid to do so , or I was unsuited for the task, but I found myself incapable to describe it. It just… worked?

Following the layout of the Mage Light spell I constructed a small spherical object that levitated. I kept the size and brightness to minimum to not consume a lot of mana, but I gave it the violet tone of my skin. Such minor changes were inconsequential. The construct materialized without a problem.

“I learned to spellcast before you.” I lied to her, trying to suppress the corners of my mouth from rising up.

She instantly deflated, all her achievements were for nothing, at least to her own mind. I kickstarted her progress with our promise even if she couldn’t acknowledge it currently. She would thank me in the future, if I ever told her, that is.

“You won’t tell me how to make learning funny?” I swayed my head. I didn’t have the answer to begin with. She gave me a look of puppy eyes, but at least she had the decency of not looking straight to my eyes, just my general direction.

“Well done, either way.” I comforted Marissa. “You’ve completed your mana pool before me, at least.”

“Really?” A glimmer of hope in her eyes.

“Yes.” I confirmed. “I had to waste weeks of mana and dozen tries to be able to win.” A sweet lie, to comfort her fragile ego. One try, days at maximum.

“I won the mana pool, I won the mana pool!” She celebrated.

Children were easy, weren’t they? I looked at mother who was looking by the balcony’s entrance, and she giggled.