—ZOFIAR—

My body is earth and my mana river,

The body outside will mana deliver.

Must carve the channels for the mana to flow,

Carefully, lightly, like a gentle wind’s blow.

The river’s banks must be kept firm and strong,

So that the river may yet be kept from wrong.

Meticulous must I make my design,

Only then will mastery of flight be mine.

That was the poem that I made to help guide my process, for I sought to emulate nature for it was the ultimate teacher. Everything that I sought to do, Nature had already done for hundreds of thousands of years, perhaps even longer. So heed my advice, young Ieros, follow the path that Nature has walked for millennia, you shall surely reach what it is you desire.

My successors share different sentiments, they believe that they may control Nature but heed not their words, in the end, Nature will always run its course and all that they do merely delay it for one day more. Harmony with Nature is key Ieros, to true mastery of Mana.

I hope that through my memories of carving those channels will help you carve them in your own body.

—ATARUM—

Unlike Zofiar, my inspiration came from something perhaps more humble: a kitchen implement that is often used to strain out the water. Its shape was like that of a bowl riddled with holes, meaning that if you were to try pouring water in it, it wouldn’t be long before the bowl was empty. Now, compare that with a regular bowl, one with no holes, it holds the water inside for far longer.

Ordinarily, I wouldn’t have cared about such things, as I didn’t need to cook, but the thought suddenly came to me one day, that our bodies were very much like the bowls indeed. Right now, your body is like the bowl with holes, constantly leaking mana. The only reason you managed to float was that you just have so much, but that is so wasteful. You must be more like the bowl without holes so that you can keep the mana.

But, that’s not all, if you lock up the bowl tight, then you can’t use mana. So combine the two ideas, make one bowl from the two, one that has fewer holes so that it still holds water relatively well and still allows for use of mana. How I achieved this was tightening my skin, as Azorin said, although I can actually share that experience with you.

I hope my own experience shall shed light on the proper path.

———

Ieros took in their memories and their words, the sensations that their bodies felt upon successfully mastering Flight. But, he was somewhat disappointed. Not only did he fail to properly emulate the individual successes of Zofiar and Atarum but he also failed to make a success of his own. He was excited to fly of course and sought to perfectly imitate both Zofiar and Atarum, not only in flight but in everything else that Azorin taught him.

For a time, he was satisfied with that, following almost religiously the paths that Zofiar and Atarum walked before him. Years passed and he became a model student of both the paths of Zofiar, Atarum, and Azorin, coming to emulate each of their methods with textbook perfection but that was it, just textbook perfection.

Azorin, who was initially excited to see such talent soon lost such enthusiasm, trying to coach Ieros to find his own path. After all, the current methods of Magic were still not enough to bring out Ieros’s full potential, his power was too great and the methods were too weak. The parameters which they worked on did not account for Ieros’s supreme mana concentration and thus, were unable to fully draw out all that Ieros could unleash.

It was a rather frustrating cliff to overcome, both to Ieros and his teachers, for they all wanted to see what he was capable of, not what he could imitate. And after a year of fruitless efforts, although Azorin was loath to admit it, he conceded that he alone did not have the ability to teach Ieros.

And so, he once more met with the Council Members, asking if they could attempt to bring out Ieros’s power. And so, another seven years passed, each one under the tutelage of one of the Seven Council Members of the Academy.

Under Meralia he learned the Art of Illusions, bending reality itself to his will. He brought his imagination to life, able to create the most life-like of mirages. And, due to his great mana capacity, the size and depth of his illusions were the greatest that could be seen, but ultimately were only larger of the same. Sure he could convince someone that his illusions were real, so real in fact that they could never tell the difference, but it did not matter when it was still only an illusion, something that he could never touch.

On the other hand, under Thunwil he learned the Art of Defense, creating tangible walls of energy that would protect him from all dangers. From physical blows to the greatest of magic spells, Ieros mastered barriers of all forms, soon being able to withstand the might of Azorin, although that was more due to his superior mana concentration compared to that of Azorin. He was capable of outlasting Azorin and simply reinforcing his barriers by pouring more mana into them.

This was not all that he learned but also how to counter the defenses of others, analyze the weaknesses of the enemy’s barriers and utilize mana to exploit them. On here, Ieros proved to be unmatched once again simply because of his mana concentration, he could afford to send multiple tendrils of energy to exploit the various weak points of a barrier, far more than his opponent could counter.

His power became so great in fact that it did not matter whether or not his elemental barrier was attacked by its most effective counter, his mana simply repaired the damage too quickly. It all came down to overwhelming quantity, which, while was still a victory, was still somewhat dissatisfactory to teacher and student alike. But a year had passed and there was nothing else that Thunwil could do other than wish Ieros luck.

Similarly, the Art of Offense under Ilharis was one which Ieros managed to become unparalleled due to quantity over quality. Of course, as a matter requirement, he did practice to perfection but there was no drive to it. What was somewhat interesting was learning how to utilize elements in an offensive manner, it was here that he saw some parallels between the Art of Defense and Offense, which made sense. They were two sides of the same coin.

Things like the interactions between fire and water, earth and air and everything in between. There were things like telekinesis, which manipulated one’s surroundings to fight for him, attacks to subdue, harm, or befuddle the mind and a myriad of other such spells whose singular purpose was to bring harm. And due to Ieros’s proficiency in this field, his training in newer, more effective combat spells was brought to a halt for Ieros was already difficult enough to deal with as is, should he possess nigh-invincible defense and an omnipotent offense, well such a thought was something that the Council Members wished to avoid.

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So almost immediately, he was given to Medora the Healer who hoped to teach Ieros to respect Life. And she tried her best, making sure to remind Ieros that his great power could cause great harm and yet also bring great good. Through her teachings, she wanted him to understand how Life was precious and how it should not so easily be taken away. Ieros seemed to listen, although he did not entirely understand just yet. He did not fully comprehend Life’s value but even so, he could tell that his teachers did not want him to kill so he did not, if only for their sake.

He saved the lives of many animals as Medora took him through deep walks in the forest, coming to understand their anatomy and the effect mana had on it. He saw first hand how flesh knitted itself back together with a disturbing quickness, how mana could supplement lost blood—a temporary measure—and felt the flow of mana through every living being’s body.

And his discovery of mana in every being was confirmed under the tutelage of Areviar who taught him the secrets of Augurey, revealing to Ieros a world that was beyond his eyes. For while Areviar had long since lost the ability to see with his eyes, it did not mean that he was blind. He learned simply to see in another way, particularly the flow of Mana. He could see—albeit with some difficulty—the mana in his surroundings and in people. He didn’t use it too often since he could already feel the energy around him which allowed him to traverse his surroundings without great mana expenditure.

But when he beheld Ieros properly with his Inner Sight, he was amazed at the brightness he beheld and it made sense to him why Azorin had called him the Future of Magekind. And so he willingly taught Ieros all that he could. In this subject, Ieros was far less successful, since learning to see mana did not just require using mana to augment the eyes but learning to lose one’s way among the countless tributaries of energy. By the end of the year, Ieros could only manage to see in a 10-meter radius around him but Areviar assured him that with practice, he would be able to surpass Areviar’s current maximum sight range—1000 meters—and go beyond.

He took what he had seen with him when he went to Skalira, Master of Artificing. Mana exists in all things so it would make sense that such mana could be harnessed and utilized and the method to how was spell circles. Written in a language whose true name had long since been lost to time, the letters of this language are what manipulate the mana of its surroundings and a word formed from them manipulate mana to a specific purpose. And with Augurey, Ieros could see exactly how the mana was drawn in by the words, which fascinated him deeply. He often just sat quietly, staring at a spell circle as he activated it and deactivated it, never blinking.

Artificing was not just knowing spell circles, it also involved magic machines, machines who used mana as fuel to move. Many devices are made via Artificing, some being enhancement of quality of life, others serving more practical purposes, and of course, a military application. Things from a simple pocket warmer to complex doors that would only respond to a certain mana signature are all made possible with Artificing. There are no limits to it, other than the fact that it uses the letters of the Lost Scripture.

What remains of the Lost Scripture—partially through remembrance and through trial and error—is only a few hundred letters which in order to accomplish a wide variety of things require long words and even sentences whose meanings vaguely match what it is the Artificer wants. The most complex of Artificing requires months and even years of guesswork, constantly rewriting the spell circle or spell circles in order to get the mana to flow as desired.

Many Artificers lament the fact that they had to live in an age where the Language of Artificing was lost, thus severely limiting their capabilities compared to other branches. That is why those who delve for its hidden treasures are few and far in between, leaving Artificing a declining Art in the Academy.

A branch that also happens to be in decline is that of Creation, a path which few walk anymore due to the fact that it is overshadowed by all other classes of Magic. After all, Creationism was just glorified Alchemy which mages as a whole tend to look down on. And in addition, Creationism was also far more inefficient compared to that of Alchemy which just relied on the natural interactions between certain materials while Creationism forced those interactions with mana. There was also a religious view against Creationism, for the Church deemed Creationists as those who seek to imitate the Gods, a great Sin.

In addition to this, Creationism was highly unpopular because to unmake and remake the work of the Gods cost a godly amount of Mana, meaning that to change a pinch of lead dust into gold would drain the average mage of all their mana and then some. Creationists often worked together with Artificers who create spell circles to gather ambient mana to power a spell, requiring only the Creationist to set the spell in motion. Thus, the pursuit of Creationism belongs to a select few, mostly those who pursue knowledge for the sake of knowledge instead of searching for practical applications of their Art.

And Ieros, whose mana capacity gave him great leeway with spells, became someone to test Evasior’s ideas rather than learn. Even so, Ieros learned and what he did learn intrigued him as he created all manner of items, at first recreating what he saw and then quite literally bringing his imagination to reality. But the high mana cost of such endeavors was limiting, even to Ieros and so he too relied on Artificing.

Well, he relied on the spell circles that were already in the Tower which allowed for the collection of mana, using its regenerative capabilities on top of his own mana to conduct experiments. He attempted to increase the efficiency of the spell circles but he was only a beginner in the subject, the spell circles were already as efficient as they could be for the time being.

So, Ieros made do with what he felt to be insufficient efficiency and worked ceaselessly in the Tower, much to Azorin’s joy. Ieros was now pushing himself and in so doing, taking his first step into the unknown of Magic. It was more crucial now more than ever that Ieros must be protected, especially considering that the King most likely knows the current extent of Ieros’s abilities.

As to who told him, it was rather obvious, the Loyal Shield of the Kingdom. Azorin couldn’t understand just why Thunwil was so loyal to that King and in return, Thunwil couldn’t understand why Azorin disliked the King so much. Thunwil had long since sworn loyalty to the King since the King was the one who had rescued him from the slums, it was the King that allowed him to become a Council Member, and it was the King who so generously funded the Academy much of its money. The King also provided jobs for mages who graduate, giving them a use other than t0 gather dust in some room locked from the sun. Mages should contribute to this great Kingdom, not forsake it for knowledge that is of no use.

But Azorin had his reasons too, the King had only rescued Thunwil to get a foothold in the Academy, a loyal pawn with which he could further bring the Academy to the King’s rule. The King only funded the Academy so he could ask for “favors,” basically coercing the Academy to help the Kingdom with their magic. The King only wanted to chain the Academy to himself, to use their power for his wars and prevent the Academy from growing as it should.

And so it was plainly clear to Azorin that Thunwil had reported Ieros to the King, perhaps as far back as when Azorin had first introduced Ieros. The King hadn’t made a move yet but he would soon, especially considering that Ieros is now done mastering the fundamentals of each Branch of Magic. Ieros was no longer an apprentice but a full-fledged mage, and that meant he could be used.

Azorin was right of course, not that he knew it. The King had been receiving reports from Thunwil and now, it was finally time. So he had Thunwil begin to release rumors in the Academy, about the Secret Apprentice. Why had the Seven Masters disappeared, each for a year? Who was that person seen with Medora? Why was Azorin showing much more activity than before? Questions and rumors began to propagate wildly since under intense scrutinization, people began to notice the strange behavior of the Seven Masters for the past seven years.

Each one had disappeared for certain periods of the day, neglecting their usual schedule and at the time, no one particularly cared as Masters were Masters, eccentricities were to be expected. But when one looked closely, specifically at the parts which Thunwil had pointed out, one could notice a strangeness.

Of course, some still disbelieved it, a “secret apprentice” was only a ridiculous rumor that was bound to disappear. But it did not, particularly with Thunwil secretly supplying more and more evidence to it being true. And finally, the rumors grew so big that people began to confront the Seven Masters and Azorin who debated whether or not they should reveal it all.

Azorin was sure that it was Thunwil’s doing but he could only make a baseless accusation. And besides, an investigation now would be useless, there was nothing that an investigation behind the origins of the rumor would do to appease the current situation. After all, it wasn’t some sort of conspiracy which would bring great harm to the Academy, it was only the existence of a very talented student. And so, with great reluctance, Azorin decided to reveal Ieros to the world, more harm would be done by hiding his existence than revealing it.

The King had won this battle but he will not win the war. Of that, Azorin would make sure.