Chapter 44: The Wolf and the Librarian

Leyu Nmwale appeared in the room before Kiara. It had only been a handful of days since she saw him last; since she visited that sylph village and learned about magic. It had only been a few days, but he looked little like she remembered. Before, he had feather hair and hawk-like eyes. There was a bit of bird to him, that seemed to lend itself well to a person of wind. Now though, he seemed more of fire, with constant black smoke rising from his head, horns that glowed like hot metal, yellow glowing eyes, and a sleeveless robe bearing his warm dark brown skin. And yet, he filled the room as if he was no different. Many questions filled Kiara’s mind, but only one of them did so loudly.

“Why Leyu?” She looked at Danson, and Keigo looked at her.

“He didn’t explain anything while I was gone?”

Kiara flushed, "I think I might have been too busy talking to Shuraat." But she did enjoy the conversation. He made the dragon dens seem like a fantastic place; great mountains covered in forest and dotted with caves, mighty beasts fit to be their prey. He hadn't even gotten into what the inside of the mountains was like before it was time to focus on the Yoshiki sect again.

Keigo looked sharply at Danson.

“I wasn’t going to explain things twice.” The elf shrugged, and with a sigh, Keigo looked at Leyu.

"Why you though?" He said, and the former sylph manifested a teapot and cup. He filled it, taking a seat at the table.

“As I understand, you have encountered a magical phenomenon that forced you to retreat from your recent battle.”

“We fought a demon.” Diana chimed in. “Keigo and I lost our ability to use magic… Danson’s magic got weaker. The only ones who could still fight were Kiara and Shuraat.”

Leyu followed her eyes to the two of them. Kiara awkwardly waved.

“That would make sense.” He nodded, and Keigo spoke again.

“Then there’s something we can do about it?”

“There is.”

“And you’re going to help us fight?”

"Not alone, no." Leyu produced a wand at that, sketching a magic circle in the air. It pulsed, intricate lines glowing, and then collapsed inward into a swirling portal. A clawed hand breached it and pulled a body out, depositing a wolf myrin in the space beside him. Kiara didn't get a chance to register her appearance before Keigo gasped.

“You’re the myrin from before!”

“You’ve met Tsukee?” Danson asked.

“She’s the one who saved you?” Diana asked.

Kiara raised her hand, “Who are you?”

“Tsukee Wivioh,” the wolf nodded, her eyes lighting up. “And you’re the girl from the other world!” She beamed and Leyu nodded. She turned to him, throwing her arms around him. “Thank you! I was hoping I’d get to meet her soon.”

“As matters had it, Danson needed my help for a big battle. I thought to involve you first.”

She smiled, nuzzling her cheek into his. “Yay! Favoritism!”

The display made Kiara raise her hand again, “Are…,” She paused, wondering if it was any of her business.

“Are you two dating?” Diana didn’t pause, and Danson cackled.

“No.” The two said together.

“They don’t think they are.” Danson sighed, running a hand through his hair.

“It is a question we are often asked because of our closeness.” Leyu said.

Kiara nodded, “Then…you don’t know you’re dating.” How many times had she seen it before? In school, in shows.

Tsukee looked at Leyu. “She’s fun.”

“Umm,” Shuraat raised his hand. “I don’t mean to interrupt but the Yoshiki sect is still out there, I don’t know when Jun Mi will be back but I don’t want to make her worry.”

The former sylph nodded, manifesting another cup of tea for Tsukee. She sat beside him, and Keigo and the dragon boy provided a quick recap. The two listened intently, trading looks here and there, and when the final word was said Leyu nodded.

“It is truly fortunate that Tsukee is involved, she will be able to explain something essential to Kiara, that I embarrassingly missed when I met her before.” He cleared his throat. “As for what happened with your magic, I’ll elaborate first. Yoshiki Miki’s Viral Chord temporary made you magyeon sensitive rather though mana sensitive. It was a weaponized possession, made possible by the structure of his magic.”

“But elves can’t use magyeon.” Danson replied.

“And humans can.” Leyu took a sip. “It’s the same principle but causes a different reaction. It is also why Keigo was still able to use his spiritual powers.”

“I think you might have to explain it thoroughly.” Tsukee suggested.

Leyu nodded, and held his hands up, shaping a ball of light between them. Three colors distinguished its layers, growing denser the further they moved to the core.

“When I met you all before, I explained that our aura is the radiance of our life energy, and that life energy dwells at the core of our being. What I did not explain is what the core of our being is, but it decides how we interact with the properties of magic. Dark Land scholars call this core our Inner World, and it is comprised of three layers. The outer layer of our soul. The second layer of our mind. The third layer of our life. A core is incomplete without all three, but we do not use all three the same way.”

Tsukee nodded at Shuraat. “Take dragons for example, they cast outward from the deepest part of their inner world. Their flames are a form of life energy.”

“A spiritualist, in turn, cast out from the outermost layer of their core, making their aura more actualized than others.”

“Actualized?” Keigo raised his hand.

“In the simplest term, it is something you can interact with.”

Diana nodded, “The Dekah tribe in the northern expanse use mental powers. Telepathy, telekinesis, precognition. I guess they cast out from their second layer.”

Leyu nodded. “Yes, that is so. In this world there are people like the Dekah, spiritualist like Keigo, and beings like dragons, who can cast from different parts of their inner world, but for the majority of magic forms, the layers are connected.”

Danson stroked his chin, “And that demon’s possession broke that connection?”

Tsukee shook her head. “It’s more that he changed the…what’s a good word for it?” She looked at Leyu.

“Resonance, perhaps.” He suggested, casting dust around the ball. “Last time, I explained that the world we know also shapes our aura. This is because our outer world informs our inner world. In this world, the most abundant form of magical energy is Mana. It is in the air, the rain, the stone beneath our feet, the fire in a hearth.”

“Air, Water, Stone, Fire!” Kiara said excitedly. “There are a bunch of stories in my world that talk about elements.”

Leyu nodded, “And many archaic schools of knowledge suggested that those stories are right, but there is not merely four forms of mana, and the resonance plays a role too.”

“How many are there?” Her eyes widened.

“Mana from stones is not the same as mana from flora. Mana for the dawnstar is not the same as mana from the flame. There is even evidence that our inner world produce its own form of mana, and we see this in the manifestation of reiki. Were I to try to number them, though, perhaps I’d say there are sixteen known forms observed through all schools of magic.”

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Kiara's eyes lit up. "Sixteen?" She gasped. "That's…" A lot was putting it mildly. Stone and Flora meant two, Fire and solar added two more. Did light produce mana? Did darkness? Was shadow different than darkness because it was caused by light? Her head buzzed as she tried to determine them all, and a cup of tea floated over to her. She took a sip. "Thanks." She flushed, and Shuraat snickered beside her.

“Me too.” He whispered. Leyu gave her a moment before he went on.

“Because of the outer world, our inner world responds to mana, but not in the same way. When I speak of resonance, I speak of how it responds. With reiki, for example, people who can sense it are able to resonate with the most. Channelers do so better than exorcist or sealers. It has the potential to reach the life layer in strong channelers, making them spirit vessels. With mana though, resonance takes on a different meaning. A deep resonance with fire might let you be a flame elementalist, but such a resonance is rare. Furthermore, unlike spiritual magic, mana is unstructured and takes no form and grants you nothing when your resonance is weak.”

Keigo spoke. “Based on what I know about reiki, I was wondering where you were going with that. Weak channelers can’t be vessels, but they can still draw on a spirit’s powers. Kiara’s the only human fire mage I’ve ever seen, though, and I can’t imagine fire mana is hard to find. Even if it was, there’s no way she should be the only wind user, wind is everywhere.”

“Indeed, and yet wind mana does not resonate with people as thoroughly as it does with someone like Kiara. You cannot feel the mana in the air, where as Kiara likely can. It’s not that the mana isn’t there, just that its resonance with you is shallow.”

“Which means?”

“Tell me, Keigo, how does your transformation magic work?”

“I gain the essence of something I’ve killed and can turn into it.”

“Soul-shifting magic. One of a numerous schools of transformation. But what do you think makes soul-shifting different?”

“I mean, when done right, it lets you use the powers of the things you shift into. It makes it smarter to target beings with unique ability, where as other forms of transformation just change you into something else.”

“Now, as we know this is magic and not a spiritual or demonic ability, if I were to ask you what mana this magic relies upon, what would you say?”

Keigo shrugged. “I mean, if soul really does produce its own mana and that’s different from reiki, then soul mana?”

“Yes, as well as Water and Life. This is the nature of a shallow resonance. You cannot use mana in its rawest form, but you can build a spell by combining it with other mana. That is the structure of magic.”

“So what is a shallow resonance?” Diana raised her hand. “My best guess is like…how effectively we can grasp it?”

Tsukee smiled and nodded. “That’s a perfect way to look at it.”

“Indeed,” said Leyu after a sip. “What is fire to you, beyond warmth and light?”

“Powerful.” Keigo answered.

“Destructive.” Diana answered.

Leyu nodded, “Fire is destructive. When its mana resonates shallowly, we can only draw on that destruction.”

“So water…” Keigo considered it. “Transforms?”

Leyu nodded, “Water is ever changing, always malleable.”

“You said water, soul and life. So you build a spells structure with three types of mana?” Kiara asked.

“At least two, but three certain isn’t the limit.” Tsukee gave her a smile.

“Soul-Shifting magic is about the transformation of the soul into something else. The life component comes in by changing your soul at its most fundamental level. The shallow resonance of the soul mana is the body, so all transformation is Soul and Water. However, soul-shifting does more because it has a stronger structure.” Leyu answered.

“I wonder…do martial artist use gyo because they have a strong soul resonance, even if they can’t sense reiki?” Keigo pondered.

Kiara focused on Leyu. “So Keigo transforms his soul and life.” The two nodded again. “And Diana?”

“Wind and Solar.”

“I can guess this one!” Diana clapped. “Wind because its a force and solar because its a radiance. I radiate my strikes turning them into energy.”

"But doesn't that imply all magic like that is the same? If you were throwing slashes instead, wouldn't it use the same mana?" Kiara looked at her. Leyu nodded and got her attention back.

“You are correct, both striking and slashing magic use the same type of mana. The question your looking for is, why can’t Diana use slashing magic then? The answer comes down to the formation of the magic.” The globe shrunk in Leyu’s hand, dust and all, forming the familiar shape of an installation gem. In Kiara’s mind, things were starting to come together. Still, she let him go on. “One part of magic is the mind, and that part goes into the formation of a spell, and installation gems. Diana likely used one, designed specifically to shape her magic in that way. Prior to their creation, magic use was rarer. To cast a spell you needed to use an incantation to guide the mana into a form. It was no easy feat, first requiring that you become aware of mana and then learn to manipulate it.”

“There were other ways too.” Tsukee added. “Spell books for example, had the ability to familiarize your aura with the mana, naturally making it draw to you.”

Keigo nodded. “A spell book was how I learned to use soul-shifting magic. I didn’t learn that gems existed until Diana and I joined the troupe.”

Kiara chimed back in. “So…because someone else defined the spells structure, it won’t change?”

“Not drastically, no, but it’s possible to innovate. Striker magic was originally developed as a nonlethal way to subdue people. It wasn’t until much later that it became the tool of brawlers, and of course, later still, when Diana thought to strike the air to move. However, she will never wield it to slash. To do this, she’d have to become more versed in generating energy itself. It would be easier to do with her current proficiency in Striker magic, but she’d have to start at the beginning.”

“Like when I learned soul-shifting.” Keigo said. “I went over that book a lot, just to get the feel of what its like to interact with my soul. I wasn’t allowed to use an essence spark until I got that far because it could go wrong.”

Diana slightly deflated, "I didn't even get to start thinking about being a better mage." She shook her head as if to shake the feeling away. "So what makes Danson and Kiara different? It's pretty obvious that elves have a higher mana resonance than most humans, to start." She looked at the elf. "Ice magic…so water…but like, doesn't freezing water imply that's a mix of mana too. Like, one that removes things, or represents absence."

Danson shook his head, “For humans, maybe but for us Avadyn particularly, it doesn’t work like that. Avadyn are closer to the stories in Kiara’s world. We don’t use sixteen different types of mana, we only have access to four. Water, Fire, Air, and Stone. We are pact mages though, making pacts with the Vaed to deepen our connection. In White Hat, where I was born, water mana is abundant because of the constant snow, but rather than the free flowing water that invokes an undine, the ice invokes a nivadine instead. My pact with her decides my magic. When I draw on water mana it naturally takes the form of ice.”

“And because Danson can draw on water mana, Miki’s possession did not completely stop him from casting. For you and Keigo, however, your inner world’s resonance was completely overtaken. Danson had to parse through the sudden abundance of magyeon the Viral Chord caused, deafening his sense of mana. You two lost your connection with mana, and had to form your spells of magyeon instead.” Leyu elaborated. Tsukee nodded beside him.

“It’s rather clever. Even the most skilled mages wouldn’t be able to react to something like that, and unless they were magyeon sensitive, there’d be nothing they could do. They’d have to be an elementalist to still be able to fight, and that brings us to Kiara!”

Kiara’s eyes widened. “I’m an elementalist? What’s an elementalist exactly?”

“In the simplest terms, it’s a person with an inherent connection to mana. Usually they aren’t humans. They are people like the feathered Havaroc, the amphibious Akilean, the stalwart dwarves, the towering Jotunn. However, there are some elementalist human tribes, and I suspect you’re a member of one in particular.” The wolf grinned.

Danson replied, “I think I know what you’re about to suggest but Kiara is like, fifteen?” He looked at her.

“Almost fifteen.”

“Almost fifteen. She was born at what? The lull of the six-year-siege? Dumabi older than her can’t even use magic anymore.”

“Dumabi?” Kiara perked up.

“That’s one of the mistakes Leyu made.” Tsukee nodded.

“Another is that Kiara’s flames have a structure to them. From my perspective, on top of her being the only one on her world who could use magic, all signs told me she was not a member of the tribe.”

“Unless, of course, she was adopted.”

“I was.” Kiara nodded, thinking of Kanna and Erok. They had been in her life since her mother was still around, more like an aunt and uncle than the parents they eventually became. But…surely they would have known if her mother could use magic.

“And Kiara, can you guarantee neither of your biological parents could use magic?”

She shook her head. “No. I don’t even know if my father is alive or not.”

“So let’s consider this.” Tsukee clapped. “On a world without magic, there is a girl who can use both fire and wind. She has dark skin, a natural connection to mana, and when hit by a spell that changes her resonance, she continues to use mana, almost as if she doesn’t draw it from the world but the resplendent veil itself.”

Danson did consider it, and the look he gave her made her feel like she could tower over him.

“Why is this a big deal?” She looked from him to the wolf.

Keigo nodded, “Who are the Dumabi?” He looked from Leyu to Tsuki.

“The six-year-siege…” Diana murmured. “When the mainland attacked the Sun Lands, declaring one of its tribes to be an enemy of their empire.”

“When the Dumabi tribe of the Sun Lands lost their ability to awaken to their powers.” Danson’s eyes were still on Kiara.

“That makes two…” Keigo said.

Two? Two enemies she didn’t even know she had, an empire and the creatures with the golden eyes.

"Two?" Leyu asked. She explained the specter who sent the disciples after her. "Ah yes…another reason Tsuki wanted to meet you." Kiara turned to the wolf. She was sipping her tea and placed it down.

“A daughter of the Dumabi people, born enemy of the mainland. A strange girl from another world, and enemy of the Astral Wraiths…” Tsukee’s eyes shined. “Kiara, we have a bit to discuss as we make our way.”

She and Shuraat rose, taking that as a cue it was time to go. As easily as he produced the tea set Leyu produced a flying carpet, unfurling out behind him as he floated onto it. Tsukee climbed on beside him.

“Are we sure we’re ready to fight the sect?” Keigo asked.

“By the time we get there, you will be.” Leyu answered.

The rest of them boarded the carpet, but Kiara paused for a minute, taking in their guests one more time. Tsukee, both confident and curious. Leyu, more versed in magic than she imagined someone so young to be. She stepped toward the carpet, but a new question shouted into her mind.

“Who are you two exactly?”

“Tsukee Wivioh,” The Wolf said again. “The Lunar Wolf.”

"Leyu Nmwale, as you already know." Leyu made his teacup disappear. "On books in the world, I am known as the Infinite Spell. But to those it matters, I'm am the Librarian of Infinity..."

[Chapter 44 ends…]