Magic (3)
Meina, who had left saying she was going to see my parents, didn't come back until much later. And for some reason, she returned with a bandage wrapped around her knee, limping as she walked.
“Your leg….”
“I took a little fall. I'm fine—your mother treated me. And I got her blessing! From now on, I can teach you magic!”
“Ah.”
So that trip to see my parents had really been a trip to ask for permission. Which meant, presumably, that I did have a talent for magic.
“Lessons start tomorrow. I have things to prepare today. Just come to my house tomorrow morning after breakfast.”
“Thank you. But, um, this….”
I pointed at the shattered fragments of the crystal ball scattered across the floor. I'd considered cleaning them up while Meina was out, but something about them made me hesitant to touch them without permission, so I'd left them be.
“I'm sorry. For breaking it.”
“Oh, don't worry about it. I didn't need it anymore anyway.”
“Okay… Oh, and about the tuition. I don't have a single coin to my name right now. How about I pay you back later, and in the meantime I do chores for you? I can't cook, but I'm really good at cleaning.”
“What? Ahahaha!”
Meina burst out laughing.
“No, no, what kind of chores would a little kid do? Besides, I can clean well enough myself.”
I swept my gaze across her disaster of a house. She smiled awkwardly.
“I'm going to tidy the whole place up today. From tomorrow on, we'll be holding lessons here.”
“Then is there really nothing I can—”
Meina reached out and gently tapped the tip of my nose with her finger.
“All you have to do is study hard. You said it earlier, didn't you? That you think magic is a wondrous discipline. I really liked hearing that. If you learn with that kind of heart, tuition doesn't matter one bit.”
…I only said that because it seemed like the sort of thing I'd have to say for her to teach me magic at all.
“Thank you. I'll study hard.”
Learning magic properly would surely be a tremendous help in life.
“I'll come back tomorrow morning.”
I bowed my head toward Meina.
“Teacher.”
A smile bloomed across Meina's face.
“Yes. See you tomorrow.”
“I heard the news.”
The moment I walked through the door, Father spoke.
“You've decided to learn magic?”
“Yes….”
I braced myself. He was the village's Warrior Chief, and here I was choosing the path of a mage. From his point of view, it might be disappointing.
Father's hand settled on my head.
“Study hard.”
I looked up at him. A rare smile had gathered at the corners of his mouth.
“From now on, it'd be best to stop training with the sword and bow. Magic alone will eat up all your time. Even so, keep up your physical conditioning. For the sake of your health.”
Thankfully, he didn't seem disappointed at all. If anything, it felt like encouragement.
“I'll be off, then.”
Father lifted his hand from my head and moved toward the door. Night watch again, apparently. He'd been taking the night rounds a lot lately. The orcs' movements must be growing restless.
“Stay safe.”
Not long after Father left, Mother came home, a basket on her arm brimming with fruit.
“Luciel~”
She lit up the moment she saw me.
“I heard the news. You're going to learn magic?”
She came over and wrapped me in a hug.
“Study hard, now. The mage is going out of her way to make time for you.”
“I will.”
“Is there anything you'd like to eat? Anything at all—just say the word and I'll make it.”
“Meat….”
The body holding me went rigid in an instant.
“…Anything except that is fine.”
Mother's arms relaxed again.
“Then how about some mushroom soup and fried eggs? Your favorite.”
“Yes, please.”
“Wait right here~”
As Mother headed to the kitchen, I let out a small sigh.
Even if it was just for the sake of eating meat, I needed to master magic.
Once I learned fire magic, I could hunt down a beast and roast it in secret…
Every morning I did my stretches and then ran three laps around the village. It was a routine Father had assigned me the moment I turned five, telling me to build up my stamina. At first I'd been winded and wobbly-legged and it had been pure misery, but a few months in, it had become second nature.
“Luciel!”
Someone called out as I was finishing my last lap. I turned to find a boy my age standing there with a wooden practice sword in hand.
Kusran.
A boy who revered the sword and dreamed of becoming the greatest warrior in the elf village. I ran into him often enough on my morning runs.
“So, you're learning magic?”
Kusran asked as he came over. I nodded. His mother and mine were the closest of friends, so it would hardly be surprising if word had reached him.
“How did you end up making such an absurd decision? Your father is the Warrior Chief. Obviously you should learn from him and become a warrior too.”
“It just kind of happened.”
I gave a vague answer. I had no particular intention of convincing him.
“Anyway, I should get going.”
I turned to resume my run.
“Hold on.”
“?”
“This is a secret.”
Kusran lowered his voice.
“There might be a war with the orcs soon.”
I nodded.
“I see.”
“Aren't you scared? Orcs, of all things. Orcs.”
“Not really….”
“When the orcs invade, kids like you will be eaten in a single bite. In the most gruesome way imaginable.”
Somehow I got the feeling Kusran wanted me to be scared, so I decided to play along.
“Scary.”
“Right?! But no need to worry. The warriors of our village are incredibly strong. Especially the Warrior Chief—your father's the Orc Slayer, after all.”
The Orc Slayer.
From what I'd heard, orcs had raided the village even before I was born. Father had cut down an untold number of them that day, which was why some people still called him the Orc Slayer to this day. He hated the title, though.
“Besides, I'm planning to fight too, if the war breaks out.”
Kusran spoke with grim resolve.
“That's why I've been training with the sword all this time.”
“But you….”
I stopped mid-sentence. Kusran hated being treated like a child—even though he was exactly my age.
“I know what you're about to say, Luciel.”
Kusran smiled.
“You're worried about my mother, who'd be left all alone if something happened to me. I worry about that too, but there's nothing to be done. It's the same for everyone. Everyone worries about the family they'll leave behind.”
Kusran lived alone with his mother, having lost his father. If Kusran were gone, his mother would be left by herself.
But that wasn't what I'd been worried about.
Kusran was weak, like any child his age. Swinging a wooden practice sword at an orc wouldn't accomplish a thing. An orc would snap that practice sword like a twig and then devour Kusran in a single bite. In the most gruesome way imaginable.
Kusran thumped me twice on the shoulder.
“That's just the fate of a warrior.”
“…Right. I should get going.”
I started running again. There was no need to dwell on Kusran's situation. The moment war broke out, he'd be dragged to the Village Evacuation Shelter by his mother anyway.
I got home, washed up, and ate breakfast, then set out for Meina's house, carrying a basket of sandwiches Mother had made for me to share with her. I followed the winding footpath until I arrived at her door.
Knock, knock.
Meina opened the door at my knock.
“You came, my apprentice….”
“Good morning, Teacher.”
Somehow Meina looked terribly exhausted. Dark circles that hadn't been there yesterday had settled deep under her eyes.
“Have you eaten…?”
“Yes. Have you, Teacher?”
“Not yet… I've been a bit busy.”
“Then please, have this.”
I held out the basket of sandwiches, and Meina's eyes lit up at the sight of it.
“Wow, did Arnia make these?”
“Yes.”
“Thank you, I'll dig right in! Come on in!”
I stepped inside the house—and froze. The place that had been a total disaster just yesterday was spotless now. Everything strewn about was gone, and in its place stood an old desk and chair.
“You'll be studying at that desk from now on. I used it myself, back in the day.”
“Thank you.”
I walked over to the desk. A fresh cushion lay on the chair, and a footstool had been placed there as well, apparently with my height in mind. I sat down. It was a touch high, but it seemed perfectly usable.
A single book rested on the desk.
Elementary Magic: A Primer
“Want to start by reading that? I'll just have something to eat over here. I haven't managed to eat a thing since yesterday….”
“Of course. Take your time.”
“Thanks.”
Meina settled onto the sofa and began demolishing the sandwiches, and I opened the book. The very first pages were about mana.
Mana is the life energy that exists naturally in the world. It cannot be seen with the eye, nor manipulated by hand.
It was exactly what my parents had told me. Except that I could see mana, and I could manipulate it.
Was I the only one like this? I wondered how it was for Meina, an actual mage. I wanted to ask, but watching her inhale sandwiches like a woman possessed, I couldn't quite bring myself to interrupt. I decided to ask later and kept reading.
Mana settles into the body of its own accord and circulates through it. In the course of that circulation, it is converted into magic power and gathers in the heart. Because converted magic power carries the will of the living being, anyone with the talent may manipulate it as they please. To manipulate magic power and give expression to one's will—that is what magic is.
I nodded to myself. I had experienced mana being converted into magic power and gathering in the heart firsthand. Granted, in my case the mana hadn't settled in on its own—I'd dragged it in and run it through my body myself.
Of course, merely manipulating magic power is not enough to manifest magic. To cast a spell, one must shape magic power into a specific arrangement. That arrangement is called a spell formula. A spell formula is a rule of the world—or one might call it a covenant. Should the arrangement fall out of true by even the smallest degree, the magic will not manifest.
The arrangement of magic power, and spell formulas.
I'd seen Meina cast magic before. Her magic power had gathered in front of her staff, tracing out a pattern. Apparently, that pattern was what they called a spell formula.
Nor, of course, does magic manifest simply by arranging magic power into a formula. Magic is, in the end, the expression of will. One must go beyond merely arranging magic power to match the formula—one must be able to understand the formula itself. This is the difference between knowing a thing and comprehending it. Understanding must always come before manifestation. Consider the formula below.
This is a spell formula for conjuring a basic light source. Once you have understood this formula and arranged your magic power to suit it, you will be able to conjure light.
I studied the formula closely. Lines and shapes, intricate and precisely arranged—and, curiously enough, each one seemed to serve its own purpose. Nothing had been thrown together at random; there was a kind of order to it all. And that order was the very rule by which magic manifested.
At first, understanding will not come easily. That is only natural, for grasping a spell formula in a single sitting is impossible. But if you refuse to give up and continue seeking out its rules, there will come a moment when your consciousness reaches a certain plane and intuition arrives. That is the sign that you have understood the formula. From then on, arrange your magic power to match it, and the magic will manifest.
….
The book said that grasping a spell formula in a single sitting was impossible. And yet, somehow, I was fairly sure I understood it.
Shall I give it a try?
First, I manipulated the magic power pooled in my heart and let it flow out through my hand. Then I arranged the emerging power to match the formula.
The moment the arrangement was complete, a single star bloomed at the heart of the formula.
Fwaaash!
The world before my eyes flooded with brilliant light.