Chapter 16: Chapter 16

The first thing that was decided upon by Leigh was that Estella would need to begin properly understanding magic before she would learn martial training. Teaching her magic, of course, was Aurelius’ job. Leigh would discuss other matters with the aliens in the meantime.

While Estella wasn’t super surprised by compressed spaces at this point, the magical device that Aurelius placed on the kitchen table certainly was novel. It was a simple cube made from wood, with intricate carvings suggesting the impression of a house. “Just click the door to enter.” He demonstrated, pressing his finger on the door carving, and suddenly he looked like he was sucked into it.

Estella pressed her finger against the carved door, and suddenly she found herself in a completely different place - the entrance corridor to what looked like another building, the architecture of which she recognised as being from the Renaissance period - specifically France. Maybe. Architectural history wasn’t exactly something she was specifically read up on.

She walked through to the central room, which had a central table and a blackboard at the back. This was likely used for breaks, teaching and demonstrations. The surrounding rooms she couldn’t see much of through the windows, but she recognised at least a couple of them as being Aurelius’ office and some kind of laboratory.

Aurelius himself was erasing what had been previously been on the blackboard. He looked over his shoulder at her. “Ah, Miss Kendrick, do please take a seat, and we’ll begin in a moment.”

Estella nodded as she took a seat. The chairs were rather comfortable and well-made, he must’ve paid quite a bit of coin for these.

“Uh, hey, mind if I join in too?”

Estella looked back, to see Jay walking up. He looked slightly nervous. “If you’d rather not have me here, I understand, but I’d like to understand more about magic, if only so I can somehow be helpful…”

Aurelius looked him over. “I don’t see why not. In fact, I have a spare set of runes for potential cases like this. Having another mage on hand would probably be beneficial, as long as you turn out to be competent, of course.”

Jay blinked, taking a seat as well. “Wait, just like that? No prerequisites or anything?”

That actually seemed to amuse Aurelius, who chuckled, shaking his head. “Heavens no. Anyone can use magic. Genetics can make it easier for some people, and some species are significantly more powerful and gain power much faster and more easily, but as far as anyone knows there’s very little in the way of actual limitations when it comes to the use of magic. Now, wait just a moment, I’ll be right back.”

He went into the office, and came back with a small book. His hands glowed, and the actual runes in the book began to come out of the pages, and suddenly flooded into Jay’s body, much like the set of runes Estella had were given to her.

Estella looked over Jay, “you feeling alright?”

“I guess so…” Jay said. “Oh wow this is so weird, it’s like I have a database of runes in my mind.”

“That ‘database’ is essential for keeping track of your runes, including any new ones you potentially add. While this is a fairly standardised set, it is not the be all and end all,” Aurelius said, walking back over to the board. “Before we begin learning the specifics of magic, let’s start with some history. It seems the Librarians had the foresight to give you Thumian runes, Estella, so we don’t need to worry about whatever runes the galactic species uses, at least for the moment - we’ll be focusing on the history of magic and thaumaturgy both on Earth and in Thaumia.”

“There’s no singular system of magic, is there? I’ve noticed the witches here use a different kind of magic as well,” Estella pointed out. That had been bugging her for a bit - Galowye had confirmed runes weren’t the only way of performing magic, but he hadn’t elaborated much on that.

Aurelius chuckled, and nodded. “You are absolutely correct, Miss Kendrick. Before the current runic system came into widespread use or even was invented, cultures all across the world formulated their own methods of manipulating Thaumic Energy to perform magic. Belief is a powerful thing, and can do wonders. And some cultures even still have their own types of runes developed independently of the current system. But the genesis of the modern runic system began with King Solomon of the ancient kingdom of Israel, thanks to the wisdom gifted to him by God.”

Estella nodded. It made a lot of sense - Solomon was believed to be a legendary sorcerer in his own right, commanding great powers including demons and djinn. “Right, what with all the magic stuff he was said to have done.”

“The system he developed started spreading across the Middle East, but it didn’t quite become more widely used until the Roman Empire,” Aurelius explained as he began jotting down notes onto the blackboard with some chalk. “The Romans were many things, but they recognised the runic system as practical and adaptable.”

“Wasn’t this also roughly when Thaumia was created?” Jay asked.

Aurelius nodded, “the birth of Christ sparked a bit of a panic amongst the various old gods around the Mediterranean region. That’s why they created a mirror world of Earth to escape to.”

Estella blinked. That didn’t make a whole lot of sense. “Why panic? Christ was just a newborn at the time.”

“God does not show His hand openly on Earth often, Miss Kendrick. When He does… The results are often quite dramatic,” Aurelius said. “Answer this - before Christ… When was the last the Abrahamaic God interacted with gods of other pantheons, as far as we know?”

Estella wracked her brain for this one. “Well, that would have to probably go as far back as Exodus, but-” Then it struck her. “Oh.”

“Oh shit, you mean the Plagues and the parting of the Red Sea,” Jay winced.

Aurelius nodded, jotting more notes down, “precisely. What God did during the Exodus was, to be quite frank, a complete humiliation for the Egyptian pantheon. Each of the Plagues specifically made an example of the Egyptian gods, whom could not protect their people. By the time of the Roman Empire, the story of the Exodus had spread across the Mediterranean.”

Estella frowned, connecting the dots. “You’re saying all the gods were worried about a repeat of Exodus.”

“Not just a repeat. Christ wasn’t merely a prophet, he was literally the son of God, or, in their eyes, his avatar on Earth, and both of these things were true,” Aurelius replied. “They were worried that Christ would instigate a rebellion to free the people of Roman Judea that would destroy the entire Roman Empire. No oracle could say for certain what Christ’s purpose was.”

“They could’ve asked him. It’s not like he was shy about telling people what his deal was,” Jay pointed out.

“Well, during Exodus the Egyptian pantheon were dealing with God when he was in his Old Testament phase,” Estella noted. “I doubt they’d be willing to take the risk if they thought He might go as far as they believed He would.”

“Regardless, they all decided to create their own fiefdom, likely expecting to cede their influence over Earth. So they created their own duplicate of Earth on another plane of existence, along with duplicates of the moon and the sun,” Aurelius continued, using magic to sketch diagrams of the two planes much faster than he would’ve otherwise. “They even altered the conversion of Aether to Thaumic Energy to be more efficient in Thaumia. Over time, the supernatural elements on Earth would largely transition over to Thaumia, though not all of them, but the presence of the supernatural is a pale shadow of what it was on Earth nowadays. As for humans, the old gods began migrating many of their followers. When the Jews, Christians, and Muslims started moving in, the old gods decided it was best not to push back too hard. But the work of Thaumia’s architects was not perfect.”

“You mean there were flaws that allowed the demons to come through,” Estella sighed. She knew this would come up sooner or later.

Aurelius nodded, and started sketching some kind of gateway. “Weaker demons could slip into Thaumia. That in itself was not really a problem, they could be easily dealt with. But the old gods neglected to take the problem as seriously as they should’ve, at first, and they regretted it - because the weaker demons eventually began constructing Hellgates that enabled their more powerful masters to come through.”

“Bloody hell,” Jay frowned. “And now they’re there to stay.”

Aurelius nodded. “Mostly because of the intractable stalemate between them and the denizens of Thaumia. Despite their best efforts, the demons have been prevented from overrunning all of it. Their last major attempt was during Ragnarok, but their ultimate failure to do so has set them back to maintaining set territories and regular but ineffective skirmishes, resulting in a stalemate that persists to this day. The Thaumian Defence Alliance, which adopted the current runic system as a standard for compatibility and ease of use across the world to combat the demonic threat, maintains this status quo by ensuring there are at least as many demons exterminated as they can summon into Thaumia, and while Hell effectively has an infinite supply, that supply is also bottle-necked by the capabilities of the Hellgates.”

He finished sketching and making notes, and then turned to the pair. “That should be about it for the history. Any questions?”

Estella and Jay looked at each other, and then back at Aurelius. Jay spoke up first. “Not that we can think of, I think.”

“Good. Let’s focus on thaumaturgy itself,” Aurelius nodded, wiping off the board, and then started writing again, “as you know, for spellcasting, the head can only store five runes at a time. For typical spellcasting, these are typically ‘Core Runes’, such as elements or various concepts. These runes are strung together to construct the bedrock of a spell, which can be further manipulated by ‘Modifier Runes’ or even simply the thoughts and intentions of the spellcaster.”

Jay raised a hand. “Why are runes needed, anyway? Wouldn’t it be easier to just think of the exact effect of a spell if runes are just embodiments of concepts?”

Aurelius chuckled, “good question. It is possible to do that… But incredibly difficult. Magic is the process of using Thaumic Energy to manipulate the world in ways that should be otherwise impossible. You need to be absolutely clear and precise with your visualisation in order to do, including being able to fully grasp and picture the concepts involved extremely well and consistently. Very few mages throughout history have been able to do this. Runes embody the concepts and performs the heavy lifting, allowing the caster to focus on specifics that can be processed through the chain of runes in order to perform magic to the caster’s specific requirements.”

Estella realised this sounded oddly familiar. It brought to mind Natalia gushing about computer programming concepts, which apparently Estella had absorbed more of than she would normally care to admit. “Sounds like functions in computer programming.”

Aurelius smiled. “A very apt analogy. I can’t say I’m an expert in computer programming myself, but I am familiar with it on at least a fundamental level. Runes are indeed akin to functions, taking inputs and outputting a specific result. The actual functionality of runes individually and how they interact with other runes does differ in some respects, but fundamentally they are indeed similar in concept.”

“So there’s a few main types of runes - Core, Modifier and… Constructor?” Jay asked. “Based on the list in my head.”

“Correct, Mr. Hayward. Modifiers are typically used for modifying and enhancing spell effects in various ways, including shapes and formations. Constructors are also known as ‘Logic Runes’. They are generally used in the construction of magical fields or magical devices, like the compressed space you are in right now, establishing conditions and logic that allow them to work, such as ‘if this happens, then this happens’,” Aurelius said. “Constructing such things isn’t quite like spellcasting - it is a more involved process that is more flexible in terms of how many runes can be used at once, but takes significantly more time and concentration. The computer programming analogy once again comes into play, as magical fields and items are created through the continuous engraving of runic logic into them, line by line. It’s less efficient, as you need to swap out runes every ‘line’ rather than typing, but it’s otherwise a similar process. Magical construction will be part of a later lesson.”

“So today is pretty much about the fundamentals,” Jay said.

“Indeed. Magic is about converting Aether to Thaumic Energy, or any of the other terms for magical energy, whether it be Energeia, or Magicka, or Mana. I prefer Thaumic Energy, but many people consider Energeia to be the most appropriate, considering its etymology is from the Greek word ‘ergon’, which means ‘work’, and some consider ‘being-at-work’ to be a viable translation, which makes sense considering Thaumic Energy is essentially the state of Aether energy used for performing spellcasting,” Aurelius said, jotting down notes on Aether and Thaumic Energy. “As for Aether itself, it is a cosmic energy type generated through celestial forces, primarily gravitational forces interacting with each other. Everything generates Aether, even if you were in space you’d still be affected by gravitational forces even as far away as the galactic core. When casting spells, you convert Aether into Thaumic Energy, and through practice doing so efficiently will become second nature to you.”

“Well, guess my main thing right now is learning how to better use core runes, especially since Galowye’s spell slots aren’t usable right now,” Estella said.

That seemed to generate interest from Aurelius. “Is that so. May I examine him?”

“You may, Magister. Perhaps you would have some insight into restoring their functionality,” Galowye said as Estella summoned his full form, holding him out.

Aurelius came around to examine the sword, his hands glowing as he analysed it. “Ah, I see what the problem is. Dormancy has taken a toll. While the effects aren’t permanent, there will be some time before all of Galowye’s functionality can be fully restored. But for now, I can at least help that progress along.”

He took a hold of the blade, his hands glowing brighter as he channelled Energeia into the sword. One of the rune markings on the side of the blade actually began to glow.

“Just one? I suppose that’s good enough for now,” Galowye said. “Thank you, Magister.”

“You’re welcome, Galowye. It’s a genuine honour to inspect one of the ancient ones,” Aurelius said, stepping away.

“Awesome, thanks!” Estella grinned, examining the sword herself. “I’ll probably just stick the ‘fly’ spell onto it, so I can take flight anytime.”

Aurelius chuckled, “not a bad idea, actually. Having full access to that third dimension accessible at any time is incredibly useful and incredibly practical in many situations.”

Jay chuckled, shaking his head, “well, I don’t have a fancy ancient magic sword that can store spells, so I gotta deal with doing it the old-fashioned way.”

“I am not an Arcane Knight, so I had to do much the same. If I could become a Magister at the age of twenty, then surely it’s hardly a massive effort for you to learn a proper crash course in thaumaturgy,” Aurelius nodded, immediately sparking Estella’s curiosity as to how he gained such a title at such a young age, “and I intend for both of you to far as towards mastering the classical methods as much as you can within the short time of our lessons. Let’s begin with understanding the individual Core Runes…”

❖

Leigh was waiting for Estella in the ship, in full armour. Her helmet wasn’t visibly on, but Estella knew from a glance that didn’t matter. As she walked up, Estella donned her own armour, along with the glamour as Galowye appeared on her back.

“Are you really going to go with that glamour, young lady? Good grief, you and the Grandmaster are cut from the same cloth, I swear,” Leigh sighed, shaking her head.

“Hey, as long as it doesn’t compromise my protection I can look as good as I want, thank you,” said Estella, putting her hands on her hips. “And what do you mean by that, anyway?”

“Princess Avaline is many things, and one of them is mostly shameless. Her combat outfit is a battle-dress that shows off more skin that yours,” Leigh sighed. “Let me put it this way - she is not remotely eligible for a white wedding.”

“There’s one term that comes to mind, but I feel like it’d be rather disrespectful to call her that.”

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“If ‘slut’ is the word you speak of, then I’ve already heard her call herself that openly, so that is not a problem.”

That completely blindsided Estella enough for her to actually snort as she suppressed a laugh. She really needed to meet this princess chick. Because it sounded like she was a rather interesting woman. And likely a pretty good lay, too.

“If you have time to laugh, young lady, you have time to practice your swordsmanship,” said Leigh. “Let’s begin.”

She tossed a wooden sword to Estella, who caught it. “I noticed you already have some martial experience, probably from learning some kind of hand-to-hand martial art. That’s good, some of those skills are transferable to using a sword, but I do want to make sure your fundamentals are solid regardless. When it comes to using a sword, spacing and footwork is very important. But throwing punches and kicks are very different from using a weapon.”

“Yeah, I got a black belt in Karate at 5th dan-rank. The fundamentals, huh…? Alright, let’s do this,” Estella nodded, holding the wooden sword with both hands.

Of course, this wasn’t as straightforward as Estella initially imagined, because the instant she demonstrated understanding in any particular manoeuvre, Leigh would immediately move on to practical examples. This usually resulted in Estella getting her derriere handed to her at least a few times each time.

A couple of hours later, and Estella realised how quickly this ‘crash-course’ was moving, partly because Estella could understand the basics rather quickly, but also because Leigh insisted on not staying with just one thing for too long. Once they had an opportunity for a break, she decided to ask about it. “Is it just me, or are we moving along a bit too quickly?”

Leigh sighed, taking a few swings at the air in front of her with practised form, “normally, yes. Were you in the Academy you’d be focused on each element of swordfighting for much longer. We don’t have a lot of time - between the active threat in this town and the possibility that Aurelius and I may be called back to Halothine, I have little choice but to go as quickly as we can manage. Fortunately, you seem to be a fast enough learner. If there’s something I notice you are deficient in, we can revise.”

Estella suddenly felt a tinge of guilt. This woman was putting in so much effort and faith into teaching someone she barely even knew. And considering how old she was…

She rubbed her arm awkwardly, “hey. Sorry if-”

“-you’ve got nothing to be sorry for, Estella,” Leigh cut her off as she smiled softly. “All of this was forced on you, and yet you accepted it and strove to do the right thing in harrowing circumstances. You have considerable promise, and it’s my decision to nurture it as best as I can. I push you to become better, because I believe you are worthy of becoming a great Arcane Knight someday.”

“Leigh…” Estella blinked, initially caught off guard by her earnest response. She smiled. “Thanks. I guess you’re not as much of a hardass as I thought. Maybe, if you don’t mind, we can go get some drinks later ton-”

Leigh suddenly smacked her over the head with her practice sword, causing her to drop to her knees. “Yes, I would be amenable to that.”

“OW! I thought we were taking a break!” Estella groaned.

“And you should learn to be on your guard at all times, young lady!” Leigh reprimanded her. “Even during times of rest, you never know when an enemy may strike! Demons are tricky, deceptive beings, and so are the adversaries that threaten this town.” But she smiled, extending a hand, “now, up you get, we’ve got a lot more training to do today.”

Estella chuckled, as she took it, getting up. She was starting to like this old lady.

❖

Estella ended up taking Leigh to her favourite bar & diner in town, “Dante’s Purgatory Bar & Dining”. It was also where she worked part-time as a waitress.

Leigh let out a laugh when she saw the sign. She was wearing a classy black coat. “Good heavens, that has to be ironic, surely. In a town named ‘Angel Bay’?”

“I’m pretty sure that’s the joke. Come on, this place is great,” Estella grinned as they went in. She, of course, was wearing her usual casual outfit. “It’s been around a long time.”

As they went in, they were immediately spotted by the bar’s proprietor standing behind the bar, Frank Warnell. Big guy, big brown bushy beard. “Estella! Thought you’d stay away after the ruckus this mornin’.”

“Evenin’, Frank, I’m still on for tomorrow’s shift,” Estella chuckled, going over to the bar, “yeah, but I ain’t one to shy away that easily. Any word on what happened? Heard it was some kinda terrorist attack or somethin’.”

“Ah, I dunno. Lotta police and government folk runnin’ around, but they ain’t saying nothin’,” Frank sighed. He then noticed Leigh come up to the bar as well. “Huh, new face. Pleasure to meet you, ma’am…?”

“Clarette Leigh. I’m staying in town for a bit on some business, I’m a friend of her parents,” Leigh said.

“Ah, say no more, then. Well, what’ll you have?”

Estella didn’t even hesitate when it came to her order. “Lamb ragu and a pint of the special tap beer, please!”

Leigh just nodded, “same for me, of course.”

“Comin’ right up. You sure you can handle the alcohol at your age, ma’am? No offense,” Frank said as he wrote down the order and handed it off to the kitchen.

“I’ve been drinking men under the table since before you were born, sir. I may be an older woman, but you wouldn’t want to bet against me in a drinking contest,” Leigh smirked.

Frank blinked, and then chuckled as he grabbed two pint glasses and went to the taps. “Nevermind, I’ll be damned. I guess I have a new respect for the French, then.”

Now that Estella thought about it, she hadn’t quite been able to place Leigh’s accent - the best she could manage was ‘European’. But now that she thought about it, she did kind of sound French. Considering the name, it made sense.

They found themselves a table, and sat down. Estella spoke first, “now that I think about it, where is Halothine, anyway?”

“Mostly in Eastern Thaumian France, and a bit of Germany,” Leigh chuckled, “surrounded by other French and German kingdoms, especially the territory of the Hercynian Pack - werewolves, you know.”

“Christ, another thing I gotta get used to knowing exists,” Estella sighed. “Thaumia is just straight up the kitchen sink in terms of all myths being true, huh?”

“Very much so,” Leigh said. “I believe you mentioned history and mythology being your area of academic expertise?”

“Mythology’s more of a hobby than serious study for me, but now that I know a lot of it is actually true in some form? I might actually have to take it more seriously.”

“You should. It would help you quite a lot when you eventually go to Thaumia.” She then covertly set up a spell. “A simple, small sound field to keep eavesdroppers from listening in.”

One of the waiters delivered the filled pint glasses, causing Leigh to drop the field temporarily, and after thanking him, Leigh took a sip from hers as she turned the field back on. “Excellent taste.”

Estella chuckled, “hey, we’re Australians, we know how to make a good beer.”

“I can’t deny that. My husband and I were connoisseurs of alcohol back in the day,” Leigh smiled as she looked down at her drink. Estella could recognise the expression of nostalgia on her face. “It’s been a while since I’ve indulged myself like this.”

The topic of Leigh’s husband brought up a sense of dread in Estella. “Uh, speaking of your husband…”

Leigh sighed. “It’s quite alright, it’s only natural that topic would come up. Josué was a fellow Arcane Knight. Died a hero, fighting off the demon general Kelthumos. Sent the bastard back to Hell, and died in my arms afterwards. Our youngest child, Théotime, inherited his father’s Arcane Arm when he graduated from the Academy.”

“Sorry to hear that,” Estella said, not sure what else to say on the matter as she took a sip from her glass. “I bet he was a good man.”

“He was the love of my life and a respected Arcane Knight. Josué died doing his duty, protecting the innocent, and I have no doubt he looks down on us from Heaven as we speak,” Leigh smiled softly. “I wepted for him then, but he never wanted his death to linger on my conscience.”

“Sure hasn’t slowed you down. You’re the coolest old lady I know,” Estella chuckled.

Leigh suddenly frowned, which wasn’t a good sign in Estella’s book. “His death didn’t slow me down. Old age, on the other hand…”

Estella blinked. That did not square with what she saw of her previously. “News to me, I wouldn’t have known your potential age if you didn’t take off your helmet earlier today…”

“That’s because I need to put in more effort into reinforcing my body to keep up with the younger knights physically. And my ability to store Aether isn’t quite what it used to be, either,” Leigh replied. She took a deep breath. “But I will continue to fight until I am simply incapable of doing so - to do otherwise would be disrespectful to Josué’s memory.”

“It must be frustrating to fight a massive stalemate, though.”

“That, I can’t deny. But there is a way to break it. It would be extremely difficult, but if the main Hellgate in Thaumian Europe were to be destroyed? The rest would fall like dominoes. And then we could dedicate our resources to helping the rest of the alliance crush the remaining Hellgates.”

Estella nodded, taking a few more sips as she mulled over what Leigh said, and their main course arrived. She licked her lips, and began to dig in. The food at this place was always great.

“You can find more authentic pasta cuisine in the Italian States, but this is still quite good,” Leigh smiled, as she sampled the food. “I’ve met the Emperor in Rome a few times, you know.”

Estella nearly spat out her food in shock. “The Roman Empire still exists in Thaumia?!”

“It’s not all that much of an empire nowadays, mostly being a rallying point for Christendom in Thaumia, but yes, Rome still stands,” Leigh nodded. “It’s a marvellous city. When this is all over, I might take you there.” Leigh smirked. “Judging by your expression, young lady, you’d be very eager to, I’d imagine.”

Estella realised she had been grinning from ear to ear, and blushed. “Sorry, the thought of visiting so many places that reflect how the world used to be a long time ago… Ah. Kinda makes me sound like I’m talking about them like they’re museum exhibits or something.”

“It’s only natural for someone like you to want to take a look at how things were in the past,” Leigh said. “Thaumia, for better or worse, has been able to preserve cultures that have declined here on Earth. The Americas, for example, are still mostly governed by the natives. When there’s a much more dangerous enemy always in the picture, for the most part people are less inclined to fight over more trivial things like territory or wealth.”

“Well, I’d absolutely love to go. Thank you for the offer, Lady Leigh,” said Estella.

Leigh laughed. “The formality doesn’t suit you, Estella! ‘Clarette’ will do just fine. And thank you for inviting me here.”

“Well, it’s the least I could do for my new mentor, I suppose,” Estella grinned. “With the two of us working together, I’m not sure anything can stop us.”

Clarette chuckled, and raised her glass. “To justice and victory, then.”

“To justice and victory!” Estella laughed, as they toasted, and both of them took a big gulp of their drinks.

They spent the rest of the evening making small talk and having a few more pints, before returning home.

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