Chapter 23: Chapter 23 (unfinished)

 

“Well, now I am officially banging my boss, are we going to get in trouble?” Kiko asked in the morning, looking to Tai’Zian.

“Ha! Mmm, no. I don’t think Mizia will kick up a stink about it. It’s helpful for the both of us on an emotional level. You’ve been through a lot, and the Zian Clan are the inheritors of the Resolve Flame. While our passion isn’t quite equal to the owner of that flame, it still bubbles close to the surface pretty much all the time. Just don’t flaunt our relations and you’ll be fine” Tai replied. It was sound logic, but did bring her to the next part.

“So, do I stay here, or go to the barracks, or what? I’m unsure of protocol in this place” Kiko carried on with the questions, because answers were needed to them. It was a good question, and Tai rose slightly from the bed, leaning on one elbow to look at her.

“Socializing with your squadmates would be a good thing, and with the crammed schedule you have, you won’t have much time to do it outside of practice. So it all depends on your wants” Tai gently played with Kiko’s cute white hair-strand while talking. It made her feel like she was sticking out, but at the same time, if Tai’Zian liked it, then she wasn’t going to complain.

“I’ll head to the barracks then. Just, occasionally once in a while come back to see you” Kiko replied, getting up and heading to the shower. Tai followed, and they had a very delightful parting before Kiko dressed and headed out.

 

Rumors had already spread about the place as to what Kiko got up to in her spare time, and having spent the night in Tai’s room, they were all but confirmed, leading to good-natured ribbing and other fun socializing in the barracks. There was an hour before she had to go anywhere, so Kiko went to her squad and hit them up. They were all there, and she got to meet share actual names rather than callsigns with them. Dog was Eric, Red was Seliza, and Sneeze was Ashra Nhal.

“Well, that explains that one” Kiko commented to Eric, giggling to herself and getting a laugh back. Poor guy had a name like a violent sneeze. He even cracked a smile when Kiko explained the joke to him. They came from pretty broad backgrounds as well, Kiko felt like hers was the most boring of them all.

 

Eric’s family lived out in the forests outside the town, being what they called “Pure Lupians” who lived on the lands and embraced their quasihuman heritage far more than the human part of that. He had joined because he had a scrap with one of SIR’s Lupians and lost to them, having to join to repay the debt of honour that he incurred by not being killed. Red had a cousin in the military, who had a joint operation with SIR once and the stories told enthralled the young man to come join as soon as he could, kind of pissing off his parents because they had planned him to become a teacher like the generations before. Ashra, was of the Asturi, and had a far more tribal culture than Kiko was used to, leading him to be what was loosely translated as a tithe to SIR in return for protection from the Beasts. Kiko found herself somewhat embarrassed to say she was just a schoolgirl hired because she was a Kitsune. It felt like she was getting preferential treatment just because of a biology she could hardly control.

 

Still, all things came to an end, and Kiko had to go off to her studies of magic. Though, right now, she wasn’t learning any actual magic but what they called ‘The Art of Magic’ which basically revolved around safety procedures, proper casting traditions and general education. It was boring and dragged on and Kiko wanted to just set something on fire, but she understood why this dry slog was required, and did it with as much as she could muster.

“So where did this even come from? This system is pretty complex, so who even made it to begin with?” Kiko asked, looking at the words that would craft a spell, the suffixes to change it, and why speaking it would help to begin with.

 

“Magic is, to some, an instinctive thing beyond the need to learn. The words came from the soul and sparked the creation of power from that. Rather than keep it to themselves, however, they taught the world what words were required to pull it from their souls, and it grew out from there. As you grow in power, you don’t need to speak them out loud so long as you say it in your soul. Though, even the best magus focus their Aeonics into form with words if the need arises, such as high tier magic or lengthy incantations. Ignis is easy, Solaris Trius Airus Jeritus, is not something I would risk trying wordlessly”

 

Eteria finished her lecture and Kiko just stared at that last bit.

“Sol…what?” she asked, her jaw a little hung from the confusion.

“Ahh, sorry. Solaris is the base of the spell. It’s high tier fire magic that produces a flame similar to a star. Trius is the primary suffix designating additional strength” Eteria started and Kiko lit up, flicking through the book.

“I remember that bit! Duos, Trius, Quadrio, Paragon. They make it just, like, basic stronger?” she asked, grinning broadly. When she grasped a bit of magic she was really happy, just wished it wasn’t so damned complex.

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“The technical answer is you are casting the spell multiple times within the same instance. Hence why the suffixes have root in number. Paragon is different, it’s the refinement of Mana to a point the spell begins to reach perfection, the first, gentle caress of the divine. There is a level beyond that called Ultima, which is absolute perfection and active touch of the divine. Though, we have not had a magus capable of using that. First, last, and only record is the founder of my order. She is the reason we know about it as anything more than a theory” Eteria seemed, almost delighted to be teaching someone about this. It did seem her life’s passion after all.

“So, Fulgar Ultima would be a powerful spell then?” Kiko asked. That, was what Za had used, though the Zian woman had taken it without too much of a problem.

“We have no frame of reference for the power of Ultima spells. But, if we put the baseline at twice as powerful as a Paragon, there wouldn’t be much left of the city block you cast it in” Eteria told Kiko, who’s eyes bulged with amazement.

“Holy shit. Tari just took that to the bonce” Kiko exclaimed, shaking her head. She couldn’t imagine the power of a woman who could take something capable of liquifying a city block and carry on.

“Tari?” Eteria asked, canting her head sideways.

“O-oh...I, had a dream last night. I guess all this studying is making me have wild dreams” she muttered, keeping her eye on her book. Eteria wasn’t Tai, probably wouldn’t understand as well. 

 

Flicking through the book some more, she eventually came across the other one. 

“Airus…suffix to turn a spell gaseous. That sounds…painful” Kiko grimaced at the idea of gaseous flames engulfing a person. Though, would they really be any worse than normal flames when it got to a sufficient degree? “Jeritus…is…” She returned to the index and scanned for it, flicking back to the right page number and then suddenly stopping and scowling at Eteria.

 

“You are making me enjoy studying. What kind of Witch are you?” Kiko asked, her scowl and tone playful and filled with mirth. When Eteria gave a soft laugh, she returned to the studying and read about it. “Jeritus. Suffix to allow the spell to work underwater! That is cool!” Kiko bounced gently in her seat and then suddenly stopping and looking up at Eteria.

“How does a person remember all these suffixes to call on when you need it casting?” Kiko asked, raising an eyebrow.

“You don’t. Art of Magic is learning, well, the art of magic. It helps you treat magic as a thing that immutably exists, and from there you are able to connect to the Mana of the world far better than just using it spontaneously” Eteria would then, either from showing off or simply by being used to it at this point, take a seat on the air, to Kiko’s delight.

“I do treat magic as a thing that exists though. I mean, look at it! It’s right there! How can you not?” Kiko asked, passionate and vigorous as she spoke. This whole thing was fantastical, out of a storybook. How could she not love it?

“True, but you still think of it as fantastical, as mystical, as something apart from that of a remote control or radio, or phone. Each one of those are fantastical and mystical. You can speak to a person on the other side of the planet in such crisp instancy that they appear to be standing right beside you. And yet there is no sense of marvel for that. It is perfunctory and a part of life. So too, much magic be” Eteria tutored. Though, Kiko couldn’t see how a person treated such power as the same as a toaster.

 

‘When I was young, I could not see how the Uprights made fire from two bits of wood, let alone control such a primal force for their own goals. It will come in time, Kiko’ Vanaet spoke. It made some small amount of sense…So she spent a few more minutes reading about the nature of magic, the history of powerful or intelligent Mangus – something even Eteria had an entry on – and theories on higher realms. She was already in on the secret of Gods being about, so the part about them having their own realm up there wasn’t all that surprising.

‘Why do you stay up there though? I mean, if I was a God I’d come down here and kick ass with my God Powers’ Kiko exclaimed, making judo chop motions that made Eteria frown at her.

‘Gods use Divnica, and often are Divnica embodied. It’s basically the mana of a god, drawn from belief and worship of others. But, it does not mix with Mana at all, it is like oil and a spark. We can come down in Avatars, specifically crafted coats that cover our Divnica, but we have little power in such a state, as we can’t use Mana or outwardly manifest Divnica’

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