บท 142: Lore: Magic in Its Truest Form
Author's note:
This is a Lore Chapter.
It offers more exposition on some stuff for those interested. You can skip this if you're not interested.
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Soul and Magic
Author: Archmagus Lamber Du Royaume Bleu
Date: Year 1258 of of the 6th Era
Chapter 1: Magic
Introduction:
Magic is commonly considered a happenstance, something that coincided with the birth of the Twelve Creation Gods. While it is true that the Twelve created different types of Magic, they were only the catalysts that facilitated the subsequent differentiation of Magic.
In Chapter 1, I will be discussing a widely known question: From whence does one's strength come from? The Body or the Soul?
There is a limit to one how strong one could get without relying on Magic, so I'll be delving deeper into the topic as well as citing some of my hypotheses.
(To all my peers who would call this claim erroneous, know that, from the beginning of time till now, only a handful of living beings reached the peak of physical strength. Excluding two, the rest were incapable of defeating any Celestial Beings. That should be enough to ascertain that Magic is imperative in reaching the highly-sought 'apex of power')
Chapter 1: Magic in its truest form
If you've read one of my earlier works, you would know that Magic is the process of converting Mana into a spell. The final product, so to speak, is Magic.
It can be something as simple as a Fireball Spell or as intricate as formation, which requires not only an incantation but also a thorough understanding of the subject matter.
To explain better, Magic can be categorized into three easily-differentiated fields.
The first field is 'Spells', which ranges from barriers to arrays and formations. This is, by far, the most 'popular' field as it is theoretically and practically easier to get into.
The process of converting Mana into a Spell is relatively easy and relies on two things; One, the inherent gift of manipulating Mana, which-unfortunately- is directly tied to one's genetics and/or Race. Two, the basic understanding of how to make use of the Mana inside one's body to cast a Spell.
Be it Humans, Demons, Elves, or even the Gods themselves, the vast majority uses one form of Magic or another. Of course, some are more proficient in it, so much so that the need to chant an incantation becomes obsolete.
There are also cases where a big Reservoir of Mana or certain Racial traits would facilitate the casting of a spell. For instance, some mages can forgo the need of materials when preparing a Magical Formation, instead, they would use their bodies as a conductor.
The second field is 'Strengthening': This is a rather simplistic but efficient use of Magic. Usually ignored by mages due to its limitations or the necessity to have a tenacious physical body.
Basically, Strengthening is when Magic is used on the body rather than in the form of a Spell. It is the process of empowering one's physique through one or several layers of complimentary magical techniques.
Not all elements can be used in this field, and some even could be self-harming. The only known users of this Magic are the Holy Knights, who'd boost their strength and mobility, and some of the cultists of the secret evil organizations. There are also some mercenaries who'd use Magic Strengthening too, but due to their lack of knowledge, their achievements are unremarkable.
More often than not, Strengthening could be mistaken as a Spell due to their similarities. A body strengthened by Magic can exert Magic to the outside, either in the form of simple elemental bursts or through a complimentary magical weapon.
Only someone highly-perceptive would be able to differentiate between Strengthening and Spells.
Generally, those who had reached minor Mastery in Strengthening are harder to defeat. Furthermore, differentiating between Spells and Strengthening would help the opposing party in choosing a suitable tactic.
For example: Across multiple intervals, Mages are able to cast spells, however, they need to be focused and not interrupted. In contrast, those reliant on Strengthening need to be concentrated at all-times. They also tire faster than their counterpart.
(There are a multitude of Artifacts that would apply 'Strengthening' to their users, though the cost would be significantly greater than the norm… that and the possibility of suffering near-fatal backlashes.)
The third field is 'Soul Magic': It is the most obscure of the three and the least studied one due to its complex nature and the lack of studied cases. However, I find it to be more interesting than the rest.
First and foremost, one must know that the Soul is something that could be altered, weakened, and empowered by Magic. Admittedly, it is not easy to influence it using exterior means, but it is definitely possible.
The soul is part of the body and at the same time separate. It is something that, albeit rare, could even be found in special inanimate objects.
To be blunt, the Soul is what defines an existence, and without it, one would die. The ignorant folk would like to believe that a Soul is an intangible thing that would dissipate upon death, but that is partially wrong.
Yes, the Soul is extinguished upon death, but it doesn't disappear, per se. It is simply swept into the Soul Stream, destined to reincarnate or fuse with other souls and be reborn anew. It's all part of a Cycle, but I'll refrain from delving into details.
Even on its own, Soul Magic has many categories, but two stand out amongst all the rest.
The Magical Rituals, which is when a single or a collection of Souls are offered as a sacrifice and nourishment to a higher entity. This act, often considered heinous and immortal, is usually conducted by cultists.
(The Soul and the body are intrinsically linked, therefore, Blood Magic is actually a subcategory.)
To elaborate, it is not the physical characteristics that separates one Race from the other, but the Soul itself. It is what influences the body, thus making a Demon different from a Human, and a God different from a Devil.
In essence, Soul Magic is affecting the Soul using a variety of means. For example, a Divine Blessing is the empowerment of the individual's soul, which would result in an increase in physical and/or magical qualities.
(Some ancient curses are known to directly harm the soul)
Not many would know this, but the System is just a tangible and strong manifestation of Soul Magic.
The so-called 'players' would exponentially grow stronger by completing certain tasks or slaying monsters, but did no one stop to wonder how exactly they grow stronger?
How is it possible for someone to grow stronger in such a short amount of time?
The concept of having 'stats' and seeing their numerical values increase is simple to fathom, but why would someone gain power by the simple act of slaying a monster or doing something seemingly mundane or easy?
It is quite straightforward, actually. Players do not haphazardly gain physical or magical strength out of thin air. The truth is; Through the help of the System, the player would literally absorb the slayed entity's soul, provided that it had one, of course.
The stats they gain are the result of 'devouring' another one's soul. It is an unconscious act, strictly supervised and facilitated by the System.
The same could be said for the Parasites Race, but the procedure for them is more 'direct' and less restricted, because of that, the benefits they get is more superior than 'Players'. It is also why they're able to absorb, or better say, steal the techniques and spells of their victims.
However, unlike players, information about the Parasites are not so widespread and not entirely documented or verified.
Some speculate that the Soul holds one's memories, therefore, when Parasites possess a host and absorb the soul, the benefits they reap are numerous and include the spells, techniques, and skills previously learnt by the owner of the consumed soul.
There are also those who find the connection between Soul Magic and Parasites contradictory. After all, parasites can also possess old corpses, whose souls had long since extinguished.
To counter that, I say that the dissipation of the Soul is dependent on the entity itself. Some souls are more resilient than others, thus it takes more time for them to be dragged to the Soul Stream.
Then again, my counter-argument is baseless and lacks any conclusive proof. It is hypothetical, to say the least.
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