Nicholas sighed, looking tired. "The only reason Young Harry is lauded as the sole survivor is because Voldemort was struck by a rebounding of his own curse which destroyed his body. And that is not normal. It must have been due to something else, something his parents set up beforehand. Whatever ancient ritual they might have conducted to protect their son combined with the act of sacrifice and resulted in a magical effect never seen before. Or at least, never recorded."
He then coughed delicately. "But perhaps we should return to our lesson on Occlumency, instead of such depressing subjects."
We all nodded in agreement, and the ancient alchemist gave a small smile. "Wonderful. We shall first go over the development of the proper mindset necessary for a true emotion-blocking Occlumency…"
Over the next few days, Occlumency was not the only thing we learned. The Flamels happily taught us so much more. Magical cooking and potioneering, runecrafting and arithmancy, and most interestingly, magical theory.
"Magic exists. We know this, because we can both see the effects it has on the world, and measure it when it does so. It is a form of energy, not unlike UV rays from the sun or heat generated from our bodies. But what is it, exactly? Where does it come from? Well, that's a bit trickier." Nicholas Flamel paced back and forth in front of the four of us as we sat in their home, lecturing us on the nature of magic itself.
"There are two kinds of magic. Ambient, and radiant," Nicholas explained, and the three of us listened intently.
"Ambient magic refers to the magical energy present in the world around us. It is in the air, and suffuses all matter, from water to minerals to plants and animals. Everything is touched by ambient magic," Nicholas stated. "Radiant magic, on the other hand, refers to the magical energy generated by all living beings. Every bug and blade of grass has some magic in it that is solely its own, but it is miniscule. As for humans, we also possess it. But wizards, witches, and other magical creatures have it in abundance."
Flamel tapped his chest. "Now, there are many different interpretations for where radiant magic comes from. Some call it the soul. Others names for it are 'magic core,' 'Chakras,' 'Tenketsu,' and so on. But there is no perfect way to describe radiant magic, as it simply 'is.' There are no cores or pathways within the body that can be observed. We simply know magic exists within us."
He continued, "Radiant magic is like a fingerprint. It is unique, and differs from source to source. The radiant magic of a dragon is vastly different to the radiant magic of a newt. Hence why potions and more advanced topics like Enchanting and Alchemy rely heavily on the properties of the materials being used to produce an effect, and can have wildly different outcomes depending on what is used."
"Ambient magic however is neutral, and takes on the qualities of the matter it interacts with. This is why certain minerals can have magical properties even though only living things create radiant magic. They've absorbed ambient magic," the famous alchemist explained. "Some people claim that ambient magic originates from the planet itself. They point to the existence of Leylines and Nexus Points as proof of this. And it is true, there are places where ambient magic gathers and seemingly spontaneously generates from. However, in my research I have come to the conclusion that this is not the case. Rather, ambient magic is radiant magic that has been diffused."
"Like the water cycle? Or the air cycle?" Harry asked, raising his hand some half-remembered science lectures from Woolingsby surfacing in his mind, and Nicholas clapped his hands happily.
"Yes, exactly! Magic is closer to the air cycle than anything else! Just as humans take in oxygen but expel carbon dioxide, which is then processed by plants into more oxygen that is absorbed by living creatures, a living being passively emits tiny amounts of radiant magic all the time, and magical beings release more when performing spells. So where does the magic go when the spell ends?"
"It becomes ambient magic!" Sam exclaimed excitedly.
"Precisely! The shaped radiant magic of a spell unravels and diffuses into ambient magic once its effect is completed, which may eventually be absorbed and used by something else, like a ward or rune system, but it will also fade a bit, decaying further into what I've dubbed 'aether particles.' Aether particles then clump together in places of low magical activity and will recombine into ambient magic or be reabsorbed by living creatures and become radiant magic. These sites where it happens are known as Leylines, Nexus Points, and so on," Nicholas explained.
"Then does that make magic a closed system? Meaning there can only ever be a certain amount of people with magical abilities? Or would more people with magical ability mean more radiant magic, and thus more ambient magic, and so on?" I inquired curiously.
"Excellent question, my boy! The answer is, 'I don't know.' From my initial observations, magic seems to be a closed system, yet there are discrepancies that lead me to believe otherwise. As mundane science has proven, matter and energy cannot be created or destroyed, but magic is seemingly able to circumvent this absolute rule at times," he replied. "There is evidence that living things are producing some amounts of radiant energy that does not originate from absorbed ambient energy, but again, we don't know for sure. Perhaps the soul itself is the source of radiant magic? Further testing is required."
...
....
Join my P*atreon for 100 premium chapters ahead of the public release.
Link: pa*treon.com/MysticVerse (Remove the *)
Free members also get 2 advanced chapters for free.