"Glintstone is not the only material that may be used as a focus. Depending on the manner of sorceries one studies and employs it often proves more efficient to use correlating materials in the construction of a staff. The fragment of a meteorite for gravity-type sorceries. Pure crystal for the rare study of crystalian sorceries-"
Both seated against one of the walls in the room they'd turned into a camp, Onyx toyed with the growing hair along his chin as he peered over Melina's shoulder, following along with the passage she was reading aloud. Some thick leather bound tome detailing this world's magic practices was hardly the most effective way to learn a new written script but after coming to know more than most could comprehend, it wasn't difficult to put certain things together.
All languages followed patterns after all.
But he wasn't so much interested in learning the script as he was intrigued by what it was detailing.
"Does your magic work the same way?" He questioned.
Melina paused in her reading, soft voice falling quiet as she glanced over her shoulder at him. "No." She said after a moment of silence. "Sorceries and incantations can share similarities but by nature they differ from one another."
He'd thought as much. He'd only briefly been witness to it back when she helped Irina but the power she'd shown in that moment didn't seem like anything described by the books Sellen was having him read.
"And how do these incantations of yours work?"
"…Faith." Her answer came after another short silence. "Rather than extensive study and understanding of something, incantations only require a firm faith to wield."
"Faith?"
"Faith in a higher power. Faith in a concept. Faith in an object. It can take many forms but so long as one's belief in whatever they've chosen to worship holds strong, they are granted access to the power of incantations."
So, it isn't all that different from sorcery. Onyx decided, weighing her words. He didn't like any of it. Sorcery and what she called incantations both.
"Don't you find both contradictory?" He asked. Melina said nothing and he took her stare as a sign to explain. "Sorcery apparently demands understanding of something for those who study it to borrow power from something else. Your incantations demand faith in something else in order for power to be granted to you."
"But if understanding and belief is enough for power like that to be used why does another power need to be involved?" Melina's stare persisted and he rubbed his chin, closing his eyes. He'd never been one for explaining things like this no matter how many lives passed. "A sorcerer needs to understand something to draw out its power. You need belief for incantations. If the bulk of that power has to do with some other source, why would either of those matter?"
Melina's head tilted slightly, her eye finally blinking. "You mean to say that a majority of the power lies solely in the person." He nodded and she turned away, looking back down at the book. "…I am only just beginning to learn of sorcery through these books, as such I can not say much concerning it but among those of the Golden Order who studied its incantations…those words would be considered sacrilegious."
"It undermines the power Queen Marika has blessed those faithful to her with through Grace." Melina finished.
Of course. Onyx thought, not the least bit surprised to learn that if any among the Golden Order had expressed similar thoughts, they'd be declared such. Religions of that nature, with a physical god that could be interacted with, tended to be very short lived if people started believing they could be powerful all on their own.
All it took was the right mix of ambition, skills, and circumstance, for someone to decide to challenge their god in that situation. And possibly declare themselves one.
This Marika woman he was hearing about knew exactly what she was doing. He was curious as to what caused a society built beneath someone methodical enough to center an entire religion around them to crumble to such a state.
XOXO
"You have proven yourself quite dedicated, apprentice." Sellen said as he returned a finished book to her shelves. Besides food and occasional conversations, he spent the past few days with nose to the provided material. Well, his and Melina noses, his rough understanding of the written language likely to result in misunderstandings if he read all on his own. "But there is a world of a difference between reading something and truly comprehending the information presented."
There were few statements truer than that.
She'd gauged his understanding throughout the past few days with questions, never confirming whether she was satisfied with the answers he had to give. And right now, despite the stone mask topped by what he now knew to be glintstone, he picked up on the intense scrutiny he was under.
"I must admit that I am still not sure you hold the potential for sorcery, but it is time we moved beyond theory." She said, unaware of how accurate her hunch was. She waved a hand over her desk. "In the topmost drawer to the left you will find a staff. We shall be making use of it."
He followed the direction, a pull of the drawer shaking free dust and revealing the staff in question.
The length of it was made of a simple slivery steel, the handle marked by faint engravings obscured by a thin covering of dust. More such engravings, what they depicted unclear to him, marked its upper portion where it widened to accommodate a sphere of bluish green glintstone. The sphere lacked the same glow as the glintsone throughout the chamber, sharing in none of the same subtle splendor as he picked it up and bits of dust fell away.
Sellen's masked gaze lingered for a moment as he raised it above the desk. Too short a moment for most to consider significant but she struck him as the logical sort. The type who didn't leave much room in their life for sentimentality.
So even, no, especially a minor pause like that betrayed the meaning the thing held for her.
"Go on then, apprentice." Sellen said, a hand waved at the wall behind them. "If you truly grasp what you've been studying, then you know what is to be done."
He nodded, turning to face the worn down stone behind him.
Glintstone. The amber of the cosmos according to Sellen. Naturally a perfect conduit for channeling power derived from the study of the stars. Celestial bodies, that according to the books here, were believed to be a form of life.
With that understanding one should have little issue both channeling their power through the glintstone as well as mixing it with the greater power the material was derived from.
Onyx raised it, took aim at the center of the wall, and took a focusing breath, then swung.
Nothing happened.
As expected. His soul responded to his intentions, swelling up but just shy of being able to offer energy for anything. That and he made no effort to connect with that greater power. If the celestial bodies of this world truly constituted a form of life, then, whether it be primitive and instinctual or more akin to the nuanced existence of sentient life, that came with a will.
It was foolish to expose oneself to power from a being they didn't understand.
"Mmm, for a moment I felt something, but it appears I was wrong." Sellen said. Rather than disappointed, she sounded more curious than anything. "Is there some other art you practice? Perhaps some form of arcane swordsmanship? I have heard of those who learn to control weapons with their mind alone but never one who chose to walk the path of sorcery as well."
"I practice a few different things." Onyx said, lowering the staff and turning back to her. Sorcery, incantations, and now arcane swordsmanship. This world has quite a few different types of magic for him to look into. "But some of my recent travels left me with a more magical wound that I'm still recovering from. I won't be using any sort of magic until then."
"A magical wound you say?" Sellen repeated, curiosity further peaked. "I suppose we all have our own circumstances." She dropped a hand from the chin of her stone mask, arms recrossed. "Fret not, apprentice. Should this wound of yours remain, you are still welcome here as my pupil. My dullest pupil but a pupil all the same. There is still much to be learned from the collection I've put together here."
Sellen made no attempt to hide the underlying mirth in her tone and he found himself chuckling. "Right. You sure you aren't just trying to keep me around because you're lonely?"
"Two things can be true at the same time, no?" Sellen's retort came without missing a beat.
She'd clearly been isolated here, he and Melina having been the first to descend into the ruins for some time. That isolation and her state as a mere projection were linked in some way, but she'd drawn a line in the sand, refusing to pry into his business and her expectation for him to do the same unspoken but clear. Whatever her circumstances it must not have been immediately dire if she could make light of it and he was more concerned about learning what he could at the moment.
"Cyclops." Onyx called out, looking past Sellen. Melina was quick to arrive, stepping into the chamber. She kept a physical and figurative distance between her and Sellen. She never shared her name, spoke with, or spared Sellen any attention really. That went both ways, their interactions consisting only of Sellen's initial acknowledgement of her.
It wasn't tense in any way. The two just didn't seem particularly concerned with the other, respecting each other's space.
"Want to give it a try?" Onyx asked, staff held out for Melina as she approached.
She stopped in front of it but didn't accept it.
"I must admit, I am rather curious how a Finger Maiden fares when it comes to the practice of sorcery." Sellen voiced her curiosity, drawing a rare moment of direct attention from Melina.
She eventually took the staff, the difference between them made evident.
The moment she raised it, only beginning the same motion he had, a faint glow similar to that of the glintstone in the corner of the room came from the staff's sphere. And, as she completed the simple wave of the staff, a small stone wrapped in the same glowing energy left the tip of the staff.
The projectile hit the wall, shattering into vanishing shards, the worn wall cracking further but otherwise unaffected.
That was nothing exceedingly powerful or particularly different than what he'd expect of magic, but it was good to know what they were learning here was checking out. His inability couldn't be used as a test for that.
"Passable given your proclivities." Sellen said with a nod as Melina handed the staff over to him. He placed it back in the drawer. "Keep that with you. Perhaps visual demonstrations from your maiden will prove useful when you recover from that wound of yours."
"You sure?"
"There is little point in allowing a tool to gather dust and I would not be much of a teacher if I did not provide my pupil all he needed to thrive. We must be sure any failure in our time together is due solely to your lacking ability."
"How reassuring." He said dryly.
"Remember, no coddling, apprentice." She reminded, the small mirthful undertone returning.
At least he lucked out in terms of teachers. An interesting woman with a sense of humor was far better than many of the alternatives he'd dealt with.
XOXO
The salt riding the wind signaled their impeding arrival as Torrent climbed the slight incline of Limgrave's windy plains with a lazy trot. Onyx kept a loose grip on the reigns, Melina seated behind him, a similarly loose grip on him.
He seen The Weeping Peninsula and the misbegotten. Helped who he set out in that direction for. Obtained a teacher in sorcery. And he was returning with a new sword and staff in hand. A journey that was both thrilling and profitable. Those two things didn't always go hand in hand.
Grass turned to rocks, bits of sand joining the winds as Torrent reached the apex of the hills, closing in on the coast.
But now that he was back at the western shores, he'd take the time to let his shoulder heal and, far more importantly, carry out a few more days of meditation beside that dragon. In a few short days, mana would finally be at his disposal.
Onyx raised a hand to block the glare of the sun as Torrent's trot slowed to a stop as they reached the cliffs, the beach along with the distant island he'd spent so many nights coming into view. An island on which he could see a small dot moving along its edge.
Onyx narrowed his eyes, reaching into his pouch and pulling out his telescope.
He was missing his armor, but a familiar knight was gathering water into a crude bucket.
It looked like he had some friends to speak with too.
XOXO
Some downtime chapters after this, then things will pop off and what I consider the intro will officially be done. Look forward to it.