31st of Vhalar, Arc 717
I finally met the elusive Professor Migh Gir. Readers of last season’s diary (I assume that future generations will be interested in my life due to my fame as an explorer) will probably remember that I was already supposed to attend one of his classes in Saun, but that he never showed up which forced me to step in and play the part of a professor for a break. I did not mind at all – in fact I enjoyed teaching – but it is a fact that there are some things that I do not know about magic yet. The class that Professor Gir taught on the 31st of Vhalar was of particular interest to me since it covered the differences between some of the domains of magic. I have to admit, I have occasionally considered getting initiated into a second domain of magic despite the risks involved. Magic changes your body and your soul, it mutates you, and I’ve already had irreversible changes (barring divine intervention) from practicing Transmutation regularly during the past couple of seasons …
It was quite noisy in the classroom at the Viden Academy Campus that Vhalar morning. The students were talking about everything, from the weather that had just gotten worse and worse during the past couple of trials over the newest gossip to their love life, but Victor paid them no heed. The scion of House Amielle was not particularly interested in the romantic entanglements of teenagers and people in the early twenties, and neither did he usually enjoy gossip, especially if said gossip concerned local celebrities. Had they talked about those that ruled the world or, perhaps, lost treasure and the Immortals, he might have paid attention, but as it was, he found himself thinking about something else and mostly ignoring his colleagues, most of them were a bit younger than he was (he had only begun to attend university in his mid-twenties after arcs spent travelling the world).
He pulled his left sleeve back a bit and thoughtfully studied the curious glimmering cracks that had begun to appear on his arm that had previously been devoid of any markings before he carefully let a finger run across it. Similar markings had appeared on his other arm, his shoulders and his chest. They felt different from the rest of his skin. They always seemed to be slightly cool to the touch. He did not regret learning magic – not at all, he still thought that getting initiated into Transmutation had been one of the best decisions in his entire life – but still, reading that it would change you and actually experiencing that change were two completely different things. It made both slightly uneasy and nearly ecstatic at the same time. There were places where he would get in serious trouble if people saw those markings and recognized them for what they were, but magic had also made him more than he had been before. It had made him stronger, better …
“Good trial, class!”
A voice pulled Victor out of his thoughts abruptly. He quickly pulled the sleeve down again and looked up, towards the door through which an unfamiliar figure had just stepped. As he did so, his gaze briefly met that of a young woman in the row in front of him. She raised an eyebrow and looked at him questioningly for a moment, but eventually turned around and focused her attention on the professor that had just arrived. Had she noticed him examining his arm? Victor momentarily wondered what she had thought of it before he too looked at the professor and waited for them to finally start speaking.
“To-trial we are going to talk about the differences between the domains of magic”, Professor Gir said. “You already know that every initiation is different thanks to Mister Amielle.” The professor looked in Victor’s direction. The Transmuter had the feeling that he was not actually grateful, but rather disapproved of the fact that he had just taken over, but he did not particularly care. Victor was past the age where one was intimidated by a professor. He thought of his professor more as colleagues with a little more experience, friends or enemies, not as superior beings that were to be feared.
“Now we will be talking more about what distinguishes the domains of magic. There are two domains that we will not cover in detail in this lesson though. Can anybody guess which ones – and why?” Several hands immediately shot up, and Professor Gir gestured towards a red-haired girl with pigtails that sat in the second row.
“Yes, Miss?”
“Aberration and Necromancy, Sir”, the girl answered. “Aberration deals with the Act of Flaying and is said to be highly addictive. To effectively use Aberration, one most murder another. Necromancy is just as bad as it deals with the creation of undead, among other things.” She shuddered as she said that as if she were thoroughly disgusted, but Victor could not help but secretly wonder how she knew so much about these domains. Maybe she did not find Aberration and Necromancy as disgusting as she claimed. She would not be the first secret necromancer in Scalvoris.
“That is correct, but let’s not talk about it anymore now. I will name the different domains of magic and what they do, and I want you all to take notes. I will hold on exam on the 40th!” A few students immediately groaned. Victor did not mind though. There were worse things than an exam – encountering a monster that was twice your size and trying to eat you for example. He just took his pen and his notebook.
“First is Transmutation”, Professor Gir began. “Transmuters use ether to change one substance into another or to memorize the qualities of certain objects and imbue other objects with them. They can also use their magic to destroy though.”
Victor put his pen down again. He already knew what Transmutation did, being a Transmuter of some skill himself. He was still unfamiliar with the next domain though and thus started writing.
“Rupturing”, Professor Gir spoke. “enables one to use ether to create portals between two places and teleport across vast distances. It is, as you can probably tell, a rather useful magic. Imagine being able to travel from here to Viden in a trill!”
The professor looked rather excited for a moment before he cleared his throat somewhat embarrassedly and moved on to the next domain.
“Dustforge involves the use of ether and ground wells to imbue or enchant magical items. Next is Becoming. Practitioners of this magic can transform into other people as well as animals. In order to ‘become’ something, you need its blood though. I don’t know about you, students, but that sounds a bit messy to me.”
Several students chuckled a bit before the professor abruptly silenced them and continued,
“Practitioners of Mirage use ether to conjure illusions. Grafters on the other hand use ether to restore people or objects to their former state. This involves healing injuries. Graft can also be used to introduce new materials to a body. You could for example give somebody that has lost a hand a new hand made of gold.”
“That sounds awesome”, somebody exclaimed. The professor ignored that comment.
“Abrogation allows one to deconstruct the magic of others as well as create shields. Hone involves using ether to strengthen one’s body and sharpening one’s senses. Defiance is all about controlling the elements. I believe that we have several Defiers on staff. Perhaps I will invite one of them to talk about their magic sometimes”, Professor Gir mused. Victor knew exactly who he meant. Alison Jeeve whose assistant he was a Defier of some skill, although he had yet to see her actually use her magic. Maybe he would ask her for a little demonstration sometimes.
“Now where was I?” Professor Gir wondered and scratched his head. “Ah yes. Before we continue, I would like to talk about practices for a bit. I already briefly mentioned alchemy which is about the creation of magical items. Alchemy is a practice and rather scientific in nature. Unlike domain magic practices do not require an initiation. Does anybody know the name of another practice?”
“Ensorcelling”, Victor said. He had heard the name before, although he was not quite sure what it was about – something that he needed to take care of, he decided, as ignorance was not acceptable as far as he was concerned.
Professor Gir made a face – he was without a doubt remembering what Victor had done in Saun - but then he nodded somewhat reluctantly. “That is correct, Mister Amielle. Of course most people that you meet will still think that Alchemy is magic regardless because it does all those strange things. They probably won’t even be aware of the existence of Ensorcelling and confuse some of the domains of magic.”
“In the current political climate – you are without a doubt aware that magic has been outlawed in Rynmere and mages are met with suspicion in several other countries – I advise you against trying to educate people though as they will likely react with hostility rather than listening patiently and changing their mind as they should. I also advise you against travelling there unless it is absolutely necessary if you are mages.”
“Now then, I believe we have to cover four more domains. First there is Attunement which is the cultivation of the third eye. Practitioners of this domain are supposedly immune to mutations. Pact allows one to forge agreements with spirits. Finally, there are Sovereign and Schism. I won’t mention what these two domains do. That will be your homework until tomorrow! We will briefly talk about Sovereign and Schism then – and why some races are incapable of learning magic – or at least certain kinds of magic.”
“You are dismissed!”
It was quite noisy in the classroom at the Viden Academy Campus that Vhalar morning. The students were talking about everything, from the weather that had just gotten worse and worse during the past couple of trials over the newest gossip to their love life, but Victor paid them no heed. The scion of House Amielle was not particularly interested in the romantic entanglements of teenagers and people in the early twenties, and neither did he usually enjoy gossip, especially if said gossip concerned local celebrities. Had they talked about those that ruled the world or, perhaps, lost treasure and the Immortals, he might have paid attention, but as it was, he found himself thinking about something else and mostly ignoring his colleagues, most of them were a bit younger than he was (he had only begun to attend university in his mid-twenties after arcs spent travelling the world).
He pulled his left sleeve back a bit and thoughtfully studied the curious glimmering cracks that had begun to appear on his arm that had previously been devoid of any markings before he carefully let a finger run across it. Similar markings had appeared on his other arm, his shoulders and his chest. They felt different from the rest of his skin. They always seemed to be slightly cool to the touch. He did not regret learning magic – not at all, he still thought that getting initiated into Transmutation had been one of the best decisions in his entire life – but still, reading that it would change you and actually experiencing that change were two completely different things. It made both slightly uneasy and nearly ecstatic at the same time. There were places where he would get in serious trouble if people saw those markings and recognized them for what they were, but magic had also made him more than he had been before. It had made him stronger, better …
“Good trial, class!”
A voice pulled Victor out of his thoughts abruptly. He quickly pulled the sleeve down again and looked up, towards the door through which an unfamiliar figure had just stepped. As he did so, his gaze briefly met that of a young woman in the row in front of him. She raised an eyebrow and looked at him questioningly for a moment, but eventually turned around and focused her attention on the professor that had just arrived. Had she noticed him examining his arm? Victor momentarily wondered what she had thought of it before he too looked at the professor and waited for them to finally start speaking.
“To-trial we are going to talk about the differences between the domains of magic”, Professor Gir said. “You already know that every initiation is different thanks to Mister Amielle.” The professor looked in Victor’s direction. The Transmuter had the feeling that he was not actually grateful, but rather disapproved of the fact that he had just taken over, but he did not particularly care. Victor was past the age where one was intimidated by a professor. He thought of his professor more as colleagues with a little more experience, friends or enemies, not as superior beings that were to be feared.
“Now we will be talking more about what distinguishes the domains of magic. There are two domains that we will not cover in detail in this lesson though. Can anybody guess which ones – and why?” Several hands immediately shot up, and Professor Gir gestured towards a red-haired girl with pigtails that sat in the second row.
“Yes, Miss?”
“Aberration and Necromancy, Sir”, the girl answered. “Aberration deals with the Act of Flaying and is said to be highly addictive. To effectively use Aberration, one most murder another. Necromancy is just as bad as it deals with the creation of undead, among other things.” She shuddered as she said that as if she were thoroughly disgusted, but Victor could not help but secretly wonder how she knew so much about these domains. Maybe she did not find Aberration and Necromancy as disgusting as she claimed. She would not be the first secret necromancer in Scalvoris.
“That is correct, but let’s not talk about it anymore now. I will name the different domains of magic and what they do, and I want you all to take notes. I will hold on exam on the 40th!” A few students immediately groaned. Victor did not mind though. There were worse things than an exam – encountering a monster that was twice your size and trying to eat you for example. He just took his pen and his notebook.
“First is Transmutation”, Professor Gir began. “Transmuters use ether to change one substance into another or to memorize the qualities of certain objects and imbue other objects with them. They can also use their magic to destroy though.”
Victor put his pen down again. He already knew what Transmutation did, being a Transmuter of some skill himself. He was still unfamiliar with the next domain though and thus started writing.
“Rupturing”, Professor Gir spoke. “enables one to use ether to create portals between two places and teleport across vast distances. It is, as you can probably tell, a rather useful magic. Imagine being able to travel from here to Viden in a trill!”
The professor looked rather excited for a moment before he cleared his throat somewhat embarrassedly and moved on to the next domain.
“Dustforge involves the use of ether and ground wells to imbue or enchant magical items. Next is Becoming. Practitioners of this magic can transform into other people as well as animals. In order to ‘become’ something, you need its blood though. I don’t know about you, students, but that sounds a bit messy to me.”
Several students chuckled a bit before the professor abruptly silenced them and continued,
“Practitioners of Mirage use ether to conjure illusions. Grafters on the other hand use ether to restore people or objects to their former state. This involves healing injuries. Graft can also be used to introduce new materials to a body. You could for example give somebody that has lost a hand a new hand made of gold.”
“That sounds awesome”, somebody exclaimed. The professor ignored that comment.
“Abrogation allows one to deconstruct the magic of others as well as create shields. Hone involves using ether to strengthen one’s body and sharpening one’s senses. Defiance is all about controlling the elements. I believe that we have several Defiers on staff. Perhaps I will invite one of them to talk about their magic sometimes”, Professor Gir mused. Victor knew exactly who he meant. Alison Jeeve whose assistant he was a Defier of some skill, although he had yet to see her actually use her magic. Maybe he would ask her for a little demonstration sometimes.
“Now where was I?” Professor Gir wondered and scratched his head. “Ah yes. Before we continue, I would like to talk about practices for a bit. I already briefly mentioned alchemy which is about the creation of magical items. Alchemy is a practice and rather scientific in nature. Unlike domain magic practices do not require an initiation. Does anybody know the name of another practice?”
“Ensorcelling”, Victor said. He had heard the name before, although he was not quite sure what it was about – something that he needed to take care of, he decided, as ignorance was not acceptable as far as he was concerned.
Professor Gir made a face – he was without a doubt remembering what Victor had done in Saun - but then he nodded somewhat reluctantly. “That is correct, Mister Amielle. Of course most people that you meet will still think that Alchemy is magic regardless because it does all those strange things. They probably won’t even be aware of the existence of Ensorcelling and confuse some of the domains of magic.”
“In the current political climate – you are without a doubt aware that magic has been outlawed in Rynmere and mages are met with suspicion in several other countries – I advise you against trying to educate people though as they will likely react with hostility rather than listening patiently and changing their mind as they should. I also advise you against travelling there unless it is absolutely necessary if you are mages.”
“Now then, I believe we have to cover four more domains. First there is Attunement which is the cultivation of the third eye. Practitioners of this domain are supposedly immune to mutations. Pact allows one to forge agreements with spirits. Finally, there are Sovereign and Schism. I won’t mention what these two domains do. That will be your homework until tomorrow! We will briefly talk about Sovereign and Schism then – and why some races are incapable of learning magic – or at least certain kinds of magic.”
“You are dismissed!”
