“Ya sure tha’ ya want ta be ‘ere fer this?”

  “What else is there for me to do?” Thea derisively rolls her eyes, taking a moment to yawn and stretch her arms high into the steamy air before zily sinking down into the hot spring pool. The faintly glowing water ps at her chin as she lets herself y back and rex. “And I could use the refresher if I am to advance my magic in a dignified way. If your knowledge is sufficient, that is.”

  “Ya’re free ta listen in, but Ah’m not tailorin’ this ta ya.” Beryl replies with a shake of her head, before turning her attention towards Krvavy.

  After spending all day ‘renovating’ their home, which really just amounted to marking off spots on the ground and fttening out the ptform with Sculpt Stone, they decided to take a bit of a break in the hot springs. The rejuvenating water will help Krvavy’s mana regenerate faster.

  Khalia wiggles slightly, cuddling up against Krvavy’s side and nuzzling her head into the barbarian’s bosom as she settles in to sleep. This puppy isn’t here to participate in the conversation or to even listen in. She is simply too clingy and can’t be left completely on her own.

  Thea rolls her eyes at that sight. The bratty girl crosses her arms beneath the bubbling water, shuffling ever so slightly closer to Krvavy while still purposefully staying a little more than an arms reach away.

  Beryl takes a deep breath, gazing through the steamy air towards the woman she’d love to cuddle. “If it is alright wit’ ya, my dearest love, Ah’ll begin wit’ expinin’ my peoples understandin’ o’ the connection between magic and people. Fer the most part. Ah’ll try ta stick ta wha’ll ‘elp ya learn magic over wha’ is more akin ta superstitions, beliefs, and legends. Ah’m not sure ‘ow different it’ll be ta wha’ ya know, but it’s a foundation fer the rest o’ my knowledge so it’ll ‘elp if ya do know it.”

  “Sounds good.” Krvavy easily replies, as at the moment she has no idea how magic works at all. She just thinks about using a skill and it activates. Hopefully learning the actual process will be useful to her, but at the very least it should be interesting to hear how it is supposed to work. Or at least how Wood Elves believe it is supposed to work.

  Beryl nods her head and promptly begins. “Wha’ puts people apart from simple beasts is the separation o’ the self into three intertwined parts: the body, the mind, and the soul. The body is the most basic o’ the parts, representin’ simply what ya are: it is yer physical form. Things wit’ neither mind nor soul still ‘ave a body, such as rocks or golems. It is the foundation o’ all, it is the dirt and stone beneath our feet: it is the world.”

  Krvavy’s brow furrows slightly. Not because of anything her Elf has said – all of it sounds pretty basic so far – but because she has absolutely no way to take any kind of notes. Which might matter ter on if this conversation gets more... technical. Suppose that there is nothing stopping her from just asking Beryl to repeat something if she needs to do so...

  “If the body is what ya are, then the mind is who ya are: it is yer thoughts and beliefs, yer memories and experiences. Rare are things wit’ a mind but no body, and rarer so are those wit’ a mind but no soul. It is seen as a more intermediary stage, and Ah know fer a fact tha’ Humans leave it out, attributing its aspects between the other two. Tha’ is a gross simplification o’ wha’ people are, but an understandable one from a people who themselves are quite simple.”

  Thea bristles at that insult, but holds back her tongue.

  “The mind is closely aligned wit’ the body, ‘avin’ its own physical representation within it. Fer people tha’ is the brain. Fer the world, it is the weather and seasons: it is time. Thus,” Beryl slowly exhales, “we are left wit’ the soul. It is an echo o’ body and mind. It is why ya are. It takes the shape o’ the body, the vessel fer its form, and is imprinted upon it the reflection o’ the mind. The soul relies on the body and the mind: without the body it is vulnerable, gradually fading away and losing its form, and without the mind it will degrade, gradually losin’ who it once was. But it is still, perhaps, wha’ sets us most apart from simple beasts. While even the smallest o’ worms ‘as a soul, it is immeasurably less complex than tha’ o’ even the most base person.”

  The bratty noble girl derisively rolls her eyes, patience growing thin.

  “It, in the most simple expnation, is our ability ta do magic.” The Elf sagely states. “O’ course, tha’ is fer people. Fer the world, it is magic itself. It is the vestige of power within everythin’ from the air ta the stone. It is the ethereal rivers of magic that flow from the ‘eart: it is the leylines.”

  “How quaint!” Thea scoffs, unable to stay silent any longer. “The Wood Elf thinks that the world is alive!”

  Beryl gres at the boisterous brat. “O’ course a race as young and unlearned as yer own would mock tha’. Yer kind live such short lives tha’ ya can’t see the ebb and flow o’ power all around ya. The ‘eart o’ the world used ta beat so strongly tha’ all o’ creation teemed wit’ magic. Trees used ta need no goadin’ ta uproot themselves and take a stroll, the rivers used ta speak, rocks used ta raise up and move around, the winds used ta sing. But now it is almost an impossibility fer a natural elemental ta be born. The ‘eart beats ever slower, magic fades away. The world is dyin’.”

  Thea blows air out of her nose, hardly keeping herself from ughing. She even brings a hand up to her mouth, looking incredibly smug as she does so. “Cssic Wood Elf talk! And I thought it was exaggerated! Oho! ‘The world is dying and magic will disappear, living in a tree is the only way to fix it!’ Hirious~! You people have been saying that for how long? Ten, twenty, thousand years? Guess a primitive Elf is still a primitive Elf and can’t help from espousing superstitions~!”

  The tanned tomboy clenches her hands into fists beneath the surface of the water. “It is not superstition. It is observable fact.” She forces those words through her teeth. “Each generation is weaker than the st, but by such a small amount tha’ it is almost imperceptible on its own. A single skill affinity may be a single fraction lower than yer parents, and yer children’s would be a single fraction lower than yer own. Over time tha’ all adds up.”

  “Uh huh, suuure.” The noble brat stretches out her sarcastic response. “Or maybe, just maybe, the world has always been like this and you tree-hugging Elves cling to legends that you think are history as excuses for your fading relevance!”

  Beryl bristles at that. “And how would ya expin magic then, hmm? Wha’ are the leylines, where does the power come from, ‘ow do we use it?”

  “I hardly remember those useless lessons I had to endure, but all of that is basic information that even I know.” A smug smile fills Thea’s face as she makes that simple statement. “Leylines are little more than collections of magic, flowing around like a current in the sea. After all, magic attracts magic, so the leylines pull the power in to create themselves. Simir to how enchantments work. And that power does not come from the world, it comes from people. Why else would the rgest cities be the ones with the most residual mana? Why else would leylines flow from those cities?”

  The tomboyish Wood Elf tilts her head forwards, quite obviously resisting the urge to bury her face into her hands.

  “As for how we use it, well, that too is pretty simple! What you, and the other primitive races, call a soul is little more than the magical residue of a person. Even our faiths say as much. Your so called ‘soul’ is simply the extension of a person’s mana channels, which starts in the chest near the heart before flowing out to the limbs and head. An actual soul is beyond all of this, being everything put together in a way only the Gods can understand.”

  “Oh, ‘ow a little bit o’ knowledge can be such a dangerous thing...” Beryl softly sighs, looking more disappointed and concerned than anything. “Ya are unlearned, even by yer peoples’ low standard. Much o’ wha’ ya said ‘as an echo o’ truth ta it, but tha’ is all it is. Leylines do not pull magic in, they radiate it out. Cities are built on leylines, not the other way around. How could ya even believe those two together? It makes no sense.”

  The Wood Elf incredulously shakes her head as she continues on. “Are ya the type tha’ believes bread comes from the baker and thus there is no need for farms o’ wheat? Have ya not ‘eard about pces o’ power? The sources o’ many leylines in which few people ever live? Do you think a ruler would tolerate leylines if they leeched mana from ‘is people, transportin’ it right outside the city where an invadin’ army could use it?”

  “Magic exists to be used, just as a field exists to be farmed.” Thea scoffs back, crossing her arms. “And we, as people, are built to use it.”

  “No wonder world is dying, wit’ parasites like humanity digging away at its marrow!” Beryl vehemently hisses that out, before continuing on in her lyrical native tongue. Her barrage of seemingly gibberish words sounds as beautiful as it did the st time Krvavy heard it, but this time it is tinged with cruel venom, sending shivers down the barbarian’s spine and filling her heart with dread.

  Due to your Not So Cunning Linguist trait you are [2%] of the way towards learning Iaith Coetir.

  Thea simply rolls her eyes as the Elf finishes spewing out her, presumed, insult. While the brat is clearly trying to act like the unknown words haven’t affected her in the slightest, she seems to refuse to even look towards the angry Elf, let alone make eye contact. “Just finish giving the lizard your trite and superstitious expnation of magic already. We do not have all day.”

  That seems to snap Beryl out of her anger, as she turns her gaze towards Krvavy. “Oh, Ah’m so sorry, my dearest love!” A tinge of worried embarrassment underlines her raised voice. “Ah let yer little brat rile me up! It won’t ‘appen again: if she speaks Ah’ll just spsh her wit’ water!”

  “What?! You would n– HEY!” Thea cuts herself off with a shout as the Elf does exactly as she said she would. “STO– AGH! STOP TH– PTHBHH!” The brat spits out some water that got into her yelling mouth, before spshing Beryl back. “TAKE THIS, YOU OLD CRONE!”

  “Enough!” Krvavy forcibly calls out, supported by a howl from Khalia. The Orc probably just wants to be involved. Or she is annoyed that her nap got disrupted. “Thea, sit and be quiet! Beryl, get back to talking!”

  Both the Elf and the Human appear rather sheepish as their fight immediately comes to a stop. Thea quickly decides to pout, sinking down further into the water, while Beryl rubs the back of her head ashamedly.

  “Ahah... Apologies, my dearest love...” The Wood Elf awkwardly ughs, before clearing her throat and trying to act as if nothing had happened. “N-now... Where was Ah...? Oh yes... Ah ‘ad mentioned leylines not fer their own importance, but as a point ta compare wit’. See, each person is like a reflection o’ the world: where it has leylines we ‘ave wha’ the Humans so aptly call mana channels. Yer brat made mention o’ them, but... tsk.”

  Thea rolls her beautiful blue eyes again, yet does as the Elf just did and avoids hurling insults, simply letting the tanned tomboy continue speaking uninterrupted. For now.

  Beryl hesitates slightly, looking a little unsure over how exactly to expin this. “They... function rather simirly.” She nods to herself, gradually growing more confident. “Though o’ course mana channels are far more structured: they all ‘ave a core, the channels themselves, and nodes. The core is located within ones chest, though whether it produces mana on its own, borrows mana from the world, or a combination o’ the two is... debatable. Wha’ matters is tha’ the core, yer beatin’ ethereal ‘eart, sends the mana out through the channels ta the nodes, which are at various points at the ends o’ yer limbs: such as yer ‘ands, feet, and ‘ead or mouth. Pces where it tends ta be easier ta cast magic from.”

  Krvavy quickly gnces towards the silver-blonde brat. Thea doesn’t look like she disagrees with that, at least, so Humans likely have the same view of this as Elves do. Or a simir enough view that the poorly educated noble girl has nothing to compin about.

  “These channels and nodes are not perfect though.” The tomboyish Wood Elf crifies. “They are like rivers and ponds, o’ which wa’er seeps out inta the ground and evaporates inta the air. O’ course, tha’ is more pronounced when yer mana is full, as yer body’d be so saturated wit’ energy tha’ it’d ‘ave nowhere ta go except out o’ ya.” Beryl subtly gnces towards the pouting brat. “Fer a single normal person, tha’ doesn’t matter much. But when ya got a lot o’ people, especially when they each ‘ave high mana regeneration, then the energy fillin’ the air would be more noticeable. If ya regenerated hundreds o’ points per second, we would feel the power flowin’ off o’ ya in waves.”

  Thea stares daggers into the side of the tanned Elf’s head.

  “As fer ‘ow tha’ all retes ta wha’ Ah want ta say, ta me teachin’ ya magic... Well... Ta do magic ya need ta know ‘ow ta move the mana from yer ‘core’ down the ‘channels’ ta yer ‘nodes’. Doin’ tha’ wit’ intent is ‘ow ya do magic: shape the power o’ yer soul along the way and it comes out ‘ow ya want.” Beryl lightly shrugs her shoulders. “Simple in theory, not so much in practice.”

  That does make sense to Krvavy, though it likely didn’t need quite as much exposition... Or arguing. But Krvavy doesn’t need to do any of that to cast her spells, so... “What about skills?”

  “Ahh... Yes... Skills...” The Wood Elf takes a moment to think. “Ah suppose tha’, from a certain perspective, they are a lot like muscle memory fer magic. Ya go through the process o’ manually moving mana through yer channels enough and ya get a skill, which automatically does it fer ya. O’ course, ya don’t need ta rely on skills ta do magic, as ya can always do it yerself. And there are reasons fer ya ta do tha’, such as modifyin’ yer spells ta change wha’ they do. But tha’ is rather advanced. So no need ta worry about it fer now.”

  Beryl’s brow furrows faintly. “And then, as Ah’m sure ya’ve noticed, there are also cases where ya don’t need ta do tha’ ta learn a spell. When ya are essentially given one fer ‘free’. Such as when ya reach one o’ the ‘milestone levels’ in a school o’ magic – five, ten, twenty-five, fifty, and one-hundred – but don’t ‘ave many spells o’ tha’ type. And when tha’ ‘appens... it is basically just the energy in ya findin’ its own outlet accordin’ ta yer subconscious will, forming tha’ ‘muscle memory’ skill in the process.”

  Again, that makes sense to Krvavy. And it is good to know that she isn’t an exception to the rules, as that hopefully means she’ll be able to learn magic the same way as everyone else, which with her maxed affinities will quickly lead to her being a bit busted... Well, if she had the mana to use all those different spells. That definitely seems like it’ll be the bottleneck for her...

  Thea moves slightly in the water, drawing Krvavy’s attention to her. “You have anything to add to that?” The barbarian asks.

  “Not... particurly...” The noble girl hesitantly replies. “What the Elf said sounds... mostly correct, according to what I remember. I was never good at moving mana through my channels, but that is the intended way to begin learning magic.”

  “Well, ‘ow about ya try again?” Beryl suggests. Her tone is even and not at all teasing or mocking. Though, from a certain perspective, it might be a bit condescending. “After all, ya ‘ave magic and a bit o’ our dearest love’s soul in ya, so maybe ya’ll ‘ave some better luck now?”

  Thea narrows her eyes at the Elf. “Fine...” She reluctantly grumbles back after a few moments.

  “Close yer eyes then. Ya too, my dearest love.” The Wood Elf all but orders. “We might as well get started.”

  Seeing Thea close her eyes, Krvavy does the same.