Chapter 52 - Lovelace’s lesson on magic

Chapter 52: Chapter 52 - Lovelace’s lesson on magic "Why is the magic taught in the human realms so focused on elements?" "No idea." Lovelace shrugs, looking tense, as she always does when trying to remember things related to magic. There was always the risk of stumbling into some stolen memory and getting a huge headache as a result. "I never paid much attention to the magic of puny humans, but I remember her own magic. And it was mostly based on the light element." "So, she was also focused on elemental magic? Just one of the cosmic ones, instead." "Indeed. And the dragons also favored elemental magic, as they are elemental beings themselves." "The dragons are..." "Yes. I probably also am one, as well." "Which reminds me, what is your species? Are there others like you?" "I don’t know." "Huh? Doesn’t it show on the system?" "I created the system myself, so it couldn’t have information that I lack." "Yeah... that makes sense." "And now... She used the access to tamper with my personal information, so the race entry just shows gibberish." "What kind of gibberish?" The pain that showed up on her face let me know that it was the wrong question to ask. Better change the subject. "You told me you don’t have memories from before getting into human form... does that have something to do with you not knowing your species?" "Yes. I only remember an eternity of hunger, so I don’t even know for how long I have lived. I searched in old books and tales in the human world, and it seems that I was already around when the first civilizations were established." "And weren’t there any tales of others of you?" "No, it was always me and only me. I had a scar left from a hero of a long-forgotten era. It faded over time, but even when she found me, it was still visible. Barely, but it was there. Unmistakable." "So that’s why you think you’re an elemental being?" "Yes, that and... The nature of my hunger." "A hunger that consumes everything like fire?" "No... Not fire. The Dark element is about death, destruction, and decomposition. But the way it fits life to compose a whole is by consuming the spare energy to feed it back to the loop." "Ohh... So you were like the garbage disposal of the world?" "Yes... I was always attracted to unnaturally large concentrations of mana, to devour it all." "A Dark Elemental Scorpion Woman, huh? That’s very goth of you." "Thank you." "Huh? You know about goths?" "I first had contact with the fashion through the memories of that woman. I was always fascinated by the dresses some characters in the games she liked used to wear." Oh, right. She told me that she had access to the memories related to gaming and programming. And there were indeed several goth girls in those games. "One that made a big impression on me was the vampire girl Eliza, with her red dress and long horns. But I didn’t have a name for the fashion." "Yet you used clothes like those." "Yes. I designed some and asked some tailors to make them. But how do you know that?" "That place had depictions of you wearing them." "Oh. Right. That place. In any case, when I connected to your memories, I ended up learning a lot about goth culture." She didn’t like remembering the ’temple’ she was imprisoned in, so she quickly switched back to goths instead. Which got me a bit too flustered. "I hope you haven’t looked into certain memories that..." "Don’t worry, I put aside any intimate moments related to those places. I’m not into invading anyone’s privacy like that." Phew. Thanks. I had done too many things in those nightclubs, some of which could get me in trouble if I described them too vividly. It’s all in the past now. I’m not Aurora, but Aurea. Another life, another person. So it’s better to forget it, right? "In any case, I now have a name for that fashion and culture I like. So I take you calling me goth as a compliment." "It was intended as one." "I know." "Now, coming back to magic. How can arias be made without elements?" "Oh, that’s the beauty of it. Magic doesn’t depend on elements at all." "Huh? What? How?" "Magic is the art of causing change in reality according to one’s will. Language is the medium through which will is made known, and the elements are the building blocks of reality." I nod, listening with attention. "The thing is that elements are the material blocks of reality. But reality is not made only by material things, is it?" "That’s true... time, for example, is not material." "Exactly. Abstract concepts are also building blocks of reality. They are just a lot harder to pin down." "Because they are always colored by subjective perception, while material things are directly measurable?" "Exactly. One essential thing about magic is the ’change in reality according to one’s will.’ How do you convey your will in, say, that lightning bolt aria?" "I start by calling the element I’ll be working with, then I put in the intention of launching it in a pure form, then add the parameters of point of origin, direction, scale, and duration." "And when you call the lightning element and state its form, space coordinates, and duration, reality knows exactly what you’re talking about, right?" "Yes, that’s why the spelling and pronunciation must be precise and without hesitation." "Then, tell me. How would you do it with an abstract concept?" "..." "Exactly. In fact, it depends on which concept you’re talking about." "The force of gravity and the flow of time are physical concepts more than abstract concepts, though." "You are aware that I only know about that because of your memories, right? I mean, everyone knows that things fall to the ground, but nobody knows about the material causes of it." "Yeah, you’re right. But the Draconic language has a word for gravity, doesn’t it?" "Yes, because the Draconic language is universal." "What do you mean?" "Superior Dragons are a spacefaring race, as you would call it in your world. They are the original colonizers of the cosmos, and their language has several of those concepts." "Wait, what? How?" "It doesn’t matter, for us. I don’t know much, in any case. Only what snippets of information we were able to gather during the war. What matters is that, for you, magic using gravitational forces should be possible." "Because I know exactly what the material forces do and have the words to make my will into reality?" "Exactly. Now, let’s start with something simple, like making that rock levitate."