Chapter 53 - Lovelace’s lesson on magic (2)

Chapter 53: Chapter 53 - Lovelace’s lesson on magic (2) "Wait, what? How do I do that?" "Good question. You know the words and the concepts; show me the algorithm you can craft." "Have you done it before?" "Of course not! I’m not the one who had physics class in high school. I didn’t even have high school." "So how can you say that it’s easy?" "Because it should be easy for you." I sigh and look at my own hands, trying to remember the stuff I’ve learned about physics through the years. "Remember, I’m not here to teach you what everyone knows. I’m here to guide you in using the tools you already have. But you’re the one who can use them." Okay, Aurea, think. Gravitational force is one of the four fundamental interactions between particles of matter. It’s so weak that it doesn’t affect subatomic particles, but at the same time it’s, of the four, the one most easily noticeable at the macroscopic level, being able even to curve light. It attracts blocks of mass to each other, and the compound increases as you add more mass to the block. The more the mass, the stronger the attractive pull force. And yet, gravity itself has no mass nor waves. It has no form nor any way of direct measurement. And yet, its effect is so precise that a simple formula can make the prediction of even hidden astronomical objects trivial. As long as you have something suffering its effect. How do I make it work as I intend? I think I’ll start creating a new source of gravity. That sounds like a good way to start. I choose a bush that is on the bigger side and aim at a point in space at its side. I start the aria calling forth the interaction force of gravity, in the Draconic language, and describe it as a pull that unites all matter. Then I follow by ordering that point I was aiming at to start exerting gravitational force on its surroundings. I feel like flying, and then everything goes black. ::: When I next understand what’s happening, I’m fallen on the ground, with a lot of plants over me. Someone is already taking them off me. "Aurea! Aurea!" It’s Yaci’s voice. Weird, she wasn’t with us during my lesson. "I’m okay." I sit up. Nearby, Lovelace is looking at something in the ground. "Oh, good. You’re awake." "What happened?" "I heard a loud sound and came running as fast as I could, only to find you like this." It was Yaci who answered me, but that was not the answer I wanted. "You misfired the aria and it pulled you to the center you were aiming for. As well as everything else around. And then you and everything fell to the ground right afterwards." Okay, at least we know that gravity magic might work. "It was a rather spectacular failure. I wasn’t expecting you to try to treat gravity as if it was an element, after all that conversation." Oh? What did I do wrong? "Are you hurt, Aurea? How are you feeling?" "I’m okay, Yaci. It’s all okay. It was just a jumpscare." "It was scary indeed. What were you trying to do?" "Some new magic that doesn’t use the elements." "Huh?" "Yaci, that’s enough. Aurea has a lesson to continue. You can go back to your duties." "No, I’ll stay here." "Then just stay silent and don’t interrupt us." "..." "Good. Now, Aurea, what did you do wrong?" "I was trying to ask myself that." "And?" "I just conjured a point to which gravity would pull." "Without matter?" "Huh?" "What was the basis for that gravity? Or did you just wish the interaction into existence, without anything else? You do know that interaction is a relation between things, right?" "Oh... Right." "I’m not versed in Physics like anyone in your world is, but even I can say that that was a wrong call." Right. Gravity is the interaction between two masses. Both sides are affected with the same force. So if I don’t have a mass that is emitting the force, it will backfire. So, let’s change approach, then. Right now, my body has mass; therefore, it is exercising a gravitational pull on everything around me. It’s like those drawings in physics books, with the arrows of individual forces and the resulting... Oh. I begin chanting a new aria. I start by calling forth my eyes. And then I call forth the gravitational forces again. But this time I word it differently. I will them to be visible to my eyes. "AAAGHHHHHH" I immediately close my eyes. It hurts so much. My eyes, my mind, everything. I feel someone hugging me and Yaci’s voice again. "Aurea? What happened? What did you do?" "Don’t tell me you simply willed all gravitational forces to be visible, without a filter." Lovelace’s cold voice makes me feel stupid. Of course, why did I do that? "There’s a limit on how much information mortal eyes and brains can process at any given time without it starting to hurt." I dispel the aria, then open my eyes again. "Yeah, that was a stupid mistake to make. I’m sorry, Yaci, it did hurt in the moment, but it’s already ok now." Yaci looks at me with a serious face. "It’s enough for today. You’ve already hurt yourself twice." "No, no... I still have a lot to do." "No. You have to mind your own body and safety." "But I am minding... this is not too much for me. And I won’t repeat this last failure; I know that the next time I’ll be successful. So, please..." Yaci sighs. "Okay. But one more misfire, and it’s over for the day." I nod, then I focus again. I walk to another bush, one that’s survived the first misfire, and start the aria. Only, this time, I limit it to the gravity forces between me and the bush. It works. I can see some faint lines waving in the air, like an ethereal spider’s web. I start another aria, focusing on one of those lines that connect my center of gravity to the highest branch of the bush. Then, I will it to strengthen. The line starts getting thicker and thicker until, slowly, the branch starts leaning towards me. Bingo! I’m, of course, feeling a slight pull In its direction as well. But as I’m more massive than a little branch, the pull on me is not too big. If I did it on a huge boulder, I would be the one "falling" towards it. Which seems to be a rather unpleasant way of flying. I end the spell’s effect and look back at Lovelace, who is smiling amused. "That’s a nice little trick." "That was amazing!!!" Both she and Yaci exclaimed as I walked back to them. "This isn’t very useful for now, but it’s a nice beginning."