Chapter 25 #2
“Would you teach us some of it?” Freyah asked, taking back her seat beside Alissa.
Desi’s eyes lit up. She would never pass up the opportunity to talk about magic. “Of course! How much do you already know about how magic used to work in Heldraine?”
Alissa and Freyah shook their heads, and Desi realized they were completely ignorant of the matter. “I shall start from the beginning then.”
They settled back in their seats while Eldric kept his eyes glued to his own book, preferring not engage in their interaction.
“It is believed sixty-five percent of our people were blessed with the power of magic in their veins before the Battle of the Mundane,” she said, shaking her head contemplatively. “And to think all of them were killed in that terrible massacre.”
Alissa, Eldric, and Freyah knew this story had, at least in part, a mythic element rather than an absolute truth, considering the walls of Bryniard held no monsters, as the story told. Still, as Desi apparently didn’t know about it, they kept listening carefully.
“Before the battle went down, there were three types of mages in Heldraine. The first kind, and the most common, were called the Ksaren—they could summon their magic to manipulate nature and its elements. They were usually farmers, builders, or merchants because they could control the weather, the tides, and the soil in their favor. You can only imagine the abundance of food and the magnificent constructions of that time.” Desi made a circular motion with her hand, indicating their surroundings.
“This entire place was built with that same power.”
Desi’s lips turned up a little when her friends widened their eyes. The resemblance to her own children’s reactions when listening to her stories was stunning.
“The second kind were the Zeity. They were a rare kind of magic holders. Only ten percent of people touched by magic fit this category. Their gift was very powerful—it controlled time, flesh, and consequently life itself. They were usually our healers.”
Freyah gasped. “Does this mean they could go back in time?”
Desi let out a small laugh. “No. They couldn’t travel through time.
They could manipulate flesh and the effects of time on flesh or any other living fiber or organism, altering the being’s life as a result.
For example, they could accelerate the healing of an injury that would take months to heal, turning it into seconds.
They could fabricate flesh from scratch, and therefore, hunting was not practiced back then.
They could slow someone else’s aging, although it was forbidden because it messed with the natural order of life. ”
Those words hit Alissa like a stone. If they could slow someone else’s aging, they could probably speed it up, too, as Senectus Subita did to her people.
“The third kind of magic holders were the Hozter. They were believed to hold both the powers of Ksaren and Zeitys. This means they had the magic of the elements, flesh, and time. They were the most powerful and dangerous of all. Although records about any Hozters ever being born in Heldraine are very inconsistent.”
Alissa raised her eyebrows, listening attentively.
“You would expect in a world in which people had such power, chaos would eventually fall upon it, as the abuse or immoral use of magic could end in rivalry between the people. That is why Belfar—now known as Heldraine—had implemented a legislative system to control the use of magic, to make sure such power was respected and used correctly,” Desi continued.
“First of all, no one could use their magic with malicious intent, whether to harm another or to cause them any damage or losses. These were strictly forbidden. Secondly, mages were only allowed to use magic within their line of work with the purpose of contributing to society, never for personal gains.”
“What would be the consequence of breaking one of those rules?” Freyah asked, her index finger tapping her bottom lip.
“These were rules abided by the Crown, which means they do not differ much from our current legislative system. The subjects would go on trial to be sentenced either to death by hanging or imprisonment.”
Desi’s voice darkened for a second. “But there were other, stricter rules, enforced by magic itself—the Magic Edictum. These rules applied only to the Zeitys and Hozters and were directly tied to the chaos that could arise from disrupting the natural balance of life and time. These mages were forbidden from manipulating the natural aging process of people and from directly taking or restoring another person’s life using their magic. ”
“Did they have the power to resuscitate people?” Even in her wildest dreams, Alissa would have never imagined a power such as this could exist.
“They did, and they also had the power to do the opposite. These were decrees set by magic and added to the constitution. They believed interfering with people’s lifetime by killing or resuscitating was a sin, and no person—magical or not—should have the power to change the natural end of all living things. ”
“Wow!” Freyah whispered in awe. “Very wise, indeed.”
“What would happen if they broke any of these… Magic Edictum rules?” Eldric asked. He had pretended he was in no way interested in the conversation, but in reality, he wasn’t fooling anyone.
“No one knows for sure. There is no known record of a mage ever breaking one of the laws of magic. At that time, it was believed that their power would turn against its holder.”
Alissa wanted to ask what that could mean, but, seeing Desi’s own puzzled look, she assumed that, as an unprecedented event in Heldraine’s history, not even this magical researcher—smart as she was—could answer that question.
“The types of magic you mentioned resemble a little of Heldraine’s religious beliefs, don’t they?” Freyah noted.
“It’s no coincidence.” Desi smiled. “The Lizien and Rugresh beliefs were built over the assumption that magic was living proof that nature and time were the divine powers that ruled our world. When magic became extinct, our religions were the only means our people had found to keep the magic of the divine alive within our society.”
“How come you never learned about those things when you were studying to be a magical researcher, Eldric?” Alissa asked, shooting him a side glance.
“I was recruited for the Royal Guard before I could dive this deep into study. But I don’t think this is taught in the training to become a licensed magical researcher.”
“You’re right, Eldric, we don’t learn about magic history to perform this job.
The Crown seems to ensure the history of magic remains a mystery for most of us.
Maybe they don’t want us daydreaming about the past. What they do teach us is the science behind it so that we can make up potions that could, at least in some sense, replace what magic used to do for Heldraine.
” Desi’s tone brimmed with enthusiasm, fueled by her passion for magic.
“This is a rare volume,” Alissa stated while holding the precious book close to her chest.
“The rarest there is. It is the only one of its kind in Heldraine. The administration keeps it locked in the main office. My mother has a copy of the key—that’s how I got it.”
“Are you not getting into trouble for this?” The look on Freyah’s face was instantly filled with concern.
“No, it’s fine. You can read it for the rest of the day. There is a secret dent on bookcase ninety-four in row four hundred and six. You can hide it there, and I’ll put it back later.”
Desi started walking away. She had already risked enough of her luck to go to the library—being recognized could be as much a danger for herself as for the criminals in her company. Before leaving, she glanced over her shoulders to see Alissa and Freyah bent over the book, their eyes glowing.