Magic Theory

I pulled her out from under the bed, lifted her up, sat her on the bed, and asked: “So are you gonna tell me how you ended up in this mess?”

To which still sobbing she answered: “I just wanted to do some research…”

“Research? What could you possibly research in this place?”

“Mana fluctuations, or well… you could also call them magic earthquakes, we have registered levels of mana fluctuations never seen before! With the castle as the epicenter. I came here to confirm it myself, and there’s no doubt, the castle seems to have very unusual patterns of mana concentration.” She gradually replaced her crying tone with excitement.

“Wasn’t it easier to report it to the authorities and ask for permission to research?”

“We did, several times actually, but the relationship between Euros and Zéphuros has been… hasn’t been great for the past few years… Ever since Euros started giving autonomy to universities, the rest of the four cities started to fear rebellion among their scholars, especially Zéphuros which has always been attached to traditions.”

“Wait… then… You came here all the way from the other side of the kingdom?”

“Yeah.”

“You? You survived the journey?”

“Hehe… I get what you’re saying, but I didn’t take the direct route. Passing through the desert and the chaos of the central lands would have meant death for me. So I first went all the way up to Boréas which is also worried about the fluctuations, they helped me a ton!”

“Huh… and they all agreed on you being the best fit for this mission?”

“Actually I… was the only volunteer…”

She laughed nervously.

“They didn’t assemble a team? *Sigh* What were they thinking? leaving you all on your own… It’s almost like they didn’t care in the slightest, nor about the whole thing nor about you.”

“Well… about that… You aren’t that far off… They all wanted me gone… I think…” She said—lowering her gaze. Nervousness replaced with gloom.

“What do you mean…?”

“I’m known for always messing everything up so… Perhaps they’d be glad if I never returned…” She played with her fingers. Circling them around each other.

“Don’t say that. Not even as a joke…”

“But… it’s true… I mean… I got my degree thanks to my theoretical research but… It doesn’t help anyone in the slightest. So far although my equations haven’t been refuted logically, they don’t work in practice. They are just fancy theories, no different from fantasy…” Her voice cracked.

“How about I hear your theories then?” I put my hand on her shoulder.

“You… don’t want to… there’s a consensus of them being boring….” She closed her eyes, avoiding confrontation.

“Boring things are just boring when you have accepted them as such in the first place. I have never been bored in my life, so if you really believe them to be boring then view it as a challenge, but you wouldn’t have worked so hard on them if they were, am I right?”

“Are you sure?” She finally looked at me, with the innocent eyes which yearned for connection. Wanting to believe she could share her passion with someone else.

“Sure.”

“Then… If I’m correct, the reason why magic works is because the universe needs balance, just as an equation does! When you do something to one side—the other has no option but to follow to maintain the expression as true, magic is no different, when we cast a spell, we’re telling the universe what we want to happen, but it’s a lie, so if we see a lie as a negative, then to maintain reality real, the universe needs to create a positive or vice versa, of course this assumes the lie is perceived as truth by everyone involved, forcing reality to change, if there’s someone who doesn’t perceive it as true then… we have to go back to ordinary spells that force mana to transform energy into matter, but if the balancing theory were to be true. It would mean at some point we wouldn’t need any kind of manifestation of the spell like magic circles, written spells, or incantations, instead we could just wish for the spell to be true and if the spell results in balance then the universe will allow it!”

So lies are not seen as magic? Then why did Eliot look so confident when he pulled off that trick?

“Now that is what I call an interesting theory. Your colleagues must be all third-class mages if they think it’s boring.”

“I appreciate it but… compared to them I’m the third class-mage. The invisibility spell for example—the average student can make it last thirty seconds. I, on the contrary, struggle to get ten, and almost made you pay for my ineptitude.”

“Even if you are not as good as them when it comes to field work—You forget something—A real mage is not someone who can perfect the execution of a spell—whoever is defined by a skill is just a tool—A real mage is the one who can understand and create new ones. And Sofia, There’s still not a single mage who can cast the spells you have worked on, correct?”

“Yes.”

“And magic theory doesn’t deny they could be cast, correct?”

“Yes.”

“That doesn’t mean you’re wrong, it just means you haven’t found the correct person to cast them yet. I’ve been told that people like me have a certain affinity to magic so… Would you teach me?”

“I… It would be a pleasure!” Her whole aura lit—illuminating the room, as her contagious smile forced me to follow along.

“It’s decided then. I won’t let you down!”

“Thanks! Uhm… I think I should’ve asked you this earlier but… What’s your name?”

“Oh right! Hahaha. Let’s do this properly shall we? I’m Rey. It’s a pleasure to meet you Sofia.” I said, offering my hand.

“Rey huh? It’s a pleasure to meet you too!”

We shook hands, and then…

“We’ve found the intruders, sir Rey! Your sister is safe!”

“They’ve found…?”

“The intruders?!"