Chapter 15 ~ Subvocalizing

As the earth of the land and the waters of the ocean sit as unsteady neighbors, wind flows between every open crevice, while fires break out to swallow up all they can before their brief outbursts fade. Throughout it all, light basks the world in its self-absorbed splendor. In this way, balance is achieved in nature not by mindless harmony and arbitrary whims of peace, but by conflicting domains pushing one another to their limits, letting the pieces fall where they may. So decrees the founding text of the Adherents of the Third.

In this regard, the five elements and the magic that embodies them aren't dissimilar to the world of mankind. City-states always indulged their territorial hunger until they could no longer support expansion. Whether the devout theocracy of the Tawil Caliphate, the familial hierarchies of Zhongyuan, or the passionate republic of Pindorama, all major powers of the human world were expanding until they could no longer, whatever factors or conflicts led to their limitations. The Augeo Demesne, true to its name, was the most egregious of the city-states with its growth. While disenfranchisement was a universal phenomena in any culture, none were so systematically endorsed as with the capital city of Augeo and its many territories. Slavery was the greatest of the city's ongoing sins, and it was hardly a rare one. Not only was it codified into law, but there were many avenues of unofficial slavery that held a grip on the populace, not least of which via peonage. The effects of the practice etched itself into the very walls of many districts. Damaged chunks of buildings, missing walls, rusted iron, broken glass, trash throughout the streets, all this and more were the hallmarks of the complacency the population was forced into with such a culture. The elites did not care what conditions the general populace lived in, and the common folk had long since stopped caring about anything outside the thin walls of their own homes; just as often about anything inside them either.

"You know, I've been thinking. You do know that not everybody in life is your tutor, right?" Robin remarked as he led Kurai through the streets. While he only had a feminine styled coat to go over his usual type of dress, Kurai had a fuzzy shawl to go with the respectable gown she now owned. It was far nicer than the makeshift threads from several days ago. "I started to wonder if you were getting the wrong impression from the master and me, considering your first idea was asking lessons from Irene."

"Well, it was one of the first ideas. I'm sure she's fine with it," the novae replied, gazing all around as they walked. The decaying buildings all around weren't as bad as the first slums Kurai encountered, but they were no more flattering here either. The businesses and tenements were clearly full of life, in stark contrast to the icy feel of the streets. Everybody outside was in transit, rarely in anything other than a duo or trio. Nobody spoke to one another, nor did they show any interest beyond wherever their destination was. If it was only a majority, that would be one thing, but Kurai was keenly aware that it was everyone. Not a single soul was outside enjoying the scenery nor partaking in a fun hobby. The weather was still fair enough for it. The outdoors was treated like an inconvenient passageway more than anything else.

"Do humans normally avoid each other this much? I thought yours was a social species."

"One, don't ever say things like that in public. Two, don't ever say things like that in general. Three... Social doesn't mean friendly. It just means we're capable of working in groups. Doesn't matter if it's you and your buddies doing as you please, or if it's fellow slaves wearing the same yoke. That's the social graces of humanity for you." He frowned, looking down and seeing just the edge of his metal collar. It wasn't legal for someone like him to be in public without one.

"...Humans sound a lot kinder on paper, huh?" The concept went over her head at first, but as time has gone by, Kurai had started to understand what slavery really meant. Among many, many other things, the foremost thought on the novae's mind was how it sounded as random as it was inescapable. Many people were born into it and others were chained later on, all helpless when their fates were decided by others. The novae already had a nightmare once about being trapped in a similar way. She was kept in a cage once too, but it felt like a pale comparison to what she saw humans doing unto each other.

"Depends on what paper you're reading." He chuckled for a moment. "At any rate, Irene's clinic is just up ahead. Try to find a cheerier topic when we speak to her." He acted like he wasn't the one who brought it up.

"...Right, right. Speaking of, I'm glad you're here, Robin. I was curious about your rock magic too." She changed the subject with a smile, trying to ignore the construction workers on the street not too far away. All of them wore metal collars as they labored in rags. It seems they were the only humans not in transit.

"Actually, it's earth magic, not rock magic." As he opened the door for her, he could see the amused look on her face. Oh dear, he really did just pull an 'actually'. He had to act quickly, lest she starts getting any smart comments about it. "...By which I mean it affects other things too. You're not going to call a piece of iron a rock, right?" It seemed it worked.

"Oh! Okay, that makes sense. I guess I can't call you a nerd this time~," she teased as they entered the clinic.

It was a small building, barely bigger than the average café would be. There was only a waiting room, two examination rooms in the back, and some employee areas near the supply closet. To an untrained eye, it might look like a humble operation. To the people of Augeo, it was bizarre seeing an apothecary actually having a clinic in the first place. Irene wasn't visible from the waiting area. There was only a smiling receptionist behind a desk.

"Why hello! I haven't seen your faces here before. Do you have a medical emergency, or are you here to schedule an appointment?" she asked in a helpful tone that clearly had countless rehearsals. The receptionist was a middle aged lady, wider than average. She had neatly trimmed hair put up in a bun, along with some cheap earrings. Shiny enough to sparkle without being worth stealing.

"Uh, no, we're actually here to speak with Miss Irene."

"We're sorry, but Clinician Rellick does not take visitors during work hours. If you'd like to leave a note, I can hand it to her, but otherwise you will have to reach her some other time."

"...Okay. I guess we should take a seat and get comfortable?" she cautiously asked Robin. He didn't share such patience.

"This isn't a random social call. Irene asked to talk to us," Robin explained.

"Young lady, you should speak with more respect when referring Clinician Rellick. Not to mention I highly doubt she would request a random slave's presence." It seemed she mistook Robin as being a girl too. As usual, he never showed an inclination to correct people when out in public.

"..." The maid was clearly biting his tongue. "...I apologize for my transgression. What I had meant was that the company of Lady Kurai here was requested by Clinician Rellick. I am merely here to assist her."

The receptionist gave them both a skeptical look, before with some effort she finally got out of her chair to go speak with Irene. It didn't take her long to return and sit back down. "The clinician will see you now," she flatly declared, gesturing them to the back.

While Robin had kept his discomfort to himself, Kurai was not so withdrawn. Her face said it all as they entered the back room where Irene was writing various notes. She spun her chair around, regarding them with a hint of exhaustion.

"Well, as it turns out, Thursday was slow as ever. Seems I'll be free after all. Good to see you both arrived safely," she greeted, setting out pre-filled cups of water for each of them. "Please, make yourselves comfortable."

Robin accepted his cup with a nod, taking his seat on the single spare chair. There wasn't much furniture in such a small space, leaving Kurai to sit on the examination table.

"Hello to you too. Thanks for the water, but um... Was that your assistant up front? I think she hurt Robin's feelings," Kurai nervously reported.

"Ah, did Avani say something? Please don't take it personally. We've had too many run ins with troublemakers for her to not get wary of newcomers. She's just being protective of the clinic."

"I have been here before with the master, but I'm not surprised she didn't remember a humble slave." Robin crossed his legs at the ankles, getting comfortable in his seat. "At any rate, don't worry about me. I've had worse."

"Oh, okay..." Kurai sipped at her cup, doing a bad job at pretending she was fine with it now.

"...So, you said you had questions about water magic," Irene prompted. She didn't think the reminder was necessary, but the novae seemed tight-lipped after the previous subject. "Just so we're both on the same page, tell me what you already know about magic. Have you ever practiced it before?"

"Nope. I've studied the principles, but I never actually used one. Let's see... There are four elements: wind, water, earth, and fire. They're manipulated into magical effects by the usage of the latent magical energy all around us, which is known as 'latence'. Each element also has the three disciplines of positive, neutral, and negative practices. I... forget what that means. I guess there are good and evil ways to use magic?" She tilted her head, index finger firmly on her chin.

"Yes, there are good and evil ways to use magic, just like any other tool. No, that has nothing to do with disciplines. It's simply how the flow of energy is used for that instance of latence manipulation. Furthermore, there are five schools, the fifth being light. You must have been reading an old textbook if it didn't mention that much."

"Aha, it... did mention light as a possible fifth element, but the author sounded convinced it was no different than fire magic. So, I assumed that's just what it is."

"It's debated by academicians who have strong opinions about things they've never experienced. I've seen light magic in practice. It's not well understood, but it's distinctly not fire magic."

"How so?"

"Because people with a natural fire affinity have no capabilities with light magic. On a more observable level, look at the negative discipline of each school. When fire magicians use their negative style, it instigates an endothermic reaction that leaves behind a freezing effect. There is solely temperature being affected with no change to the visuals in the afflicted area. Meanwhile, in the demonstration of light negative magic that I saw, it created pure darkness. An intangible orb, dark as could be. While it was colder inside of it, it was no different than the shade of a tree. The preeminent quality was visual by way of a photoreceptive reaction affecting throughout the radius of the spell. It was an environmental phenomena, not merely a distortion of one's perceptions by illusion-based..." Irene stopped when she noticed the blank looks she was getting. "...Right, I'll stop there. Please tell me you understood at least some of it."

"...Yep! It, um... It gets cold!" Kurai proudly answered.

"And dark!" Robin joined in with a knowing smirk that Kurai lacked.

"..." The apothecary sighed. "You know, you both do a great job making my backlog of paperwork look very tempting to get back to."

"Ahaha... I mean, it's definitely interesting! I guess I'd need to see it in action to have anything to say. Can you do those types of magic too?"

"I've only studied water magic, myself. That's all the demonstrations I'll be giving."

"Oh right, you can only study one form, can't you? Because of the latence pathways being too complex, I think it said. I guess water would be the best one for doing medical treatments. Gosh, you really have studied to be a healer for a long time!"

"Mm..." Irene went quiet, seeming uncertain of if she should speak what's on her mind.

"You can only study one, but as Irene mentioned earlier, you can be born with an elemental affinity too," Robin clarified. As he spoke, he withdrew the small bundle of obsidian shards that he kept in a bag on the inside of his maidly apron. The obsidian hovered in the air between his hands. "Everybody has an affinity, but most people's are too weak to do much. Though some of us are lucky enough to be born as adepts. If you are, you can use one type of magic naturally, and you can learn another school on top of it too. Though you'll be a jack of two trades instead of a master of one."

"Ooh, right! You're a natural when it comes to rocks. Which other one did you study, Robin?"

"You think the slavers gave me an education?" He crossed his arms with another chuckle, letting the obsidian coalesce into a ball and sit beside him. "I mean, Master did give me an education later on, and he probably would let me learn a magical course if I asked him. I don't really care that much. Like, when you get past the hype of magic, you have to ask yourself 'how much is this really going to be useful for me?' You learn fire magic to light your cigars and congrats, you saved a few pennies on matches, it only took however many years of tedious study." He pursed his lips at seeing the apothecary in the midst of some sort of internal debate. "...Uh, you good there, Irene?"

"...Yes, I'm good. It's just what Kurai said. I suppose I should be honest with her. You see, I didn't study water magic for healthcare reasons. I used to be a nun, and we all had to learn water magic for our specific type of communion. It just happened to be a transferable skill for this. I've only started healing others a few years ago, thanks to Lord Meus's encouragement."

"Huh. I guess it's lucky things worked out that way. Did you like being a nun?"

"Very much so. It was a very strict lifestyle, but it suited me well. As a nun, you never get to sleep in or take days off. Any time you felt tired, sick, down in the dumps, just plain irritated by everything? You had to find the inner strength to get over it, every single time without fail. No such thing as taking it out on the other sisters; that would land you in trouble immediately. You had no choice but to address and overcome all mental hurdles as you followed the daily schedule down to the minute. No such thing as weekends off; even Sundays only had an altered schedule, never one with free time. Newer sisters always seemed like they were on the verge of cracking until they finally get a hang of it. You'd be surprised how many things you actually have control over, things that laypeople tend to let control them instead."

"That... doesn't sound fun at all. Why would you want that?"

"It was satisfying on a spiritual level. I understood all of my emotions could be controlled, no matter how intense they felt. Every hunger, every desire, all those things that feel like they decide what your priorities are? There's a strength you feel when you overcome them all." She couldn't help but smile. "Of course, my faith in the Third was important too. But the convent wasn't there to deepen your faith; it was to learn how to use it."

"I... no, I can't say I understand those kinds of things at all." Kurai frowned as she tried to imagine it. All that kept coming to mind was her nightmare of being in captivity. "...If you liked it so much, what made you want to stop being a nun?"

"I broke my vows." This was the inevitable question that had her hesitating so much earlier, but by now she had steeled herself enough to admit it calmly. "I did some things I shouldn't have, and I accepted the responsibility for it. Nobody asked me to leave, but I knew I couldn't stay. I actually turned myself over to Lord Meus, expecting him to do the worst considering he was the one most affected. Instead, he showed mercy. Since I had a second chance, I decided I wanted to do some good in the world."

"What... did you do with Mr Meus?" She didn't like the way things were sounding.

"...That much, I won't say. I don't speak of others' misfortunes behind their backs. Just know that he's a good man who showed mercy when he didn't have to."

"...Hey, Irene." Robin cautiously spoke, as if ready to be told to shut his mouth at any moment. When it never came, he nervously continued. "The master never hated you, you know. It affected him deeply, but... he was mad at himself, not you. He didn't forgive you just to be nice. Deep down, he needed it too."

The apothecary stood with her back to the wall, once again staring into nothing as her arms remained crossed. Her fingers were pressed tight against her upper arms. "...I'm going to get something to drink." It was all she had to say before she stepped around the corner. It was the saddest Kurai had ever seen her, but even then it was forcibly muted.

"Sure, take your time. A-anyways, Kurai, you wanted to see magic, right?" He hopped up, moving a small portable tray next to the examination table. "I can show you a thing or two. What did you want to see first?"

"Oh, uh, I guess..." It was a clumsy way to move on, but even Kurai knew better than to push the subject. "What is the difference for the three types of Earth magic? Can you show me that much? I can kind of see how light negates into darkness, but how does that work for something like wind or earth?"

"It's like... uh..." His hand spun in a small circle as he tried to think of an example. "If you stab a knife into water versus a brick, you get different results, right? Something like that. All it means is a different way of trying to use the latence around you on an element. You get a different reaction depending on the element, of course. Actually, here let me show you." He once again raised the clump of obsidian, seemingly by levitation.

"Earth magic's positive magic is utilizing magnetic fields. I know you learned the basics about magnetism, but it is more than just metals that are affected by it. Normally those other magnetic fields are too weak to do much, but that's where earth magic comes in. Those weak magnetic fields can be empowered and then adjusted with different levels of paramagnetism and diamagnetism, letting you do things like this." He held his hand up, letting the rock circle around him seemingly effortlessly. It was more impressive now that the novae knew what he was actually doing.

"Whoa... So you're not really using your magic on the rocks themselves, but the magnetic... stuffs around all of it?" The maid nodded in response. "That's so cool! And now that I'm thinking about it, does that work for throwing too, not just levitating? Like what those spikes you had...?"

"Mhm!" With his good hand, he reached down his apron and pulled out one of the exact same spikes in question. How much stuff was he hiding under there...? "Just don't go around telling everyone about my little secret, okay?" With expert control, he levitated the spike over to Kurai, marking an X over her chest. He gave her a wink. "Cross your heart and hope to die~."

"Ehehe... Fine, I promise," Kurai replied, wanting to go along with the cheeky display. If he was trying to lighten the mood, it was working. "Dear me, it's no wonder you could fight so many guys with all that!"

"Yes, practitioners of earth magic tend to be feared just as much as fire magicians, often even more," Irene chimed in calmly as she returned to the room, glass of water in hand. There wasn't any signs of her being worse for wear. "Sorry to have to do this, Robin, but your explanation was lacking. To be more exact, the element of earth is the school of nonorganic physical aspects. As you've seen, the positive aspect is magnetism, or the induced motion of objects. In similar terms, neutral aspected earth magic is the hardening of bonds, using latent energy to increase durability and the ability to maintain shapes. Negative earth is in contrast the weakening of bonds, leading to the decay and subsequent crumbling of a current form. Take both of those and imagine being a warrior using one on your own shield and another on your enemy's shield, and you can probably guess what kind of people usually study that school."

"Wait, isn't that way too powerful? How would you even win against someone like that...?" While Robin didn't respond to Kurai's question, he did seem very smug all of a sudden.

"In a fair fight, it would be very difficult unless you also had the same magic. No war was ever won with a fair fight, though." Irene set out a flask, not elaborating any more on that point. "Moving on, the school of water is quite similar to earth in its disciplines. Our element's positive aspect is also induced motion, this time via the flow of liquids," she explained, raising the water from the flask without touching it. "As you can see, that flow does not have to follow any natural pathways. The latence manipulation lets you dictate all aspects of a flow, especially direction. While our neutral aspect is similar to earth's hardening, in this case it's in the form of congealment." As she went on, the water thickened into a sort of slime. It was the same thing Irene had been doing when cleaning out Robin's wounds several days ago. "It can be coupled with the positive aspect to induce an absorption effect. Magically speaking, you don't actually 'unabsorb' anything when extracting the fluid; it's simply inverting the flow and letting it excrete."

"Pfft... Real vivid word choice there, doc," Robin giggled. It didn't matter that she wasn't a licensed doctor, people still tended to use "doc" for short instead of anything more accurate like "apoth". It just rolled of the tongue better.

"...And letting it excern, then. Ahem. Anyways, water's negative aspect is also the weakening of bonds. Rather than decay, it's a transference into atmospheric humidity by the bonds destabilizing to such a degree." Just as she said it, the gelatinous water changed. It did not become humidity, though. It became ice.

"...That's an interesting form of humidity, Irene." Robin's tone had a knowing inflection to it.

"Verdammt..." She quickly tried to reverse the process, though rather than gel it became liquid again. Thankfully she was quick to humidify it this time, letting it become vapors in the air.

"Uh, how did that happen? You can't really mess up a spell like that, right? It would just... not work if you messed up, right?" Kurai held a hand to her chin ponderously.

"Mistakes happen. It's not a big deal." Irene brushed it off without further elaboration. "Back to the subject matter, the problem with negation aspected magic for earth and water alike is that you can't undo negation. I can freely transfer it between a congealed state and a liquid one, but not when it humidifies. While earth can reassemble the crumbled bits and hold them together, it will never be the same as the intact object was. It's even more of a challenge trying to extract water from the air unless you're in a rainforest."

"Don't be fooled, Kurai. It's more than just water. It's any fluids. Quick, think of the top five grossest liquids in the world and imagine them becoming vapors right in front of your nose!" The maid was getting cheeky again.

"Hey, don't try to upset the poor girl..."

"What? You were the one trying to fearmonger her over my magic first!" Truthful as he was, it didn't earn him any reaction besides a dismissive hand wave. "Whatever. I'll be heading to the WC while you show her some more tricks."

As he left the room, Irene put away the first flask. As soon as he was around the corner, she quickly approached to lean in towards Kurai, now speaking in a hushed tone.

"So, Kurai, now that we have a moment to ourselves, what was that experiment you and Lord Meus were doing? Was it the clothes being enchanted and hiding your form? Was there some kind of alchemical effect at play? I'd like to know the truth."

"...Y'know, I noticed that none of the schools of magic involve anything organic. I'm guessing there's no spells that can create life from thin air, huh?" The novae was going somewhere with this, but it was also a way for her to slow things down with the sudden uncomfortable tension in the room.

"No, there's not. Just answer my question before he gets back."

"...Well, then I'll be frank that I don't know. Somehow, I can shift my shape. If it's not magic, then I don't know how I do it. But I was shapeshifting at that time. That's all I can tell you."

"That's..." The shorter woman studied the other's face carefully. "...No, I can tell you're not lying. But how is that true...? ...I know you mentioned this is your true form. Is this really how you always looked?"

"No, I'll confess. You see, I'm not really a human. I'm actually a nova vitae. I used to be such a small, blobby thing. Now, I'm not supposed to tell anyone about this, but I feel I can trust you. After all, you trusted me enough to mention your own with your own secrets." She gave Irene the warmest smile she could muster. "Besides, we're friends, aren't we?"

"A nova vitae? One of those laboratory creatures?" There was nothing welcoming on her features. Irene began to speak, but the moment was cut brief with the sounds of Robin finishing washing his hands. Damn him for being a boy and finishing up so quickly. "...Don't tell anyone about what we just discussed, okay?" She backed away just before the maid returned.

"...Okay, Miss Irene." Her smile persisted as she decided to hold the older woman in good faith.

"Alright, I'm back, what did I miss?" Robin was drying his hands as he returned.

"Glad you could rejoin us. Kurai had the oddest question about if there was any kind of magic that could create life."

"Oh, right. I don't think she's ever had... The Talk." He didn't need to specify which one to Irene. Nobody misunderstood The Talk. "You see, Kurai, when a mommy and a daddy love each other very much..."

"Oh, shut up! Kurai, dear, he's just being a brat again. In truth, there is no form of actual magic that involves organic matter. Of course the various elements can indirectly affect organic beings, in much the same way that a rock to the skull can affect your way of thinking."

"Pfft..." Kurai couldn't help but giggle at that. "Well, o-okay, I see what you mean. But what if it exists and just isn't understood well yet, like light magic is?"

"Let me make this simple. Light magic is theoretical. Organic magic is hypothetical. Got it?"

"Ah... Well, yeah, when you put it like that."

"Glad it wasn't that confusing. Now all this being said, I think it is getting late enough we should wrap this up." Irene affected a yawn. "It was good seeing the two of you again. Glad to see you've at least gave yourself the wrap before coming to see me, Robin." She gestured to his bandaged side.

"I've been a good boy. I've been keeping at it even when you're not around." He feigned offense, only for a moment. "But yeah, it would be a good time for us to get going. Don't want to wait for it to get dark before we head home. Good seeing you too, Irene."

"Yup! We should hang out again sometime. See ya, Miss Irene!" Kurai hopped to her feet, following Robin out the building. She said her goodbyes to Miss Avani on the way out. Robin didn't even glance at the receptionist.