In a library in the Red Tower of Power...
Niklas quickly takes one copy of "On Metamagic", making sure to check with the librarian if it's permitted (it is, and it's free of charge unless he carries it out of here!), and then gets to reading, taking a seat at one of the reading tables.
The first chapter, appropriately enough, is titled "What In Gods' Names Is Magic, Anyway?", and explains the nature of magic to the best of its ability, and the section seems pretty long. Luckily, the book isn't too big on complex terminology at this point, and Niklas gets the rough gist of the chapter, which is that magic is not, among other things, an object, process or resource. You can't manipulate magic itself, because magic does not exist at all - it's merely an imaginary construct people have devised to explain what is, basically, the soul asserting itself on the universe.
The current paradigm in the magical community is that the universe is actually very malleable in its construction and laws, and nowhere is it more apparent than in its interaction with the soul. The soul, guided by the mind (at least initially - once the soul is guided by a mind for long enough, it can take on a mind of its own), can warp reality in any number of ways, though it is notoriously difficult for the average person to do such a thing. This warping of reality, or at least a formalized subset of it applied to certain objects, is called magic by most people. By calling it magic without understanding the principles, however, one invites quite a few misconceptions about how it works. Still, this chapter and the ones to come should clear up some of the confusion, or so the book hopes.
So, with that out of the way, the book explains, metamagic is essentially the manipulation of the soul's ability to impose itself on reality either way - both ways are equally useful, naturally, though increases in soul potential are highly dangerous, and can lead to hideous injuries unless practiced carefully. "How?", one might ask, and the simple answer is that the universe, while malleable, tends to react poorly when a lot of its laws begin to fail with great frequency. The results are obviously not pleasant, and tend to involve lots of strange occurrences.
A detail to remember is that there are no known natural material foci for metamagic - only written ones work, and they usually have to be pretty nonspecific, because one has no idea how the process of reality warping actually works - the current theory is simply a good approximation of its effects. A good hint on what more scientifically-inclined readers could eventually study, the book says, because the information would presumably be quite useful.
And all of that information was just in the first two chapters, Niklas thinks. Wonder what's in the rest.
In the streets of Mothdale...
Sigmund rolls away from the bird, then proceeds to resume his seeking of friendlies. Sadly, though, as he rolls through the streets, sticking close to the walls, he doesn't see anyone aside from some people occasionally poking their heads out of buildings, then, seemingly finding the dangerous state of the outside unsatisfactory, disappearing back into their abodes.
The city's pretty large, Sigmund thinks. Is it likely that he's going to find what he's looking for around here?
On the Second Shank...
Morton, seeing how everything seems okay, moves over to the den, becoming somewhat perturbed by the sound of rushing water coming from nearby, as well as the way the floor seems a little wet. When he arrives at the den, the perturbation only increases as he notices a rather large hole in the side of the ship through which water seems to be coming in. A very unfortunate development, he believes.
On the bright side, he doesn't believe he's lost anything after being split in half, given that all of his items were in his drawers, which he only had on one side. And he does notice that several of the wall panels appear to have fallen off, and those would probably serve as wonderful spare parts.
In an artifact pet store...
Darren guesses he can't oppose the woman's logic. After all, if one believes that mechanical slaves should not be allowed to have loving pets in their lives, who is he to say no?
"Yes, of course. I'll go and look for somebody else to buy them."
"Okay! Come back soon, yes!" the pet store lady says enthusiastically, smiling at Darren as he leaves. Once outside, the ghost wonders what to do next.
In a guest receiving area of Lizzie's mistress...
Kevin supposes it's time for him to leave now.
~Sure, I guess. See you later!~
~Happy trails, Kev.~
With a bright flash of light and the sped-up sound of a harpsichord tumbling down a flight of stairs, Kevin rapidly reappears elsewhere, in a place he recognizes as the harbor of the city he was in until recently. He notices the ol' Second Shank still floating, though it does look a little lower than it used to. And a little crooked. And surrounded by walruses.
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Topic: Life Begins At Death - Epilogue: We Live And Live Again (Read 562684 times)