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Last of the Fae Chapter 115: High Council Pt. 3
🕑 Added 2025-02-09 22:46:33 +0000 UTCThane cleared his throat loudly before launching into a recount of his findings, "My investigation into soul magic began during my treatment of an unnamed individual who mistakenly used a cat's hair as a catalyst when consuming a polyjuice potion. For those who are unaware, any major transfiguration of a living being temporarily replaces the original soul horizon with a temporary facsimile of whatever the target is transformed into. However, what I found peculiar was that in this instance the unfortunate individual had not been transformed into a cat, instead they merely adopted the animalistic qualities of one. With their consent, I performed a full examination of the subject's body and found that their physiology had been morphed by the polyjuice potion as well as their DNA."
"DNA?" Crouch spoke up interrupting Thane who sighed in response, "It stands for Deoxyribonucleic acid, it was discovered by muggle scientists over thirty years ago. Without going into much detail DNA are microscopic polymers that facilitate the replication of cells and determine physical traits, such as eye and hair color. When I examined the subject's DNA it contained genes that are present in both the cat and human genome."
Crouch went to open his mouth again but Thane was one step ahead of him, "A genome is all the possible genes present within a species that are passed down from generation to generation through reproduction. It should have been impossible for the subject to possess DNA that contained traits from both the human and feline genomes because they are two separate species meaning they can not create viable offspring. But somehow the polyjuice potion had facilitated the creation of a completely new genome, and I believe that had the transformation been permanent the subject would have been the originator of an entirely new species. However, as I stated before the polyjuice potion only affects the soul horizon meaning that the soul core will eventually reject the facsimile causing the subject to eventually revert to their original appearance."
"So what exactly about this freak accident piqued your interest and encouraged you to delve further into soul magic? I believe that any sane person would have taken a look at the results and come to the conclusion just how dangerous even the most minor consequences could be." Crouch argued trying to box Thane in and get him to admit his reckless ambition.
"This freak accident gave me undeniable proof that the soul and the physical body are undeniably connected and intertwined, something that has been hypothesized for centuries," Thane replied calmly, "The only thing that remained was to identify which came first the soul or the body. I hypothesized that the soul acted as the source of origin, after all, healing magic functions by empowering the soul to create a new soul horizon which has the effect of healing most physical ailments. Furthermore even after their body has decayed ghosts and other spirits maintain their original appearances for hundreds of years after their death."
"I see," Crouch muttered, "Did your findings support your hypothesis, and if so how?"
"They did, in fact, it was far easier to confirm than I feared it would be," Thane replied, "All I needed to do was manipulate my soul over a series of trials and see that if every change produced an expected response to my phenotype or genotype or in layman's terms, my physical appearance or genetic code."
Crouch's eyes widened and he stared at Thane as if he were a madman, "You experimented on your own soul!?"
"Technically yes I did," Thane admitted which caused the crowd to roar out in disapproval with some shouting that Thane was insane. At the same time, a look of concern spread across Dumbledore's face but he remained silent keeping his promise not to interject, "If you would allow me to clarify your honor!"
Thane shouted to be heard among the outcry and Crouch quickly brought the court to order after banging his gavel, "Thank you...I did experiment on my soul, however, because of a condition I was born with I required nothing but my magic and will to influence it. You see your honor I was born as a Metamorphmagus."
Thane's body then shifted, his facial features contouring until he became an identical copy of Crouch and as he spoke it was Crouch's voice that spilled from his lips, "If you were to take a sample of my DNA it would be an exact match to your own your honor because in this instant my soul horizon has changed to matched your own. I performed this test several times at various scales changing every feature of my genetic code, individually and together. In my dissertation, you will find a complete genetic mapping of every transformation I performed."
Crouch was visibly uneased as he stared at himself and listened to his own voice, "Very well Lord Fae you have proved your point, you may revert to your original appearance."
Thane nodded and changed back, "Once I discerned that the soul was the origin of self and the body was just a physical manifestation I realized the limitless potential if I was able to interact with the core itself instead of the horizon. Of course, I am not the first wizard to come to this conclusion and this is the point where many relied on the fact that if the soul horizon was sufficiently broken by inflicting pain on its physical manifestation the core could be accessed directly. However, due to my nature as a metamorphmagus, I realized that if my soul horizon could be manipulated to express different genetic information perhaps it was possible to find a way to willingly suppress it and access my soul core."
"But surely you understood the risks of such a procedure," Couch asked though for the first time his voice lacked the heat Thane had come to associate with the man, instead now the judge sounded genuinely curious.
"Yes, which I why I didn't explore such a possibility any further, without my limited understanding of what exactly constituted the soul horizon and the soul core," Thane explained, "Imagine my surprise when I discovered that no one in the written history of magic has been able to produce an image of what the soul looks like or if the analogy of a core and horizon is even accurate."
Thane grinned as he remembered the immense struggle of overcoming that particular problem, "But perhaps we have truly regressed as a magical society because the analogy was spot on."
A dead silence settled throughout the courtroom and everyone turned to stare at Thane, "Lord Fae are you insinuating that you know what the soul looks like?"
Thane grinned broader, "Yes I am your Honor, that is how my sigils work. They can take a snapshot of the soul which is a unique signature specific to each individual that as far as I know can not be replicated."
"How is that possible?" Crouch muttered his eyes conveying sheer disbelief.
"Well, it was quite simple really, though that's only if you had a material with perfect mana conductivity," Thane replied, "Fortunately I created one. Afterward, I created an enchantment that sends a pulse of mana into the body which is reflected by the soul and the soul horizon creating a negative captured by the conduit creating a physical medium for our viewing pleasure."
