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56. Secrets, Mysteries and Enigmas
🕑 Added 2025-08-30 10:47:54 +0000 UTC“Let’s say you went through the first two stages. You activated the mana with runic symbols. You told it that you want it to create a flame. Now comes the most important part. Mana listens to your intent. It basically asks, ‘Well, what do you mean by flame? Big or small? Colder or hotter? Wild or calm?’”
Ophelia kept taking notes, but I placed my hand on her notebook. “You can write after. I need you to get this part.”
She nodded and lowered the paper.
“Let’s say you need to describe a simple fire spell, like the one I just cast. How would you do that?”
“As a combustion reac–”
“Aaa, first mistake.” I cut her off.
Ophelia stared at me, confused. The description was correct, she knew that. She barely said two words, so there hadn’t been much time for error.
“‘Combustion reaction’ is your mistake,” I clarified, watching her confusion deepen. “There are two kinds of knowledge. Secrets, that’s the scientific understanding of a subject, purely measurable and descriptive, and Mysteries. Mysteries are where it gets hard. They are the symbolic, cultural and mythic dimension of a thing. Let’s go back to the spell. The problem is calling it combustion. Combustion is a purely scientific term, so only Secrets relate to it. Combustion has no cultural weight, no symbol behind it. Our ancestors huddled in the dark cold nights around fire, not ‘combusting wood.’ Prometheus defied the gods and brought us fire, not ‘oxidative exothermic process.’ Combustion has no meaning behind it. A spell woven around combustion will be much weaker than a spell woven around fire. So when casting picture the chemistry, molecules vibrating, energy released. But describe it as flame.”
Ophelia nodded. She understood that on the inside. All beings did. No one knows whether cultures shape magic or magic shapes cultures, or both, but some patterns repeat, constant across the universe.
“But concepts go much deeper.” I continued. “Fire alone can be viewed in many ways. Some see it as a source of disaster and pain. If you weave the concept of disaster into your fire spell, it will try to destroy on contact, more burst damage, violent flaring, explosive behavior toward the target. But there’s also the hearth‑flame, the fire that brings life, that warms the cold, that burns in the home’s hearth. Weave that in and you can actually heal yourself with fire-based magic. Mysteries run so deep you can change a spell’s nature until it’s unrecognizable from its original purpose.”
Ophelia inclined her head, eyes locked on mine.
“Mysteries go deeper still. I’m still talking about how humans see fire, but how does a fire elemental see it?”
Ophelia started to think, seeing as it was an actual question directed at her.
“As a source of life, I guess? Like we view the air?” she ventured.
“Good. Yes!” I clapped. “Now let’s say you want to weave acid into your spell. You want your flame to leave acid burns. How would you do that?”
“So… create a flame with Secrets? And… There’s no scientific way to describe purely acidic fire.”
“How about chemical burn?” I interrupted.
“The flame is still a flame. It’s the chemicals vaporized in the fire that cause the corrosive damage, so it isn’t the flame itself. I’d need to add actual reagents to the burn.”
“Good.”
“So I picture a flame… and weave acid as the base of the fire?”
“Is acid flammable?”
“Well, some of it is… so pick a flammable type of acid and set it aflame?” She finished, unsure.
“You could do that, but there’s a problem. When you think acid, you think liquid. Liquids don’t mix well with fire symbolism inside a spell. They stand for different things, often opposites, so the spell becomes harder to form and maintain. So, describe the fire, its temperature, size, and how it’s born. But what about its taste?”
“Huh? Its taste?” Ophelia asked, baffled.
“Yes. We can’t taste flame, human mouths aren’t made for that, but fire elementals can. Acidic flame is a thing to them, and it has a specific taste. So instead of trying to pour a liquid into a fire spell, describe how the flame would taste to a fire elemental, what such flame means to it, and you bypass the liquid problem.”
“How would I know how it tastes to a fire elemental?” Ophelia asked. “Is that part of the knowledge granted by gods?”
“It can be. Or you contract a fire elemental. Or bargain for that knowledge. Or capture one, experiment, meditate. But you have to be careful. When you try to learn something you’re not built to learn, you can injure your mind, like trying to grasp the taste of flame, or the cultural meaning of space to a fourth‑dimensional being. There’s a fear inside you that warns when you’re wandering where you shouldn’t go. The fear of the unknown. And it can shatter your mind before you learn anything.”
She nodded. I paused to let the lesson sink in. Seeing the break, she resumed making notes, sometimes thinking hard over my words, scribbling interpretations, adding diagrams and little graphs. Very studious. I remembered my own chaotic scrawls when I was first taught magic. Almost embarrassing by comparison.
She finished and looked back up at me. “You said knowledge distinguishes mages. You mean what you learn, like fire mage, water mage, and so on?”
“That too, but the source of knowledge is the main difference. Let’s focus on casters. For martial mages it’s mostly training qi, with knowledge in second place.”
I tapped the stat sheet. “Every mage has two main attributes. One for how they store and move mana, and another for how they command it to produce effects. For martial mages and techniques the primary attribute is Constitution. But for spellcasters, our primary one is Willpower, because we store mana around our rings and move it purely by the strength of our minds. The second attribute is what differentiates us.”
I pointed to myself. “Wizards, like me, learn through study, meditation, and experimentation. Sometimes temporary contracts for knowledge with otherworldly entities. Training a mage this way is the most time and resource‑intensive path, but wizards are by far the most adaptable casters, with the largest arsenal of spells. Also, because we spend so much time experimenting and staying attuned to our magic, we tend to be the most proficient in mana control. Our secondary attribute is Intelligence, because the way we tell magic what to do is rooted in our own learned knowledge.”
“So everyone can be a wizard if they study enough?” Asked Ophelia.
“Yes, but there are other ways to acquire knowledge. For example, sacred and spiritual beings are born with it. They pay for that with an inability to grow and change like we can. But even a newly born sacred being understands its area more deeply than most mortals ever will.”
“What does it have to do with humans?”
“It’s related to the next type. Sorcerers. Sorcerers can trace their bloodline to a sacred being, some even to gods, though that gets complicated. Those who carry that part of a bloodline can access a portion of given knowledge. Their secondary attribute is Instinct, it's their ability to reach down into that deep, ancestral layer of the soul. They also tend to have other bloodline manifestations like mana naturally attuned to fire, for example, making fire casting easier and more potent. Sorcerers are easy to train and are strong in their field, but limited. First, they only inherit part of the knowledge tied to their bloodline, so their range is narrow unless they learn outside magic like wizards do. Another problem is they can only grow as far as their lineage allows. If you’re descended from a god, sure, you can reach the ninth circle. But if it’s something more like a shaggy little imp, maybe you stall out at second. And natural attunement isn’t always good. If you’re related to an Ifrit, it’s like every time you start casting, mana jolts awake, all excited and asks, ‘What are we burning down today?’ That makes healing spells… slow or even impossible.”
Ophelia chuckled at the imp comparison. “So am I a sorcerer? You said I had a bloodline, and I did change a bit.”
“Technically, yes, and you should use those gifts, but I don’t think bloodline magic should be your focus, at least for now.”
“Why?”
“We don't know much about your bloodline yet, but we have some info about your contract. And that’s where the last type comes in. Warlocks and Clerics. Don’t let either group hear you say this, especially clerics, but functionally they’re similar. Someone else grants you knowledge. Personal contract with a lower sacred being, say, a demon? Usually Warlock. Contract through a god’s church, Cleric. You, however, have a personal contract with a god. That makes you a Sacred Warlock. Those are very rare.”
“Oh.” Ophelia smiled.
“Clerics use knowledge granted by sacred beings. Their secondary attribute is Faith, and that isn’t just believing in a god. Belief is easy after you’ve seen one. Faith is understanding and closeness to that sacred being. It’s strengthened through prayer and meditation, and it lets you parse the knowledge granted to you. Clerics are more flexible than sorcerers, but training them takes longer. And you have to avoid offending your patron. If you contract with Hestia, the deity of hearth and flame in the life‑giving sense, and you use fire to slaughter indiscriminately, you can lose your power.”
“Are catholic priests all clerics?”
I winced at that question. “Mortal world religions are a hard topic. Some of them are. Most aren’t. Leave that for now.”
There was still interest on her face, but I went back to the lesson. Church politics was not my favorite topic, to say the least.
“Warlocks usually have more individualized contracts, sometimes even physical boons, mutations, body changes, but like sorcerers, their growth can stall. If the contracted entity is low tier, they won’t exceed it. Cleric contracts are often less personalized and not adjusted for their growth, but if it’s a contract with a god, then they’re guaranteed a possible path to the ninth circle.” I pointed at her. “You’re in a very good position. A personalized contract from a god, so best of both worlds.”
“And that’s why you don’t want me focusing on bloodline magic? With the god’s gift, I actually have a chance to reach the ninth circle?”
“The possibility of reaching the ninth circle, yes. People who actually reached that high can be counted on both hands, max. But you should always aim at the top.”
“Wait.” Ophelia frowned and glanced at my own record sheet lying beside hers.
Race: Human? – Ask when possible.
Magic Circle: 2
Stats:
Body
Strength: 16
Dexterity: 17
Endurance: 16
Constitution: 15
Mind
Intelligence: 22
Wisdom: 15
Willpower: 25
Mental Defense (non‑fear): 24
Spirit
Soul: 18
Instinct: 0
Faith: 0
Manifestation: 0
Social
Empathy: 3
Charisma: 3 -> 4
Pressure: 21
Passion: 8
Skills: Multilingual; Authority Over Mana (apprentice); Authority Over Mind; Eldritch Madness; Eldritch Tongue; Servant to the Abyss; Spell Casting; Ritual Casting; Curse Weaving; Full Astral Projection (apprentice); Golem Creation (novice)
Secrets: Fire, Space, Death, Mind
Mysteries: Space, Death, Curse, Soul, Mind
Enigmas?: Eldritch
“You told me about secrets and mysteries. But you have enigmas written on yours.”
“Get a hold of the first two, and then we can talk about enigmas. Assuming you will even believe in those.”
Ophelia looked at me, clearly not satisfied with my answer, and then went back to scanning my sheet.
“I won't ask about the human part," she commented. “But the cat said you also have a contract with a god. But it says your Faith is zero.”
I smiled. “You’re not wrong. But my god is a bit… special, you see.”
