Magic Basics

* People become *arcanists* by bonding with mystical creatures, who are then called *eldrin*. After bonding, a seven-pointed star is etched into the arcanist's forehead along with the symbol of their eldrin. God-arcanists have a twelve pointed star on their chests, and kirin arcanists can gain a second or third symbol on their shoulder.
* Mystical creatures quickly stop aging prior to bonding. Many resemble babies, toddlers, or incomplete forms of their adult selves. After bonding, they gradually grow in maturity, size and power.
* After bonding, as long as they are near their eldrin (and, depending on the eldrin, "near" can be hundreds of miles), arcanists stop aging and heal quickly. Many arcanists are hundreds of years old.
* Most arcanists have at least three powers, the nature of which is determined by their eldrin. While most of these powers can be divided into one of three categories, not all powers are a clear-cut, neat fit and some powers defy categorization. For example, knightmares can merge with their arcanists (manipulation?) and are physically stronger while merged (augmentation?)

Ruma stopped and turned back around, a cocksure smile on his face. “Think of magic like water. Water can be many things. Liquid, solid, mist, rain, snow—it depends on outside factors. You are the outside factor to your magic. You shape it with your force of will, and while there are many ways to do this, we’ll focus on the three easiest to master. Evocation. Manipulation. Augmentation. Got it? ‘Course you do. Watch here.”

He turned and held up his hand. In an instant, a bolt of lightning emanated from his fingertips and crashed on the opposite shore of the lake, the flash of the light almost blinding. The strike left a small crater and a couple fires spreading to the nearby grass.

“Evocation,” Ruma said. “That’s when you create something with your magic. Fire. Lightning. Whatever. It depends on your eldrin.”

Before any of us could ask questions, Ruma swirled his hand around, and the water in the lake seemingly jerked to comply with his motions. Ripples formed, then a whirlpool, then a monstrous wave. It rose out of the lake and crashed into the tiny fires he had created with his lightning, snuffing them all out.

“Manipulation,” he said. “That’s when you control the elements associated with your eldrin. Leviathans draw their magic from the ocean, obviously, so I command the waters. Phoenixes from fire, and so on.”

We remained silent as Ruma tapped on his chest. A burst of wind twisted around him. He jumped with unrivaled speed and sailed over the lake like a leaf caught on the gale winds of a hurricane. He landed on the muddy bank and then leapt again, crossing the vast expanse twice—at least a thousand feet each way—until he landed next to us with a puff of wind.

“Augmentation,” he said. “That’s when you alter something with your magic, be it yourself or an object. Jumping. Flying. Teleporting. You get the picture. All three of these basics are useful as salt. Every arcanist should know the difference and how to effectively use them.”

Ah! It all made sense then. Atty used evocation when she created fire on the boat. Illia used augmentation when she teleported the apple. And me—I had attempted manipulation when I shifted the shadows around like a sad clown. We were all using different forms of our magic without even realizing it.