What did you learn?

THIRD, THE MEANS

To harness and use our Mana, both of our souls have to be aligned. One can not be a magic user of any kind without the harmony of souls. To achieve the unity needed to form spells, one must focus both souls through a conduit of some kind.

Thus, the Focus Crystal. Focus Crystals come in many shapes and sizes but don’t let that fool you, non of that matters. All the Focus Crystal is used for is to help both Souls harmonize in order to draw forth and use Mana. A newbie/layperson trap is to buy the BIGGEST Focus Crystal they can find and try to use it. That’s not to say having a NICE Focus Crystal is a bad thing, having one that can fits one’s style and personality can help increase his or her or their Souls better then just any old rock.

In fact, the use of Focus Crystals is actually optional. They help a lot but plenty of people, even non-mages, can make due without them. Case in point, Adventurers and their Battle Magic. Adventurers are a unique lot that focus on fighting monsters with any manner of weapons and skills, including basic spells. One such spell is the “Hamma” series. All the user does is focus their Mana into their hands, using them as the focal point rather than a crystal. Then, they manipulate their hands into becoming heavier but still wield-able. All that to say the spell makes their fists stronger so they can punch or hit harder. There are multiple levels to it. “Alpha Hamma” is the base line, making the fist(s) two times heavier. “Beta” is the next step up and is four times heavier. “Gamma” is six times, “Delta” is eight times and so on. To boil it down, Adventurers with good Soul Harmony can wield mana just as if not more powerful than Mages without any accessory.

And digging the grave deeper for Focus Crystals, there is a viable and much more potent replacement; Wadalisi’s Oda! During my youth, I found myself without any type of Focus Crystal but was able to use magic all the same. In fact, I was able to pull out and manipulate Mana on a higher level than my peers during my GUM days. That, I discovered, was because of my Oda, my neck fuzz. The fibers in the Oda not only acted as my Souls’ focus point but whatever Mana that wasn’t used for the spell would linger there for a LONG time after. Oda is a Focus Battery, not only to use Mana but store it for later. And after one Oda cut I did, I found out it can still store Mana AFTER being severed from my body. Even a little clump can hold enough power to use some of spells without much effort. If Wadalisis were to produce Oda-based Focus Devices, it would radically increase magic use around the globe. This was the basis for my Finals essay, “Oda and how the Wadalisi will change the Magic World.”

To wrap this part up, there are many ways to wield and use Mana that both Mages and regular folks have access to.

FOURTH, THE BIRTH OF BAHLL

Long, long ago, our planet was divided into many small settlements. The Hamans, Hemans, Himans, Homans, and Humans lived separated and in fear of one another. The reason was because of the ones that ruled over them all, The Old Gods. Humongous beings, said to have stood from anywhere between 50 to 200 meters tall. The wielded magic and forced all mankind under their feet. The Hamans and the Himans kowtowed to their oppressors while the Hemans and Humans fled. the Homans, with their flight, were able to hide away from it all among the floating islands in the clouds. The Old Gods enjoyed their control, feeding off the excess Mana produced by the prayer and fear of mankind. One such God was Bell. A colossal water beast who could create tidal waves with a single step. The seas were hers to command and aquatic Hamans worshiped her. It is said, though, that she was a kindly God, never directly harming mankind as she spent most of her time sleeping. However, that all changed one faithful day.

Ten thousand years ago, in a land far to the East, there was born a poor Human boy. His mother, a simple woman, chose to name him “Ah,” after the first sound in her ancient tongue. His kindly mother passed on not too long after his birth and his father died fleeing the Old Gods. Because of that, Ah grow up wanting and ignorant, competitive and petty, unwanted and alone. In his isolation, he believed himself more free than others and that he was meant for great things. His ignorance would be is folly, as he was caught attempting to rape a woman he fancied in broad daylight. With haste, his village cast him out, leaving him to wonder the world alone. For weeks, Ah walked into the wasteland. Due to his lack of education, he struggled to find places to sleep or food to eat. His hunger grew and grew as his body shriveled away with every step. After some amount of time, Ah found himself at the lip of a river. He was able to drink but his body needed food. There, he saw wiggling out of the water, was a small blue-green worm. Without hesitation, Ah dove for the creature and began eating it raw. But as he was biting into it, he discovered it was far larger than what was visible on the surface. That fact only emboldened Ah to eat more, for the more he ate, the hungrier he became. He ate and ate and ate, the worm never seeming to end nor struggle against him. And as he ate, Ah began to change; his body grew larger, his teeth sharper, his mind crazier.

All the while, Bell didn’t notice herself being eaten. She had come to that river bed decades ago to slumber and was deep asleep. Bell only awoke when Ah had already reached her torso. Too late to fight, Bell was consumed by Ah, the latter of whom had been transformed into a hideous hybrid of the two. Bell was gone. Ah was gone. All that was left was Bahll and Bahll was still hunger.