Chapter 1: Down on One’s Luck (Rewrite)
“The foundation of all magic in our world is from a substance known as aether. This invisible energy permeates everything, existing all around us and within every living creature, including you, the reader. Aether is highly reactive, responding to anything, including a person's will. The essence of spellcrafting lies in exerting your will upon the aether, molding and shaping it to create different forms. Through this process, one can generate a myriad of phenomena: aether can be transformed into fire, water, solid matter, and even something that mimics life itself.
“However, it is important to note that anything made from aether is usually temporary. Without continuous exertion of will, aether will eventually revert to its invisible state. This transient nature of aether-based constructs requires constant focus and intention to maintain their form and function.”
—”Magic: The Basics” by Sam Rork
As dusk settled over the city of Graheel, Cid was wandering through the streets of Graheel in his green school robes, feeling dejected and lost completely in his own thoughts.
The city of Graheel was ancient, boasting a long history and knowledge of the arcane. Many organizations and religions would visit this place in search of knowledge. Attracting the attention of those of the purest intent to help people, as well as those that would see the world burn.
Cid was neither of those kinds of people. He came here solely for himself, to improve his control over the arcane. He learned and trained all in an attempt to improve his own life and be recognized as a mage.
Cid saw society as divided into two groups, those who can use magic, then those who can’t. Initially, he subscribed to the notion that magic was a great means for social ascension. But Graheel unveiled the harsh reality: mere magical proficiency was insufficient; one had to wield formidable power or possess rare abilities to truly excel. And Cid found himself lacking in both regards.
His last arcane affinity test had yielded dismal results, revealing no affinity for any element, and the magic he could use effectively was useless. His speciality was the art of numerology. He could use numbers to make predictions of the future, but it requires a ludicrous amount of data for any degree of accuracy. Even the best practitioners of numerology were quite unreliable compared to other forms of divination.
Outside of divination, numerology magic could also be used to make complex mathematical calculations. In the past this may have been useful, but with today's technology, its processing capabilities were not much better than a phone or computer.