Chapter 25: The Origin of Corruption
Nathan sat atop the mountain, considering what he'd learned. He had one answer, but many more questions. The Seal filtered out deadly magic around Gemore, exchanging it for magic that encouraged life. But why? How far did its reach extend? What happened when those switches were swapped to other positions?
Something about the filtering changes, most likely.
He opened his eyes and looked to the sky. He’d been sitting here for hours, though not long enough for the sun to set. The burning orb sat in the sky directly overhead. But he wasn’t looking at the sky of this moment. He was consulting his memory, remembering what was revealed on a cloudless night. When the world above revealed hundreds of continents, many infected by huge patches of white and black that looked like spreading blight.
He remembered the night of the Solstice, when the sun had gone out. Every single Seal across Davrar had awakened, creating a network of light and magic that connected to the sun. He’d noticed that every patch of spreading blight had been centered around a seal that nonetheless had contributed power during the night of the Solstice. With that information, Nathan directed his attention back down into the mountain. He noted the switches, watching how they connected through the rest of the machine. This time he asked the right question.
How would the ambient mana change if the switch was flipped?
The answer was clear. The mana flows would be rerouted, passing through different converters and then being released to fill Davrar with corruption. The left side would convert much of the ambient mana to the same corruptive death magic Nathan had felt from the Grave Tangle, blighting the land and covering the sky with darkness. The right side wasn’t quite as obvious. It seemed to involve several different mana types, including crystal, light and a few more that Nathan wasn’t familiar with. But they seemed likely to have the same effect of making the land uninhabitable for hundreds of miles in every direction. The Seals didn't start the Endings, they were another danger altogether.
Congratulations, you have developed the [Wizard’s Understanding] utility skill into [Arcane Insight].
Utility skill: [Arcane Insight]
You understand the arcane