"Welcome back students, we are now in the final week of these introductory lessons".
"And our subject for today is the third and final type of spell creation".
"The Arcane itself immediately accepting and completing your thesis no matter how half baked and incomplete it may be".
"Could be just a name and a vague description with the inscribed intent or effects of what you want it to achieve".
"It could even be the Arcane occasionally creating some new spells suited for its favoured whether they request it to or not".
And right on cue he could immediately hear the outrage from the students around him, saying even if the Arcane might be unfair at times and partial this was too great a show of favoritism, it made no sense and completely destroyed the playing field because how does one even begin hoping to compete with such a thing.
All reminding him of his own charged opinions and and hang-ups with the idea of such a thing when he had learned of it as a young kit from his mother, but even till this date Nolan still did find it quite absurd and that might remain the case until his dying breath.
"Settle down, yes yes I know and understand your grievances".
"I had them myself when I was your age, but let me finish".
"You see for however unfair this might be, favored ones like these are so rare you could count them on both hands".
"And by that I mean the entire history of this world with some exceptions, we'll get to them later".
"However one thing to say is that even those in possession of a Domain for which there exists only a hundred originally at current with some recent exceptions once again are also not automatically blessed with this gift either".
"There are six beings alive known to possess this favor and each of them to our knowledge only possess the first half of it".
"Getting their thesis immediately recognized or completed".
"So by the other half, I refer to the Arcane itself making a move for you and creating a spell just because you requested it to or because it felt like it".
"The former working in tandem with the part of just giving a name or vague description of what you want the spell to achieve which brings us to a very important distinction.
"In the first half there must always be a presented thesis in whatever required form for this to take effect".
"This piece of knowledge regarding the other half came from the words of Merlin himself, it is the only reason we came to know it existed at all".
"And I know the questions some of you may already have, to that I say yes, Merlin did possess this favor but even he only managed to receive the complete first half of it".
"We cannot speak on the other demigods because we have so little information on them to go with".
"But once again, this knowledge we do have exists to us only because it came from the wizard himself and he was one of the exceptions I spoke of earlier".
Something in the teacher's words weren't adding up for Emrys, even he ignored the fairy half of Merlin's bloodline the dragon half still should grant him a more than 50% chance of being blessed with both halves even if the other half were to exist for him in a less of a guaranteed way than the first because the Arcane could also just simply refuse a request or employ a method where it grants some extremely powerful spells once every century or so if it wished.
But nevertheless if the dragon half granted a more than 50% chance at attaining both halves, the fairy half guaranteed a 100% chance as every last one of them bore the Arcane's favor so did the Wizard keep that part hidden?
Perhaps it could be the truth due to how little information exists on fairies in the first place even when compared to the dragons who were well known inhabitants of this world for the longest of times, they're simply known to be the World's children and that they possess great power but absolutely nothing else could be found on them, it would seem the Wizard went to great lengths to keep it that way despite what he was, or perhaps because of what he was and he understood this, that being the link between two of the greatest worlds did not simply grant him the right to share all those secrets or serve as a gateway for others to peer into them in some showing of unity as was how he came to be.
A student in the back raised his hand and called to the teacher "Sir, what do you mean by 'the complete first half' of it"?.
Nolan smiled "ah, caught that one did you"?.
"Well, even the for the first half there does exist a varying degree to which the favor manifests".
"Now that does automatically put a smile on your face doesn't it, a ray of hope despite the oppressive levels of unfairness".
"Yeah.....you would be a bit correct in thinking that".
"You see, whilst the gift of getting their thesis accepted and recognized would always exist at a 100% capacity".
"The conditions would be the fact they could not get too lazy or fall below a certain level when presenting their thesis else the favor would not be activated".
"Not rejected as would outright be the case in a normal scenario, simply not activated until they have fulfilled the satisfactory conditions of their gift".
Another curious student interjected with a question of her own "so does this mean we have no records of someone possessing both halves of this gift"?.
Nolan smiled once again "oh we do, but let's just say it's complicated".
"It's time we delved into the exceptions, the only known races or race as a singular in this case known to have been granted some form of a guaranteed access to this were the Ancients".
"Known to have a little more than a 10% chance at awakening the second half of this gift".
"And normally at least a 35% chance of awakening the first half amongst their race on average".
Nolan heaved a breath and tapped along the board as he walked "so you asked how it's possible to face such a thing"?.
"Well, there are some restrictions as with all things and in the end it basically boils down to your level".
"Yes, it does allow one the ability to cross over some great chasms of power".
"But if you're not powerful enough to bear what you have created then it is simply a death sentence".
"That is one aspect this gift doesn't just strip away, consequences".
"Do realize I speak only of the first half here, one cannot begin to understand the sheer terror of what it means to fight the latter half".
"And although consequences do fortunately exist for this half as well but, there is an unimaginable terror of the unknown at every turn and that is even if you are aware your opponent is one such blessed individual".
"You can't ever predict nor truly prepare for whatever comes next, not really and maybe not ever".
"I mean your opponent at anytime could really just ask the Arcane for something to just smite you down at any moment, applies to both being aware and ignorant of your opponents capabilities".
"At least ignorance is bliss, you think you're on the same playing field with an opponent of equal capabilities and just like that it's over, even being a genius doesn't just save you".
"No recorded experiences exist for us to use as an example so one can only imagine here".
"It is both funny and incredibly cruel".
"So in that regard I shall leave you all with the gift of ignorance on the last particular exception".
"But one more thing, I do not hold all the knowledge especially regarding this part".
"Magic is ever-changing, some truths may not necessarily become a lie but you may find out that there has been an update to it's contents".
"That is why we study, that is why we seek for all the days of our lives".
"Do not take everything you hear from me in absolutes, that is not the way of a mage and I am not speaking in class terms".
"I know we are all not meant or built to pursue what lies beyond, it is completely understandable".
"We all have desires of our own regardless of how many we share them with".
Nolan spent the next hour or so taking questions from students, most particularly on theories for more limitations regarding such a gift and possible ways to gain a higher chance of survival against anyone with the latter half, he would have called it an irrational fear because the odds of them facing such a person was nearly a trillion to one but the reality was much too amusing that he could not in fact lie to them about such a thing.
Even more amusing was the fact this favor still wasn't even something they needed to worry about despite the reality of things, so in the end he chose to keep both their peace and his whilst fully engaging with the curiosity they displayed because he could end up learning a bit or two from their extremely colorful minds and it was quite entertaining as theory was his forte after all.
And at the hour's end was a gentle hum signifying the end of his session with them for the day, the most enthralling one by far undoubtedly which left them with feelings of want, a first even for those who had already chosen to attend the main classes centering around his subjects. Nolan waved with a satisfied smile as the world shifted to an all too familiar place with Morrison surprisingly seated there just as before under the shades.
The desolate land and towering tree showing that the flames had already done it's job long before their entrance and confirming Morrison had just done it to scare them yet their teacher seemed so far away from them this time, lost in a world of thoughts which was an opportunity the students did not miss to discuss amongst themselves.
"In our last session I listed the major Paths under the class of a Knight" he began, taking the students a little by surprise but he continued unfettered.
"I cannot cover all today but we can speak about one or two, first is–".
"The Holy Knights of Defence".
"A Path quite a bit more expansive than it's name suggests".
"One thing to note is their incredible mana, bearing a robust vitality and almost always entirely gold or silver with a most potent purity alongside a natural trait of healing which is also engraved into their blood".
"To the point that the power contained within a single drop of each is enough to continuously heal and revitalize a small city's worth of people with a limited number of unconventional diseases and most conventional injuries including amputations for an entire month straight".
"In the Holy Knight's body that acts as something akin to instant regeneration regardless of their entire body being destroyed continuously or in one go, it overcomes it".
"The process is almost imperceptible when it occurs, all you see is great amounts of steam wafting off their forms and their skin turning a little red hot".
"Any battlefield spearheaded under the command of a Holy Knight of Defence is a practically immortal legion, a drop of their blood or mana costs nothing for them".
"And they can even will it to create a zone of malleable size noting which are allies and which are the enemies so as not to cause unnecessary issues that will allow them benefit from this trait.
"Which brings me to the most important thing about this Path which is the fact that those Knights generate pure concentrated intent".
"Take that in literal terms because I mean it as so, they manifest their abstract desire in physical form but it takes an incredibly high level of sensitivity to even see it".
"Fighting against it is an entirely different matter because first and foremost, a lot of people do not have the ability to interact with it and therefore have no defences against it either".
"It's all about what is up there in the mind, how much power you have and then a matter of will
"That intent is quite malleable and is stored separately as a new power unto Itself for years on end, it can be purely the desire to protect and can become the desire the destroy in order to protect".
"And it doesn't physically run out like a mana pool, the size is practically meaningless in that regard and more so represents the weight of that desire so it's growth doesn't change simply because you get stronger or weaker".
"But that weight is a double edged sword because can you bear it is the question, this is a trait that grants power beyond your level and the first thing to feel that weight is your heart".
"Because the intent is generated endlessly with no regard to how good of an heroic heart you may posses, that is why it tests the user when it is manifested and weighs against that".
"If the weight of the intent you draw out far surpasses your own heart, then it will cause you great harm".
Morrison heaved a breath of steaming hot air and leaned even further into his seat "now this is where it gets a little interesting".
"You see, for those who noticed I have not spoken of the true abilities of this Path just yet".
"Just the natural innate traits they come to possess as a by-effect, so that drawback I spoke of just now? Yes, that is where one of the Holy Knight's abilities from this Path comes into play".
"When a Holy of Defence awakens they start out with five golden shields, each with dimensional doors engraved into them and the first four always vary in the abilities they carry".
"And the established number of shields a Holy Knight can ever gain as they grow are eight with no exceptions till date".
"Because there is also no such thing as an average Holy Knight as they all automatically become monsters each door does hold at least two or three abilities at a time".
"All very powerful stuff, always and with no exceptions and that's just the abilities from the door so really it's like playing a game of spin the wheel for whichever the opponent gets".
"But that's not the important part, we come to the fifth shield which has no door engraved into it and looks different from the rest, you can always tell when you see it even though it varies amongst the Knights as well".
"The fifth shield is the most important, specifically termed as -The Vessel- and for good reason".
"So do you know what it does"?.
"It is the only shield that is able to host the other shields within itself and all their abilities, even being able to combine them so long as there is a high enough compatibility".
"And that is because -The Vessel- can hold the greatest portion of the weight that far surpasses your heart, filter it by whatever density into whichever ability the Knight chooses for even more devastating effects".
"It can be multiple abilities at once and it can also use the intent purely as is, allowing the Knight to mold and use it in multiple directions at a time without having to give up on anything".
"What I mean is, without the fifth shield a Knight on their own cannot protect and attack with their intent at the same time".
"And as the intent grows within, so too does the shield's ability to handle the greatest portion of it's weight".
"It's a passive connection that cannot fall under the Knight's influence in any way".
"Another thing about the fifth shield, it is the only one that could be permanently lost if destroyed".
"The other four or multiple others depending on the Knights level as they grow can always recover in a couple of seconds, minutes, hours, days or weeks, months and maybe even a year or two".
"Depending on how bad and how strong whatever destroyed them might be, but once you lose the fifth there is no option to regain it...ever".
"Still we can talk about a specific ability that can be triggered with the shields and that is ironically enough, a shield".
"More accurate to call it a barrier due to the fact it serves multiple purpose and serves to alienate first and foremost".
"The normal range for which a newly awakened Holy Knight can extend the shield beyond them is about one Mile".
"Anything after this and it gets repelled into the safe zone, you can train the limits of this range without having to actually get stronger".
"But the first new level the Knight may add after this equals a 10x jump in range, it continues onwards like that with 20 or 30 for the next, a 100 and so on".
"Within this range however big or small, everything inside it's domain immediately falls under the protection of a godly defense".
"Of course it can also be used to trap opponents and move them to a new destination of your choosing because you can't teleport in or out of it unless permitted, see into it unless permitted or pull someone out of it unless permitted so it can even go against life-saving artifacts or Runes".
"Those are just a few of it's minor abilities to be listed, our introduction to this Path nears it's end".
"Next time we shall be moving on to a new one but, before we end our lesson here one question that might have popped up in your minds should be–
"Is it possible for someone whose heart leans heavily into the side of evil to become a Holy Knight and to that I answer yes, though not in a direct way".
"One consistent part of a Holy Knight and a necessity at the beginning before they awaken is that good must exist and to a very relevant capacity".
"The thing is hearts change, one statement people largely frame is the phrase that power corrupts which is true".
"But a lot of the times people take it's meaning too far and now use it to condemn an entire concept".
"An appallingly petty interpretation that basically strips all nuance from the discussion because first and foremost power tempts".
"And not at all because it is inherently malicious nor evil but because the innate response of almost every being in existence is to desire it".
"That desire by itself is also not inherently evil or wrong, still the motivations or reasons that might trigger and feed said desire is not the discussion to be had here, perhaps another time".
"But this is only in the general sense take note, because power that is both inherently malicious and evil exists as well".
"The heart of man is delicate yet powerful, firm and vigorous, it is subject to change under a million possible scenarios".
"And when a Holy Knight begins losing that nature of good, their power also changes just the same and becomes a poison to them".
"There is a threshold that cannot be crossed and once that it done...then no longer shall their heart be capable of weighing against the pure intent they generate in any capacity or form because it means absolute death".
"Little by little even their own mana begins devouring them and the only way to survive is to give up that Path and all others forever, a fate most terrible for any Knight".
"A Holy Knight is not just termed one in name alone, they are designed to be paragons of good and to tell you a secret no one else knows".
"This was a Path created solely by the goddess of Light herself many eons ago".
"It is a very special Path, made for a purpose I have no answers to as of yet but still it is the only Path to have been made this way".
"Class is dismissed".
At his words the fabric of space tore open pulling the students into it before searing shut as he stood up, morphed his attire into a light gray robe with an emblem in the shape of a dark tower shielded under the form of a massive silvery blue dragon on his back. Then he tore off his mask burning the manufactured flesh to nothing revealing his true nature before taking a moment to pause, collecting his thoughts as a portal opened beneath his feet bringing him before one of the only three beings in this world whom he held the greatest respect towards.
Standing in a grand office space with an entire wall dedicated to serving as a window into the grand spectacle of what lay beyond, the visible cosmos and a number of it's smaller magnificent creatures jumping through the hearts of different black holes, basking in nebulas and releasing colorful storms that sparked across galaxies, some larger ones in their innocence attaching a multitude of those galaxies as ornaments atop their bodies as they streaked across the universe.
This was a small realm crafted by his very own hands and operating under a vastly different flow of time compared to the outside, everything out there and more created as an all purpose playground for the sake of protecring them, newborns of a much sparser population when this all began now gifted a more than enough fighting chance to grow in size and power lest forced to face an unfortunate early fate of extinction at the hands of those creatures of old as has been the story of many.
And he watched over all of this with a smile on his face, one of the few parts of his job that gave him the most satisfaction as designated guardian over the entire realm keeping the balance and although knowing well that he would be forced to one day release them back into outside it mattered not, because that day was still a bit far away as fortune would have it.
Japheth turned to meet the man he called friend though that sentiment never seemed to get through to him, there he stood now bowing in courtesy with not a hint of dissatisfaction at being kept waiting for so long and at this he could only sigh but the appreciative smile could not leave his face even then.
"You're killing me Morrison, be a little more at ease with me will you".
"Said this like a million times already" Japheth laughed, gently nudging at the sides of his towering 2 meter tall friend in jest as he walked past heading on over to his seat knowing well his words might be falling on deaf ears just like always
But once seated there was a new air of worry around the Tower master which Morrison caught on to almost immediately and straightened up "master"?.
"What ails you so".
Japheth reached his hand into the empty space and pulled out a small orb which he levitated over to him "it would be better to first show you as it was through my own eyes".
Once he held onto it a wave of memories flooded his mind, displaying every last act of vile absurdity poured into that creature until the final day when it was completed and when it over Morrison stood there unmoving just like a statue.
"Master, for so long you have you kept me from ending all this once and for all".
"Why, it is too much, far too much to beat" he asked, his tone filled with barely contained rage.
At his words Japheth heaved a small sigh and shook his head "You know why, you understand why".
"Yes and I say Fate be damned either way, I was willing to bear every consequence that would come with my actions".
"I left them, all of them".
"Are they even able to rest properly" his grip around the orb got a little tighter almost cracking it.
"Morrison, for as long as I hold your life in my hands, that choice will never be something I allow you bear".
"Understand this well, I know your pain".
"And as tower master it hurt me more than anything that Fate has ordained this an event I cannot just erase despite the coming darkness and I came so close to just doing it anyways believe me".
"Even letting go of a latent holder, allowing them a blueprint to such devastating weapons capable of shifting the world's hierarchy".
"I have beared it all just like you have as well".
Morrison took a step forward and gently placed the orb onto his desk "but it is over now is it not".
The underlying meaning was not lost on him and that was why he had to cut it short "you cannot take his life Morrison, no matter how much you claim to desire it".
"I know you well my friend, it would devastate you absolutely".
"That last part of you buried deep in your heart, the innocent child that remembers and still holds on to the good parts of it all".
"Never lose him, for the repercussions are just too great".
"You are important my friend, far more than you know even if you still do not believe my words no matter how many times you've heard me say it".
"Those sins are not yours to carry, one day you will come to embrace that".
"Nevertheless the reason I have called you here is to ask that you begin the preparations".
"War is approaching and your fight is to be a most difficult one, the new players must be kept out".
"As you command" Morrison bowed and turned away stepping into a portal to carry out the instructions given.
Japheth leaned into his seat heaving a heavy breath looking at the ceiling "this fight shall truly test you more than you know my friend, but overcome this and you will find new strength, the gift of a wonderful new rebirth".
"The stage has already been set, just a little while longer now".
EnD.