Of Blood and Darkness

Origin of Magic

"Tell me Valen, how do you think magic works?" Erebus asked, walking through one of the many doorways in his palace. The room was mostly empty,

"Huh?" Valen was taken aback by the sudden question, "I guess people with some form of divine dna can influence the world around them, although restricted by which deity's dna they have."

"And how exactly do they affect the outside world? What do they use as a catalyst for it?"

"I'd say they exert their will over whatever part of the world they can manipulate— shadows and storms in my case, and use their own energy as the catalyst."

"Wouldn't that mean that whenever you use magic you would feel the toll on you as if you had physically done it?" Erebus asked, receiving a hesitant nod as a response, "And do you?"

Valen shook his head, "No,"

"Have you ever heard of the term mana?" Erebus asked, "I suppose not, it's not something the gods would tell you."

He walked to one end of the room, "It is an ethereal substance found in every corner of the universe."

He waved his arm and millions of motes of white energy became visible to Valen, "Every being has a set amount of mana they can store in their body, yes even humans. Everytime you use magic, you use your own internal source of mana until you deplete it entirely and are unable to use magic for a while."

"Over time, you will replenish it by absorbing the ambient mana, your body does this naturally." He waved his arm again, and the motes of mana vanished.

"Now, using that mana is a different matter altogether." He said as three images rose around them. Rachel Elizabeth Dare's image began glowing, "Mortals have the least control over it, try as they might they can barely get the mana to budge under their will."

"What about those who can see through the mist?" Valen asked.

"Ah those, now those are interesting ones." He said, "You see a demigods soul is different than that of a mortals, for even after death, some of their power lingers. And when these souls are reborn as mortals..." He trailed off.

"The lingering magic lets them see through the mist," Valen realized, "That makes a lot of sense, but then shouldn't there be hundreds of mortals that can see through it?"

Erebus shook his head, "No, it only happens when a demigod is reborn as a mortal, not when a mortal seer is reborn as a mortal again."

"The magic is too weak by then," Valen mused.

"Exactly," He nodded, "Now demigods, they have a better grasp on mana. Unlike the mortals, they can influence the mana to their will and perform feats that should be impossible."

He waved his hand again, and Percy Jackson's image began glowing, "Contrary to what you believe, your magic is not restricted by the divine dna you have. It grants you an unnatural affinity with a particular branch of magic, but you can still use the other branches. Of course it would be extremely difficult for you, but not impossible."

The space between Valen's brows thinned, "You mean to say I could control water like Percy?"

Erebus nodded, "Nowhere near the level he is capable of, mind you, but given time and enough effort you could. Albeit it would not be of any help in combat."

Clapping his hands, he pointed towards Valen, "You, however, have a better grasp on mana than any demigod. What was the term you used, tri-blood?"

Valen nodded, and Erebus continued, "It is easier for you to use magic than any other demigod, the mana responds to your will."