No More

Chapter 44: Lesson Part 1

Lisa sat down on the blood stained floor. She didn't say anything as the rest of the Templars sat down before here. Curious as they are edger to get some answers.

"Alright, before I say anything, I need you all to keep silent." She ordered. "No interruptions."

They all nodded. "Good." She commented. "Now, let's start with the basic knowledge of magic."

"Everyone has a Class." She started. "But what that Class is, depends entirely on the individual. Let's say if someone were physically adept, they would get a physical related Class. Or if someone is proficient with redstone, they'll get the Red Mage Class."

"As you also know, someone can train to evolve that Class, or change it completely." She added. "Again, it all depends on the person."

"But, we can break that down into smaller components." Said Lisa. "Everyone has an elemental affinity, when they know it or not. There are 5 main affinities: Aer, Ignis, Aqua, Terra, and Lux. All of them Air, Fire, Water, Earth, and Lightning respectively."

"Some have one or two, but can also train hard enough to gain another or improve the ones they have." Explained Lisa. "If someone has a high affinity for any two or more of these elements, they can create sub-elemental affinities like lava, ice, and even other combinations."

"My friend Axel, he has a high affinity of Terra (Earth) and Lux (Lightning). So his body is tough as rock, making his punches do more damage, and has increased reflexes and reaction time since electricity is stimulating his nerves." She continued. "Since he doesn't do any elemental spells, focuses entirely on physical combat, and while he does have the potential to do so, he gets a physical related Class."

"However, as us Templars know we can break it down even smaller." Said Lisa. "It's the secret we have been guarding, the reason why we can negate Mana."

"There are the two crucial affinities that people don't know they have: Ordo and Perditio; Order and Entropy." She explained. "Order contributes to the stability of the spell, as it's shape and form. Entropy contributes to how powerful a spell is by increasing its potency."

"If someone has high Order, they can efficiently use Mana, but if they lack it, they'll struggle to cast it." She said. "Same thing with Entropy, the affinity determines the strength of the magic."

"Us Templars however, have been granted extremely high affinities for Order and Entropy by the first Templar. So we can use it to make everyone else's Mana unstable, weaken it, and even mix it with our own magic."

"But, as you all know, Mana has made things easier for people, and not in a good way. This war, the Triple Devastation, has caused mankind to go down a dark path. It's why we guard this secret with our lives."

"Kingdoms will try anything to get power, an advantage over their enemies. So they started doing inhuman experiments, harvesting Mana from people as their alchemists turn it into potions so their armies can regain Mana quicker."

"If kingdoms found out about these two secret affinities, they will take advantage of it." she said seriously, reminding everyone how dark and immoral leaders of kingdoms can be with their lusts for more power. "Do I really need to explain?"

They all shook their heads. If someone would harvest these two affinities, they won't hesitate to weaponize it. Someone can become a one-man army, or do something worse. But that's why the Templar's exist; it's to prevent theses situations from happening.

"In the end, to gain knowledge, people are used as resources, mainly war prisoners. Already, people have discovered how to harvest elemental affinities from people and items. Not to mention the various cults that have risen up, doing horrifying things to people for their 'gods'. But there is another way."

Lisa let out a sigh. "It's related to the Astrolabe Vault, more importantly, to its contents." She said, much to their secret excitement. "Inside contains equipment to find Aura Nodes."

"Don't ask, I'll explain what they are." She interrupted before they can say anything. "An Aura Node is a physical manifestation of elemental affinities, invisible to the world. Some have three, others have five, but all of them is guaranteed have Order and Entropy."

"But, these Nodes play an important role in life." She said seriously. "They are what creates the biomes in the world. If an Aura Nodes has a high earth affinity, it turns the area into grass. But if it also has Aqua, it could turn it into a swamp."

"Of course, it is possible to harvest a sliver of the affinities from an Aura Node. If you do, you increase the affinity of the element you harvested." She explained as her gaze hardened. "That's where the problem resides."

"If people found a way to find these Aura Nodes, and harvest it, it would throw the world out of balance." She said dreadfully, much to their shock. "If an Aura Node is completely drained, or destroyed, it will make the surrounding land uninhabitable."

Now that is dire news. War is hard enough with armies destroying towns and destroying the land so their enemies won't use it, not knowing that it affects the innocents, the grieving widows, and the parentless children, trying to survive.

However, those lands can be rebuilt, and a new town can be constructed. But if that Aura Node, nightmare scenario happens, it will be horrible...

Lisa continued. "Now you know about the Astrolabe Vault, its contents, and the reason why it's so heavily protected, but not the reason why it was kept a secret."

The Aura Node nightmare scenario wasn't the reason why it's a secret? What could be worse than that?!