Page 101 of Sword & Shadow
“You mean, you want to know what powers they grant?”
“More or less.”
Ilain nodded, and Thom sat back, listening with interest. “First and foremost, magic is varied,” she began. “The two clearest distinctions in magic are between Warrior magic and Mage magic. And, of course, every classification and type of Mage is unique as well. However, even amongst two Fire Mages, their magic may manifest differently. The strength of the connection between the resource and the Mage determines how powerful the magic will be. All the resources have their special manifestations, but essentially, they are all founded on the same basic functions: summoning, manipulation, and control.”
After a breath, Ilain continued, “Every Mage has some level of ability within those skills, withallthe resources. The strongeryour connection, the stronger your influence. It is easiest to learn how to manipulate a resource, but mastering it is difficult. Whereas summoning and control are harder to learn, but once you do, there’s little you can’t do with them.”
Ilain lifted a hand. “For example,” a flame sparked to life above her palm, “Isummonedthis flame. Where there was no fire, I created one from my connection to the resource.”
The flame flickered out, a small wisp of smoke dissolving into the air. “With a flame like that, I can manipulate it however I want,” she said. “Or I can control it.”
“Aren’t manipulation and control the same thing?” Thom asked.
Ilain gave him a wry smile. “If I set my hand on your knee,” she said, doing just that, “I can manipulate your emotions.”
Thom knocked her hand away with a scowl, and Ilain’s smile grew. “But,” she said, “Ican’tcontrol your response.”
Deckard didn’t know whether to laugh at his brother’s discomfort or frown at the complexity of magic. “And all of this is learned by connecting with the resource?” he asked.
“Well,” she said thoughtfully, “it’s more about developing a relationship with the resource.”
Thom scoffed. “How do you develop a relationship with fire?”
“Carefully,” Ilain replied with a smirk. “It’s part of magic itself. You wouldn’t be magical if you didn’t already have a relationship with at least one resource. After all, it’s the resources themselves that choose you.”
“But they’re . . . inanimate,” Deckard objected. “Aren’t they?”
“Yes, but that doesn’t make them any less sentient.”
Deckard and Thom stared at her blankly.
Ilain considered how to explain before continuing, “Think of it this way: no, they don’t have life, but they are thesourceof life. While they are not alive, they are aware, and they can connect to the ones to whom they give life.”
Deckard furrowed his brow, trying to understand. He wasn’t sure he ever could. “And how are you supposed to have a relationship with something that’s not alive?” he asked.
“Do you not have a relationship with your wedding ring?” Ilain said. “Does it not connect you to your marriage with Evylin? It relates to you and you to it because it matters to you. Whether or not you can converse with it doesn’t negate the relationship.”
“So,” Deckard surmised, “a Mage develops their relationship with a resource by...valuing it?”
Ilain opened her mouth, then paused. She pressed her lips together in amused consideration. “Hm. I’ve never thought of it like that, but yes, I suppose so. And it works both ways. The resource that chose you, making it your primary, valued you enough to grant you power. The more you regard and cherish it, the more it will regard and cherish you, thereby strengthening your connection.
“And,” she added, “the more you connect with your resource, the more you understand it and its desires. For example, Auden spent a lot of time studying and developing his relationship with Day magic before he realized he could channel its warmth into a room without ever needing to start a fire or call forth a burst of light. He’s designed this...” Her hands formed the shape of a square. “He’s created this box-thing that will conduct the heat of Day magic. He’s still perfecting it, but it could heat a large room all on its own. He calls it a heater, but I’ve told him to come up with something more creative.”
Amazed by the idea, Deckard felt his lips part in awe. “You mean, you could have one of these boxes in your house and never need a fireplace again?”
Ilain nodded. “And that’s just the start of his inventions, thanks to his relationship with Day. He may not be as powerfulas I am, but with his connection, he’s likely to become one of the many Day Mages who live well over five centuries.”
“Five—” Deckard stopped himself, wide eyes meeting Thom’s. His brother appeared equally baffled.
Deckard turned back to Ilain. “You’re saying there are Mages who can live to five hundred years old?”
“Of course,” she said casually.
Thom’s face screwed up in disbelief. “Do all Mages live that long?” he asked, glancing at Deckard as though he’d grown a third arm.
“Oh, no,” Ilain said with a laugh. “Most of us only live two centuries, give or take a decade.”
Deckard’s heart stalled. “Most? Meaning . . . how many exactly?”
