Chapter Sixty-Nine: ✩°｡⋆Magic⋆｡°✩

"Tim?"

Meg was busy working in her usual spot, and called out to Tim, who was lounging nearby, doing his best to care about what was written in a tome in order to try to read the contents.

"What?"

"In order to better my understanding of various magic spells an principles, I'm going to be performing a series of tests and experiments."

"...Okay?"

"Prepare yourself."

"...Sh-should I be worried about this?"

"Don't be silly, it's not like I would have any reason to use you as a test subject in order to punish you, right?"

"Um..."

"Prepare yourself."

"...I could just avoid you, you know."

"Then I'd just get you in your sleep."

"Like you'd know when I'm asleep, your sleeping habits get so messed up when you've been here too long that I doubt you even know what day it is."

"I know that you go to bed at around 11 pm, and you get up between 5 and 6 am. Except for every three to four days, where you have a mid-afternoon nap, then leave between 9 and 10 and, I assume, go whoring. After these occasions you usually return at around 7 am."

"..."

"And it's Monday today."

"Meg what the fuck!?"

"You have very predictable habits."

"Could you not observe my behaviour like I'm some kind of animal?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Because it annoys you."

"..."

"Hey Tim?"

"What now?"

"What would it take to kill you?"

"Um..."

"For your own safety of course."

"UM..."

"Just spit it out."

"Well... You'd have to make me use all of my energy, then destroy my body... That'd do it."

"So even if your body is completely destroyed, as long as you have the energy required to rebuild it you'd be fine?"

"I think so."

"Then you'll probably be fine."

"Probably?"

"Don't think about it too hard."

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Foreword: Experimentation utilises various levels of magic power usage. Experiments done using low levels of power and increasing with each step until new spell is used. First experiment uses the power within a fully charged standard magic containment circle, with each further step being an increase of 100% of the first experiment. This does not mean that experiment 10 will be 10 times as powerful as experiment 1, it has been recorded previously that the conversion efficiency from input to output increases with higher levels of input, with different spells achieving different levels of efficiency.

Experiments 1 - 10: Measuring the destructive capacity of fire magic. All power used instantaneously.

Notes: Experiments 1 - 3 did negligible damage to subject, resulting in minor burns at upper levels but nothing life-threatening. Subject expressed annoyance but was mostly unscathed. Would be more useful to use light magic as a method of surprise. Only practical use would be as a method of starting larger, self-sustaining fires. Possible use as a medical tool for cauterisation.

Experiments 4 - 6 did moderate damage to subject, with subject expressing pain and discontent with expletives. Burns on subject's body were harmful, causing severe pain and causing extremities to become unable to function. Would be fatal for unprotected people without immediate medical assistance. Practical uses as a tool for demolition of weak or unstable structures, in addition to its obvious uses as a weapon. Subject expressed that it could be used in mines or tunnels as a method of excavation, but would require cleaning of air to prevent provoking a dust explosion.

Experiments 7 - 10 did severe damage to subject, with subject unable to verbally react. Subject later revealed that the intense heat not only damaged him externally, but also internally, burning the inside of the subject's throat and lungs. Externally, the subject's body was charred, with extremities being removed at higher levels. For a normal human, death would be certain, and often immediate. Useful as a large-scale demolition tool, or as a weapon of war. Possible practical use in quarries.

Experiments 1 - 10: Measuring the effect of cooling magic on a living human. All power used instantaneously.

Notes: Subject requested with strong wording that the next experiment not include heating, so scheduling was changed to reflect this.

Experiments 1 - 4 did no to minimal damage to the subject, with the highest levels of damage in this range causing mild burns on the skin, but no damage that could not be rectified through gradual warming. Useful for rapid cooling of non-biological material, subject recommends as a method of 'quenching', a process found in forging metals. As a side observation, water was found to be forming on cooled surfaces, possible use a method of water collection.

Experiments 5 - 7 did considerably more damage than previous experiments, freezing occurred beneath the outer layer of skin, causing intense pain for subject. Skin was found to crack due to rapid temperature change, causing open wounds. Subject's eyes also froze, along with the inner portion of the subject's mouth. Information obtained after subject had recovered, as subject's mouth had been frozen shut, and upon forced opening, the subject's lips were torn. Possible use as a weaponised trap at this level, should be noted that it is unlikely that any human or smaller creature would survive the effects. If utilised with precise timing, could be used as a counter to high level fire magic. Subject too disoriented to offer thoughts beyond basic observations, found it hard to function for some time after physical recovery.

Experiments 8 - 9 did major damage, flesh and muscle beneath skin froze. Major damage to internal organs, subject unresponsive for a short while. Subject was still actively recovering, but seemed unable to concentrate. Upon prompting, subject did respond, attempting to move extremities. This caused further damage to the subject, skin splitting seen in previous experiments intensified. Uses at this level involve the freezing of water on a medium scale, possibly able to put out large fires. Effects on subject seem to indicate that this magic may be particularly effective against Gods and their Representatives.

Experiment 10 caused subject to freeze completely. Subject did not recover at the usual rate, and once thawed out, entered an unresponsive state for several hours. After this time, subject regained cognitive abilities, but remained subdued. It is unclear whether this is an after-effect of the freezing, or whether the subject was merely sulking. Practical use in flash freezing larger bodies of water, if subject is representative of Representatives, especially effective as a counter measure to them, and possibly Gods as an extension of that.

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"I'm taking a break."

Tim was wrapped up in a blanket, and stood glaring at Meg as she wrote up her notes from the last experiment.

"Oh come on, you're alive aren't you?" She replied, not bothering to stop working.

"Either I get a break and we do something less damaging, or I'm leaving and you get nothing."

Meg sighed to herself. "Fine." She said. "There's stuff that needs doing that won't involve directly attacking you."

"Don't fuck with me, I ain't frozen enough not to notice the 'directly' in that sentence."

"Calm down, I need to test water and air purification, all you need to do is stand there, breathe, and drink some water."

"...That better be all."

"I promise you, I will not have you do anything other than that."

"...Well good."

Seemingly reassured, Tim collapsed into a chair, brought his knees under his chin, and wrapped himself tighter in his blanket.

"So, did you find out anything? Or has my suffering been for nothing?" He asked.

"I found something that would've saved my family a lot of trouble."

"What's that then?"

"Remember how they used to think that the Gods all had opposites, and that was why they were trying to look into Death magic as an opposite of Life, which is what drew the attention of the executioners?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, after constantly drawing and redrawing both the fire and ice magic circles, I've noticed that the way they are drawn are basically just inversions of each other."

"...And that means?"

"That means that the opposite of fire magic, isn't water magic. It's fire magic done backwards."

"Oh. Makes sense, I guess."

"Yeah. If they'd spent some time just practicing the basics we could've avoided any trouble that came from that whole incorrect ideology."

"...Well, now you know."

"Hm."

The two sat in silence for a while, until Tim spoke up again.

"When you do the purification tests you're gonna want me to do the same but for the opposite as well aren't you? You're going to purposefully poison me."

"Yup."

"For fuck's sake."

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Water Purification Tests: Initial sample was of muddy lake water. Initial sample was then purified completely, then placed under the effect of a reversed purification circle.

Results of Purification: Water was completely purified. After spell was complete, all traces of mud was gone and water was completely tasteless. Subject could identify nothing about water beyond normal human capabilities.

Results of Reverse Purification: No visible change in water content, however subject noted that taste was greatly altered, and that the water was unfit for consumption. Further tests would be required to identify the true content of the liquid, to be arranged at a later date.

Additional: After leaving for a day, water used in test has taken on a green tinge, and appears to have algae growing within. Leftover purified water does not share this, so it appears to have been a result of the second test conducted on the water. Test water will be left alone and observed until no more changes occur.

Second Additional: After a few days, the algae had grown to cover the entirety of the water's surface, and then died out. It would seem that the effect of the second test created an environment in the water that allowed the algae to thrive, but then without further intervention, it died out on its own. This would suggest that water in its pure form, whilst appropriate for humans and by extension probably most animals, is not suitable for algae and plants. Further research may aid in increasing crop yield and reducing the likelihood of infertile land and poor harvests.

Air Purification Tests: Subject was placed in a room with an air purification circle, the room was then sealed. Subject was to knock on the sealed door if the room reached a level where it was uninhabitable. Relevant to note that subject took in with him a few books and a lit torch for light.

Results: Subject knocked on the door to be released after a little over an hour. Subject was experiencing pain within lungs and claimed that it would be fatal for a normal human to live under those conditions. Subject also noted that as the air was purified, the torch burned increasingly brighter, eventually burning out long before it should have. Air purification therefore appears to increase the ability of fire to burn, and too much purification appears deadly. This would imply that purification actually increases the proportion of air that gives fire the ability to burn, and that too much of this substance can be damaging to humans. As air purification is usually used to get rid of airborne toxins, it would be safe to assume that in low quantities this substance is harmless or perhaps even beneficial to humans. Further research may find methods of utilising this magic in cave systems where air stagnates and contains toxins from mining activities.

Reverse Air Purification Test: Subject was placed in a room with a reversed air purification circle, along with another lit torch, and was then sealed in with the same provisions as the previous test.

Results: Subject knocked on the door to be released in under 20 minutes. Subject was again describing pain within the lungs, and this time described the air as unbreathable. Subject also noted that as time went on, the torch became dimmer and dimmer, until it went out of its own accord, without having burned all its fuel. This would back the implication of previous test that purification creates a substance that allows fire to burn, as the reverse process makes fire impossible. Due to the similarities between the effect on the fire and the effect on the subject's ability to breathe, assuming that the purification only creates a single substance, then it would appear that substance is the same that humans require to live. Further research required to test for this, may also have uses in putting out fires.

Additional: Due to the effects of reverse purification of water, further tests will be conducted at a later date using plant life instead of the subject.

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"Tim?"

"No. No no no no no no no no, NO."

"...I'm going to try and make lightning."

"...Is there a possibility that this could lead to hand-held magic circles that spew lighting?"

"Yes."

"I'm in."

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Experiments 1 - 10: Measuring the effect of lighting based magic. Magic used with subject in contact with circle, as lower levels do not cause lighting, but still have an effect, based on information written alongside tome on subject of magic circles. All power used instantaneously.

Notes: Experiments 1 - 4 created no lightning, however cause an effect within subject, with the higher levels causing burns on skin and heating within flesh according to subject. Immediately after activation of circle, subject's muscles would spasm, causing him to flail and lash out. If further testing is done, it would be preferable to use another test subject, as subject was not able to control his body, and caused severe damage after one of his spasms. Subject also noted that this was likely the effect that the lightning had on the large creature he fought against that the foreign God sent through. With the lighting travelling directly into the creature's spine, it would have caused severe damage to the creature's nervous system. Uses for this magic would be as a method of stunning people or animals without using lethal force, useful as a trap or controlling criminals.

[Unrelated note: If knowledge is required on biology of humans and other animals, for better or worse, subject is intimate with how bodies function due to extensive experience breaking them.]

Experiments 5 - 7 caused burns beneath and on the skin of subject. Small bolts of lightning could be seen jumping across surface of subject and between the subject and the ground. Strangely, the subject seems to be retaining some of this energy after the effects should have dissipated, it is assumed that this is due to the subject's special traits as a Representative, and should be discounted when applying results to normal humans. Luckily, this does not seem to affect initial exposure, so results should not be compromised. Subject described the effects of spell as potentially fatal, as the burns were internal and couldn't be healed in a normal fashion, and on one occasion, the spasms caused by the spell caused the subject's heart to stop momentarily. It is unclear whether his heart restarting was due to his special circumstances, or would happen in a normal human. As such, potential uses with animals would be limited to killing, other uses unclear.

Experiments 8 - 10 caused bolts of lighting that extended beyond subject, inflicting severe burns on the subject and vaporising some of his flesh. In spite of this subject seemed very happy, although it is very unlikely this is due to the test itself, and more to do with the subject's specific interests. Death would be an unavoidable consequence of using this against live animals, and uses beyond that require specialised testing beyond the understanding and capabilities of myself at this time.

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"So when do I get to zap lighting from my hands?"

"You really think I'm giving you the ability to do that?"

"Oh come on, I help you out with all this and I don't get anything for it?"

"You can have this."

Meg passed a piece of paper with a magic circle drawn on it to Tim, who held it in his hand.

"What's this? And why is the bottom of it sticky?"

Meg said nothing, and simply activated the circle.

Immediately Tim's mind went hazy.

'What the hell?' He thought, but the words didn't come out of his mouth.

"Raise your right hand." Meg ordered.

"Okay"

'Why?'

Tim raised his right hand above his head with a blank expression, whilst internally he questioned what he was doing.

"Good." Meg said, and with a smirk, she ordered him again.

"Now slap yourself in the face."

The sound echoed off the stone walls as Tim struck himself.

'Fuck this' He thought to himself in a moment of clarity after the strike.

Meg shrunk back, as Tim suddenly began to radiate his power, and with great mental effort, he overcame the magic pumping into his body through the circle attached to his left hand, and brought his right down onto it. Unable to control his strength properly, his hand was torn from his arm, and the spell came undone.

After he'd come to his senses and regained his hand, Tim turned to Meg, thoroughly displeased, whilst she was busy writing down.

"That's unfortunate." She said as she was writing. "Though I guess you would be able to overcome it. Maybe if it used power at a higher rate..."

"Oi. You're not getting away with this."

"Yeah?" Meg turned to him with a smile. "What're you going to do? We both know you aren't willing to hurt me, and you aren't going to destroy my research because even you understand its necessity. So what're you going to do?"

"It's not about what I'm going to do, as much as it's about what I'm not going to do."

"Which is?"

"Cook."

"Wait, no, please. I'm sorry, I won't do it again."

"Hell no! You just tried to make you your mind slave!"

"Yeah but I'd have undone it...

Eventually."

"Don't think I didn't fucking hear that."

"Oh come on, that's hardly fair!"

"You're right, it's way more lenient than you deserve."

"Please forgive me."

"What are you even doing practicing with that anyway."

"Prisoner control."

"...With all the stuff you've been testing, you should really pick something and stick with it. If you spread your work too thin, you'll never get anything done."

"Yeah, I know. I just want to have some experience in all areas of magic so I can have a foundation in multiple areas of knowledge."

"Multiple areas, but they're all magic though."

"Yeah well, If I need anything else I'll just ask you. Even if you don't know yourself, you'll have ways of finding out."

"...That's not wrong, but I don't think you should be relying on me too much."

"Oh please, you don't have anywhere else to go."

"I could go anywhere I felt like."

"Yeah, but why would you? Even if there's a battle, you'd just go there, win, and then immediately come back again."

"..."

"I'm not wrong am I?"

"I'm definitely not cooking."

"Oh come on!"

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"Would it be too much to ask that you clean off the circles in the entrance? Every time I walk in I feel like I'm about to get blown into pieces."

Tim was referring to all the circles Meg had used in her experiments. The experiments themselves had taken place in the spacious entrance area of the library, as the circles could be drawn onto the floor, making use of the already present magic storage circles.

Plus there was the additional benefit of the library automatically repairing any damage done, with no risk of burning the whole place down.

"It's fine, luckily for you I haven't worked out how to remotely activate circles of that power yet."

"Why don't you ask Thomas then, he had those traps that set themselves off."

"No, those were different. Those traps only release relatively small amounts of power at a time, and are already activated when the trap is set up. They constantly let off power until they're empty whether they're active or not, the ones in the entrance can't work like that."

"I'm not even going to pretend to understand how that's supposed to work."

"I think we've had this conversation before, but you don't have to understand. Just accept what I tell you."

"Hm. Well, it's not like I have to bother with it much."

"What do you mean?"

"Well I'm not the one having to deal with magic all the time, am I? That's your deal."

"You realise that my end goal includes completely removing any chance of the fights that you enjoy so much, right? Helping me with magic is basically going to be all you do."

"...Fuck my life."

"Oh calm down. You'll get over it."

Tim did in fact, get over it.

Mostly because he managed to steal the drawn version of all the spells and would use them to play pranks on Meg, but that's besides the point.

During this time, in a prospering town to the East, a meeting of barons took place. The men spoke in hushed tones of land, wealth and honour. By the end of their conversation, they had come to an agreement, and made a pact.

At that moment, each one of them sealed their fates.