Okay… just for the record… I do not believe a word of what this man says. He is either delusional or working some kind of con. If he can truly see the future, then why didn’t he arrive sooner? If he had, then he could have pointed out the entire trap situation… Damecus and Kiyui could have avoided the gas… we could have just killed them all from the get go. But no… he arrived way too late for any of that.

  And as for what just happened in the ruins… they just heard the floor collapse… nothing more. They heard a noise and went to investigate. Again… if they knew it was coming then why wait until I had fallen through the floor? Why not intervene sooner? This entire thing has the smell of bullshit to me. I bet he isn’t even a disciple of the watcher. He’s just cashing in on their reputation.

  So yeah… I am engaging with him because I am polite and because technically, he has saved my life twice… and I stress twice… he has never met me before… I have an impeccable memory… I would remember him.

  Carter: “What are these ruins anyway? Who are all these statues of?”

  I mean… that is a fair question. There were loads of them in alcoves at the side of that staircase before. And they keep popping up in this corridor as we pass though.

  Clive: “That is one of life’s mysteries. We know nothing of the culture of those that built this place. Although, based on the form of the statues, we can assume that they were humanoid… possibly elves… it is hard to tell since none of the statues have heads… which may be a cultural thing… or maybe all the heads were removed in some kind of raid or rebellion… they are all so damaged that it is hard to tell.”

  Dwynfel: “Since you are a disciple of the watcher, can you not use your magic to view the past?”

  Clive: “Dwynfel, what do you know of how magic works?

  I feel like no matter what I answer with I am heading for some kind of deranged lecture.

  Dwynfel: “Other than the sword, I have no real affinity for magic… and if I’m being honest, I still don’t really know how the sword works.”

  Clive: “Then I shall let you in on something rather controversial. The gods do not bestow our magical abilities. You either have magical capabilities or you do not… and those that do, will naturally be better at one school of magic than another. Being a disciple of the watcher does not mean that I can see all of time. The power to look forwards in time is simply something that I am skilled at… and it took a lot of work to be able to focus it correctly.”

  See… told you… lecture. That being said… his point of view on the matter does intrigue me. I was just expecting him to waffle on about faith.

  Dwynfel: “I have wondered about this before… but if the gods do not grant these powers, then why do people pray to specific deities for specific powers? Why do all paladins pray to the Father of Fortitude? Why do elemental mages like Phoenix pray to the Jester of Chaos? Why do neither of those deities offer healing magic?”

  Clive: “Perhaps a better question is why are the spells of the Mother of Mercy and the Maiden of Virtue exactly the same?”

  Why did I never notice that before? He’s right… there is absolutely no difference between their spells whatsoever.

  Dwynfel: “Umm… because they both provide healing magic?”

  Clive: “But why? Why have two gods providing the same type of spell? I just healed you and I have never preyed to either of them in my life. I used the divine light spell to deal with the undead… that spell is supposed to require years of prayer before being attained. Yet, I am able to cast it… why?”

  Dwynfel: “Because you pray to a different god that also provides such things?”

  Clive: “I pray to no god. Whether the gods even exist I cannot say. But my family keep records… and the spells granted by these gods have changed several times over the years. The Maiden of Virtue used to grant enhancement magic… she would boost your capabilities. Then society got into its head that virgins are pure, so their magic should be more holy and suddenly she was also offering healing magic. In time, people forgot about the enhancement magic. Then they wouldn’t let you become a priest or a priestess of the Maiden unless you yourself were a virgin… that was a sudden change… and I can tell you… most of those priests and priestesses are far from virgins… they simply know how to conceal what they do.”

  Okay… I grant him… that is certainly odd.

  Dwynfel: “So you are suggesting that the reason people limit themselves to specific spell groups is because society decides which gods provide what and once you commit to one then you cannot move to another?”

  Clive: “That is precisely what I am saying. The Jester never used to provide elemental magic. He used to specifically offer mind-altering spells… confusion, charm, fear, etc. Elemental magic used to be offered by the elemental spirits… and nobody even remembers them now. The gods change with society… and so do the boons that they offer. But once you know this… you realise that as long as you have some essence of mana within you, you can learn any spell from any school, provided you have a level of natural affinity with it. You will be more proficient at some than others… because your body’s natural mana will align more with some spell groups better than others.”

  If that is true… then that means anybody could learn anything. That can’t be right.

  Dwynfel: “So, I could learn healing magic too?”

  Clive: “No… you said you have no magical capabilities.”

  Dwynfel: “I have the sword.”

  Clive: “That is a magic item. You yourself do not possess any mana. And even if you did… learning spells that your body is not particularly suited to is difficult. I am not made for healing magic. I would have been better suited to the mind-altering magics… I spent a long time learning how to heal and how to cast divine light because I knew that I would require such abilities.”

  I always thought that mana worked more like money. You say the spell so the gods know which spell you wish to cast, you pay them the cost in mana, and they grant you use of the spell.

  Dwynfel: “But… surely as long as you know what spell you wish to cast, then you can just cast it… mana is mana isn’t it?”

  Clive: “You would think so… but think about your physical body. You can train it in any number of ways. You are small and physically weak…”

  Thanks for the confidence boost.

  Clive: “…you could improve your physical strength with weights and exercise. You could dedicate your life to it. But you will never be a strong as the average human that does the same thing… just as the human will never be as strong as the average orc that does the same. You know what peak muscular strength looks like… you can picture it… but you will never get to that point. So, you have focussed your energy on accuracy and speed, because that is where you know that you can shine. Magic is the same. The spell you cast is to do with the control that your body can exert over the mana within… and each body is going to better at manipulating it in one way rather than another. Lady V’Rel for example, has a very strong affinity for fire and lightning magic… she is reasonable with water, although it is not her strong suit… yet she cannot wield earth magic at all.”

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  He has a point… I never thought about it before… but she has never used an earth related spell.

  Dwynfel: “Hang on… how do you know so much about Phoenix?”

  Clive: “We have crossed paths before.”

  What a helpful and not at all vague response.

  Dwynfel: “When?”

  Clive: “A long time ago…”

  Carter: “She gave me a biscuit… and a kiss on the cheek.”

  Clive: “Shut up, Carter.”

  Dwynfel: “A kiss on the cheek?”

  Carter: “What? I was only little.”

  Clive: “Carter!”

  Carter: “Sorry.”

  He was only little when they met Phoenix? That must have been like twenty years ago. If she was being openly physically affectionate to some random child… then I wonder…

  Dwynfel: “Did she have the burns back then?”

  Carter: “Nope… they didn’t happen for another…”

  Clive: “Carter!”

  Carter: “Sorry.”

  Maybe I should try to get Carter on his own at some point and ask him some questions. He seems much more open to giving answers… at least until Clive cuts him off.

  Clive: “As I was saying… the lizardmen are another prime example of this. Each of them is born with a very specific magical ability. No matter how much a green lizardman wishes… he cannot teach himself the blink ability that the black lizardmen possess. Now… the lizardmen do not pray to any gods… they worship the sun and the moon. So, who provides them with these magical abilities? Nature… they are natural abilities.”

  Dwynfel: “And how do you know so much about the lizardmen?”

  Clive: “I have read Damecus’ book.”

  Damecus has literally never mentioned a book… ever.

  Dwynfel: “He released a book?”

  Clive: “It has not gone into general publication yet. He has posed it as an anthropological journal. Calls it ‘Lizardmen: Their Ways, Beliefs and Culture.’ He intends to put right a lot of the misinformation that has been spread by Griffith’s Monster Almanac, which for years has claimed to be the leading piece of writing on Lizardmen.”

  Dwynfel: “I had that book as a child.”

  Clive: “Then you will know that the information therein is simply based on one clan… not lizardmen civilisation as a whole. The problem is… Griffith’s descendants are not taking kindly to having his work discredited… so they are fighting against the release of the book. Lady Vermillion is championing the legal side, so it will likely get released to the public… however… the Griffith family do have friends in high places, so in various cities it will likely end up on the forbidden book register. His other book isn’t meeting any opposition though. That one should be entering publication in a few weeks.”

  For fuck’s sake… really?

  Dwynfel: “His other book?”

  Clive: “Botany and Its Medical Significance. Due to society’s preference for magical healing, it is a largely unstudied area, so his work has not met any objection. The closest practitioners in human society are the alchemists. The art of alchemy has come a long way, given its origins in the misguided notion that you can turn base metals into gold. Still… the experiments that notion inspired created modern potions and all the various flasks that we use today. Your friend’s pursuit of knowledge in this area has made a lot of people’s lives easier. I anticipate that this will be a very valuable publication. He co-authored it with his wife Cathy. Although I suspect that her involvement was more in the research phase rather than the writing. The book reads very much like his book on lizardmen, of which she had no part. He has dedicated it to his daughter, which is a sweet touch. If you ever write a book… always dedicate it to your kids… it always goes down well with the public… unless you’ve written erotica… don’t dedicate that to anyone other than your lover.”

  Shockingly… the writing and publishing of erotica was not on my list of things to do. Although… thinking about it… I’m surprised Kiyui hasn’t had a go at that.

  Dwynfel: “And you know so much about Damecus… how?”

  Clive: “I am in the proof-reading committee of Kataravonia. Any new book that is put forward for general publication in the city goes through the committee. You have no idea the amount of truly awful books that I have read over the years. For every truly fascinating book that is put forward… there are normally about fifteen that would better serve you on the fire.”

  It concerns me that he seems to know a lot of information about my friends that I don’t even know. Hang on… wait a minute…

  Dwynfel: “You keep saying that the gods do not provide us with our magical abilities… and I get that… it all makes sense… until you get to healing magic… which is often referred to as holy magic and is of the divine element. That entire element group is supposed to be steeped in godly essence… that’s the whole point of it. That is why ungodly creatures like the undead are so afraid of it. Because it is effectively direct godly power.”

  Clive: “Alas, no. The fifth and sixth elements that people often refer to as holy light and darkness are simply the elements of life and death. When you cast healing magic you are tapping into the energy that creates life. Not some deity… but the very energy of existence. The same when you cast dark magic like the death spell… or any necromancy.”

  Urgh… necromancy… the entire concept of it just sends a shiver down my spine.

  Clive: “The undead do not react well to healing magic because they are dead… it will have the opposite effect… most conditions that bring the dead to life only work because the creature is dead. Something else effectively takes control of the corpse. If you heal that body, then whatever force has taken over that body can no longer control it. At which point the body will default to the state it was in before the external force took control of it. Like cutting the strings of a marionette. And again… like the other elements… people will tap into one side of this spectrum easier than the other. So, if I were being technical, then I would point out that there is no sixth element only the fifth element… which is lifeforce.”

  This is confusing… I mean… you find it confusing too… right? It isn’t just me being stupid?

  Dwynfel: “Look… this is kind of information overload… I’ve pretty much lost track of how we even got onto this topic in the first place now.

  Clive: “My point is… my skills do not lie in viewing the past… they lie in ensuring the future.”

  Dwynfel: “But, if the gods have nothing to do with magic… then why identify yourself as a disciple of the watcher?”

  Clive: “It is a term that others understand. I also refer to myself as a priest, despite having had sex on multiple occasions and never praying to the Maiden. I use the terms that are appropriate for my audience.”

  Okay… so what he says about magic does make sense… sort of. He lost me quite a bit towards the end. I am still very confused. But there does seem to be some logic to what he says… however I still think all this future vision stuff is bollocks.

  Clive: “Just through this door is the room where you fell through the floor. I advise against doing that again.”