Small Magic
Professor Malus walked back and forth, moving his hands as he spoke. The class room was shaped like a wide funnel, with the professor’s podium positioned on the stage at the bottom, and rows of higher seats circling the stage. The ranks of students around him listened intently, occasionally making notes or (in some cases) furiously copying everything that he had written on the chalkboard into their own notebooks. A few seated in the back gave every appearance of ignoring the lecture entirely. Johan sat in the lowest row, dead center. Not because it was the position that he wanted to be in, but because he knew that it would probably give him an easy 2-5% bump in his grade.
Years ago, a teacher had shown Johan collected statistics for every student in his class, going back a decade or more. All other things being equal, students in the front row had average grades four points higher than those who sat in the back. Part of this, Johan guessed, was because the teacher knew their faces and would be more motivated to help them, part of it was probably that they were more likely to ask for help (sitting in close proximity gave a feeling of intimacy, whether it was real or not), but the largest part was just that it was hard to completely ignore someone who was speaking loudly only a few feet away.
“Magic is fixed at formation-” the theoretical point during pregnancy at which a fetus became a human being “- and there is no way to get more of it. It cannot be taken away, only restrained or controlled. You’ve heard, I’m sure, of the many schools and varieties of magic. Many of you already have a specialization, or plans on a specialization. For our purposes-” Professor Malus walked back to the chalkboard and picked up the chalk from where he had left it on a small table against the wall, ignoring the cloud of powder that he brushed from the table as he did. “-there are only two types of magic. Generative, and manipulative. Generative magic, also sometimes called ‘simple’ magic-” he turned and raised an eyebrow at the class.
“-which you will find to be a misleading label, I’m sure. Generative magic is the process of creating something from raw magic. A wizard who consumes their own magic to create a flame is using generative magic. Creation of water ex nihilo is generative. It may surprise you to learn that levitation, in most cases, is also generative. Generative magic is called ‘simple’ because in many ways, it is. The wizard is expending their limited supply of magic to create some change in the world.”
The professor had a habit, borne from long years teaching, of stressing key words as he spoke. He moved from side to side, building up a list of examples for generative magic, then noting down authors, dates and titles to the side- reference material that would be helpful for the test. Which, Johan realized, as he glanced down at his notes and schedule, was only a few weeks away.
“In contrast, manipulative magic involves the control of natural forces without expenditure. It requires an intimate knowledge of the forces being manipulated. A…” Malus hesitated for the first time, as if he were unsure what example to use ”… healer may draw blood away from a wound, using only the natural ability of extruded magic to nudge and pull the blood. An experienced wizard may be able to use that same ability to control the outcome of a coin flip. At the extreme, magic may be used to permanently alter a human body, granting increased strength, speed, and durability-” he broke off as a student raised her hand “-yes?”
“That’s something that specialists in body magic can do, right?” She asked, somewhat hesitantly, now that so many eyes were on her.
“Exactly! Yes. That is the primary skill that body magi pursue. The drawback of the technique is the time required. Each body specialist will spend decades gradually improving their body while avoiding or undoing the detrimental side effects of their changes as they do. Every part of the body is connected to every other part -a 'world in a bottle' as Spencer says in A Century of Growth. Changing any part can have catastrophic effects on the others.” He clasped his hands behind his back, walking slowly forward to the front row of seats and scanning the audience.
“Manipulative magic is capable of producing permanent effects on the world, without the expenditure, however temporarily, of magic. For that reason, it has attracted much interest in the past. But generative magic, for all it’s limitations on that front, is fundamentally practical. To quote another great wizard- 'if you have a nail and a hammer, just hit the damn nail'.”
Scattered laughter rippled around the classroom at that. Malus smiled faintly and paused for a moment for it to fade away. After it did, he reminded everyone to complete the latest essay, due Monday, and began stacking his books and gathering his things.