New Fantasy World: Galeia-Chapter 30

"As they verbally explained themselves to one another in ways they hadn’t done before, they began seeing their own names when they read each other and themselves. They protected each other, and together they studied E’er. After that, they turned their attention to the species of the world. Danuva lead the awakening of the species, granting knowledge to all with the Laws of Life." she took a small break and drank more juice.

"My ancestors, the first Dragons, gained sentience and evolved with time. Storm Dragons, Earth Dragons, Ocean Dragons and Fire Dragons. They helped spread the knowledge. Foxes, Lapia’s ancestors, were more unified in their evolution. Nine tailed foxes with a wide variety of features. They helped gather the rest of the species. And so the first age of E’er began. Gods received new Halves with open arms, granting knowledge and direction. Halves protected the sentient species from dangers with their nigh invulnerable bodies. Things went on like that for a really long time." she sighed and drank the last of the juice.

"Gods noticed through the ages that the new species were evolving more and more, and so was E’er. It shaped with everyone’s knowledge. If an individual understood the mechanics behind something, and then merged the knowledge with the E’er within them, they acquired a skill. If a group of individuals gained the same, or similar, sets of skills, E’er would react and grant them a shared name based on their understanding. Those who fought with their bodies became Warriors, those who studied the Laws of E’er became Wizards, Clerics for the Laws of Life, so on and so forth." she took a breath. "The system is there to reflect what we already know. We learn to read E’er and in turn, are given knowledge based on the names Gods and Halves gave." she nodded.

I waited for a couple of seconds. "That’s it?" I asked.

"The short version, at least." she nodded again.

"So the system doesn’t rule E’er?" I was a little confused.

"Think of the system as the collective knowledge of every sentient being that has lived and is alive. It’s reactive. It structures information already inside us, in a convenient way." she said after thinking for a few seconds.

She sucks at explaining. I smiled at her.

"Food is ready." Lapia uncovered a tray and a roasted chicken sat surrounded by many vegetables.

I was left with my own thoughts, Lapia serving the food.

It’s organic. I thought. An organic magical network. That conclusion helped a bit more than Alyssa’s story. The concept of a magical hive mind was easier to digest. I’ll stick to my silly comparisons.

"What is E’er?" I asked next, taking a bite of the food. An explosion of flavor made me release a short moan. "This is good. Lapia you’re an excellent cook."

"Thank you." she smiled and blushed a little. "I’ll take that question."

"You’re the expert." Alyssa smiled.

"E’er is a particle that is everywhere." she said. "We can manipulate it, spend it, absorb it, transform it, and be transformed by it." I poured some juice for her. "When an individual’s body is changed by E’er, we call it ’level up’. It happens when you’ve absorbed enough to naturally change your body. For example, if you lift heavy objects every day, your muscles will rupture and heal, increasing your strength and constitution. Absorbing E’er is different, however. It reacts to you, increasing your power across the board in different magnitudes." she took a bite and drank a little juice, then swallowed with a smile. "With me so far?"

I nodded. Alyssa was paying attention as well.

"If I ’level up’, my ’INT’ will increase more than my ’STR’ because E’er reacts to what I am. An individual who has spent time studying the Laws of E’er, my consciousness ingrained with their workings. Natasha, your ’CON’ will increase more than your ’WIS’ because you need to survive combat, being a warrior. A larger E’er pool won’t be as useful as a tougher body. Alyssa is similar to me, she doesn’t benefit as much from higher strength, but with a larger source to cast more spells." she took a sip. "That’s the short version."

I was confused for a second. You temper your body with the energy of the world. I smiled. For an organic magic world, it made sense to me. At least more than a weird interface that you could interact with and change your body on the fly.

"I see." I nodded. It was all coming together. "So the E’er within you ’resonates’ with the E’er you absorb, guiding it and further ’nurturing’ you." I made air quotes.

"That’s the gist of it."

Both women nodded.

"Is E’er sentient?" I asked.

"That’s one of the big questions." Alyssa said. "Not even the Gods know."

"Okay. What’s with the three moons?" I tried to avoid talking about Gods.

"Shia, the bigger one. Kia, the smaller one. Tia, the one that looks like a small planet." Lapia said. "Naturally formed satellites by asteroids crashing against Galeia when it first formed." she took a sip.

"Gods have gone to Tia." Alyssa commented. "There’s nothing much. Only vegetation, and the E’er is thin." she shrugged.

"They can cross space?" I choked a little on my food. Drinking juice helped it down. They are fucking overpowered! Who told me they were weak?!

"Outer space is not enough to kill a God. They can hold their breath for a few years surrounded by barriers." Lapia shrugged.

Don’t just shrug it off! I sighed.

"Is the world so dangerous that people form teams to go around?" I changed topics again.

"Yes." they both answered at the same time.

"Wild Dragons prowl mountains." Alyssa said.

"Predators run rampant between cities." Lapia said. freewebnσvel.cøm

"Oh. Okay." Harsh world we live in, huh?