Wearing Power Armor to a Magic School (14/?) WiP 1 (Patreon)

Hello everyone here's the Work in Progress for Chapter 14 I hope you guys enjoy! :D 

There was something to be said about the power of human imagination, and its remarkable ability to suspend its disbelief. It’s through this power that entire worlds are created, each with their own unique sets of internally consistent rules that can feel just as real to our own. This remarkable ability for the human mind to, for a moment, set aside everything it understands as objective truths for a momentary escape to completely fantastical lands is more than likely the reason why I was taking Thacea’s explanations so readily.

It was through these very mechanisms that I found myself not dispelling the logical framework of Thacea’s claims, but instead, ready and willing to embrace it and whatever ramifications it may lead to.

A childhood obsession with fiction and roleplaying just wouldn’t let up, no matter how many years of self-imposed adulting I’d attempted to force upon myself. You just couldn’t take the imagination, the passion of creation and the enjoyment of creativity, out of a human no matter how much you try.

So despite me being just as in the dark to the specifics of mana and the implications of magic as Thacea was to the nature of science and technology, my mind didn’t actively try to reject it.

No.

In fact it did the exact opposite.

As that latent, adventurous side of my mind wanted to embrace it, hungry for more just as how I’d been fervently ravenous for more at the end of any good piece of fiction.

Except this fiction was reality.

A deep sense of fiery satisfaction welled within me. That I had in fact, not just a window into another world through the lens of a single creator, but an entire living, breathing world from which to live, see, touch, and experience.

It was in this same light that I knew I couldn’t just take all of this with the impartiality of an outside observer looking in. I understood the ramifications and the very real severity of Thacea’s circumstances. Instead of simply empathizing and sympathizing with her plight and leaving it at that, I felt empowered in the knowledge that I could do more. I wasn’t just simply watching her suffering on a screen or as text across a page. I was actually here, in front of her, capable of having a genuine, palpable impact on not just her but the world around her. However whilst the latter was subject to a lot of caveats, the former was at least something I could genuinely have an impact on.

If this really was her life. If her entire experiences up to this point had been one of survival and navigating a world of constant hate and prejudice… I’d at least be able to provide her with some genuine human-grade companionship; with all of the bells and whistles that came with it, namely, those fundamental human cornerstones of empathy and compassion. Basic, fundamental experiences she’d been unjustly barred from just because of this one small aspect of her personhood.

“Well in all honesty Thacea, it feels like the only real dangers to themselves and those around them are the professors, the staff, and the faculty, and I don’t see any of them being tainted.” I responded in kind. “Or maybe there’s something I’m missing here.”

Thacea stared at me with those analytical eyes once more. Her whole face was stuck in what I could only describe as the default neutral expression she’d often put on when in deep thought. Yet she never got out of neutral, this time around she seemed permanently stuck as if she was unable to handle this one point of divergence in the conversation. It was then that her beak began to open, not in another bout of dour monologuing or another deep dive into the horrors of the Nexus or her realm, but in a precursor to what I could only describe as a series of soft, cackling caws. Caws which were cut abruptly short by the princess’ own social restraint as she eventually landed back on a more bemused version of her polite expression she’d most often used when talking to me.

“I… I understand humor as a coping mechanism Emma, and it’s rare that it would actually work on me. However, you must understand that this entire situation, or rather, your reaction to the divulging behind the truth of taint simply cannot be described as… conventional, by any stretch of the imagination. This is… absurdist.” I couldn’t quite pin down whether or not the avian meant this as a compliment or an insult, but I let her continue regardless. “Emma… with all sincerity and none of the theatrics, do you not feel in any way… perturbed by this revelation?” The dourness started to creep back into the princess’ tone of voice.

This prompted me to swoop back in with a response to defuse the situation before it went too far. “Perturbed? By what? The fact that society in the Nexus and the Adjacent realms have decided that the best way to deal with a physiological… magical… soul… whatever defect is by shunning them and socially ostracized them instead of helping them? Or the fact that this mentality has become so commonplace that it seems socially acceptable to actively go out seeking verbal altercations with people like you?”

Thacea remained resolute in her expressions, making sure to maintain that composure of calm, seriousness as she continued. “Emma, haven’t you considered Ilunor’s warnings ever since the Grand Hall? Of consumption?”

“I assumed he was exaggerating. As he’s prone to do. He’s literally exaggerating about everything. That’s literally his thing.” I cocked my head. “So no, I didn’t give it much thought, because I don’t think I should be giving his crap even scraps of my precious processing power that’s already dealing with a new reality that wants me dead, and a faculty that has something out for me, and a literal bomb somewhere in the castle.”

“I agree. Those are indeed valid concerns…” Thacea responded promptly. “However, as I have promised to divulge everything regarding taint, consumption and the more extreme effects of taint must be discussed. You see, what Lord Ilunor speaks of is indeed a valid concern. Consumption, by every metric, is a real phenomenon. Older words for it involve Dream Eating, or The Nightly Disappearance. Since taint is inextricably tied to an afflicted individual’s emotional intensity, dreams have a particularly (enhancing) effect on it. There is no controlling one's emotions during sleep after all. As a result of this, in certain highly noteworthy cases of extreme permutations of taint, there have been reports of tainted manipulation of mana to outright… consume the mana-fields of other living people. Indeed, as this happens, without a mana-field of their own they fall victim to-”

“Liquefaction.” I stated plainly. “Which also means they’d disappear in the morning too, right?”

“Precisely.” Thacea responded in no uncertain terms.