Beauty & The Beast || Bane & Jewantes
Finally, the Knight was asking the right questions and not bothering with trivialities like matters of sympathy. Jewantes couldn’t hide a pleased smile at the boldness of this young magician – Phase One? He certainly set his goals high, and that was something Jewantes could appreciate.
As much as it pained him to have to admit it, though, it was not a matter he could so easily divulge. “Ah, child, I’m afraid I can’t tell you that. But consider this: what is a Phase One magician? Someone powerful. Someone determined. Someone so in tune with themself and their magic that there’s nothing to hinder the flow of power,” he listed off, raising a finger for each point. With that last one said he balled his hand into a fist, and brought it down hard on the surface of the table. Glass clinked. The table, however, caught by Jewantes’ hold on the stone floor, stayed perfectly still.
“There’s a Phase One magician with the Mancers, I heard. Ground or Rock, I believe. Let’s take him as our example: the earth is solid, steadfast, and I imagine that magician is much like it. But the earth is also prone to quake, and tremble, and spit out searing hot rocks: our Mancer will probably be someone solid in presence but volatile in his moods.” He glanced at Bane, raised an eyebrow. Asked, “Do you see where I’m going with this? For all its other qualities, earth, at its most basic level, is a thing of solidity. It provides support, and a steady base. Consider, therefore: there has never been a Crystal Phase One.”
Jewantes himself had never put much research into the intricacies of Phase One magicians – it was something that simply didn’t matter to him, or was particularly relevant to his ambitions. If he rounded up strong magicians, and taught them well, what need was there to determine whether they were deserving of a particular title? Even so, over the years and especially now that he had a lot more recent history to look back on, certain patterns could be seen to emerge. “Which brings us to another question: does the magic influence the personality of its wielder, or does personality determine the type of magic received? Something for you to ponder, Knight.”
Bane felt his heart sink as Jewantes admitted he couldn’t truly explain what it takes to become a Phase One – Bane supposed he should have not been surprised, he had divulged as much from his own studies – but the revelation was nonetheless upsetting. Then Jewantes displayed his powers. Bane’s face exploded with a smile as his body filled with a wonder that he had not felt since he was a child. It made him more eager than he had ever felt in his whole life to have such an intimate relationship with his magic – the understated pairing of power and subtly. He was almost moved to tears at the elegant display of magic – but instead Bane only said with a deep gravity, “That was… truly beautiful.” But then Bane listened to Jewantes make a case study for the probabilities of an earth magician vs. a crystal magician to become a Phase One – and felt a sinking in his heart so deep he thought he might disappear into it. “I understand.” He said quietly, like a child who had just been told there were no such thing as fairies. The case was clear – one born into a magic that came from a wider, external base – the access to that quantity of raw material – of course it made sense they would find easier access to that flow, that power – that love. But, like the child born to the butcher, he was also the child born only to purple magic – internal… alone… always. Then again, didn’t he feel alone when he was in the streamlines of his magic. Instead, when he felt it slow the world around him and let him move through this earth with the deftness of an eel swimming downstream, it felt more like – a tunnel – a trail he was reopening, like finding the wild hare’s hunting path in the forest behind the shrubs. He was no air magician, but was he making use of the air? Or was there some other element he was accessing that he was unaware of? Or… was he reaching for a ladder that did not exist? While Bane was thinking through this depressing line of thought, Jewantes interrupted it with another thought puzzle. Another thing to think about. He knew of some other purple Knights – none of whom he knew well enough to speak to their personalities, however, what little he did know of them did not seem to correlate – nor did the personalities of those he knew who carried the same type of magic. Sure, Danny and Marius were charming – but night and day in so many other respects. He shook his head, “Well, though it is not definitive, I have always believed that one does not get one’s personality from birth – one grows into it through circumstance – nor have I met two magicians of the same magic that had a running through line of personality – maybe guided by, but I’m not sure I would say it is not ruled by – that being said, the possibility that the appearance of a certain kind of magic is guided by the bearers’ personality, and its use affects one’s personality, I could believe this… after all, the day my magic appeared – I would have given the kingdom to run away – though now I think perhaps what I should have given the kingdom for was the power to burn the damn house down.” He shrugged, “That being said, perhaps it was for the best that I didn’t know any better back then.” He poured Jewantes another glass and offered it to him. ”It seems you give me much to ponder… both good and ill.” He then poured another for himself and took a sip following it with a deep sigh, "So there is to be no hope?"
