The Zodiac Empire

Chapter 22 - You're a Wizard (part 2)

Naito gave her some privacy and left the room for a few minutes. Once she was ready, they rode back to Zart's place so that Naito could grab a bunch of his magic books. They then rode to a small woodland where no one would see them.

"Alright," Naito said as they got off the bike, "This will do."

Kayla took off the backpack they stuffed with books and sat in the grass. "Where will we start?"

"The very basics. Let's see..." he dumped the tomes out of the backpack and opened up one titled "The Grimoire". "Do you know what a Grimoire is?"

Kayla shook her head.

"I want you to read this then." He handed her the tome.

"T-The entire thing?!" she looked at him like he was a madman.

Naito chuckled. "No, silly. Just read bits and pieces when you get the chance. I'll summarize what you need to know." He cleared his throat and sat in front of her.

She placed her hands on her knees, ready to listen.

"A Grimoire is, basically, your book of spells. It's a wizards most powerful asset, but at the same time, our greatest weakness. It contains seventy percent of our magical energy, or mana, so when we are near it, our magic becomes much stronger. The Grimoire contains your entire history—all of your family members, including ancestors, and all of the spells they knew. Whenever you learn a spell, it's recorded in your Grimoire. It's essentially your own personal wizard diary and history book. Every wizard is born with a Grimoire inside their soul. When we are born, a magical ritual is performed to retract it. Now, what makes it a weakness? Since it contains seventy percent of your mana, if it's destroyed, you will be greatly weakened, permanently. Not only that, but you will become incapable of using any magic that was recorded in your Grimoire, nor any that are naturally recorded in it after you learn them; you'll only be able to use the very basic spells. Put short, if your Grimoire is destroyed, you are essentially no longer a wizard."

"So, even I have one?" Kayla asked, but quickly clasped her hands over her mouth. "Sorry! I didn't mean to interrupt!"

"It's fine, ask any questions you have. And yes, all wizards have one."

"How do I know where it is?"

"I don't know. Unfortunately, I don't even know where my own is. My father has mine and my sisters' hidden somewhere known only to him, to protect them from being destroyed. We'd be far more powerful keeping them near, but sometimes it's better to be safe than sorry."

"Then, I've had this ritual performed on me at birth too. And if I find my Grimoire, I'll learn who my family were?"

"Correct. I have no clue how you would find it though; it could be anywhere," he said. When she didn't ask any further questions, he continued, "The Grimoire is very hard to destroy. There aren't many known substances capable of destroying it, but Basilisk venom, Unicorn horns, and Pegasus flames are three known methods. This is how Maeru was able to conquer Drazil in the war; they studied wizards until they discovered this weakness and a method to exploit it, then sent in troops to hunt down and destroy as many Grimoires as possible."

"They sure don't teach that in history class."

"I learned this from my father. He was one of the war's survivors," he said, "Now, moving on. There are four main types of magic—Universal. These are spells that can be learned and used by any wizard, regardless of their Elemental-Sign. Exclusive: These are spells that can only be used by their respective Elemental-Sign. Heredity: These are spells exclusive to specific bloodlines. And last, but certainly least...Basic. These are simple, easy to learn and use spells that even regular people can be taught."