Projection

Although Borne had been impressed by the "refinement" of the count's estate, he had no idea how to even begin criticizing Seventon's architectural style!

The Ioulaum House estate wasn't the most magnificent or luxurious in Seventon. On the way here, Borne had even seen plenty of castles and courtyards that were far more lavish!

They all had their own distinctive styles, and some were even wilder and more primitive.

It was a complete hodgepodge. In Borne's memory, he had never seen such a diverse collection of buildings before...

The place reminded Borne of a mishmash of several different races.

If he had to sum it up in one word, it was a "hodgepodge"!

Netheril lay in the northwest of the continent, near the sea and close to the High Ice Glacier, far from the conflicts of Faerûn. After the Elven Crown Wars, Nether had entered a period of rapid development. To the west lay the Elven High Forest.

It was the perfect model of a nation focused on development!

And it was precisely because Netheril had existed for such a short time that, though it had begun developing its own magical civilization, it hadn't yet developed any distinctive cultural character. This reminded Borne of Russia in his previous life: far ahead in heavy military industry, but utterly backward in other areas. Nether was in the same situation now. It was devoting all its efforts to developing its own arcane civilization, while "picking up" whatever it could in other fields. It had absorbed some fleeing peoples, so it was only natural that the styles varied. Still, Nether had been deeply influenced by the elves, and in most respects it continued their cultural traditions while incorporating features from many other peoples.

The count's estate wasn't gaudily rich and luxurious. It had a more unusual kind of beauty, one that even Borne, with his meager artistic sensibilities, could appreciate in all its perfection!

The estate had been built in the elven style.

The bedroom was just as artistically furnished. The murals and engravings on the walls were the work of masters, and the bed was made from an unknown kind of wood. The moment he entered the room, Borne felt a sense of calm wash over him.

His thoughts even seemed clearer. Borne was astonished, because he hadn't sensed any fluctuations in magical energy. This had to be the work of some elven master!

After touring the bedroom, he went on to see the other parts of the estate, guided by the old butler.

The old man wore a dark tailcoat, a snow-white shirt, and gloves. His manner was elegant, meticulous, and capable, and his graying hair was neatly combed.

The old butler was a longtime member of the family. Borne was wearing nothing but an ordinary linen shirt, but the butler recognized the young master at a glance, then smiled and said,

"You really look like Viscount Gordon did when he was a boy!"

Borne: ...

The estate covered a huge area, with more rooms than a rural castle and far more complete facilities! It alone had four dining rooms, each meant for a different occasion.

Apart from the top floor, which housed the count's laboratory and was off-limits, Borne toured most of the estate's other areas.

And this was only the estate. Count Ioulaum was the vice dean of Giles Academy, and he also had private quarters in the academy's Wizard Tower, along with a much larger area for his experiments!

That night, Borne lay on the enormous bed, rolling around and savoring the softness of the covers. He even bounced up and down on it. After so many years in this world, he finally had a soft bed to sleep in. He'd had more than enough of the stone-slab bed in the rural castle.

But before Borne could start enjoying his new life, or spend each morning being greeted by thirty beautiful maids, the old butler woke him up. Butler Walker handed him a list.

As Borne looked at the long list of books written on the paper, he froze on the spot...

The count had already told him on the way here that a true spellcaster couldn't just know how to chant incantations and cast spells. Familiarity with magical philosophy and an introduction to spells were essential, too. Arcanists were famous for their wide-ranging knowledge, and had even more to study. Fortunately, Borne was still young and shouldn't be exposed to magic so soon. What he needed now was to build a solid foundation.

At the time, Borne hadn't taken any of it seriously.

He'd made it through nine years of school, five years of college entrance exams, and three years of hellish practice tests. What could possibly stump him now?

But the moment Borne actually saw the reading list, he felt terrible...

He understood The Basic Theory of Magic and Fundamentals of Applied Magic, but what the hell were the books that came after them?

The Identification and Meaning of Badges

An Appreciation of Senila's Art

A Brief History of the Second Crown War

The subjects covered mysteries, dungeons, nature, geography, history, local regions, nobility, royalty, and religion.

Mysteries (ancient secrets, magical traditions, arcane symbols, arcane phrases, constructs, dragons, magical beasts)

Architecture and Engineering (buildings, waterways, bridges, fortifications)

Dungeons (aberrations, caves, oozes, exploration)

Geography (soil, terrain, climate, people)

History (royalty, wars, colonization, migration, city-building)

Local Regions (legends, character, inhabitants, laws, customs, traditions, humanoids)

Nature (animals, fey, giants, monstrous humanoids, plants, seasonal changes, climate, insects)

Nobility and Royalty (families, heraldry, genealogy, family mottos, character)

Religion (deities, mythic history, religious traditions, Holy Symbols, undead)

The further he advanced in each subject, the more specialized it became. Borne felt a little short of breath.

No wonder Viscount Gordon had run away. He must have suffered plenty from all this. Borne wondered if it was still too late for him to run...

Borne sighed and ran a hand through his thick hair. He knew from looking at Gordon that he'd grow up to be a handsome young man, too. He hadn't even held a young lady's hand yet...

At this rate, he'd go bald...

"I wonder if there's a spell to regrow hair. Netheril had all sorts of bizarre arcane spells in its later years. There must be one, right?"

Come to think of it, what kind of shampoo did Grandfather use...

Butler Walker led Borne to a room he recognized. He'd toured it yesterday. Several rooms in this area stored a great many books and research materials.

He'd only taken a quick look before, but now that Borne came closer, he realized just how huge the room was!

The only place he could remember being this big was a library!

The round room had an enormous domed crystal set high in the ceiling. Its carefully carved design let the light outside shine directly onto the desks below, neither too dim nor too glaring.

Tall bookshelves lined the walls, packed with books. Borne guessed the room was at least two stories high.

A quick glance showed him that every book on the list was here.

So the number of books on the list had grown to match the number in this room!

There definitely hadn't been this many before. No matter how well they were maintained, time would still leave its mark. The books on the higher shelves were obviously newer, for one thing.

Borne felt his scalp tingle. There had to be tens of thousands of books here! And that didn't even include the precious rare volumes and research materials in the rooms next door!

He walked to the chair in the middle and sat down.

Borne felt as though he had traveled through time and was watching generations of the Ioulaum family working in this room.

Butler Walker placed this week's schedule in front of Borne, then set a pile of books beside him. This was only what he had to get through today.

Borne swallowed with difficulty. Just then, the door opened, and a middle-aged man in a gray robe walked in.

He'd just looked over the schedule and learned that this man was his teacher for the morning.

Elwood looked very ordinary, but his eyes shone with wisdom. His clothes were plain, yet the badge on his chest stood out. Borne knew it well—the count wore one too.

A scholar!

He was also an Arcanist.

The count's badge was gold, while Elwood's was copper.

Elwood briefly introduced himself, then started the lesson without looking down on Borne for being a little kid.

He had already sensed the magic within Borne.

"The Weave's projected structure refers to the form in which the Weave manifests in the brain. Some people believe it manifests in the soul, while others say it's in the mind. These ideas have been the subject of constant debate in Giles over the past few years.

"Of course, that's not what we'll be discussing today.

"The form of the projection determines whether a spellcaster can cast spells. To put it plainly, it determines whether they have a talent for spellcasting.

"The shape of the projection determines the way you'll form connections later.

"The main types of Weave structures at present are the web-like Weave, the planar Weave, the square Weave, and the mixed Weave.

"As the name suggests, the web-like Weave is the shape the primal magic takes when it manifests in your mind. It's also the most common form among humans on the continent.

"The planar Weave has a similar web-like structure..."

Elwood paused to look at Borne, and, seeing that he understood, continued. "Those with square projections can assemble connections. The underlying principle is much the same. They can even form various kinds of external connection points, then link to them through magic. Those with irregular shapes connect their projected forms as well. These shapes can be linked in sequence, like a chain forming a loop or a square, and so on. You can then combine and use several of these basic structures. Spellcasters of this kind are naturally suited to mixed spellcasting.

"Casting a spell means combining the shapes of your projection. You can think of the Weave as a point or a source of power, then shape and refine the magic you transmit through incantations, components, gestures, and the like. That's how we create the magic in our hands!

"We'll have separate lessons later on the effects of incantations and the role of components and gestures!"

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