On the third floor of the Orthodox School's guildhall, in an office.
A group of mages sat around a large table, some bent over their writing, some working through calculations, and others muttering to themselves.
Before long, someone used the Copying Spell to write out the runes for casting a spell. A string of symbols resembling those on a Spell Scroll, but fundamentally composed of Arcane Marks, appeared before the group.
"We could adjust this part a little more...
"This spell structure is the key to resonating with mana. It corresponds precisely to the final plosive."
"Exactly. With that, all the conditions are met."
As they discussed it, everyone carefully sensed the resonance of the magic elements and nodded inwardly.
Compared with the ordinary language and writing used in everyday communication, magical language and writing differed enormously in grammar, vocabulary, the structure of their chains of signifiers, and even customary usage.
But establishing the conversion process between them amounted to defining the key framework for channeling mana.
All subsequent work could be completed on that foundation.
Although Atrelin writing was often criticized, the Atrelin language was still a perfectly serviceable magical language. It incorporated many ancient yet practical words and rules, along with numerous effective, fully developed incantations.
Extracting some of the phonetic symbols derived from the Ous Alphabet provided a ready-made magical language.
Gallo understood this and was thoroughly satisfied.
"Our design didn't come out of thin air. It rests on the rich foundation built up by the Atrelin language over the years.
"That Apprentice Mage's haphazardly cobbled-together Arcana findings aren't even worth mentioning."
In the current struggle to control the discourse, speed was the key.
With quality being roughly equal, getting there first meant an advantage.
An enormous advantage!
Just then, someone hurried inside.
"Gallo, word is spreading