"Yes, I suppose what we discussed thus far doesn't answer any of the questions you have. Nor does it explain what I asked you." Ziraili said, nodding as she did. "Alright then, I shall briefly explain the relationship between lifeforce, mana, and everything else. As useless as the information will be."
Eldrian didn't like the last part she added with a murmur, but he didn't let that deter him. He was super existed to finally, finally, get an answer to his long awaited quest of what lifeforce actually was.
"I've explained before that lifeforce is a type of energy which can only be manipulated by the living—undead included. As they are technically alive, at least with regard to their souls. And indeed, souls aren't eternal."
Eldrian nodded.
"That is where the name originates from. From the fact that only living can interact with it and produce some sort of effect. As inaccurate as it may be, lifeforce is considered a type of energy which the will of the living can control."
"And by controlling it, one can also control mana. Which gives rise to magic. This much you know."
Eldrian nodded. Indeed, he knew this. It was the basis of his understand on the fundamental nature of magic.
Lifeforce in the form of a Mageia (focused thought and will), was but a thread of one's will. A thread that was powerful enough to leave its mark behind and influence mana. Bringing forth the existence of magic.
"This, however, is only part of what lifeforce is. You can consider it the active part of the equation. Auras, bloodlines, and Mageia are all part of this active part."
"Like the flowing current of wind in the air, the breath of air of the living, the flame of the wick of a candle, the current of water in a river, the motion of an object. It is the part that we notice first. The part doing something, the part one might even consider alive."
"However, it is not all that there is to it. Like with wind, the air that isn't in motion is still there. We only notice wind because it is what we feel, what we see, what we can stimulate."
"Just like that, lifeforce isn't limited to what you can see, feel, and use. In the truest sense, lifeforce is the force of existence itself. It is the base energy that everything exists from."
"Instead of calling it lifeforce, calling it the Universal Energy of everything is more accurate. However, not all Universal Energy can be called upon to bring forth some type of magical effect. Some of it is stuck supporting existence itself."
"This doesn't change the fact that lifeforce is part of the Universal Energy making up everything in existence. Just like the wind is part of air. The thing separating lifeforce from mana is the bounds within which each operates."
Ziraili smiled. "Matter, for example, is also a form of energy, too. Stable, rigid, solid. Yet, matter is, at the lowest level, just the fluctuation of energy in the fabric of space and time as quarks and electrons.Matter is thus a fixed form of Universal Energy. Generally not considered part of lifeforce."
"However, with the right key—the right bloodline—you can gain control over matter itself. Thus, with the key, matter itself can become lifeforce. Can become an active part like the wind in the air."
"As such, the truth is that lifeforce is what makes up the very fabric of everything that exits. Not just of space and time, but of everything. It is, in essence, the basest level of all cosmological substances. From matter, dark matter, dark energy, forcibility of things, and so forth."
"Now, this is all more or less meaningless, isn't it?" Ziraili asked, and Eldrian forced a laugh.
Indeed, this information held no value to him. It was superficial knowledge to him, at best.
He basically just received a new term, Universal Energy, and some definitions which held no importance to him. This would not give him mastery over his auras, not to mention his bloodline.
The information, as sad as it was to admit, was useless to him. It was perhaps interesting, but he couldn't really see the implications behind Ziraili's words. He wasn't a master of high-level physics. So most of this was little more than scientific jargon to him.
He recognized most of the terms, but he couldn't bring things together to a eureka moment.
"Which is why I don't want you to focus on what something is. This is why I tried to have you understand that you can decide how to view the world around you."
"You can make it as simple or as complicated as you want. It is up to you to form a view of the world that you can understand and accept."
Ziraili paused, giving Eldrian some time to work through her words. He had wondered why she took so much time teaching him something that seemed to mean nothing in the grand scheme of things.
'However, it actually means everything,' Eldrian thought. He could always ask more. He could ask what it meant if everything was simply energy. What is energy, then? How does it exist? How is it defined? How is it limited?
Perhaps not all valid questions, but they were questions he could ask and become lost in. And each answer would only birth more questions.
Instead of trying to analyze things at the lowest level, Ziraili was telling him to find a level of understanding which worked for him.
Thinking of the world as existing out of atoms was simple enough, as an example. Trying to understand that atoms were actually fluctuations of energy, that Eldrian couldn't quite wrap his head around.
"Isn't there something you can tell me that will help?" Eldrian asked, bummed. He was getting frustrated with getting nowhere.
"I'm not sure if it will help. But I can explain the relationship between mana and lifeforce. It might help you understand why the latter is so much more dangerous to use than the former?"
"Yes, please. What is the difference between mana and lifeforce if their both energy?"
"Their level." Ziraili replied, an answer Eldrian didn't like. Of course, their levels differed! "Don't look at me like that. I'm not done."
"This goes back to how Tiers are defined. Why do you think there is a limit at Tier 10?"
Eldrian wanted to say, 'Isn't that just how you guys designed it?'. However, he knew Ziraili wouldn't ask him if it was that simple. So, he thought of everything he had been told, and came to another conclusion.
"Is that the limit of mana?"
"Indeed, it is." Ziraili said with a smile. "The complexity of a spell, how close it mimics reality. That determines its Tier. And at Tier 10, you have your subatomic particles. Protons, neutrons, electrons."
"You need not necessarily envision them, but you need to include their effects on things. For example, the nature of metals allow their electrons to move freely. Thus allowing the conduction of electricity. Understanding this nature is more important than visualizing all the atoms making up the chunk of metal."
"However, the subatomic particles aren't the smallest that things can become. Below that is quarks." Electrons were weird, but Ziraili didn't think she needed to get into that.
They were, after all, smaller than quarks. But mana reflects them not as a whole, but as probability. A loophole, if you will. That, however, was far too complicated for Eldrian. And an unnecessary complication.
"However, mana cannot mirror quarks. The particles of mana can only become so small. That is why I said their levels differ."
"While mana is energy, it reflects matter in some form or another. It cannot be completely formless. As a result, spells are limited in how close they can reflect reality when using mana."
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