swirling in her. He held a finger in the air. “I mean, do you understand the mechanics of your magical power?”
“My power grabbed the book and brought it to you,” she replied impatiently.
“Exactly,” Marlin said with a nod. “Your power acted upon the object, like an invisible hand.”
“Marlin, Lepkin lies in a coma, trapped insid e Erik’s body while Erik has woken to find himself in Lepkin’s body, can you get to the point?”
Marlin blushed and nodded. “Of course, I apologize. I assumed a scholar such as yourself would want the detailed theory.”
“Not in this case.”
“Erik’s power doesn’t work like yours. While your magic acts upon objects, his acts within objects.”
“What’s the difference?”
“For one, it makes him more powerful, potentially. But mechanically speaking your magic forces an object to act in the desired manner. Erik’s power connects to the object and elicits a change from within so that the object itself chooses to obey and align itself with him.”
Dimwater frowned. “Marlin, nothing you said makes sense. I have researched magic for most of my life, but I have no idea what you are talking about.”
“Have you heard of inherent intelligence?”
Dimwater nodded. “The theory that everything has capacity for thought and choice. But that is not one of the magical laws.”
“When I trained Erik, one of the tests required him to eliminate magical shades. I made copies of myself, and he had to find the false images and dispel them.” Marlin rose from his seat and walked to his left. His body then split as several Marlins filled the chamber.
One of them spoke. “I know which one is real because I created them.”
Another continued, “However, each Marlin has an identical aura, so I can’t look and see the difference.”
A third stepped forward. “Can you spot the real me?”
Dimwater waved her hand and the false Marlin next to her faded away as mist before the dawning sun.
“How did you do that?” another Marlin asked.
Dimwater arched her brow impatiently. “I dispelled him.” She waved her hand again and all of the Marlins in the room disappeared. She gasped and her mouth dropped open. “Marlin?”
Marlin laughed and reappeared in his chair by the table. “I never left my seat,” he said slyly.
“Well played,” Lady Dimwater offered. “But what does this have to do with Erik?”
“You see,” Marlin started. “You counteracted my illusions by acting upon them and overpowering them. Erik, on the other hand, would have used his power to reach into everything around him. He would have tapped into the inherent intelligence and each illusion would have dispelled itself in an effort to please him.”
“But he still wouldn’t have found you,” Dimwater asserted.
Marlin shook his head. “His power has an area effect. It would have found me and counteracted my invisibility spell as well, even against my will. Once his training is complete, he would be able to counteract all magic around him and even bend living beings to his will.”
Dimwater sat silently for a long while contemplating. Marlin waited, allowing her to work it out for herself. “So,” she began, “how did they switch physical bodies?”
“A part of Erik’s energy is used in his magic. When he focused all of his power on Lepkin, I believe his spirit went inside Lepkin in order to counteract the power of Nagar’s Secret.”
“So, Nagar’s Secret acts upon inherent intelligence too then?” Dimwater mused.
Marlin nodded. “I believe it does. That is how it can bend the will of all beings to align with it.”
“Even the will of dragons,” Dimwater added.
“Everything has intelligence,” Marlin said. “A chair is made of particles of intelligence. Our magic can rip them asunder by force, destroying the chair…”
“But Erik’s power can reach inside and make the chair choose to dissolve itself.”
“Precisely,” Marlin said. He sighed and slapped a hand
“My power grabbed the book and brought it to you,” she replied impatiently.
“Exactly,” Marlin said with a nod. “Your power acted upon the object, like an invisible hand.”
“Marlin, Lepkin lies in a coma, trapped insid e Erik’s body while Erik has woken to find himself in Lepkin’s body, can you get to the point?”
Marlin blushed and nodded. “Of course, I apologize. I assumed a scholar such as yourself would want the detailed theory.”
“Not in this case.”
“Erik’s power doesn’t work like yours. While your magic acts upon objects, his acts within objects.”
“What’s the difference?”
“For one, it makes him more powerful, potentially. But mechanically speaking your magic forces an object to act in the desired manner. Erik’s power connects to the object and elicits a change from within so that the object itself chooses to obey and align itself with him.”
Dimwater frowned. “Marlin, nothing you said makes sense. I have researched magic for most of my life, but I have no idea what you are talking about.”
“Have you heard of inherent intelligence?”
Dimwater nodded. “The theory that everything has capacity for thought and choice. But that is not one of the magical laws.”
“When I trained Erik, one of the tests required him to eliminate magical shades. I made copies of myself, and he had to find the false images and dispel them.” Marlin rose from his seat and walked to his left. His body then split as several Marlins filled the chamber.
One of them spoke. “I know which one is real because I created them.”
Another continued, “However, each Marlin has an identical aura, so I can’t look and see the difference.”
A third stepped forward. “Can you spot the real me?”
Dimwater waved her hand and the false Marlin next to her faded away as mist before the dawning sun.
“How did you do that?” another Marlin asked.
Dimwater arched her brow impatiently. “I dispelled him.” She waved her hand again and all of the Marlins in the room disappeared. She gasped and her mouth dropped open. “Marlin?”
Marlin laughed and reappeared in his chair by the table. “I never left my seat,” he said slyly.
“Well played,” Lady Dimwater offered. “But what does this have to do with Erik?”
“You see,” Marlin started. “You counteracted my illusions by acting upon them and overpowering them. Erik, on the other hand, would have used his power to reach into everything around him. He would have tapped into the inherent intelligence and each illusion would have dispelled itself in an effort to please him.”
“But he still wouldn’t have found you,” Dimwater asserted.
Marlin shook his head. “His power has an area effect. It would have found me and counteracted my invisibility spell as well, even against my will. Once his training is complete, he would be able to counteract all magic around him and even bend living beings to his will.”
Dimwater sat silently for a long while contemplating. Marlin waited, allowing her to work it out for herself. “So,” she began, “how did they switch physical bodies?”
“A part of Erik’s energy is used in his magic. When he focused all of his power on Lepkin, I believe his spirit went inside Lepkin in order to counteract the power of Nagar’s Secret.”
“So, Nagar’s Secret acts upon inherent intelligence too then?” Dimwater mused.
Marlin nodded. “I believe it does. That is how it can bend the will of all beings to align with it.”
“Even the will of dragons,” Dimwater added.
“Everything has intelligence,” Marlin said. “A chair is made of particles of intelligence. Our magic can rip them asunder by force, destroying the chair…”
“But Erik’s power can reach inside and make the chair choose to dissolve itself.”
“Precisely,” Marlin said. He sighed and slapped a hand
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