“First, the thing you need to understand is that unlike wherever you came from, sharded individuals are reasonably common,” Esther explained. “Every second person finds or gets a shard at some point in their lifetime. They might chance upon it, be gifted it, or get it as a reward for service.

“Most aren’t super potent. Some just make them slightly better than ordinary with a trick that makes their job easier or improves their quality of life. Often, it's the health benefits that they’re after. I got my first shard from my mother. She identified my love for animals and mortgaged our farm to buy me one.”

“Makes sense.” Lukas nodded. “The manor was in the middle of nowhere, and the village existed solely to support it. I think everyone who lived there served the lady and her family.”

Esther glared at Lukas as if not buying the lie. She continued regardless. “It's typical in vassal villages and frontier estates. Limiting shard and essence availability helps control who has good health and power. They’re great tools for buying loyalty.” Her eyes narrowed. “It’s why your story about the lady giving you a shard is hard to believe. The thing you can do. That brother of yours is far too powerful.”

“It’s why I’ve been lying about my ability—”

“Not well. You need something concrete. What did you tell the Shadow Seekers?”

“Soul ability that makes me better with a sword and then used the enchantment during my testing,” Lukas answered. “I’m pretty sure they didn’t believe me.”

“I wouldn’t.” Esther sighed. “Mundanes and ordinary shard users might be fooled, but they’re a specialist guild known for excelling against human opponents. But a person’s shard abilities are an extremely private matter. It might get in the way of getting some of the better trainers, though.”

“I thought as much.” Lukas sighed.

“Maybe whatever essence you use will come with something tangible that you can use for your cover. Or if this Penelope really does fix the cracked shard, it will give you something decent.”

“Let’s hope we find whatever she needs in the undercity.” Lukas sighed. “Anyway. Onto the lesson, please. I want to scour the market before it closes.”

“Don’t rush me, young man.” Esther tutted. “I know a fence who’ll give you decent prices. If you take the essence to any decent vendor, it will raise too many questions. That’s assuming the merchants aren’t already looking out for any of the essences you grabbed.

“All right then. Back to the lesson. Where was I?” The old vet adjusted her chair before starting. “ Right. You need to understand that shards that provide genuinely life-changing abilities like ours are reasonably rare.” Esther gestured for Lukas to drink his tea. He gave up on the idea of leaving anytime soon and relented. “The simple tricks aren’t to be estimated, though. Enough practice; a couple of tiers with impactful essences, and they too can become terrifying.

“It's relatively uncommon around here for people to reach their thirties without a shard. If you haven’t found any in the fifty-crown region, it's because you haven’t been looking in the right markets. A lot of delvers take something simple like sowing, digging, artisanal, or quality of life-related abilities, and turn it into something more. It's a lot more work though, and there is no guarantee of it turning into something combat-worthy.”

“I’m not sure I have that kind of time or patience. Elvis and I prioritized the shops catering to mages and delvers, but we’ll carve some time out to check out the rest. Maybe we’ll get lucky or find something that’ll be immediately useful. We aren’t in a major rush, so I’d rather save and get more potent shards.” Lukas’s words only got glares from the vet. He couldn’t tell whether it was because he continued to refer to the clones as his brothers or because he was interrupting her lesson. “I’m sorry. Please continue.”

“Spellcasters might be comparatively uncommon, but not by much.” Esther got back into it without missing a beat. “A shard in the Mind or Soul pillar might allow you to do something magic adjacent or shortcut spells in theme with the shard, but they don’t make you a proper magic wielder. Most people develop a sense for their magic and then picking up a couple of simple spells is easy afterward. They might memorize the chant, carry something with them inscribed to use as an arcane focus, or even get tattoos.”

“So the buckle and sword are arcane foci?” Lukas asked.

“The sword, yes. Buckle no.” Esther sipped her tea and paused for annoyingly long. It felt as if she was waiting for him to come to a conclusion all by himself. It felt like an eternity passed before she continued. “Both contain spells you can call forth, but your sword is designed to do more. The buckle can’t channel magic. It's limited to the spell stored within. Meanwhile, foci like your sword might be limited in the sense that it won't deviate from its themes but will still aid in the casting of various spells.” She paused again, staring at Lukas expectantly. “Are you following any of this?”

“I was. You lost me a couple of times.”

“I told you I was a horrid teacher.” Esther sighed. “You don't know the basics and I'm trying to explain enchantment and foci theory to you.” She stared at him thoughtfully for a moment before continuing. “ Can you tell me how many types of magic users are there?”

“I know this one!” Lukas exclaimed, glad that he wasn't a complete dunce. “First, there are mages who are your standard magic users and don't really fall into any category. They're the generalists and hybrids of all kinds. Then, we have wizards. They're scholars first and magic users second.”

“That's an over-simplification,” Esther said. “They're as much magic users as anyone else. What differentiates one mage from another is their relationship with magic. A wizard's is mostly academic. They meticulously research and study magic and develop exact spells to meet their need, designing precise runescript and rarely deviating from them. Wizards sacrifice versatility for speed and efficiency. Most wouldn't know it from my work, but I'm first a wizard. Then, a healer. My academic focus is arcane zoology and getting the most out of beasts, magical or not. Healing them is the best way for me to generate funds for my work.” Esther gestured for Lukas to continue. “Carry on.”

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

“Then, there are sorcerers like Penelope,” Lukas said, recalling everything El-Two had studied over the past two weeks. “Their magic is more intent and emotion-driven. Their understanding might not be the greatest—”

“Wrong.” Esther interrupted. “Understanding is the incorrect word here.”

The vet whispered under her breath, and a light stick appeared in her hand. “Why didn’t I think of this before?” Esther whispered. “Diagrams always work best.”She used it like a piece of chalk, drawing a triangle on the table. “Three points. Three limits.” Esther labeled each of them. “Law. Understanding. Intent. These are the three tenets of spellcasting, and the ones a caster aligns with define them.

“General mages and shard-reliant casters can be anywhere in or along the triangle. They’re limited by the tenets but don’t adhere to any of them in particular.” She drew a circle around Law. “We wizards focus on the one. It's rare for us to ever deviate toward Intent. Hence, I use a lightstick and draw physically, and your sorcerer friend did so purely with magic. Some wizards might tweak the Law based on their Understanding. Are you following now?”

Lukas stared at the drawing thoughtfully before nodding. “I think I do. In this context does Law represent universal laws of physics and the universe, or the law set by the spellscript?”

“You’re not a complete dunce.” Esther smiled. “It can be both. With wizards, it is more often the law set by the runes and spellscript involved. Physical laws are inconsistent on Fracture and Understanding also plays a role when combining them with magic. Everybody knows that what goes up must come down. How many truly understand the minutia of the forces enough to tweak with the related laws?”

“I take it Understanding represents one’s understanding of the Law, a spell, or a concept?” Lukas asked.

“Precisely!” Esther’s tone contained the same excitement as that of a master who had successfully taught their dog a new trick. “And Intent is what you want or intend the magic to do. Wizards can deviate toward Understanding but never Intent as forcefully bending spellscripts to one’s may result in failure or devastating backlash.”

“I take it sorcerers are the more intent-based casters?”

“Not necessarily,” Esther answered, tapping the line that connected Intent and Understanding. “They fall along here and can deviate toward either end. You generally have two schools of sorcerers. First, there are those with inherited magic. This might include a magical ancestor like a dragon, dryad, lesser deity, or even a powerful mage who infused magic into their bloodline. The other school mostly includes people with natural or trained inclinations to intent-based casting. This lot often chances upon a powerful piece of metamagic, or their understanding of a physical or magical concept or Law makes them uniquely powerful in the relevant field.”

So, if I took Twiced Magicked, I would’ve been well on my way toward becoming a sorcerer.

“You’re probably thinking it. Metamagic and changes to understanding can come with shards, but that automatically doesn’t make someone a sorcerer, let alone a mage or a spellcaster. It comes with a collection of endlessly practiced skills.”

“Do you have a mind-reading shard, too?” Lukas asked, raising an eyebrow. The vet didn’t answer. He tapped the line connecting Intent and Law. “I take it witches and warlocks belong in this general neighborhood?”

“More or less.” Esther shrugged. “Both are considerably more difficult to categorize. Warlocks, and occasionally also witches, draw their power from an otherworldly or magical being. The entity governs how their magic works. More often than not, they gain invocations that modify basic spells or cantrips. Sometimes, they get spells directly from their masters.” She paused for a moment, eyes drifting to her tea. Esther stared at it for a moment before stirring. Lukas had seen the look before. He had seen it on himself through the clones, primarily when he was reliving memories. “Witches take it a step further and encroach onto ritualist and alchemist territories. Curses. Diseases. Nightmares. Never cross a witch unless you have to. They target body, mind, and soul.

“Anyway.” Esther snapped back to her normal self and downed her tea before continuing. “The objective of this discussion was for you to understand the three tenets of spellcasting. Law. Understanding. Intent. You come across more as someone who would want to walk the sorcerer or generalist mage path. So, I’ll guide you accordingly. Unsheathe your blade.”

Initially, Lukas had assumed Esther was overselling herself when she declared herself a wizard. He changed his mind when she isolated the sword’s three enchantments in under five minutes and started scribbling on the table.

Bryna: Sharpen. Bring To An Edge. To Whet.

Frar: Swift One. Swiftness.

Skina: Shine. To Glow.

“This is the predominant spellcasting language on Fracture,” Esther explained. “Tongue of Yggdrasil, some call it. I don’t know if it's related to the myth or just some scholar cooked it up so his books sell better.” She scrawled runes next to each of the base words. Lukas did his best to commit them to memory, regretting not carrying writing material. “They have literal meanings but also figurative, metaphorical, and contextual meanings. A true sorcerer can speak one word and make it do ten different things to countless targets and mediums.”

Esther added more words next tot he runes.

Bryna: …Grant Edge.

Frar: …Hasten

Skina: …Light. Flash.

“These are only examples. Sorcerers are dreamers and stretchers of truth. You could do countless things. It need not be practical or possible as long as it makes sense to you. The downside is that you’ll deal with far more mental strain and magic costs than wizards or other mages.”

“This has been genuinely educational,” Lukas said, struggling to veil his surprise as all the puzzle pieces fell into place.

“Why?” Esther frowned. “Just because I work with animals, you think I don’t know what I’m talking about?”

“I’m sorry.” Lukas grinned, putting on his best apology face. “But look at this place. It looks like a barn. When I hear the wizard, I imagine a grand tower, keep, or laboratory filled with magical texts, artifacts, relics, and enchantments.”

“I’ll give you that.” The vet laughed. “You could call this retirement after a lifetime of bad decisions or a smart wizard lying low. People who display wealth and power openly in Iskander either have nothing to fear or are asking for trouble. Smart residents only show off what they can afford to lose or have the strength to protect.”

“Well, thank you for taking the time. This genuinely has been incredible. Spellcasting makes a lot more sense now.” Lukas stood up, pocketing the essences and buckle and sheathing his sword. “If I hurry, I can scout out a few armor pieces—”

“That’s fine, you can go.” Esther filled both of their cups nonchalantly. “Unless you want to stay for the practical half of the lesson, of course.”

“Practical?”Lukas asked, freezing mid-stride. “You were going to teach me magic?’

The wizard nodded. “I know a few spells in theme with the enchantments. It won’t be easy, but perhaps we could figure out and practice adapted versions of them. That’s only if you’re not in a rush and genuinely interested in learning, of course.”

“And you’ll introduce me to your fence?”

“As soon as we’re done. He doesn’t open his doors until well after dark anyway.”

Lukas returned to his seat. “Please continue.”