So this is a prologue, written as the introduction of a long lost textbook that will appear later in the story. From the next chapter, the story is from 20-year-old Severus Snape's P.O.V., and will likely switch back and forth with Harry once he's born/old enough to have an inner dialogue.
I'm considering removing the prologue here since it isn't yet related to much happening in the story, and half the people who open this story quit after this chapter. So if this chapter doesn't seem that interesting, I beseech you to please give the next chapter a chance! :D *end begging*
Please enjoy~
Excerpt from "Magicarum Aequans Libra Examine"
(translated from Latin to Modern English)
Pompeii, Rome
Ab Urbe Condita Year 800 (C.E. 47)
Plebeian Emperor Claudius's Rule Year 6
It is with great pleasure and satisfaction that I, Schoolmaster of the Minerva Academy of Thought and Magic, present our first written theological guide and historical manuscript of the magical world. Unending decades of research have been poured into this project, and with our world finally becoming an interconnected series of relationships rather than the scattered Magi and Priests that were our forefathers, we have been able to create a place of study and knowledge to aide our future generations.
Within this manuscript you will find countless theories, experiments, case studies, ideas and conclusions that we have tested and observed since before the founding of Rome. The common denominator behind our discoveries is not only the theoretical origins of magic, but also the discovery of the inherent qualities found within magic itself.
The entity which has been referred to in the past by the names of various gods, but which we Magus simply refer to as Magic, is not sentient, as the Plebeians (non-priests) who worship its power might believe. While it does not have a consciousness which creatures such as ourselves might have, it does carry a type of passive cognizance that watches over those who use its power.
In our workings with the high elves of Epidii from the Isle of Britannia, we were allowed to hear some of their oral myths and histories. According to their legends, Magic is said to be the creator of the natural world and those who inhabit it, both Magical and Plebeian. It is also that which allowed our kind to separate from the Plebeians and experience the nature of magic to manipulate the world around us. For further reading, please turn to Chapter IV, Origins of Magic, or Chapter XVII Secrets of the Epidii Elves.
In other experiments, we have found evidence of the different types of Magic that work within us. The casting of magical spells and rituals seem to follow at least two main forms, divided by an affinity that is passed through blood. Our school has taken the liberty of naming them the, poetically fitting, Dark and Light.
Within Dark magic, the use of emotions is essential to manipulating the magical core. Or rather, it is that magical beings call on their experiences and associated memories and feelings to mold their magic into the form they wish it to take. The memory of the heat of a flickering flame against one's palm can be used to produce a similar flame through a spell when focused upon.
However, with or without a Dark affinity, when one practices the art beyond their own strength of will to control the emotions they are using, the emotions begin to control them. When one singular emotion begins controlling all the actions of a Magus, they are then considered to have fallen. Likened to that of a man who has become blind, so too is the fallen unable to see anything but the emotion that feeds them.
While those of the Dark affinity use emotion, the Light is for those with an inclination towards logic and symbolic based magics. By focusing one's magic through an equation or rune character, one is capable of manipulating it to their own uses. The runic alphabet of the Druids, for example, can be used to produce a flame much the same as Dark magic will, when the selected rune is drawn correctly in the air with a focus, such as a wand or staff.
But so too is their danger in the use of Light magic. Normally when a Magus of either affinity casts a spell and deleted some of their magical stores, the core is replenished through rest and food. However, those who repeatedly over exhaust their Light magic find that their cores and reserves of magic are slowly drained over their lifetime, decreasing by miniscule amounts with each spell cast, until they are no better than a Plebeian. They become susceptible to the sicknesses of the Plebeians and live far shorter lives than other Priests or Magus once their magic has been decreased to unusable levels.
Further reading of both these maladies can be found in Chapter XII, Magical Maladies and How to Avoid Them.
Despite the terrible consequences that might befall those unable to control their emotions or the overuse of rituals, an emerging balance between the two affinities seems to have taken root in various magical communities. We believe that when an existence of this magnitude shares power with a select set of beings, it also must provide a way to make sure it does not run amok to the point of self destruction.
What is coming to be referred to as the Grey is the blending between Light and Dark, feeling and logic. By using the correct emotional state of mind to power one's spell, while at the same time using a magical focus, such as a wand, to direct it, Priests and Magi have been able to circumvent the fate that might otherwise be cast at them.
This is but one of the amazing discoveries that has come to our attention in our search for knowledge and community. Throughout this publication we provide a multitude of ideas, all of which which were put through hundreds of tests over many decades, in order provide anyone who might view these pages with a deeper understanding of the power Magic carries.
It is with great hope and passion that our school will continue to provide information for the betterment of Magi and Priests across the world, as well as provide a place for the joint sharing of knowledge and communication. As one of the head researchers I welcome you to peruse our first piece of major research and look forward to the future experiments and sparks of inspiration this book might produce. Without further ado, I present, "The Book of Magic and Balance."
Appolonaris Patroclus Zaratos
Head Priest, Temple of Apollo
Magus of Ritual and Transmutative Magic
Schoolmaster of Hermes Academy
Professor and Head Researcher of the Grey
Author's Note
This fic will be slightly AU, with some events staying the same, and others changing drastically. The overall pace might seem a bit slow, but each chapter is filled with multiple, layered and intertwining stories. This whole story will either be fairly low on romance. I'm not so good at writing 'love'. This will NOT be a dark-themed story. There will be dark bits and pieces but it WILL have a happy ending, if I ever reach that point.
Finally this is a bit of a slow updating story. I hope it's worth reading anyways, but I apologize in advance anyways.
Thank-you for reading!