"...and so the strands of logic and rigid reason are interwoven with an aetheric impression of the aspect of the sword, thereby imbuing the concept of peerless edge on the blade throughout its creation."

Eldrad finished his lecture, gazing out at his audience of baffled listeners. The machine with a soul was listening well, having been simulating taking notes behind her screen while he spoke. The man wishing to become a machine was beside her, rigid in his seat and without visible emotion on his lower face, no doubt recording a video all this time. The others, all of those 'capes' of Brockton Bay, are staring at him with blank eyes. The small green one, Vista, had sparkles shining in her eyes.

"Sooooo its magic." The man in red, Assault, spoke up. The woman beside him, Battery, palmed her face at his remark. Eldrad's face was completely covered by his helm so he conveyed his annoyance by facing him and replying with "Yes."

"But, " He elaborated. "Once again, these are not cheap tricks performed for amusement. Nor are they the uninformed man's ideas of mystery and the supernatural, an unknown force that tricks and deceives the would-be magicians for mysterious, unknowable goals. It is the study of the immaterial, of the unreal, of the thoughts and dreams and beliefs of sentient beings, and how those things shape the realm beyond the veil. Most importantly, the study and practice of how to harness the energies from that realm of unreality, granting the scholar of the arts a host of abilities like casting a bolt of lightning, divining the future, enacting rituals to move mountains and create items of power and beauty. The possibilities are near endless with the more one is willing to learn and perfect their craft."

A moment where his listeners, powered heroes and unpowered scientists and consultants remained silent until the white one, Clockblocker raised his hand. He sighed and waved for him to speak, already expecting the flippant Ward's downplaying of his whole lecture.

"So it is magic." He said. "So if I make a magic circle and believe it hard enough, I could turn my butter knife even sharper?"

He had no words. Eldrad's patience has been grated on the more time he spent in the PRT's base of operations. 'An unpowered person deducing the identity of a cape is impossible. However, treating the fabric of reality like an annoying set of reminders is considered normal and expected amongst the many parahumans of the world.' He thought, exasperated. 'I'm beginning to believe this is a waste of my time. I could have done any number of things, creating another psychomaton for one, if I had decided not to do this.'

"Eldrad," The soul-machine named Dragon called for his attention. "These... concepts can also be applied to machines, yes?"

"And the individual sections, parts and components of a mechanical construct as well." Armsmaster, the one who aspires for the highest of efficiency joined in. "Is it possible with the 'magic' of yours?"

"Excellent questions." Eldrad approved of their insight to come up with their questions. "And yes to all of them. Imbuing of concepts, enchantments, enhancement of a trait and purpose, and more are possible. One only needs sufficient knowledge, experience and the skills to do so."

He then stepped away from the podium, showing them his robes and armour as he pointed at specific pieces. "See this figure, encircled by smaller scripture?" His finger rested on a glyph stitched in silver thread on his robe. "It is the rune for the concept of air, symbolising the lightness and swiftness of the winds. In this way I imbued my panoply with the near-weightlessness and swiftness of air, enhancing my speed and more as a result." A tap and the rune glowed for a brief moment, the air in the small auditorium blowing moderately then subsiding when the rune returned to its inert state. His listeners made noises of surprise, wonder and some alarm at that.

"Demonstrations of parahuman abilities anywhere besides training and power testing sites are not permitted, Eldrad." Armsmaster warned him.

"I will endeavour to remember that." He replied, then began gathering the materials and spare equipment he used in the demonstration and lecture he performed. "Now then, " He said, arms behind his back while he telekinetically moved aether stones, daggers, papers on the subject and wraithbone ingots back into his bags of holding, his witchblade sheathing itself back to the scabbard on his hip. "Any final questions before my time is done?"

Vista and the red armoured tinker, Kid Win raised their hands. He chose Vista, who promptly asked her a question.

"Can you teach others how to do your magic?!"

He paused for a moment. The excitable young one was literally vibrating in excitement, he honestly felt bad when he was about to give his answer.

Then the endbringer siren sounded. At the looks of alarm of practically everyone down below, Eldrad could not help himself and opened his mouth.

"I told you so."

A.N. - Forgot to mention I'm crossposting this one here form SB. Images, sidestories and info can be found there.

Anyway, yes I haven't posted a new chapter in months. That is changed, cuz I'm posting new chapter(s) soon.