Sulphur & Lightning Chapter 25: 024 - Mystic Armaments and Blood Weapons

Read chapter 25 of Sulphur & Lightning by anaugustauthor on NovelPedia.

“Well, the arrays used in Mystic Armaments are sometimes called five-phase diagrams,” she began, pointing to the intricate etchings on the grand silver bow. The proximity made him slightly uncomfortable, but it was more psychological than physiological, since he recalled how often he had been burned by the metal. “At the centre sits the heart of the array — the controller. In a Red Governor, that heart houses the Red Engine Crystal that powers the system, it also contains a secondary interpretive array that selects optimal operations depending on the kind of fuel used. Taking it out after use and placing it in an analyser can even give you an engine's load profile. It is very much the heart and mind of the engine, exerting influence over every function.” She shifted the bow slightly. “In a Mystic Armament, however, it functions a little differently.” Without warning, she loosed a bolt from Feathercloud. The projectile tore through the air and struck a distant machine. A compressed gale detonated on impact, wind shearing metal with such violence that even the bloodthirsty Lycan beside her felt a little sympathy for the innocent hunk of equipment. “That,” she said calmly while nocking another arrow, “was the explicit mode.” The second bolt flew faster than sight. It punched through the stone wall beyond the target, embedding itself so deeply that only the fletching remained visible. “And this is the implicit.” She glanced at him. “I trust you understand the distinction.” He considered the display before answering. “The explicit mode manifests the element itself,” he said slowly, searching her face for some note of encouragement. “The implicit mode borrows its properties without assuming its form. It's akin to the essence/accident distinction — the substance remains unchanged, but its attributes are invoked.” [1] Chaina’s eyes brightened. “You learn quickly.” “It is only because of your instruction, young mistress.” She had since gotten used to his manner and no longer chastised him for it. “On a serious note,” he said, scratching his head awkwardly, “I had some understanding of the concept because I’d dueled with so many opponents who used Mystic Armaments, but I just now understood the mechanism.” “That’s not all,” she said with a smile, running her finger from the centre of the formation to four nodes positioned just beyond it. They were arranged in a cross around the array’s heart. The north and south nodes sat closer to the centre, while the east and west lay slightly farther out. “These are the Axes. In the Red Governors, they simply determine the nature of the output, but here they decide the elements in the array. The north and south Inner Axes establish its vertical alignment — sometimes called Heaven and Earth — and the east and west Outer Axes determine the specific element itself, which falls under one of those two groupings.” Her finger moved upward. “Heaven elements refer to immaterial forces — wind, shadow, light, vibration, and similar phenomena.” She traced downward. “Earth elements include earth, water, wood, and the like. The characters in Feathercloud’s main array denote wind, obviously. The arrows only carry a simple transfer array, so there’s no need to engineer a full five-phase diagram into every piece of ammunition.” He noticed this portion of the lesson would not involve further destructive demonstrations. “The third component is called the Path,” she continued. “These are the connective vessels running throughout the array. They receive the user’s mana and distribute it across the system.” “And the fourth?” “Directional Gates,” she said, tapping the outer border of the design. “They’re essential — and varied in purpose. Imagine activating a defensive array on a shield. Instead of spreading the energy evenly or concentrating it at the point of impact, it disperses violently, as my first arrow did earlier.” “Directional Gates regulate flow, resist backflow in the face of resistance, filter out discordant