The Worst Kobold Chapter 10: Storyweaver Interlude #4 - The Great Decline of Magic

Read chapter 10 of The Worst Kobold by Thalaas on NovelPedia.

I think it’s time for another short lesson about the four spheres, the great decline of magic, and the history of the Ashen Kingdom. I know, I know, I’m sneaking school studies into this epic tale of dragons. But I think it’s important for context. For one, I don’t believe there is any true villain in this story. Well, maybe except for Slithroat Pete coming up. King Falcon and Morcant were just trying to save their kingdom from the magical decline affecting us all. I don’t agree with their methods, but I understand why they did what they did. Sometimes in life, you can only choose the best from a series of bad choices. I know this very well. For now, let’s go over the basics on how magic works in this world. Again, I apologise for adding more lectures into this story of mysterious dragons, noble princes, and comedic goblin sidekicks. But I think it helps you all understand the story more. Most of you know there are four spheres of magic. The light sphere consists of healing, enhancing and light. The polar opposite is the dark sphere. This one is composed of magic involving death, disease, weakness and darkness. Then we have the elemental sphere, which is the one which contains all the primal elements such as fire, wind, earth and lighting. And finally we have its opposite, the aether sphere. Aether magic is made up of what you can’t see but still affects you. Illusions, sound, charms. Spells like that. Just about everyone born can, theoretically, cast spells. But the spark is so dim in most that someone could spend years training before they could cast the most simple cantrip. It’s generally not worth spending years of your life learning to cast a light spell when you could, you know, simply light a candle. Generally most kingdoms only train those who show the gift at a young age. It could be a child whose skin might start to glow when they laugh or one who could make flowers wilt when she touches them. Anyone who is blessed like this generally can become very wealthy and successful in life. The other thing about magic is that one can usually only cast spells from a single sphere, and even then most tend to specialize in a single facet of the sphere. When one begins to learn how the mana flows through their body, and how to use it to bend reality, well, that’s quite difficult. It’s hard to change that flow inside of you to convert to another spell, let alone an entirely different sphere. So if you were to learn fire magic, such a simple fire bolt? It’s much more simplistic to expand on that to learn how to throw fireballs, make walls of fire and flame constructs, than to learn how to cast a simple lighting bolt. Some mages are skilled and versatile enough to do so, of course. But the vast majority learn one aspect and learn it well. Wizardry was so essential to everyday life that most of the civilized world revolved around it. And what truly changed society was the invention of the ability to store magic in specialised quartz, which the populace had dubbed mana gems. Gemcrafters would make these specialized jewels, and a mage could impart his mana into them for a variety of effects. Light infused gems would illuminate the streets at night while others would cook their morning meals on fire gems. These mana gems were fairly easy to construct, so even the most simplest house had a few simple gems to make everyday life easier. A personal favourite was a decay gem in the bathroom for disposing of… Well, you can guess what. As time went on, inventors crafted wondrous inventions combining many of these gems, from great flying ships that could traverse the countryside in days, to semi-sentient golems that would perform wondrous feats of strength. The streets teemed with a thousand wonders from the grandiose to the hidden mundane. Every house had fresh water and warm rooms thanks to these inventions. It was a golden age. Sadly, that was over a century ago. Before the great decline of magic. No one knows when it started, but over time?