Mother sat beside me while Master Paulus waited, chalk in hand, smile patient.
My eyes were fixed on the board, where he had written a number.
[16]
I asked, hesitantly.
"Sixteen…primal affinities?"
He nodded, his tone warm.
"Yes, PrimalAffinities. The most fundamental, irreducible traits mana can take. Nothing flashy, not something like fireballs, but the laws behind everything."
He paused for a moment before continuing.
"First of all, let's talk about Affinities. You could imagine them like emotions in a human being, if that explains it easier for you. The person is the mana, and the emotions are the affinities."
Lifting his arm and placing his palm over his chest, he continued.
"A person will still be a person no matter what, but that very same person may act differently depending on how they feel at the moment. Anger could make them more aggressive, sadness may make them more tired, or joy, which makes them more active."
He waited a moment until I nodded before speaking again.
"The same applies to mana and affinities. Mana will be mana no matter what, but it can take on various affinities and then, in return, act differently. Mana with the ice affinity will be cold, for example."
I listened carefully to each word he spoke.
"Just as every person carries emotions, mana also possesses an affinity. Because affinities are countless, we group them by their nature. And among all these groups, five stand above the rest—the most fundamental ones, which together contain the sixteen primal affinities."
He then turned back to the board and drew three long vertical lines across the board before writing a title for each column.
[Matter & Structure]
[Energy & Change]
[Space & Time]
[Life & Renewal]
[Law & Balance]
Tap.
He tapped the board.
His voice was steady and clear.
"These are the five groups. Within them, we place the sixteen affinities."
The chalk clicked as he wrote again, line by line.
[Matter & Structure: Solid, Fluid, Gas, Binding, Separation]
[Energy & Change: Energy, Radiance, Thermodynamics, Change]
[Space & Time: Space, Time, Cycle]
[Life & Renewal: Vitality, Replication]
[Law & Balance: Order, Chaos]
I mouthed the words silently as he wrote.
Simple at a glance, yet overwhelming when I tried to understand them.
Mother sat with her hands folded in her lap, listening with the calm discipline she once gave to needlework.
Master Paulus continued calmly.
"Primal affinities do not merely allow us to use magic. They shape reality itself. By existing, each generates passive laws—rules the world obeys without protest."
He paused, giving me a moment to breathe before going on.
"As examples... Solid grants form and mass. Fluid gifts flow to rivers and blood. Radiance ensures that light will travel. Time presses moments forward. Vitality sustains growth and healing."
Tap.
He tapped the board once.
"These laws are essential. If even one primal affinity ceased, the laws it sustains would collapse. Our world, Terros, would descend into chaos."
My fingers knotted together in my lap.
"So these sixteen…they are the foundation?"
His eyes softened.
"And the ceiling."
I had to breathe before my next question could leave me.
"What can we…actually do with them?"
A laugh escaped him, light but not unkind.
"Nothing. And, at the same time, everything."
I must have looked lost, because his smile bent toward mercy.
"It will be clearer if we move to the next step."
He drew a sharp line beneath the five groups and wrote a new heading.
[Secondary Affinities]
"These are affinities formed by combining two or more primals, and the ones mages use. There are ten in total."
He listed them in two neat columns.
[Stone, Flame, Water, Wind, Light, Darkness]
[Lifeweave, Death, Pulse, Gravity]
Tap.
He tapped the first column.
"These six are called Soul-bound affinities."
Tap.
Then the second.
"And these four are World-bound affinities."
I frowned.
"Soul-bound? World-bound?"
His smile softened as he explained.
"Every humanoid being is born with a soul-bound affinity. When you reach the third stage of Awakening, your affinity will reveal itself. For most, it is one of these six. But there are always some exceptions."
I nodded slowly, understanding only fragments of it.
"And the other four?"
His chalk tapped the second column.
"These are different. Closer to primals, but weaker. World-bound affinities, as the name suggests, belong to the world itself. They are too powerful for mortals to wield in their pure form. We may borrow pieces of them, use them as support, but grasping them fully would shatter us."
I nodded.
Tap.
Paulus gave a final tap of the chalk, a smile tugging at his lips.
"Sixteen primals, and ten secondaries—the fun begins now."
He flipped the board.
The wooden frame creaked, and chalk dust drifted through the air.
He drew a horizontal line and wrote the next heading.
[Affinity Blocks]
I asked, puzzled.
"Blocks?"
He clarified with a grin.
"Think of them as building blocks or combinations. Whatever you prefer to name it. From the sixteen primals and ten secondaries, we form new variations. When named and understood, these blocks can enhance your magic."
He faced me, eyes glinting.
"A question, to wake the mind. If we combine Flame and Stone, what do we get?"
The first thought slipped out before I could stop it.
"Metal?"
His laugh came soft.
"A fair guess. But Flame and Stone create magma."
Heat crept up my cheeks.
"Oh… right."
He went on.
"Another—what happens when we combine Thermodynamics with Water?"
I thought hard, then answered, unsure.
"Cold water...Ice?"
He nodded.
"We call it Frost. But yes, you grasp the core of it."
He tapped the board again, chalk clicking.
"From the sixteen and the ten, we can build an almost unlimited amount of affinity blocks. And then, we can combine the blocks themselves with primals or secondaries to create even more. That is why mages never stop learning. The world keeps offering us new ways to understand it."
I turned his words over in my mind.
'Sixteen primals. Ten secondaries. Then blocks. Then blocks of blocks.'
He must have seen the blur in my gaze, because his voice slowed.
"Let us go through the most common blocks. They are called Deviants."
I straightened.
"Deviants?"
He nodded.
"Sub-forms of your soul-bound affinity, built by combining other laws with it."
The chalk scraped as he marked six columns and wrote headings for each, his hand steady.
[Stone: Metal, Sand]
[Flame: Magma, Lightning]
[Water: Frost, Poison]
[Wind: Sound, Weather]
[Light: Beam, Sunlight]
[Darkness: Void, Shadow]
He tapped the board.
"These are the six soul-bound affinities, with their most common deviant forms. Deviants stretch what your birthright can do without abandoning it. For example—a mage born with Water can wield Frost if they gain enough understanding of its nature."
He paused, letting the thought sink in before continuing.
"Now, let's write down how these deviants are built. Perhaps you can already guess some."
Mother leaned forward, her attention sharpened as if the lesson was meant for her.
Master Paulus wrote again, neat calculations appearing behind each word.
[Metal = Stone + Order]
[Sand = Stone + Wind + Separation]
[Magma = Flame + Stone]
[Lightning = Flame + Chaos]
[Frost = Water + Thermodynamics]
[Poison = Water + Death]
[Sound = Wind + Pulse]
[Weather = Wind + Water + Cycle]
[Beam = Light + Order]
[Sunlight = Light + Flame]
[Void = Darkness + Separation]
[Shadow = Darkness + Space]
He set the chalk down and brushed the dust from his hands.
"These are the formulas for each deviant form. Some use primals, some use secondaries. Many could be guessed if you think them through. That is the work of researchers. Testing, experimenting, discovering new combinations until a new affinity is confirmed."
I blinked, overwhelmed, my mind struggling to catch each word.
He noticed it and shifted the topic.
"Good. That is enough theory for today."