The Dao of Magic

53 - Instigate

'ANOTHER WORLD ANOTHER WORLD HE IS FROM ANOTHER WORLD ANOTHER WORLD'

These words keep bouncing around in Ket's head since he heard them. Teacher had said these words in passing as if they don't hold a lot of importance, and while the rest must have missed this bit of information, it is fucking with Ket's head big time. Theory after theory got made, examined and trashed.

'Sun is just a star? Stars are suns. Planet circles around the sun, then do stars orbit each other? The band of white across the night sky, that's more stars? They are falling so fast they escape, right? Cluster of stars, are there more star clusters? Do star clusters orbit each other slowly? Need to ask Teach for books about space, start recording stars?'

On and on and on his thoughts go. He has half his mind locked up in theory crafting right now. The fraction of his mental powers he is using to control the tree trimming knives is inconsequential, giving him a lot of space to think while he trims the trees Bord is hauling.

'No, this world has no qi. Only mana. Qi is a higher form of energy, another place? Like the Tree, but bigger? Are they side by side or completely separate from each other?'

He has all the books stored right now, but each book is so dense, each page filled with important theories that need to be examined. Then there is the hologram projected in the air. Sleek lines that will carve through water. He optimises the path of a knife, shaving another millisecond of his average branch cutting time per tree. Then his Teacher stops running his hand over the planks and looks to the Tree.

'Planet, planet and moons, sun and planets, cluster of stars, group of star clusters, groups of groups of star clusters, does this apply the other way around? Bigger is the same, so smaller is the same? Cycles in cycles in cycles but where is the end?'

Teach then walks over and puts his hand on the golden glowing bark. He then frowns, opens his eyes a fraction and smiles, in that order. A rather mean-spirited smile, if Ket has anything to say about it. The Teacher analysis process he has running gives him the needed info, that smile is one he makes just before pulling some kind of ridiculous scheme. A ridiculous scheme that has a near hundred percent chance of going well.

He then pops out of existence with a muted flash. The group of disciples around him stop working for a moment. Bord comes bouncing back into the clearing, carrying two trees. He drops them and then catches another pair of trees that come falling from the sky. He seems to be muttering while working up a sweat.

"Two times more, that's double? That's double. Why is the boat not triangular? Wait, it sort of is. Squares with the points connected are also triangles?"

It seems like Ket is not the only one using his brain at maximum capability while enjoying the rewarding work of qi-crafting something. Ket diverts his quest for answers to crafting possibilities for a bit. They spin and flow through his head, from minuscule statues to how to craft the biggest building from stone.

Answer is a pyramid. The top part of the library is also triangular. A pyramid can support its own weight the best. Ket looks to the rustling bushes Bord just walked through, off to get more trees. Maybe he is onto something with his mutterings about triangles.

He stops this train of thought before it can spiral out of control. A sudden presence makes him drop the knives working on the trees and look at the Tree again. Teacher is back, but why is there a tall lady with him? She seems slightly familiar to Ket, but he has trouble recalling where he has seen her before.

⁂

I feel the wind steal my warmth as I appear on the mountainside. It is still night, but there is no way in hell I can miss the huge dragon's head a few centimetres from my face. Instead of panicking I smile lazily. I extended the protection bubble around the Tree necklace upwards to include myself, the air around me shimmering with power. I try to give off a lazy smile while shouting some words at my qi around me.