18 The Ollivander Wands
Magic was inherent.
It was not something one could take or borrow from others, it was not something one could absorb from their surroundings. Beings capable of doing magic were born with it, they had magic coursing through their veins.
`Feel the magic flow through every part of your body. Do not let it skip past any corner.`
Magic was not a solid core from which one could draw the magical power, it was a stream that flowed continuously inside a magic user. However, it was up to the magic user to keep that flow steady and strong.
`Magic potential of a person cannot be increased with training.`
This was a harsh truth Ian learnt a long time ago.
`The world is unfair, not everyone is born equal.`
His magic was not bad, per se. But it was not good enough for an heir on the way to be a lord.
`However, there are certain ways, certain practices that a human can follow to 'grow' their magic.`
Ian was calm, being a wizard meant having a clear and calm mind at every instance.
`Certain unorthodox methods that if followed incorrectly even in the slightest, would cause horrendous results. Yet if followed correctly, will greatly increase the magical strength of a person.`
There was nothing free in this world, everything had a cost —including one's magical prowess.
`I have always condemned the usage of dark arts, despite being in contact with it. However, saying that I have never delved into the topic would be a lie.`
'This is new.' Ian didn't know that Merlin the wise dealt with dark magic.
`Guiding Arthur and helping in his quests, dealing with the curses placed on the Knights of the Round Table and especially dealing with 'her' made me realise that I had to study the dark arts. Although I hated it, I had to accept it to protect the ones I cared about.`
In order to protect others, one often lost what he loved the most.
Ian was taught of this a long time ago by Garrick.
`I learnt of countless ways a wizard or witch could increase their strength. Rituals were amongst the most effective and popular methods. Blood Sacrifice Rituals, Soul Sacrifice Rituals, Body Exchange Rituals and Demonic Trades were some of the most used ones during my era.`
These were all dark rituals and Ian wondered what the ministry would do if they learnt someone was using such practices.
`Blood Sacrifice was the most common yet the least effective, Soul Sacrifice was the most expensive yet one of the most effective, Body Exchange was one of the easiest yet highly useless for heirs, lords or anyone with a higher presence in society.`
Ian saw the words change to a deeper shade of colour.
`But if you want to delve into Demonic Trades, do remember that they are neither fair nor honest. All that a demon cares about is its own entertainment and profit. There are ways to bind them to contracts but if you are dealing with any of the seventy-two demon pillars, you mustn't believe what they say. Solomon strictly prohibited giving them access to your thoughts, thus unless your Occlumency is at a level where not even the current strongest wizard can pry inside your head… do not dive into demonic topics.`
This meant that this was not something he could do now.
`Occlumency doesn't require one to have large reserves of magical energy to master, thus it is one of the most loved magic arts.`
Ian continued reading.
`And you, the little one, are young. Your body has not matured enough to handle the strains any of the rituals might cause —especially not a demonic one. Hence it is advised to not delve into the sacrifices unless you reach the age of fourteen or you have the ability to fully control your mind and body.`
Ian was a little disappointed as he had to wait a very long time for that to happen. But he knew better than to rush.
`Till then, focus on obtaining complete control over your body and mind and master the lessons that I teach.`
Taking a deep breath, Ian closed the book. It was time for him to go to his uncle, the events of his birthday and the profits they made… were something he was interested in knowing about. And especially—
It was time for him to learn about the Ollivanders' Wandlore.
…
…
By the sunset, Garrick had cleared up all the leftover meetings and his schedule was looking a tiny bit cleaner than before —which meant he had time to sleep.
But that was about all the free time he had.
*Sigh*
"But a promise is a promise." He smiled looking at the excited face of his nephew.
Getting off his chair, he said. "Walk with me, Ian."
Ian couldn't be any happier. Knowledge about wands was something he wanted to learn before starting his formal studies at any cost.
And he knew that his education was going to start soon.
They walked through the hallway to the staircase, leading them to the basement floor. Within the floor were countless rooms yet none as extravagantly decorated as the one with the blackwood door.
"Your workshop…" Ian grinned as it was one of the very rare instances that he was allowed to step inside the room.
Every other time, the door was hard locked and not even the maids were allowed to enter to clean the room.
"Woah…" Ian grinned widely as the door opened.
"Welcome to my little workshop, boy."
Ian was flabbergasted as the concentration of magic in the air, the magical items and the prototypes of the wands made him almost freeze.
There were countless precious items lying around, items that many would kill for.
Uniform horn, Unicorn tail, Konold skin, Werewolf hide, Vampire Fangs, Dragon Skull, Phoenix Feathers—
"Is that… a Rougarou Head?"
Ian gasped at the Rougarou's beheaded head being hung near the door. The same creature whose blood he made the pendant with.
"Isn't that supposed to be rare?" He asked, he didn't want to imagine that the creature he was so worried about came so easily to his uncle.
"Oh, it is." Garrick nodded. "But when it comes to art and work, one does not worry about the money." He looked at Ian. "Especially when you are an Ollivander."
Ian was still in awe of what he saw. Dragon, Phoenix, Unicorn, Minotaurs, Wyverns and countless remains of mythical creatures that one cannot obtain just with money.
But this did make him wonder.
"Uncle… How rich are we exactly?"
Garrick grinned. "You will know, when you take the lordship."
'He didn't answer.' Ian frowned but he knew money wasn't an issue for him at the moment, so he didn't have to think so much about it.
"Before we start learning about our family's wandmaking, do you know what is the most general rule of wandmaking that everyone follows?"
"The wand chooses the wizard?" Ian answered, which made Garrick chuckle.
"Do you see that piece of wood over there?" He asked and Ian nodded.
"This?" Ian asked, picking up the small wooden piece.
"And can you try spilling a drop of Vampire blood over it?" Garrick said, pointing towards a bottle filled with undead blood.
Ian slowly picked up the bottle and spilt a tiny bit over the wood, and within seconds the wood combusted.
"What?" He was confused. He didn't know that vampire blood had such properties, he never read about it.
"It's not that the blood was magically combustible. But it was because of the Law of Wandmaking."
"Law of Wandmaking?" Ian asked, which put a smile on Garrick's face.
"The Wood-Core Synergy." He said. "The Wand and the Core have to be in harmony, a disturbance in that harmony or even a slight imbalance may cause such reactions." He explained. "That was a Palm wood and they do not go well with vampire blood."
Wood was the cover, the shell that helped to keep the core safe as well as to channel the magic inside of that core. And a core was a magical centre that stored enough magic and contained a semi-consciousness that could form different magic spells and at the whims of the owner.
Thus, a Wood-Core synergy was to be maintained. For a proper supply of magical energy as well as to have a proper and safe channelling way.
Garrick picked up a sharp knife, "Now come. I will show you how you carve inside the wood to imbue the core essence."
This was it. This was exactly what Ian wanted.
"Alright!"
Without a moment of hesitation, Ian immediately rushed toward his uncle.
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[[A/N: Done for today and there will be no chapter tomorrow. Uploads will continue after that.]]
