Chapter 2: The first minion

What truly is mana? A simple question, but with an answer as complex as the minds of the greatest archimages in history. Let's start from what we know.

As a matter of fact, mana is a quasi-infinite, renewable energy. Where does it come from? We have some interesting theories, but nothing concrete. What we know for sure, however, is that only a specific kind of being can control it, the Flux.

Fluxes have no consciousness, but a wizard can guide them to use mana and form spells. To do that, a wizard can use chanting, a set of ceremonial moves, or an object as a catalyst.

In a way, Fluxes are like the multiple sub-brains in an insect. They need orders from a central brain to know what to do with the muscles they're attached to. They are of great importance to a mage.

So what are they, you may ask? A Flux can be a fragment of a soul, a spirit, or something down the line, naturally formed in an environment rich in vitality. They can merge together and produce new souls or spirits and then gain a will of their own, no longer bending to the will of others.

Does one of you know why only they can directly control mana while we can't?

- Extract from an academic lesson on Flux, by Nerius III.

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In a damp and shadowy chamber, deep underground, a flustered spirit was fiddling with pieces of a dying bug. Desperately trying to reassemble it before its end. Its light was flickering, going from white to pink.

"The legs go here and there... But how do I mend the crack in its back? And how do I glue the legs back?" lamented the sentient light globe.

After a second of panic, the spirit paused. A sudden urge rose up inside it. The need to experiment, to discover how to fix it, without caring about the well-being of its test subject.

"Well... It's already broken beyond repair, so... no point in trying to fix it too much. Sorry, bud, guess I can do whatever I want with you now." it said in a joyful mood.

Thinking of how this situation came to be, the spirit had an idea. The idea was accompanied by a weird feeling. A hunch that nearly everything could be accomplished that way with practice and knowledge.

"A violent burst of mana put it in that state. What would happen with a slower influx ?" It mused.

A weak stream of mana started to flow toward the half-dead and poorly put together insect. The mana wrapped around it, creating something akin to a glowing cocoon; Before it melted inside the critter.

A second after the mana finished fusing with the insect, its body wriggled, and the sticky flesh inside it moved like hands to grab onto the severed body parts with the help of the will-infused mana.

"Is it working?!" The spirit beamed.

But before it could rejoice, something unexpected happened. The insect started swelling and absorbing even more mana from its surrounding. Its flesh erupted out of its shell, growing until it reached the size of a small dog. A new exoskeleton formed around the blob of flesh, eyes grew on its head, and slowly the insect retook its original shape, just a tad bit bigger.

Revived and confused, the overly large insect inspected its surroundings before resuming its light chasing activity. Its brains may have grown, but it was still driven by instinct.

"Hum, that was... unexpected. I wonder why this happened." said the spirit while dodging the bug attacks, utilizing it to train its movement skills.

Closely observing the insect's vain attempts at reaching its mana core, it eventually noticed a change in its behavior. With each try, the strategy became more and more efficient. It was learning, a clear sign of intelligence! Maybe the spirit could interact with it now.

The spirit tried various ways of communication but, nothing managed to get through this thick bug. Talking by making vibrations did startle it at first but, it eventually got used to it. Trying to communicate with light and colors only got it to chase the glowing orb with renewed passion.

"Maybe I can use mana once again? But how? Maybe a stream of mana, with what I want to say inscribed in it. But I have two problems with that. First, how do I inscribe words in mana? Asking it to do something and asking it to say something feels different. Second, I can't just randomly throw a stream of mana at it again. I fear it will do some weird things like before."

With a bit of thinking, the spirit came to a conclusion. In the meantime, the insect had stopped throwing itself on the light orb and focused on cleaning its antennas.

"What if I aim at its brain? Maybe I can stimulate specific parts to simulate a basic transmission of information? It's not really talking, but it's worth a shot."

The spirit quickly threw itself into the experimenting process. The poor insect was overwhelmed by random information, be they nonsensical images, weird new smells, or spikes of pain through its body. Every time it passed out, the spirit would stimulate the part of its brain that wakes it up.

After a day of torture, the spirit could control the insect to do its bidding somewhat. It could order it to move or dig a tunnel, to expand its 'home' for example.

"I think you deserve a name considering all you've been through. What do you think of Molly? You look like a 'Molly' to me... Ah, you can't understand me when I'm talking. Let's try to imprint that name in your brain." Said the spirit to its resting new minion.

While transmitting the name with its mana, something clicked. A permanent sort of 'connection' was established between them. This connection allowed the spirit to more easily order Molly and faintly feel what it was thinking.

Seeing what it could do with Molly, what could the spirit accomplish with more of them? Expanding this little stone chamber and discovering what there is outside seems like a good start.

"I wonder if I can find more of your kind..."