Magic Theory For Dummies: Part Three

A weapon. Constantine has wanted to get his hands on one of those from the moment he set foot in there, especially after seeing how Marcus and Kento used theirs. What would he like? What would he be good at? In a spar, Kento had said that weapons were mere extensions of his limbs and that he is the weapon. Darryl told him that weapons are just a way to amplify your powers – since with probability control, he can't miss, he uses a gun for simplicity. Jane just tried to swing at him; after all she doesn't use a weapon. Not that this overpowered pipsqueak needed one, she could open a crater on the floor by stomping on it.

"We'll test weapons together later," Marcus said. "Time to continue the course."

Constantine groaned, but that didn't seem to deter Marcus.

"All powers in this world are based on three domains that we call The Three Domains of the Divine; omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence." "Omnipotence," he continued, is the domain of affecting things around you with power. Omniscience is having knowledge of the world in various forms, in past, future and present. Finally, omnipresence is the ability to move through the world and, in cases like yours, through time." Marcus said.

"Now," he continued, "this is where it gets interesting for you; see, you're a bit special."

"Special how?" Constantine asked.

"Yeah, there's nothing special about this idiot." Jane interjected.

"Shut up chibi. Marcus, please continue." Constantine said, not willing to even reply to Janes taunts further.

"Our powers are called authorities." Marcus said. "For example, I have authority over space in the omnipotence domain. That means I can affect space externally from my body and use things like telekinesis, barriers and, through hard work and training, actual attacks with it." he concluded.

The way he fought now made a lot more sense to Constantine; Marcus had shown tremendous power during the escape from Silver Haven.

"What about Kento?" Constantine asked.

"Kento has authority over reality in the omnipotence domain. His authority is classified as weak, although extremely rare. He can distort the perception of reality for others but can't affect the physical world. Here you can see a distinction in domains; because Kento doesn't have authority in the omniscience domain, he can't see what his targets see unless he's guiding the illusion himself through a technique."

"And what about me?" Constantine asked.

"You have two authorities, space and time, in the omnipresence domain." Marcus said. Jane, hearing this, gaped with a dumbstruck look on her face.

"There have been cases where Outcasts experience second awakenings, which expands the domain of their authorities, but I have never even heard of one with two authorities at once. Moreover, from the strange power outburst you showed in Silver Haven, you may also be within the omnipotence domain, or have something else thrown in the mix. We need to experiment a little with your powers." he concluded.

"What about Darryl's training? I only used space control and I can only use it to move around. When did I control time? I overheard the mages in Silver Haven mention it during my captivity but never quite figured it out."

"Darryl evaluated your space element." Marcus replied. "You move through space gaps and rifts, and you can use moves like teleportation, which falls under omnipresence. Moreover, Shift has footage of you stepping through time briefly on the day of your abduction; to the untrained eye it looks like teleportation, but we know the signs. That's probably how the mages figured out your abilities."

"Didn't I see you teleport too, though?" Constantine asked. "Does that mean you have two domains or whatever?"

"No, no, nothing like that." Marcus replied with a chuckle. "I can bend space around me to appear invisible and use force to propel myself forward, then become visible again. I use it as a way to disorient my enemies and give them wrong impressions about my abilities."

Constantine was impressed. Marcus was very creative and that also made him think of his own potential.

"Looks like I have a lot to learn." he told Marcus.

Marcus smiled at him with pride: "That's the right attitude."

"This dumbass has two powers and I have none? This sucks," Jane pouted.

"I'm afraid that won't stay that way for long, Jane." Marcus said, concern visible on his face.

"From what you've been saying I think this year is the year." he concluded.

"The year for what?" Constantine asked.

"The year she'll get her second Reality Break…and finally unlock her powers." Marcus said solemnly.

"Don't worry pipsqueak, I got your back!" Constantine said with a somewhat sincere smile.

"Nobody needs you!" Jane jabbed back but couldn't help smiling back at him. He was growing on her, like a benign tumor of sorts.

Before Constantine could quip back at her, he made a face as if he suddenly remembered something. Turning to Marcus, he asked:

"Hey, what about that purple lightning stuff? Is that an authority too?"

"The what?!" Marcus and Jane asked in unison.

"When I was in Silver Haven, I noticed purple and black sparks come from my right hand, and sometimes they show up in training but don't do anything."

"Here," he said, raising his hand, showing them sparks of purple and black electricity running through it.

"You have an affinity." Marcus mumbled in astonishment."

"What's that?" Constantine asked.

"Outcasts are not mages. We don't use spells; although some of our techniques require incantations, as a focusing mechanism, we aren't bound by form or structure, and everyone develops their abilities as it suits them. However, some of us have a power called Element Distortion. To explain that I'll have to briefly explain magic first." he said.

Constantine nooded in anticipation. It was finally time for him to start understanding who and what his enemies - and his allies - truly were.The more he learned, the more he could feel something stir inside him. He was both excited and afraid; after all, knowledge is a door but no one knows where it will lead you.