[Hymn #66] ~Courante~

[nightcrossed]

To be honest, there isn't a great deal to report.

I'm unsure if this will benefit anyone besides myself, but I've managed to remember a fair number of fonic artes recently. In general world terms I suppose that translates to "magic spells". I prefer not to call them that, since there's nothing particularly fantastical about fonic artes (they can be explained, more or less, scientifically), but seeing as there are so many different words for similar concepts, I suppose that will suffice.

[[OOC: I'm so indecisive it's not even funny anymore. 2% on Novice and Mid/High Fonic Artes. 31% used, 1% remaining.]]

Comments

[apurposetolive.livejournal.com]

So, uh... How many of those fonic artes work with the Seventh Fonon?

[a-severed-fate.livejournal.com]

(OOC: ...um. *is just going to assume Tear's fonic artes lacking a particular elemental attribute rely on the seventh fonon more-or-less exclusively, since like, Legretta has a bunch of the same light-based fonic artes as Tear and isn't a seventh fonist. That only leaves one light attribute healing spell that I otherwise would have classified as using the seventh fonon* /shuts up now)

About four of them, I suppose. Eight if one were to utilize fields of fonons.

[apurposetolive.livejournal.com]

Okay. Do you remember a while ago when I asked if you could help me learn how to actually use Seventh Fonons?

[a-severed-fate.livejournal.com]

[Tear suspected it might come to this.]

Yes. It was back during the summer, and I only had knowledge of my earliest training at the time.

[apurposetolive.livejournal.com]

Yeah. Do you think you know enough to...to teach me?

[a-severed-fate.livejournal.com]

...I could try.

However, if your goal is to be able to use fonic artes, then I can't guarantee it'll work. This isn't because I doubt your ability to learn, but because I honestly have yet to recall a time when you've executed one.

But, then again, I seem to recall Asch having used them.

[apurposetolive.livejournal.com]

...Hey, I can perform a hyperresonance by myself.

[a-severed-fate.livejournal.com]

Which you have limited control over.

My point being that not all seventh fonists have the capacity for the same varieties of fonic artes. Some have an aptitude for healing, some focus more on other tasks that use seventh fonons - such as Score reading. It depends on the individual. Casting fonic artes and controlling fonons are not things one can simply memorize. I can try to explain, but the process will likely be a slow one; you'll have to break everything down and come to understand it for yourself.

[apurposetolive.livejournal.com]

Okay, okay, I get it. Look, it's fine. I just want to get some actual training in how to use Seventh Fonons.

[a-severed-fate.livejournal.com]

I understand.




...all right, then.

[shoukanjutsu.livejournal.com]

Hm! Anything even remotely related to magic is of interest to me. You're probably well aware of that already, however.

[a-severed-fate.livejournal.com]

Yes, I'm quite aware of this fact.

Though, come to think of it, the pamplet on Aselian magic that you authored was rather fascinating.

[Yes, she read all of it. Yes, she does tend to read quite a bit - her house back in Yulia City has a bunch of REALLY OLD BOOKS that are probably half falling apart. :3]

[shoukanjutsu.livejournal.com]

Aha. I hope I don't come off as -- . . . Hold on. You read it?

[a-severed-fate.livejournal.com]

[Lets the first topic drop.]

As a matter of fact, I did. It's interesting to note the differences and similarities among energies present in other worlds. Aselian magic and fonology don't seem terribly far off.

[shoukanjutsu.livejournal.com]

And yet you believe fonic artes can be explained through 'science'? Generally, science and magic are thought of as incompatible. Our magic, as you well know, stems from the highly unscientific mana stream.

[a-severed-fate.livejournal.com]

True enough...

However, though science attempts to explain the nature of fonons, there are still many topics relating to them which are not fully understood. The existence of an aggregate sentience comprised entirely of seventh fonons, for example, hasn't been confirmed from what I understand, although others do exist - Shadow, Gnome, Sylph, Undine, Efreet, and Rem.

The origins of the miasma is another. A lot of my world's knowledge has been lost since the Dawn Age, so despite efforts, there's still a lot we don't know.

Regardless of whether science and magic are compatible, it would seem that your world relies on mana to survive as well as to cast magic. Our fonons, like mana, are present in everything and are also required to cast artes.

[shoukanjutsu.livejournal.com]

I see. So your world has adjusted its views of science to include fonon theory . . . That may be possible with our mana as well. It's just that no one's ever thought to combine the two. I suppose, though, that magic theory is just as valid as the theory of gravity.

. . . Shadow, Gnome, Sylph, Undine, and Efreet, you say. Somehow, I'm not very surprised. These are the Summon Spirits in Aselia -- Aggregates of pure mana that have achieved sentience.

[a-severed-fate.livejournal.com]

Hmm...

This may seem a strange question, but I was wondering if there's a Summon Spirit called Lorelei in Aselia.

[shoukanjutsu.livejournal.com]

There isn't. Nor is there one named Rem. If you tell me what elements they represent, I can tell you their approximations.

[a-severed-fate.livejournal.com]

Rem is the aggregate sentience of the sixth fonon - in other words, the light element.

Lorelei, from what I've managed to piece together, is the hypothetical aggregate sentience of the seventh fonon, although the seventh fonon itself is difficult to classify. Some call it the fonon of sound, while others associate it with memory, because it's necessary to read the Score, and life, because it's the fonon used in most healing artes.

[shoukanjutsu.livejournal.com]

Then Rem corresponds with Aska, the Summon Spirit of Light.

. . . I have no recollection of anything like Lorelei. And you're getting a bit beyond me -- What's the Score?

[a-severed-fate.livejournal.com]

I've never heard of Aska prior to this conversation.
[Not exactly surprised about Lorelei, though.]

The Score is a record of the planet's past, present, and future that was transcribed on seven immense fonstones over 2,000 years ago. The fonstones have fragmented over time, and some of these fragments have sinse been lost, but the Score itself serves as a religion on Auldrant - individuals follow the Score faithfully in hopes of receiving its promised prosperity.

However, the Score is inaccurate. The planet has already deviated from the foretold future.

[shoukanjutsu.livejournal.com]

. . . Now that's an interesting bit of magic. What's the history behind it? Assumedly, some sort of god was responsible for the creation of the Score -- But any fool knows it's an incredibly stupid idea to leave prophecies lying around. And if it's inaccurate, then what was the point in the first place? Why was it even created?

[a-severed-fate.livejournal.com]

I don't know the answers to all of your questions, at least not yet, but the seven fonstones were originally suspended in the fonbelt - it's a ring of seventh fonons that surrounds the planet. Some force must have caused a number of them to fall back to Auldrant, and I imagine they broke up in the atmosphere as a result.

It seems to have something to do with Lorelei, but until I learn more about Lorelei itself, I'm at a bit of a loss.

The Score wasn't always inaccurate. It's been fairly reliable up to a point, and that may be because people are afraid to diverge from what the Score foretells. The world began to fall off track only recently.

[shoukanjutsu.livejournal.com]

. . . Are you telling me fonons used to be asteroids now? They'd be closer to the realm of the gods, I suppose, but that's a bit of an oddity.

And has anything dire occurred because of that?

[a-severed-fate.livejournal.com]

Not fonons - they're only small particles, but I suppose the fonstones themselves might be similar to asteroids. They say the seven fonstones were originally the size of mountains, and when fragments began falling onto the planet, the struggle to obtain them led to war.

...I can't say that it was the divergence that caused it, but the situation back home is dire, yes. At least it was, though I cannot be sure if this is still the case or not.

[shoukanjutsu.livejournal.com]

((I'm very sorry I'm so late. Something came up and I had to disappear for a few days.))

Allow me to attempt to make sense of this. Fonons are small particles present in all life forms. But when composed as an aggregate, they create fonstones, which are, as their name implies, mineral in nature. Sentient aggregates, on the other hand, are homologues to the Summon Spirits of my world. Correct?

. . . I see. Do you mind telling me what the situation might be?

(it's okay, my hands have been slowing me down anyway)

[a-severed-fate.livejournal.com]

Not quite, but close. You're correct about what fonons are, and about the aggregate sentiences you refer to as "Summon Spirits". I'm not certain how the fonstones were created originally, but they're not comprised soley of fonons - as you said, they're similar in nature to very large gems.

Fonons come into play where fonstones are concerned because it requires a person who uses the seventh fonon - the fonon of sound - to decipher the text engraved into each piece.

I... it's complicated, and some of the information is confidential to the Order of Lorelei.

Sorry to hear that. =(

[shoukanjutsu.livejournal.com]

. . . That's more sensible. And the text engraved into each fonstone -- This is the Score you mentioned earlier?

I understand your reluctance. Though I hardly think it matters much here.

(they're not too bad these days)

[a-severed-fate.livejournal.com]

Yes, that's right.

...it may not matter much, but it doesn't change the fact that it's my duty as an Oracle Knight to ensure that some things remain private. I apologize if this is an inconvenience to your studies.

That's good to hear. =)

[shoukanjutsu.livejournal.com]

Not at all. To be perfectly honest, my studies are little more than an excuse for my insatiable desire to be an nosy git.

[a-severed-fate.livejournal.com]

I see. In that case I'm quite used to the type.

[shoukanjutsu.livejournal.com]

No doubt. But nonetheless, you've cleared up a good deal of my confusion. Thank you.

Perhaps you ought to write a tract of your own.

[a-severed-fate.livejournal.com]

It was no problem. I personally think we could all learn a great deal from one another.

A tract? I'm not so sure about that, but I'll give it some thought.

[twilightsmile.livejournal.com]

Whoa, you know magic? That's pretty cool.

[a-severed-fate.livejournal.com]

...I'm not sure I'd call it "cool", but I suppose if one wishes to look at it that way...