On Summoning Water
Part of a lecture series: A Padfoot’s Approach to Understanding the Arcane, byEttyn-Armolliro, Esteemed Wizard and Head of the Sophymancy and Philosophy Departments at Oblixos University Tassos Campus.
[addressing a lecture hall]...If I put a cup in front of you and asked you to fill it with water—with the stipulation that you could only use magic—I have no doubt that you could come up with thirty different solutions. The school of Mantric Sophymancy upholds that the most efficient and ethical way to manifest water is to harvest latent molecular information [that is, hydrogen and oxygen particles], and combine them inside of the cup. That of course is much easier said than done as the act of filling that cup of water with only magic implies knowledge of skills like molecular science and resource management—not to mention the year it would take to heighten your sensitivity to minute particulate manipulation in order to catch only the particles you’d need to fill the cup without suffocating the entire room. That joke about how long it takes for a Sophymancyr to fill up a cup of water is absolutely true there is a minimum of six years extensive study before our department even lets you touch a wand.
And yet... In the Knivri Culture found in the Passi Riverlands—water manipulation is the first series of spells taught to children who show a propensity for arcane talent. By age 3, a Knivri child could fill that cup of water enough times for our entire lecture hall to have a glass—seemingly—without sacrificing any spell components or utilizing any advanced molecular knowledge and do you know why?
Magic is about relationships. An acolyte of magic, no matter what culture, understands this basic notion. Matter is neither created nor destroyed. So in magic, there is always a give and take.
What most do not know about the Knivri is their relationship to the water plane. In order to do the things they are capable of they must sacrifice their lives. This is why our school focuses on Mantric Sciences.