"Don’t let it lead you, else you will slowly succumb to the will of the fragnt as it changes your nature. It is only a raw concept. You decide how its truth manifests. How it actualizes in the world..." he warned.
"That’s why you need to create spells, since they are the easiest to learn. Like I’ve said, you must repeatedly use your fragnt to create the sa effect in the sa way until the pattern becos ingrained. Then you assign words to that pattern — an incantation that triggers the practiced effect with minimal conscious effort," he explained.
"Edicts on the other hand, are a bit broader and more difficult..."
"Instead of one specific outco, you’re shaping multiple paraters simultaneously, with fewer words, but each word carries more aning and more intent. The ntal image isn’t as tightly focused, which makes it harder to control, but more versatile. You might affect several targets, or influence multiple aspects of your concept at once."
Finn wanted to ask a question, but Osmund continued unabated, intent to finish his run-on explanation before Finn would talk.
"Declarations are laws. Rather than manipulating your concept, you’re instead defining how it works within a specific space. The words carry absolute authority, but the cost on your mind and your soul is imnse. And the area you can affect is usually limited unless you have a core fragnt," he said.
"Start with spells. Master the basics before reaching for anything more complex. Find simple expressions of your fragnt, practice them until they’re second nature, then build from there."
He walked to where he’d left his book and picked it up.
"For your first task, I want you to create a spell with your fragnt. It shouldn’t be particularly elaborate. Just make a basic, reproducible effect that you can trigger reliably. Once you can do that, we’ll work on refinent and eventually more advanced applications."
Finn blinked and mumbled the steps again, committing it to mory. But perhaps because of his furrowed brows in concentration, Osmund mistook his aning for confusion.
"What were you expecting? A step-by-step instruction manual?" Osmund’s tone was dry. "Every fragnt is different. Every bearer interacts with their concept differently. I can teach you theory and show you examples, but ultimately you need to figure out how your fragnt manifests."
He turned to leave the clearing, taking along his book with him, then paused.
"Oh, and also. Don’t try to copy what I showed you. Space... and whatever your fragnt is, are two different concepts. What works for would very likely not work for you. You must find your own path."
With that, Osmund walked away, disappearing into the treeline.
Finn stood alone in the clearing, deep in thought.
He was already analyzing instances of his usage of Error, thinking back to the negotiation, to the way his fragnt had highlighted Osmund’s lapses in concentration. The way it had pointed out vulnerabilities, exploitation points, flaws in the structure of the soul contract itself.
That was passive activation. Instinctive. His fragnt responding to circumstances without conscious direction.
He pondered how he could turn sothing like that to a conscious and repeatedly replicable spell.
His mind went to Althea. He’d seen her use Order Edicts multiple tis — [Certain Trajectory], he rembered. Forcing projectiles to follow predetermined paths, removing the possibility of deviation from her declared outco.
And also, [Order Edict: Clarity] to stabilize his Ferropteryx urges and debts at the ti.
Now that he had a better idea of what she’d been doing, he almost scoffed at her claim to be inexperienced and still learning.
How powerful is she? If that’s what ’inexperienced’ looks like... Finn wondered.
He pushed the thought aside and started walking back toward the house on the hill.
The task Osmund had given him seed almost dismissive. Like an excuse to end the lesson quickly than an actual assignnt he expected Finn to complete.
But Finn had no intention of failing either way.
He’d figure out how to make Error manifest as a spell. And then he’d master it so thoroughly that Osmund would regret underestimating him.
By the ti he reached the house, his mind was already churning with possibilities.
He locked himself in the room and settled in, pulling a chair close to the window as his brain kicked into full gear.
lancholically, he almost felt like he was back on earth during a crunch week exam again. It was a totally different situation now, but the focus reminded him of earth.
Error. Flaws. Mistakes. Inconsistencies.
How do I turn these into a spell?
Osmund had made it sound straightforward — practice the sa effect repeatedly until it becos ingrained, then assign words to trigger it.
But where do I even start?
Finn closed his eyes and reached inward, searching for his fragnt the way he’d learned to sense his soul masses. His Storm Prowler — Syf was there, steady and obedient after the Geri and Freki adaptation. The Ferropteryx eagle too, now subdued with only its minor flight requirent remaining. The Crimson Fist Baboon, stable and reliable.
And beneath them all — No. Not beneath. It was more encompassing — The Error fragnt. Waiting like it always had been. Quiet and observant, only manifesting when circumstances called for it.
That’s the problem, Finn huffed.
It’s been passive this whole ti. Instinctive. I was never even sure of its existence, talk less of trying to actively USE it.
He thought back again to every instance where his fragnt had helped him. Finding Syf’s true psyche. Spotting Priest when no one else could. Navigating the collapsing pocket space. Crossing the Stagnant Sea. Exploiting weaknesses in Osmund’s soul contract negotiation.
All of those had been reactive. His fragnt responding to threats, to problems, to flaws that already existed.
But a spell required proactive control and conscious direction. Manifesting without waiting for circumstances to trigger it.
Finn stood up. His rapidly firing thoughts made it impossible to sit still at all. He needed to think differently about this.
What IS Error, fundantally?
He paced the room as his mind churned.
Surprisingly, he thought about his ti on Earth. University. The late nights he spent gaming with friends when they should have been studying. The frustration when a friend that was frankly just ass at a ga suddenly wins a round or two because his own PC lagged.
The rage when attacks that clearly missed still connected, or attacks that clearly hit sohow phased through.
The craziness of so glitches even in multi-million dollar company gas despite working on it for years before releasing.
It was kind of an unwarranted correlation but that was where Finn’s mind went.
Error is when things deviate from how they’re supposed to function. When expected outcos fail to execute properly. When the rules skip or break down.
That felt right. More right than trying to think of so profound aning that would probably make sense, but that he had no fra of reference for or to relate to.
His fragnt could only actualize how he truly saw it. And to him, it was about making reality deviate from its intended behavior. Like a glitch in a ga. Like lag causing a desync. Like a—
Finn took a step forward while thinking about fra drops and lag, about how his character would appear in one place on screen while actually being sowhere else—
And his body glitched.
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