"And what are those Cosmic Elements that have no color? How do I know if I'm compatible with them or not?"
That question again made my mother look away, as if rekindling memories of a forgotten past. When she started talking again, her voice was low and hoarse.
"Nobody is compatible with them. The Cosmic Elements of Light, Darkness, and Spirit, only divine beings, like the Gods and the Supreme Dragons, can use them freely. They might bestow magic attuned to those elements to the followers they deem worthy, and from time to time, a genius sorcerer is able to use them without a Divine blessing. But, as it's normally only seen being used by some special priests, and even then, normally only the light element is visible, they just think it's a property of blessings, and not an element on its own right."
"So, I won't be able to use them?"
My mother smiles at me, but the smile doesn't reach her eyes. "I wouldn't say never... those elements are the base of everything, and the four Primary Elements are built from them. But it's not an easy task."
I heed her words, my mind racing with what I've learned.
"I understand, Mom. It's not a realistic goal, but it isn't impossible. So I should set that aside and focus on what I have, right?"
"Oh, dear Aurea..." Mother pets my head, messing up my hair. "Sometimes you speak like a forty-year-old, really. I wonder what happens inside your head at those moments."
I blush at her words and try to change the subject. "So, what do I do now? How do I use those elements?"
"The elements are like the building blocks of the world. The energy that flows from our mana cores is merely the connection that allows us to manipulate them. And then the last part are the incantations, also known as arias. They are the instructions, and they always need to be precise and unambiguous, so the elements, the building blocks, behave exactly the way you want them to behave."
Oh, so you're saying that arias are like lines of code? And that crafting magic is a matter of using the arias to craft algorithms and impose them on the world? Heeeeeeeh, time to show off my game developer skills, I guess.
"So, Mom, we give the Elements instructions in those arias? Are they on a specific language or something, or may we use normal language?"
"Any language that is spoken by beings capable of abstraction works to create arias. But some are better suited to it than others. There are some ancient sacred languages, as well as the draconian language, that have a high compatibility with magic, being more effective in their effects, creating more power with less mana and less casting time. The languages most of Mankind races use today are very far away from the original languages, and they often carry ambiguities that need extra words to convey the same meaning, wasting mana and casting time in the process."
I see, so there are high-level languages and low-level languages. Yes, that sounds a lot like programming to me. So modern current languages are like Python or Java, while draconic and the others would be like casting in Assembly. Got it.
"So, if I learn one of those incantations, I can start casting magic, but doing it in our language, it will be harder, is that it?"
"Yes, that is it. I would love nothing more than to teach you some lightning magic, but by their nature, it would be dangerous to do so in this room. Tell me, between those colours in our mana core, was there a dark teal colour, like a bit more green than teal?"
"Yes... There was... why, Mom?"
"Because that's my main element, Air. And yes, the main element, because I'm one of the very rare people who can use three different elements. I use Air, Fire, and a bit of Lightning. So I can teach you some arias so you can train without worrying about hurting someone. You see, using air and lightning, you can create illusions. It can also be done using air and fire, or other elements, but lightning can imbue it with movement, which is normally very hard to pull off."
"Wow, Mom. Illusion magic is awesome, and I'll be able to train. It can even help us escape!!" I almost shout, struggling to contain my excitement.
"Hahahahah, calm down, my dear daughter. We don't need the overseers rushing here trying to see what's happening, do we?"
"You're right, Mom. I'm sorry."
As if by magic, the door of the room opens, and an overseer comes in. But fortunately, he doesn't even look at us, instead taking a cute fox girl who had arrived a couple of weeks ago. By his words, it seems that they found a buyer for her, so we'll probably never see her again.
We watch in silence the scene unfolding in front of us. It feels almost surreal, as everyone is so used to it that nobody seems to even care anymore. It's as if we are numb, with a deep anesthesia against the pain. Even the fox girl seems completely resigned to her fate.
After the door closes again, I turn to my mother.
"I need to learn it. I need to set you free, and everyone else." I tell her, with a determined look that barely disguises the anger boiling inside me.
"Yes, my dear... as long as you are able to use magic, you might be able to pull it off. That's why you need to conceal it, so they don't put a magic-dampening collar on you. So, let's begin. The first aria I'll be teaching you just changes the colour of something for a little bit. It's one of the few that I know in draconian, so pay attention to the right way of speaking the words, as the pronunciation has to be flawless."
And that way, in my third year on this world, I learned my first spell, starting the journey that would take me to hack the very system of magic in this world. After all, every system that is programmed will always be hacked by someone at some point.