Black wings brought black tidings.
A raven from King's Landing flew to the Lannister caravan.
The news spread quickly—Jon Arryn, Hand of the King, Duke of the Eyrie, Defender of the Vale, and Warden of the East, had suddenly fallen ill and passed away.
Joffrey was quite surprised, not expecting the Hand to die so quickly. He had thought it would be another week or two.
He could only be glad that he hadn't delayed and had communicated the information to Duke Tywin in time, securing the support of the Lannister family.
Once the Starks received the provocative secret letter, it would be much more troublesome to gain their strength.
The caravan continued its journey.
Due to the fact that could not be made public, the Lannister siblings and Duke Tywin were inevitably hesitant. Before confirming King Robert's attitude, the caravan would likely not change direction.
Joffrey continued his research.
Which to choose, the greatsword or the glass candle? He hesitated for a moment, then decided to first research projects with clear expected returns.
"Hannah, bring the glass candle over."
Among all the items taken from the treasury, only the greatsword was the most difficult to understand.
Valyrian steel, needless to say, was a magical item with a specific effect, just like the glass candle with its pattern.
The effects of the gemstones and crystals were also clear: they provided some kind of energy for magic.
But this greatsword showed nothing unusual. It didn't provide energy for other magic, and there had been no visible changes during this time, making it difficult to know where to start.
Although very curious, there were more important matters at hand.
In the past two days, through practice and contemplation, based on the existing information and data, he proposed a temporarily valid magical framework:
"Sense Sources" such as gemstones and crystals, which he could only sense, could absorb and store a type of magical energy that was difficult to utilize directly. This energy was temporarily named "Source Energy."
The nature, origin, total amount, and effects of "Source Energy" were unknown.
"Light Sources" such as Valyrian steel, which he could both sense and see light from, could absorb "Source Energy" and convert it into a type of usable magical energy. This type of energy was temporarily named "Magic Energy."
The white light that could repair damaged Valyrian steel and heal injuries was Recovery Magic Energy.
More precisely, what he truly sensed was "Source Energy." What he could both sense and see light from was "Magic Energy." Those items were just ordinary carriers.
And the "Converter" that transformed Source Energy into Magic Energy was not the pattern, but the unknown entity behind the pattern—"It."
Joffrey gave it a cliché name—Rune.
It was worth noting that the Rune consumed nothing when converting Source Energy into Magic Energy, but creating and splitting new Sub-Runes required consuming its own Origin—that invisible, cold energy.
He named this precious cold energy "Rune Energy."
Unlike Source Energy and Magic Energy, so far he could only sense the Rune Energy he possessed, and was powerless regarding the Rune Energy on other magical items.
When he had used the Recovery Rune to create Valyrian steel before, he had briefly sensed the Rune Energy during the transfer process—that coldness.
And the special sensation he had previously thought was towards the Rune would weaken as the Rune Energy was consumed. This meant that the sensation was actually towards the Rune Energy contained within the Rune, not towards the Rune itself.
In this way, the Rune became a completely ethereal concept. It could neither be sensed nor its true structure seen, making research extremely difficult.
Fortunately, there was still the pattern.
Although the pattern was merely Magic Energy flowing along a specific path due to the Rune's needs, it was a distorted projection of the invisible Rune.
But precisely because of the existence of the pattern, Joffrey was able to indirectly touch the Rune, and thus serendipitously obtained the Rune, allowing him to witness the mysteries of magic.
Then came the first use of the Recovery Rune three days ago.
Joffrey was pleasantly surprised to note that the spread and promotion of magic were not as difficult as he had anticipated.
At least not so difficult as to make magic's impact on the world negligible.
Taking himself as an example, the Recovery Rune could not only absorb Source Energy and convert it into Recovery Magic Energy, but also continuously generate Rune Energy, creating other items with the Recovery Rune; it could even grow together with his Soul.
This last point was the most amazing. It seemed that the Soul provided food for the Rune to grow, and the Rune also provided nourishment for the Soul to become stronger.
Perhaps Rune Energy was some kind of derivative or variation of Soul power.
Getting back to the main topic.
At the rate of Rune Energy accumulation, Joffrey could create one or two pieces of Valyrian steel every day, or heal minor external injuries two or three times. The effect of magic was already very significant.
But this also made him wonder: If this was the case, Valyrian steel should absolutely not be so rare.
There were a few hundred Valyrian Steel Weapons existing on the Westeros Continent, and probably a few thousand in the entire world. He alone could double this number in ten years.
Could it be that there were only a few Wizards in a generation of Valyrians?
This was certainly impossible. To be called a lost magical civilization, Valyria's utilization of magic should have been much more widespread.
Therefore, the problem was probably not with the Valyrians, but with himself.
Was the growth rate of my Rune too fast?
Or was there an unknown significant price to pay for my method?
Or perhaps, they didn't have the concept of Runes at all, but used the power of magic through other methods?
After thinking of this, he immediately discovered the key blind spot.
That's right! Why do I always feel like others have runes too?!
Previously, he subconsciously assumed that others were in the same situation as him, attributing the decline of magic to the rarity and difficulty of observing runes, without much suspicion.
But as soon as this thought arose, and he recalled the information he knew about magic, the answer became clear.
From actual performance.
The world utilizes magic in various ways: spells, mediums, rituals, dreams, items, blood, life, and death...
There are many variations, but there is no description similar to magic manifesting with a thought.
The magic known to the world is not only cumbersome and difficult to understand, but also lacks precise effects and definite success rates. Luck and chance play a large role, which completely contradicts the effects of runes.
In terms of difficulty.
Although Joffrey only saw the distorted pattern projected by the rune, this is a unique talent in the world.
Even so, he had to meditate deeply on the pattern in his dream and completely consume dozens of runes to successfully take the first step. People who cannot see the pattern cannot learn it at all.
Overall, his runes are probably truly unique.
The magic used by others might just be an empirical application of runes or secondary forces, without truly understanding the concept of runes or magic closer to the essence, which is why it is both complex and difficult to control.
Could it be that in this world, there are certain actions, sounds, and phenomena that can draw upon the power of runes?
He would only get the answer after contacting other wizards.
"Your Highness, the Glass Candle."
Hannah carefully held it and presented it to the Crown Prince. This treasure looked fragile, and she didn't want to break it.
Joffrey took it and examined it carefully.
This was a magic item explicitly mentioned in the plot.
Its form was a candle, crystal clear, glowing with a mysterious black light throughout, made of famous Dragon Glass. Because Dragon Glass looks like some kind of glass, it is called a "Glass Candle."
Dragon Glass is also known as Obsidian. The Valyrians also called it "Frozen Fire," and it can itself cause damage to the Others who use ice magic.
When he was in King's Landing, he specifically looked for ordinary Dragon Glass and found that it, like gemstones and crystals, could automatically absorb and store Source Energy. Is Source Energy harmful to the Others?
In any case, Dragon Glass could be used by the Valyrians to make Glass Candles.
The wizards of the Ancient Valyrian Freehold used these candles to make their sight travel across mountains, seas, and deserts. Sitting in front of such candles, they could enter the dreams of others to display illusions or communicate with each other across half the world.
Just these known functions captured Joffrey's modern soul.
Look at these magnificent functions: Magic Satellite, Dream World, Remote Communication. These are clearly the basic building blocks of a Magic Network!
Could the Lord of the Weave be me?!
Thinking of such a bright future, the anticipation in his heart almost erupted.
After dismissing the servants, he immediately concentrated on communicating with the Recovery Rune in his consciousness, while trying to meditate on the pattern on the Glass Candle.
Can the Rune Energy of different runes be used universally?
He vaguely knew the answer.
The Rune Energy hidden in the Recovery Rune could definitely construct new runes.
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