An introduction to domains

Dahlia looked over her two little plants like they were soldiers standing at attention before a sergeant.

"Alright you little beansprouts, time to use all that chlorophyll and think a bit! Question one, what's a domain? Question two, what's the point and why is it useful? And question three, what are its limitations?"

Silence.

'Damn, for some reason a part of me really wanted a reaction out of them. I think I might be a little more insane than I first realised… I'm sure it's fine."

"Alright, well seeing as you two are happy to stay quiet, then let me answer those questions for you! Question one is the easiest. A domain is where a caster lets their mana infuse the area around them and make it closer and more compatible with their aspect. If you think back to what Bessie did, her domain created a crushing gravity and coral and barnacles started to coat everything."

She thought back to that moment during the maid's fight. So much had been happening that the domain was only an afterthought most of the time, but it truly was impressive. The gravity alone was terrifying and would be enough to defeat a regular mortal in an instant, but even against other casters it was a notable ability.

Add on that the coral and barnacles created sharp, jagged, and uneven terrain as well as growing on the enemy and making movement awkward and suddenly you have quite a scary effect. Thinking about it though, Dahlia smiled. Unlike named spells which could get a bit difficult to explain, domains were remarkably intuitive.

"So… for question number two, 'what's the point?', that one is pretty easy to answer as well. Domains serve three main purposes, the first is that they are totally passive. Thought doesn't go into making a domain, it just happens. This allows you to use abilities passively while focussing on other things.

The next benefit is pretty obvious as well. It creates a constant area of effect. Unlike most spells that are instantaneous or have limited range or scope, domains are some of the largest spanning spells other than specialised named spells, but unlike those examples they remain fairly passive and don't drain mana too fast. Adding on that it's constant just makes it better.

Again, just think how much those small constant effects helped Bessie. Constant increased gravity, constant small cuts and tripping hazards, and constant restraints growing on the enemy's body. All of them happening without her needing to think about it ends up having a huge effect over the course of the battle and can easily weaken an otherwise superior opponent in order to even the playing field."

Yeah, this felt much better to talk about. Not only was it easier, but she was also able to get excited for the topic a bit better as well. While she loved named spells, the fact that she couldn't start them immediately left her feeling a little despondent. With domains she'd likely be starting within the next day. What she might produce likely won't be incredible, but a start is more progress than she's done so far.

Thinking about how a domain will behave with her inexperience reminded her that there was still a point and a question remaining for the green babies on the desk. Luckily, those last parts could be combined into one.

"So the third benefit is also tied into the third question I asked. When I'm talking about the limitations of domains, that comes in two parts. The first part and the one everyone likes to talk about is also the third benefit of domains. If refined well enough, a domain can enhance magic of the user cast within it, or even combine with that magic to augment it in ways that would otherwise be difficult. This can be relatively difficult to do fluidly in practice though.

A traditional example is a shadow conjurer creating a domain of darkness. Then, all of their shadow summons can be summoned easily from anywhere within the domain as opposed to what otherwise might be restricted to their own shadow. In even more extreme cases, the domain would enhance and strengthen the summons, making them multiplicatively stronger."

In all honesty, that was just the tip of the iceberg. Bessie's domain was still quite underdeveloped so she didn't get much of a benefit in this way but if Dahlia had viewed Valentina's domain, she would have seen a fantastic example.

While the vampiress' domain still was imperfect and had plenty of room to grow, plenty of benefits from it could already be seen. The death attribute of blood constantly absorbs life force of anyone within the red haze, and the life attribute slowly heals allies and helps maintain stamina. Meanwhile, the blood mist reduces sight while letting Valentina feel those within the mist like a spider and her web.

Finally, similar to the named spell she used but to a lesser degree, any injuries that occurred in the mist would mix with her blood and introduce hexes to the wounded enemy. It was a genuinely terrifying domain to find oneself in and the sheer fact that there was room to grow should let you know just how frightening domains could get.

"Now, that's the upper limit of domains, 'but wait' I hear you ask. 'What about the lower limitations?' Well, wonderful question and it makes me proud to be your teacher. For someone like me with no experience, the lower limitation could be inconsequential. When first training their domains, often it is so small that it might affect a foot radius around the person; maybe even less than that for the particularly unlucky."

Thankfully, Dahlia wasn't unlucky, at least not when it concerned magic. With her innate mana proficiency as well as her high efficiency mana circuits, she already knew that she was well ahead of the curve in terms of creating domains. It also helped that half of her schema was channelling, which made the passive release of mana very easy to do.

"When a caster is only starting to develop their domain, it can often either be a total failure with no noticeable effect, or it can be incredibly chaotic. While the former is more common, the latter has plenty of horror stories to accompany it. Tales of fire attributed casters immolating themselves, crystal casters encasing themselves in solid crystal, or even air casters creating vacuums and suffocating… a lot of things can go wrong."

Much to her chagrin, Dahlia knew that her initial domain testing could be dangerous. Not only would her magic aptitude enhance the effects and make things more dangerous, but it was well known that rarer and more complicated aspects often had much more intense and chaotic domains. Dahlia was pretty happy with her description so far and planned to briefly discuss what she suspected might happen with her own domain. Segwaying into the new topic, she excitedly pointed to the taller plant.

"Oh, what was that? Mr. Lilly, I'm proud of you for finally learning something but next time you have a question maybe raise a leaf or something… anyway, yes, so my domain will likely…"

She trailed off due to catching something in the corner of her eye. Lounging on her side with a lackadaisical smile adorning her lips, Bessie was now fully awake and seemed to have been enjoying the show. Noticing the girl staring at her with embarrassment written on her face, the maid simply did a little wave.

"You don't need to stop, it was quite fan to watch~"

Dahlia tried to stutter a reply, but nothing came out other than a bunch of disconnected syllables. She might have gotten used to talking to her pants, but she'd never been observed talking with them, at least not caught in the act like this. The maid couldn't help but chuckle at the girl's reactions though, she was like a startled bunny.

"It's ok, you can continue your lesson if you want. I wouldn't want to disturb your lecture anyhow. I'm sure your plants are learning plenty…"

Though she might have been genuine, Bessie couldn't help but put in a teasing tone. Seeing Dahlia get progressively more flustered as time went on had a very enjoyable property. The maid had to force herself not to push things further, and instead put forward an offer.

"I should say though, if you're worried about your first domain going wrong, I can be there to support you and keep you safe. I'm still tired, but I should have more than enough energy to help with that and maybe train your magic a little, what do you say?"

Despite still recovering from her embarrassment, Dahlia quickly nodded her head. This was an opportunity she didn't want to pass up. She had considered testing her domain earlier, but it was just far too risky. Now that Bessie was awake and ready, she was very eager to properly give it a shot!

"Alright, class dismissed! Hehe, I'm sure the plants won't mind a little delay in their lessons. Especially if it's for the sake of playing around with magic!"

Dahlia's eyes were practically sparkling in her excitement, and Bessie couldn't help but ruffle her hair a little. She's just too darn cute!

"Alright then, try to contain your excitement a little bit. I just woke up, so let me get my bearings and we can head down to the private training ground we used previously. Just brace yourself, with your potential, who knows how your first domain will behave."

Dahlia quickly set aside her plants, placing them where there wasn't any risk of them getting bumped or misplaced and then raced over to Bessie's side. The maid smiled as she imagined that if the girl had a tail it would be wagging like crazy.

"Hahaha, ok, ok, calm down. You're really looking forward to this huh? Well, let's not make you wait more than you already have to."

The maid did a big stretch to which Dahlia averted her eyes. There was something that always made the girl a little restless when she saw her maid; well, two big somethings to be more precise. While she continued to see Bessie in purely a friendly and motherly way, it didn't stop her anxious and gay self from freaking out a little, especially at times like this where she would dance about or stretch…

She shook her head and tried to return her thoughts to purity. Boobs are temporary, magic is forever. That was the not-so-convincing mantra she started repeating to herself, but despite it being a poor mantra, it still got the job done. In a moment, she had returned to being excited about her domain.

Bessie had watched the girl the whole time and her body was shaking from the laughter she was holding back.

'Does she think she's hiding her thoughts? She must be the most expressive person I've ever met! Poor thing might faint if I tease her about it though, so let's just move on.'

Deciding to take the lead, Bessie started leading Dahlia back to the outdoor training ground she used the other day with Lilli. The place wasn't frequented by most staff and it was one of the secret parts of the castle where, unless you were a gardener or had reason to know of it, it may as well have not existed. It was just a small enclosed courtyard that had been modified for training.

As they walked to their destination, Bessie started explaining not only the background of Dahlia' training ground, but also began giving pointers on how best to form a domain and how to deal with the chaos common to first timers.

"Alright My Lady, so based on the little I saw earlier on, your mana seems more than happy to flow out of your body. What you did back then when you created areas of deafness and darkness were like pseudo domains. Back then you were still consciously trying to control them and you were also trying to limit the type and amount of mana you supplied."

The maid scratched her head trying to think of a good comparison and eventually fell onto a reliable analogy: water.

"Hmmm, so if you think of each elemental attribute as a different reservoir of water, then what you did was unscrew a spout of one of your reservoirs. You made only one type of mana flow, and you only unscrewed that tap as much as you wanted. For a domain to work, you need to destroy all restraints and let all mana flow out freely. It's the difference between a pipe with controlled flow and a river."

This wasn't news to Dahlia. Although she might have only got her magic recently, her knowledge was impeccable. The issue was that she now had more context.

"Uhm… Bessie? I think my tattoos might be too good and they let my mana flow with too little resistance. Plus the amount of mana I have is abnormal. This… this isn't going to drain me of mana instantly or make me blow up or something, right?"

The maid laughed and pat her head reassuringly.

"Of course not! You'll be totally fine.. probably. Either way, I'll be with you the whole time! I know you sometimes doubt me, but don't worry. I may not have refined my casting in the way others have, but I have enough proficiency to interrupt your domain if it starts to go haywire."

Well, that wasn't the most reassuring thing she could have said, but oh well. Dahlia decided to set that behind her and just trust that her maid would be able to save her. She kept her promise as being her guard, so she should be trusted in this too.

Arriving at the hidden training courtyard, the two's conversation came to a halt Dahlia could feel her anxiety growing by the minute. Not only was this something that she was incredibly excited for, but it was also terrifying.

All the stories of how domains went horribly wrong flashed through her mind and it only left her wondering how her own magic might self-destruct. Nonetheless, the desire to create a domain was far too strong. Before she suddenly jumped headfirst into her experiment Bessie calmly spoke up, just to remind her of the process.

"Alright my lady, there are two reasons why domains can be dangerous early on. The first reason is unavoidable. The energies within you are too turbulent, potent, or similarly unruly. The other issue comes from when casters attempt to restrain and control their domain. Doing that will only cause backlash where the energy gets directed straight into your body. No matter what, even if it feels dangerous, never try to hold the mana in once it starts flowing, understand?"

The girl nodded at such a rapid pace that her brain rattled.

'Scary! Why does magic have to be so scary?!'

"Good, I'm glad we're on the same page. The destructive properties will improve over time. If you imagine the analogy from before, think of what you're about to do as breaking a dam. When it first happens, it will cause a vast amount of destruction, but over time earth will erode and a much more natural and controlled riverbed will form. Right now, we're about to rip off the bandaid and burst that dam. I'm ready when you are!"

Even with Bessie by her side, Dahlia was just too nervous. She had no intention to back out now, but she could help but feel her entire body tremble in fear from what she was about to do.

She took a few deep breaths, thought 'what could possibly go wrong?', smiled at her own grim humour, and then she just let it happen. In time with a deep exhale, mana simply rushed out of her.

There was no tap to hold the mana at bay. No filter. No barrier to restrain it. The mana surged like an unstoppable wave and then the world went dark