Harry Potter: The Planewalker

"It seems you've reached your limit," said Mimir.

"Maybe," Christian replied. Three dummies were his limit; beyond that, his reaction or brain processing could no longer keep up with how fast these things fired their spells. However, this training primarily used the spell verbally, without using the myriad effects of pronunciation. However, there was still time for some minor improvement.

"What's next?"

"It's your time to teach me the Water-Controlling Spell."

"Don't you want to rest? At this point, it's detrimental to your health to continue training."

"The training is over. I just want to learn it now to prepare for tomorrow, I mean, the next training session."

"Alright," nodded Mimir before drawing something in the air with her paw. "This is the wand movement, and the incantation is [Aguagewelde]. The spell will allow you to control all existing water, including rain, but —"

"Wait, you said [Aguagewelde]?"

Mimir stared at him, unhappy that she was cut off. "Yes, and?"

"Agua is the Spanish and Portuguese word for water. Meanwhile, [gewelde] is a variation of an Old English word [iwelde], which means to control, subdue, or rule over."

"So?" asked Mimir, looking puzzled.

"Spanish, Portuguese, and Old English did not exist in this period, and they won't exist for hundreds more years."

"Oh, that's what you're talking about," nodded Mimir. "The answer is simple: these words originated from the Arcaneum, the very first magical language — probably the very first official language period."

"Is that why most spells are in Latin, English, or those Romance languages?" Christian had a similar discussion with Professor Flitwick about how dead languages are more effective at wielding magic than others.

"Yes. Latin and Greek are the languages that have preserved most of the power of the Arcaneum language. Since the Romance Languages originated from them, they also contained great powers."

"What about the logographic languages like Mandarin or Egyptian?"

"The Arcaneum language was perfect because its symbols and the phonemes (sounds) contained great powers and abilities. Logographic languages inherit the power of Arcaneum symbols."

"Fascinating," commented Christian. As a language lover, he was very interested in a language considered the origin of all languages.

"Doesn't that mean that the ultimate source of magic involves learning and utilizing the Arcaneum language?"

"Wrong," replied Mimir. "While considered the original language of the universe, ancient mages figured out that humans were not the universe and they will never be, and such a language does not necessarily fit them. So, they created their own magical languages, many of which are more susceptible to their physiology."

"Wait, why does your tone seem to suggest that the universe is a living entity?"

Mimir smirked, "Isn't that obvious?"

"No, it's not."

"It should be."

"You're not going to elaborate more on this subject, are you?" Christian asked, looking directly in the eyes of that damn cat.

"You catch on quickly."

Christian took a moment to inhale and exhale. "Fine, I'll ask something else. Is Ancient Runes one of those languages?"

"You could say that."

"So, they can be used to cast spells," said Christian with glowing lights. For some reason, he was genuinely fascinated by the concept of Rune Magic because of how cool it looked in many of Jim's memories.

"Don't get too excited. Ancient Rune is also an abandoned magical language," said Mimir, instantly crushing his dream.

"Why?"

"The secret to using its power is wisdom, but not in the typical sense you would think—it's wisdom gained through suffering."

"What does that even mean?"

"You only need to understand that the threshold and requirement to use Runic Magic were so harsh that they were quickly eliminated despite how good a magical language it was," explained Mimir.

"What kind of requirements?"

"Why do you care? Your world doesn't have enough [Mystery] to support Hymn Magic, let alone something as potent as Runes."

"Oh, come on, don't stop now," Christian said swiftly.

"As I said, it's pointless to tell you."

"Don't be like this. Aren't we friends?"

"I just met you," declared Mimir earnestly.

"You've just broken my heart. I thought we had a deep bond."

The cat looked at him. "In all my long years, I've never met someone as shameless as you."

"I'll take that as a compliment. Now, can you tell me?"

"No," replied the mighty cat. "Later in your life, you might be qualified for this magic, but not now. However, if you are interested, you may research its application in Enchantments."

"Enchantments? As bewitching objects and creating magical tools?"

"Yes. Runic magic is difficult to use for spell-casting, but is an excellent language for bewitching or enchanting items. It ranks above Mandarin, Sanskrit, and Hieroglyphs."

"Is that so? I'll take your suggestions into account," Christian nodded. As long as he had a direction, he was confident he would succeed after some research — especially since he did not care how long it took.

"By the way, why are you suddenly so chatty when you refused to say much previously?"

"There are things we can and cannot say, and your topic is one of the things I can say as much as I want," explained Mimir. "Anyway, let's get back to the topic at hand." Christian did not mind that she wanted to change the conversation, so he listened attentively.

"The water-controlling spell is to control already existing water. You can mold into what you imagine or visualize, but you need existing water or conjure some."

"Question: Can I turn the water into ice?"

"Yes, but you would need extreme skills, and your current skill is far from that level."

"I see." Christian listened to Mimir's brief descriptions of the spells before using Aguamenti to conjure a small pool and tried it. After succeeding in casting this Water-Controlling Charm, he left the bag of holding to return to his hotel room. He did not immediately sleep despite his fatigue, but meditated for an hour like usual.

'That's why he has such a high focus,' thought Mimir. She soon noticed Christian was pretending to sleep and shook his head. 'And you dare claim we were friends,' she thought before disappearing with a smirk. 

Mimir Apparated at Vincent's office, and she immediately noticed his complexion was paler than usual. "What happened? Did that thing break its seal?"

"No, but we might have said too much," replied the Curator, showing her the golden chains on his wrist.

"[The Covenant]," said Mimir with squinting eyes before shaking her head in disappointment. "The Mystic Weavers in Reality 7 is such a disappointment." Without these bastards' incompetence, the others would not have to sign a treaty like the [Covenant] with the Veilbreakers to give Reality 7 the last surviving chance. Even then, they still failed miserably.

Vincent sighed, "Let's stay away from the kid for a while."

"It's a shame."

"Starting to like him?"

"You were right about him — he's special."

"See what I told you?"

"I still don't want you to get your hopes too high," countered Mimir.

"I won't. I just don't want to give up completely."

Mimir nodded. "Guess what I saw in this kid's bag of holding?"

"What?"

"Knowledge Manifestation Monuments."

"Really? It's probably Merlin's work," Vincent nodded. "You said pieces? Which one?"

"Divination, Brain/Mind, Space, Time, and Death."

"Interesting choices," Vincent muttered before sighing deeply. "He must have gone to extreme lengths to prevent the Veilbreakers from getting their hands on them."

"Probably."

…

After waking up from a 12-hour slumber, Christian immediately continued training, eating, and attending to his hygiene. He expected Mimir to show up at some point, but she never did, which made him think that his little ploy had been discovered, resulting in him offending the talking cat.

Christian chose to focus on the task at hand instead of worrying about it. Today's goal was to master the nonverbal Acceleration Charm. He focused on and pronounced the incantation in his mind; his attempt succeeded, but Christian looked puzzled.

'Mum told me there are two scenarios in which nonverbal magic requires only thinking about the incantation: people with Aphantasia who cannot visualize things, or people with unique wand woods—such as pine, willow, and alder—where the wands help their owner. I'm guessing the elder wand followed this category, but why wasn't my wand capable of such a feat? It's also made of elder wood.'

The best answer he could give was something made the elder wand unique, and that's why it had this ability, but his did not.

'Let's see if I can think of a mental image for this spell,' thought Christian. It did not take him long to think of something:

'How about a pair of boots with wings, similar to how Hermes is portrayed in many works of fiction,' he thought before trying it. His body moved instantly to the right.

'It worked?' He did not expect it to succeed on the first attempt. 'It seems easy to figure out the correct mental image. Could it be?' Christian immediately tried a spell he had never succeeded in casting nonverbally: Incendio.

'My intuition is telling me to use the torch of the Statue of Liberty I saw when I visited New York.' After picturing the flaming torch, a fiery wave emanated from the tip of Christian's wand.

'I was right. My level of focus enabled me to disregard the limitations of my Cognitive Aequilibrium. Mental images for spells come naturally to me,' concluded Christian, who also realized his spell potency had increased — especially his Disillusionment Charm, which now completely turned him invisible.

So, he decided to continue his test. Mental Images were not static, just like different pronunciations had varied effects, mental images needed to fit the wizard's desired effects.

'Let's try a mental image for moving up,' thought Christian. He imagined his Hermes boots upside down; his body immediately shot up into the sky. He then visualized one boot upside down, the other standing properly, and his body flew in the air before dropping down. Christian did not have a mental image of the Slowing Charm and had to cast it verbally.

"Mum was right. Once I can cast nonverbal magic, the different pronunciations will become easier to use in battles.' He tried a few more times and was astounded by the result.

'This is fun.' For the next hour or two, he found the proper mental images for all the different pronunciations he had tested the previous day. Then, he trained to use them in battles. Christian discovered it was faster to use mental pictures than to recite the incantation in his mind or even out loud, and he reached the skill level of four dummies.

After the training, he had the urge to create mental images for all the spells he knew, but gave up on the idea, knowing how much time and effort would be needed for such a project. Instead, he focused on training the Water-Controlling Charm and preparing for the third test.