Magic Crests (魔術刻印, Majutsu Kokuin?) are the most important treasure of a lineage of magi.
Overview
Engraved on the body in a variety of shapes, most typically in a magic circle, a Magic Crest is a series of Magic Circuits that were given a more stable form in order to act as an archive of thaumaturgical capability. At some point of the magus’ life, he will forge some of his own Magic Circuits into the Crest, store many, if not all, spells that he learned in life and then pass it down to his successor. As the process repeats itself with each new generation, the older a lineage is, the greater the number of Circuits forming the Crest, and the greater the amount of knowledge stored inside it. It is the duty of any heir of a family of magi to successfully expand and pass down the Crest to the next generation.[1]
As the complexity of the Crest increases with each new generation, the spells stored inside them become more stable and easier to activate. As long as the Crest is completely integrated with the magus' body, he will be able to cast any spell recorded in the crest, even if he himself never had the chance to learn it properly. All he has to do is to activate the Crest just like he would do to a normal Circuit (by running prana inside of it), find the spell stored inside and activate it with its relevant incantation and thaumaturgical process. Furthermore, it is possible to use it to support the magus' regular spellcasting and, whenever the magus gets heavily injured, the Crest is capable of keeping him alive for as long as there is still prana inside his body. Location of the Crest varies: Rin Tohsaka has hers on her left arm, while Kiritsugu Emiya had his on his back.
Although the Crest is a set of Magic Circuits independent from those natural to a magus’ body, and cannot be detected when no prana is being passed through them, transplantation of a Magic Crest is still very much like that of an internal organ and thus can only be done to a compatible host. Normally that would mean someone who shares blood relation with the magus, but that is not an unbreakable standard. Even between close relatives, the chances of rejection are high. Therefore, in order to increase the chances of success, the transplant is done slowly throughout the heir’s childhood, so that their bodies can get accustomed to the presence of the Crest as they mature. Furthermore, the use of medicines made of special herbs and crushed bone is normal during the whole process, although bloodlines with a long history of 500 years or more have achieved a genetic uniformity that allowed them to overcome the need for that altogether.
Despite all the troubles, the Magic Crest is still a highly valued article for any magus. But since usually only one person can inherit it, troubles can arise when there is more than one candidate. It’s not unheard of for bloody feuds to erupt within a clan of magi because of a dispute between two or more children fighting over the family’s Crest. It was because of that and other reasons that the current trend of only one heir per family (and the consequential policy of forsaking or excluding all other children) came to be.
In a sense, Runes and magic jewels can be considered simplified forms of Magic Crests. The Mages Association also has technology for extracting just the magic crest from the body and storing it.
Crest Worms
Crest Worms (刻印虫, Kokuinchuu?) are a unique kind of Magic Crest of the Matou family made out from Zouken Matou's personal Familiars, prana eating worms that can channel energy even when their host is no longer alive. So far the only known example of a Crest that can be passed down to someone outside of the bloodline, forcibly confers to one’s body the capacity to use Magecraft.
Crest Worms are not only capable of expanding one’s natural Magic Circuits, but also capable acting as artificial Circuits after a certain incubation period is complete. Since they usually remain in a dormant state, the worms don’t have that much direct influence over someone. However, once awakened by the activation of Circuits they will try to force the body to continuously produce prana in order to sustain themselves. Through the use of these and an intensive training, it is possible for someone with no prior experience in Magecraft to become a magus eligible to participate in the Heaven's Feel in roughly a year, as was the case with Kariya Matou. However, doing so not only will greatly shorten his remaining lifespan but also the process is in itself incredibly painful.
The worms implanted in Sakura Matou are unique since they have the fragments of the Holy Grail summoned in the 4th Grail War as component materials. After an incubation period of almost 11 years, the worms have spread themselves through the girl’s entire body.
References
- ↑
[] Fate/complete material III: World Material - Theory of Magic - Magecraft: Magus, p.041 Magus
The everyday life of a magus is mostly spent conducting research. Magi who use magic outside of a research capacity, such as those who use magecraft to work and profit for themselves, are few in number. People who treat magecraft as a tool, such as assassins, are called “spellcasters,” and are looked down upon with disdain by the magical establishment.
Furthermore, it is precisely because they are magi that few magi use magecraft in their daily lives. The cost of using magecraft for mundane tasks is indeed high, but above all, this is avoided for the purpose of concealing mysteries. The Magic Association is extremely wary of allowing knowledge of magecraft to reach the outside world, so magi who are overly conspicuous in the use of magecraft are purged.
Magical families are essentially unilineal, in which one child inherits the parents’ assets and teachings in order to carry on the magecraft and research. These types of families are called magus lineages. Children other than the chosen heir may not even be told that their parents are magi. However, magic circuits are not wholly hereditary, and magi do not always produce children. In these cases, a child possessing magic circuits is adopted into the family. A major reason for the unilinealism of magecraft is that magic crests cannot be duplicated. The sole heir inherits all of the family’s magecraft.
•Magic circuit
Magic circuits are the pseudo nerves that a magus has inside himself. These are paths that generate magic energy and access the magic foundation engraved in the world. Magi make magic energy with the magic circuits and use the magic energy to run the magic foundation and thus put magery into effect. To do either of these, the magic circuits are necessary.
As suggested by the description pseudo nerves, these are split into cores and lines joining these together and are spread throughout the body.
The number of magic circuits are fixed at birth and the number won't increase by other than external factors.
•Magic crest
The product of stamping the anchored mystery that a magus had spent his entire life building up. Can be said to be mystical inheritance that defines the magus line as a magus line. While the inheritor is young, it is necessary to implant this little at a time while at the same time having the body adjust to the magic crest by medicine and rituals. The magic association also has technology for extracting just the magic crest from the body and storing it.
•Magus alignment
What determines what kind of attributes a magus' magic is going to be likely to have, or what kind of magic the magus is going to have good chemistry with, is going to be the element aligned with the magus.
In addition to the five great elements of earth, water, fire, wind, and sky, there's the imaginary elements of Hollow and Nothing, for a number of seven.
Some of the five elements will differ according to the school of magic. A famous one is a style in which the five great elements are formed from wood, fire, soil, metal,and water.
Basically, one magus has one alignment, but sometimes there are magi with two alignments (like fire and earth, wind and water) and there are also those called "Average Ones" who have all the five great elements.
Matou Sakura normally would have been a holder of the imaginary element of Emptiness. However, through her magic training, hers had been changed to the water alignment of the Matou line, so she couldn't exhibit her true talent.
Normal alignments
Elements
Explanation
Five great elements Earth One of the two alignments of Kiritsugu. Kiritsugu exhibited his attribute of combining and used magic which combined the wounds of an enemy in a different form than normal, and made them unhealable.
Five great elements Water The alignment that the Matou magi have had for generations. Matou exhibit the attribute of absorption and have passed it on. Sakura's alignment changed from Emptiness to water.
Five great elements Fire The alignment of Tokiomi and also one of the two alignments of Kiritsugu. It is the symbol of life and death and has good chemistry with destructive magic.
Five great elements Wind One of the two alignments of Kayneth Elmelloi Archibold. There are few magi with wind as an alignment
Five great elements Sky An element which makes up celestial bodies that is newly added as a fifth element to the four great elements of earth, water, fire, and wind. This is, in other words, Ether.
Imaginary Elements Hollow The alignment that Sakura was born with. Defined, in magery, as that "which is possible but is not in the physical plane". Also called imaginary numbers.
Imaginary Elements Nothingness Like Hollow, the alignment of an imaginary element. In magery, defined as that "which is not possible, but materializes". Has a different meaning that the "nothing" of physics and math.
•The absoluteness called Origin
If alignment determines the root of one's magic, then even deeper than that, is the origin which determined the root of one's existence. The origin is not only for magi, but is the orientation that all things are born with and it's existence itself is thought absolutely necessary.
Those magi with an origin that is strongly expressed outwardly are sometimes removed from the normal alignments and there are times that the origin itself becomes the alignment. Most of those magi exhibit their talents as extreme specialists.
Because of that, it's said that they can reach higher grounds than normal magi.
Shirou Emiya's origin is "Sword" and his alignment as a Magus is also "Sword". He is unable to use magic of the five great elements with precision because he doesn't have any of them as an alignment, but it does allow for the manifestation of "Unlimited Blade Works."
•Noble Colors
Of the alignments, wind is called "noble" and fire is "normal". By the way, the term "Noble Colors" is used to refer to special and innate things where he workings of the magic circuit are close to the movements of a celestial body (normally they're closer to the movements of the crust), and is innate and special.
Noble Colors are often used to refer to mystic eyes, and Rider's petrifying mystic eyes are also a noble color.魔術師
魔術師たちの日常は、 その大半が“研究”で 占められている。 研究以外で魔術を使う者は少 数派であり、 例えば魔術を使用して労働を行い、 その対価として賃金を得ている魔術師は少ない。 研究対象ではなく、 ツールとして魔術を使う者 (例えば魔術を使う暗殺者) は "魔術使い " と呼 ばれ、魔術師からは軽蔑の視線を向けられる。
また、魔術師だからといって日常生活で魔術 を使う者は少ない。 日常の用を足す手段に魔術 はコストが高いということもあるが、 何より、 神秘の秘匿"のためである。 魔術協会は魔術 が世間に知られることを極端に戒めており、 目 立つ魔術の使い方をすると、 粛清される。
魔術師は、基本的に親から子へと一子相伝で 自分たちの魔術と研究を受け継いでいく。 この ような家を "魔術師の家系”と呼ぶ。 後継者以 外の子には親が魔術師であることすらも教えな い。 ただし、魔術回路は１００%遺伝する訳では なく、魔術師が子をなせないということもあり得 る。その場合、魔術回路を持つ子供を養子にし て家を存続させるのだ。 魔術が一子相伝である 理由は、魔術刻印が複製できないことが大きな 原因である。 選ばれた後継者ひとりだけが、そ の家のすべての魔術を受け継ぐことになる。
•魔術回路
魔術回路とは、魔術師が体内に持つ擬似神経 のことである。 主な機能はふたつ。 魔力の生成と、 世界に刻まれた魔術基盤にアクセスする路だ。 魔術師は魔術回路で魔力を作り、 魔力を使って 魔術基盤を動かすことで、魔術を行使する。 その どちらにも魔術回路は必要になる。
擬似神経といわれる通り、核とそれをつなぐ ラインに分かれて体内に張り巡らされている。 魔術回路は生まれながらに本数が決まってお り、外的な要因以外で増えることはない。
衛宮士郎が思い描く魔術回路のイメージ。 魔術回路 はオンオフを切り換えることができ、 オンにするためのス イッチは、魔術師によって異なる。
•魔術刻印
魔術師が生涯をかけて鍛え上げ固定化した 神秘を刻印化したもの。 魔術師の家系を魔術 師の家系たらしめている、 魔術的な遺産とも いえる。 後継者が幼いうちから少しずつ時間を かけて移植していき、 同時に薬品や儀式で魔 術刻印に身体を徐々に慣らしていく必要がある。 魔術協会には肉体から魔術刻印だけを抜き 出して保存する技術も存在している。
•魔術師の属性
魔術師が使用する魔術がどのような特性を持 ちやすいか、魔術師がどのような魔術と相性が よいかを決定する 魔術師本人に属する要素。 地、水、火、 風 空の五大元素に、 架空元 素の虚と無を加えた7種がある。 五大元素は魔術 の流派によって一部種類が異なる。 有名なもの は、木、火、土、金、水で五大元素と成す流派。 基本的に魔術師はひとりがひとつの属性を持 つが、なかには二重属性と呼ばれるふたつの属性 (例えば火と土、水と風など) を持つ魔術師や、 五大元素属性すべてを併せ持つ"アベレージ・ワ ン"と呼ばれる魔術師も存在する。
間桐桜は本来、 架空元素・虚の属性だった。しかし魔術 の訓練を通じて、 間桐家が属する水の属性に変えられてい たため、本来の才能を発揮できなかった。
一般的な属性
Normal alignments
Elements
Explanation
五大元素 地 衛宮切嗣の二重属性のひとつ。 切嗣は結合地の特性を発揮させ、敵の傷を本来とは違う形に結合し、治癒不可能にする魔術を用いた。
五大元素 水 間桐家の魔術師が代々持つ属性。 間桐は 水 吸収の特性を発揮させ、伝えている。桜は元々 の虚から水へと属性を変えられた。
五大元素 火 遠坂時臣の属性であり、 衛宮切嗣の二重 火属性のひとつでもある。生命や死の象徴とさ れ、 破壊的な魔術との相性がよい。
五大元素 風 ケイネス・エルメロイ・アーチボルトの二重 属性のひとつでもある。 風を属性とする魔術 師は人数が少なく、 希少な存在である。
五大元素 空 地、水、火、 風の四大元素に、 天体を構 成する第5の元素として新たに加わった元素。 つまりはエーテルのことである。
架空元素 虚 間桐桜が生まれつき持っていた属性 魔術 においてはあり得るが、 物質界にないもの" と定義される。 虚数と呼ばれることもある。
架空元素 無 虚と同じく架空元素の属性。 魔術において はあり得ないが、 物質化するもの”と定義さ れる。物理学や数学の"無 "とは意味が異なる。
•起源という絶対
属性が魔術の根本を規定する要素であれば、 それよりさらに深い、 存在の根本を規定する ものが起源だ。 起源は魔術師だけでなく、 あらゆる存在が持つ生まれ持った方向性であ り、存在そのものが不可分と考えられている。 "起源”が強く表に出ている魔術師は、時に 通常の属性から外れ、 起源そのものが属性と なっている場合がある。 そのような魔術師の多 くが、突出した専門家としての才能を発揮する。 それゆえに、一般的な魔術師よりも、より高 い境地へと達することができるとされている。
衛宮士郎の起源は " 剣 " であり、 魔術師としての属 性も"剣"になる。 属性として五大元素を持たないため、 五大元素を使用する魔術が苦手。 その代わり、固有結 界”無限の剣製"を発現できる。
•ノウブルとノーマル
属性のうち、 風は"ノウブル"、 火はノーマル"と 呼ばれる。 ちなみに"ノウブルカラー"といった場 合、その魔術回路の働きが天体運営に近く(通常 は地殻流動に近い)、 先天的で特殊なものである ことを示す言葉になる。 ノウブルカラーは主に魔 眼を指して使われることが多く、ライダーの石化の 魔眼もノウブルカラーである。
