The classroom appears to be empty as the first students start to trickle in. It's cozily smallish, although still about twice as big as strictly necessary for this class size.
The teacher's desk, a sturdy wooden edifice looming at the head of the room, is utterly bare save for a large red apple gleaming at its center.
"Not all worlds have the legend; I wouldn't worry about it. In any case, would anyone else like to try the apple before I declare the class in session?"
"Reasonable!"
She smiles and steps out from behind the desk to lean on the side as she surveys the class.
"So. You're here to learn magic. Best to get the basics down first. Who wants to tell me their personal definition of what magic is?"
"A means of manipulating the universe which violates the laws of physics in some way that cannot be incorporated into a unified theory."
"...you're literally telepathic. And you said your universe doesn't have magic."
"...where I'm from, magic is a pretty specific thing, but it makes sense to talk about other kinds of magic, I'm just not sure I have... well, a unified theory of what that would look like."
"Also, what do you do in a universe where the laws of physics and the laws of magic are consistent and unified?" wonders Ysandre. "I can definitely think of things I'd call magic even if the world they lived in didn't have any other laws for them to be violating."
"Yeah, I feel like there's something funky about that definition," says Pel. "Not sure I can put a spike through it, but something."
"In my world, magic is the expression of the Soul into reality," Hornet volunteers. "But I don't think that generalizes."
"...the ability to affect the world in ways which do not follow physically from your actions?" Tessa tries. "Like - a computer isn't magic even though it looks like it to a preindustrial farmer because ultimately you're pressing a button that sends an electrical signal. But if you - throw a fireball - there's no way you're powering that off your caloric intake - but what if it's just that you're producing a natural signal that interacts with some magical field around you, that still feels like magic - hmm."
"Are we even all speaking the same language right now? 'What is magic' seems like a question of terminology more than theory."
"...oh. You're making a point. Because I just remembered that this school also teaches chi manipulation, and there's absolutely no Goddamn way we're coming up with a unified field theory of magic that excludes that."
"You'd be surprised! I've had a few classes manage serviceable definitions. But yes: ultimately, any categorization of phenomena into 'magic' and 'not magic' is arbitrary, because the multiverse is a very big place and there is always a world you've never heard of where things work in a way you didn't expect. For the purposes of this class, here and now, the definition of magic is: a power enacted by the mind—that is, if you don't have a conscious experience, you can't do it—but not entangled with the body—that is, it is not accomplished by muscle movements or mediated by organ function, and its functions are not constrained or empowered by the state of your physical being except in the most general sense where by and large people need to be conscious in order to take actions. You may feel free to quibble with my wording, and if you come up with particularly entertaining or enlightening quibbles I might even count them toward an eventual extra credit score."
Ysandre is now definitely racking her brains for things in that definition to quibble with.
"I'm intrigued by the specificity of 'not empowered by the state of your physical being' - it seems like that would preclude, hmm, some form of magical T'Ai Chi? - oh. Because that would be chi manipulation. Is that the practical difference?"
"Yes, precisely. Different worlds may have different systems in either category but, by our classification for educational purposes, chi systems are embodied and magic systems are not."
"I'm not actually sure where my soul manipulation falls on that spectrum," Hornet muses. "I was taught it in conjunction with my martial studies, and it wouldn't be nearly as effective if I weren't a capable warrior as well, but I know the general principle can be practiced in a purer form."
"Then you may very well find that both classes benefit you. Or perhaps you'll benefit more from chi classes, and someone else who practiced differently might benefit more from mine."
"So - not to rush, but how is this going to work? Some of us have native magic to work with, some don't - the ones who do all have different systems - what's the lesson plan?"
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