Luca didn't leave the Veil immediately after he finished reading the book. Instead, he took some time to reflect on the knowledge he'd gained from the slightly lengthy read.
He was an Initiate who had a Foundational Glyph in his soul, but he was still very much an ordinary person. He had no spells at his disposal nor any magical tools to speak of, for obvious reasons.
This meant that he would be vulnerable. Although Crowley had known to include a spell for hiding his aura as a mage, Luca knew that wouldn't be enough if he wanted to make meaningful progress on the path of magic.
So he went back to the book again, this time focusing on the schools of magic listed there.
"Astromancy and Divination, Elemental, Summoning, Alchemy, and the School of Sealing."
He traced a finger across the thick ink flowing in beautiful lines.
The first school of magic, Astromancy and Divination, had some resemblance to Astrology, which was rather popular among the nobles and highborn folk from the little tidbits of information he'd heard while snooping around. However, it was completely different.
Astromancy drew upon the power of the stars themselves to perform magic. Just as the Glyphs resembled stars in the Veil, there were actual stars that could be used. Aside from telling basic fortunes, which could also be done with Astrology, there were other things.
Luca's mind flitted back to the words on the last pages: Child born under the star of Mercury. Mercury was one of the seven principal planets, as Crowley called them.
Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn, Jupiter, Moon, and Sun.
Every living being's birth and life coincided with the position of these stars. This was a fact the Church apparently did not want to admit.
His brow furrowed slightly. There wasn't an awful lot written about this school of magic, but Luca had a feeling that it was more important than Crowley was letting on. Not to mention the fact that he was rather interested in it. The large book spoke of these "planets" like they were living things, and the details were vague.
Nevertheless, he promptly moved on to the next school: the Elemental School of Magic.
The world was composed of four fundamental Elements: Fire, Water, Earth, and Air. These four elements formed the balance of the world, and mages could use energy harnessed from the Veil to control these forces. There were other elements, but the book only mentioned them in passing.
Elemental spells sounded destructive, which made them prime for combat. They were also rather basic for beginners to learn, due to how thoroughly they'd been explored.
The next school of magic was one that gave him slight pause, just as it had when he first came across the book.
"Summoning. The art of consorting with demons."
Summoning was often considered the most dangerous, and the most powerful, school. Demons were real, and they were tricky. Summoning a demon required the use of a Sigil, which is a type of Glyph used to identify different demons. You could hope to trap and enslave a demon using spells or items. Alternatively, you could draft a contract of equals where both parties exchanged something of equal value.
Luca would be lying if he said he wasn't tempted. Demon Summoning was one of the easiest ways to gain power quickly, but it was also the most dangerous. Demons often demanded outrageous prices from unprepared summoners.
So, after a short consideration, he decided to stay far away from summoning demons until he was sure he could protect himself.
Next was Alchemy, which almost anyone would have heard of unless they lived under a rock. Alchemy was one of the most famous heresies of the mages, alongside communicating with demonic spirits.
It was considered trying to peer into the domain of the Sun Father and assume His position as the Almighty Transfigurator.
Even now, every once in a while, some quack claimed to be able to turn iron into silver or copper into gold. Hanged and quartered was how most of them ended up.
In any case, he saw no practical use for this at the moment, so it wasn't at the top of his priorities. The last school, Sealing, was of the same nature. He had no need to seal anything yet, and it wouldn't help him protect himself, so he had no use for it.
That was all for deciding his priority list, with Elemental at the very top, Astromancy and Divination next, Summoning with great caution, of course, Alchemy, and finally Sealing to bottom out the list.
Afterward, he flipped to the next section of the book, an overview of ten spells and rituals prepared by Crowley for him. There were only three he could use as an Initiate. Two were spells, and the third was a ritual.
Salamander's Breath — 0 Degree Elemental Spell — 1-star
Casting Catalysts: Powdered salamander bone, red ochre dust, rust scrapings from iron tools
Scry — 0 Degree Divination Spell — 9-stars
Casting Catalysts: Rainwater or a mirror made of an obsidian shard or a dowsing rod, dried yarrow leaves
Binding Pact — 0 Degree Sealing Ritual — 5-stars
Casting Catalysts: Animal hide parchment, dead ivy, chalk made of holy sun-water, the caster's blood
The Degree of a spell referred to the level of the mage who could use it. The star rank referred to the spell's potential and the extent to which a mage could use it.
Salamander's Breath would still be effective even at the 1st Degree. Scry would stay useful for as long as the mage climbed their path. As for the Binding Pact ritual, it would only be effective up until the Fifth Degree.
Luca had a vague idea of what these spells did from the glyphs written in the book, but he had no idea how they'd actually look.
His eyes rapidly scanned the tens of glyphs, mysterious symbols, and material lists.
However, he could finally feel a headache coming on, and a question echoed through his head.
"Where in the Sun's name am I going to get these strange materials?"