Abaddon Summer

Chapter Nine

AN: When it comes to magic there's a bit of a suspension of belief. Boys are taught, normally from birth, how magic works. It's drilled into them just like natural laws. Rain falls, sun rises in the east and sets in the west. The boys don't question this because it's simply how the world works.

There have been mages like Naena in the past but their circumstances have been different. Namely, not protected by Lord Pan in an attempt to keep his beloved shield and dear friend alive. 

A big difference between mages and wiccans is that mages are taught they can do whatever they want, as long as they pay the price. Wiccans are taught not to interfere with the natural processes of the world. They practice herbal and sometimes downright scientific remedies in favour of magic. 

One more chapter to go...

"Ah, Naena, sit," Lord Pan said.

She sat.

"This about the dragon?" she asked.

"Yes," he said. "No doubt Graydon spoke some. The important parts are: it was a daggerback, you performed successfully, and that was not a pirouette. All of the records say he—that's beside the point. Theon is your temporary guardian. Everywhere I turn, people are refusing my favours because they've already thrown their support behind keeping you with him. That could change, but I want you aware, we are fighting for that."

"Okay," she said.

"Are you practicing your public language?"

"Yes, sir," she said.

"Any questions?"

"What's magic?" she asked.

She didn't expect an answer, but she hoped for one. Graydon had tried to explain but only seemed to confuse himself.

Lord Pan stared at her for a long moment.

"What did he say?" he asked, almost sounding amused.

"The clearest description was a demon that I have to train."

"An odd way of describing it, but somewhat accurate," he said. "Your magic is like an invisible deaf friend that only you—or Maeno—can speak to. Let's leave spell mages out of the conversation for the moment. That leaves your magic as an invisible friend that only you can teach to enact change in the world. It's deaf, though, so you can't tell it what to do, and it's not inside your head. It's physical, like an invisible friend. So, you need to communicate with it. How?"

She frowned at him.

"I don't know," she said.

"Sign language," he said with several motions that caught her eye. "More simply, mages have used dance for this. The easiest way to teach your magic is with the written word because if you make a mistake, you can undo it. It allows you to edit your own work and unpick things made by others—if you know how it's put together. At the end of the day, however, it all boils down to symbols. You teach your invisible friend how to interact with the world using symbols. Do it often enough, and your magic will perform the act without the spell because your body language tells it which spell to use. Hence, perhaps, the invisible demon. I hope."

"Then why is everyone—"

"Your invisible friend scares them."

"Can our invisible friends beat up—"

"Other people without your say-so?" he asked. "Or beat up the invisible friends of others without your commanding it to, let alone teaching it to? Yes. That's when we get things like Mikent not birthing mages since Theon's... since Theon. But with mages, that is extremely rare. Others are likely afraid you will do this because that's what natural magic does. The issue is that if they are afraid of you, their invisible friend is as well. That means it can act without direction but might backfire when they attack you because it fears for the mage's life because the mage fears for his life."