Crystal Magic Adventure: A Tale of Discovery

Chapter 13: Faith and Magic

That was it. This was the opportunity Lila had been waiting for. She was going to become a mage. No, a wizard! All she needed to do was to burn this piece of string with the power of her imagination. Simple enough... or maybe not. It had been more than two hours since Crystal started teaching her the ways of the arcane but so far, all she managed to do was pop a vein on her forehead. They gave up on seeing any sparks and now they were just hoping to make it warmer. Crystal made it sound incredibly easy. Just use your imagination. But the more she tried to imagine what she needed to do, the more she got distracted.

"Focus. Imagine that the piece of string in your hand is a rock in a field. Imagine that your hand is the afternoon sun, Your fingers are rays of light hitting that rock and heating it." Crystal instructed a frustrated Lila.

"Gah! This is impossible Crystal. I keep imagining the rock but nothing happens! I keep imagining the sun like you're telling me to, but nothing happens again! Maybe I'm just not cut out for this..."

"I am never wrong, lass. Especially when it comes to matters concerning magic."

"Maybe this time you are. The only thing changing is how numb my legs are from sitting on them," Lila objected.

"You might not be fit for elemental manipulations. It is usually easier than other types of magic, as nature is full of inspiration. You have the talent, but you lack worldly wisdom."

"Well, clearly it's not the easiest because this isn't working," Lila said as she dropped the string, "Just tell me about some other magic and I'll try that."

Hmm... If she can't even do the most basic form of magic, what else could she do? Elemental type is the easiest one to imagine and materialize yet she couldn't even light up a tiny piece of string. Other options were based on harder-to-imagine abstract concepts. Crystal didn't see someone as sheltered and uninformed as Lila being able to understand things like gravity or space. There was one other option that might work, Crystal thought. After all, it was the magic that Lila witnessed the most.

"How about telekinesis?" Crystal proposed.

"Tel-Tele-what? Stop using hard words when you already know that I have no idea what it means," Lila pouted.

"I'm explaining the meaning now, just let me finish. Te-le-ki-ne-sis. It's a form of magic that lets you control objects and move them according to your will. It's also what I'm using to float around," Crystal pointed out, giving a small twirl around the girl's hip.

"So, does that mean I'll be able to float just like you? Wait, can I make other people float too?"

"In time, anything is possible with magic. Your imagination is your only limit." Crystal continued to dangle the carrot, "However, keep in mind that the bigger the object is, the harder it will be. Mana is also a factor in this one."

"Okay, so how do we do? Teach me!" Lila squealed in excitement.

"Patience, young one. You should never be rash when it comes to magic. Remember how I said you could turn yourself into a frog? I was not joking. Remind me to tell you the story of that prince later."

"Sorry, I just can't help myself. Please, teach me, Crystal."

"Okay, that's better. Now, first things first," Crystal said as it unsheathed the knife Lila appropriated from Nure and levitated it to the other side of the room, leaning it against the wall. "When you use telekinesis, the object you're trying to move becomes an extension of yourself. Try to imagine the knife as a part of your arm and try moving it as if it is another hand."