2024 Story Collection

The Wizard Starweaver & His Apprentice V

After practicing summoning a flame a few more times, Abel moves onto another method.

"Now, when you use transmutation to create a flame, you have to have extreme focus," he explains. "With this, you use the friction of your fingers and transmute that energy into a flame. The hard part is sensing the magic of that energy and transmuting that into the same type of magic that exists in a flame."

"Here, let me demonstrate." He snaps his fingers and then opens his palm. A flame ignites out of thin air-or seemingly thin air.

"You see, it looks like the snap of my fingers is what ignited it, but it was actually the magic within the friction of the snap transmuted into that of a flame," he explains again. "This is much more challenging than the other method, but I think you can do it with practice and patience."

Over the next few hours, she tries to light a flame and only succeeds once, on her first try, but fails every time after that.

"I don't understand. Why can't I do this? I got it on my first try earlier."

"You're overthinking it. It's easy to do. The best thing to do when you hit a wall is to set down what you're working on and pick up something else," he says, walking over to the supplies. "Lets focus on the finding spell for a while and take a break from the transmutation. You can come back to it later."

As much as she wants to keep trying until she gets it, she agrees. "Okay."

"So, with the finding spell, it's all about intention, focus and listening."

In the blink of an eye, Abel, Jane, and all their supplies are transported to a mountain meadow overlooking a town.

"This is a good in-between point for where the lady might've lost her ring."

He gathers up some stones, herbs and a scroll. He places the scroll down and uses four different crystals to hold it down in place along one of the rings drawn on it.

"The citrine always faces south," he says as he places a yellowish crystal down. "Amethyst faces north," he says, placing a purple one across from the other. "Rose quarts for the east," he says, placing a down a pink stone, "and fluorite for the west." He places down a green stone.

She sits down across from him at looks at the swirling circles and neat symbols drawn on the scroll.

"Here," he hands her two herbs. "Close your eyes and feel the magic within these two. Tell me which one belongs where."

"How should I-"

"If you listen, the magic will tell you right where it's supposed to go."

She doesn't quite believe it but closes her eyes nonetheless and listens but hears nothing.

"Think about the purpose of this spell, why you need it and who it is for."

She tries again, this time she pictures a mother racing to get her sick child to the doctor as their fever worsens. She pictures the rings falling as the mother pushes the horse harder.

She feels something in her right hand. She digs into the magic of the herb and sees clearly where is wants to go. She sets it down to where it is almost touching the amethyst at the leaves and where the stem is pointing to the rose quartz.

She waits for the second herb to show her where it wants to go but after a few minutes nothing happens. It's almost as if the magic within is hiding itself from her.

She frowns, opening her eyes.

"I don't think this one goes in this spell," she says, slightly nervous. What if it did, and she was just missing something?

"Correct," he says with a smile. He takes the herb from her hand and places it back in the box. He hands her more things, stones, herbs, vials, and has her repeat the process. After a while, the spell is ready.

"Now," he says. "I will activate the spell, but you will use it to search the magic of the land to find the ring. It will lead you right to it. You must not resist the pull in the beginning. It will likely make you dizzy and nauseous, but you must endure."

She nods. "Okay." She was nervous but excited at the same time. She could do this.

"Place your hands on the rose quartz and fluorite and close your eyes. Rid you mind of all thoughts and ideas. Leave it blank."

She does just that. At first, she feels nothing but slowly the world seems to distort and eventually it feels like it's spinning with her at the center. She tries her best to ignore it and keep her mind blank.

Then she feels something. It was strange and foreign but not completely unpleasant, the pull. She let it carry her consciousness away and a moment later, she was hovering over the spot where they were doing the spell.

She saw a thread or cord of some sort that was woven from magic. She noticed it led off somewhere and got the urge to follow it, so she did.

Within a moment of making that decision it, she was zooming across the land following the magic string that lead her along a road. She slows as she passes a small patch of trees and almost to a stop as she rounds a corner. A little way ahead is a small patch of grass a bit down off the side of the road.

The magic cries out to her to come closer and as she does, she sees where the thread ends.

The ring.

Suddenly she is yanked back to her body. She barely has enough time to turn her head before she throws up.

"That's why you're supposed to keep your mind empty," Abel says, patting her back.

After a minute of getting her stomach to calm enough for her to speak, she tells him, "I know where the ring is."

To be continued...

April 10, 2024