The Kindly One

IV. Two Can Keep a Secret

"I didn't even know I could do it at first," Iona said softly. She was sitting on the floor near the lit fireplace with Kája, neither of them too worried about their clothes after the tumble into the grass and dirt. The library was dark except for the flickering flames of the hearth, so that no one passing by saw a light coming from beneath the door and came to investigate.

Iona took a deep breath. "I was little, but I couldn't tell you how old for certain. Maybe seven? We were out in the woods playing hide and seek, and I got separated from my brother and Maebh. I went too deep into the forest. It was dark and I was afraid. But as I started to panic, I could feel....threads, all around me. I wrapped myself in them like a blanket and suddenly I wasn't afraid anymore. It's not just that I could feel the plants around me. I...was them. I could feel my roots spreading deep into the soil, the breeze through my branches, the moonlight on my leaves. I felt big and powerful and safe, like I'd been there for centuries without fear. That was all it was for a few years, a comfort thing. I didn't actually do anything with it until I was maybe ten. I made a rose bloom. All my life, I'd heard stories about mages and magic, never in a good way. I knew that if I told anyone, there would be trouble, so I kept quiet. Then I saw what Yssa does to mages and I decided that I would never tell a soul. I thought for a while that I would just stop and not do it anymore, but it felt so...natural that sometimes it just slipped out."

Kája looked impressed. "'Tis elf-magic," she said softly. "I never thought I'd see it in a thousand years. These threads, I have heard only the masters speak of. And for thee, it just flows."

"Like water. If I concentrate...well, it doesn't seem to help," Iona said with a little nod. "Not to say I don't have to study and work. It took me most of a year to figure out how to make a ward. There are some books on Leyan magic in the library, but they come from a very different view, so it was a struggle to pull things out. Not to mention that my grasp of the Sigília still isn't great. It's been mostly trial and error. I still can't manifest like a Leyan mage. No fireballs for me."

"If I may ask, wouldst thou be willing to show me?" The spellguard's expression was respectfully curious.

"You're the only one who can sense me, so I suppose it wouldn't hurt," Iona said softly. "Did you hurt yourself when we fell?"

"Aye," Kája admitted. She was a bit puzzled by the apparent non sequitur. "An ignominious few bruises and the barest of gashes to the hand I threw out to break mine fall. 'Twas a sharp stone." She held out her hand for examination. The heel of her palm was cut and a little bit bruised. Iona took hold of the spellguard's hand, supporting it with one of her own while the other hand hovered above the cut. It was simple enough to touch the threads running through the spellguard. Iona felt a wave of heat through her body in answer to the distant connection, but she ignored it. Instead of pulling from the threads, she felt for the little disturbance that was the wound. It was a gentle coaxing, a brief encouragement for the flesh to return to what it had once been. The cut began to heal, dirt forced up out of it as the muscle and skin melded back together. Iona didn't even feel the drain, it was such a small exercise of power.

When she looked up from her work, she saw Kája looking at her with undisguised awe. "It's not much," Iona said sheepishly. "You just have to remind it what it was or what it could be. A different approach to magic than the Leyan schools, from what I've read. It's called enyalië, I think. It's hard to be certain. Elven lore doesn't really exist beyond the Vale of the Undying."

"'Tis incredible!" Kája was astonished and delighted. Her smile grew quickly. "I have never heard of a mage healing. Prolonging life, certes, but not mending. I would be most eager to see what else thou art capable of."

Iona smiled too. For so long, she'd been convinced that the moment she was discovered, the consequences would be horrifying. She expected revulsion and hate beyond what she already inspired. Instead, Kája was looking at her like she was a wondrous thing and beaming. It made her want to hug the spellguard and never let go. "I don't really know myself," she said. "I usually stick to things in the natural world: plants and earth or stone, for the most part."