Gifted

12

"The potency of your magic is not determined by how big or muscular you are. It is instead determined by the strength of your will," Uma said.

The recruits were sitting in a loose circle on the training hall floor, with Uma standing in the centre.

"Control over your own mind is one of the most difficult and empowering things possible," she continued. "True magical power only comes when a person controls their emotions rather than letting their emotions control them. You must harness the energy of these emotions to perform magic."

Uma turned a palm upwards and a small flame burst into life between her fingers. The recruits cooed and whispered in delight as the flame grew bigger. Soon it covered Uma's entire hand and the recruits fell silent as it crackled fiercely. Uma's face remained expressionless as the flame grew even further, billowing outwards into a roaring pyre. The recruits watched in a mixture of awe and unease, then Uma closed her hand and the fire was gone.

"Magic is dangerous," she said. "Never fool yourself into believing it isn't. The moment you let your guard down is the moment you let something terrible happen. Never forget that."

Erin fidgeted with the lace of her boot. She was never one to pay much attention to warnings and that wouldn't change now. She was eager to try and use her magic again, to see what wonderful and deadly things she could do, but she didn't know how.

"Some of you are already familiar with your magic and how it manifests itself, and some are not. Regardless, we shall all begin at the same point," Uma said.

Erin soon lost track of how long they sat in that circle. With Uma's guidance, the recruits cleared their minds and relaxed into a trance-like state. The training hall fell so silent that all Erin could hear was the shallow breaths of Toby who sat next to her.

"Feel your breath reach every end of your body," said Uma softly. "Feel it fill you up and give you energy. Focus on that energy. Let it glow inside you like a candle in the night."

Erin's eyes had long since shut and she opened them a crack to see that the other recruits had closed their eyes too. Erin felt relaxed and warm, and she let Uma's gentle voice guide her thoughts.

"Now feed that candle," she continued. "Let that flame grow bigger, let it shine brighter. Watch it grow and grow and grow. Let its light fill you up and, when you're ready, let it shine out."

Erin dreamily followed Uma's words. She felt her breath give her body energy, she let that energy build and she let it burn.

"Let your energy out. Let it out," Uma encouraged.

Erin focused hard on the glow she felt inside her chest. She willed it to glow brighter, to fill her up and burst out. She willed it, and willed it, and willed it, but it sat there stubbornly inside her, boiling away. Erin's brow was furrowed, and her eyes were screwed shut in a scowl of concentration.

"Relax, Erin," Uma instructed gently.

Erin opened her eyes, exasperated. She gasped as she looked at the recruits around her. Toby was still sitting cross-legged next to her, but now he was hovering a few inches off the ground. One girl was shrouded in a swirling cloud of ink-black smoke. Another was covered in a frosting of shiny ice crystals. A boy bounced a spark of lightning between his palms. Igor now sat facing two identical copies of himself. Every recruit showed some sort of fantastical ability. Except Erin.

Erin closed her eyes again and tried desperately to relax. She slowed her breathing and fed the fire inside her chest. She let it grow and grow, but it wouldn't come out. The attention of the room was on her and the expectation of her audience was suffocating.