Light Within the Umbra

Chapter One: A ̶R̶e̶c̶i̶p̶e̶ Spell for Disaster

Credit to my good buddy Jack for the Scinty art :) ...But I just realized it's kind of a spoiler...oops

Reader disclaimer: This story uses a fictional and partly inaccurate depiction or modern witchcraft. If you don’t really like that, then I suggest don’t read this. But if you don’t mind, then get triggered later, don’t say I didn’t warn you. This is coming from a baby witch.

     Scintilla sat down and began flipping through the pages. This was a book of spells that her dad, a long-time witch, had written in for years and continues to write in. It had plain, old, mahogany leather binding, and thick, archaic yellow pages.

     The words were written with purpose in neat cursive by her father’s careful hand, and there were many different colored sticky tabs in the pages, categorizing the spells by type. The colorful tabs created an odd contrast from the rest of the old book.

     Most of the spells in the book were various protection spells, luck spells, and cleansing incantations with the exception of some other spells that Scintilla couldn’t quite figure out; nothing was labeled except for the tabs marking the pages. 

     One spell in particular caught her eye, however.

        It was yet another protection spell, this one being long-term and dependent on the night and phases of the full and new moon to help ward off negative energies. She could use this for when she was back at home, she thought to herself, the crippling uselessness she felt when her mom yelled at her and when nothing else seemed to matter. She could just block it all away using this, right?

    Written near the top of the page, there was a warning though.

 “This spell is only to be used in the most extreme scenario. If this spell is needed,

please follow the steps exactly as shown…”

     There appeared to be something else written, perhaps faded and smudged, or a different language of some sort. Scintilla was sure it was important, but this spell seemed simple enough; it was a simple chant with a few other specifications involving the moon.

     She skimmed through the page. It seemed very conserving, as it required almost no other materials except the chant, the moon and a little bit of saltwater...it appeared to have another thing or two written, but that was also unreadable as Scintilla couldn’t recognize the language or symbols.

     Scintilla was confused, though. She was not a very experienced witch, so in her perspective, “real” powerful spells would require many powerful tools. It was of this misconception that she disregarded the warning.

     Scintilla put a leaf in the page to mark it, grabbed her bag and set off toward a hill in the middle of a clearing she had stumbled upon just a few days before. Though it was still early evening, the moon was still visible in the sky. And although it was not yet a full moon, Scintilla figured she would “try out” this spell out to see how it works.

      After about a 20 minute walk, Scintilla reached the top of the hill and opened the book again. She then grabbed a small jar of saltwater from her bag, which she had for things like this, and set her bag down beside her.
    
     Scintilla overlooked the forest for a moment from where she stood before looking down at the book again, the page open to the spell she had marked with the leaf, which blew away in a sudden chilly breeze.

     The sun was setting now, and she knew she had to work fast and get back before her dad and his wife got worried.

     With only the slightest nervous hesitation, she performed the first step, forming a protection circle with the saltwater, protecting herself against any “bad” energies she may raise by accident.

     Taking a deep breath, she kneeled on the ground since the wind was picking up, starting to blow the pages around. She looked back at the book and began to recite the chant written.

“Full moon shining on this night,

Protect me with your purest light.

Make me invisible to harm

With your wise and blessed charm

I long that I will be unseen

By misfortune and negativity.

Shadow me in your protective veil

So bad spirits may not prevail

I call on you to protect me,

As I will it, so mote it be…”

     As she finished the last sentence, the wind was whipping around her now, almost seeming like it was trying to get her to stop. She had to hold the book tightly, the wind had nearly blown it from her grasp a few times already. Scintilla looked up, and the sky was darker now. The moon now  strangely appeared to have a reddish hue.

     Right as she finished the last word, there was a deafening crack, a loud whooshing sound, and a brilliant flash of light before it all went dark again. Scintilla only had one last thought before she felt the wind knocked out of her and felt herself collapse.

Am I dead?