DARKLIGHT

- 7 -

The sun set behind the mountains, and I stayed awake while it grew dark outside. After my encounter with Kaces, I had become curious about the concept of nonverbal magic, as much as I hated the source of the idea. The easiest spell I could think of was one that created a spark, Dzirksteles. I had hope that I would learn quickly like he had hoped and be able to use this trick to escape for good, so I set myself to the task of producing a spark without speaking.

I started just like I had in the doorway behind Kaces, saying the spell as quietly as possible until the word was barely a whisper, all the while ensuring that I could maintain the spell's strength. I was interested to find out if the volume of my voice would affect the magic's power, but the spark appeared at a constant brightness no matter how loudly or quietly I incanted the spell.

After a few minutes of doing that, I stopped talking and tried just imagining the word in my mind. I knew it had to be a quick thought that used the same neurons as simply saying the word out loud. I tried for hours to get it right, but I never created a single spark. It seemed hopeless.

I knew it had to be very late by the time I finished. I blamed my lack of progress on the corresponding lack of food and the fact that I had been sitting awkwardly on the floor the whole time to use the little light that my window provided. One of my feet fell asleep when I stood up in the dim glow of the waning moon.

I sat down on my cot and was surprised to find that the previously bare mattress now had a blanket and thin pillow sitting neatly at one end. Like I always did at home, I meticulously arranged the blanket before I finally laid down, and that similarity to home was what got me thinking.

My father and mother had also been taken. I'd seen a Dark mage teleport my father away, and I could only guess that the other griffin mage that the Master had referred to was my mother. I did miss them, but I had hope that nothing too terrible would happen to them since I was still safe, and I knew there was nothing to be done to reunite us for the moment. I had to do my best to get through Kaces's trials, whatever they were for, and use my extra time to plot my escape. Unbeknownst to him, I had gained stamina and skill from his false lesson, and I could already see how I could use his tests to my advantage.