Stronger, Not Safer #2
“Magic not tied to your innate abilities comes from raw magic. It’s what sustains fae life force, so only small amounts are typically used at a time. Small things like untying a knot or picking a nonmagical lock.” A mischievous look came over him.
“What happens if you use too much raw magic?”
“If you used all of it, you’d die. You’d have spent your entire life force.
Even coming close to depleting it would cause a kind of a sickness, and it takes a long time to replenish.
Elemental magic, on the other hand, replenishes quickly if you use too much, because it’s not tied to your raw magic; it’s tied to the raw power of the element.
So long as water flows in Caelia, water elementals can draw from it. ”
“So elemental magic is infinite, but raw is finite and tied to the life of the fae.”
“Perfectly succinct and correct.”
After some trial and error, I found raw magic easier to call forth than fire.
My first attempt at moving a small rock on the ground at my feet sent it flying toward Bramick, who had ducked just in time.
But by the end of our lesson, it took barely a fully formed thought to untie Bramick’s boot, to levitate the flicker to eye level, and to write my name in the dirt.
I looked back around, hoping to see Drayce’s nod of approval or smile or something, but he was gone.
Slightly crestfallen, I left Bramick to meet with Kaelor at the end of our lesson, only to find a note on the chalkboard of our classroom that said: No class today, meet again tomorrow. - Kaelor.
So I walked back to my barracks, unsure what to do with my time until lunch. I supposed I should continue reading.
What I found on my bed when I arrived made my heart skip a beat. A small brown book sat next to my pillow with a note on top in messy handwriting.
Keryth left this for you. I hope it gives you the answers you need.
-Drayce
PS: Looking forward to dinner.
My mother’s journal. The emotions that warred inside me over what I held were somber, terrifying, thrilling, and devastating, all at once.
I sat just holding it for a long time before I decided I was not ready to read it.
* * *
After lunch, I knew I should have been using my time to read Sevrin’s assigned books since we wouldn’t meet again until I did, but I wanted to put a plan into action. So I headed to Drayce’s house and knocked.
After no response, I knocked once more before Bramick walked by and said Drayce was gone.
“Gone?”
“On a mission, he’ll be back in a couple of days. Anything I can help with?”
Bummer. “I was actually seeing if I could borrow one of the magic-blocking handcuffs.”
He looked surprised. “I have one from…that night. I can give it to you if you tell me why you want it.”
“I…” Hadn’t thought through what I was going to say. I didn’t exactly want anyone to know why I wanted it. “Can you just trust me on this?”
He looked over me with a scrutinous glare. Just when I was sure he would say no, that he had to know why, he said, “Alright, fine. Follow me, I’ll grab it for you.”
We walked down a few doors to a similar house to Drayce’s, except this house seemed to be shared between multiple captains. I waited at the front while he went down the hall and into a room to the left. As I waited, Kellan stuck his head out from another room in the hall on the right.
“Hey, Naci,” he said as he approached.
“Hey. Are you…a captain?”
He smiled the same eye-crinkling smile I’d seen on the ship here. “I am. Captain over all mortal forces and leader of the Pathfinders order.”
“Oh, well then. Didn’t realize I was talking to such a big shot.”
He laughed, bringing a smile to my face as Bramick came back, cuff in hand.
“Don’t go slapping this on anyone. None here would be too thrilled,” Bramick said.
“I won’t, I promise,” I said before thanking him and turning to leave. “Oh, and where is the smithy?”
Bramick opened his mouth, then closed it, shaking his head. “I don’t even wanna know. Other side of the barracks, past the livestock paddocks.”
“Thanks!” I turned to leave but paused. Over my shoulder, I said, “Hope to see you around, Kellan.”
He smiled with a wave and I left their house. It was heartening that mortals not only fought in the rebellion but also held important roles too. They weren’t hiding behind the safety of their allied fae but fighting for themselves. For their survival. It gave me hope.
The cold metal in my hand gave me flashbacks to the throne room, to my time after, confined in the dungeons while I waited and wished for death. I shuddered, then shook it off. If this worked, it would help keep a lot of innocent people safe—I had to do it.
After passing pens of cows, sheep, and pigs, I smelled the blacksmith’s area before I saw it—the scent of hot metal and charred wood was overpowering.
In a small, open-front building not unlike the blacksmith’s in Dolvenar, I found a young fae sorting what looked like nails. He looked to only be fifteen or so.
“Hi, um, who’s in charge here?” I asked.
He looked up at me, and his eyes grew wide before he took off running to the back of the shop.
Reactions like that were really getting old…
An older mortal man, maybe forty of fifty, came from the back. Black smudges on his face made it hard to tell but the thinning brown hair at the top of his head gave his age away.
“I’m Naci. I—”
“I know who you are,” he said, eyeing me suspiciously. “Dray said you wouldn’t be working with the Guilds for a few more weeks. Why are you here?”
Super not friendly. This was not going well so far.
I cleared my throat. “Well, I have a favor to ask. I want to see if you can make me something.”
The man just stared, his dark eyes boring into mine.
I pressed on nervously. “I have this magic-blocking cuff here, and I want to see if you can melt it down into a ring for me, to keep as a fail-safe while I’m…learning about my abilities. For protection.”
“Damn right we need protection from you. Would have that cuff on all the time if it were up to me.” He snatched it from my hand.
My heart plummeted. There were so many here who feared me and despised me. Didn’t he see that was precisely why I was asking him for this?
“I’ll get it to Dray when its ready,” was all he said as he turned his back on me.
“Thanks…” I murmured as I left the shop, my spirits entirely shot.
I was used to fae despising me on sight from growing up mortal, but having a mortal look at me with such pure hatred was a wound to my heart. I still felt the mortals were my people.
It was because of the fear and resentment toward me like this that I had decided I wanted this ring on me at all times.
Something that I could easily slip on if I started spinning out of control.
I was nowhere near ready to tame my beast and control my shadows, so until then, I needed to be prepared to shut it down.
The idea of having it on made my mouth dry and my palms slick, but I knew it was necessary.
At least with a ring, no one needed to hold, or withhold, the key to take it off.
* * *
Back at my barracks, I really had no choice but to open my books. Sevrin scared me more than Garrick, and I didn’t want to delay my return to his lessons. I mean, I did want to, but I really needed the information he had.
So I sat down on my bed and opened the book on glythyrs and set to reading. For hours. Until the excitement and mystique surrounding them had just about worn off completely.