Chapter 37 Witch Crystals
Witch Crystals
The forest was shrouded in fog. The crisp smell of rain from the night before made everything seem lush and fresh, the dirt turning to mud underneath their horses’ hooves.
When Elizabeth and Fiza finally made it to Veridas, the hem of their skirts were caked in mud.
“Now I can see why you always return in need of a bath,” Fiza said, dismounting and taking stock of her skirts with a grimace.
Elizabeth grinned.
About to part ways in the city’s main square, as they usually did, Fiza held up a hand, “Lady … we will not have as much time today. You will be expected earlier than usual tonight.”
“May I ask why?” she asked, bewildered.
“I am forbidden to say.” Fiza’s face was impassive.
Elizabeth’s expression softened. “Thank you, Fiza. I apologize if sometimes your friendship with me conflicts with your duties to your master.”
“It is nothing, Lady. I’ll leave you to it, but we only have an hour in the city before we must return.”
Elizabeth went to the witch’s shop and practiced, or rather, failed at magic for an hour.
It was strange that the levitating spell came to her so easily, but every other corner of magic eluded her.
Many times, she would exhaust herself in effort.
Her magic seemed reluctant to cooperate, snapping back into the well of green fire in her chest after a moment of hesitation.
Risna, to her credit, was patient with her while she struggled and failed to produce a sphere of either light or darkness.
“Risna, why does my magic not work like yours?” Elizabeth asked as Risna demonstrated once more, creating a glowing violet sphere of light.
Risna pursed her lips. “I’ve never taught a human mage, but the principles of magic should remain the same.
” Risna paused, tilting her head. “The letter asked me to help you learn how to use magic, but since you’re a human and not a witch …
I think it best to try and teach you the same as I would any other student and see what your magic can do.
I wouldn’t worry if it takes a while for you to master, or if there are a few spells that remain beyond your grasp. ”
She nodded and gave Risna a wry smile. “I understand. Thank you for your patience.” She paused, her cheeks warming. “Sorry if it’s taking me a while to pick things up.”
“Nonsense. You could still have very powerful magic, dear. It’s just not used to showing itself.” Risna said, smiling encouragingly. “Shall we try again?”
Nasera, who was reshelving things in the back of the shop, muttered snarkily, “Even a witch babe can summon light or darkness, but sure, tell the human how she could still have powerful magic running in her veins.”
Risna chuckled, and upon seeing Elizabeth’s look of confusion, she explained, “Witch babies are often found playing with shadow puppets on the wall or summoning balls of light to amuse themselves. That’s usually the first sign that a child will grow to become an exceptional witch.
” Risna nodded at her kindly. “But that is not to say you can’t master a handful of spells and use magic as well as a witch one day.
Your magic is just going to be—a little harder to learn. ”
If it weren’t for a desire to please the angel, Elizabeth would have quit long ago. She stared off into space, looking at the walls and trying to piece together why she had bothered to step into a world where she did not belong.
A few failed attempts at summoning light later, her attention snagged on the different crystals displayed around the shop.
“What are those for?” Elizabeth asked. She had never seen raw crystals kept in such a way, their surfaces all rough and uneven. Why not increase the stones’ value by polishing and cutting them?
“You are easily distracted,” Risna chided.
It was hard not to be when she failed repeatedly.
Risna sighed, as if reading her thoughts.
“Crystals are the type of stone that holds magic best. Each crystal has natural properties. We impregnate the stone with power to amplify its effect. For slightly better sleep or better health, things like that. We sell lots of them to people who want protection, especially against demons.” Risna gave her a knowing smile.
“Can you teach me how to make them? Fill them with a spell?”
“Certainly, but you must make some progress first. Creating power stones is advanced magic. Try to break the rope again.”
Try as she might, the magic kept slipping out of reach.
Risna was too polite to say anything, but Elizabeth felt that Risna privately believed trying to teach a human magic was a waste of time.
After another unsuccessful attempt, she cast around for a different topic of conversation. “Why are there so many different colours? Is one better than the other?”
“Is a tomato better than an apple? They cannot be compared. They are used for very different things.”
Elizabeth smiled at the older woman’s brisk tone and nodded at a chunk of white crystal with an iridescent sheen. “What’s this one for?”
“Moonstone. They are the stones witches wear the most,” Risna said, pulling out her necklace—a large, rough-hewn moonstone hung on a thin silver chain. “This stone opens your mind to the metaphysical and boosts the power of each spell you cast.”
“You have many of them,” she said, looking around.
“Yes, this is a witch’s shop after all.”
“And the others?” Elizabeth asked.
“Crystal lore is nearly as complicated as herblore. Why don’t you tell me which ones you would like to know about, and we will start there.”
Elizabeth didn’t know if she simply didn’t want to tell her about every stone, or if this was some kind of test. “What does this pretty pink one do?”
“Rose quartz, a lady’s favourite—used for manifesting love and emotional healing.”
She made a face, and the older woman laughed. “You are only showing your youth, dear. There is not a force in this world more terrible or powerful than love.”
“Tell that to the men,” Elizabeth muttered darkly. She heard Nasera snort behind the shelves.
Risna smiled and said gently, “One day, I hope you find yourself a nice man who proves you wrong.”
She quickly looked around the shop, then pointed at a cluster of dull green stones on the shelf. Some were the size of her palm, and others were large, cut into long, pointed shapes. “What about the green ones?”
“Jade. For luck and being grounded and connected to Mother Earth.”
Elizabeth raised her brows. These crystals didn’t seem particularly useful. What use was there in being grounded to the earth when she was standing on it already?
She walked around the shop. “And this one?”
“Tiger’s eye. For courage and physical protection. Imbued with shield spells.”
Now that sounded more useful.
“This is a strange stone,” she said, picking up a dark stone, darker than ebony and impossibly shiny. It looked like an onyx gem, but rough-hewn and warped, as if it were a captured moment of a wave cresting on the shore.
“Obsidian. The deep black of the stone absorbs all light and negative energies. It is a powerful protection against magical attack. We use them for magical shielding.”
“What is the difference? Between this one and the other.” She nodded at the chunk of tiger’s eye.
“What’s the difference!” Risna scoffed. “If someone came at you with an axe, magical protection wouldn’t help.
Likewise, if someone sent a ball of magical fire in your direction, shielding against physical damage wouldn’t do much.
You’d need a shield that’s specific to magical abilities.
We sell a fortune in these.” She held up a small chunk of obsidian the size of a pea.
“Helps keep demons from interfering with your mind.”
Elizabeth’s eyes brightened. “How much are they?”
Risna quoted a figure.
Elizabeth whistled. “You can’t be serious! That’s worth more than diamonds. And they’re still rough. Not even faceted or polished.”
Risna raised a brow. “Don’t buy one then. Obsidian is extremely rare.”
“Hmmm.” She dearly wanted one of those black beads.
Risna smiled and shook her head. “Master mental shielding first; otherwise, using a protection stone will become a crutch.”
Elizabeth nodded and bent to peer at the rest of the shelves.
“What about this one?” Elizabeth asked, as she spied a dull turquoise one with a crackled surface.
The stone was a large, fist-sized chunk of rock and seemed to be the only one of its kind in the shop.
When she picked it up, it caught the light, turning an iridescent yellow.
Mesmerized, she shifted it in her hands.
The colours in the stone ranged from dull blue-gray to bright yellow to turquoise, depending on the angle of the light.
“Labradorite. We call it the student stone.”
Elizabeth furrowed her brows.
“Its properties are of protection and awakening,” Risna clarified. “It helps new witches to open their inner eye to the metaphysical plane and access their magic. It also offers a small shielding against magical mishaps.”
Her mouth formed an “o” in fascination. She liked the sound of a small shielding charm.
Risna continued, “It is customary for a young witch to be given a student stone by her teacher,” the older witch mentioned.
“And when she feels ready to be initiated into a coven, she will pass a series of tests and exchange her student stone for the marker of a full-fledged witch.” Risna gestured at the moonstone at her throat.
“We exchange a stone of learning for a stone of greater magical power. There is a lengthy ceremony involved, and to be given a witch stone like this one is considered a great honour.”
“What does one have to do to get a student stone?” she asked, not wanting to be pert, but wasn’t she a student of magic now?
“Do you have a desire to go down the path of being initiated into a coven and being accepted as a full-fledged witch?” Risna asked, raising a brow.
Elizabeth was silent.
“Then do not worry about such things.” Risna chuckled. “It is mostly done for tradition.”
“Interesting,” Elizabeth said, meaning it. She was experiencing a piece of the lore from this world she suspected had been passed down from witch to witch and never written down.
“And this one?” She pointed to a deep blue stone with veins of gray and white.
“Lapis Lazuli.”
“Bless you.”
“No child, it is the name of the stone,” Risna said, chuckling.
“It is the stone of Seers. It promotes visions, truth, and spiritual awareness.” She pulled out a charm bracelet with several midnight blue stones.
“This is what I hold in my pocket when I read fortunes and try to untangle the threads of life to divine the future.”
“But surely it doesn’t work. I couldn’t hold it and figure out what they will serve at dinner tomorrow. How can you be sure it works?”
“You are very skeptical for a woman who is trying to learn magic, dear. You are practical and grounded, which is not a bad thing in itself. But for magic, you must learn to broaden your mind and accept the possibility that there is more.”
“Skepticism and practicality have gotten me further in life than being a dreamer,” she couldn’t help but say wryly.
“The metaphysical is the opposite of the physical!” scolded Risna sharply. “Your inner eye, your magic, do not work on logic. Spiritual awakening is the most difficult part of teaching adults, and why we typically teach these things to children before their minds become solid and unmovable.”
She tried to school her expression into one of a polite student once again. “Yes, Risna.”
“It is essential that you understand this!
If you think about your magic in terms of what is physically possible in a world of logic and fact, you will never be able to perform magic.
You will cast a spell, but the logical and practical side of your mind will tell you it probably won't work, and so it never will. You need to open your mind to the possibility of more.”
Elizabeth nodded. “I understand.”
“There are no shortcuts to learning spellcraft, I’m afraid,” Risna said, giving her a look that was almost pitying. “It might take you a little longer to learn than most people, but that’s alright. I have faith you’ll get there.”
Elizabeth practiced, or rather, failed at magic for another hour, and left the shop clutching her head.
Wrinkling her nose at the headache that settled in her temples from her repeated attempts to shield her mind against Risna’s attacks, she wondered why the angel thought it was so important for her to master whatever small drop of magic she possessed.
Her gift was hardly enough to lift a crystal in the air, certainly not enough of a gift to change the tide of their world.