it.
Tathan came over, made a gesture with his
hand and spoke a word. Red flames swirled from his fingertips to
ignite the wood. Liselle’s jaw dropped in amazement. After that, he
just went back to setting up the rest of the camp as though he had
done nothing out of the ordinary.
“Tathan . . .”
He turned to look at her, wondering at the
tone of her voice. “Yes, Cousin?”
She stood and gestured toward the fire. “You
didn’t tell me that you could do magic. And so casually too! Where
did you learn it?”
“I picked it up along the way.” He took a
tripod with a pot and set them over the campfire. Then he poured
water in and began adding roots and vegetables. “Magic is very
useful. Most people can learn a trick or two, but few have any
talent.”
“I can light a fire, but it’s always blue,”
she said.
“Always blue? Blue, purple, green and other
colors are all magical fires and more difficult to create than
regular fire.” A puzzled look crossed his face. “How did you first
learn to cast a spell? I’m curious.”
The fact that Tathan knew about magic
excited Liselle. “It was after I became a young woman. I could feel
something in me.”
Tathan nodded. “The mind and body of a child
aren’t capable of handling the forces of magic. It comes with
maturity. It grows stronger as a person ages. When they get older,
it begins to decline.”
“Really?! That’s why I can do more and
more.” Liselle walked around and gestured as she talked. “My first
time, I was trying to light a fire in the wilderness when an idea
appeared in my mind. A small blue flame appeared at the tip of my
fingers and moved toward the wood.” She turned to face Tathan,
eyebrows furrowed. “I didn’t understand it. The next thing I knew,
there was a blue fire in the pit I had made.” She bit down on her
lower lip as she remembered the moment with some embarrassment.
“Luckily, I could see in my mind how to extinguish it and did so
before anyone found out. I was afraid someone would notice even
though I was alone.”
“You said that you could see how to do it in
your mind? You never had anyone tell you how?” Tathan added the
meat of a large bird to the pot. He had snuck up on it and captured
it with his bare hands earlier in the day.
The stew smelled wonderful, causing
Liselle’s stomach to rumble in response. “It was just there. When I
want to do something, I can picture what I want, and then it forms
in my mind.” She sat back down on the log. “Some things are easier
than others and then there are things I just can’t do or imagine no
matter how hard I try.”
Tathan sat down on his bedroll near the
fire. “The way I was taught is that when a person does magic, they
have to focus the spell in their mind, make the necessary gestures
and speak a word or phrase . . .” He looked to see how Liselle
would respond to that.
Shaking her head, she said, “No. Sometimes I
say a word that comes to my mind, but you don’t have to
speak a word or gesture, though you could move your hand around to
make the spell react in different ways.” She held her hand up and
moved it around in front of her.
“That’s amazing,” he responded. “I’ve never
even heard of such a thing before. Everyone I’ve known who could do
magic, or at least the ones who could do it well, has told me that
you need a gesture and a keyword to cast a spell.”
“Well, I suppose a keyword would be a good
way to lock a spell . . .” she replied in thought.
“Lock a spell?” he queried.
Liselle continued moving her hand around,
mesmerizing herself with it. “Yes. You could lock a spell with a
keyword, so it couldn’t be cast unless someone knew that word. A
gesture would make it even more secure.”
“You mean no one could ever use the spell
again without the gesture and keyword.”
“Well . . .” The hand stopped moving as she
considered. “That’s not really it. Someone could cast the spell,
but it would be theirs, not the
Tathan came over, made a gesture with his
hand and spoke a word. Red flames swirled from his fingertips to
ignite the wood. Liselle’s jaw dropped in amazement. After that, he
just went back to setting up the rest of the camp as though he had
done nothing out of the ordinary.
“Tathan . . .”
He turned to look at her, wondering at the
tone of her voice. “Yes, Cousin?”
She stood and gestured toward the fire. “You
didn’t tell me that you could do magic. And so casually too! Where
did you learn it?”
“I picked it up along the way.” He took a
tripod with a pot and set them over the campfire. Then he poured
water in and began adding roots and vegetables. “Magic is very
useful. Most people can learn a trick or two, but few have any
talent.”
“I can light a fire, but it’s always blue,”
she said.
“Always blue? Blue, purple, green and other
colors are all magical fires and more difficult to create than
regular fire.” A puzzled look crossed his face. “How did you first
learn to cast a spell? I’m curious.”
The fact that Tathan knew about magic
excited Liselle. “It was after I became a young woman. I could feel
something in me.”
Tathan nodded. “The mind and body of a child
aren’t capable of handling the forces of magic. It comes with
maturity. It grows stronger as a person ages. When they get older,
it begins to decline.”
“Really?! That’s why I can do more and
more.” Liselle walked around and gestured as she talked. “My first
time, I was trying to light a fire in the wilderness when an idea
appeared in my mind. A small blue flame appeared at the tip of my
fingers and moved toward the wood.” She turned to face Tathan,
eyebrows furrowed. “I didn’t understand it. The next thing I knew,
there was a blue fire in the pit I had made.” She bit down on her
lower lip as she remembered the moment with some embarrassment.
“Luckily, I could see in my mind how to extinguish it and did so
before anyone found out. I was afraid someone would notice even
though I was alone.”
“You said that you could see how to do it in
your mind? You never had anyone tell you how?” Tathan added the
meat of a large bird to the pot. He had snuck up on it and captured
it with his bare hands earlier in the day.
The stew smelled wonderful, causing
Liselle’s stomach to rumble in response. “It was just there. When I
want to do something, I can picture what I want, and then it forms
in my mind.” She sat back down on the log. “Some things are easier
than others and then there are things I just can’t do or imagine no
matter how hard I try.”
Tathan sat down on his bedroll near the
fire. “The way I was taught is that when a person does magic, they
have to focus the spell in their mind, make the necessary gestures
and speak a word or phrase . . .” He looked to see how Liselle
would respond to that.
Shaking her head, she said, “No. Sometimes I
say a word that comes to my mind, but you don’t have to
speak a word or gesture, though you could move your hand around to
make the spell react in different ways.” She held her hand up and
moved it around in front of her.
“That’s amazing,” he responded. “I’ve never
even heard of such a thing before. Everyone I’ve known who could do
magic, or at least the ones who could do it well, has told me that
you need a gesture and a keyword to cast a spell.”
“Well, I suppose a keyword would be a good
way to lock a spell . . .” she replied in thought.
“Lock a spell?” he queried.
Liselle continued moving her hand around,
mesmerizing herself with it. “Yes. You could lock a spell with a
keyword, so it couldn’t be cast unless someone knew that word. A
gesture would make it even more secure.”
“You mean no one could ever use the spell
again without the gesture and keyword.”
“Well . . .” The hand stopped moving as she
considered. “That’s not really it. Someone could cast the spell,
but it would be theirs, not the
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