ANTHEA || Hisirdoux Casperan

15 | Student to Master

Douxie has never felt so overjoyed before. First, Merlin had asked him to help and now he is actually helping, unlike before where he'd just gather materials and his master's errand boy. He is actually helping!

"The gems have the exact resonance and light transmissions we require," Merlin explains, leaning on his large, engraved center table.

Douxie knew the table held quite an importance to the old wizard and he understood that the crystal stones were not just decor. However, he didn't know how important it was until this very moment.

"Which one speaks to you?" The elder wizard questions as Douxie studies each stone with keen interest.

Each crystal is a small, shaped piece from a heartstone. Each one is from a different gem located all across the world. Each a different color, representative of where they were grown. Amazing, really.

Douxie closes his eyes and reaches his hand out over the table. Each crystal has a different energy. All of them are so unique that Douxie can pick them out with little effort.

The red gem is born of fire and contains the power to heal. It feels like Arcadia, like the home he's come to know. When it senses Douxie looking at it, it tries to hide. Its energy now feels like a dying ember, cool and sad. That won't do.

Douxie moves to the next gem. This one is green and full of life. Its magic feels similar to Merlin's but not exactly. It feels dark and mysterious. Its power is unknown. Brackish. It wants to stay hidden. It backs down, joining the red one.

The next stone is a bright blue. It feels wild and untamed, like lightning. It doesn't back down. Instead, it reaches out and it shocks Hisirdoux. This is the one. It matches him perfectly.

Douxie opens his eyes to find his hand hovering over the stone directly beside him. Then, he looks back to Merlin, "This one."

The master wizard nods and hands Douxie a chisel-like tool, "Remove it from its bracket and connect with its energy."

Douxie taps the chisel under the edge of the gem. Then, with Merlin's help, he frees the stone from its entrapment. It scatters across the table, capturing light from the windows and refracting it all around the room in a brilliant display of glittering blue and flashing white.

As it bounces off the table, Merlin catches it with his magic and it brings it into his hands. Peering through it, he catches a reflection of Hisirdoux in its largest face. He feels proud. Hisirdoux is the best student he has ever reared. The best son he could ever ask for.

He lowers the gemstone and hands it to Douxie, "The perfect stone for a new, master wizard."

"M-master wizard?" Douxie sputters, letting Merlin drop the crystal into his open hand, "No. I, uh... I can't accept this. I-I'm not worthy.

Merlin smiles, "That humility is exactly why you deserve to be a Master Wizard. You've been an apprentice long enough."

Douxie grins and accepts the stone. He then turns and places it into the golden ring before his master's staff. After this ring is an empty staff that Merlin pulled from his vault, his staff. His very own staff! Once the gem is in its place, it flashes— almost as if it's giving him a wink— before allowing the centripetal force of the ring to keep it in its place.

"Quick!" Merlin yells, tapping the crystal in his staff.

A beam of green light streams from the elder wizard's staff into the crystal Douxie chose. It refracts, finding its way through the open holes in the golden rings, and somehow bounces back to stay within the rings, filling them with powerful, condensed magic.