The Shine

The hard way

Hardway (professional wrestling slang/jargon) - A wrestler drawing blood by any means other than blading, typically from a legitimate strike

Magic isn't a skill you want to learn by trial and error. That's a good way to fuck things up. In my short apprenticeship, I was told this many times. I also know from experience because despite these warnings, I still had to find out the hard way.

I was only apprenticed to Obaluaiye for three weeks before he disappeared and I came back to the states. Three weeks of magic training is about the same as three weeks of wrestling training. You've learned enough to think you can experiment without get yourself killed. You're wrong.

I thought it would be a good idea to figure out a way to protect myself with a force field while I was in the ring. Even if it had worked, I don't know if it would have worked. My body would still be slamming into the force field. If you know how force field physics works let me know. I figured I knew the basics of how magic worked so I tried to put together a protection spell from first principals.

What happened is that I almost suffocated. I had succeeded in protecting myself from being able to get oxygen. That only lasted for a couple of seconds so I didn't die. Likely that was completely an accident because at that time I didn't know how to configure the length of a spell. If I had been more advanced with that aspect of spellcasting I would have died. Or at least passed out. Not sure how long it takes to die of asphyxiation.

That was the first thing that happened. The second thing that happened is after I stopped choking on nothing was the motel room being infested with the most virulent stench known to man. I've been near landfills that smelled like a field of daisies by comparison.

It was so bad that I fled the room immediately and burned the clothes that I was wearing. Which is a big deal for me because I don't have many clothes. If you ever go to the Roadway Inn in Newark, Ohio don't let them give you room 14 or any room near it. Or just don't go there at all, the place was a dump before it was magically stink-bombed.

This unbelievable stench makes less sense to me. The air thing kind of tracks, I was trying to keep something away from me, damage and pain, the spell went awry and kept air away instead. What did I do that conjured up that incredible smell? I have no idea.

Which is the point. When you're dealing with magic you need to be one million percent sure about every single thing you're doing. A stray word here or a stray thought there and you've turned yourself inside out. Or worse you've turned the poor slob next door inside out. Even once you're sure, make sure you're more sure before you do anything. Magic isn't the kind of thing where you can wing it and hope for the best.

I wonder how many fledging magic people kill themselves in the first stage of their learning. Probably a lot. No wonder there's so few of us. 

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