The Crystal Trials

47

We sat at the tables in the Crystomancy tower waiting for Jorah to leave his new pet rock alone. Sera had gotten out of him that the large Opalite in front of him was named Mira. Ever since we filled our gauntlets, Jorah had primarily been instructing us on how to fill them quicker and more efficiently.

I worried about Rion's loyalties so asking Jorah about the gems had to be done with tact. Ameer had made a jeer about the pet rock to Dath, but he just smirked and stared ahead. He had been acting different ever since his grandmother had passed away.

"Master Jorah," I began, "where are the crystals we use harvested from?" I knew he would answer as he loved anything to do with them.

He jerked his head up his eyeballs large and seemingly popping out of his head from the magnification of his goggles. He let his Mira be and ran to our table and put his face in front of mine. Being used to his strange antics, I just waited for his answer. He backed off slowly and opted for propping his head up with his hands.

"They are not harvested, yes. They are mined." Jorah's eyes unbelievably got bigger as he spoke with wonder.

"Where are they mined from?"

"The Adrastos mines of course!" He jumped up and spun around with hands in the air. Ameer next to me flinched and looked down.

"Where are the mines, sir?" Sera asked politely.

"Oh! No, no, no. Not sir. I've told you. I am still young, yes. No one knows where the beauties are mined. But!" Jorah clapped his hands making a few of us jump. "I do know that where they are mined, they only send the best quality to the university. The rest are sold to the city's jewelers and our allies for trade."

Faolan looked to us and asked, "What were to happen if a crystal become corrupt?"

Jorah froze mid flourish his hands in the air. "Well," he tapped his fingers on his lips, "that can only happen a few ways. I can only guess that the crystal has run a full life, which is unlikely since they live longer than Fae, yes. And we live a long time. About a few hundred years. Then, the other way would be if the crystal was intentionally tampered with." He nodded smiling at us, complete crazed.

That was probably all we were going to get out of him for a while. He had returned to dear Mira and began whispering to the gem again. Ameer chuckled and Dath smiled back weakly. He would come around soon. Hopefully.

As we walked through the hall headed to lunch, Lambert waved me down. I told my friends I would catch up with them and followed the old man into his classroom. I placed my bag down at a standing table and waited. He walked over in his slow manner and faced me.

"Sorry to disturb your lunch sweet girl. I only wanted a moment." Lambert drummed his fingers on the table. "See I have a theory I'm working on after you helped dear Eliza and her corrupted crystal. Your mom explained to me that you said you burned it?"

"Yes. I used water magic to follow her blood veins all the way to her wrist and then I found a grey substance in the crystal. So, I used fire to burn it. But instead, it shattered it."

He drummed his fingers again for a few minutes. Then, with more speed than I would have guessed, he took off to pacing. I knew his intelligent mind was stirring so I waited patiently. My stomach grumbled but I ignored it.

"Are you willing to try something for me? An experiment if you will?"

I shrugged, "Sure."

"Ok. We are going to use Auramancy first. Then, I want you to follow my instructions."

I accessed my light magic and waiting for his guidance.

"Got it? Good. Close your eyes and I want you to follow the natural path of the light. You will see a few strands so to speak flowing around the room and connecting to different objects and people."

I did as he asked and was not successful the first few tries. When I pushed my magic out in a seeking manner rather than an intention for creating light, I saw what he was talking about. There were indeed little strands of lights, so thin that they looked like hair. I nodded at him. My eyes still closed.

"Excellent. Now this is very advanced magic so please pay close attention and so exactly as I say. I want you to follow the brightest one that connects to me. Good. I see you. Follow that all the way. Keep going. There. Do you see the webbed mass?"

"Yes"

"That is my mind. I want you to follow that bright strand as you have been. That is a memory. Follow it all the way into the mass. There it is!"

Once I entered his memory, I got dragged in. The feeling was a similar one to the ocean current dragging the waves back. I could fight it or join it. I joined it. Images exploded in my mind. First as jumbled bits of color then they solidified as a full memory. It showed a younger Lambert teaching a boy with black hair. The boy was using light magic with expert finesse. I could feel the current Lambert gently pushing me out as he shut down the boundaries to the memory. Slowly he pushed me out of his mind, which felt like being blown away on a gentle wind. Once I could see the webbed mass again, he shut his mind away behind a slab of granite. I went to leave.

"No, stay there. I have block you from my mind. Now, I want you to try to get back in. Any way you can."

Obeying, I first touched the wall feeling the cool surface. Then, I began banging on it. It didn't budge no matter what I tired. I threw every element at the slab and every weapon I could conjure in my mind, to no avail. I left and opened my eyes. For the first time since entering the university, I broke a sweat from the strain of using the magic.

"I see my theory was correct. You are also adept at mind magic. It is a very old form of light magic and its very rarely taught anymore."

My mouth dropped open.

"If you are willing, I would like to tutor you in it. You see, it is not often that one of your kind come around and you would make an old man happy to teach it again."

I shut my mouth. I went from shocked to excited. "Yes please. I'd love that as well."

"Then it shall be so. Let's meet every Lunedus after our combat training."