Unforged Path

Motes of Hope

Aerlyn closed her own eyes, feeling the flow of magic within her body as it reached for Thalia, wanting to connect with her. Difficult to detect, there were motes of magical energy zinging through the air, rushing towards Thalia. 

Aerlyn's eyes flew open. There was magic here! It was in a natural state, unharnessed and uncultivated. If she devised how to collect it, Aerlyn could build her own reservoir!

Aerlyn embraced Thalia, tears in her eyes. "Thank you, sweet one. You are my savior, indeed." Thalia's warm arms encircled Aerlyn tightly, and Aerlyn caressed Thalia's soft hair.

"I will be sad to leave you, Thalia," Aerlyn whispered, her eyes releasing their tears.

Thalia snuggled against Aerlyn, oblivious to her tears. Aware of Cristoval's eyes on her, Aerlyn met his gaze. For once, his face was inscrutable. Aerlyn continued stroking Thalia's dark hair, trying to understand Cristoval's stony silence. 

Her hands froze, as she realized the affection she shared with Thalia would become a shared heartache when Aerlyn left, possibly without explanation. Looking at Cristoval again, Aerlyn wondered if he only saw a foreigner wishing to return home.

"Will you understand it isn't you I want to leave?" Aerlyn muttered to Thalia, forcing herself to release the sweet young one. Her belly twisting, Aerlyn recalled Myenne saying something similar to her all those years ago.

Cristoval said something in a mild tone to Thalia, and the girl disentangled herself from Aerlyn, laughing. Taking her cue from Cristoval, Aerlyn put on a smile.

Watching Thalia and Cristoval interact, Aerlyn finally understood their relationship—they were siblings. For generations now, Asthildi did not have more than one child, if they had children at all. Aerlyn tried imagining what her life would have been like had she had a sibling. How different it could have been when Myenne left. On the other hand, it was likely her father wouldn't have survived twice the mischief.

Turning toward the evolving flames, Aerlyn considered how to create a magical reservoir. When she developed a theory for the spell, she realized it could take months to collect sufficient magical energy. Those motes were so small! How long had it been since she transported herself here? Was her father losing hope?

She could delay no further. Aerlyn struggled to her feet, and in an instant, Cristoval was at her elbow, supporting her.

"Gracias," Aerlyn muttered, as she walked back to her room, leaning on Cristoval's arm. She frowned at her body's weakness, hoping it would not impede her magical abilities.

As soon as Cristoval closed the door, Aerlyn began chanting, generating a magical parchment to calculate how to attract and capture magical energy. More than an hour later, Aerlyn had a complete formula for the incantation, which required an enormous amount of magical energy to execute. Committing the formula to memory, Aerlyn let the parchment dissipate.

Lying in bed, Aerlyn began the incantation, chanting furiously. Generating a torrent of energy, she fashioned a vortex to siphon any magical energy in the vicinity. With more chanting, the vortex became self-sustaining, a fixture over the domicile. Then, Aerlyn created a funneling system, corralling the collected energy into protected storage. 

Breathless, Aerlyn ceased her chanting, marveling at the invisible structure she had engineered. Closing her eyes, she listened to its soothing hum of circulating energy. Now, anytime Aerlyn used magic, it would supply the reservoir.

Inhaling deeply, Aerlyn noted the magical energy flowing through her body. Concluding there was more to give, Aerlyn began chanting again, emptying herself of magic until her head ached.

Every day, Aerlyn supplied the magical reservoir from her person, and as it grew more powerful, her body grew weaker. At first, Aerlyn scarcely noticed the additional fatigue she felt walking in her room. Then, she began sleeping more, especially if she had a headache. She generally ignored those, as they were mere nuisances compared to the pain she experienced while alone in the snowy wilderness.

Thalia tried to conceal her concern, but her vivid eyes revealed all. She tried coaxing Aerlyn to eat more since she slept through so many meals. However, Aerlyn could not stomach much solid food.

On some days, Aerlyn did not get out of bed at all. But, without fail, she supplied the magical reservoir. 

After a fortnight, Aerlyn gauged the reservoir had enough energy to create and use a transmitter. She contemplated whether she should use the precious energy now or conserve it for a transporting spell to the Empire. The latter option presumed she would acquire the requisite vector.