Mother of Magic

Reinforcement

The three Witches, two recently imported, stood on the west side of the city, at the foot of the mountains. Stephanie mentioned to Ava the idea of making the ward wall better. Not that she understood the Ward wall. Only that it had been mentioned several times and that it warded off Witches and protected Collins. Ava could not be awake 24/7 but the Ward wall persisted once created.

Ava explained her work to her two semi-reluctant apprentices. Not that they did not want to help, but both were still unhappy at the abduction, even if it had a good reason. "All along here where we are standing is the Ward. It goes well to the north, curves around, runs across the northern portion of the city, and turns south. South of the City it turns west and runs to the path up to your and my houses. It runs up the slope, surrounds our dwellings, comes back down, turns north, and comes back here. There is space on all sides for the city to grow without moving the Ward. It is not a dome. It is not round, but it does curve over the top of the city. It does not go to space." Ava pointed up and at an angle to the East. "Up there is more or less the top center of the Ward. About one thousand feet up, more or less. I have not measured it. It is something like that."

"That's huge." Stephanie marveled

"That must use a lot of power. If power is the right word when we are talking about magic?" Le said

"Yes and no. Also, power is a correct way to think of it. The three of us can use more of the ambient magic of this world than most. We are considered, therefore, more powerful. The power is not inbuilt. It is about accessing what is around us. I am more than the equal of most witches, and combined we three are able to channel more magic or more power, than any four other aligned witches. It would take five or more aligned witches to exceed what we three can do. We are a Trio. Five aligned witches are called a Quint, and they are rare. In the Northern continent, there are at most four or five such groups, and not all Quints would necessarily exceed what the three of us are in terms of our ability to channel magic. Each individual member of a Quad or a Quint contributes to the whole, so merely being aligned is not enough. To exceed the three of us, they must in total exceed us."

"Is there a scale for that? Some kind of Witch statistic?" Stephanie asked.

"For those born here, and that have gone through apprenticeships here, there is an evaluation. It is not a number, but a label, and it ties into what stations one can rise to as well. To be a Reverend Mother, as I was, implies a very high level of magical ability. It does not imply a Reverend Mother at one temple has the exact same level of access to magic as another."

Le considered then asked "Is part of the reason there is no number because different people can access magic differently? Say one is more a healer and another is more a builder? A creator of things? A third might be better at, I don't know, levitation? On a power scale, they might all be fifties on a scale of one to one hundred, but it is expressed differently?"

"That is exactly right." Ava said. "You two built your cabin, and in days. You are good at creating things utilizing ambient magic. Channeling it into physical manifestations. Manipulating existing objects, such as how you cut the rock. Flying is hard for you because you channel so much in this regard. You have to learn to be more subtle, and that is harder than learning to be less subtle. Others who are powerful might be far better at healing. If you had to give it a number, the three of us would be near the top of your one-hundred-point scale. I am trained, so I can fly. I can heal. I know how to use magic in minute quantities. You do not yet." Ava tapped Stephanie's chest, between her breasts lightly. "Why you did to Silena's armor shows both of these things. You have no subtlety in magic and tossed her across the room. But also you affected Namber, so to Le's point, your ability to use magic is different than mine in that regard. Different from anyone's. The ability has never been known in this world. It should not be possible. Namber is not anti-magic exactly, but it absorbs or nullifies it. If you have a cup of Vinegar, it is acidic. If you add baking soda, it is base, and after it is done foaming, it has neutralized the acid. Or at least reduced the acidity. In that example, Namber is the baking soda. It is analogy, so not exactly correct. I am sure you get the idea."