Mirror Me

24: The Flying Walnut

Daarith looked at the sky. "It is getting late in the evening. Soon night will be upon us. I think it is best we find a safe place to camp in case there are Shadows lurking about."

"Agreed," said Martha as she produced bread and cheese from her sack. "Here, Hope, eat some food. You look famished. I will cook us a proper supper when we are settled."

"Thank you," I said gratefully accepting the food.

"And you, Owen," said Martha dissolving the rope around his wrists, "I may not trust you, but I can't keep Hope's guardian tied up. Just do not attempt to flee. Or else."

"Not at all," said Owen rubbing his wrists. "If your magic is as strong as those knots, I wouldn't dare."

"Speaking of magic," I said with a mouthful of food.

"Chew before you speak, Hope," said Martha with a stiff finger raised in the air. "You are going to be judged by the Council, remember? They will expect a well mannered Mirrorbender, so please swallow then talk." I swallowed.

"So speaking of magic," I repeated.

"Yes," said Martha. She took a small polite bite of food.

"Now that I know I am from a long line of powerful Mirrorbenders and kinda sorta understand the gist of this place's history, what I haven't learned yet is exactly what I can do. Like what are my powers? Can I do magic?"

"Ahh," said Martha. "What a good topic to end the day on. This one is much easier to grasp than the whole soul connection part."

"Thank goodness," I said as I consumed the rest of my bread and cheese.

"Magic," said Martha, "In its most basic form can be used to by anyone born in Tartarus. It's source though widely disputed by scholars is believed to dwell deep in the soil and the hearts of mountains where the energy of all the world originates."

"So magic comes from nature?" I interrupted.

"Yes, but unlike your world it is a tangible force." Martha continued. "Magic comes in four forms: Elemental magic, the power to create fire, ice, lightning, water, and so forth; enchantment magic, the power to add enhancements to an object or make a change in a person's mental or physical state; summoning magic, the power of bringing something physical or ethereal across plains of existence; and finally, alchemical magic, the power of exchanging energy and matter to create something else. Magic has certain degrees of power as well. These degrees are labeled through the magic's color. The lowest level of magic appears red, the second is yellow, then green, then blue, then indigo or 'dark/black magic' as some call it, then violet, and finally the strongest is white magic. Think of it as a rainbow, a spectrum. Red to white. With each level of magic comes greater power but also greater risks.

For example, a normal person who has very little to no magical training can pick up a WEAK enchanted with red summoning magic and bring forth a simple weapon. The more complex the weapon is or the more skill it takes to wield requires a higher grade of magic. In the case for Owen, level two yellow magic is required for his small daggers, while Daarith here uses a higher level three green magic and a special elemental core crystal to summon his fiery broadsword. As for me being a Sage, blue is a level up.

To tap into magic one must expel one's own energy. Too much untrained use of a higher level magic could cause the unskilled wielder to collapse in battle or even die from this loss of energy. While the color changes as one advances in magical knowledge and experience, blue magic is typically only attainable when one attains a familiar and becomes a sage, although some people prove to be more gifted than others and exceptions to the rules have been noted.