THE KEEPERS RISE

Chapter 4 - Lessons Learned - Part 3

*Remember to click the play button to listen to the soundtrack as you read!*

Once night drew near, Velda was brought to a room that was even nicer than what she had seen Miss Lexio go into at night. The hammock felt like a cloud, and she had a view of the Nirva forest, just like at the orphanage.

Alesteir taught her how to take her stored items out of the Powerstone, which turned out to be rather simple. She put all her things in drawers along the walls of the room before tossing herself on the hammock exhaustedly. All the day's events had tired her out more than she realized, and she fell asleep with ease.

In the morning, she observed that the walls were the same color as Cha and her emerald Powerstone. Cha nearly blended in. Was it like that last night? She wondered, letting Cha hear her question without even thinking about the connection. I was too tired to notice. Did you?

Yes, and the walls were white last night. It could be that the room matches the tastes of whoever occupies it.

It doesn't match my orange fur very well.

I think you will grow to like green even more. MepKing Alesteir also has green in his stone, so you may be learning your magic from him.

Cha was right. Not two seconds after the exchange, MepKing Alesteir came in with a smile on his face. "It's time for your first lessons!" he said enthusiastically.

After a quick breakfast in the ground floor dining room, Velda and Cha went back upstairs with Alesteir and Mortimer to the workshop. The MepKing beckoned for them to come with him to the back of the room, where a few chairs waited. "Today I will be going over the basics of conjuring inanimate objects. It is a white magic skill, but it's still important that you both know how it is done, even if you can't do it yourselves."

Alesteir handed them each a small notebook and pencil and gleefully started a long lecture about creation magic. After an hour or so of the "art of conjuration," he left them to their studies, encouraging them to quiz each other. While Alesteir worked on his staff with a set of needle-thin carving tools, Velda looked around the room for things she hadn't noticed during her first visit to the workshop.

"Alesteir?" Mortimer said, catching the MepKing's attention. "I was just wondering, why are magical things magical in the first place?"

"Have you learned nothing about magic sources, children? I assumed it was basic knowledge taught in schools."

"We didn't exactly get a standard education," Velda mentioned.

"True. Then let me explain it to you." He cleared his throat thoughtfully. "The entire universe is filled with natural magic. That energy is what powers Magistones, and it also gives power to natural forces as we see them."

Something about that didn't seem right to Velda. "Wait, Magistones aren't magical by themselves?"

"No, though they always contain collected magic once they are bound to a being. They serve as specialized conductors for natural magic."

"That's neat," Mortimer said. "Can anything else conduct magic like that?"

The interest that the children were showing seemed to please Alesteir. "Glowing magical items like the table and light in here are artificial natural magic conductors, which tend to be more inefficient than stones. Items like the Hyretica can only conduct pure magic from a stone, so they don't glow unless they're being used.

"Living beings are also magical conductors, in a way," he added. "Different beings collect different kinds of natural magic in different Continuums."

"Continuums? What are those?" Mortimer asked.