"Again," Limerence said to Sonder.

She had given Sonder two bangles and two bracelets that seemed to be made out of gold, saying that they were like staffs or wands. She had a few of her own, as she said that she didn't want to carry a staff or wand as it didn't suit a lady.

Sonder was exhausted. She had spent the entire day trying to please Mrs. Limerence, but magic didn't seem to be Sonder's forte.

She only needed to channel enough of her own mana and let the braclets fly off and hit a peg Mrs. Limerence had set up.

Like a more magical version of ring toss.

Limerence advised her to gather mana into the bangles, which Sonder had put far up her arm, almost to her shoulder, as they were made for gathering magical enegery, and then push that enegery from her shoulder down her arms and into the bracelets to let them fly.

Sonder did manage to achieve that feat, but after they flew off her hands, they only managed to cover a pathetic distance.

At least that meant that Sonder could channel any kind of magical energy.

Limerence's first idea had her asking Hiraeth for his Elian Cube, but after the sprite told her about the mishap the girl had with it, that idea was laid to rest.

Sonder picked up the bracelets and tried again.

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Mrs. Limerence told her that it should have been easier if Sonder held a few hand signs.

She chose the sign of the horns for her left hand and the OK sign for her right.

Then Sonder tried again and again. She didn't want to disappoint Mrs. Limerence.

When Sonder asked what this was for, in magical terms, she told her that if she could channel enough of her own mana, then she could continue to the task of trying to control the volume, and after she managed to master that, she could continue to the task of shaping mana into different forms.

Sonder's progress, or rather lack of progress, on the bracelet toss still seemed to fascinate Limerence. All day, she watched Sonder try and try and try again and fail again. A few times during the day, she made notes in impeccable handwriting, gathering her thoughts and theories about the 'undead' condition in relation to magic and other subjects of lesser interest that were related to it.

All of the known and respected wizard- and mage-kind agreed to a few rules and suggestions. Not participating in necromancy was one of them.

If anyone found out that Limerence, the 'Velvet Sorceress Limerence', had taken in one of the undead into her home and studied it while not decrying the mage behind it, then her reputation would be ruined, without a doubt.

But Vellichor was a different case. He was by far the most famous mage in the world, though most didn't know his face. And he was feared by those who couldn't call him a friend. Being known as the 'Dread Mage' had a few advantages.

Limerence herself would rather be loved than feared, but none of that, not his reputation, rumors, or what people thought about him, bothered Vellichor very much.

The communities knew that the Dread Mage and the Velvet Sorceress were married, but the details were sparse, and sadly, none of the respect and fear for him extended to her, as mages only cared about the wizardry one could perform. They didn't care for your connections.

And though it vexed her once in a while, she had to admit that Vellichor was a far better magician than she was.