"How do you make a Spell, Felin?" Amy asked, sitting against a tree trunk.

It had been a week since Amy went hunting for the first time, an experience she did not want to repeat. Though she couldn't deny the meat tasted better than usual, she decided to leave the option as more of a precaution if the butcher stopped selling her good meats or anything at all. Most of her days were spent practising on her own, Felin deciding to leave her to herself, trying to master Lesser Illusion and Illusory Bolt. Despite Lesser Illusion being harder than Illusory Bolt, her progress with the Spell was much faster than the other, her casting far more efficient and skilful. Fortunately too, she'd hardly been disturbed by them all week, with only a stray incident with a single kid in the middle of the day. So, enjoying a relaxing day for once, she was lying beneath a small tree on a hill near the village, reading through the book on Wizardry, Felin by her side to answer any questions she'd have.

"What brought this on?" Felin asked from his seat on her lap.

"Well I've always wondered how but my teachers usually brushed me off. Plus, I do have an idea for something that I want to work on..."

"Oh? Do tell," Felin purred, looking up.

"Well, it's more of a fantasy than anything, but if any of those kids showed up at my door, what would happen if I opened it and looked like an actual evil Witch?"

"So a modified Lesser Illusion?

"That's what I was thinking of at first yet I wanted to make it more powerful than that. What if it pulled from their own preconceptions of what a witch looks like and I appear like it?"

"Devious thinking, my young Mageling, devious indeed," Felin grinned. "Something along those lines does indeed exist, but it's not as if only one type of Spell can exist at once. It'd be superior if you shape it yourself too, versus some random Mage who had a different concept in their mind than yours."

"What's the Spell called?"

"Illusory Mask. Used for subterfuge or simply going unnoticed. My... old contractor used to use the Spell a lot if he didn't want to be recognised. It makes you appear to someone looking at you as what they believe an ordinary person should look like. I believe he called it 'Tier 5', although that's only because he wanted true obscurity. A lower 'Spell Tier' should be sufficient."

"What's with your... hatred, if that's the right word, of Spell Tiers by the way?" Amy frowned.

"Spell Tiers are a purely human creation, unlike the natural separation of Mage Tiers. They only exist to constrain and fit the unexplainable to their narrow, mortal, worldview. As they believe one aspect of magic is neat and well defined, they believe everything else must be! All they end up doing is take the magic out of magic! Spell Tiers have their uses, I admit, but most of the time it's meaningless."

"I understand that. Only everything in this 'mortal world' of mine is categorised using Spell Tiers," Amy said, a hint of a smile on her face, "So you'll just have to get used to it I'm afraid."

"Bah!" Felin scowled, shifting uncomfortably in her lap.

"Creating a Spell then?"

"Yes, yes, I remember," Felin said. "The most important and first thing is obviously the concept. You distil this concept down into separate but connected mana Concepts that then find themselves associated with respective Elements. You then cast a sort of pseudo-Spell, no Spellform, only the intent, Concepts and Elements to guide you. This will imprint a 'shape' onto the mana, and you'll gain an inspiration of sorts related to the Spellform. Finally, you construct the Spellform out of this inspiration, making it as accurate as you can, allowing you to properly shape and form your mana into an actual Spell."

"That sounds... really simple."

"At low Tiers, yes; yes it is. High Tiers though? Where Spellforms are no longer simple circles with weird shapes in them? Where they sometimes occupy all three dimensions and change with time to accommodate four? That's when it gets difficult."

"Understood," Amy nodded, before falling into thought for a moment. "Does... does this mean you can cast pseudo-Spells as actual Spells? Like Cantrips?"

"Exactly like Cantrips. These 'pseudo-Spells properly casted' have no real official name, but it is common to call them workings of specific Elements. An unordered plea to the world, to mana itself, to bring the change you command into action. The strength, or rather, weight to these workings increases with Mage Tier, allowing you to do far more with unformed magic as you ascend the Tiers. As an Aspirant, these workings would be your Cantrips. Now, as a Mageling, your workings are almost at the same level as Cantrips, so there's no point to even make note of them at this level. Into Apprentice and beyond, though, your workings can have the strength of powerful Spells. My former contractor, a Monarch, for example, was able to cast workings on the scale of Apprentice and occasionally Journeyman Tier Spells."

"I've always wondered how actual Mage combat could happen before, thinking it would be some sort of back-and-forth turn-based game of trumping opposing Spells, but it makes sense how it could actually happen with workings. Since casting Spells is so slow, workings must be more prevalent higher up, right?"

"That's... while workings are used a lot, the ability to essentially cast Mageling Spells at will upon reaching the higher stages of Journeyman is the reason why this 'turn-based combat' doesn't exist at high Tiers. This is not done through workings though, but something called Spellchains."

"Spellchains?" Amy asked, intrigued.

"They're too advanced of a concept for a Mageling to know or understand, but once constructed they give you the ability to 'chain' Spells together that you had to cast by yourself before."

"Constructed?" Amy exclaimed, mind whirring.

"Ah, I've said too much. Ignore me. Let's just get back to Spell creation for now."

"Well..." Amy trailed off, thinking of what to talk about other than the topic at hand. Not that Spell creation isn't interesting, I asked about it after all, but he's got my attention on other things now, the rascal, "You were surprised before when I said I didn't know about Mage Tier ascension, right?"

"Yes, that still baffles me," Felin said, shaking his head.

"I get that more now, but, still, why?"

"Not telling a Mage about Mage Tier ascension is like not telling a student the stages of education they go through and that they need to reach a higher stage to learn more. It's simply preposterous!

"Theoretically a Mage can progress through all the Tiers without having a clue but the chance of that is essentially zero. It also hampers the Mage too, teaching them that Spells and natural talent are all they need. You wouldn't expect a baby to try reaching a table without knowing how to stand yet, would you? So why do they expect Magelings, with no idea about how magic actually works, to cast 'Tier 3' and higher Spells all on their lonesome without knowing how to bridge that gap, to take on more mana into themselves and ascend?"

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

"And how do I actually 'ascend'? You told me I was close before, right? Am I ready for Apprentice yet?"

"You're a lot closer, actually. That surprised me quite a bit when I last checked. It's probably because you're now practising Spells you have actual affinities towards and thus your mana is more 'active' so to speak." Felin explained.

"Want to tell me how then?"

"I shall. The first thing you must know about-" Felin stopped abruptly, head darting to one side. "Let's stop here. We have... visitors."

"Felin?" Amy whispered anxiously, looking over the side of the hill and seeing them walking up. No younger children this time, just the three. Unconcerned, the most definitely ordinary cat on her lap sat up and pranced off to stand by her side, licking his paw, proud. Preparing herself mentally, Amy tucked her book away into her bag, taking a deep breath in and out, standing up and glaring at the oncoming troupe. Strangely enough, they didn't look smug or happy but rather... angry. Not good. "So what brings you three here?"

"You know what, Witch." Alex spat, his face scrunched up and horrid.

"Do I? What have I done but sit here all on my own, bothering no one."

"You made him sick, didn't you?" Rupert said, unnervingly calm. "And for what, Witch? For what?"

"What?" Amy said, confused. "What do you mean? Who's sick?"

"Always acting innocent like the little bitch you are," Alice scorned, "Why don't you take responsibility for something once in your sad, sad life?"

"I'm genuinely confused, who's sick?" Amy pleaded, trying to get through to them. If they didn't hate me for one second I could actually do something to help them. Though... the last time-

"Kurt, the person who visited you on his own, and ended up praying the price," Rupert sneered, "Because that's the kind of person you are. Hurting innocent little children for your own pleasure."

"Kurt?" Amy asked, trying to remember who, then recalling the one little one who bothered her in the middle of the day. Shit, of course they're suspicious of me. Not the fact he's a growing child likely to get ill whenever, especially in the colder months. "I don't think you'd believe me if I said I didn't do it, would you?"

"Of course not; who knows what kind of spell you could put on me to distract me from the truth," Rupert said, Amy's panic rising at the word 'spell', and calming down when realising they didn't actually know her as an actual Witch of sorts.

"Children get ill all the time, Rupert, blaming me is just a little ridiculous, even for all of you," Amy mocked, trying to gain a little ground in the argument.

"He's not just ill, you bitch, he's dying!" Alice screamed, stepping closer towards her, Amy caught off guard. "He can hardly breathe and you're here making fun of him?!"

"I- I genuinely don't-" Amy stammered, stepping back while Felin moved closer, eyes narrowed and tail upright.

"Everyone knows it's you, they're all just scared of saying it outright. Did you threaten them, Witch?" Alex shouted, somehow getting the situation half-correct, though for the wrong reasons.

"I didn't-" Amy murmured, losing control of the situation. Felin stood strong however, moving closer towards them, menacingly.

"Hah!" Rupert laughed, looking down, "Of course the Witch has a black cat as a pet, typical! You're not even trying to hide it anymore."

At his mocking, Felin advanced closer, back arched, claws out and hissing. Rupert stepped back, uncharacteristically scared, though Alice had no apprehensions. In one smooth motion, the girl moved closer and kicked at her cat, both Amy and Felin too shocked at the action to properly react, the Familiar jumping back, only pretending to be hit. A hint of mana caught itself on the wind, pulsing around Felin, his yellow eyes turning neon green at the edges. All the while Amy simply stood, transfixed on where Felin was kicked, frozen still. Yes, they had hurtled abuse upon abuse on her over the years, and yes they had ruined most of her adult life so far. But trying to hurt someone she considered a friend? Someone close to her? Her cat? Her Familiar? At that, something within her finally snapped.

Mana whirled around her, spiralling into her, as her Magecraft began to instinctively spin, pressure building. Marching towards Alice, mana coalesced around her, touches of Illusion and natural Fae twisting in circles in the air. Alice, still focused on the cat, didn't see Amy coming. Amy's hand came up before the other two could react, their eyes widening. Then, Amy slapped her.

The child stumbled backwards yelping as Alice's hands came up to the side of her face defensively. In an almost perfect mirror to Amy's own reaction, the three children stood frozen and taken aback in shock at the Witch's actions. Amy herself was perhaps the most shocked at her own reaction, only she was too wrapped up in her own anger and frustration to properly notice. The mana finally finished building, it swam into and infused her face, working its way deep and projecting something other out, her anger tainting her intent. It was no Spell, but it was a working nonetheless, the prototype for the Spell she had thought of not long before, only twisted and changed by her actions. Her sheer rage.

With the voice of something more than mortal, and the visage of a cruel mistress, looking down on her lessers in contempt for the scum they were, Amy spoke.

"Get the Hell away from me."

Ordinarily, they would probably laugh at her, taking delight in her suffering, the suffering she deserved. Only, there was something different this time. Whether it was the fact the Witch actually fought back, or the magical working infusing her voice and face with a supernatural edge, they would never know. For they ran. For once in the years of their tormenting, they actually ran away. Alex, the coward, was first. Rupert, who always seemed so threatening, fled almost immediately after, never before seeming so small. Alice was left behind, still in shock and pain from the slap, only running when she realised that she was alone.

Mana flickered away from Amy's face, a rune of sorts imprinting onto her mind, as the working ran its course. Felin stood tall beside her, a smile on his face, his terrible expression leaving him.

"Well, that was certainly a surprise," The cat smirked, Amy still caught up in the passing moment. "I am truly blessed to have such a talented Mageling, aren't I? Selflessly protecting me, the harmless, defenceless Archfey, in their moment of weakness. And to improvise a working like that after only learning of it not a minute before? I am blessed indeed."

"Felin..." Amy muttered, the anger of her face slipping away as she paled, "What- what have I done?"

"You were perfectly in your right to-"

"They're going to tell everyone," Amy stuttered, leaning against the tree, cradling her face. "They're going to hate me all over again. It's going to be like last time but worse. I'm... I'm done for."

"You are certainly not, young lady. You-"

"You don't understand, Felin!" Amy shouted. "I'm going to be kicked out. The parents, they'll take it to the mayor and he'll be forced to punish me, not like last time. He'll have to report me. I'm done for. I-I'm-"

"Amy!" Felin exclaimed, floating near her face and prying the hands from it with his paws. "You are going to be fine. No one, no one, would fault you for doing what you did. Who cares if they report it? Any Mage who comes to investigate will find out the truth. Not the falsehoods they'd spin. Someone with a stick too far up their arse might get mad at you using mana against mundanes, but it still doesn't matter. It was very, very clearly self defence. You chased them off without harming them excessively, and held back. You could've killed them all if you wanted to. You know that. But you didn't, did you? Did you?"

"No... I didn't," Amy whispered, still pale.

"Damn right you didn't. I know that I was half ready to shed some blood, yet you, who has endured far more than me from the sounds of it, had more restraint. You are going to be fine, Amy. Trust me."

"Okay, I- I trust you, Felin."

"Either way, we're reporting this to the mayor as soon as we can."

"What?"

"What do you mean 'what'? We need to cover our backs. Those children will be likely too embarrassed to moan to their parents right away, so we need to get in before them, before they try to twist it against you. Even if any Mages that come down here wouldn't find anything wrong with you, they'll soon discover the Tower and we'll lose anything you might've been able to scavenge from it."

"I- I understand. I do. We- We should go, then, right?" Amy said, looking around her to see if anyone was near.

"Yes, we should." Felin said, sternly. "Come on then, let's get on with it."

"S-sure..." Amy muttered, gathering up her things in silence, her thoughts too frantic to think or say anything coherent.

"So that was your planned Spell then?" Felin asked, trying to take her mind off of everything.

"Yes, though I didn't mean it to be... hurtful. It was supposed to be a disguise. Not... whatever that was." Amy explained, almost desperate.

"It was a good working, Amy. Flexible too. You could turn it into anything from making yourself enchanting or even down-right hideous," Felin complimented, taking a seat in her bag as she picked it up. "And not just the regular kind of revolting too. The magical kind of horrifying. Any idea of what to call it?"

"If... maybe..." Amy mumbled under he breath, considering the options. On one hand, I go into what I'd thought of originally. The 'enchanting' side of things. But... but who said something enchanting couldn't be horrifying too? So beautiful, so distracting, that it's unnatural. That it's... "Monstrous Visage. That's what I'd call it."

"Perfect."