Chapter Eighteen

Tell me, how does magic work?

Nia looked at the giant, green bear sitting on his haunches before her. Oranges, reds, and passionate pinks lit the evening horizon on fire . Yet, the cooling air around them caused her to shiver involuntarily and pull her shawl tightly around herself. It was only an hour or so until the light completely disappeared beneath the crowns of the trees surrounding the small pond, bathing them in darkness.

She didn’t think she had enough time to learn much of anything before she couldn’t see her hand in front of her face. “Intent. Mana moves according to your will, forming outside the body, taking the shape of your intent.”

And what is mana?

“It is… in your body?” Nia asked more than answered as she shifted uncomfortably on the log she was using as a stool. Mister Greeny had explained it more than once, but she still couldn’t quite grasp the concept.

Nia had to wonder if Mister Greeny was capable of sighing. Yes, mana is ‘in your body ,’ but it is so much more. It is what anchors the soul to your physical form. It is the lattice upon which everything is built ; it is what makes everything around you possible. He held out a paw, thick, sharp claws curling inward, forming a deadly bowl as big around as her head. Look.

With his words, a dim light arose from his cupped claws, spinning languidly like a small ball held up by an invisible string. It was blue, then red, then a pleasant shade of green ; it was every color of the rainbow before it was as black as a starless night sky. Nia hadn’t noticed it, but she was standing only inches away from the mesmerizing ball of ever-changing light, her wide, hazel eyes reflecting everything.

Everyone, everything, is capable of magic. It was not this way before, but the world has changed. Mister Greeny explained, breaking her out of her trance. But that is not important now. I have seen that mana is linked directly to the soul, binding it to this plane, the soul itself can act upon that link. In doing so, mana can be shaped and molded to your ‘will’. The ball of light vanished with a soft pop, causing Nia to jump back, startled. Willpower is nothing but your soul desiring a specific outcome, and once you can feel the mana inside yourself, it only takes but a thought to enact wondrous change.

“And since mana is the building block of the world, magic is capable of anything?” Nia concluded, slowly understanding the profound meaning of his words. She was curious about what else he had said, about how magic used to be, but decided to focus on one lesson at a time.

He nodded . Within reason, of course. With significant change comes a greater requirement of mana, and where does one’s mana come from?

“Their core.” Her voice held much more confidence than before. She knew this one. “Their mana core holds a person’s mana, and by using magic, they can make it larger and stronger.”

Yes, but a mana core is so much more. His chest split open with a crack, exposing his brightly shining emerald core, swirls of gold dancing in the dimming light. Your core is the bridge between mana and your soul, and because it touches your soul, it allows you to get a glimpse of the soul itself. But beware, should your core be damaged, so could your very being.

“But you’ve…” Nia thought back to all of the times he had comforted her with his core’s warmth ; she had no idea it was so dangerous for him to be doing so. It showed a remarkable amount of trust, and she was nearly moved to tears.

Do not fret, little one. My core is unique and will not be damaged so easily. The same could not be said about you, though. His core receded into his chest, disappearing and casting the space between them in twilight. Your core is still small and weak ; even overtaxing yourself by using too much of your mana could damage it. You must be cautious.

Nia suddenly had much to think about. Mister Greeny had revealed serious dangers hidden from her. She had thought that running out of mana would only make her feel exhausted and sometimes give her an awful headache, but now… she didn’t know if performing magic at all was a good idea. “How do you know if you’re going too far?”

You will know it is not a simple thing to do to damage your core. In fact, he had only seen it once, and that was the only reason he knew it to be possible.

It was when he had acquired the form of the Earthren Wyrm. Overwhelming pride and unending wrath caused the magical beast to push itself beyond its limits during their fight for supremacy, causing its core to crack, unleashing all of its mana at once. The damage was absolute ; the area immediately surrounding the massive creature was burnt to ash, and it was unable to withstand the devastating radiation of magic.

Surprisingly, the body of the Wyrm was unharmed during the silent explosion of mana. He could only surmise that that was because its body was immune to its own mana, but one thing was for certain : the beast’s soul was destroyed along with everything else around it. He might have been as well if he hadn’t felt the mana surge before its core shattered.

“So, I shouldn’t worry about it?” Nia asked skeptically, “ Then why mention it at all?”

Because it is something to be aware of and that it is possible. Mister Greeny told her, his head swinging toward the darkening forest. Nia was curious what he was looking for until she saw the long, colorful body of Mister Long slithering noisily out from between the trees.

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Now, your true lesson will begin , he said as he reached his four paws. I hope you do not think less of me afterward.

“What?” Her question was cut short by the pained howls of the creature caught between Mister Long’s wide jaws.

It looked like a disfigured elf, shorter than them by at least two feet and without hair. Its skin was a filthy green , just like the pond before it was cleansed, but was covered by streams of vivid red that seeped from countless punctures caused by Mister Long’s needle-like teeth. It thrashed about, trying to escape but only worsening the agony it was in as its thorny prison shredded its skin and muscles as if they were paper.

“What… is it?” Nia asked as she took a step back. She could recognize a monster when she saw one, but due to its thrashing and resulting gore, she was unable to identify it.

A goblin. Mister Greeny informed her, giving the living golem a silent command to drop the poor wretch onto the ground before them.

As soon as the goblin touched the ground, it rolled to its feet with a snarl. Large, yellow eyes glared at them with feral anger and crooked teeth of the same color were bared. But instead of attacking them in retribution for its treatment, the goblin immediately turned to run back into the forest. Before it was able to take a single step, thick roots erupted from the ground and wrapped themselves around the emaciated limbs of the monster, holding it in place. It wailed and barked and snarled, its blood spattering the ground beneath it as it fought against its shackles.

Nia shook her head, forcing a breath through her pursed lips and holding her aching stomach. “Wha—what are we doing?”

Her voice was shaky and full of uncertainty. She felt a natural disgust for the monster in front of her . She had heard many stories of goblins’ propensity for wanton violence and other vile acts better left unsaid. Still, something inside of her felt pity for the creature, an empathy that wanted to reach out and comfort it, end its pain, and maybe quell its irrational anger.

You must end its suffering. He said, pointedly looking away from the screaming monster. You must kill it.

“What?” Nia gasped, looking at Mister Greeny as if he’d grown a second head. “I can’t do that!”

What is stopping you? He asked her, forcing the gobbling down to its knees. If one was to catch you alone, it would surely feel differently about you. Would you not protect yourself? Would you let it ravage you out of misplaced empathy?

Nia was stunned. She had not expected her lessons to turn so violent, she wasn’t prepared. “I—I don’t…”

What if it was I, laying on the forest floor, weak and vulnerable? Mister Greeny said forcefully, allowing the root holding the goblin’s arm to slacken. Feeling it’s restraints loosening, it jerked its body, freeing itself just enough to swing wildly at the other roots holding it with its filthy claws. What if it was your mother? Would you just stand by and do nothing?

#x200e “Of—of course, I wouldn’t!” Nia cried, refusing to look at the flailing goblin.

Then show me.

It was hard, the hardest thing she had ever done, but Nia managed to tear her eyes off of the ground and place them on the snarling goblin. Its claws were futilely skimming across the surface of the roots tethering him to the ground, its eyes were wide and wild, rolling around in its angular skull. She tried to think of how to end its suffering, the many different forms that her mana could take to ensure a swift and painless death, but her mind was a mess.

She couldn’t think.

She shook her head, “I—I can’t do it.”

Mister Greeny said nothing, only looked upon her with emotionless eyes as the roots slackened further, freeing the goblin’s upper body. It howled a triumphant screech. Not realizing that its legs were still constrained, it lunged toward Nia and fell onto the ground. Its claws dug jagged furrows into the soft soil as it clawed its way toward her, the roots still attached to its legs but reeling out from the ground like a fish on a line.

Nia took a step back, then another. Her eyes were terrified pinpricks as they tracked the monster crawling toward her. How could something have so much hate in its heart that, even as injured as it was, still wanted nothing more than to tear her apart?

How could she ever face something like this? She didn’t think she could. “Please, don’t make me do it…”

Mister Greeny ignored her pleas, staring dispassionately as the goblin inched ever closer to her. She searched for any hint that he would stop this but found nothing. She took another step back, gaining no distance from the snarling monster. She was startled when her back pressed up against something hard and unyielding. She spun around, her loose hair whipping her in the face, and saw the imposing body of Mister Long hemming her in, corralling her like an animal.

A sharp tug on her dress, followed by a nauseating tearing sound, nearly dragged her to the ground. She had been distracted, and in that time, the goblin had clawed its way to her. Its clawed hand on the end of its wiry arm held a piece of her long skirt, waving it around like a tattered flag until it brought the cloth to its nose. Then, its demeanor changed instantly.

Its insistent, irate screeching morphed into a low mewling, filled with a need that made her skin crawl. Wide yellow eyes looked up at her as if seeing her for the first time, and they held the promise of misery, not death, but something much worse. It was sickening.

Any empathy for the horrible creature vanished like early morning fog underneath the summer sun, leaving behind a boiling anger that swirled violently in her heaving chest. She was still afraid, terrified of what the monster would do to her should it succeed in its pursuit, but no longer restrained by her thoughts of mercy. She finally understood that no amount of pleading would save her, not now, and surely not if she was alone. She had to kill the monster; it would end no other way.

With a thought, her mana surged from her core and raced to do her bidding. Before, she would need a few moments to form the image of what she wanted, constructing her magic into a form that would serve her purpose, often adding small, unnecessary flourishes like roses on her thorn wall or pleasing swirls of color when she summoned her restricting vines. Now, she only held one thought in her muddled mind, and that was death.

The ground beneath the goblin’s head bubbled like boiling tar before erupting in a shower of dirt and rock. The rumbling pules of the beast cut off abruptly, casting the area around her in an eerie silence, where the only sounds were her labored breathing and the deafening waters of the pond that lapped the muddy shore behind her.

It was nearly dark now, the sun’s fiery light only reaching her through the barren caps of the trees, casting long shadows that reached for her like monstrous claws. That is what she saw: monsters all around her, but she forced herself to focus on the one lying in the ever-expanding puddle of its own blood. Its clawed hand still reached for her, the other clutching the piece of cloth it had ripped from her skirt. Long gashes marred its sickly flesh, the injuries from Mister Long’s deadly mouth; she had nothing to do with those.

But its head was gone. A spike of earth just as tall as she was replaced it. Wicked barbs of stone pointed downward, clinging onto the bits of bone and brain and flesh they had torn through, making her magic look as if it were a macabre tree heavy with sickening fruit. It was disgusting, and Nia couldn’t believe that she was the cause of such brutality.

She hated it.

She wanted nothing to do with killing and felt a deep resentment forming inside of her.

I am sorry, little one. Came Mister Greeny’s voice. For the first time, it sounded caustic to Nia’s ears. It was necessary—

“I hate you…” She growled, almost surprised by the venom dripping from her own voice, but her anger and disgust for herself kept her from any deeper self-reflection. “I—I. Just don’t… come near me…”

Nia turned away from him, her fists clenched tightly and her shoulders trembling. She didn’t know what to do with herself but knew she couldn’t stay here… with him. Without a second of thought, she stormed into the forest, not caring where she ended up. Just as long as it wasn’t there, next to the gory monument she had constructed and the monster that had made her do it.