Lahar stretches her arms above her head as she lets out a loud yawn. She leans back in her chair and relaxes after spending the past few hours listening to Arena's lectures about various topics.

She's at the dining table with stacks of books towering over her. There are books from every corner of the globe, each varying in style and age. Scattered around are various knickknacks, from regular, everyday items to more exotic items: gloves, statues, mirrors, lanterns...it reminds her of a garage sale.

"That should be enough of a history lesson for the day," Arena says, closing a book.

"Hurray," Lahar says sarcastically.

"Basic history is essential to magic. You have to know what the building blocks are made of before you can use them," Arena says with passion. "Still, we should move on from that." Arena leaves the table.

"Thanks for the clothes again," Lahar says as he makes his way to a bookshelf in the living room.

His finger runs down the spines of the books as his eyes scan the shelf. "It's no problem; I have too many clothes anyway. You sure they fit well? I just recently learned that spell, so they might not be perfect," he says.

Lahar pulls on a red T-shirt with a cartoon hero on it and gray joggers that fit comfortably. "No, they're perfect. Trust me," she says gratefully.

Arena himself is wearing yellow basketball shorts and a plain gray T-shirt. "If you say so," he says. "I think that's enough lecturing for the day. I think we should start the practical portion of the day."

"Finally!" Lahar exclaims.

"Don't act too excited. Like I said before, it's half learning and half experiencing. You have to learn the mechanics of this before putting it into practice."

She stands on her tiptoes to place a book on the top of the nearest tower. She then picks up an old faded blue leather-bound book, the pages crackling as she turns them. "Which spell will I learn today?" she asks.

"The same one as the day before and the day before that," he says sternly.

"Maybe we should move on from that one. Let's try something with a little more spice," she says.

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"Not happening. We won't move on until you get it down." He puts on his sneakers and grabs a book with one hand and a folded beach chair leaning against the wall by the door with his other hand. "Let's head outside and get started," he says.

Lahar ties her sneaker laces and heads outside with him. They walk past the porch and the small patch of vibrant green grass leading to the golden beach. Arena unfolds the chair on the sand and sits down. He opens the book and begins to read. Lahar sits down, crossing her legs. Arena reaches into his pocket and, without looking away from the book, tosses a small object to Lahar.

She catches it with both hands. She opens them up to see a white golf ball and sighs disappointedly. Lahar grips the ball between her left index finger and thumb. She then closes her eyes as Arena says, "Remember, I want that ball blue."

She says the spell verbatim and then opens her eyes. The golf ball is the same.

Lahar isn't deterred. She continues this for half an hour. Sweat falls from her forehead. She grabs the hair on the top of her head as she stares intensely at the ball. "One more time. This will be the one." She squeezes the ball tightly between her fingers. She chants the words once more. The ball stays the same.

"Damn," she whispers.

Arena looks over at her and then back at his book. "We've been doing this for a while now," he says. "Close your eyes, and listen to me. Maybe if I refresh your mind on what we've covered, you'll get it down."

Lahar closes her eyes as he continues to speak. "Surrounding us all is an energy known as the Source. This fuels our magic and has been with us since this universe was born. From the grains of sand below you to the algae in the ocean. Living or not, a variation of the Source is in it."

As he speaks, Lahar feels a soft breeze hit her skin. "Magic is the harmony of the mind, soul, and body. A mixture of the tangible and intangible. Now, like all energies, we need a conductor for it."

Lahar feels a weight on her wrist. She has something on it now. She opens her eyes to see a gold bangle, with symbols and a language she can't recognize engraved all over it. She notices the beautiful craftsmanship as she starts to examine it.

"What's this?"

"That right there is your conductor. Think of it as your wand. I was hoping you would be able to use your body as a conductor, but that is extremely rare," he says.

"Was that a self-brag?" she says, staring at him.

He looks away from his book and at her. "Unfortunately, I am not that lucky. You see, a conductor can be anything someone has engraved his or her magic to. It can be jewelry, clothing—anything, really. Normally the older, closer to nature, or more personal the item is, the better a conductor it is."

Gold liquid flows out of Arena's arm like silk threads. "I went for the more personal route. This liquid is an alloy I made that runs through my body like blood through my veins. It is a mixture of a bunch of alloys. It is strong like diamond, pretty as gold, and one hell of a superconductor. I won't recommend this way, though, because if you're new to this, it can seriously damage your body."

"Then it is safe to say this bangle falls into the magical category," Lahar says while flicking it. "You make this yourself?"

"No, I actually found it. I have absolutely no idea what it does. So, I'm giving it to you so that you can use it as your own wand and in hopes you will figure out what it does."