“Ooo, someone has a fan!” Mowris teased.

“Oh?” I spun, not missing a beat. “So you’re a fan now, are you?”

Stepping back Mowris shook her head at me while folding her arms “Pff! Ask your question already!”

I had something I was pretty curious about and had been having difficulty figuring out a time to bring it up that wouldn’t seem weird. This seemed like the perfect opportunity. “So how do you work with the spirits to do magic?”

Furrowing her brow in confusion she asked “Why do you want to know that?” Disbelief lacing her voice. “Are you planning on becoming a wizard?” She asked, laughter bubbling behind her eyes.

A barrage of images mocking wizards as powerless dupers of even more powerless spirits poured into my head. There was a time I would’ve had trouble continuing a conversation under such an onslaught. Now it was second nature to just tune it out and maintain my focus. “Nah, I doubt I even have the ability.” I replied shrugging.

“Well,” she said “if you did, you would have to concentrate. You know, actually put some effort into it.” She said grinning evilly at me.

“Rules me out!” I said hand to my chest looking comically sincere. Laughing she punched me in the arm. Grabbing my arm, I staggering exaggeratedly to the side and she laughed again. I really enjoyed her laugh and that she laughed easily. It made me feel like somehow things were right with the world.

Her eyes went far away as she thought about the question. “There are tricks that can be used to help with concentration when starting out. You put yourself in a state where you are aware of the spirits around.”

“Like you can see them?” I asked glancing at the grumpy purple spirit floating to my side.

“No.” She said, shaking her head. “I don’t think they are really in this world.”

The images flashing into my mind shifted to focusing on the stupidity of wizards. I continued to ignore them. Mowris paused a second before continuing. “I don’t think they can really be seen. You just know they are there. Most mages already have a spirit. Its why they are at the academy. They’ve accidentally already given their spirit a command. If they’re lucky it was something minor that didn’t get them into trouble. The academy teaches you how to build that relation with your spirit, honestly in the beginning the lessons are more focused on making you aware of your spirit so you know how to not make sure you don’t accidentally command them to do anything.”

I glanced to my left. My own personal spirit following me as it always had. A swirling dark purple cloud. I could always see it though no one else could. It would shift colors sometimes to a bright green though it didn’t do that very often anymore. It and I don’t speak, really. It projects thoughts to me. Over the years I’ve grown to understand it pretty well to the point where we could kind of converse.

Soon after learning to understand it I learned to filter it out. It was bossy, imperious and downright annoying. Right now it was conveying its contempt for wizards in general as tricksters, misleading tiny spirits. It was never very nice when it was purple and it always seemed to be purple anymore.

While I would see other spirits drifted here and there, they would drift off. This one always hung around. I could only guess that I entertained it somehow. Another light purplish spirit drifted close by. I’d been seeing a few more of them today than normal. She made me wonder though. I had always figured that wizards could put themselves in a state where they could see spirits.

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“You offer some of your own energy, but conditionally. Well, you can’t really talk to them. I mean they don’t understand words.” She gave me a frustrated, confused look. “You think at them” she said almost making it sound like a question. “Bah. I’m making a mess of this!” she said her face going pensive as she thought about a better way to put it.

“I think I get it.” I said looking around to see a couple other small light green spirits drift by “You somehow let them know that they can have the energy if they will do something for you?”

Her face lit up. “Exactly! Except there’s a bit more. You offer to keep feeding them, if they will do things you want. Kind of like feeding a stray until they become yours.” She finished up, grinning.

“Oh? So you don’t command any spirit?” I said surprised. “Nah. Wizards usually get one, maybe two spirits I would guess. I mean we can’t see them but the process of getting one’s attention, then convincing them to work with you is pretty distinct. Besides, you only have so much energy, feeding them is like running a race. One or two is the most people can maintain without being exhausted constantly.”

“So then you just tell them to do things and they do them?” I asked curious. She laughed, shaking her head her black hair cascading around her face. “I wish it were that easy! Wizards have to concentrate to control their own energy, then work to siphon off a section to offer and make them aware of what we want. Some of that comes through thought, some through gestures. They don’t really understand us. So going back to the example of the stray, you teach them to perform tricks on command. You have to figure out a command that works for the two of you and practice it with them until they get the hang of it.”

“Okay.” I said “So being a wizard is more about managing your own energy to provide a treat or kind of pay for a spirit to do things?” I asked actually a bit confused about wizards.

My spirit’s ideas came at me basically saying “See? I told you.” and honestly I kind of agreed.

“And then” she said, breaking into my thoughts “there are powered individuals, like you, who can do one or two things. The theory I learned at the academy is that you actually have a surplus of spirit energy and this surplus can be used for usually one or two specific things.”

“Psh, my ability is pretty minor” I said, picking up a stone. Rubbing my finger of the stone its surface sunk in places, shifting as though I was wiping bits of it away until what remained looked like a little flower head I had seen nearby when I picked up the stone.

I had used this power to sell items to visitors as they left town, usually for a low price they couldn’t believe for such intricate work. All I did was displace parts of the rock into the spirit realm. After a while the rock remembers where it’s supposed to be and reverts to the stone it was when I picked it up. This power and that practice, caught up to me.

Because of that I was now part of the watch for this sleepy little town. On the whole it was very quiet. I mean, don’t get me wrong, like anywhere else without large issues the populace drummed up its little issues like they were the end of the world. As wards for our little segment of society we reacted to these issues as though they were large issues and everyone was happy. Having been in some rough areas prior to coming here I had a hard time buying into the drama sometimes, but I reminded myself it could be worse.

I figure people just can’t survive without a certain level of drama. They increase it or suppress it as needed to make their world work. Personally I liked to live in a place where they increased it. Sure, they could be petty, but it sure beat having actual dangers threatening you. I’ve been in places like that and had no desire to go back. I grimaced at the thought. It may not sound good, but if I am truthful with myself I’m no hero. I just want to live my life and let others live theirs.

I offered the stone flower to Mowris who took it and spun it every which way looking at it. “That’s incredible! The detail is amazing! Did you add the little bug?” She asked. I nodded “Yea. It felt like it needed something.” I said distractedly, watching another couple small light purple spirits float past.

Noting my distraction she asked “Something wrong?”

“I have a bad feeling. Let’s head this way.” I pointed the direction one of the spirits, a pale purple form flitting into view to the right, flowing quickly down the road, through the corner of a building.

“Hey Baz!” said a friendly voice nearby. I waved distractedly at Jimmy focusing on following the spirit. Suddenly my concentration was broken by a cry up ahead. “NECROMANCER!”