(William)

The start of William’s morning was chaotic and embarrassing. He woke up late and scrambled around looking for clean clothes. He made a mad dash to the kitchens, snagged some food, and shoveled it down. As he was hustling out of the palace, he slipped on the staircase in front of Lord Tepi’s twin daughters and landed in the most undignified way. Red-faced, he shot up and zipped out of the castle trying to preserve some of his dignity. Tittering laughter echoed behind him.

Scraps, if I had found my belt, that accident with my pants wouldn’t have happened…

As he flew out of the castle, he chastised himself for being so clumsy. While soaring above the city in a Snapwing Falcon shift, he wondered where he could buy a blast-o-buzzer. After all, the winnings from the Spirit Competition were burning a hole in his enchanted bag. Lin had a blast-o-buzzer in her collection of enchanted items, and she never overslept. With Ivan not being around every morning, he really needed a gadget to help him wake up on time.

His morning mishap was quickly forgotten as he surveyed the bustling city under his wings. Groups of soldiers were moving between the battlements, the market district was already overflowing with patrons, provision wagons were lining the roads, and groups of refugees were still arriving in the city. He wanted to fly over the arena to see if Ivan was there, but there was no time. He banked to the right and headed toward the northern hills outside of Stoneridge. His aunt had told him that they would practice advanced magic and attempt a summoning today.

I love magical training. Excitement surged through him.

(Lisa)

“Good morning, everyone,” Lisa said cheerfully.

Lin, Mary, John, and Claire were already seated. William had just arrived, and he scrambled to set up his folding chair and table. Inwardly, she smiled at his disheveled appearance.

She had appropriated a small encampment with a few tents for training near the base of the Redwood Forest. Partially hidden by a parasol, not far from them, Rose gently swayed on a hammock. Rose looked over the thick leather brace that supported her injured shoulder. Lisa followed her gaze. To the south, Stoneridge was lit by the bright morning light.

“What a great day for magic lessons.” Lisa thrummed with excitement. Teaching magic was her passion and she had not realized how much she had missed it over the years. She beamed at her students before continuing.

“Today’s class is going to be quite exciting! Normally, young casters like yourselves spend years on the basics of Nature magic. With the war at our doorsteps, we’ll jump straight into some of the advanced spell casting. At the end of the class, we’re going to attempt something that has not been done in a decade.” All eyes were glued to her.

She briefly paused for emphasis. “You’re going to meet some new casters and we’re going to attempt a primordial summoning.”

The students cheered and roared. The twins simultaneously jumped up and pumped their fists in the air.

“Settle down… settle down,” Lisa continued. “Before we start the summoning ritual, everyone needs to work on Advanced Levitation.”

John raised his hand. “Can we start with the summoning first?”

“I know you’re excited about the summoning, but for the upcoming battle, we really need more casters to be proficient with Advanced Levitation. It has many practical applications, and you can save lives with it.” There were nods and murmurs of understanding.

“Before you can master the spell, we need to start with the basics. So, let’s review the fundamentals. It was Vekilli Speck who first described magic as primal particles that make up everything around us. These are also called magic particles, sentient particles, or bits. A thorough understanding of the bits can improve spell casting.”

Lisa lifted her hand and Levitated a pebble above her palm. “Let’s examine the Levitation spell. To raise an object, one simply needs to convince the bits comprising the object to move in the desired direction. The action requires a mental command and the right magical affinity. It’s easier to Levitate solid objects because we can see them. The ability to concentrate and visualize is an integral part of casting, and it’s easier to concentrate and visualize on what we can actually see.”

Lisa dropped the pebble. “Advanced Levitation deals with Levitating what cannot be seen. Let me demonstrate."

She walked toward a pile of wood, pulled a sparker out of her belt pouch, and started a fire. She clenched her fist and the fire intensified. She unclenched her fist and the fire winked out. “I just Levitated bits toward the flame and then Levitated them away. So, let’s do this again. This time I want you to see what’s happening.”

Lisa relit the fire and pulled a pouch from her pocket. She dumped the contents of the pouch into her hand. “This dust will allow us to see how the bits actually move.” She threw the powder above the burning logs. Repeating her previous demonstration, she clenched her fist and the billow of powder rushed into the fire and the flames leaped up. “This is a visual demonstration of the bits rushing into the flames. It’s just like dumping inferno dust into a stove. Reversing the movement of bits away from the flames has the opposite effect.” She scooped another handful of powder, threw it above the fire, unclenched her fist, and the blaze flickered out. “This time, the bits rushed away from the flames and that extinguished the fire.” She paused and looked around.

“Some of you may be wondering why Advanced Levitation is so important. As you have already seen, you can intensify or put out fires, which is a useful skill for the upcoming battle. You can also generate a Cone of Silence, create sounds for misdirection, and even conjure underwater air domes.” Lisa looked around. “Does anyone have any questions?”

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Mary raised her hand and Lisa nodded to her.

Mary narrowed her eyes and leaned forward. “Is it possible to use Advanced Levitation to suffocate a person?” she asked with dark intensity. John whipped his head around and looked at his sister in shock.

Lisa’s eyebrows rose. “For some reason, I still find it surprising when I get that question. Still, we’re at war and you need to arm yourselves with knowledge.” She paused. “The answer is simple. It’s very difficult for Advanced Levitation to affect the bits inside of a living organism.”

“Lady Waterlily, some of the divers in Mir use large air pockets for the deep ocean lobster hunts,” Claire said. “The larger fishing vessels bring casters aboard to support the divers.”

“Indeed, that’s a great practical example for Advanced Levitation.”

Looking perplexed, Mary asked, “Why do bits act differently if they’re part of a living organism?”

“We’re not sure. Some theorize that it’s part of the balance between magic and life. Others speculate that it’s the magical power of life itself. There are even a handful of scholars that unify both of those theories.”

“Oh-oh!” William raised his hand. “I’ve got a question.” He waved wildly.

“Go ahead.” Lisa narrowed her eyes. She knew that her nephew was up to something.

He’ll never make a good dicer, she mused.

William placed a finger on his chin, as if in deep thought. “I was wondering… can people use the Cone of Silence… you know… to make it quiet when they toot?”

John and Mary snorted. Claire covered her mouth to stifle a giggle. Lin winced.

Lisa moved her hands up and down. “Settle down, settle down.” She gestured to the young casters. She shook her head and tried to stop the smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. “Well, I’ll let you figure that one out on your own.”

“Can we have that as a homework assignment?” John pleaded. “After all, we’re already eating a bunch of dragon beans.”

“As long as you do it in a safe environment… Outside.” Lisa pointed to the forest.

“Well, that covers the lecture for today’s class. As usual, the best way to learn is to practice! Let’s split up into teams. John, Mary, and William will be in one group, and Lin, Claire, and I will be in the other.” Lisa put a few sparkers and bags of dust on the table.

Teaching Advanced Levitation was tricky. For the first couple of hours all her students struggled. John was having the hardest time. Lisa showed him a few visualization techniques, before one of them finally worked for him.

“Thank you, Lady Waterlily,” John exclaimed after his first successful cast. “Visualizing sounds hokey, but it really works.”

Lisa smiled. “Nicely done. It’s fascinating how the right analogy is often the key to unlocking aspects of magic.”

“Yeah, I thought of an exploding oil casket and flaming sludge everywhere,” said Mary. “That helped me with intensifying the fire. John, what did you think of?”

“I thought about one of those expanding balloons from the Spirit Competition,” John replied. “That did the trick.”

After the practice they took a booster bar break. William and the twins moved to one side of the clearing and started practicing the Cone of Silence.

“Eww!” Lisa overheard Mary’s pretend displeasure, followed by laughter.

The filly-farting of her students was eventually interrupted by the clattering sounds of hooves. Zuzu, the Prime Healer’s apprentice, raced up the stony incline on a ram charger. Lisa watched the approaching rider.

“Owaaa!” Zuzu cried out and her large mount slowed down. “Opoow!” she yelled, and the charger came to a complete stop. She swung a leg over the ram’s back and dropped to the ground. She waved cheerfully. “Hey casters. It’s a lovely day, isn’t it?”

“Hey, Zuzu.” Lisa smiled. “What brings you this way?”

“Well… umm… I’m actually looking for someone,” Zuzu admitted and then stole a glance in the direction of the hammock. “Uh, Lady Hale sent me on an errand.” She reached into her backpack, rummaged around awkwardly, and pulled out a shoulder brace. “I’ve brought this for Lady Summerbreeze.” Her voice wavered.

(Rose)

Rose popped her head up and peeked over the side of the hammock. Her eyes narrowed when she saw the brace and she ducked out of sight.

Ohh, that crusty crone, Rose thought. Clara Hale, the Prime Healer, had uncovered her latest ruse.

“Hey, Zuzu,” Rose replied and dropped out of the hammock. “What brings you this way?” She cocked her head to the side.

Zuzu gulped. “Now, don’t be angry with me, Lady Summerbreeze. I was told to tell you the following, word for word,” she squeaked. Rose knew that the girl was not fond of confrontations.

Zuzu cleared her throat. “Ahem, the Prime Healer said that as part of your recovery, you’re forbidden from flying for the next five days. If you disobey her orders one more time, she’s gonna drug you with slumber shrooms and leave you drooling in one of the healer tents for a week.” She took a deep breath and quickly added, “Her words, not mine. Not mine! She also wanted me to let you know that she knows that you’ve been using an illusion enchantment or a Mirror Image for your brace. Lady Hale insisted that from now on, you should wear this one.” Zuzu proffered the brace that she was holding and handed it to Rose.

Rose felt the enchantment on the new brace the moment she touched it. She raised an eyebrow. “So, Zuzu, tell me what’s so special about this brace?”

Zuzu took a step back. “Ermm, well, umm, it might possibly have a sticky enchantment that maybe won’t allow you to possibly remove it without a healer, but I wouldn’t know anything about that.”

“Oh, I see.” Rose grimaced. The illusion brace around her shoulder dissolved into nothingness. She had been caught yet again, by her nemesis, the Prime Healer. The cantankerous crone was proving exceedingly difficult to shake off.

I’m not going to listen to that loony, she groused inwardly. If it was up to Clara, I’ll be stuck in a healer’s tent for the next week. She’ll poke, prod, and pester me to death. William’s healing is helping without the hassle.

Rose reflected on the things that she had done to get the Prime Healer off her back. She had hired a lookalike, but Clara had seen right through that. She lied about her symptoms during examination, but the hag had not been fooled. She had even tried to scare her by shifting into a gharial, and the wretched woman had not batted an eye.

“Alright, Zuzu.” Rose pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head. “I’ll put it on a little later. Now, run along child, and have a good day.”

The girl sighed. She looked relieved. “Goodbye, everyone,” she chirped. She turned around and hastened toward her ram. “Yip, yip!” she called and snapped the reins.

Rose rolled her eyes. She did not like healers very much. She had been bitten by a hex howler spider when she was nine. The poison had almost killed her. She had been stuck in a healer’s tent for three months. They had prodded her constantly and bled her daily as part of the treatment. It was worse than torture and she had experienced both.

I’m lucky that I didn’t lose my arm. After all, this is my favorite stabby-stab hand. She clenched her fist and made a forward thrusting motion. She winced. It was still painful.

Fortunately, William had managed to heal a lot of the torn tissue around her shoulder. The injury had been so severe that it would have required a Celestial Healing from a master Light magic caster for a full recovery. Rose glared at the new shoulder brace. She had absolutely no intention of putting it on.

The game is afoot. She cackled softly.