Venza had been expecting to be led to the library, but Nora took them into the back gardens instead. Particularly, she brought them to the open space behind the manor Venza used to practice swordsmanship with Vosmer.

"Mother, why are we-" she began to ask, but her mother hushed her.

"Well, I reasoned since you seem to prefer the outdoors so much, perhaps if we go out today we'll actually make progress," Nora explained.

Venza's lips flattened into a thin line. "I told you, the reading is wrong. I can't do magic."

"Now that doesn't make any sense, Venza," her mother said, shaking her head. "While there is a chance that the child of a mage and a non-mage like your father would be born without magic, you clearly have it, and it's nearly as diverse as mine."

"Really?" Aiela asked, looking curious and yet skeptical. Her eyes widened a fraction, and then she shook her head. "How strange."

"What is?" Venza asked.

"I just tried to appraise your magic aptitude," Aiela explained.

Of course she did. Without saying a word, too.

"And?"

"I can't," Aiela said flatly.

"Now you see why I find it hard to believe she has no talent," Nora drawled. "Venza's compatible with Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Nature, Space. She's got all the standard Spheres and an extremely rare Extra."

"You're right," Aiela said. "She actually has more than I do. How curious."

"Standard ones?" Venza repeated, curious despite herself.

"I mean the first five," Nora explained. "The gift of magic is rare, but among those of us who have it, the majority are proficient in usually one or two of those five Spheres. There are a few others, possessed only by a small fraction of the magical population."

"Six, technically," Aiela said. "Though I suppose the last one could be considered rare."

She turned to Aiela. "Would you know what they are?"

"Of course," she said. "I possess one, myself."

"Technically, you possess two, young lady," Nora corrected her. "I took the liberty of performing an Affinity Reading while you weren't paying attention. Relax. Your second Extra isn't explicitly illegal in Odolenia."

Aiela shrugged, showing no sign of remorse for the omission. "I'd rather err on the side of caution. And to be blunt, I disagree one is an Extra."

That got Venza curious. "So what are your Spheres?"

"Air, Nature, and Earth," Aiela answered. "Oh, and a touch of Mind and Death." She smirked as she mentioned the last one.

"Death Magic?" Venza repeated, to ask if she'd heard right. Aiela made no move to deny it. "But that's-"

"Merely having proficiency in the Sphere is not a punishable offense," Nora interjected. "You think I would have taken her in if it was?"

Venza closed her mouth. Of course her mother had already checked. The Death Magic Aiela possessed was probably why Nora had been on the fence in the first place.

"You seem to know to keep it under wraps, at least," Nora told Aiela. "It might not be illegal, but it is frowned upon. Do you actually know any Death Magic spells?"

"I might." Aiela smiled, as if she'd been asked if she could remember what she had for breakfast instead of whether she could cast borderline taboo magic.

Nora narrowed her eyes. "Of course you do. Necromancy?"

Venza furrowed her brow. She thought Death Magic was Necromancy.

"No raising the dead in my skill set, no," Aiela answered. "I have the aptitude but I was never taught."

Nora nodded. "Sensible. You aren't powerful enough yet."

"To use Necromancy?" Venza asked, mostly because she was starting to feel left out.

"No," Nora said. "I mean she's not powerful enough to hide her affinity for Death Magic. What have I taught you about power?"

Venza stopped a moment, racked her brain. "I think the gist was stronger mages can resist weaker ones?"

"An oversimplification if I've ever heard one," Aiela commented. "But I suppose it's technically true. I can see neither you nor Lady Greyfield's affinities."

"An oversimplification that will suffice for now," Nora said. "We can discuss the topic more in the future, after you've actually cast a spell. Are you wearing your amulet?"

Venza nodded, pulling her necklace out of her shirt. It was a silver piece in the shape of the Greyfield Griffin, the animal on their family's coat of arms. A small ruby served as the creature’s eye.

"Aiela," Nora spoke, turning her eyes on the small girl. "How are you with Air magic?"

"I can do the most basic evocations," she answered. "Anything long distance or wide-ranging is too much for me right now, though."

"Could you cast a Sparks spell for me, then?" Nora asked.

Aiela nodded, aimed the index finger of her right hand forward. A visible, tiny bolt of lightning coursed out of it before disappearing almost immediately.

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"With the incantation, please," Nora said patiently.

Aiela paused, using the hand she'd shot lightning out of to cup her chin, as if in thought. "I don't know it."

"Really?" Nora asked, somewhat surprised. "You've forgotten so quickly? How long have you been casting without words?"

"Two years."

"And how long have you been able to cast at all?"

"Two years."

Nora's eyes widened. "You've never used an incantation?"

Aiela shook her head. "I've almost never heard my Oma speak one. She taught me without them. It wasn't easy at first, of course, but I got used to it."

"I'm surprised it worked so well for you at all," Nora said.

"Why's that, Mother?" Venza asked.

Her mother looked at her evenly. "There are two parts to being able to cast magic: First is having the magical affinity to actually cast spells. This differs widely from person to person. The second part is actually knowing spells. For everyone I've met until just now, that means drilling the incantation into someone until they can recall it on command."

"But don't older mages cast spells without incantations all the time?" Aiela asked. "Surely that isn't unique to my Oma and me."

"We can, and we do," Nora answered. "But this is usually after years of familiarity with what each spell does." She paused, seeming to be in thought. Then, she added, "Are there any spells you cannot perform without the incantation?"

"There are plenty of spells I cannot perform, with or without the incantation," Aiela said. "I'm nine, after all."

"Right. I guess we'll find out in a few years. Anyway, can you try teaching Venza the way the Hag taught you?" Nora asked.

Venza blinked. Wait. Did her mother just confirm that she knew Aiela's grandmother was the Oma Mala? If so, why the blazes was she alright with it?

"I don't mind," Aiela answered, turning to Venza, her face wearing a mischievous smirk. "What do you know about spellcasting?"

"You invoke words of power while thinking of how the spell should work," Venza answered. "The magic core in your body then draws in Mana from the air and converts it into the spell you're casting." She stopped, looked at her mother. "Er, that's right, isn't it?"

"It is," Nora said.

"Would it surprise you if I understand it differently?" Aiela asked, cocking her head to one side.

"In light of everything, no," Nora answered. "No, it would not. Now, you think you can teach Venza?"

She nodded again. "Very well, Miss Venza," Aiela said in a teasing tone Venza feared she would have to get used to in the future. "Close your hand like this."

Aiela brought her right hand up to her chest, closed into a fist. Venza did as instructed.

"Good. Now, I want you to imagine a raging storm, all around you."

Venza did. She closed her eyes, imagined rain pouring down from the heavens. She could almost feel the water on her skin, could hear the raindrops as they struck the soil. She shuddered as the cold of a raging storm crashed against her.

"Now, imagine a bolt of lightning crashing down, and release!"

Her hand flung forward as she opened her eyes, like she'd seen Aiela do earlier, her index finger pointed to direct the bolt from her mind into the real world, but there was no bolt. Venza stood there, feeling like an absolute idiot.

Nora sighed as softly as she could, but not enough Venza couldn't hear. Her lips sagged. Why didn't anyone believe her when she said she had no talent for magic?

Aiela's expression baffled her. The other girl seemed perplexed, if anything. "I don't understand."

"Don't understand what?" Venza asked, voice rising. "I don't have magic. What is there not to get?"

"If that were true, I should be able to appraise you," Aiela said, tone perfectly even. "And see you don't have affinity for any Sphere."

"What do you think is wrong, then?"

"I can't be sure, but-" Aiela pursed her lips, looking thoughtful. "Could you try one last spell for me?"

Venza sighed. "Fine. If I have to."

A pebble floated off the ground, drifting to stand at eye level a few feet in front of her. Nora seemed to have no objections, because she let them continue without a word. If nothing else, she seemed curious.

"You know how I do this, right?" Aiela asked.

"Er, you have these invisible things called Hidden that do the lifting, right?"

"Right," Aiela said. "See, my pets have some rudimentary magic themselves. They don't really have good affinity for any of the Spheres like we do, but they can do simple things like this."

"And you're telling me this because?"

"Because," Aiela drawled, rolling her eyes. "If they can do something that takes almost no Mana and has no affinity, then so can you."

"Fine, so what do you want me to do?" Venza asked. "Do I lift a rock or what?"

"Oh no, much simpler," Aiela said. "I want you to move this rock without touching it."

"I- okay? How do I do that?"

"Nothing as intricate as before," Aiela assured her. "Just imagine punching this, the feel of your fist connecting with this little pebble and sending it flying."

"That's all? I can do that." And so, Venza planted her feet firmly apart, like Vosmer had taught her. Her body was angled so her right foot was behind a little. She took a deep breath, raised her fists in a ready stance. In a flash of movement, she brought her right fist forward in a hard straight, putting the weight of her body behind it.

The pebble sailed through the air, smashing a potted plant and sending soil all over the path. The three of them could only stare. She'd been expecting it to fail, of course, and clearly the other two hadn't been expecting much, either.

"Heavens' sake, Young Miss," Aiela finally spoke as her Hidden lifted the pebble back out of the ruined pot. "I told you to move it, not destroy a perfectly good pot."

Venza couldn't answer. She'd done magic. She'd actually done magic!

"So you can do it," Nora spoke. "I knew you could, dear."

Venza's expression fell, sensing danger.

"To think I was almost about to give up," Nora added. "Well, we'll have to redouble your magic lessons now, won't we?"

Venza swore internally.