The morning light spilt reluctantly into the clearing, casting a pale glow over the frost-riddled ground. William, seated cross-legged beside the remains of last night’s fire, squinted in frustration at the smouldering embers. It was one thing to invoke a spark once, but try as he might, his attempts to replicate the magic had failed entirely. The trick now seemed maddeningly elusive.

"Right," he muttered, shaking his head as he extended a hand over the dim coals. "Once more, eh? Just give it a little nudge."

He focused on the small, dying fire, determined to coax another flare from it. His mind concentrated fully on rekindling that peculiar sensation he’d felt before. But as had been the case for the past hour, the embers remained stubbornly unchanged.

Jill, sitting a little ways off, was watching him carefully, eyes fixed on the ember. She gave him a look that, were she able to speak, might say, Come on, then, what’s the holdup?

“Looks like magic’s taken the day off,” he sighed, raising an eyebrow. He hadn’t the foggiest notion of what he was missing, but his instincts whispered that language itself held some hidden key. After all, wasn’t language what had lifted humanity from grunts to grandeur? He had half a mind to test the theory properly.

“Right then, let’s see if you’ve any affinity for Latin,” he murmured, shifting his posture as he prepared to try again.

He glanced up at Jill, who sat nearby watching him with mild curiosity, her face impassive but her eyes locked on him. He couldn’t help but feel a bit theatrical, and as he cleared his throat, he held his hand aloft with a certain dramatic flair. “Ignis,” he intoned, his voice low and steady as he let the Latin syllables roll out, a reverent command.

At once, the embers gave a subtle flicker. Just a hint of light, but unmistakably there. William felt a rush of exhilaration, as if he’d unlocked some hidden mechanism.

“Ignis!” he repeated, this time with a touch more conviction.

The effect was immediate. The embers flared back to life, flames licking upward in a bright orange rush, casting warmth and light over the clearing. William sat back, feeling a strange satisfaction bubbling up. It was as though the Latin itself had shaped the magic, making it sharper and far more precise than his vague, unspoken attempts.

"Would you look at that," he muttered, glancing at Jill. She tilted her head, clearly intrigued but silent as ever. He considered his success and the particular resonance that Latin seemed to have. It struck him as absurdly fitting.

“Well, fancy that,” William muttered, grinning as he looked at her. “Seems a bit of Latin does the trick.” He glanced at the fire, amused. Using Latin to revive a flame in the Ice Age, he thought, bet my old Professor Hartley would be gobsmacked by this.

“Ig…nis?” Jill muttered, fascinated with the new word she just learned. She learned that it was called 'fire' last night but now, it was called 'Ignis'. She was fascinated by the fact that a single thing can have two words.

William smiled at her, "Yes, Jill. Ignis."

"Ignis," she said with more conviction. She copied William's theatrics by holding her slim hand aloft. The flames did indeed rise, though noticeably to a lesser amount. Might be because she doesn't know the entire language, he theorised. Jill sat back with a small, self-satisfied smile, giving him a look that clearly said, I’ve got the hang of it.

William grinned, scanning the clearing, his eyes landing on a thin, straight stick lying amongst the scattered kindling. A ridiculous thought struck him. Picking it up, he tested the feel of it in his hand—light, balanced, almost as if it belonged there. It was better than any stick he'd picked up before, he gave it that.

“Alright then,” he muttered, giving the stick a twirl. “Let’s make this a proper affair.” With the stick—his 'wand'—pointed toward the flames, he squared his shoulders, hoping Jill wouldn’t read too much into his theatrics. “Ignis,” he said, his voice even. He absolutely adored reading Harry Potter while growing up so he was proper happy about using the 'wand'.

The flames leapt higher, burning brighter in response like they’d been waiting for the command. William froze, the stick still extended, his mind racing. It was as though the magic had acknowledged the stick in his hand, channelling his intent with more focus than his bare hands had managed. The silly little branch had… amplified it.

Jill gasped, her mouth open slightly as she stared between him and the flames, her expression one of dawning excitement. She reached forward, pointing at the stick, then at the fire, her eyes wide with a mixture of disbelief and admiration.

The stick—wand, he corrected himself—seemed to channel the magic, amplifying it. It was a silly notion, but it felt right.

He held it up, giving it a slight flourish, “It’s called a wand, Jill. And wouldn’t you know, it seems to make things more… well, manageable.” He held the stick out towards her, nodding for her to touch it. “Here. Feel the weight of it—it’s just a stick, but it seems like more, doesn’t it?”

Jill reached out, her hand brushing the stick, as though half-expecting something extraordinary to happen again. She glanced up at him, eyes bright with the thrill of discovery. She pointed at the stick, her voice confident. “Magic?”

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He raised an eyebrow, Wow, she's learning quickly. He chuckled. "Magic, indeed, Jill. Magic, indeed. Would you like to try?" he offered, gesturing to the wand. "Though mind you, we should probably start with something simple."

She tilted her head, not understanding. He facepalmed, Of course, she doesn't understand, you dunce William. She hasn't been taught proper English yet.

He pointed at the wand, "Wand." Then he pointed at the fire, "Ignis." Then he pointed at her, "Magic?"

She nodded this time, as if understanding what I said. I handed her the 'wand',

William watched as Jill took the “wand” with utmost care, holding it delicately between her fingers as if it were some sacred relic. Her mismatched eyes flicked between the stick and the fire with a peculiar intensity. William smiled—she looked as though she were holding lightning itself, ready to summon a storm.

“Right then,” he said, leaning back and gesturing toward the embers. “Your turn, Jill. Let’s see if you’ve got a touch of magic in you.”

Jill blinked, clearly still not understanding most of his words, but she held the stick out, mimicking his earlier motion. Her mouth formed the shape of his words, her voice soft as she carefully pronounced, “Ig…nis.”

A faint spark appeared in the embers, barely a flicker compared to the earlier flare William had managed, but it was enough. Her eyes widened, mouth parting in surprise as she watched the tiny flame dance up from the coals before quickly fading.

“Not bad at all!” William clapped, grinning. “You’ve got the hang of it.”

Jill looked up at him, an unmistakable gleam of pride in her eyes. She repeated the word, a little louder this time, as if testing its effect. “Ignis.” Another small spark appeared, and she beamed, clutching the stick in triumph.

“Brilliant,” William said, nodding approvingly. “Though you’ll need a bit more practice to get a proper blaze going, but we’re off to a decent start.”

He grinned and muttered to himself, "Let's try something other than fire."

After taking the wand back, he stood back. Waving his wand, he yelled, "Levare!" The small rock he was waving at, wobble a little before rising, stopping at eye-level. He didn't stop there. He tried to raise multiple rocks together this time, "Omnes Lapides Levare!"

All rocks in the near vicinity rose. Jill looked around, shocked by what William had just done. He, however, was tired. Raising all those rocks made him very tired, which he didn't think was even possible. The rocks, after staying airborne for 5 seconds, started to fall one by one as William's concentration wavered.

He thought to himself as he panted, I... I don't think Latin is too suitable for levitation. Maybe some other language?

“Well,” William panted, letting out a breathy chuckle, “we’ve got a touch of magic here, Jill, but it’s not quite up to scratch yet.” He straightened, stretching his shoulders and looking thoughtfully at the rocks scattered around the clearing. “Levare, ignis… they do the trick, but something’s not quite right for the heavier lifting.”

He mused aloud, “Maybe Latin isn’t the ideal language for this type of magic.” His thoughts wandered back to his old fascination with language structure and origins. After all, different languages had evolved with distinct patterns, and perhaps magic followed similar rules. It couldn’t hurt to try another one, right?

“Greek, perhaps,” he muttered to himself, recalling that Ancient Greek was one of the oldest languages he knew, deeply rooted in knowledge and the sciences. He’d studied its vocabulary in university for a while—before he’d even imagined such a language could conjure anything but well-worn academic theories.

He pointed his wand at a moderately sized rock nearby, cleared his throat, and in his best rendition of ancient Greek, he declared, “Kinein lithos!”

The rock gave a small lurch, quivering slightly before it lifted into the air. It rose smoothly, far smoother than it had with Latin.

“Ha! Now we’re getting somewhere!” William grinned, delighted by the newfound ease of this spell. Jill’s eyes widened, watching the rock float, her fascination growing.

Encouraged, he aimed at a larger boulder just a few feet away and tried again, “Kinein lithos!” The boulder rose, hovering just a few inches off the ground. This time, the effort felt lighter, the energy flowing like a river.

“Looks like Greek’s got a way with movement magic,” he said, catching his breath.

The rock floated serenely until William gave it a slight nudge with his wand, and it descended gently to the ground.

He looked over at Jill, who was still staring at him with wide eyes, "Well, do you want to try it? Go on. Try." He handed her the wand.

She took it and tried to copy him, "Kinein… lithos?” she murmured, her pronunciation hesitant but close enough to the original. The rock wobbled, as though unsure whether it wanted to obey, then lifted a few inches off the ground.

William nodded. She really seems to have a lot of talent. In learning and this magic. Jill looked between him and the floating rock with growing excitement, her face breaking into a rare smile. She gave the rock a small flick with her hand, and it hovered a little higher, then gently floated back to the ground.

He took back the wand, turning it thoughtfully between his fingers. His success with Greek had him wondering—was there a particular language for each kind of magic? If Latin felt right for conjuring flame and Greek for movement, then what might other ancient tongues hold?

“What do you reckon, Jill?” he asked, musing aloud. "It seems there is more to this than simply wand movement and languages. Each type of magic should be connected to a specific language."

Jill looked like she didn't understand but nodded anyway. He smiled at that. It was nice having someone to talk to even if she couldn't talk back or understand. Still, she pointed at the rocks, her expression an eager question.

“Another one?” he asked, laughing. “Alright then, let’s try a bit of Norse.”

The thought brought a tingle of anticipation. Norse was a language that had long evolved into several languages, namely Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Icelandic, and Faroese. He had to study all the languages and read a lot of ancient books written in Old Norse. That way, he’d managed to pick up the fragments of Old Norse and before long, he had reconstructed the entire language. Of course, he knew there were easier ways to learn it. Of course, he could have just gone to YouTube and learned the language there and then but where was the fun in that, right? He waved his wand once more and declared, "ᛋᛏᚬᚾᛁ ᛏᚬ ᚴᚬᛚᛏ"—the closest he could manage to say, "stone to gold." Suddenly, William felt like he had just run a marathon. He ran out of breath, far more than he had when he was just lifting a few mere pebbles.

The stone turned to pure gold. Although it wore off after just a minute, for a moment there, its innate structure changed from whatever mess of elements the stone had to pure gold. He grinned despite coughing, "Looks like I won't have to worry about money in the future, especially if I can make the change permanent."