Ward spells were a truly a level more complex than Kaitlyn had tried to manage before. A mage hand might be a knot, but the simple ward Master Garthis taught Kaitlyn was like trying to build a house out of cooked noodles. The magic, even supplemented with runes to simplify the spell, twisted the magic around and through the space warded. Master Garthis taught the spell as something like a “paint” she could build into and around an object. This did help.
When ‘building’ with magic the mage’s mind must support the spell until structures are ‘built’ to hold the magic. One difficulty for mages is that the ‘thickness’ of a specific spell line or gesture might not reflect the ‘weight’ it either adds to the final spell or the structure to hold future elements. Even spells similar to the ones Kaitlyn was learning, which have centuries of mages trying to simplify, tighten, and strengthen them, could require a significant amount of mental strength for a mage to hold the magic in place while guiding the magic and runes until it was stable enough to begin its actual function.
Kaitlyn began by building the spell around her door, using some of the magic invested in the door itself to hold up the spell. It was not a spell she got right the first time, or the tenth.
When Master Garthis left after that lesson Kaitlyn could only sink into a chair near the fireplace. She soon found a mug of chamomile tea near her hand, still steaming. She had to smile. She was still a little shaky as she lifted the cup to her mouth. She was still sitting there when the door opened and Do-yun sauntered in.
The tavern was currently empty. He cocked his head a bit and asked, “Are you unwell?”
“I’m exhausted,” Kaitlyn said. “Master Garthis was trying to teach me a ward.”
“Oh? Which one?” Do-yun asked.
Kaitlyn pointed at the open book on the table. Do-yun slid into the seat next to her and looked at it. He nodded a little and said, “They’ve improved it some more. It’s easier than it used to be.”
“This is the easier version?” Kaitlyn groaned.
Do-yun laughed and said, “Dear one, this particular ward used to require holding this, and this… oh they fixed that hole too. This is a very versatile ward and once you master this you will be much safer here. I’m glad your master is adding to your defenses.”
“Aside from a red cap, I’ve been overall very safe,” Kaitlyn said.
“Yes, but you are also becoming known,” Do-yun said, “I heard about this place before I came, and when I left I followed those merchants a ways and they told at least three other merchants about your little establishment.”
Kailtyn grimaced and said, “Probably warned them away.”
“Actually, they spoke quite warmly of your food and the safe sleep they experienced while under your roof,” Do-yun said. “You need to be prepared that eventually trouble will come sniffing as well.”
She wasn’t sure how to think about that. They had seemed rude and unhappy to her. She couldn’t help but wonder why they would then praise her to others. She shrugged her shoulders and then said, “Well, I can’t practice this spell any more for now, I’m too exhausted.”
“I sometimes forget that you haven’t been practicing magic for long,” Do-yun said, “you have so much power at your fingers and you are so competent with the spells you have mastered… I would take you as my own apprentice if you were not trapped in this house.”
“What?” Kaitlyn was surprised by this.
“I travel too much to become your master,” Do-yun said languidly. “Don’t expect me to visit this dark and cold forest for the winter. You are better served with Master Garthis. He is a good man as well as a good teacher.”
“Yes he is,” Kaitlyn agreed.
Do-yun looked her up and down. He waved a hand and a glass of wine appeared in it. He passed it over to her and she looked at it in surprise, “What is this?”
“From a vineyard some days from here,” he replied, “try it. If you like it, I will see to it they knew they might have an excellent new opportunity here.”
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“If I’m here,” Kaitlyn said.
Do-yun raised a curious eyebrow and said, “If? Where do you think you will go? Have you unraveled your curse?”
“No,” Kaitlyn sighed, “but…. well, some things have happened.”
She explained what they had learned. Like Master Garthis, Do-yun wanted to see the cauldron for himself and she needed live prey to feed it. The foxkin went hunting for himself and when he returned he carried a large stag over his shoulders. Kaitlyn was grateful the only one in the inn was herself as she guided the not-mana to the stag and it drew it into the cauldron.
“Oh, now that is interesting,” Do-yun looked delighted rather than nervous. He took deep sniffs around the fireplace and said, “I don’t think the magic is here exactly, it’s just a representation… maybe some kind of synergism or just an illusion spell…”
Kaitlyn smirked. There were some ways the kitsune and her master reacted that was so similar she couldn’t help but smile. For some time he wandered around the house, sniffing very corners and places. He finally returned where Kaitlyn waited with a book and said, “It’s beautiful. It is any fireplace in the house, not just here. Also, I have excellent news for you.”
“Oh?” Kaitlyn looked up.
“I don’t think you need to give it living things,” he said, “I am pretty sure it just wants mana. Anyone sleeping under the roof could theoretically feed it.”
“Sleeping?” Kaitlyn said.
“Well, it is a theory based on some smells I associate with sleep magic,” Do-yun said. “Could we do some experiments?”
“I wouldn’t object as long as you and Master Garthis agree it is safe,” Kaitlyn said.
“I will wait until he arrives,” Do-yun nodded, “Until then I will write out the attributes I hope to check.”
He spent the rest of the afternoon occassionally approaching the fireplace and sniffing. Once Kaitlyn had energy again, she attempted her assigned ward again. He watched her and tried to give her some advice, but again she continued to collapse the spell in the same spot. She ground her teeth and growled a curse in dragon which could only translate as, “I shall giggle while I eat your eggs from your corpse.”
Fapallo walked in just as she made this curse and growled back at her, “Rude.”
“I’m sorry,” Kaitlyn spoke in common again, “I’m just… I’m frustrated.”
“Explain,” Fapallo said.
“It’s this spell,” Kaitlyn said, “I have to… hold it up with my mind while I build it and every time I try, it collapses. I don’t have enough hands!”
“You have the most hands,” Fapallo said, looking at one of her magic hands currently pouring Do-yun a cup of tea, “why do you not use them?”
Kaitlyn looked at Do-yun and the kitsune raised his eyebrows, “I’ve never heard of someone using magic hands for this, but most mages have no more than one at a time when they are learning this.”
“It won’t hurt to try,” Kaitlyn stretched her fingers and then shook out her hands, “This will have to be my last try today.”
Calling over her magic hands, Kaitlyn carefully began constructing the ward again. Do-yun’s leg began bouncing nervously when she introduced her first two magic hands to hold up one of the supports of the ward. The third time she did this, Do-yun slowly stood and approached closely. A tail had appeared behind him and it was so surprising, Kaitlyn almost lost her concentration. She closed her eyes and continued building it with her magical sight instead.
There was an audible ‘click’ to Kaitlyn when the ward locked into place and she grinned. Do-yun immediately tossed some magic as it and watched it bounce harmlessly off. He grinned and said, “That… was beautiful Kaitlyn.”
He walked around the ward and approached her, his gait almost stalking as he approached and stepped right in front of her. She looked up at his eyes and felt her heart racing. He lifted both her hands to his lips and kissed the fingers on one hand and then the other. He said, “It is probably good you are unavailable to be my apprentice, I am not sure I could remain the appropriate distance from you as your master.”
“It was Fapallo’s idea,” Kaitlyn said, “you should be impressed with him.”
Do-yun chuckled and then turned to the dragon. He bowed his head and said, “I am indeed impressed. You are young dragon, but already amazing.”
Fapallo shifted on his claws and preened under the praise. He then whistled, “I know I am worthy of worship.”
Do-yun straightened again and said, “I look forward to seeing your master’s reaction. It would still be a good exercise to practice building without the hands…. but honestly, this is also a very strong ward.”
“I don’t understand something,” Kaitlyn said, “how is this supposed to help me if someone actually attacks. It takes too long to build.”
“Ah, I suspect your master is going to teach you this as part of an enchantment,” Do-yun said, “you have been learning of enchantments with this house, and lack only the training to embed your ward into an object to become an enchanter of objects. Once you have those pieces, you cast the ward and lock it into an object and then you have near-instant wards.”
“What do you do?” Kaitlyn asked.
Do-yun shifted a moment and almost instantly a ward almost identical to Kaitlyn’s appeared in front of him. He grinned and said, “When you learn to build them over and over again, it gets easier. Like your magic hands.”
“Practice,” Kaitlyn murmured to herself, “and need. I needed my hands, so I got good at them…”
“I hope this is one you do not become as proficient with because of need,” Do-yun said seriously, “I hope your only use for it is ever for practice.”
“Do you think I should keep trying without my hands?” Kaitlyn asked.
“I would recommend you work on incremental adjustments.” Do-yun said. “You used six hands to help you this time. Tomorrow, see if you can only use five. Or four. They are a useful tool. and I may begin trying to use them in some of my complex spells, it was a creative suggestion. It would not work in a collaborative spell, but mixing your own magic isn’t usually a problem.”