ushernet Monster Six - Chant
Monster Six - Chant
Monster Six - Chant
For the first time ever, I went outside.
I kinda doubted it was actually the first time ever. Id probably been outside plenty, but I couldnt remember any of it, so really, I figured it counted as a cause for celebration.
Celebrations were best done indoors, of course. When I pointed this out to Luciana, she just stared at me expressionless.
I paused by the doors. Luciana had decided, halfway into our walk, to turn and bring us to a courtyard. She walked right past the doors and out into the open air while I hesitated by the threshold and looked out.
It wasnt so bad. There were walls all around, and... and the sky was very high up.
Are you coming, child? You wont learn any magic just by trembling like a rabbit that has seen a hawk.
Right! I said. It wasnt a squeak.
With a bounce I ran over to Luciana, eyes focused on her and nothing else. That made it easier.
Good. Sit.
I hesitated, then looked back.
The courtyard had a small garden in it. A rock garden, with areas filled with raked pebbled and delicate stones stacked atop one another. Some shaped rocks served as benches which were across from each other. It was almost strange seeing the Dark Goddess sitting down on something that wasnt a throne.
We will start with the more academic side of things. I want you to understand before you try to use the art.
I nodded. When Id asked Milpis for a notebook, the big old softie had scuttled around for a while until he found an empty notebook for me. They didnt have pens though, just long, narrow sticks of charcoal in metal tubes with a screw in the side to hold it in place. It worked well enough.
Ready, I said as I set my notebook on my lap. If I pretended that the wind came from an open window, then it was easy to forget that the light beating down on me came from the sun sitting in the open sky.
I probably didnt need to worry. Luciana was with me.
Hmph. Very well. I wont bore you with the philosophical questions and implications. You can read into those on your own. Magic is, at its base, the application of your soul towards a specific action. In laymans terms, it means feeling so strongly about something that you turn that raw emotion into something tangible.
I wrote that down as quickly as I could. It was hard, because she used a few words with i in them and it was hard to draw little hearts for each dot. Okay, I said before re-reading what Id written. That helped me grasp it a lot more. Fortunately, Luciana was really patient with me. Does that mean that you just need to want something to happen for it to happen? I asked.
One of her eyebrows rose. There are two answers here. Essentially, yes, you only need to feel some way for you to be able to use magic. Want, the desire for something, is a good example to start with. The emotion associated with it would be anticipation. Youre familiar with that feeling?
I nodded. I really wanted to go back to the library, so that was anticipation.
Good. Anticipation, if you allow it to build in your core, can be used to fuel some magics. Particularly magics associated with earth and stone and the shaping thereof.
So cool, I said. Can you use that kind of magic?
I fumbled my notebook down, then jumped to my feet before coming closer to Luciana. Looking up to her, framed by the sky and castle walls, made it very obvious that she was a whole bunch taller than me.
I realized that Id kinda forgotten to be scared of the sky for a bit. Neat!
Every person can open their soul to its full breadth of emotions. It requires work and diligent study. Hours of meditation and years of contemplating your own feelings. Theres little doubt that those who open themselves to their feelings naturally have an advantage.
Whats the advantage? I asked.
A better, untainted understanding of your own emotions, Luciana said. Perhaps not the full spectrum of emotions though. Some people naturally gravitate strongly towards one or another. Some are destined to be sad, others have anger in their blood, still others are joyful without cause.
Oh, I said.
Was I like that? I didnt think so. I was a perfectly balanced and reasonable sort of girl.
There is one advantage to having your soul opened by another, Luciana said. The time saved notwithstanding. You gain, in a small way, a part of their own understanding. When two souls touch, it is only natural that something of each will remain in the other. She looked down at me, her face almost blank.
Almost. There was something there. I thought it was her being afraid, but that was silly.
Would you allow me to open your soul, Valeria? To allow you to unlock your full potential? Know that refusing is fine. The act carries some small risk, and it would forever mark you as someone touched by the God of Darkness.
I smiled up at her.
Maybe someone else wouldnt have trusted her. She was a lady that lived all on her own, with only monsters for company, in a big scary castle. She didnt shy away from admitting that she wasnt always the nicest person... but she had never been anything but helpful and nice to me.
I would love that, I said.
Luciana stared, then her eyes looked away. For a moment, I imagined that her cheeks darkened, but it must have been the light, a passing cloud or something.
Very well, she said.
She placed a hand onto my head, pressing back my hair until her thumb came to rest on my forehead. Her other hand lowered and she knelt. Two fingers touched my chest, right on my sternum where my heart beat loudest.
I looked into her eyes, which suddenly seemed so very deep.
I stared, mouth falling open. My heart thump-thumps, louder and louder, until theres only the rushing of blood in my ears and the drum-beat of my heart. The dark of Lucianas eyes swallows me.
My heart stops.
We are the will of the world. Disgusted by travesty and lies, we stride forth towards a future darker, but of our own making. By our will we shape the world. Infinite in potential and unbound by fleeting humanity, I liberate your soul, and by my hand, I give you freedom.
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