Mindbender

by David A. Wells

  The next day she woke early and started her work. She focused ruthlessly on the task until her concentration broke, then moved on to another exercise. She worked until dark again and then for several hours by lamplight until she had mastered all of the exercises. When Isabel lay down to sleep, she was mentally exhausted but confident that she’d done all she could to master the lessons of the spellbook.

  She arrived at Magda’s chambers just after breakfast the following morning to begin the next part of her training. She knew from the book what to expect and was eager to begin. Hours of study had imparted an academic understanding of the process but she knew that nothing compared to experience. She needed to actually cast the spell in order to master it.

  Magda opened the door and smiled warmly. “Come in. I assume you believe you’re ready for the practice phase of the training process.”

  Isabel nodded firmly. “I’ve studied this book backwards and forwards. I’m ready to try casting the spell.”

  “Good. Come and sit with me,” Magda said.

  They sat talking for an hour. Magda quizzed her on every aspect of the spell from the abstract understanding of light and how it worked to the details and nuances of the visualization exercises. Isabel answered all of her questions with as much clarity and accuracy as she could muster. It was a rigorous and thorough examination of her studies that left Isabel with a new respect for the exacting requirements of spell casting.

  The process of recounting her lessons served to reinforce the principles she’d learned and solidified her understanding so that, by the time Magda was satisfied with her new understanding, Isabel was confident that she’d mastered the lesson in its entirety.

  “Very good, Isabel,” Magda said. “You are a diligent student. Thoroughness and attention to detail will serve you well in your pursuit of the craft. Now it’s time to put what you’ve learned into practice. Come with me.”

  Magda led her from her chambers deep into the bowels of the fortress island to a large, unfinished cavern. The ceiling was high and the walls were slick with condensation. The air was cold and still but the place looked like it had been visited recently. Magda lit a couple of lamps positioned on two pedestals. As the light in the chamber grew, Isabel saw what looked like an archery target on the far wall.

  “This is a practice chamber,” Magda said. “We come here to test our spells and hone our skills. We are very deep within the fortress and there is nothing nearby that can be hurt by a spell gone awry.

  “Stand here and direct your spell at the target. Be very deliberate and take your time going through all of the steps in the casting process. It’s vitally important that you master the process correctly before you work on the speed of your casting.”

  Isabel nodded and stepped up between the two pedestals. She was suddenly very nervous. Her confidence evaporated and she felt a wave of self-consciousness wash over her as all of the concepts she’d learned during the past two days became a jumble in her mind.

  Magda smiled gently and put her hand on Isabel’s shoulder. “It’s common to be uncertain at this point. Take a deep breath and focus on performing one step at a time.”

  Isabel nodded tightly and deliberately released the tension she was feeling. She closed her eyes and focused on the emotion she needed to protect herself from the tug of the firmament. This was a spell used for battle so she called on her anger. It came easily. There were so many injustices that she could use to stoke the heat of her anger that the first step in the casting flowed naturally.

  Next, she carefully formed an image of the outcome she wanted. In this case it was a focused beam of white-hot light. She saw it in her mind’s eye streaking from her hand to the target with unerring accuracy. She saw the heat of the light burn into the stone itself and then she saw the light wink out of existence as quickly as it came forth.

  With careful and deliberate focus, she touched the firmament. It felt like she was falling. In a sudden panic she closed the connection and shook her mind clear. She had focused so intently on the image of the outcome she wanted that she forgot to keep the anger alive at the same time. It was a delicate balancing act that required deep concentration.

  When she glanced over at Magda, the triumvir smiled knowingly and nodded for her to try again. Isabel took a deep breath and again called the anger. Once the emotion was boiling within her, she formed the image in her mind but this time she kept a part of her focus on the rage slowly boiling in the pit of her stomach. With both her emotion and her image firmly in mind, she touched the firmament. It called to her but she was angry enough that the allure of the limitless possibility had no power to draw her in. She extended her hand and released her image into the firmament.

  Isabel felt the surge of power flow into her as the nature of reality itself was bent to her will. Her outstretched hand glowed impossibly bright and a streak of light stabbed out and burned into the target at the exact spot she was aiming for. An instant later the cavern went dark as she severed her connection to the firmament.

  She felt a surge of pride and satisfaction. The power she’d just unleashed would have burned a hole through a man at a hundred feet. No armor or shield would have protected her target from the intense heat of the magical light she’d just created.

  “Well done,” Magda said. “The spell can be produced with varying degrees of intensity depending on how fully you open your mind to the firmament. Of course, you must have sufficient emotion present to protect yourself from the pull of the firmament if you are to call forth the most powerful results.

  “Do it again but this time spend more time on building your emotion so that you can make a more complete connection to the firmament.”

  Isabel nodded and began the process again. This time she nursed her anger until she was in a state of controlled rage. All of the sorrow and loss caused by those who would rule for the sake of their egos fueled her fury until it was a torrent within her soul. This time she mentally leaned into the firmament and dared it to tempt her. She mentally hurled her vision of the light into the firmament with force and anger. This time the spell was altogether different. Where the last time it had burned into the stone an inch or so, this time she bored a hole three feet deep into the side of the cavern wall. The brilliance of the light was so intense it left her dazzled for a moment after she released the spell. She felt drained by the experience as she let go of the anger she’d built up and she deliberately calmed herself.

  “Impressive,” Magda said. “There are few within our coven who could power a spell with such intensity. However, I would caution you. I know the frame of mind it takes to do what you’ve just done. The kind of wild, almost reckless link you made with the firmament. Don’t attempt such a thing unless you’ve built your emotional state into one of unbridled passion and intensity or you risk losing yourself to the firmament.

  “Now, do it again, but this time at half the power you just displayed.”

  Isabel ran through the process again but with greater control and less force, though still more than enough to kill a man or a beast. She could feel the strain of such intense emotion wearing on her, but Magda pressed her to continue practicing. With each casting, Isabel became more familiar with the nuances of the process and more comfortable calling on the firmament. She came to know how intense her emotional state needed to be for her to make a connection with the firmament.

  After a dozen castings, Magda introduced another idea. “Now I want you to repeat this phrase,” Magda said and then uttered a string of words from an ancient language.

  Isabel repeated the words again and again until they were burned indelibly into her mind. Once she could say the words flawlessly, Magda proceeded to the last part of the lesson.

  “You will associate these words with the casting of this spell by saying them as you call forth the magic. Doing so will create a bond between these words and the process of casting this spell. Once you’ve established this connection, the spell casting process will unfold naturally when y
ou utter these words. They are not necessary for the spell to work but the technique of associating a set of words with a given spell has been proven to help make the casting process faster and more reliable.”

  Isabel added the last piece to the puzzle by casting the spell another dozen times. By the time she was done with her practice, the spell was becoming a single action rather than a series of steps. She started to feel exhausted from the emotional strain that the spell casting took on her. When Magda noticed her fatigue, she put a stop to her training session.

  “You’ve had enough for today,” Magda said. “You’ve made excellent progress but it’s important that you not push yourself too hard with a new spell. When you become exhausted, it increases the risk of a mistake that could be catastrophic. Go have some lunch, take a nap and spend the rest of the afternoon resting your mind. Try not to think about what you’ve learned over the past few days. A period of time spent focusing on other things gives your mind time to fully integrate your new skills. Come back tomorrow morning and we’ll continue your practice.”

  “Thank you, Magda,” Isabel said sincerely. “I’ve learned so much in the past few days.”

  “You are very welcome, Isabel, but you must remember, this spell will not carry the day when you face Gabriella. I don’t mean to nag but I’m still hoping you’ll reconsider.”

  “I know you’re concerned but this is something I have to do,” Isabel said. “I’m confident that I’ll survive her challenge and once I do, we can turn our focus to the real enemy of the Seven Isles.”

  “You’re young and headstrong, Isabel, and while I admire your courage, I fear it will be the death of you.”

  “If I am to be Lady Reishi I can’t shrink away from a challenge, even one as daunting as this. Power is as much about perception as it is about capability. If people see me as weak or cowardly, then I won’t be able to support Alexander. He needs a wife who can live up to his commitment to the Old Law and stand with him in the face of any threat. If I run, Gabriella will make sure that everyone in the Seven Isles knows I’m not worthy of my place beside Alexander. I can’t have that.”

  “Your reasoning is sound and your grasp of the nature of power is insightful but your opponent is beyond you,” Magda said. “Perhaps, with training and experience, you would be a match for her, but right now you are simply out of your depth.”

  “I’ve only just learned my first spell,” Isabel said. “Tomorrow, I hope to add the realm of light to my spell and see if I can bring something to the battlefield that Gabriella doesn’t expect.”

  “Perhaps you can try that the day after tomorrow,” Magda said. “You still have some work to do with the basic version of the spell. When I’m satisfied that you’ve mastered it, then I’ll help you modify it to include your unique connection to the light.

  “You must understand, the basic version of the light-lance spell is tried and tested. It’s proven to work for countless witches in the past. Adding such a profound variation may prove more complex than either of us realizes and may essentially create an entirely new spell, one that has never been tested or attempted before. Such things are not to be undertaken lightly. Under other circumstances, I would insist that you wait and hone your skills as a witch by learning and practicing proven spells before attempting such a thing.”

  Isabel nodded. “All right, but I’m pretty sure I’m ready now and I don’t have much time. What if I come back after lunch and we work on it some more today?”

  “No, your mind needs time to rest and assimilate what you’ve learned,” Magda said. “Spend the rest of today focused on something else. That is the most important thing you can do right now to master this spell.”

  Isabel made her way back to her quarters in a daze. She didn’t remember the path she walked because her mind was reeling from the strain she’d placed on it. Wren was preparing a lunch of seafood stew and hard rolls with butter. The waifish young woman had actually gained a few pounds since Isabel and Abigail had arrived. She had been almost gaunt when they first met her but now her face was more filled out and her skin looked healthier. Wren had become a close friend and regularly shared meals with them, providing her with a much better diet than she ever got as a serving girl.

  Isabel smiled hello and went to an overstuffed chair in the sitting area of their main room. Abigail was napping on the couch. Her lurid bruises had faded into a pale and sickly yellow all across her face, neck, and shoulders. Isabel felt a hint of anger at seeing her sister’s injuries but it faded quickly. She was too emotionally exhausted to sustain any more anger after the morning spent deliberately invoking intense rage to protect her from the pull of the firmament. She sat down and closed her eyes. It seemed only a moment passed before Wren shook her shoulder gently.

  “Isabel, you fell asleep. Are you hungry?”

  Isabel blinked the sleep from her eyes and smiled up at Wren. “I’m starving.”

  After two helpings of stew, she recounted the events of the morning to Abigail and Wren. Both listened with rapt attention as she described the process of calling on the firmament to manifest magical effects in the world of time and substance. Wren was enchanted by the wonder of it all but Abigail was listening closely for another reason.

  “It sounds like you can do some serious damage with that spell,” Abigail said. “Do you think it’ll be enough to kill Gabriella?”

  Isabel shook her head. “No, Magda says she’ll be able to defend against it, but I’m hoping to modify it into something she doesn’t expect.”

  Wren looked down at the table and whispered, “My momma thinks you’re doomed.”

  “Wren, look at me,” Isabel said softly. “It’s going to be all right. Gabriella is powerful so she’ll be overconfident and I have something she doesn’t. I’m serving a cause and a purpose that’s bigger than just me. I have to believe that’ll count for something.”

  “I wish there was something I could do to help you.”

  “There is . . . you can believe in me,” Isabel said. “I’m going to win this fight even if no one thinks I can.”

  “I do believe in you, Isabel, but I’m also afraid for you,” Wren said. “Mistress Gabriella is powerful. Even the Sky Knights are afraid of her.”

  “Thank you for being worried about me,” Isabel said as she gave Wren’s hand a squeeze. “Right now, I’m going to take a nap. This morning was exhausting.”

  She slept soundly for an hour, then woke and made herself a cup of tea before going out onto the balcony to practice her real secret weapon. She cleared her mind and reached out for the mind of a wyvern. This time she was searching for a specific creature among the hundreds living within the fortress island. At first it was a struggle to learn how to distinguish one wyvern’s mind from another. It took linking with Abigail’s Kallistos and finding the thread of connection to the beast’s master to discover how to find the one wyvern she needed to control.

  After more than an hour of painstaking effort, she found Gabriella’s steed. He was an ancient beast named Asteroth easily twice the size of Kallistos. He had served as Gabriella’s steed since she took her place on the triumvirate. Isabel gently slipped into his mind. He was napping lazily in his aerie. She didn’t attempt to command or influence the beast but instead just made her presence known and maintained a link to develop a sense of familiarity with his mind so she could find him and link to him more easily in the future.

  Her plan hinged on using Gabriella’s wyvern against her. The surprise of such a sudden betrayal by her steed was the greatest weapon Isabel could bring to the battlefield. Spells and Abigail’s magical bow were distractions meant to conceal her real plan. The only part she couldn’t count on for certain was Gabriella coming to the field riding her steed. If she came alone, the fight might be very short and end badly, so Isabel started working on a way to ensure that Gabriella rode into battle against her.

  She recalled Alexander speaking about his father’s lessons on deception in war. How creating a false beli
ef in the mind of the enemy was the most powerful weapon a soldier had. For her plan to work, if she was to survive the day, Isabel needed to deceive Gabriella into coming to the battlefield riding the instrument of her own doom.

  As her plan began to take shape, she commanded Asteroth to roar. From deep in the bowels of the fortress island, a thunderous sound reverberated through the stone and sent the handlers to work calming and soothing the suddenly agitated wyvern. Isabel relaxed her focus and let go of her worries about her own troubles and thought about Alexander. She wondered what he was doing and hoped he was safe. She drifted off to sleep and woke with a start when Abigail shook her shoulder to wake her for dinner.

  She spent the next morning with Magda in the practice room casting her light-lance spell over and over again. At first, Magda let her cast it a few times at her own speed, then demanded that she do it faster. Once she’d halved the time it took to produce the effect, Magda started adding distractions during her casting until finally she had Isabel running across the cavern while she tossed rocks at her.

  The first attempts to cast the spell under such distracting conditions were total failures but after a few tries, she succeeded. Then after several more attempts, it was like something clicked. She thought back to when she was learning how to ride a horse. At first there was so much going on all at once that she got distracted—she was so busy focusing on one part of the task that she forgot other critical parts. But, after practicing for awhile, the whole thing became a skill that she could do without even thinking about it.

  The light-lance spell had become the same thing. A simple action she could call forth in a few seconds with devastating effect, even while dodging rocks and running as fast as she could across the dimly lit cavern. By the time Magda called an end to their training session, Isabel was exhausted but she had to admit that her grasp of the spell had become complete. She could cast it at a moment’s notice even while under attack. She returned to her chambers more confident of her success and eager to add the next part to her newfound capability.