Bonded Spirit

  ***

  “Can you tell me what the main principles of magic are?”

  “Er … the principles of magic are; standard, elemental and combination spells. All spells are cast from the glove, which is connected to my Bond. The magic comes from La’Kera, not me, but I direct it …” I trailed off.

  Karson’s face showed no emotion and I was left wondering if I was answering it right at all. I flushed, taking in the horses to the side as they lazily grazed on grass.

  Karson dipped his head. “The elements are all around us, and we don’t make the magic. We control it. Where it goes, what it does. That is basic knowledge, to some degree. Magic is the lands, in the earth, in the air, in the form of who I am, to what I am. Dragons have always held magic as do witches and wizards. The elves of descendent have always known magic can be both good and bad. And yes, La’Kera has the magic; she is the keeper of the magic, as long as the glove is in-bedded in you, it becomes your will, your focus.” He paused, making sure I was keeping up. He walked a few paces to heave a breath, and continued. “An offence spell is good. You also need to know your defence spells. The conjuring of elements is known as the elemental magic. To draw on an element, like earth. It may appear a part of the lands, grown from the lands, but taken from neither. It is summoning it from within, not around like a standard. Thus, in a standard spell, you always have magic. If you conjure fire, then you are directing it to be a standard because it leaves one part to become another. Healing, invisibility, water evaporation, and levitating are all conjuring spells and combination spells; each with a different level and element needed. All spells require an element to be ignited; hence your signs true power would be unlimited.” Karson paused and glanced into the tree line. He raked a hand over his head to release a sigh as he tousled his hair subconsciously.

  “But no one knows what my true power is,” I pointed out.

  “We will discover it soon enough. For now, we will work on standard spells.” He knelt down, picked up a twig and a rock. Thumbing the rock in his right hand and holding the twig in his left. “How do you use a standard spell?”

  “Um …” Now he makes the point of me needing to pay attention. I swallowed hard. “They’re, as you said. What’s all around us? Earth. Air. Fire. Water.” Unsure if he wanted me to add more to it, I shrugged, unable to think of more.

  “Though it is a standard, it’s a mild form of basic elemental spells, because most elemental spells are an attack form, they can, and are used as a basic spell. Standards can be an attack form, though not nearly as strong or powerful, best to keep it simple for now.” He pressed his thumb to the rock and then released it, allowing it to float above his palm. “Is this a standard spell, a combination spell, or an elemental spell?”

  “Standard,” I guessed.

  “It is a rock that I picked up and now hover with …”

  “Levitation?”

  “Good. So that would make it a…”

  “Combination.”

  “Good.” He smiled. The twig floated upwards to have several more twigs, identical to the other and bunching together to move around the rock.

  “That has to be elemental and combination,” I said.

  “Why do you say it has to be … are you in doubt.”

  “Well, you’re levitating it, and yet you have duplicated it. So that means you have used another spell to make more of them.”

  “You can summon fire, air, water, or earth in any spell required. Once it leaves your palm, it becomes a standard. The rock is a redirection, because it is already here. I am levitating it. Yes. Being that it is an earth element, I can manipulate it with thought. Controlling earth, so to speak. The twig was here, but now it is a conjuring of the element to make more. But it will not last and is best used as an attack spell. Shifting earth from your feet or within a location to another to create a wall, is a …?” His head lowered, waiting …

  “Standard spell,” I blurted out.

  “Because it’s already a part of your surroundings.” He nodded to my answer. “And throwing a rock that is neither here or the size one would consider a rock, becomes an—”

  “Elemental spell.” I guessed.

  “Why?”

  Hu, I wanted to say, and risked rolling my eyes. “Since it is conjured not found.”

  He nodded to my answer and closed his palms and both objects dropped to the earth. The twigs he had summoned washed away as dust sparks, only to have the one twig and rock remain. I stared at the ground.

  “So if growing leaves or flowers … that’s an elemental right.”

  “Yes and no. Depending on the flower in question. To draw on the leaves and branches around you. To twine vines together, or shift apart, would be a standard. To seek a flower from a far off distance, within reason, and summoning it would be a combination. To make the flower from your palm, that is an elemental. Though and Em’Adels would be more advanced in that area. It is used in times of need for certain herbs, or in your situation, flowers. A true power at will. If you were to have a dead flower stem in your hand, you could regrow it or heal it, creating two different outcomes. To regrow the flower you would use both standard and elemental. To heal it, you will have the flower that was there before; thus, that is a combination spell; higher level.” Karson walked a few paces towards me, his eyes held with mine. “What did Lady Mazella show you of the spells?”

  “Standard.”

  “What of runic spells?”

  “Er … no.” I puzzled the word. Alyssa mentioned something about my spell yesterday. “Is that another kind?”

  “Sort of the same. Only you don’t make something of the spell, you bring forth the elemental symbol in its pure lore, to your palm. It strengthens your will over the spell, and helps you gain better direction when you need to use the spell as a force.”

  “You mean attacking spells?”

  He nodded.

  “She didn’t get me to do that. Mostly she wanted me to move water from one container to another.”

  “And of fire?”

  “I lit a candle in the room.” I sounded weak in voice.

  “I see.” Karson glanced into the line of trees to turn to the horses as they slowly moved around the clearing. “And what about combination spells?”

  “Yesterday was the first time I did that … to Bronson.”

  “Which two elements.”

  “Water and air.”

  “What was the result?”

  “Some of it became ice, but it wasn’t strong enough.”

  “How can you be sure?”

  “He got back up.” I rolled my eyes that he fooled me into pushing him away. Whoa … Karson had filtered around that whole conversation to discover what I had used on Bronson without asking me. Had he believed the story, or had he been curious?

  “Your lack of understanding the spells lore is what became your weakness, and while the spell shouldn’t be used on another student, it was a spell that La’Kera could have stopped.”

  “She can do that?” I was shocked.

  Karson tilted his head, a look of wryness, amusement and maybe a hint of doubt, which told me of my not focusing, settled on his features.

  Yep, I had been phasing out in magic class too.

  “La’Kera is your link to how much magic you can have and she can stop the spells. Thus, if she is depleted, too weak to continue, you will have no magic unless it is a standard of the simplest task. No attack spells would be able to be used. She is the key to your will, and while most standard spells have an unlimited draw, there is always a level of too much. Your glove is the main link of magic, and it is through training on how much comes through. Too much can make her ill, or you I might add. The elemental magic of standard spells is never too much, it is neutral ground of magic, since you are not creating anything, but drawing on what is around you.”

  “So if I’m in a desert, I’d have nothing but sand; earth at my will?”

  “Yes. But water is there, deep under the sand.
You can draw it out, it might take time, but it is there. You have heat, wind, since there are no trees. So you can control the sand from blowing into you.”

  “But I couldn’t grow a fruit tree to survive could I?”

  He shook his head. “No. Unless you came to a tree that presented such a fruit. Thus, you could heal it, if you were not depleted that is.”

  I nodded, heaving a sigh.

  “Do you know the circles of negatives?”

  The circle of what? “Um … is that the chart in Mazella’s room.”

  “Lady Mazella,” he corrected.

  “The one where water destroys fire … fire destroys earth … and so on.”

  “Yes. Each sign is weakened by another power. Age and mânã ability can out wit a spell of your negative. Gems within our gloves make spells stronger when we need to draw on it. But it shows our opponent our weakness.” He tilted his arm around, showing me the underside of his glove. Three smoothed stones were in view. Emerald, sapphire, opal, each smaller as they receded to his elbow.

  “So, you’re a fire element. Roo’Bineyes. This makes Sapherians and all water like minded things your weakness? You could never be friends with them or mermaids, ever again?”

  He laughed. A rough and natural laugh. “Not so. Yes, Sapherians have a power element over me; it does not mean I can not be friends with them or mermaids either. Actually, I know plenty of both. In a fight, it would be a little different. Spells would be the undoing. And if they were a Ry’Delgori than most likely.”

  “Ry’Delgori? They use magic? But I thought the dragon controls the magic. How can the undead have power?”

  “If their Bond is dead or turned vragon, then magic is open. The delgori can use it unlimited. And on some occasions, one Bond tainted is enough for both to become mad.” Karson walked a few paces. “What are the five powers of dragon magic?”

  I rolled my eyes. “Roo’Bineyes is fire, the gem of ruby. Sapherians is water, the gem of sapphire. A’Mystians is air, the gem of amethyst. Em’Adels is earth, the gem of emerald, and O’Pulsans is electricity, the gem of opal.”

  He smirked with a nod to each of my answers. “Don’t forget Dy’Monian.”

  “Hu?”

  “Your gem is diamond. The strongest of all gem magic.”

  “But my element power … is unknown.”

  “In time we will discover it. What’s the difference between Ryders’ magic and wizardry magic?”

  “Easy. Wizards and witches need wands and staffs to make spells; they need to embed a talisman or pendant to do their will. They have to make spells based on herbs, natural objects and while they can use some nasty spells. All their spells are voiced, words needed, though their spells are illusions and fade over time. Dragon magic is stronger. Least if you use a combination spell or a standard spell. We use mind control; we think it, and it will happen.”

  Karson smiled wider, with an inclined of his head. “For Ryders it is in the form of symbols, hieroglyphs, and runic pattern’s. The elves and dragons have always known the depth of magic, and the symbols have always been there; etched from Drae’Gon himself for unknown centuries, and for a time to have a list of all the wills and ways to use such powers. Unlike the former homes of our forefathers, we are a land of magic.

  “To speak dragon tongue, means we can speak the true name of the runes. Thus, we have better control over all spells. We need not say it, but think it, as you put it. All the magic you need is in your glove through your connection with La’Kera. The symbols are there, and it’s about understanding them, what each does. We are able to find deeper magic and depth with power, wills and force.

  “We have heightened speed, sight, hearing among other things, thus, a link with the power we carry, we must use. Knowing the spell and understanding it, is two different parts. Tell me Rehema. What have you noticed differently about your time since becoming a Ryder, apart from La’Kera?”

  I had never given any thought on this topic before, least on the fun side of being a Ryder. “Oh … Um … the faster speed, extra strength, heightened hearing, better eyesight; especially at night.”

  Karson tilted his head, his brow creased together. “Yet you complained that the broom was too heavy, but it was no heavier than the staff.”

  I folded my arms. “It was so heavy, in the broom end.”

  “I want you to remember that this is a calling. Not a choice, not an idea, or a dream. For many it is an honour. And you should learn to be proud.” He closed his eyes, turned to the tree line and a silence lingered.

  Oh, no. I upset him.

  I was on the verge of saying something when he spoke. “I heard your father was killed by vipers.”

  I nodded, not wanting to talk about Walter. Karson turned his eyes to me, the green that resembled a painting I’d seen in Draeos. A sea green of many tones. He was talking. Oh, crap, I stopped listening.

  “… When you get your chance you will take them on, I assume.”

  “Sure. Go out and get them myself.”

  He shifted his eyes. “You say the words as though you have said them many times. Yet you are not ready to fight. You’re afraid and willing to give up. You wish to put the glove in the box.”

  “I can’t.” I bit my lip. It wasn’t about putting the glove down. “It can’t come off.”

  “You’re right. You can’t. You’re a chosen, a Ryder of great potential, and while you are wishing for other things, you will never know your true part. At the moment you’re only doing it because you can have a dragon at your side, and some day to ride on.” His words stung.

  “That’s not true. I thought this was a magic lesson. Why are you picking on me?”

  “I’m giving you a lesson … in all classes. Your magic, history, even your lores and laws of life, here and now. You will remember this day. You will ask yourself, what makes you a good Ryder, what makes you a great Ryder? Is it the spells you achieve? The story’s you manage to tell? Or be told about? The flights that you and La’Kera will take? The fights, the battles to win? Where will you be when you’re a Ryder of Dy’Monian and proud to stand as one?”

  This had the hair on my neck prickle with excitement. Where would I be? He was right, I was a Dy’Monian. I was … a Ryder. I should be proud. I should stand and say it, willingly. I stared blankly at the ground unsure of what I was going to say.

  He heaved a gentle breath, and started. “For this lesson, I want you to practice rune conjuring, elements of basic. Earth.”

  I peered up at him; he wasn’t angry, just eager for me to start the lesson. Holding my palm out, I was nervous. Now he wants to get down to a lesson, I wasn’t ready. I shook my hands, flexed my fingers, and rolled my shoulders.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Getting ready to use magic.” I paused, opening my eyes to see his wry look. “Am I doing it wrong?”

  “Yes … and no. You act as though you are going to fight ten foot trolls and an army of delgori.” He was amused. “Take a deep breath. Slowly, release it, and focus in your mind. The symbol of earth.”

  I followed his instructions, and turned my attention to my glove, white ashen and symbols indented into the skin of the glove. Taking in the centre of my palm, a sensation I had become accustomed to; started to tingle. I focused on the runic symbol; earth.

  “Release your breath.”

  Karson’s voice had me pause in mid thought, releasing my breath and finding, I was holding it. No wonder I was dizzy.

  Karson stepped closer. His sea green eyes of many hues, stared into mine. “Relax. Did you do many spells during class?”

  “No. Mostly it was assignments. Mazella said I wasn’t ready yet. I was to just think about standards.” I sounded weak.

  “You can do many things if you focus. To gain strength over any spell, whether a standard, or an elemental, you need to hone the lore. Try again. And remember, this is not hard, it’s just basic. And breathe.” He stood back.

  Taking the steps to focus, I relaxe
d. Finally, my palm glowed. A green orb came forth. It was pitifully small, not even gem sized. I smiled seeing it.

  “Look inside the element …” Karson’s voice was gentle.

  Staring deeper into it. The symbol of earth loomed, spinning in its own lore. The orb of green mist, in the illusion of leaf, vines, and all things earthy, drifted in and around the orb. I was amazed it was here, slowly becoming larger by a few more inches, and then, poof. It disappeared. Shocked. I stared at Karson for an answer, and then sought La’Kera.

  It was of no use, she mused.

  “I don’t understand …” I said.

  “It’s the true name of the earth element. The true symbol of its power. Drawing on it, you were able to will it, see it and use it. It was as it should be, the spoken element.”

  “But I didn’t say anything, and why did La’Kera make it go away?”

  “You won’t need to say anything. It’s the core of power, in your mind now. To know it, and will it. To speak the true name without voice, thus it is called—dragon magic. And second, La’Kera stopped it because you left it as the mânã was, you didn’t redirect it to a standard. Using it for what you wanted it for. You need to take over its lore. Here.” He held up his palm, and brought forth a ball of mânã, as large as my head. The hues, the design were similar, but a little different. “This is mânã, a spell of earth lore. It’s here and therefore Blade’Dur needs no more mânã taken. Leaving it with him will tire him. He will shut it off, not needing it. But, using the power of standard magic …” Karson flicked his fingers, and made the ball dance from his palm. Able to toss it in the air, roll it inches from his fingers and tease it to his right hand, to dance and twist to his will. He was showing off, much like a coin-flip. Here it was far more amusing and dazzling, wanting to clap at his display of power and control. I restrained myself.

  “Drawing on the element is where the magic becomes a drain for your Bond. Redirecting it to a standard, allows for control.” He paused in his actions, held up the ball. He closed his fingers and the ball disappeared. “To do as one wills.” He finished. “Try again.”

  I nodded, and took the smallest breath, relaxing and focusing my mind, to bring the ball of earth to my palm.

  “… Now …?” I asked, not sure when I should make the switch between spells.

  “When you feel the mânã is large enough and strong enough for you to will.”

  I narrowed my eyes, seeking the right amount. Like before, it was pitiful, small as a gem. I focused on the object and willed it into a standard. The instant I did it, I realised La’Kera was draining. Odd, I hadn’t known she was until it was in my hand—my will. Like Karson, I was able to move it across my hand and fingers as though it were a coin, without touching my skin. Though not as controlled, the ball was sluggish to move, to shift at all. I smiled with complete amazement.

  “Good. You can practice for the next hour on lore holding. Try to make the orb larger with each process. Be mindful of La’Kera, you need to be aware of her strengths while working with magic.”

  I nodded, taking in my mânã ball and with a tap, I watched as the misty ball of earth lore disappeared. This was fun. No hard hitting, just mind, thought, and magic. Breathing deep, I called forth the element, trying to increase the size. No luck. Making the switch from lore to standard became the main aim. At one point, I pushed the ball around with my mind and it splashed to the ground with bright green sparks before melting into nothing.

  “It returns to its true lore when touched without attack.” Karson added as he stared at the spot the spell went. “If it were an attack, as you have witnessed before, the ground would be touched, split, destroyed; depending on your power, the force, and reason to do such harm.”

  Taking in the small clearing, I didn’t think it was a good idea to go around and destroy it. It was peaceful here, just the two of us, talking about magic. “You can continue.”

  I resumed my lesson, focusing on earth elements. By the fifth ball, I noticed the lore was smaller, not larger. I frowned. “Wasn’t the idea of this lesson to become better, not weaker?”

  “It takes time for both of you. The mânã you take from La’Kera can be minimal for the same amount of damage.”

  “Meaning I should only take what is needed, not all of it.”

  “Precisely. You are progressing.” He turned to the horses, mounting his stallion, and slowly we headed towards the stables, to Draeos. It was coming up to mid morning. I was surprised we had spent over two hours out here and my stomach was starting to protest.

  “Master Karson?”

  A smile of surprise showed in a tenth of a second on his face as he turned in his saddle.

  “Do you think I can be a good Ryder?”

  “You’re on your way to becoming a great Ryder. You have shown promise in your mêlée, your magic, and your connections. You still have a long way to go.” He turned, taking several steps with his horse to pause a moment more. “And it’s not just what I think. You and La’Kera will do the best you can. Remember, good and bad is made through the minds. Doubt, pity, an unjust will be a seed of untruth. Therein lies your answer.”

  “You mean we could be bad?”

  “Bad, good. Neither will know the answer unless presented with the situation. Heart is what you have.”

  “So you have faith in me?”

  “Faith, hope, and happiness are all one man needs. Peace too, it’s all one seeks in a world of darkness. It is your own strength, body and mind that will power you as a Ryder and become what you want. Not what others say you should be?”

  I narrowed my eyes, taking in his strong body and the light flick of the reins as he headed on at a steady trot. There was more in that comment than I was prepared for. To be what I wanted, not what others wanted. Everyone expected something of me, something a Dy’Monian of three hundred years should be, but none knew of a Dy’Monian. No one had ever met one until La’Kera and I came about six months ago. Both of us were new to this life, her more than me. She was born a Dy’Monian, but I was chosen as one. That was something others wanted, to know what I was, to be more than what they wanted. To do good or great things.

  With a heel to my horse, I caught up to him, taking the path to Draeos. Part of me remembered my outburst from this morning. Complaining about the broom, about the reason I was a Ryder. Something as simple as understanding it, and I was starting to see as Karson said. It’s a calling, a gift; and while some dream of being a Ryder, I was here, in the grandest part of the lands. I didn’t take this seriously, until now. It boiled down to me and what I wanted. I shouldn’t sulk, I shouldn’t whine, I shouldn’t cry about what was, what could be, and what should be. So what if Bronson treated me like crap. So what if I was alone in the school. I was a Ryder. I loved La’Kera without question. As her thoughts skimmed mine, she hummed with knowledge of my acceptance, my grace in thoughts. I would love being a Ryder, even if being beaten in mêlée by Karson every morning and learning about Fallen Ryders was the way to do it. Then so be it.