Knowledge is power. But sometimes you need to learn how to use it first.

An Education

By Pata Hikari

"What are you doing?"

Syrup looked down at her six year old granddaughter. The girl was wearing her mother's hat again; she was struggling to hold it up on her head with one hand. She was grinning widely; a gap could be seen from where she had lost a tooth recently.

Syrup smiled, "I'm just writing some papers."

"Oh." Maple walked around her, "What's on the papers?"

"Work." Syrup patted Maple on the head, "Why don't you go play?"

"I don't wanna!" Maple smiled, "I want to go with you." She leaned in close to her. "Please?"

Syrup frowned, "Leave me be child." She said a warning in her voice.

Maple pouted, folding her arms, the hat she was wearing falling over her head. She quickly scrambled to prop the hat back up over her eyes. "But you're the only interesting person around here!"

Syrup didn't know if she should be flattered or scared that out of the three adults in the Relom house, she was the one Maple found interesting. "Shouldn't you be returning your mothers hat?"

"It's my hat." Maple said with such conviction that for a moment Syrup almost agreed with her.

"No… it isn't." Syrup replied flatly.

"I'm a witch. So I wear the hat. Besides, Mom never wears it." Maple adjusted the hat again.

"You're not an official witch until your teacher says you are." Syrup smiled.

"Awww…" Maple finally seemed to give up, the black pointed hat falling to the ground. "But all mom teaches me is potions and herbs and animal stuff!"

"That's what some witches do." Syrup nodded.

"But I don't wanna learn 'bout that stuff!" Maple jumped up and down, "I wanna learn magic. Like you and Dad do!"

Syrup glanced down at the paper. Maple's mother, her daughter, Wafla, preferred to focus on the physical rather then the metaphysical. There was nothing wrong with it. Mages came in all types. But if Maple had some interest in magic…

"…" Syrup looked down at the letter she was writing to the Clan Council. "Bah. The letter can wait." She brushed it aside. "Well, Maple, I'll tell you what, since I'm your dear old grandmother I'll teach you a thing or two." Nobody can object to an old woman teaching her grandchild a few things. Even the Traditions bowed to the whims of the elderly, something Syrup was an expert at taking advantage of.

"Yay!" Maple picked up the hat, shoving it on her head.

"Leave the hat."

"Darn it."

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Syrup was amazed at the change. Where normally Maple was a bundle of energy who could barely keep her focus on any one thing, the moment she had been told she was going to learn some magic, she had become the most attentive thing Syrup had ever seen.

"So, what do you know already?" Syrup decided to start simple, but first she needed to figure out what Maple's limits were.

Maple paused, "Well… Mom taught me the basics. You know, stuff like Light Orb and Body Repair."

Syrup noted the way Maple had spoken, "And what do you know that wasn't taught to you by Wafla?"

"Urk…" Maple turned pale. "Promise you won't get mad at me?"

Oh… this should be good. "I promise."

"Um… OK." Maple pointed to a wooden stool in the corner, "Go boom."

The stool exploded.

Syrup's eyes widened, as she got ready to call of a barrier to shield them from the shrapnel… then she noticed that the air was filled with sawdust and not much else.

"…" Syrup coughed, "How did you do that?" She waved her hand, making the stool come back together in one piece.

"Well… you know how you can make things move with magic…" Maple twiddled her thumbs.

"Yes…" Syrup said gently.

"Well… I was thinking. What if I made something move while at the same time holding it in place?" Maple said innocently, "I tired it on wood, metal, and a cockroach. Metal melted, while the cockroach just sat there."

Syrup shook her head, only a child would think of an experiment like that. It was an impressive feat, one that had probably taken a lot of practice. Because generating two opposing forces at the same time is very difficult. "Maple, can you try that again?" This time Syrup was going to use some of her Seer powers to see exactly how Maple used her Mana for this trick.

"OK!" Maple smiled gleefully, "Go boom!" She pointed at the stool. (Apparently "Go boom" was the shorthand incantation for this spell. Only a child…)

This time, Syrup saw the Currents of Mana working at Maple's will.

The Currents bent around the stool and Maple. A small amount of mana exited her, guiding the rest through the stream. Then, smaller twists in the Currents started appearing, all flowing into the small ball Maple had produced. This new Mana came from everywhere Including, to Syrup's shock, herself! All this buildup occurred so naturally that only the most diligent observer would think that it was little more then a natural build up of mana that sometimes happens in areas of high magical activity. The huge mass split into two halves, one pressing against the stool one way, the other pressing against it the other way. The stool shuddered with the conflicting power, before shattering into millions of particles of wood.

This time Syrup let the dust fall over her, staring at Maple as she giggled.

"Mom yelled at me when I tried that." Maple said solemnly.

"Yes… I see…" Syrup muttered, lost in her own thoughts.

It would have been one thing if Maple had simply made the stool explode. Things that were once alive, but aren't any more, are the easiest things to effect with magic. So a child accidentally making a piece of wood fall apart wouldn't have been that surprising. It was the way Maple had done it that had surprised her. Pressing two opposing forces against an object with no natural way of dealing with the energy…

To top it off, the girl had drawn her power from outside sources, a very risky energy saving trick, without even realizing it.

"Is something wrong Granny?" Maple asked.

"Just unusual." Syrup muttered, "But that's almost as bad as wrong, and a lot more difficult to deal with."

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"Yes. I know about Maple blowing up things. She made the dining room table explode while you were gone a month ago."

Wafla was a plump woman who you could take one look at and immediately know that she was a mother. Right now she was looking at her mother and trying to figure out just what Syrup had planned.

"And you didn't bother to figure out how she was doing it?" Syrup asked incredulously.

"Everyone with lots of Mana tends to have accidents like that." Wafla shook her head, "And not many people have more Mana then a witch."

"It wasn't an accident." Syrup said flatly, "Maple was doing it on purpose to see what would happen." She closed her eyes, "She's brilliant. Yet she's still a child. If she doesn't learn how to use that power…"

"What are you suggesting?" Wafla asked.

"You need to teach her magic." Syrup looked directly into her daughter's eyes.

Wafla sighed, "Mother, I don't have much skill in magic, you know that."

"Yes…" Syrup smiled, "You've always been better with mixing things together, discovering how objects could be taken apart all by themselves and put back together into new things."

"Exactly… Panchae was the one with magical talent…" Wafla muttered.

An uncomfortable silence followed.

"Well, then what do you want me to do?" Wafla asked.

"Let me teach her then." Syrup shook her head, "It's the only way, she must learn magic."

"And how do you know this?" Wafla asked bitterly, "Did you see it when you made another one of your constant looks into the past or future? Did it tell you to meddle with the present you ignore so much?" She leaned close to Syrup, "Well?"

"…no." Syrup closed her eyes, "I think it's her Ayike blood. It's working with the other three instead of against."

"Nobody knows how a mixed race person will be." Wafla answered, "I'm proof of that." All she had to show for her Sheikah father, long since passed away, was purple eyes and good night vision. While Panchae had been given the incredible magical talent and gifts… and that beautiful voice…

"Yes." Syrup adjusted her hat, something she tended to do when she was nervous. Maple's father was the product of an Ayike and a Zora, one of the few Ayike's who could use magic. The potential for a witch with the powers of an Ayike had been too much for the Council to ignore. Yet other then green eyes and a few telepathic tricks, none of Michael's brothers and sisters had possessed any abilities of an Ayike.

"She's an unusual child." Syrup said, "Look at her, do you ever see her going out to play with other children her age?"

"No…" Wafla closed her eyes, "She's always here."

"If she doesn't learn about this, then she'll lose control later in life." Syrup said.

"Well, what do you suggest I do?" Wafla asked harshly, "I can't teach her anything if what you say is true!"

"…" Syrup sighed, "Let me teach her then."

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Maple was in a small field outside her home. It was a lovely place filling with various kinds of flowers.

One might expect a sweet looking little girl to be cheerfully picking flowers in this field. However, Maple was doing something a bit more… practical.

"OK! Squad A is going to sneak into the kitchen! I want snacks! Meanwhile, Squad B is going to head off and deal with the Reds!" She ordered her army.

"Maple… what are you doing?" She heard her grandmother's voice say.

"Oh! Hi," Maple turned around and waved, "OK! You know your orders, now move!"

"…" Syrup looked around, "Who are you talking to?"

"Oh." Maple smiled, "My Ant Army. They're my minions." She shrugged, "One day I noticed that if I thought hard enough… I could, sort of, feel people's thoughts. I can't ever tell exactly what they're thinking, people are too complex." She shook her head, "It's a lot easier to hear animals. Plus simpler things I can actually get them to do what I want."

"So you have a colony of ants under your command." Syrup said dryly.

"Exactly!" Maple smiled.

"…" Syrup shook her head, "I don't want to know."

"Sometimes I use them against my enemies."

"Riiight…" Syrup took Maple's hand, "Maple, I have something to tell you."

"I'm adopted?" Maple asked seriously.

"No! What gave you that idea?" Syrup asked in shock.

"Well… most people look like other members of their family." Maple said casually, "They all have either pointed ears with red eyes, or pointed ears with blue eyes. Some have blue skin with fins. But everybody in a family looks like each other." She looked at herself, "I don't look like you or mom or dad. I don't look like anybody around here. So I think I'm adopted."

Syrup closed her eyes, saying a quiet prayer, "Maple… you're my granddaughter. You're my daughter's daughter. Anyway, that's not what I'm here to talk to you about."

"Well, what do you have to say?" Maple blinked.

"Well… I'm planning to teach you magic." Syrup smiled.

Maple gasped, "You… you mean it?"

Syrup nodded "Well… if the council approves it. But really, that's just a-"

"Yes!" Maple rushed over, giving Syrup a hug! "Thank you granny!"

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The Clan Council. Every female member of the clan serves on it at least once in their life. When they serve, they are not a family member. All friendships, relations, even love, are ignored. They become the council.

Syrup had served for long time, before finally resigning a few years back. Maple was scared of them, their faces hidden in shadow. To her they looked like ominous monoliths, unfeeling and uncaring. She gripped her mother's dress, "Eeep…"

"Shhh… it's okay." Wafla whispered.

"What brings you before us, Syrup Relom?" The current Voice of the Council asked.

"A simple request." Syrup said, "You bunch of overly formal hacks." She muttered under her breath. "I ask that the duties of teaching my granddaughter, Maple Relom, be transferred to me."

There was silence after she spoke.

"Are… are they mad?" Maple asked quietly.

"Why are you asking for this, Syrup Relom?" The Voice asked.

"Because… both I and Wafla believe that it is best for Maple." Syrup answered truthfully, "I doubt I will be in the right sate of mind much longer… Maple needs to learn from me."

There was silence. "Does any member of this Council oppose Syrup Relom's request?"

No hands were raised, no voices spoken. Apparently they still fear me enough to not question my requests. Syrup thought ruefully, "Thank you. We shall be leaving now."

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"Does this mean I'm going to learn magic?" Maple asked hopefully.

"Partly." Syrup smiled, "But with you here, well, you're going to learn a lot… of course, you're still going to be taught by your mother." Syrup smiled at Wafla.

"But you're now-" Wafla began.

"I'm old, daughter." Syrup winked, "I'll need all the help I can get."

"Oh… OK." Wafla smiled.

"What do I learn first?" Maple asked.

"First you learn a few rules." Syrup said seriously, "Rule one; if you get the urge to experiment, tell us first."

"…" Maple folded her arms, "That's a tricky one…"

"Oh boy…" Wafla muttered.

The End