Author's note: Now that I have a USB drive or whatever it's called, I'm able to work on these during school, too. Expect the chapters to come more often.
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Leaving behind the tears, Evika stumbled back up the stairs. With the lights off again, she fumbled around the walls for a light switch, finally finding the small dial, and turning it a little bit. The candle-bulb lights fastened to the walls brightened in reply.
Turning to face the multitude of drawers, cabinets, and closet space, she began the search for a way back to Naurasia.
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After a long search around the room, in which she encountered many Earth oddities hidden in the storage spaces (not to mention the mountains of dust that just happened to explode in her face on contact with outside air), Evika wandered into the small storage space tucked next to the closet.
On opening, the room was revealed to be quite small; just big enough to tuck two of her inside. But all the space available was inhabited by white storage boxes. Hmm, what's this, she wondered, sliding out a box.
The first box out contained Earth clothes, neatly folded. Placing the lid back on, she set it aside behind her.
The next box was somewhat more to her taste; piles of Naurasian clothes. Curious, she pulled one out. A sweeping gown flowed onto her lap, contrasting her patchy tunic like water and fire. Standing up, she noted that it was almost her size, maybe a finger too long. Putting it away, she set the box on her bed.
Lifting the next box out of its place, she nearly fell down with the weight of its contents. Keeping her grip on the handles, she eased it gently to the carpet, where its lid came off to reveal large volumes in covers of softened wood, embossed with Naurasian words. The top manuscript was titled: Complete Text of Beginning Spells. Evika grinned for two reasons; one was that she used the same book for her classes in magic; the other was that she had found the box she was looking for.
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Seven dictionary-sized books later, Evika was flipping through a title-less book of intermediate magic. Not finding any teleportation spells, she stacked it on top of the teetering pile behind her.
The last book in the box was a thinner rowan-covered text with, again, no title. Unlike the other slightly yellowed pages, this one was still somewhat green, still new within two or three years. That or it was very nicely preserved from the corroding air, being stuck under all the thick volumes.
About to part the pages, she noticed a small ribbon stuck near the end of the chapters. A small hope was growing in her fingers, and she opened the book to its spot. The silk ribbon shone in the light between two pages covered in writing dedicated to two-way portals.
"Bingo," whispered Evika as she started reading.
The chapter was mostly history, but she endured all the words about usage in the River Wars, how water was found to conduct very well, etc. Finally she came to the actual spell.
"Ingredients needed: A reflecting surface at least half the size of the portal user(s) combined, not including items; a sharp crystal hard enough to cut through reflector; a source of magic equal to person(s) and item(s); all the luck in the world," she read, smiling at the last part. She knew how dangerous it was to cast portals without proper magical supervision; and even so…
The reflecting surface could be the full-body mirror she passed on the way up; the sharp crystal could be an arrowhead; but what about the source of magic? Doing calculations in her head, she ended up with a rather big amount of magic. Looking around, she could see no physical item powerful enough to capture and hold that quantity of energy. Sighing, she tipped back a little…and cried out as the pile of books behind her toppled all over the floor.
Getting to her feet, Evika quickly swooped up the fallen volumes and placed them back inside their box. Reaching for the last one that fell half under the bed, inspiration struck her as she saw the small bird of carved crystal under the spine.
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Step one: Remove any siding and/or decorations from the reflective surface.
Evika de-framed the mirror and propped it up against the bedpost.
Step two: Using the cutting crystal, cut the biggest oval possible from the surface, but not all the way through.
Taking off an arrowhead, she ran the tip around the rectangle, leaving a blue-specked eclipse as she joined the ends.
Step three: Power the source and lightly touch the middle of the ring with it.
She took the rilla bird in hand and closed her eyes as she sent energy coursing through the melted lines of the clear mineral. Opening her eyes again, she was pleased to feel strong magic radiating from its form. Turning to the mirror, she pecked the center with the beak of the crystal bird. A flurry of white light exploded from her reflection, subsiding until only the band of blue shone white.
I've done it,
thought Evika jubilantly. She checked the book one more time to see
if the portal was looking right and the pages confirmed her thoughts.
By now, the cut edge of the surface should glow white. To use,
place hand in while holding magical source, thinking strongly of
where the user wants to go. Once the surface around hand changes to
location, jump in and wish very strongly about getting there in one
piece. To return, clutch the source and call out its teleporting magic, now fused within, and do the same thing.
Happily looking at the portal, Evika began packing.
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Her bag was soon bulging with items hers and stuff from around the room. She had packed three sets of her mother's clothes, all tunics and pants; a book of matches found in a drawer; her sewing kit; two quills and paper; a satchel of soap found in the bathroom; and her precious mirror. Putting it all inside, she considered a bit and placed one of her old clothes inside on top of it all. Taking out her moneybag, she searched for any loose change that hung around and found some just about everywhere.
Keeping her old servant clothes on, she slipped a pocketknife (found in the closet) inside her sleeve, just in case. Also found in the closet, she curled up a cast-off blanket and tied it to her knapsack.
Tying the moneybag with twine, she tucked it in between the rags for silence. She lifted the rather-heavy bag and put it on, the blanket bouncing on her thigh. Practicing running with it on, her mind wondered on what to do once she was in Naurasia.
She knew she had to get to the forest, but teleporting right into it was a bad idea, seeing that many predators lurk in its mysterious shadows. Somehow, she had to get in by a side route, which made her think of the Northern Gate. The Gate was a small set of double doors lodged in the back of the palace walls bordering the forest. In her time, it was always guarded by a sleepy Crog guard who slept through the stone throws, the stick pokes, etc. It wouldn't be too hard to get past him, right?
In her mind's eye, she figured it out: she would teleport to the Servant's Wing a few steps away, then creep along the wall to the guard, then escape. It wouldn't be too bad, but she hoped that the patrols were late again when she got into the palace grounds.
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Cleaning up the room and making it all tidy, she wrote a note in the twilight: Don, I'm sorry I had to go. May we meet again in calmer winds. Evika, princess of Naurasia.
Tears flooded her face as she cast the invisibility spell, making all of herself and her possessions vanish from sight. She faced the mirror, and gripping the crystal tight, slid her hand in. Her mind teemed with memories of the Servant's Wing, its darkness and rugged beds of wood on a stone floor. Suddenly, her memories came to life in the mirror. She could see every sheet, every tile, and every familiar mote of dust. Sighing deeply, she placed one foot in front of the other, gripping the rilla tightly between her fingers…
The mirror stopped shimmering as the dawn light swept the empty room.