I am tired of translating English to Old English, I cannot find a good translator so until I do the magic will be in italics...
I have so many ideas for this story... I even know her style of magic, it will not be like Morgana or Merlin or Morgouses, some elements of theirs obviously but it will be quite unique. I am actually very excited for it all...
This is going to be a massive story... I can just tell. I have learned so much since my last Merlin story...
Any suggestions on who should her friends, allies, enemies and potentially lovers be?
"Lovely day out." Daphne muttered to herself as she continued to collect her herbs, enjoying the cool air on her skin and the rush of magic from the earth. Over the last week, since she started practicing magic, she had become accustomed to feeling the magic of the Earth oozing out at all times. It was a subtle reminder of the power she now possessed, even if she was powerful by any metric. It was like being caught in the sun, only more comforting and less likely to burn you. "This one is for healing and this one is for curses and this one just smells lovely." Giggling at her conversations, she hurried along the field. carrying her two baskets. "I need some mushrooms too, pity Gaius has been plucking them so frequently, never leaving enough for us all."
After an hour or so of collecting her ingredients, she stopped by a tree and sat down. Closing her eyes, she focused on the Earth's endless majesty and allowed her magic to flow. She didn't do anything with it for a moment, relishing in the way it felt, and then she cast not a spell but a prayer. One contained in her book, the book she stole from Thomas Collins.
"Mother above, hear this my prayer. It is your wisdom and guidance I require. Aid me in this task and in the honor of equivalent exchange, I will do for you near anything that would equal what you have helped me with." Sighing, Daphne turned to her true tongue. "Three Faced Goddess... I need to mask my secrets so I am not forced to join those that have perished at the hands of Uther Pendragon. Please guide me, so that I can do more good, save more lives and master this path I have chosen. Do so and I will honor you as those long past have done. I will give to you as you have to me... " She shuddered for a moment, realizing it was probably best to be polite. "Please."
Aftera ten or so minutes of waiting, her leg fell asleep. Unsure of what else to do, Daphne stood from the tree and turned back to the castle, entirely unaware that her prayer had been heard...but not by whom she presumed.
Her magic, though weak, carried far and as she approached the Castle of Camelot, her message was heard by one who was listening... one who was curious... one who plotted.
:::
'Daphne... Daphne... Daphne...;'
The new witch woke up, her body shuddering as a gentle, powerful voice echoed in her mind. She sat up in her bed, looking for the sound. She saw nothing, but she could almost feel the presence, it was vast and alien and definitely inhuman. "Who is that?" She whispered, more than afraid.
The voice, deep and clearly male, whispered and laughed in her heart. "My name is Kilgarah, I am the dragon imprisoned underneath the castle. I heard your call, young sorceress. Desperation and fear is a powerful amplifier, weak though your magic is, it carried far. You are lucky so few beings know to listen to the world about them, a far less kind being could have overheard you."
She shivered. "And you are kind?"
"I try to be when it is warranted... However, in this instance, I think a deal is in order. Like most magical beings, Uther's evil has touched my kind. He had the Dragonlords command us and then he slaughtered us all bar me, whom he imprisoned with a magical chain. If I am to help you, to guide you, to assist you on your path... you will owe ma a great favor."
"Freedom?"
"Oh yes, it will take some time. There is an extremely powerful though inexperienced Warlock in the castle, I hope he will free me however his future is muffled and he is judgmental and fearful. There is a chance, a large one, that he will never free me out of spite or fear. I need to ensure that I am freed... "
"I am so new to magic, so weak..."
"Power grows with time and experience, you have vast potential that I can sense though you were not blessed with power or even destiny. One day, with proper guidance, you can free me. Agree to this, and I will grant your wish, warn you and educate you as best as I am able. Do we have an accord?"
The answer came to her. "Get one over on Uther Pendragon and learn magic and help an innocent victim? Where do I sign?"
The dragon's laughter was a lovely, cruel sound. "I knew you would be a lovely ally... now, to prove that I am in fact able to help you, why not assist you with your request and teach you a spell that will protect your magical artifacts from detection. Keep in mind, a powerful witch or warlock can see through this, or any magical being with enough power or skill, but no one else."
"Lovely... how do I start?"
"Can you carve?"
"Yes. I am no artist, but I have enough skills to do what you ask of me."
"Perfect, I will teach you a series of sigils that you will carve into a piece of wood, preferably rowan, and place in the cubby where your artifacts are held. It will project a field masking it from those who are not welcome. The magic is not hard actually, even for a beginner, nor does it take a lot of power. However, you will need to paint over the sigils in a mixture of blood, water, and herbs for it to be truly effective. Can you handle that?"
"Do I really have a choice?"
"No, I suppose you do not... now, let us begin. I am sure you have seen the sigils and runes in your grimoire. I will tell you wish ones and in which order to cast them into the wood... do you have the Rowan near you?"
"Actually yes, I do. The grimoire mentioned that Rowan was a powerful protective substance, so I collected some in case I could cast spells of protecting with it. Charms and the like. There is a spell in the book, a talisman to focus magic for new witches. I was hoping to make one, to aid me in case I am forced into a situation that I cannot escape from otherwise."
"A wise choice...now, listen carefully, this spell cannot be done incorrectly less you taint the wood. The sigils are thus...'
It took her nearly an hour to cast the spell, her hands were shaking with nerves, but somehow she managed it. It was not particularly tricky or hard, the most difficult was the potion of her blood as it was hard to intentionally harm yourself, but she managed and before she knew it she had a small hand piece of wood the size of a small hand mirror infused with magic and spellwork. She happily placed it in her hidey hole and felt it's magic cast a veil over the objects within.
Pulling out her grimoire, she started to add this new spell into it, excited for her first new spell. "Thank you, Kilgarah. Now... what is next? I do belive you want me to save you, so we have better get started!"
"Patience my dear, all in good time. We will prepare and in the next six months you will have the means to save me, provided you can get ahold a powerful enough object to channel. Now, since you lack powerful blood or blessing, we need to build your powers and supplies. The book you hold was written to cover a general understanding of magic, it is an introductory book and it was never finished. Mary Collins started it just before magic was rendered a crime and so she never had many chances to add to it. Had things gone the way they ought to have, her son would have been sent to another to learn and expand his understanding of magic. He was not a gifted sorcerer, unlike his far more gifted mother, due to having to hide his skills and practice in secret.
There are a great many things you need to learn, some things I will teach you will merely expand you knowledge and skill of magic in general. Some will be tools to protect yourself and others. Other lessons will be specifically designed to aid you in freeing me. These lessons will mold you into a powerful, worthy sorceress. Are you willing to endure them?"
She nodded. " Absolutely."
"Wonderful... we will start with learning to speak with your mind, so you can communicate with others that have magic, contact myself and so many other things. It has a side effect of allowing you to feel mystical energy so you can be more aware of dangers that you may face. I know you desire saving others with magic, I wish this as well, so I will assist you in that as well.
Now, for your studies we will primarily focus on four aspects of magic based on our goals. Healing, since you are a healer and that is your greatest desire and dream. Enchantment, to compensate for your low power levels and to arm you with the means of defense and protection. Martial magic, for obvious reasons... and lastly, potion work for the same reason as enchantment but also to aid you in healing and to give you the means to eventually earn a living if you must escape Camelot. Does this sound reasonable?"
She nodded, excited and pleased. "I am so honored."
"As am I... now, the chain on my body drains my powers so I am forced to rest often. I may not always contact you, so you will continue to study from your grimoire and you may add what I teach you into it. In fact, I would prefer it if you did. If I fall, I do not want my knowledge to come to an end. Now if it is agreeable to you, we can start with mental magics right now. I know you have been practicing meditations to harness magic, this is actually the first step to telepathy as it grants you sensitivity to magic and grants you awareness of the power of your mind.
The steps are rather simple, you must focus on expanding your reach, harnessing your will. There are spells you can cast to get you accustomed to this... which I will teach you in a few moments. Before we start that... yes... that talisman you mentioned earlier, we will create it tomorrow but with a few twists of my own creation. It would not do for you to be discovered while you are training... I will explain this tomorrow night, but until then we will focus on your mental skills. In fact other then mental practice and your talisman, we will focus on nothing else. This skill, for those without a blessing, require extreme focus and training for this power to work. It is vital that you master this, a lack of awareness can and will get you killed.
You can and should learn the spells in your book, it will grant you a great foundation to work from...but I will show you nothing but telepathy until your have it mastered."
"Not a problem."
"Good... oh, one last thing... well actually two. Do not work on saving magical beings until you have been training for at least a month. By then you will have enough skill to escape detection, or so I hope. The other thing is this, I know you do not always get paid with gold. Many people trade you food or services. I can see a bow in your room so I assume you are a skilled archer but I would have you learn swordplay as well. Magic will not always keep you safe, especially as new as you are. Can you arrange this?"
She nodded, smiling. "I am friend with Morris, Arthur's old manservant, he is no swordmaster but he is skilled enough to educate me in the basics and I know my being a girl will have no effect on his educating me. It will have the extra benefits of strengthening my body, something my grimoire suggested."
"That it will... now... onto our lesson... Get yourself comfortable, for we will train in this skill for at least two hours a day until you master it. Prepare for many, many headaches and bloody noses, this skill is not an easy one to learn."
"Lovely" She said, sitting getting comfortable in her bed. "Let's get started."
Chapter end, tell me what you think in the reviews.
This was really, really fun. Potions and Enchantment and Healing feel like the perfect angle for her. They were so underused in the series... and it helps with her lower power levels... I love it!
Love, your Ninja Overlord,
Mika.