Varian
For a solid week, Vala spent all her time working on her new idea. She conjured food and water when needed and restarted the fire when it went out, but she'd only rest from her efforts when I reminded her she needed to sleep once in a while. She worked with a new found viger I couldn't help but admire. I guessed after five years of making no progress and having very little hope, all she needed was to be pushed in a different direction to motivate her.
While she worked, I read from the books we collected and I'd taken many quick trips outside, though I tried to keep close to home. I could take care of myself, but I didn't want to smash Vala's hopes by getting myself killed, since she indicated I was key to making her idea work.
Sometime around day eight, Vala joined me for our evening meal, rather than just munching on it while she worked. She had excitement in her eyes.
"I think I figured it out." She said, her voice was just as excited as her eyes and held a certain amount of pride.
"You think?" I asked.
"This is all just a theory, of course, but we need to start somewhere. We'll give my idea a try tomorrow and see how it works. I might need to do more work on the spells, but I won't know what I did wrong until we give it all a try, at least once."
"What exactly will we be doing?"
"It's hard to explain, but basically I made our new hand mirror into a scrying mirror. I think. I've never done it before and it's not like I can test it out very well, at the moment. The mirror is currently not magically attached to anything or anyone, but we're going to try to use your connection to your mage friend to find her mirror. I think that part of my idea should be fairly easy." She shrugged. "I mean, we could try to just locate any scrying mirror in the dimension, but you never know who might pick-up. I'd like to try a specific mirror before we get that desperate."
I nodded. As much as I didn't want to be in this cursed demon dimension, I really didn't want to get out, just to end up in a Horde dungeon, either. We had the luxury of time, so we might as well do this right.
"Once we get the connection, we'll have to hope she has her mirror kept in a place where she'll see it. If she doesn't see you in the mirror, this will not work."
"Would she be able to hear me if I spoke to her, even if she didn't see me?"
Vala sighed, shaking her head. "I don't think so. Since the connection between the two mirrors will not be complete until a mage on the other side acknowledges the mirror, I doubt any kind of audio ability would be possible. Maybe if we were in the same dimension, but I think the distance is too great. As I said before, this might be a bit of a longshot, but this plan has better odds than me continuing to try to create a portal. I've already proven time and time again that I can't do that."
"It sounds good to me. It's not like we have anything but time."
"Very true." Vala chuckled, then turned serious. "But just know, this will probably take a lot out of me. We're talking about me doing magic I've only ever read about and have no idea if I can even perform. I'm not sure how much power it will take to make the connection or keep the connection. And, realistically, this might not work at all. I'm pretty much making things up as I go along, assuming any of it is even possible."
I placed a supportive hand on her shoulder. "I'm choosing to be optimistic, but don't worry. This is just a first step."
Vala nodded. "You're right. This is a first step that will teach me more, regardless of whether I'm successful or not. You learn just as much through failure, as you do through success...or some such nonsense."
"Exactly."
Vala stood and went over to one of the shelves at the side of the cave where we kept the things we had scavenged. She pulled out one of the heavy bolts of fabric and the sewing materials. She placed everything by the fire and took a seat. "I'm going to spend the rest of the day working on sewing a couple of blankets for us. Do something that requires no magic whatsoever."
"You know how to sew?"
Vala snorted at me. "I'm a female from a poor family. Of course I know how to sew. Before I failed as a priest and started to become a mage, my mom assumed I would just grow up to become a housewife. I know how to sew, cook and wash clothes. Not that any of that knowledge helped me as a mage apprentice or helped me to survive being stranded in a demon dimension, for that matter. Until now, I guess."
I smiled at her. "Well, I don't know how to do any of those things. Most of my childhood was spent learning how to fight, rule a kingdom and behave around noble society. The fighting has been the most useful, since it seems like we're always at war, but I'm not the best at diplomacy. I have too much of a temper."
"I guess we're born into the life we are meant to live." Vala said almost sadly. "Even if we have to work at it."
"Maybe not. A person's situation can change in the blink of an eye."
"Truer words have never been spoken. I look forward to trying to learn to live in the world again, once this idea works and we get home."
I laughed. "Looks like my optimism is spreading."
"Or I've lost all sanity." She shrugged. "Who can tell anymore."
To Be Continued...
