You always told me that heartache was just part of the cloudy days before the sun, Mother. But the clouds have lasted for twelve years. Pots can be mended and the cracks glued together, but how long will it be before the pot becomes more cracks than glass and shatters itself? How many scars can it withstand?
"""
Three months later, the Guild called for a meeting to discuss the Horde again. Sighing, Light Spinner curtsied in front of Master Norwyn before the cauldron in the Lunarium, keeping as far away from Emeth Muriel as possible. Of course he won't be fired. Why did I even hope for anything otherwise?
Norwyn cleared his throat and spoke. "Light Spinner, I have another errand for you to run. Alone."
Light Spinner pursed her lips from behind her red veil. "What would you have me do?"
Norwyn sighed, running his hand along the outside of the cauldron. "The Guild has offered you a chance to prove yourself one last time. To prove that you can obey, and have the judgment not to rush into dangerous situations."
Light Spinner interlaced her white fingers, the fabric of the gloves digging into her skin. The others' expressions were peacefully interested, as though they were reading a drama about kings and queens instead of dealing with dysfunctional father-daughter relations. After the fiasco following Queen Angella's palace, Light Spinner had made convenient excuses to avoid Norwyn - appealing mostly to Micah's newfound dedication in his studies. Something about his behavior had changed how she felt toward him, more than usual.
Norwyn paused at Light Spinner's expression, possibly reconsidering his decision. "Queen Angella has formed a small meeting in her palace to talk about the Horde that invaded Tropicilas. She sent a letter out to me, but I must send someone else; today I am examining the academy."
Light Spinner crossed her arms, but before she could speak, Festinia groaned. "Don't argue with him on this, for the love of the moons. You're so overdramatic."
"I won't."
Every Guild member looked at her, wide-eyed. Light Spinner tossed her head. "I will expect to hear your solution on how to defeat the Horde. But I recognize my method was inappropriate, so in a gesture of submission..." the words hurt for her to say. "I will obey."
Norwyn smiled. "I knew you and I would see eye-to-eye. Bring the news that Mystacor will not join the Rebellion."
Light Spinner wet her lips, turning to the door, her knuckles clenching the knob. I have control of my powers now. My light hasn't gone off against my will since Illuras; I can hide it from the queen. All will be well. "I will, Master. Thank you."
Light Spinner rode a mirror to a back room in Bright Moon Palace. If Norwyn's brief report had been everything it claimed to be, Angella was gathering a group of princesses in the same room as Light Spinner to discuss what they could do about the Horde. So much power. Light Spinner didn't belong among them, with her shackled light and her boisterous attitude. And my abandoned runestone studies, she thought, ashamed.
She spoke to herself. "Deep breaths. You're going to go out there, and you'll tell them Norwyn says no. That's all you have to say."
Smoothing her dark red skirts, Light Spinner walked out into the throne room. Royals gathered around a table, taking small treats and eating daintily. Though the food was much better than anything she made at home, Light Spinner wasn't hungry. She hadn't had much of an appetite as of late, especially since Norwyn's words kept returning to her mind.
A sharp claw landed on her shoulder, and she spun around instantly, nearly smacking a small, white-haired Scorpion in the face. The woman stepped back, then uttered the most ferocious laugh Light Spinner had ever heard. "I am so sorry for giving you such a scare, darling!"
Light Spinner swallowed, her body shaking. She loathed parties; the last time she'd attended one was well before she'd gone to Mystacor. "Your Majesty - Princess Estila. I am the Emeth you asked to research the Black Garnet."
Her eyes widened hopefully. "And?"
A shuddering sigh. Go on. "I failed. I can't unlock it. There's some sort of missing piece, a gateway that won't respond to any spells I cast."
Estila's dark eyes were lowered, and the women stood in silence for a moment. "You worked on that for over a year and a half. Is that right, my dear?"
"Tirelessly."
"Then you have nothing to be ashamed of," Estila said. "Angella told me about the boy you took under your claw; with that precious child from my kingdom, it's a surprise to me that you could continue!" With this, she made another operatic laugh that carried upward to the ceiling.
At least she doesn't hold a grudge against me. Before she could give Estila a response, Queen Angella flew upward and addressed everyone. "Welcome to the meeting of the First Rebellion, all kingdoms. I ask you now to sit at the table."
Angella spoke again when everyone was seated. "Light Spinner saved a village from the Horde with the help of her apprentice. You all must know how important this rebellion is. With Mystacor at our side, I predict the Horde will be gone in a few years - possibly a few months."
Wait. Did she say I saved them? Does she know who I am? Moons, she's a figurehead of the Seraphites! What would her church think?
Focus, Light Spinner. This isn't about you. She sighed. "Actually, Your Majesty...Mystacor cannot join." Angella widened her violet eyes, her face crumpling. Light Spinner pushed down sympathy for the queen and continued. "I nearly died fighting the Horde, and they could have found where Mystacor is hidden. Mystacor can't risk our sorcerers' deaths by joining."
Angella laced her hands together, dejected. The table was quiet for a long moment. Finally, the queen sighed, placing her forehead on her hands. "We needed Mystacor to get the effort off the ground. Five people who can wield magic is not enough against the Horde. Not anymore."
I know. More than you realize, I know. Light Spinner looked downward as the meeting passed in a blur.
After the meeting, Queen Angella grabbed Light Spinner's elbow as she attempted to leave. Startled, Light Spinner yanked it out of her grip with an indignant look. The queen folded her hands. "Emeth, would you walk with me?"
Oh, moons. Not this. Anything but this. But she had no choice; she may be a Guild member, but she was also a citizen of Bright Moon, and she was under Queen Angella's rule. She nodded numbly, following Angella down a long corridor full of enormous windows that looked out onto the moat encircling the palace.
Angella traced the wall with her gloved hand. "Do you know why Master Norwyn denied the Rebellion aid?"
Light Spinner clenched her gloved fists, swallowing. "It was because of what I did." Tell me you didn't know about my magic.
Angella tilted her head. "You? I don't understand. You chose of your own accord to endanger yourself to save my people, after I pushed you aside."
"But I'm foolish," Light Spinner said. Steady yourself. "I put my thirteen-year-old apprentice in danger. I was acting as a Guild member, telling them we wanted war. If they'd known about our location, they could have brought the war there."
Angella sighed. "You were brave, Light Spinner. You made mistakes along the way, perhaps, but this operation would be bigger than you. You could help. I know you're strong enough to make a difference."
Light Spinner's voice darkened. "No," she said. "No, I'm not. But I do hope your Rebellion grows, Your Majesty." She gazed vacantly out the window. "It must."
Angella's eyes were sad. "My dear, you of all people must understand that hope will only go so far. You must act - you are a Guild member. Isn't there a way they will listen to you? I fear we cannot start the Rebellion without Mystacor's aid."
"I can't act without going against authority," Light Spinner said. "They never listen to me. It's..." she sighed, shuddering as she answered. "It's because some of them are Seraphites. And according to them, I'm a Fulminate." With this, she ignited her plasma, lighting a tiny plume of flame in the air.
Angella giggled, covering her mouth. "They call that Fulmination?"
Light Spinner's body relaxed. "You don't?" A pause. "I'm no Seraphite, Your Majesty - with respect. But I was afraid that you would...see me the way they do."
Respect for the queen welled in her heart with the reply. "Oh, Light Spinner. I have been the queen of Bright Moon for four hundred years, and do you know what I have learned?"
"What?"
She stepped close, as if telling a secret. "Royalty can be wrong too." She walked away, and an idea began to brew in the corner of Light Spinner's mind.
"""
I'm starting to wonder if I have the opposite problem of what everyone believes. My powers are harder to control the more I hole myself up. The less I deny myself the ability to feel, to think about my emotions and process them, the less I fear my light going off.
"""
When Light Spinner returned, Micah was asleep on the couch with his magic textbook on his face. Bending down to run her fingers over his hair, she gave a shuddering sigh. Mother, I have been a fool. A sidetracked fool.
I have to be more than myself to secure a better future for us. Now I've restored what I'd lost with Nell. I have a best friend now. And he is my child.
I'm a mother. She whispered the words as she unhooked her veil and pressing a gentle kiss to Micah's forehead. Tears came to her eyes, tears of happiness. "I'm a mother."
Light Spinner used kinesis magic to tuck him in bed, then undid his hair from the band that kept some of it in a bun. She walked back to the living room, opened the leather cover of her journal, and wrote with a trembling hand.
Dear Mother,
The Spell of Obtainment.
A gust of icy wind rattled the window, and Light Spinner closed it with kinesis magic. Deep breaths. She wrote again, swallowing hoarsely.
This is an idea based entirely in my own insane head. But without runestones, it could be the only way for sorcerers to help save Etheria. I learned about the Spell in my evocation class. The idea of using it has been shot down by every sorcerer in the past four hundred years, due to how it split the kingdom of Arxia and left over nine thousand Etherians dead in the subsequent war.
Sorcerers are not like princesses, whose power is contained in a single source: a runestone. Most of the time, spells for sorcerers take immense concentration, and this process comes more easily for some than others. But with the Spell, you become your own runestone. If successfully cast, it changes the dynamic of your body to automatically collect magic for future use. There's no magic strain, no danger of death, and you will be in complete control of your mind. If sorcerers could succeed in using the Spell, we could become strong enough to defeat the Horde without the threat of magic strain from the Pull.
The Spell has never succeeded before, and the results are catastrophic if it fails. Every sorcerer to attempt it has ended up dead, because while the Spell itself is not dark, it does contain darkness as a byproduct, and that darkness has thus far been too much for any caster to handle. It has never been attempted outside of a set of experiments by Emeth Auctor four hundred years ago, which caused the aforementioned war in Arxia.
I am an evocation sorceress - a powerful one at that. If I could learn somehow to get rid of the darkness while having that power for myself and others, I could help Angella stop the Horde. I could save everyone, just as you always wanted. I would never have to fear losing Micah or having him slip from my embrace if I was like a princess. And I know Micah would never leave me willingly.
My research begins tomorrow. The Guild meets in the winter to talk about a course of action for stopping the Horde, and that will be the perfect time for me to present my plan. Mother, you would be so proud of me.
Your daughter,
She put her pen on the page to write Alura, but hesitated. Alura was powerless, a girl who couldn't get anyone to love her. Alura allowed herself to be controlled by others.
Not anymore, she thought, giving a smug smile. From now on, she was in control. She signed Light Spinner on the page, a contented sigh rustling her veil. If Mother were still here today, she would recognize the nickname, which she had always called Alura when she'd been little.
On the last day of class, Light Spinner took Micah down to the Lunarium. She stood in front of the cauldron. "I'm going to cast a power prism, and you will tell me how much magic is in it. Use the method we practiced."
She raised her hands upward, focusing on the prism she wanted to create. Glitter clotted itself together in front of her, magic gathering into a diamond-shaped structure with immense power trapped inside. Her stamina drained, and she crushed her eyes shut, buckling under the weight. Power prisms were so taxing; if she couldn't even handle this small bit of power, how could she hold one long enough to chain the Spell?
Light Spinner gasped as the weight weight lifted. Micah's hand was outstretched, an easy smile on his face. His dark eyes sparkled with joy as he kept the prism alive. Controlling a power prism was high-level magic, something one didn't learn till past their graduation.
How in the name of...
Light Spinner's focus broke, and she dropped the spell. "Impossible!" She slammed her hands on the cauldron. "Who else has been teaching you?"
Micah's face crumpled. "No one," he stammered. "I just did what you said. Did I do something wrong?"
She'd sounded almost angry with him. "No," she said, looking away sheepishly. "I knew you were gifted; I just didn't realize how gifted. You have incredible power."
Light Spinner turned around, gazing at the data crystals. "And I'm the one who will mold that power."
Micah looked away. "So...uh...you'll keep teaching me this?"
She walked toward him, placing a hand on his shoulder. The echoes of her own mother reached her head. Someday, Light Spinner would join Micah as a naturally gifted sorceress, and she would have the stamina needed to fight the Horde with him. Those adventures they'd share made her life a perpetual daydream.
"Of course," she said gently. "We're going to do great things together."
Micah blushed. "Yes!" He cleared his throat and bowed slightly, which they'd been trying to work on with other teachers. "I mean - thank you, Light Spinner."
She sighed. "Mystacor needs talents like ours more than ever before. Perhaps - " She considered showing him the full severity of what the Horde was doing. The deaths, the injuries, the conquering, the pain. "No," she said, folding her hands. "You're not ready."
Micah lowered his eyes. "I...I know I have a lot to learn," he said. "But I'm ready for anything. What is it?"
Light Spinner bit her lip from behind her veil; Micah was fourteen, and she couldn't shield him from the world forever. She walked up to the cauldron and waved her hand over the water. "Show me." She put into her head the worst of what the Horde was doing: their conquests, trophies, and terror.
Micah gasped. Light Spinner recalled her own shock as she gazed upon machines that Etheria had never seen before, or that were considered so ancient they couldn't be replicated. Guns. Tanks. Armored vehicles. It was a horrid nightmare, one that Light Spinner could barely believe a whole kingdom was living in.
"This is awful," Micah said, his voice trembling. "Why would you conjure this?"
Light Spinner regarded his face, which was cast in pale blue light by the cauldron. He still thinks the guns are few and far between, perhaps. And he's never seen a tank before. Moons, neither did I, not until a few months ago. "This is no illusion. It's really happening. The terrorists are a full army, and they have invaded our lands. They call themselves the Horde." She sighed. "They've accomplished much in this short time, more than our so-called leaders have."
"We have to do something!" He splashed the cauldron, and the illusion disappeared.
"Easy, Micah. The Guild meets soon to decide a course of action. I have a plan to give us the power needed to complete Angella's Rebellion and stop the Horde." Her mouth grew dry. "I only hope that Norwyn and his followers can see the threat as clearly as you do."
Micah squeezed her hand. "You'll make them see. They have to. If anyone can do it, it's you."
She returned his smile. "My research will occupy most of our days over winter break. You are welcome to come along, but you cannot look inside the books I am using."
"Why not?"
"The Guild has forbidden it," she said, gritting her teeth. "I won't have any chance of them not trusting me."
Micah nodded. "Yeah, I see. You'll give your plan to them, and I'm sure they'll listen. Then we can end the Horde before they hurt anyone else."
Heaviness rested on her shoulders. "I do hope so."
