Notes: And so begins my series of snapshots on Daphne's magic lessons. These are tied in to my 13 Ghosts Season 2 project, taking place shortly after "Sands of Time and Space." These are going to be a set of oneshots (like my "Light that Shows the Way" collection, which is still technically active, by the way) rather than a multichapter fic, as that will give me chances to add on to this collection in the future.
There was a definite mix of excitement and nervousness that Daphne was feeling as she and the others had their breakfast in the dining hall of Castle Van Ghoul. Vincent had left the meal waiting for them, along with a note explaining that he had gone to obtain some items he would need for the magic lessons he intended to give Daphne, and to the rest of them—but while the others would merely be learning how to cast Protect, she was going to be learning as much as she could from Vincent's repertoire of spells. This was a big deal in mage society, apparently—and the pressure was on since she was technically a mortal with no magical energy (mana) of her own.
She'd spent the last few weeks preparing for her lessons by reading the translated scrolls on magic theory that Vincent had provided for her about harnessing the elements and things that magic was meant to be used for (and not used for). She was seldom seen without at least one of the scrolls in her hand; even now at the breakfast table, she was reviewing a scroll on harnessing the wind element in her left hand while eating with her right.
"Like, wow, you're eager, huh?" Shaggy commented as he worked his way through a stack of pancakes.
"After how long I've waited for this? You bet," she returned. "And the pressure is on, Shaggy; I'm going to be the first mortal ever chosen by a warlock to learn his magical legacy—and this warlock just happens to be the most powerful one in the world. Do you know how many young mages would do anything to get the chance of being taught by Vincent?"
"She's got a point," Flim-Flam mused. "Vince is pretty much the biggest deal in the magical world."
"Rheah, he is!" Scooby agreed.
"And you're going to learn so much from him!" Scrappy added, his tail wagging. "You'll be able to splat ghosts and beasties no problem!"
"It isn't just ghosts and monsters she'll have to deal with," Vincent said, as he teleported back into the dining hall. "I'm afraid this will be putting Daphne in a most unenviable situation. No matter how much she excels in her training, the chances of other mages recognizing her as a fellow mage are slim to none, aside from the few who are my old compatriots. Everyone else will constantly undermine her status as the one to learn my magical legacy. And, I imagine, a significant number of her fellow mortals—present company and Fred and Velma excluded, of course—would shun her for practicing witchcraft."
"And I told you, it doesn't matter to me what anyone else thinks about me," Daphne insisted. "My friends are all on my side—and that's all I care about."
Vincent gave her a surveying look.
"If you're absolutely certain…"
"I am," she insisted.
"Very well," the warlock conceded. He turned to the others. "And the rest of you—are you still willing to learn how to cast Protect?"
"We sure are, Vince!" Flim-Flam said, as Shaggy and the dogs nodded.
"So be it. However, the four of you are behind in your reading," he noted.
"Huh?" Shaggy asked.
"Didn't you read the scrolls I gave you on the theory of casting a protection spell?" Vincent sighed.
"Like, kinda…"
"Sorta…" Flim-Flam winced.
"Rhnot really…" Scooby admitted.
"Maybe we skimmed over them?" Scrappy offered.
Vincent just sighed.
"I fear you lack the patience for learning magic," he lamented. "However, it is for your own safety that I want you to learn how to cast Protect, so we'll be keeping at it. You'll be sitting in with Daphne for her first lesson on meditation and channeling your inner energy later today, but your practical lessons will have to wait until I'm satisfied that you've read enough of the theory of it."
"Man, and here I thought I was done with homework after I graduated…" Shaggy mused aloud.
"Welcome to my world," Flim-Flam sighed, having been more or less home-schooled by the warlock in mortal school subjects, as well.
Scooby giggled for a moment until he realized that this meant that he, too, would have to be studying.
"Oh, well…" Scrappy sighed, also coming to this realization. "I guess it'll be worth all the hard work in the end."
"I should think so," Vincent agreed. He turned to Daphne. "And as for you, you've been very diligent about your reading—I haven't come up with a question yet that you haven't been able to answer."
Daphne tried to remain humble, but she couldn't resist giving a slightly satisfied smile upon hearing Vincent's praise.
"You're ready for this," Vincent continued, and, from his cape, he drew a silver staff. The staff was long and slender, opening at its end into a meshwork of what looked like a smaller silver net to hold something in.
"Wow!" Scrappy exclaimed. "Daphne gets a wizard's staff!?"
"For the kind of spells she'll be casting, she'll need a good, reliable staff," Vincent agreed. "From what little I've seen so far of her skills, wands would be wasted on her; staves, on the other hand, are far more advanced than wands, but are more powerful and versatile. The only thing more powerful and more versatile than a good staff is being able to cast spells with just your hands—that is the most advanced magic there is, but that requires the spellcaster to have their own mana. I'm afraid that, as a mortal with no mana of your own, you'll never be able to achieve that—but by mastering a staff, you'll still be far more advanced than several mages."
"That's fine!" Daphne exclaimed, staring in awe at the silver staff. "…Is that really going to be mine? That's silver—it must be worth a fortune!"
"Good staves, in addition to having their own mana, are able to tap into the mana all around them. And this staff is one of the best—I stopped by Terror Tech earlier specifically to pick this one up," he said. "This staff is made from ancient silver from the mines of Laurium, south of Athens—silver is a metal that is supposed to provide protection and healing energy to its wielder. And it has the bonus of being highly effective against the undead or werewolves. I know from experience that this staff will serve you well—I promise that it's only been lightly used. I would have liked to have given you a new one, but good silver is hard to find these days, and I wanted to make sure you had nothing but the best."
"Oh, well, I'm sure it…" Daphne trailed off, the significance of his words sinking in. "…This was yours?"
"At Terror Tech, members of the Advanced Class all start out with staves until they no longer need them and can cast spells with their bare hands. …I happened to be a very quick study and didn't need to use this staff for long. In fact, I set a school record for being the fastest to no longer require a staff; it was just before the end of our first month, before we even got to select our power stones—that's why there's no stone in that staff's head."
Daphne glanced at the silver mesh-like formation at the top of the staff, realizing that was where the stone was supposed to have gone.
"And they held on to this for that long?"
"On display to show off my record," Vincent boasted. "Voudini's old staff is on display, too—he moved on from his a week after I did; his was an iron one, and you can still see the first moonstone that he chose for his power stone in his staff."
"And… they were okay with you just taking this one?" Daphne asked.
"Whether or not they were, there's nothing they can really do about it; it's still technically mine, after all. …Well, it was, I should say. It's yours now, Daphne."
He held the staff out to her, and she stared at it for a minute before turning to the others, almost questioningly.
Shaggy gave her a reassuring nod as Scooby put his paws together over his head, as though silently cheering her on. Flim-Flam gave her a thumbs-up, and Scrappy had brought out his pompoms again, seemingly out of nowhere, also to cheer her on.
She turned back to Vincent and, slightly nervous, accepted the silver staff.
"Thank you," she said, trying to keep her voice from quivering. "This means so much to me—all of this."
"Well, it means quite a bit to me, too," Vincent admitted. "Passing on a magical legacy is a proud moment for any mage. Now, then; you're almost all set. What you need now is a stone for the staff's head. You've read that scroll on the metaphysical qualities of gemstones and what they represent, so if you've given any thought—"
"An emerald," she said, immediately.
Vincent paused, and then held back an amused chuckle.
"You know, you don't have to choose an emerald just because it's the same one that I use—"
"I know," she said. "But I believe in what it represents—loyalty, compassion, and unconditional love—just like you do. Those times when I was able to cast spells by borrowing your mana, I was using your emeralds to enhance the spell—as far as I'm concerned, I've already found the perfect choice."
But Vincent didn't look at all surprised, and just pulled an emerald from his cape, touching it to the meshwork of silver. The meshwork briefly unraveled to allow the emerald to rest in the midst of it before closing back up around the emerald, securing it in place.
"I had a feeling you'd choose it," he admitted.
She smiled in response.
"Guess I'm just that predictable," she said.
"That's not always a bad thing," Vincent informed her. "And that goes for me, as well. Alright, all of you—finish up your breakfast. I want the rest of you reading those protection spell scrolls while Daphne gets a feel for her new staff—we'll reconvene at 11 for all of you to have a lesson in mindfulness and meditation."
"Right," Daphne said, resting her new staff against her chair as she went back to her breakfast.
The butterflies were stirring in her stomach, but she was determined to ignore it and focus on what lay ahead.
Vincent was putting a lot of faith in her. And she was determined to make him proud.