== A Witch Discovered ==
Kamehameha would attempt to bring Kaua'i under forced control once more, only to be struck with disease that forced him and his men to retreat rather than be defeated in the process. By this time, the King of Kaua'i had grown weary of being under constant threat of invasion by the man who would eventually unify Hawai'i under a single ruler and decided to peacefully join the future king rather than have to wage war against another of his invading armies again.
Upon Kaumuali'i's death, Pahili swore fealty to the new King of Hawai'i and pledged himself under Kamehameha's command. By this time the victories and martial prowess of the man now called Pahili Ahuna became well known across the island chain and the news of Hawai'i's most feared military commander now fighting under Kamehameha, that only meant one thing:
Kamehameha's army was now indestructible.
Now with the islands completely unified, Pahili set forth on his quest; the very quest that initially kept him from leaving the islands all those years ago. He still sensed faint traces of that magical power, but his devotion to Kaua'i and to King Kaumuali'i in particular had taken up majority of his time over the last number of years and prevented him from completing his task. There was a reservoir of untapped magical energies somewhere in Hawai'i and now Pahili was intent on finding out where it was.
With the King's blessing, Pahili set out alone to complete his years'-long quest. No, the King was not informed of this great military commander's plans, nor did he ask. Like many had learned before, Kamehameha refrained from probing too deeply into Pahili's affairs. The few who had dared mysteriously disappeared under rather suspicious circumstances. Though Kamehameha was confident that Pahili wouldn't turn on him, he would still rather not push his luck.
Pahili traveled by canoe to each of the neighboring islands one by one, sensing faint traces of magic on each, but nothing even remotely close to the surge he'd sensed when first arriving in Hawai'i aboard the H.M.S. Resolution. That was until he circled the island of Maui and began to feel that same pulsating thrum of magical power coming from somewhere relatively close. Scanning the area, he felt his quest finally coming to an end as he spotted an island that he'd never noticed before in the distance.
The island of Kaho'olawe.
He'd learned of the island long ago when he first joined King Kaumuali'i's royal court but had thought nothing of it at the time. Now he wish he had as he felt that familiar surge of power return. That was when he knew... it was coming from the least inhabited island of Hawai'i and the very one that not many paid much attention to. Relief and excitement flooded Pahili as he propelled his canoe forth, a direct course set for the near-barren island.
The second the canoe reached the shore, Pahili spotted a giant fireball headed straight for him. He dove out of the way as the ball of flame made contact with the wood-carved vessel, immediately engulfing it in a blazing inferno. Absolutely bewildered now, Pahili immediately scanned the area and paused, almost frozen.
He sensed the presence of another who possessed magical powers in the area.
What's more, the power they exuded seemed to rival that of his own. The knowledge both intrigued and worried him at the same time. On one hand, there was indeed another in Hawai'i who was like him and such a revelation encouraged him. On the other hand, what if this witch or wizard chose Kaho'olawe to isolate themselves from the outside world and felt that he was nothing but an unwelcome and unwanted intruder? Or worse:
What if they were an Obscurus?
An Obscurus was one who developed a magical parasite that took shape in witches and wizards who were forced to suppress their magical abilities as well as those who were faced with trauma and abuse. Obscurus rarely managed to live past the age of ten and those who managed to harness their Obscurial and unleash it willingly meant nothing good for anyone. Pahili had only encountered one person who was revealed to be an Obscurus and that had been his youngest sibling who perished when his powers spiralled out of control and killed him in the process at the young age of seven. Malanias, as his younger brother was named, was much like Pahili and despised the Pureblood extremism displayed by his family. Unlike Pahili, Malanias chose instead to keep such thoughts to himself. He did confide in Pahili after the latter started to vocally oppose their parents when he began at Hogwarts. In fact, Pahili would be the only person he shared his feelings with until his death. No, he did not want to face an Obscurus, but he would if he needed to. Pahili mentally push forward a warning shot and was relieved when the lash was met with feelings of shock and wonder as its recipient realized the attack had come from someone just like them.
"Who are you...?" a feminine voice demanded. Pahili blinked in surprise as a rather beautiful Hawaiian woman clad in a lawalawa that covered her entire form cautiously approached him. He
"I am Pahili Ahuna," Pahili replied. The woman peered at him curiously.
"Pahili Ahuna...? But you look like a foreigner, like the men who came on those ships before!" she returned rather bluntly. Pahili found himself to be both amused and quite offended at her remark.
Even if her assessment was correct.
"I originally came from Great Britain, yes," Pahili admitted, struggling to keep the resentment from being obvious in his tone. "King Kaumuali'i bestowed me with the name while I served him."
"Kaumuali'i- so YOU'RE the man I've been hearing about," the woman stated. Pauhili cocked his head curiously.
"What do you mean?" he pressed.
"Word reached me of a captain in Kaumuali'i's court that mysteriously managed to emerge victorious in every battle he'd been sent to fight in," the woman explained, an accusatory tone evident in her clipped words. "I take it you are that man?"
"Perhaps," Pahili shrugged, deciding that it was best to neither confirm or deny her assumption.
"...you are special too?" she asked hopefully. Pahili nodded emphatically, understanding what she meant.
"Aye. We are wizards," Pahili revealed to her. It was now her turn to appear rather confused.
"What is a... a wizard?" she asked, struggling to echo the pronunciation of the last word. It never dawned on Pahili that there would be people who had no idea what wizards and witches were in Hawai'i.
Well, not by that term anyway.
"Witches and wizards are you and I and many others. I attended a school that taught us how to use and better understand our powers," Pahili replied. He drew his wand made of sycamore wood. It was 12 1/2 inches in length, flexible and possessed a magical core of dragon's heartstring. She gaped at him, now even more curious.
"What is that...?" she queried, peering at the wooden instrument in Pahili's right hand.
"This is called a wand. The school I attended taught me how to harness its power and use it correctly. I wanted to demonstrate," Pahili answered before mentally thinking the words 'wingardium leviosa' with a quick swish and flick of his wand. To the Hawaiian woman's amazement, a nearby boulder was now floating in the air. Initially skeptical, she walked up to the levitating rock and felt around for something above or beneath that would be holding the rock steady.
Her hand touched nothing but air both times.
"I can make things move too, but it doesn't always work," she confessed. Pahili could sense a hint of jealousy.
"Aye, I can as well. With wands, we can better focus our power and make performing magic much easier," Pahili said quickly in an attempt to curb her envy.
It seemed to work. "Where can I get one of these... wands?" she asked, her eyes now on the one wielded by Pahili. Pahili had no idea how to respond. Although he had dabbled in wand-making during his time off from the Ministry of Magic with Garrick Ollivander and was more than capable of crafting them, a wand without a magical core was nothing more than a pretty and useless stick. He had never come across any magical creatures anywhere in Hawai'i and was now very optimistic that any even existed in this Polynesian nation.
Until now.
"Kiapolo!" the woman suddenly shouted, pointing behind Pahili. Turning, Pahili spotted a giant creature with six wings hovering above Pu'u Moaulanui, the extinct shield volcano on Kaho'olawe. Pahili recalled hearing it in tales told at nightly gatherings by the kupuna who turned out to be excellent story-tellers. The wizard let out a low, almost inaudible whistle of appreciation.
"That's a kiapolo all right," Pahili remarked in reference to the word the woman had used, which meant 'devil' in the native tongue. He turned his eyes to the woman briefly. "Is this creature the only unusual one you see around this island?"
"No... there are many like him, but some only come out when the sun is down," she informed him. Pahili nodded, confirming his own silent question. So making wands would be entirely possible, Pahili thought to himself silently.
All he had to do now was take this kiapolo down!
"I want to help!" the woman insisted. Remembering the snowball she'd almost hit him with earlier, Pahili instantly consented.
"It may take two of us. Look out, here it comes!" Pahili warned just as the odd-looking draconian creature swooped down towards them. As the two began to fight this great dragon, Pahili asked, "How is it that no one can see that creature from the sky...?"
"I have enchantments concealing things here," the woman answered as the dragon's fiery breath missed her by inches. She retaliated by conjuring a raging sandstorm containing a few giant boulders, hurling them at the dragon. Several of them manage to find their mark, slamming into the side of the creature's head.
"...you managed to teach yourself how to cast concealment charms...?!" Pahili demanded incredulously as he fired a rapid succession of stunning spells towards the magical beast. Each one struck the dragon and toppled it out of the sky. Casting a binding spell, Pahili restrained the dragon, taking special care to ensure that all six wings were also bound so the draconian beast could not attempt to fly away.
"Is it supposed to be hard to do?" the woman inquired seriously as she obviously had no idea. Pahili nodded his head in answer.
"Very much so! I wasn't taught that until my fourth or fifth year at Hogwarts," Pahili replied honestly, remembering how disastrous his first attempt at casting a concealment charm had gone that year at the wizarding school. Instead of casting the intended concealment charm he was being taught, he accidentally imploded the wastebasket next to his professor's desk. That was the day that he learned two things. One, mispronounciation could possibly lead to you learning a spell that destroyed things and two, that was apparently an offense worthy of detention. "It took me a fair bit of time to perfect it."
"I see," the woman said. She pointed at the dragon. "What are we going to do with the kiapolo?"
"We'll need it to create one of these," Pahili explained, pointing at his wand. The woman blinked.
"Why...? It looks like all it takes is a pretty piece of wood," she retorted, though not unkindly. She was woefully ignorant in the subject, but was very curious at the same time. Pahili ignored the rather brusque, albeit unintentional, tone.
"Looks can deceive," Pahili stated with confidence, holding up his wand so that the woman could have a better view of the magical weapon. "On the outside it appears to be a well-polished stick that someone made to look quite pretty."
"That's what I said, sort of!" she insisted. Pahili chuckled.
"You did, yes. However, the outside merely contains the magic like an ipu," Pahili reiterated, using the Hawaiian word for container. It's the inner core that is important. This wand contains a dragon's heartstring."
"What's a dragon...?" the Hawaiian woman persisted. Pahili pointed at the creature who was now bound and unconscious at their feet.
"That creature there is a dragon," he answered matter-of-factly. It was then that Pahili realized something. He had never gotten this woman's name. "O wai kou inoa?" Pahili asked in the native tongue, completely catching her by surprise.
"...you can converse in our tongue?!" she breathed, slightly awed. Pahili nodded enthusiastically.
"I can, yes. I made it my mission to learn it so I could communicate with people when I first arrived," Pahili told her. A Her eyes flickered with understanding as she nodded her head.
"O Ke'ala ko'u inoa," she responded in the same manner she was asked. Pahili offered a slight smile.
"It's a pleasure to meet you. I'd never thought I would meet another witch or wizard when I'd gotten here. I'm glad I was mistaken!"
"I... actually thought the same thing!" Ke'ala admitted, grinning.
As the sun set over the Kingdom of Hawai'i, Pahili and Ke'ala continued talking and getting to know and understand one another.
Both had finally found a true kindred spirit in one another.