Chapter Eleven - Experimentation and Other Group Activities
"Just be sure to clean up in here before you go," Beckendorf said with a deep chuckle as he left.
I found out later that it was a sort of traditional hazing experience for there to be a huge mess made so that the new siblings had to clean up. After cleaning up the workshop, I headed up to my bunk to grab the battered leather bound and hand written Enchiridion - a relic of information from demigods past that had seen fit to leave behind advice and knowledge on a multitude of subjects. And VERY badly written age inappropriate Harry Potter fan fiction at that. Hey, don't judge me.
Today, however, the magic I was looking for was a bit more tangible than a British kid with broken glasses. It took me a few minutes of flipping back and forth through the pages before I finally found the section Isabelle Basset had written about Engraved Spells. It was only by luck that I had found the page recently to begin with. I'd been reading staying up late in anticipation to coming to camp, and as a result reading the Enchiridion over and over, when I noticed that a couple of the pages were stuck together with some kind of red substance. After several intense moments of carefully, slowly and painstakingly peeling the pages apart without ripping them, I was finally able to access all new information I'd never seen before.
Temporary single cast enchantments! I'd been unable to practice them at home due to lack of proper materials, but here at camp would be a different story. I read the passage three times, and a fourth time extra slowly just to be sure I wasn't skipping anything in the admittedly short instructions, then headed back down the stairs to the workshop once again. There was still plenty of left over clay from the mold I'd made, and I could speed up the drying process with my innate powers. Pulling out the rolling pin, I got to work rolling out the used clay I'd set aside while cleaning. Once I'd gotten it to a uniform thickness, I pulled out my knife and began to scratch a crude design.
For my first spell, I'd go with utility over flare. I decided to try making a fire-proofing spell. Even if it was temporary, it might be enough to extinguish an out of control blaze without resorting to water or smothering. But what would best represent what I was going for? The first image to pop into my head was an ice cube and I found that I liked it. A simple design would probably work best for a first attempt.
Being extra careful not to cut all the way through the clay, I carved first a square, then with a few extra lines made it into a cube. Finally, I drew an irregular semi circle under the cube to make it represent melting ice. Okay so I wasn't going to be the next Donatello, but I was satisfied. Now that the design was engraved, I set to work cutting away the clay until I was left with a roughly circular two inch clay token.
I was about to bake the clay right there on the table, but thankfully caught myself in time. Using my knife's blade, I scraped the spell token off the table and transferred it to the anvil that Beckendorf had brought down earlier. A little reshaping of the clay once it was transferred, and then I was ready to bake. I held my hand over the clay token and concentrated, willing my flames to cover my skin. After a few minutes of direct heat exposure, the clay had lightened considerably as the moisture was removed.
I activated my Sight and found myself blinking rapidly as my now watering eyes were assaulted by a flood of different colors. I should have realized the cabin was a magical space given the impossibility of the internal floor plan versus the outside walls. Unfortunately, that meant I would have to take this experiment outside if I wanted to get a good enough look at what I was doing.
I stepped outside and had to shield my eyes from the bright glare of the sun. I hadn't realized how late it had gotten, only now registering that I was feeling hungry. I'd missed breakfast. Had I already missed lunch as well? I decided to go to the dining pavilion and check. As I was walking through the commons area, I noticed a small commotion coming from the rundown looking Cabin Eleven. Not seeing any fires and having no idea what was happening, I decided it was probably best to keep my distance.
Thankfully there were still a few people hanging around in the dining area when I got there, so I grabbed a plate of barbecue pizza and sent off an offering with a whispered prayer before sitting down at the table. The food was delicious, and hit all the right spots going down. When I finished eating, I grabbed a clean napkin and set it on the empty plate. Turning on my Sight again, I was glad to see there was less magical interference outside than there had been in the cabin. Grabbing my knife, I pressed the point into the pad of my thumb, drawing a small amount of blood that I then wiped on the clay token. Instantly, I saw the formerly inert clay flare with the same color of my own aura.
Grinning, I placed the bloody clay token on the napkin and set it on fire. For a moment I thought I'd messed up, only to grin wider when I realized the flames were burning but not consuming. Of course, the token chose that exact moment to break - the flames instantly burning out after consuming the insubstantial fuel source that was the napkin.
It seemed that regular clay only lasted less than thirty seconds before the spell overwhelmed it. I'd have to make a note of that. Sure it wasn't a proper enchantment but, as first attempts were concerned, I'd consider it a success. for the purposes of practice, it would suit my needs just fine. And eventually I'd figure out how to make them more permanent. I just wish I'd thought to make more before trying it out in practice.
Now that I was out of the cabin, it didn't feel right to me to just go back inside. Instead, I decided to see about finding the Arts and Crafts building. I might be able to find more suitable clay there, and then I could make a couple dozen tokens and try them out. As luck would have it, Silena and the rest of Cabin Ten were not down at the lake after all, so I had no problem joining in with the rest of the group.
Unfortunately, it turned out the project they were working on wasn't pottery or really anything to do with clay. They were weaving a shroud. My mom's shroud. I felt a lump form in my throat as everything I'd shoved to the back of my mind came rushing back to the front at full force. As if sensing my spiraling emotional state - and with the powers set that children of Aphrodite had, according to Elena's book, I wouldn't be surprised - Silena was at my side in a flash.
"Hey, shh... It's okay," she said, reaching out to soothe me, but pulling back as if afraid to be burned. I couldn't blame her. "I thought you were going to be taking it easy today?"
"I... I was," I said; "but then I went outside to try out an experiment. And then I had lunch and thought I'd join the group here, but I... You're making a funeral shroud, aren't you? For my mom?"
"Chiron told me all about it," Silena said. "She was our sister, or as good as. It's the least we could do to honor her."
"Can... Can I help?" I asked.
"Oh, of course! Right now we're choosing colors and patterns," Silena smiled softly. "It may seem like a strange tradition to most newcomers, but nobody gets sent off with a blank shroud."
I nodded, letting her lead me over to a table with the rest of her siblings. A couple of them looked up as we approached, but the majority were focused on the stacks of magazines laid out in front of them. They all had titles like Modern Rites or MortaLucci or simply Funeral.
"Oh, we wouldn't dream of actually buying a shroud," Silena said, noticing where I was staring. "We're just trying to figure out the latest trends. As children of Aphrodite, it really is important that we always put our best foot forward. Even into the grave."
The rest of the afternoon was spent reading through various magazines. I wasn't sure what the difference between diaphanous and translucent was, but I was sure neither would be the trait I'd have chosen for my mom's shroud. Picking through the magazines was a lesson in morbidity. From articles on how to properly dress the deceased, to tips on which makeup gave the most lifelike appearance, I was almost glad there wasn't a body. Of course, I immediately felt horrible for entertaining that thought, however briefly. By the time dinner was announced, I was certain I'd be having dreams about fashionista zombies that night.
The next day I stopped by the infirmary to check on my brother first thing in the morning. He'd apparently started to wake up a couple of times yesterday - but only for a few seconds at a time. The healers assured me that this was a good sign, as it meant he just needed some more rest. They were optimistic that he'd even wake up much earlier than originally predicted. I stayed with him for a few hours, reading to him from my physics books. Yes, I know that I'm a nerd, okay? Still, the theory was interesting, and I was already thinking of ways that I could put it into practice using Mystiokinesis. Of course, I'd have to work on making more tokens first.
The conch horn sounded, signalling that morning activities were starting, so I headed out to join the Aphrodite cabin in the Arts and Crafts building again. I was surprised to see that Andromeda and her brother were there as well.
"Oh, hey!" Andromeda waved me over.
"Hey," I said, reminding myself that talking to her was just like talking to Annabeth. Somehow, that didn't help me as much as I thought it would.
"I'll let the two of you talk," Silena said, sounding amused. That seemed out of place given the current activity, but she walked away before I could comment on it.
"I heard about..." Andromeda trailed off. "I'm sorry. For your loss, I mean. And, I wanted to see if I... if we" she gestured to her brother who had remained silent, "could help with anything. If that's alright with you, I mean."
"I'd like that," I said. "Thanks."
She smiled and my chest suddenly felt tight. The clattering of magazines and art supplies hitting the floor snapped my attention back to my surroundings. I looked over to see Silena and one of her sisters picking up the fallen mess. Silena's back was facing me but her sister made eye contact with me, seeming to be laughing at something I wasn't privy to. After that, we all quickly got back to work - which in this case meant more magazines.
Every so often, Andromeda's brother would get a weird look on his face as if he wanted to say something, only to almost jump out of his skin and glare at his sister instead. I wondered if it had anything to do with her constantly pinching him when she thought nobody else was watching. Is this how siblings were supposed to act? I'd have to make a mental note of that for later.
When the horn blew for lunch, everybody left as a group. I sat with Cabin Ten for lunch while Andromeda and her brother sat nearby with Cabin Eleven. After we had eaten, we quickly settled back down to work. Silena asked me a bunch of probing questions about my mom, like what was her favorite color? Her maiden name? Favorite animal? Favorite foods? Favorite desert - which is totally different from favorite food. Favorite designer? What kind of music did she like listening to? Finally, it got to be too much for me to take and I felt myself breaking down again.
"I...I don't know," I admitted. "I just... I don't... I ran away from home when I was six, 'Lena. I spent half my life thinking she was dead, and I was wrong. And now... Now she is. And the only one here that knew her... Knows anything about her... is lying in the infirmary unconscious, and..."
My thoughts were abruptly cut short by someone else's hand suddenly appearing in my own. I looked down at our joined hands, then my eyes tracked the other wrist, arm, shoulder, neck and finally face of Andromeda. She gave me a soft smile as she squeezed my hand. My heart shuddered - as did Silena and a couple of her siblings nearby.
"Hey, it's going to be okay," Andromeda said, and I believed her. "We'll figure this out, alright? Don't worry."
Once I calmed down, we got back to work flipping through magazines. Silena spent the rest of the afternoon picking out roughly two dozen different styles of shroud to color coordinate with seemingly the entire spectrum of the rainbow. I guess a part of me was glad she didn't make a knee-jerk reaction and go bright hot pink, but this seemed excessive even to me. Before I knew it, the horn was blown for dinner time. I hung back to see about getting my hands on some clay. I really wanted to make a few more tokens for testing effects.
The next morning, I woke in my bunk in Cabin Ten to find Annabeth leaning over me.
"Jesus fucking..." I shouted, earning a lacy pillow to the face from one of the other girls for my outburst. I tossed the pillow to the head of my bed and turned to Annabeth to ask; "What're you doing leaning over me like that?"
"He's awake," she said. "Your brother's awake."