A/N - I've just noticed that FFN removes strike through formatting, so I'm going to replace it with an underline when I remember.

Chapter 13

The next morning I'm woken up by the smell of roasting meat and baking bread. Opening my eyes is somewhat of a surprise, what with the streams of light coursing through the sky, but it doesn't take long for my stomach to force me out of bed as I follow my nose to the campfire. There I find Selene tending to the fire that now has a wooden tripod standing over it. Hanging from the center of the tripod is a flat copper disk with some cuts of meat sizzling on it. Near one of the chains thats holding the disk up is an upside down pot that probably has the bread I can smell underneath it.

At my approach, Selene looks up with a smile, "Good morning sleepy."

I smile back as I sit down beside her, a good night sleep and the fact she's cooking seeming to have changed my mind about her, "Morning, sorry I wasn't up sooner."

Selene shakes her head in amusement, "No need to worry, there is nothing urgent that needs doing and it gave me time to teach Danny the basics he needs to know in order to find his magic."

I look at her blankly, "Huh?"

Selene pokes at the meat with a stick before she answers, "Taylor, you are a remarkable young woman, as you have accomplished so much on your own. But there is still so much you don't know. Despite that, you have somehow stumbled across the human way of accessing your magic even though it is one of the least intuitive methods of doing so."

As I continue to look at her blankly, Selene sighs and adds, "You have found your inner world."

Dawning comprehension crosses my face as I say, "I thought that was just an aspect of my power giving me a slice of New England."

Selene nods, "If you accept that your power is magic, then yes, it is an aspect of it, one that can only be found through introspection. Far more common is wish magic, or wanting something really really hard. Once you leave Gaia though, the tendency is for physical motion to be the most common way of accessing magic. For those born with more magic, this has the advantage that their magic becomes like a fifth limb and just as easy to train and use. They also never need to worry about their magic doing something they don't want it too, much like you never need to worry about your arm acting without you wanting it to. But one thing has always been true, you can not travel the dream without first finding your magic and then having some level of conscious control over it."

I look down at my hands while Selene deftly turns the meat over. Eventually I say, "Oh. So can I stop breaking electrical things?"

Selene nods, "With practice and training, or sufficient time to experiment on your own, you certainly could. But without a teacher it would likely take you decades to figure out what you are doing, and even longer to find out how to not do it."

Rather flatly, I look at Selene and say, "Is this what you wanted to talk to me about?"

Selene nods, "It is. Before I get to my request and offer, will you listen to a bit of my history, and how I came to be here?"

I nod, "Sure."

Selene looks up at the sky for a moment, "The first thing you need to know is that we're not alone in the universe. Out there in the sea of magic are monsters sleeping in the depths waiting to feel the ripple of magic from a world. These monsters don't actually care about life or magic, what they care about is what those things mean, and that is Iron. And so they follow those ripples back to the world they came from, like a bird hunting a fish. Once they find the world, they come out of the sea and break through all of the barriers between the worlds until they reach a world that still has iron inside it. Then they tear as much iron as they can from the planet before leaving again."

I can't help staring at Selene as she's telling me this, and I can only think to say, "What?"

Selene nods sadly, "What I say is true, and you need to know in order to understand why I left Gaia. Despite the stories surrounding us, I did not put Endymion into an enchanted slumber just to keep him. Yes, he was a shepherd, but he was also blessed with magic. It was during an invasion by one of these monsters that we met, and over time we fell in love. However, he was still mortal when the enemy returned with slaves from the outer worlds. If he had not been blessed with magic, this would not have been a problem. Not only because I could have simply brought him to the sea of magic before they returned. But also because, for mortals blessed with magic, travelling deeper into the dream is like stretching a skin. It has to be done slowly while giving the skin time to rest. The same is true of a mortals magic. The exception is those who have not yet reached adulthood, though the closer they are the more dangerous the journey."

I shake my head in bemusement, "So, why didn't they bring all of the children here then?"

Selene smiles sadly, "Some did, but they soon learnt the folly of doing so. For the more magic you have within you, the slower you age. On this world, for every three days that passes on Gaia, a mortal lifetime passes here. Once you step over to the edge of the sea it is little more than a single day for a mortal life span. Until they were offered to the fae to raise they were often known as the eternal children. Gods like me are different, as we live a mortal life without memory or magic until we reach adulthood."

I digest that for a few minutes while Selene takes a dark loaf from under the pot and puts the pot on the ground with the bread sat on top of it. "Does that mean that I'm not going to finish growing up?"

Selene shakes her head, "Not at all, it will just take you longer than most. If you stayed here it would take you around twice as long as someone still living on Gaia. However, you would also become completely divorced from your humanity."

While Selene turns the meat over once more and pokes the surface of it a couple of times I try to get my head around just how long it's going to take me to finish growing up. Apparently happy with the meat, I watch as Selene levitates the tripod away from the fire before sitting down next to me.

After a couple of minutes she says, "Back to my history. The siege on Gaia cut us off from the deeper parts of the dream, and so my loves nearly mortal life span started to draw on. Eventually we devised a spell to put him into an enchanted sleep for 27 days out of every 28. The last day he needed to live and give his magic a chance to recover before we put him back under. But even with that he eventually grew so old that he no longer had enough life left to him to ascend to the sea of magic, even if I helped him. After he died I sort of withdrew from society, and passed my duties over to the young goddess Artemis while I threw myself at the monsters forces. A mere two centuries after he died, the monster finally ran out of slaves to send against us and I was able to face it in battle. That is when I sacrificed my body in order to do enough damage to it that it chose to retreat and look for an easier meal, rather than risk being disembodied like me. That is when I went out into the sea to put enough space in my memories that I wouldn't accidentally come across our time together. By the time I felt like I had enough space in my head, I could not find Gaia anymore. Nor could I find any of the bonds I used to have amongst the other gods. That was until you breached whatever is hiding Gaia. The second time you did it I was able to find the very edge of the world and I was trying to decide how to approach you when you left once more."

We sit companionably while the the meat rests on the copper plate. Eventually I ask, "What is it you want from me?"

Selene looks into my eyes, "I would propose an exchange. I want to be able to visit my old homeland and see how much humanity has changed. But to do that I need a proper body, not one that's made from magic. My offer is that I take you as my apprentice and, once I feel you have learnt enough that you can handle a break while I grow up again, you either carry me yourself, or you find a mortal willing to carry me instead."

I look at Selene suspiciously, "What do you mean carry?"

Selene smiles awkwardly, "I mean as a mother carries their baby."

As she says that, I'm adjusting one of my hands behind me, and I forget to put my hand back down as I lean back in surprise. Once I recover and sit back up, and Selene's stopped laughing, I ask, "Can I think about this for a few days? And maybe talk to dad about it?"

Selene nods, "Of course, and I'm even happier with my offer now. While you are mulling over your decision, I will tell you the first thing you need to work on. Explore your inner world and figure out how to change each part of it individually. From the smallest blade of grass to the tallest mountain."

I shake my head, "I don't have any mountains in my world."

Selene shrugs, "Not everyone has grass either. The point is you need to be able to control each part of your inner world individually."

I frown, "Why?"

"Why is it important for a dancer or warrior to be able to control each of their limbs?"

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Day 2 - 12 13 April

Why me? I mean, I'm grateful that she's offered, but surely there are more worthy people that Selene could offer an apprenticeship to. Anyway, I'm not sure about it, but I don't know how much of that is because - She said I'm not going to be an adult for god knows how long. What was it she said, three days is a mortal life span. What's that old saying, three score and ten year?

3 x 20 + 10 = 70

So if we assume there's 360 days in a year to make things easier, that's 120 human life times every year, I'm 16 in June and adulthood is 18, or 21 for some things, and I don't want to be a teen parent.

120 x 70 = 1200 x 7 = 12 x 7 is 84, times 100, 8400 years. 16,800 years just to reach 18.

Selene just glanced over my shoulder and reminded me that I need to double my numbers as I had to go that extra step to the next world. That's insane, well I guess I'll at least have time to read my book list.

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Day 3

I just asked Selene about how to control my inner world. She told me to imagine I'm travelling from world to world. Why didn't I notice that before? Wait, I did, I just hadn't put the two things together yet. I guess that adds more credence to Selene's story.

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Day something, week 4 I think as I started spotting.

Dad found his magic today. Yes I'm calling it magic now, it's a little more compelling now that dad can do the same things I can do. It was funny when dad grabbed a bowl of water from mid air and then stared at the bowl while he tried to work out where it came from. He also looks much younger than he did yesterday, almost like my older brother. I think Selene trimmed his hair and beard before I saw him as his hair is only down to his chin rather than bum length like mine.

Selene has just discovered my sewing box. Now dad and I are under strict instruction to sew whenever we're not doing something else. Apparently we need to get to the point where we have absent conscious control over our magic rather than having it act on our unconscious desires. She's also started to teach me how to use a spear, my god am I tired.

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I sit down next to Selene, who's flicking through the wards paperwork I had in my backpack, "Selene."

Selene looks up from the paperwork, "Yes Taylor?"

"I've been thinking about your offer, for an apprenticeship."

"You have questions?"

I nod, "We don't really use apprenticeships anymore, so I was wondering. What does it mean to be an apprentice?"

Selene looks into the fire, "Magically, it will give us a bond that will allow me to better understand what you do not understand. In the same way it will allow you to better understand what I am trying to teach. If we both invest in the bond it could even allow something like true mine to mind communication. Though that is less important for us, as simply praying to me using my full name and title will invite me into your head. Equally, once you have earned your own title other people could do that to you, pray I mean. On a traditional level, you would be required to undertake tasks for me, and our relationship would often develop into somewhat of a parent child relationship, or something deeper. Also, typically, I would have included a constraint on what I was offering to teach you. However, by leaving it open ended I am also offering, and looking for ongoing companionship and friendship, as it can get lonely when you live as long as we do."

I nod, "And the new body?"

"I would like to walk the mortal world again. Mortals create so much and live such interesting lives, and it's much better to fill your head with such stuff than the emptiness of the sea of magic. But in truth, it would not be a requirement of our bond, just something I wish to happen. In theory, I could create a living body that could live on Gaia. In practice I can not visualise everything that is needed for the body to survive. I know well enough how to create grain and flour, but I cannot create seed with which to grow more grain. Even so, the flour that I create would not sustain a mortal for long without some additional source of food, as there is something important missing from it. However, it is quite possible to duplicate grain or seeds and have them flourish."

I nod as I start thinking about biology lessons and DNA. "I think I would like to be your apprentice. I can't promise anything about getting you a new body, but I'm sure it will happen at some point."

Selene nods with a smile, "And it is done, you are now my apprentice, and I am your master."

I look at her incredulously, "What? That's it?"

Selene nods, "It is, we have agreed on what the apprenticeship is for and we both have agreed to enter into it. Were you perhaps expecting some grand ceremony with the giving and taking of oaths?"

I consider that for a while. I mean, she has a point, but magic's supposed to be flashy isn't it? "I don't know, maybe."

Selene laughs, "Even when I last walked across Gaia, mortals liked to add to their stories, to make them more exiting and entertaining. Indeed, if magic was not involved, then the exchanging of oaths with a witness may indeed have been necessary. But we now share a bond, even if you don't yet know how to feel it. It is also a lesson for you, and it is to your credit that you entered into this agreement after much thought. Your magic can and will bind you to your word far more literally than you could have ever imagined. Before you make any promises, even obliquely, you need to learn to stop and think. This is also part of why it is so important for you to master the first task I gave you. Once you can control every aspect of your inner world, you can start to feel when those things are changing on their own. After that you can learn to stop those changes from occurring. Now, enter your inner world and call out my name and title, and we shall see how you're getting on."

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Day something or other, I think we've been here for 3 months now at least that's how many times I've had my period.

This is the last page of my notebook so I've been saving it for when we're ready to go home. Selene's deemed dad safe to be around mortals other people so tomorrow we're all going to climb the canyon to the first world where she can no longer maintain her body. Dad and I both agreed that I should move my camp to a suitable location in the last world that she can maintain her body.

Since the last time I wrote, life sort of fell into a routine. I'm now Selene's apprentice and a lot of my lessons are taking place inside my inner world at the moment. Just after my last period I was able to send one of the trees into it's winter state. After that, Selene showed me how to view different memories by connecting to the different plants. She did that by finding a fern that is connected to our bond and showing me our conversation. I'm now sort of dreading the rest of the exploring and examining of my inner world, as I just know I'm going to need to check every single plant.

Outside my inner world, my spear work is now 'unlikely to stab someone I don't want to'. Selene also found about my ability to teleport when we were talking about how I got to my camp, so she's added practising that to my list of exercises. I'm never going to have time to do my school work at this rate.