Since Achlys first displayed magic, Karthus had dedicated himself to devising a way to teach her how to control it. In the days following the tossing of the crab, he watched her intently, and sure enough, he saw her summoning a glowing magic to her hand again and again. Every time she did this, he would tell her "Your hand is glowing with magic. Glow hand," and would raise his hand and do the same. After weeks, she finally associated the words with the action and when he would say the words, she would raise her hand and let the magic flow into it. Now, Karthus knew she was ready to learn a spell.

He brought her outside, so that she would not damage the cathedral if something were to go wrong. He knew that such magic would attract the attention of the restless spirits, so he sent his wraiths out to guard a wide perimeter, keeping just his strongest, and Achlys's favorite, with him. Achlys gripped the hem of his robe as he propped her up and raised his other hand to her eye level. She reached out and grabbed his fingers, babbling as she did.

"Err, err, geh, gers."

"Glow hand, Achlys," he said.

"Ooow and."

There was that familiar glint in her eyes and in a moment, her hands were surrounded by the chilling veil of Isles magic. Karthus loved it when she held his hand and did this. He could feel her. More than just their bodies touching, he could feel her life essence pulsing through her fingers, he could feel the cold rush of magic make his skin tingle, and how when herb life seeped into that magic, it created a jolt of feeling that was as close to the sensation of touch he experienced while alive. It was a beautiful feeling that was uniquely hers. No other soul on the Isles came close to it.

"Very good," he praised her, "now watch,"

With tender care, he freed his hand from her gentle grip and let the balefire wrap around it.

"You will focus on the area you want to strike, and will the magic there."

"Eh?"

"I understand that this is a new concept for you, but I know you are bright enough to learn. Think of it as throwing your ball."

To emphasize the point, he flicked his wrist as though her were tossing her sack ball. The balefire leapt from his fingers and went streaming through the air. They collected at his focused point before bursting in a small explosion. It was odd to cast that spell in such a way. He had long ago learned to condense the energy near the point of the explosion rather than draw it to himself first. It was a far more efficient way, but he could not expect an infant to match his centuries of practice.

"No," Achlys stated with a confused tone as she looked for the ball that wasn't there.

Karthus gently grabbed her wrist and led her arm through the motion.

"Pretend you have the ball. Throw ball."

He let go of her arm and watched as she mimicked the motion alongside him. The magic at her fingertips flickered, but did not leave them.

"You can keep trying," he encouraged her before casting the spell again for her to observe, "think of how the waves pull on you when they go out, that soft, gentle tug you feel around your feet."

He summoned a small spark of balefire to the tip of one finger. Using the utmost care as not to injure his daughter, he ran the flame along the underside of her arm to tease it with the slightest tingle.

Cuuuusshhh," Achlys hissed in the way she always did when she was tickled.

Karthus continued to lead the tiny flame along the length of her arm and up to her fingertips where he siphoned away a small amount of the magic she had gathered there.

"When you cast a spell, it will feel similar to this," he explained.

She just hissed in delight at this sensation.

"Now, let's try again."

"Yea,"

Karthus dispelled his magic and held her arm.

"On the count of three, think of throwing your ball and the tug of the waves. Are you ready? One," he moved her arm through the motion, "two," and again, but now with more force, "three."

Achlys added her own tiny strength to the motion and let out a forceful "eh!"

There was something. Not much, but there was a reaction. A few small wisps flicked from her fingers but quickly dissipated. Despite this, the ball of balefire around her hand had grown noticeably larger.

"Eh, nah, beh, eck!" Achlys babbled in frustration.

"Nobody ever said that learning to control your magic would be easy," Karthus said as he brushed his fingers across her pale hair to soothe her, "but we will try again."

But she would not be calmed. Her babbling turned into a screech and she began to flail her arms wildly. The balefire grew with each motion. Karthus donned an expression of disapproval.

"Achlys, stop. Calm yourself."

"Nah, nah, nah, nah!" she screamed in a yet higher pitch.

Karthus was about to scold her, but his expression quickly turned from disapproval to alarm as the magic ballooned to twice its size in an instant. The tips of her fingers were beginning to turn purple as the buildup of deadly magic began to seep into her skin. Tendrils of balefire lashed out in haphazard directions while the wraiths screamed alongside Achlys. Karthus was not idle for another moment.

"Achlys! Achlys, focus on me!"

He grabbed her fingers. Fear shone in her bright eyes. He raised her arm and began to try and siphon the magic away from her as before. The results were like a damn bursting. At the first release, the rest of the magic flowed forth faster than Karthus could acclimate it to his will. The lich felt a cold burning as the magic ripped over his fingers. The missile flew straight upwards until it finally dissipated, fading into the Mist.

Karthus finally looked back down at his hands and let out a soft "oh?" The magic had peeled away his skin, revealing the aged bone beneath. The edges of the wound were still smoldering green. Karthus was unworried though, his skin would regenerate back in time, but still, he wondered for a moment when was the last time he had been injured like this. He could spare no more than a second for these thoughts though, Achlys needed to be seen to.

She was hiccupping pitifully. She took a gasp of air and then began to wail. Karthus hugged her to his chest and pat her head.

"Achlys, Achlys, you are safe now. I have you. Shhh, I have you," he cooed.

Achlys gripped the edge of his robe and shook as she sobbed. Karthus gave a nervous glance at her fingers, fearing that they were as damaged as his were. Mercifully, they were still in one piece. They appeared discolored as though they were bruised, but warmth was returning to them. When the magic was released, it was still in tune with her own energy, allowing it to pass over her mostly harmlessly. If Karthus had still had his lungs, he would have sighed. In the place of a sigh, a small smile found its way to his face. If the missile was still tuned to her when it was launched, it meant one thing.

"Achlys. Everything will be well. You did it. You cast a spell. I am proud of you. However," and he hugged his crying daughter tighter as he said this, "I believe I pushed you to this too quickly. We will practice more with simple magic before we try the spell again, but Achlys, I am happy and I am proud."

I'm still here guys. I haven't abandoned either of my stories and plan on finishing them. This summer was overwhelming with the amount of things that needed to be done but thing have settling down again. I plan to return to writing on a more regular schedule and maybe starting a new story about Malphite or a one-shot revolving around Poppy. What do you think? Are either of these ideas you all would be interested in reading? Best of luck on the Rift.

-Gwoo