Ninth Spell: Finding Balance

In the days that followed, Haru tried to get Higa to tell him about what was in the purple sachet from the Gaikin vault that was so important. But Higa denied his requests each time. So Haru tried asking how his mother died, though Higa wouldn't answer that either.

"Why should I trust you?" Haru said out of frustration Saturday night. "You never told me the truth about my parents when you knew the whole time I was living with the Dendes, and everyone around here seems to think you're a bad person."

Higa gave Haru the stink-eye. "Who told you that?"

"Those guys at Tamaneko didn't seem to like you, and Yashinoki said you had a complicated past. Were you involved in the death of my mother?"

"No, I was not!" Higa snapped. "I tried to save your mother, but she died before I could get to her on time."

"So why can't you tell me how she died?"

"Because…I don't know if you can handle the truth," Higa replied, turning his head away. "You've already suffered enough, losing your adopted parents and Daichi to that monster Warumo. I'm not sure if you're ready to know the details of my past, let alone your mother's death. You should be focusing more on getting ready for Mahoutokoro, since you're going to be working with a major handicap being an Osozaki and all."

"Though since I'm allegedly more powerful than a typical wizard, shouldn't those remedial classes be a breeze for me?"

"Not if you don't have the proper training. It's one thing to have a lot of power, but it's another to know how to use it. And even if you manage to ace your remedial classes, your contemporaries will have already had years of magical learning behind them by the time you catch up."

Once again, Haru felt self-conscious. "Is there anything I can do about it?"

"Well, I can teach you some spells I know," Higa suggested. "Though they might be more advanced than the spells you'll learn in the remedial classes."

"I'm still willing to try them," Haru said, picking up his wand. "Maybe they'll give me the edge I need to get through remedial classes so I can start learning the right spells to defeat Warumo!"

"That's the spirit!"

Higa took his katana out and pointed it at Haru. In the light from the paper lamp above, Haru noticed a wand was fused between the hilt and edge of the katana.

"To cast a spell, you have to know what it's intended effect is and be able to visualize it in your mind," Higa stated. "You also need to have the right incantation for the spell. Otherwise it won't work or backfire on you. And backfired spells can hurt or even kill you depending on the spell itself. Am I making sense so far?"

"I think so," Haru nodded.

"Good!" Higa then placed the purple sachet between him and Haru. "Now many of our native spells derive from the five basic elements of nature: fire, water, wood, metal, and earth. If you can master spells which use those elements directly, you'll be able to cast spells that use more than one element and have multiple effects."

"What about air? Isn't that an element?"

"Yes, it is. But to use air as an element, you have to combine the fire and water elements."

"So I have to know both to cast an air-related spell?"

"Precisely! So for the time being, let's concentrate on simple spells like this Firelighting Charm I'm about to teach you. It creates small fires, and is useful when you don't have a light source on hand. Now I'm going to say the incantation for the spell, and I want you to repeat it while pointing your wand at the sachet."

While Haru aimed his wand at the sachet, Higa cleared his throat.

"The incantation for the Firelighting Charm is…Higuāng," said Higa.

"Higuāng," Haru repeated.

From his wand came a small flame that sputtered out immediately.

"Maybe concentrate harder, and repeat the incantation," Higa suggested.

Closing his eyes, Haru focused on the flame in his mind before looking down at the sachet. "Are you okay about this being set on fire?"

"It's not the one from the vault if that's what you're worried about." Higa patted an inner-pocket of his robe. "Here's where the real sachet is, so fire away!"

Even though Haru was still annoyed Higa wouldn't tell him about the importance of the sachet, he pointed his wand at the floor and said the incantation again, "Higuāng!"

Now a more lively flame erupted from Haru's wand and hit close to the sachet, which immediately caught fire. But as the flame started to burn the matted floor, Higa immediately stamped it out. While the sachet was nothing more than a pile of cinders, there was an obvious burn mark below it.

"Sorry about that," Haru apologized.

"You did fine," Higa assured and touched the burn mark with the tip of his sword. "Mokuwéixū!"

In an instant, the burn mark disappeared as new wooden mats grew over the burned parts.

"With enough practice, magic can be useful for many things," Higa concluded as he sheathed his katana. "But one shouldn't become too dependent on magic, since it can have negative consequences if used improperly."

Haru was going to ask Higa about the wand embedded in his katana, but decided not to given how late it was. Then as the weekend rolled into the next week, Haru continued to practice some more basic spells Higa taught him such as a Moving Mist Charm and the Wood Repair Spell that was used to fix the matted floor. Yet the spells Haru casted either ended up being too strong or too weak.

"You need to find a balance," Higa said to Haru the night before Haru's departure to Mahoutokoro. They were both at the public bathhouse with cool washcloths over their heads to offset the hot water.

"But how?" Haru moaned. "I've tried concentrating, but that only makes the spell too strong. And if I don't concentrate enough, it weakens the spell's effect."

"Think of it this way: casting spells is like using a knife to cut vegetables. Depending on how tough the vegetable is, you apply the right amount of force. Cutting a coconut, for example, requires more strength compared to an apple. So you adjust your concentration to fit the strength of the spell."

"Okay, but I still don't get it."

To be continued…