Sofia's Rings

“These are the rules: We’ll have an hour to catch as many wind-sheep as we can, whoever catches the most wins! Usually every wind-sheep counts as ten points if alive and one point if dead, but for the sake of your magic training and because I feel sorry for them… We have to catch them alive.”

“I expected something else to be honest…”

“It’s tradition for new magic students to test their abilities in these kinds of competitions.”

“I see. But there’s no wind-sheep around.”

“Fuhu-hum. Are you sure about that?”

“Eh?”

She started writing in the air, and two hourglasses appeared. She gave me one and told me that when the time is over we must return here.

“Time starts now!”

“Wait-” I extended my arm.

“There’s no time to wait! Figure it on your own! I taught you everything necessary.”

She said, running into the woods.

How am I supposed to catch wind-sheep? I don’t have the furtive abilities of my sister… There’s also not any around… What else did Sara tell me about them?

“Look! These fluffs are called wind-sheep, aren’t they cute? Well… the ones who let themselves be seen—this one is already half-invisible… They may look defenseless at first glance, but don’t be deceived! catching them is tricky. They gradually turn invisible and lighten in an instant whenever they feel in danger so that the wind can carry them somewhere they feel safe. So in order to catch them we need to hide our presence and wait for them to come close, winning a flying race against them is impossible, so you need to learn how to blend in with the forest!”

I don’t think the advice she gave me applies to normal humans…

Maybe I can’t see any because they don’t feel safe in open spaces. I should do the same as Sofia and go into the forest.

After Searching for about ten minutes without results—I came up with a solution. If I can’t see them, I just need to feel them! Every living thing in this world has mana right? Being invisible must require a substantial amount.

So I closed my eyes, and focused on only trying to feel mana. It took a while, but I managed to feel it, and I headed in the direction from which it came. It was like a slight breeze, and when I got sufficiently close, I felt them about fifteen meters from me. A slight “light” which was seen only with my eyes closed, drifted away from the other lights, and when it was in front of me, I quietly recited the spell.

“You who through sheer persistence molded earth. I ask for your faith! Oh! Currents of freedom! Pull!”

The flock flew away as the wind pulled in my target, and when it reached my arms, I claimed victory!

Now I just need to repeat the process and think on how to keep this lil fluff from flying away. An earth spell could create a cage.

After trying a bunch of configurations I managed to make a stable, and portable cage.

I continued with the hunt until the sand stopped falling.

Then I returned to the reunion spot, and when arriving I saw her sitting—legs and arms crossed—with an army of completely visible fluffs orbiting her, like the rings of Saturn.

“How did you…?”

“Oh! The cage method! Nice! How many did you catch?”

“Only twelve.”

“That’s a good amount for someone who just started learning magic.”

“Thanks, but after seeing how many you got, it’s difficult to feel proud about this many.”

“I’ve played with wind-sheep since I can remember. Outside of people with absurd amounts of mana—I’m the best at wind-sheep hunting, although that’s my only good quality as a mage… So don’t be discouraged.”

“How do you make them not go away? And why are they visible?”

“They like specific wind conditions, like the temperature, the speed, angle, etc. I’m a bit of a wind-sheep caretaker if you want to call it so. Hehe.”

“Wow. I thought constant motion was very difficult, ‘even for the greatest of mages’”

“It is, just that I’m barely doing anything right now, the wind-sheep are doing all the work. Once they start, it’s very rare for a circling flock to stop. They fuel the spin with their own mana, and since they don’t feel threatened because of the wind, the mana they would spend in turning invisible, is instead used to maintain the momentum.”

“Fascinating.”

“Everything in the world can be studied, and these guys are no exception.”

“True, I learnt a lot from this.”

“I’m glad—

You can let them go now.”

I opened the cage.

“It’s a shame I can’t see them go.”

“Just wait.”

Slowly, new fluffs started to be visible in the current surrounding Sofia. And when they recovered their appearance—She sent them spinning away, high in the sky.

Just like a kite.

“So what’s the next lesson?”

“Uhm, I think you are ready to combine elements.”