Trial by Fire

She looked at me with a furrowed brow. Finally, after a brief moment of silence, she spoke with a resigned sigh. “Come in.”

As I entered the home, the immediate sound of creaking floorboards were made apparent to me as they started to buckle under my weight. I followed her further into her home, each step making creaking noises as loud as rooster calls. I tried to tip toe in hopes to lessen the noise, but to no avail. All it did was make me look and feel like a thief who was very poor at their job. I took in a deep breath and felt a certain discomfort as the stale air filled my lungs.

Finally we had arrived into what looked like a dining room with a kitchen to the side. The bright light from outside permeated through the picturesque window, which Lady Fae was attempting, and might I add, struggling to force open by hand. As the terrible air was sucked out and replaced anew, I could finally begin to breathe properly.

“Take a seat.” Lady Fae gestured to the rotting wooden chair positioned against the wall closest to the door from where we had just entered.

I hesitantly approach the decrepit chair. Why was I given such a run down chair? I could make out a slight stain on the seat, which looked as though it was a face pained by its very existence. Or maybe it was the patterning of the wood. It was pretty hard to tell, so I ended up staring at it intently for more than a minute, trying to figure it out.

“What’s wrong? Hurry up and sit.” Fae exclaimed loudly.

A shock jolted from my toes to my head as a voice had spoken to me, forgetting Lady Fae was here. The shock caused me to quickly sit down, forgetting my previous observations about the chair, or the terrible state it was in. That was until the rough edging of the seat had started to immediately hurt my bottom. I was uncomfortable and in slight pain, but I did not dare raise these issues with Lady Fae as I had moments ago forgotten all about her existence, and was still in shock seeing her here.

“Please tell me.” I demanded from her, trying to keep my cool. Lady Fae took in a deep breath.

“The magic I used was healing magic. It’s what allowed for your father’s arm to reattach.” She began taking a seat on the nicer chair, one with a velvet cushion. “However, while it allows for healing, in that sense it does not allow for use of a severed limb. We don’t specifically know how to reattach the nerves, you see. In the end, it comes down to the issue of understanding.” Bringing her right hand to her face as if to rest her head on, she finished her explanation with a coolness to her, as though this wasn’t the first time she had explained this, nor would it be the last.

“Would it ever be possible to fully restore the use of someone's limbs with magic?” I questioned, starting to wonder the maximum limits of healing magic.

“Hmmm. Now that’s a good question. I’d hope eventually we would learn how to do it, and it has been theorized to be possible. However, until we have practical proof, the odds for it seem uncertain.” She answered in a way which seemed less practiced than her last explanation.

“I see. So one day it may be possible to heal everyone to their original state.” I spoke, repeating a clearer answer to myself.

“Well, that’s enough about that. You came here to learn magic, so let’s not waste any time. My specialities are healing magic and ice magic, so we will be focusing on teaching you those for however long you are my student.”

She explained to me that a lot of magic comes from imagination. I would need to imagine what I would want in order to bring it into life in front of me. To help with this, she told me to imagine the sight of when she had been healing my father, and then imagine myself doing that same feat.

“But if I have nothing to heal, then how would I use healing magic?” I was puzzled at the idea. Lady Fae walked over to a blackened box on the kitchen counter without causing any creaking from her floor. She reached into the box and gently pulled out an injured creature.

“This little one has an injured wing. You will try healing it. If you are able to heal him in three tries, I will officially make you my apprentice and teach you until I think you are fit to be called a mage. However, if you can’t, you must leave here and never attempt to practice magic again.” She spoke with a serious tone I had only heard a few times before in my life.

She pulled up a stool in front of me, dragging it across the floor. The screeching that followed contrasted with her silent walk. She placed the damaged specimen on the stool in front of me, took two steps back, crossed her arms, and watched silently. I looked over to her, then towards the creature. The dark mass had started to chirp excessively at my gaze. Suddenly, worry had started to take hold of me from deep within.

What if I fail? I pondered the consequences. I would no longer be allowed to learn magic. But if I mess up while healing, what will happen to it? Will it grow a new part it shouldn’t have? Will it start to heal but then undo, causing it to feel the pain again? What will happen? These thoughts raced through my head as if they were a great storm destroying everything in its wake.

I raised my hands towards the chirping blob, unable to keep them steady. As they had finally reached roughly 10 centimeters from it, they kept misaiming the creature. Despite the shaking I was having, I closed my eyes and tried to imagine the healing process. I thought of the missing flesh and feathers slowly rebuilding. The image kept cycling in my mind. What will happen?

The thought quickly pulled into focus, pushing the image I had made far from my mind. My eyes were forced open, only to see the slight bit I had healed quickly being undone, causing the blob to scream in agony. The noise caused me to bring my hands to my ears at the speed of a diving eagle in order to block out this painful noise. After a few moments, the agonized chirping simmered down and I gently removed my hands from my ears. I slowly turned my head towards Lady Fae.

“What should I do?” I asked her, barely keeping myself together.

“That’s one.” She responded to my desperate plea with a cold tone.

I turned away from her and looked at the poor being, its eyes beginning to close. Unable to continue looking at the dying creature, I looked up towards the massive window that gave a view over the hill, trying to find anything that could calm me down. Two small flying masses came into view. They were birds, and they looked to have the same patterning, feathers, and colour as the one in front of me. They had a shiny and dark plumage like smoke from a fire, beaks that were rounder than they were pointed, eyes that were like voids, and scaly, four toed feet.

A slight smile came across my face as I once again raised my hands to the bird. This time I had locked onto it perfectly. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath in, and exhaled it all out slowly. As a gust of wind brushed my face and pushed my hair, I opened my eyes. The green shine started to expel from my hand and appeared at a specific point on the bird. Before my eyes, it was starting to restore to a state which I’d assumed to be close to what it had been before. The light would not break my concentration this time. I must return this bird to its family.

Finally, after three minutes of continuous healing, the bird had rejuvenated to a proper state. It quickly tucked its legs in for a squat and jumped off the stool. As its wings opened up, it quickly propelled itself into the sky, joining the other two outside.

“Phew.” I let out a sigh of relief, turning my head over to her with a smirk afterwards.

“Congratulations. You passed.” Lady Fae commended me with a proud tone in her voice. “The feeling you had while doing it—don’t forget it. That feeling will make casting magic easier in the future. You will also be able to do it much faster with more practice. Go home for today, but I will be teaching you everyday from now on. Once again, congratulations. You sport some potential.”

“Thank you Lady Fae.” I responded to her compliments.

“Please child, you don’t have to call me lady. Just call me Fae.” She responded as if she had been offended.

“Ok Lady Fae. Oh err…”

“Oh whatever. It’ll be fixed eventually.”

“Also why are you calling me child? I have a name.”

“Do you remember telling me what it was?”

Heat flushed to my cheeks. “Oh pardon me, you’re right! Well, let me introduce myself. My name is Celestia.”