With Talia’s help, I finally created a spell that will form a protective barrier around me.At least, I think I have.Since the wall will be made by using wind essence, I sorely need to test its durability, as aside from the feeling of it in my wings, I have no experience with shaping this invisible, formless substance that apparently surrounds me.Nor, I suspect, does anyone else in this vilge.Moreover, I’m still not entirely certain what it is that allows me to hover in the sky, nor if my magic will cause it to protect me properly. For all I know, it could simply blow away as soon as the spell completes.
Before releasing the magic I’ve prepared, I flutter upwards, as having the energy rush all about me may cause harm to my bed if I’m standing on it.Then I simply let go of the orb, which rapidly fades from my sight.Yet as it does so, I can feel the essence flow out of it and reform itself into a yer slightly out of my reach.After a few moments, the glowing magic completely vanishes, yet threads of energy continue to trickle out of me and into the wind directly around me.Judging by the feeling of the thick essence, there ought to be a solid barrier completely enclosing me, though my eyes reveal nothing.
A moment ter, Nibi begins flying towards me.She slows as she approaches my wall and halts directly outside of it.Then she knocks.It causes no noise, and if I couldn’t feel the magic around me, I would think she was simply pretending.Yet, I could vaguely sense when she contacted the barrier.Moving near her, I slowly reach out towards her hand.Yet before my hand meets hers, it stops at an obstacle where the essence gathers.
I was right!It is possible to fashion the wind into something solid!Even though I cannot see what I’m touching and there is no breeze, there is definitely something there.However, after having knocked on my barrier several times, Nibi tilts her head, then with minimal effort, forces her arm through the wall and takes my hand.
“Miep!”
A brief moment ter, she does a quick fp with her wings and pushes her way through the barrier to stand beside me, grinning.Inside of my wall.Oh…
“Um, did you do anything yet, Sis?”
Obviously, Nibi didn’t go unnoticed by my sister who is peaking into my room.While replying, I do my best to speak loudly enough for her to hear me.
“Yes, but it seems that it isn’t strong enough. I fear, even with magic, wind may simply not offer good protection.”
“But I didn’t feel anything. You may need to blow harder.”
Yeah, sure, she wouldn’t understand.Perhaps ter I’ll expin to her what I can feel with my wings.How something gathers under them and holds me aloft without blowing.
Speaking of which, I was hoping for better from my spell, that shaping the wind with magic would make it firm, but where my hand contacts the wall, I can feel that it is rather soft and pliable.If it scarcely even slows Nibi down, this isn’t going to be effective at keeping me safe.Perhaps if I try to strengthen it somehow?But is that even possible?Mud can become brick, water stiffens into ice, and iron can be forged, but how does one harden the wind itself?Does it pack together like wool or maybe twine about itself like yarn?*Sigh*My magic may be able to form a sturdier barrier with this energy, but it’s incredibly difficult to imagine what I want when I cannot see it.I can will it to stiffen, but, uh, what exactly makes it hard?Or what does firm wind feel like?Even the wind under my wings seems soft and easily moved.Perhaps I’ll need to use some other element, even if it’s not my preferred one.
Yet before I can decide what to do next, my thoughts are interrupted.
“Ak’ri!”
“What is it, Nibi?”
“Miep!”
Releasing me, she moves a short distance away and creates an ice shard.Oh no.Is she really going to be like human children in this regard?
“I can’t py right now, this is important. I need to-”
“No! Miep!”
The icicle beside her begins spinning.
“Nibi, I really must focus on this. If I want to fly-”
“No! Ak’ri!”
She gestures from her ice to me and back.Does she want to see if it will stop her ice?After what she did to that log, I highly doubt it would hinder it in the slightest.
“I don’t believe this is going to stop your ice any better than it prevented you from flying through it.”
“No! Miep!”
A look of frustration appears on her face for a moment, then.
“Nibi!”
What is she trying to say?The ice disappears, and soon afterwards, a thin wall of water surrounds her in the exact same manner as the wind is around me.Suddenly, she begins spinning in pce, yet only for a few moments.Then she stops, points at her water, and the entire sphere begins to rotate around her.Finally, she points at me.
“Ak’ri!”
Is she trying to help me?Perhaps giving instructions as to how I should go about this?She apparently wants me to try spinning this fragile barrier.At least, that’s what I gathered from her antics just now.So, feeling along the strands of magic connecting the wall to me, I attempt to send a new intent.I will it to begin spinning in the same manner as Nibi’s watery shell.
Shortly afterwards, a wind begins buffeting me, and I’m forced to cut off my magic lest I get blown away.So I try again from the beginning, this time willing the spell to leave me unaffected even while the shell itself should spin.Furthermore, I do my best to wish it to thicken like a packed bnket, in the hope that it will provide some strength.Once I’ve created my new spell, I release it as before.
Thankfully, I’m able to gently hover unaffected inside of my new creation, though I still doubt its usefulness.Then Nibi’s water vanishes as she absorbs it, and she once again moves towards me.Yet when she nears the point where I can feel my barrier is located, she stops, and nearly as easily as before, extends her hand through it.When nothing happens, at least as far as I am aware, she frowns, and fps back.
“Miep!”
Then she quickly flies in a circle several times before stopping and pointing at me again.
“Ak’ri!”
“You want me to make it spin even faster?”
“Yes!”
How swiftly does she want it to swirl about?Her water didn’t seem to flow any faster than I can feel this essence moving.Yet, she does have more experience with magic than I, so I’m inclined to trust her on this.
Pressing my will into the barrier once more, I can feel the wind around me speeding about even faster than before, even though it’s not truly touching me.However, I merely receive a wave from Nibi indicating that I should continue further.Erm, how swiftly can shaped wind safely travel?People can be severely harmed when quickly thrown to the ground.As far as I’ve been told, if propelled fast enough, such as in a trebuchet, boulders may break, trees may splinter, and even water turns to mist.So if something were to strike this barrier, would it break apart the wind I formed it from?What even happens when wind breaks?Can it be broken?Is it dangerous?Surely she knows what she’s asking of me, right?
After yet another increase in speed, a faint, familiar, whistling sound begins coming from all around me.It would seem that the soft stuff around me is indeed wind.Even being able to pull essence from it, I wasn’t entirely certain till now.So I suppose the substance I used was actually gusts of wind that are motionless.Perhaps it is remnants lying about after the wind slows sufficiently but are simply invisible?In any case, I hope that moving it at such speeds will strengthen my barrier.
Eventually, after I follow another of her instructions to drastically speed up the wind, which also increases the noise, Nibi tilts her head and contemptes for a few moments.Then, apparently having made up her mind, she approaches the barrier once more and again thrusts her arm into it.Instantly, a jolt runs through my wings, and the wind swirling about me fades and becomes silent as the magic flowing from me suddenly ceases.
*ditiditi*
My pathetic barrier vanished in an instant, and, of course, Nibi finds me as amusing as always.Even when she’s seemingly being helpful, she never hesitates to giggle at my struggles. Watching from the doorway, Talia appears confused.
“Did it not work correctly? It stopped making noise. Or was it not supposed to do that? I didn’t actually see or feel anything besides your light.”
“No, my magic fell apart when Nibi touched it, but she gave me an idea.”
This attempt may not be a complete failure, and I believe Nibi did help me, even with her antics.Since the magic simply vanished instead of flying out of control or moving aside to allow her to pass, it would mean she was either scared of my wall or it was strong enough to harm her hand.I would lean towards the tter, as I doubt she would be frightened of my meager spell.Therefore, I ought to attempt defending against something that isn’t a magic immune fairy.Luckily, we happen to have several pieces of wood lying in our firepce due to Nibi’s demonstration a short time ago.
As I fly out to our table once more, Garen seems to gather himself and then focus on me.While I was going to ask Talia for her help, I suppose I can ask for his assistance instead.
“I may have come up with another spell, but I must determine how well it works. Could you grab a stick for me?”
“Okay? What do you want me to do with it?”
“Just follow me for a moment.”
I quickly make my way to the far side of the room and gently hover above where the log stood earlier, since if possible, I would prefer to not cause any further changes to our furniture.Once I’m ready, I focus on my magic and easily spin up another barrier around myself, although this time, I also will it to be quiet.
“Now if you don’t mind, could you try touching me with that stick? But be careful not to get your fingers too close, as I don’t know what will happen when you do this. Most likely it will simply do nothing at all, but best to be cautious. And you go back over there, Talia!”
Yet, before following my directions, Garen asks a question.
“Is this how bright you normally are now? The bluish glow, I mean. Or whatever that color is called.”
“It’s called cyan if it’s the color I think it is. And I don’t know. You would have to ask Talia.”
“That is how she usually is whenever she uses magic. Her light is somewhat bright up close while still being possible to see her, but then it’s quite difficult to see her clearly when you look at her light from afar.”
“Huh. Well, you said to simply try moving this stick towards you. Are you ready?”
At that, Talia moves away, and when I nod, Garen slowly does as I asked.Yet, when the wood comes close, it surprisingly flies from his hand!Followed by his shout.
“Woah! What was that!?”
“I told you I made a spell. It’s supposed to protect me.”
“Well, I wasn’t expecting the wood to be knocked away for no apparent reason. Let me try again.”
Hovering in pce, I simply wait for him to gather the stick once more, and he approaches for a second time.It would seem that he’s now clenching the wood with a much firmer grip, and when it arrives at my barrier, it doesn’t get flung away.However, it does begin making noise, quite simir to a carpenter’s pne but continuous.*Chrrrr*Directly in front of me, I can see the tip of the thin piece of wood turning to splinters and sawdust, which are then being propelled away, seemingly from nothing.After a moment, Garen apparently tries to force it through the barrier, but the end immediately snaps off and shoots away from me, slightly embedding itself in the front wall of the house.Then he stops.Considering the stick he was using is now half its original size, it’s probably no longer safe for him to continue.
“Whatever you’re doing, holding the wood against it feels like trying to hold an axe to a grindstone. Worse, actually, as it feels as if I’m pressing against something round instead of ft. When I tried to press through it, the stick wanted to tear itself out of my hands even more before it broke.”
Does that mean I actually succeeded!?While it’s not the still substance I started with, I truly formed a barrier made only from wind!No, I shouldn’t get excited too quickly.That stick didn’t look very sturdy, and he may have been holding back for my sake.
“Do you think I would be safe with this? I mean, is it strong enough to keep forest creatures away? And birds! I don’t think I like birds very much anymore.”
Before he can answer, a flicker of movement from the corner of my eye catches my attention.Gncing towards it, I catch a glimpse of a rge object directly beside me, ready to crash into me!There’s no time to move!
“Eeek!”
However, in an instant, it’s flung away towards the corner of the room!Apparently, my wall of wind was sufficient to stop it.A moment ter, I recognize the object as a thin piece of wood, merely a shard, only appearing enormous when in comparison to me.
“Ow, your scream kind of hurts now, Sis. But it was also still kind of cute, hehehe.”
*ditiditiditi*
Did Talia seriously just throw that at me!?And why do I get the feeling those two pranksters are teaming up, with me as their target!?I begin flying towards Talia, ready to return the favor, but a sudden, unexpected jolt shoots through my wings.
“Ack!”
“Are you okay?”
“Yes, Garen, I’m fine. But I suppose I should find a way to make my protective circle follow me when I fly. It’s not very useful for what I want otherwise.”
It also feels rather unpleasant when I accidently destroy my own magic because I was about to harm myself with it.As well as being a bit embarrassing.Well, I suppose I can let Talia off easy this time, as I ought to adjust my spell, again.Speaking of which, another thought just occurred to me.
“Garen, do you suppose that some of the stories about fairy magic call it unpredictable merely because they don’t put much effort into their spells?”
Even simple magic doesn’t work exactly the way I wish, unless I’m certain it feels correct before releasing it.So perhaps most fairies simply form magic and hope it’s near enough to what they desire to accomplish without bothering to make it exact.Maybe they merely don’t care about minor issues.Is that why Nibi can use her magic so quickly without having to go through the same steps that I do?Perhaps I ought to try it as well.
“I suppose, but you would know better than I. Your mum spoke about fairies much more often than my folks. But please don’t be careless in the vilge. I’d rather not wake up one morning to find your house became a pond merely because you wanted more water but couldn’t be bothered to specify how much.”
“Hehe. Yeah, sure, I would never do…”
What was the word again?
Abruptly, the sound of a key turning in a lock reaches my ears. Since there is only one key to our home, besides the one left inside for Talia, it would seem that Mum has returned.Hopefully, she won’t mind that I told Garen about myself.