Daniel's Early Days: A Young Wizard's StoryA Chapter by Kjerstina HouseDaniel's Early Days Chapter Two Lesson in MagicWithout
preamble, his father brought up his hands and a shimmering blue bubble rose up
and surrounded him. “Wow,” Daniel
breathed. He had never seen this trick before. “What is it?” “A protection
sphere.” Tentatively,
Daniel reached forward to touch it; not sure what he would find when he did. The
sparkling light coalesced round his fingers. The sphere was rock hard, but
there was a strange substance on top of that solid surface. Like a dry,
iridescent liquid that swirled around and slightly immersed his fingertips, and
sent a tingly feeling up his arm. “Cool,” he
whispered as he pressed his palm fully against the electric bubble. “Now, you
try,” his father instructed. Abruptly, his glittering sphere dropped to the
earth and disappeared. “First, clear your mind. Closing your eyes might help. Take
slow, deep breaths. Count them out in your head, fifty should do. Then, imagine
the sphere forming around you. If you want to, use your hands to form the
circle, like finger painting,” he explained. Daniel closed
his eyes, began the deep breathing, and tried to clear his mind. At first, he
found that to be extremely difficult because he was really excited about
finally using his magic, and more than a little nervous that it wouldn’t work.
When he got to fifty, he stopped counting, but continued breathing deeply.
Agitated by the unbidden thoughts whirling around his head, he imagined that
those pesky, swarming thoughts were dropping like flies. Without a word, his
father stood by waiting patiently. Finally, he felt
calm, at peace, he was ready. Using one hand palm up, he brushed his hand above
him in a large rainbow arc, all the while visualizing the bubble he had seen
his father create. He knew it was working even before he opened his eyes.
Instead of the tingly sensation coming from without and then travelling into
him, he could feel it explode inside his chest, race down his arms, and shoot
out of his fingers like electricity. “Well done,”
his father cried. Daniel’s eyes popped open. It was strange to view the world
from inside his crackling blue dome. “And, on your first try. Very impressive,”
his father added. He stepped forward and rapped his knuckles on it. “Solid,” he
beamed. “Good job,
honey,” his mother called out from the porch. She had come out to watch, and as
usual was so quiet Daniel hadn’t even heard her. Disconcerted, Daniel whirled
around and his concentration lapsed. The sphere disappeared, and a wave of
exhaustion washed over him. “Oh, sorry honey,” his mother said regretfully. “That’s
alright, son,” his father said coming up behind him and putting his hand on
Daniel’s shoulder. “That was very good for your first time. Plus, I forgot to
mention that it will only stay up as long as you keep your concentration, which
is not always easy. Your mother provided your next very important lesson. Let
nothing interrupt your concentration when using your magic. Let’s work on that
now. Call up your sphere, and let’s see if I can catch you off guard.” Excited by
the challenge, Daniel took a few deep breaths to prepare himself before he
called up his protection. When he opened his eyes, his father was already
throwing an apple at him. With a small flash of light, it bounced off the
sphere with a large bruised dent in one side. “Good,” his
father sanctioned. “Now for a real challenge.” In unison, all the apples under
the apple tree came flying over and circling Daniel menacingly. One by one,
they hurled themselves at Daniel from all angles causing his bubble to light up
like the fourth of July. But, his concentration didn’t waver, not until a great
boom from the attic resonated across the yard, causing Daniel to jump and his
sphere to drop to the ground. He quickly
realized his mistake, and crouched to the ground. Without effort a smaller
version of his previous sphere surrounded him, instinctually protecting him
from the flying apples. There were no flashes of light, and when Daniel looked
up he saw several apples frozen in the air. Daniel sagged in relief and stood
up, allowing the sphere to drop as he did. His father
was holding his hand out toward Daniel, but his body was turned toward the
house. Out of the corner of his eye, Daniel saw his mother rush inside the
house, letting the screen door slam behind her. “Oh, that
woman is reckless,” his father moaned, rubbing his hand across his face. He
dropped his arm, and the apples dropped with it. “I better go check on your
grandmother,” he said apologetically. “Stay here,” his father directed. “Keep
practicing,” he called over his shoulder as he jogged up to the house. Daniel
wondered what in the world his grandmother had been trying to do this time. He wasn’t
really concerned; she frequently created small explosions that usually sounded
worse than they really were. This time,
Daniel felt even more drained from his efforts, but his blood was pumping
adrenaline. Using his magic was exhilarating! He wanted to do more, but he
wanted to try something else. Taking deep
breaths, he cleared his mind, and held out his hand. In his mind, he called up
the apple nearest him, and to his delight it floated up effortlessly. Elated,
Daniel just held it there in front of his face, amazed how easy his magic was
coming to him now. It flowed from him, through him, and out into the apple like
an electrical pulse. With a flick
of the wrist the apple soared across the yard and disappeared into the sea of
green that was the forest. Daniel had tried throwing objects through the wards
before, and they were always rejected. Somehow, this apple flew through like
nothing was there. Smiling mischievously, Daniel got a terrible idea. Now, he
knew how to sneak into the shadows of the forbidden forest, and he would. Without
thinking it through, he ran across the yard. At the edge of the tree line he
stopped. He looked back at the house, everything was quiet. How long did he
have before his father returned? Not long, he decided. But, maybe long enough
for him to test his theory. Trying to
subdue his excitement, Daniel cleared his mind and called up his magic. It
responded instantly, thrumming through his body like wild fire; probably fueled
by his excitement. Instead of releasing it, he kept it in check. Tentatively,
he reached out a hand, and his fingers bumped up against the barrier. With
little resistance, the barricade gave slightly, but only a couple inches. His
hand wasn’t through yet. Daniel gritted his teeth and pushed harder, his hand
suddenly burst through. With only a brief glance over his shoulder, he plunged
into the shadows. The trees
were dense in this part of the forest, and it took a minute for his eyes to
adjust. Most of the trees in and surrounding their yard were huge sprawling
affairs, but these were skinnier, taller, and placed closer together. Peering
through the gloom that seemed to permeate the air, Daniel thought he saw
something that didn’t quite fit. A small stub of a tree, stout and strangely
shaped; stunted somehow, with no limbs to speak of. He moved closer to get a
better look at this oddity, when it suddenly moved. “So, you
finally broke free,” the thing rasped, making a weird grinding sound that
almost sounded like laughter. © 2014 Kjerstina House |
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Added on September 28, 2014 Last Updated on December 4, 2014 Tags: wizard, family, magic, magical realm Author
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