Daniel's Early Days

Ch 12 Levitation-Before Daniel became a powerful Mage, he was just a boy. Follow Daniel from the beginning as he receives his powers, embarks on many adventures, and learns what true power really is.

Ever since his grandma had resorted to levitating to alleviate her arthritis pain, Daniel had been chomping at the bit to try it. Granted, it would no doubt be less exciting as flying a dragon. No matter how real that had felt, it had only been a vision, and there was no guarantee that that would ever happen again.

“You have a hard time keeping your feet on the ground,” Pearl thought wryly. At that, she pushed off of his shoulder, and wheeled down to the ground. Daniel had no idea how to respond to that. He felt like she was teasing him, but there was something else; something akin to sadness tinged with bitterness. Feeling someone else’s emotions was hard to get a handle on; especially, a dragon spirit that had been dead for hundreds of years and was currently residing inside a metal figurine.

When his mother stepped across the threshold, Daniel was relieved that the book she had clutched to her chest was not the book that had come to life and given him nightmares all those years ago. He tried to suppress a shudder at the memory, but only succeeded in giving himself goose bumps.

His mother sat down next to him on the floor, and held the book out so Daniel could look at it. The book was wrapped in black leather so dark and so smooth it looked like liquid ink. The symbol on this book was an elegant silver tree, enclosed in an elaborately decorated circle. On closer inspection, he realized that decorative decal was actually the roots of the tree. The tendrils splayed out extensively; they crept alongside and wrapped around the circle.

When she brushed her palm across the cover, a small flash of silver light flared up from the tree. Eyes wide, Daniel leaned closer to get a better look. The leaves on the tree were swaying from some imperceptible breeze, catching the sunlight as they fluttered.

Pearl, intrigued as well, hopped up on Daniel’s leg. Eyes glued to the tree, she bobbed her head back and forth a few times, swaying with the tree. Abruptly, as if she suddenly realized what she was doing, she stopped swaying. Instead, she craned her neck forward to further scrutinize this anomaly.

“Whoa,” Daniel whispered. The symbol on this book came to life like the one he had come across as a child. This time though Daniel was not afraid; he was amazed. Mesmerized, Daniel watched with Pearl as the boughs on the tree danced to and fro.

“This is one of my father’s family books,” she said reverently. “It took me a long time to track this one down,” she explained. Eyes swimming with tears, she traced the circle with her finger. Daniel watched in fascination as the roots and limbs followed her finger like a magnet. “Do you know what kind of spell you would like to try?”

“I want to levitate.”

Her full lips curled up in a little smile. “I had a feeling you were going to say that.” She thumbed through the pages, quickly finding the spell she needed. “Here it is,” she declared. She turned the book back around so Daniel could take a look at the pages. Daniel scanned the page, but couldn’t make anything out. Crestfallen, he realized that the writing was in some other language.

“Latin,” his mother offered. “We will teach you what the words say,” she assured him, clearly sensing his dismay. “You need to understand what you are asking for if you want the spell to be effective. The first line prepares your body; to calm and steady you. You should already know how important that is from practicing with your father. To call up any magic you need to be open and receptive.”

“This next line dispels the gravity underneath your feet. This part is equally important. Without removing the gravity you will not leave the ground, but you do not want gravity to disappear everywhere, just under your feet. If you allow the gravity to leave entirely, your hair, clothes, everything will rise uncontrollably.”    

“This line here is an order of sustainability. You need that to keep the spell working for more than a few moments. Without this the gravity will return before you get the chance to move anywhere. You will still have to concentrate on staying up for the entirety of your excursion, but you won’t have to repeatedly dispel the gravity.”        

“The last line makes movement while floating possible. At first, it is easier to lean slightly in the direction you wish to move. Although, I know your grandmother has trained herself to move in any direction with just a thought, but that you will take practice. You may want to ask your grandmother for help with that. Would you like your grandmother to be here for this now?”

“No, that’s ok. I want you to show me.” 

Daniel knew this would make his mother happy, and honestly he wanted to learn from her. He felt a rush of warmth that he assumed had to be Pearl. Although, it was hard to detect emotions from her metal face, her eyes shone and he had a feeling that she was looking at him fondly. With a slight nod, she hopped up to the windowsill to give them space.

It took him a while to learn how to enunciate each word properly, and you had to say the words correctly or you might get unwanted results. Eventually, he felt confident that he could say the words without misstep.

With deep breaths, Daniel cleared his mind and prepared himself to summon his magic. He began to speak the words, and felt that familiar tingle rush through him. The buildup of magic inside his body was intense. Adrenaline pumping, Daniel could feel his blood singing through his veins. When the last word left his lips, he felt the tension release immediately.

Eyes glued to the floor, Daniel knew immediately that the magic had been dispersed correctly because he was floating several inches from the wooden floor. “It worked!” he cried, wiggling his feet in the air. That’s when he noticed his arms had floated up to his shoulders, and his shirt was currently on the rise as well.