Letting out a surprised cry, Ash clasped the area over her heart. Once, as a child, she had gotten tangled in a thorn bush and struggled her way free of its grasp. The pain felt like that—a flaming thorn dragging its way across her very flesh.

It lasted no more than a few seconds, but it left her trembling and panting for breath. Fear kept her hands clamped over the spot, but she finally peeled them away, pulling the shirt back by the edge as well to examine the area where she'd hurt.

Her mouth fell open. Dark lines carved a pattern over irritated pink skin, weaving in and out to form a crescent moon with a large star in its middle. It almost mirrored the Dreamwoven blessing she had seen so often in the past lune, but both the line that connected the two tips of the crescent and the arm of the star closest to the line stopped before they reached their completion. Their ends looked frayed instead, as if someone had taken a knife to their metaphorical threads.

"What is this?" Shock squeezed her throat, making her voice come out as little more than a whisper.

"That is what we call a partial Dreamweave."

Ash lifted her head, and if she believed in them, she may have thought a spirit rose up in Roan's place. All color had drained from his face, turning him deathly pale, and his eyes lost all sparks of magic. Every deep breath he took also tore a shudder through him. If he was not sitting, she was sure he'd fall over.

"Roan—"

He raised a hand to ward off her concern. "Scions can never compare to the gods in gifting magic to humans, so we can never create a full Dreamwoven blessing. However, I assure you I did all that I could do to make yours as complete as I could so it would have as little, if any, ramifications as possible."

Ramifications? Ash bit her lips. Roan hadn't mentioned anything about that before, had he? So much had gone on, and she was so determined to help Odella, anyway. Had he mentioned it and she'd brushed it aside? She failed to think too hard about it, though, when he sat in front of her, struggling to compose himself because of what he'd put himself through.

Maybe she couldn't remember if he had mentioned any ramifications of receiving the magic, but she had seen how much effort he had put into the process. With how much meaningless noise buzzed in her brain from all that had happened in the matter of minutes, she wouldn't be surprised if she was forgetting things.

Because Roan had given her magic.

She held her hands out in front of her, turning them each way. There was nothing different about them that she could see. Even when she tried to shake them, nothing happened. She frowned. How did a person make magic happen?

Roan chuckled. "It's not quite that simple. You must actually will it into happening."

Warmth flooded Ash's cheeks. "How does one...?"

"Here, let me just..." With a groan, Roan made it to his feet. Ash started to do the same, but he waved her down, and he kneeled beside her. A wince followed his every movement. "I want you to give me your hand, and then I want you to close your eyes, alright?"

"But I—"

"Alright?" Roan repeated, sterner this time. He didn't wait for her to give him his hand now. He took it in one of his, resting it on the palm of one and placing the other on top of them both.

Biting her lips and ignoring the nerves dancing within her stomach, Ash nodded.

"Now, close your eyes for me."

She did as he instructed, and her body relaxed as darkness replaced her surroundings. The exhaustion of the day more than happily greeted her at the first sign of dropping her guard. When Roan began speaking, his tone quiet and melodic, she struggled even more to shrug off her weariness.

"Summon to your mental eye the image of the finest glove you have ever seen."

A few years ago, during a rare sol cycle when the rounds of the lords coincided with the Rejuvenation Festival, and the lords happened to be in Lumena Village right in the middle of the festivities, Ash had seen many beautiful gowns. The mayor had opened his own grand manor to everyone in the village—the first and only time he had done so in her life. She distinctly recalled hunkering down in a corner with Odella, nibbling on food she had nabbed from a table, and the two had pointed out their favorite outfits that the noble class wore.

Even though Ash agreed with her twin on how impractical many of the ball gowns were, she'd longed to hold out their billowing skirts and twirl. She imagined her favorite of the outfits she'd seen at the festival's dance. The material had been pale blue, and every part of the surface sparkled as if someone took the stars from the sky and spread them through the fabric. This included the matching gloves the woman had worn.

She imagined that silky blue material, the glint of the sparkles against the light, the gentle brush of skin and fabric she'd believed she would feel wearing such elegant clothing.

"Now," Roan whispered, "focus on that image as hard as you can, and at the same time, focus on your hand."

His voice washed over her like a gentle lullaby, drawing her in, willing her to do as he asked, and she did. She put all her focus into the idea of that glove and imagined it on the same hand that Roan held. The spot on her chest with the new mark tingled, and there was this pull from a place she didn't know how to describe. Not her heart, but something closer to her torso's center and even deeper yet no closer to her back.

The tug squirmed from her core and down to her arm, the whole time feeling like someone was pulling her taut. When that odd pull reached her hand, the pressure dropped to a mere thrum of presence in the back of her mind. With the lack of pull, though, came a sudden drop in energy.

What had happened? Before she could ask Roan, he said, "Open your eyes, Ash."

She did, and she couldn't believe what she saw. He no longer held her hand clasped in his own. Instead, he held it up to her, as if presenting, making sure she saw the beautiful glove adorning it. A glove that looked to be made of silky blue material interwoven with sparkling blue gems.

Exactly like the one she had imagined.

Her chest pinched as her lungs refused to work. It couldn't really be there, could it? She turned her arm over and flexed her hand. Her elation performed a strange dip and rise before continuing its prior trajectory. She couldn't feel the smooth brush of silk on skin like she had imagined, but her movement hadn't dismissed the glove.

She licked her lips and finally restarted a steady breathing process. If she couldn't feel it but she could see it... "Is it an illusion?" she asked.

Roan brushed his hand over her arm, and she felt his touch as easily as if nothing covered her skin. "An illusion is a simple enough explanation, yes," he said. "Your magic is a bit more than that, though. Glamour is a type of magic that allows illusions specifically towards oneself. Because of it, anyone who looks at you will see this glove on your hand even though it is not there."

Out of curiosity, Ash focused on that hum in the back of her mind and released. The glove broke apart into bright blue particles that gradually vanished. Her heart thudded excitedly in her chest as she pictured a large golden bracelet her mother owned. She went through the same process as before. It took a little longer, a little more effort, but after a moment of fear the first time was a fluke, the bracelet flickered into being around her arm.

Watching it was even more amazing than opening her eyes and seeing the item be there. The same blue particles of energy sparkled at her point of focus, changed to match the color she desired, and then multiplied and condensed until they took her desired form.

She laughed. Doing so stole her of all her air, but she did it anyway, because she had used magic, and it was amazing! "Roan, this is spectacular! I can't believe that I..." She couldn't finish. Instead, she giggled more.

Roan gave a huffing chuckle as he stumbled to his feet, his collection of pouches in his hand. The sound had been more forced than Ash had expected, just as his tone was oddly strained when he said, "Yes, it is truly magical."

"Roan, are you alright?"

He didn't answer right away. It wasn't until he'd stowed away his magical components that he finally sighed and said, "I'm sorry. The process of piecing together your magic has left me very tired, and we have a lot left to do if we wish to save Odella. I am simply strained."

Ash's excitement crashed around her. Wincing, she looked away. Of course. She had been selfish to get so caught up in her own new access to magic. This was not a new toy but a tool for a much larger purpose. Something about that thought triggered something else in the back of her mind, but she couldn't quite grasp what, only that it had to do with something Roan had said before...

"How will this magic help us help her?" she asked while she dug through her mind for whatever the missing piece could be.

"Well, for starters, although you two are twins, you aren't entirely identical. There are differences." As Roan spoke, he traveled further back into the cave. The shadows swallowed him, but he continued on at a loud enough volume that she could still hear him. "The God's Dreamwoven blessing led to better nourishment, and her travels gave her a better physique, for example. Although we could dismiss those with a simple lie. Say you didn't eat properly, too caught up in your worry over your mother's ailing health."

Ash watched as Roan moved in and out of the shadows. "Is that what you've been telling people while she's been away? That she was tending to our mother?"

"Yes." He glanced in her direction. Some of the glint had returned to his eyes, and even in the dark, she could clearly meet his gaze. "As I told you before, we had already arrived at Volant, the town where the Tempest Serpent resides, before the strange ailment struck Odella."

Even knowing this, Ash still couldn't help the shudder that wracked her body. Odella shouldn't have been anywhere near that horrendous creature, not so early. It whipped up horrible storms across the ocean that had sunk ships, flooded nations, and stolen countless lives.

It wasn't the lone Great Terror that found its home in Caeleria either. Multiple towns sprinkled throughout the kingdom worshipped different beasts, providing them shrines in which they stayed. Fear and manipulation, as far as she was aware, kept the people under the Terrors' claws. She saw no other reason rational people would worship such creatures. That, or they had pure evil within their souls.

And that was where Odella had been. Her mission had been to stay in one of those towns and then slay one of those foul beasts. Now, that mission fell on Ash.

As if reading her thoughts, or more likely seeing the panic flash across her face, Roan said, "Our mission isn't direct, so worry not. We are being very careful. There is a family of priests that interact directly with the Serpent in Volant, and the newest to directly interact with it is a young man around your age." He finally stepped back into the fading evening light, allowing Ash to see his impish smile. "This is another reason it is so important you be able to impersonate your sister so closely. After all, to gain access to the Terror, Odella has been, well... becoming close to the priest."

Ash didn't know if she should laugh or be embarrassed. It turned out, both occurred. She attempted to smother a sudden laugh as warmth flooded her cheeks. Her twin was falsely courting a priest, and now she would have to fill in that position. Ash's only flirtation had been when she was twelve, and he had moved away before she got over giggling every time that he glanced her way.

Roan chuckled. "Don't think yourself into a fit, Ash. You will see how it is when we get to Volant, but if you are yourself, I am sure it will be enough. Anything else you may need, I can spend the next few days prepping you for."

She nodded slowly to herself and tried to calm her nerves. Even if she had only just met Roan and didn't know who Odella's other companions were, she wasn't alone—wait. Her head snapped up as she processed his words. "Few days? We have to go over the mountains to breach Caeleria, much less reach Volant."

"Well, that's what this is for." Roan hadn't moved too far from the edges of the cave. Half turning, he raised his hand. Green energy flared around it, chasing away the shadows and illuminating the space. The light revealed a circle with multiple unfamiliar runes ringing the sides.

Ash stood, gave her wobbling legs a moment to adjust, and walked over to his side. Aside from something magical, she couldn't tell anything else about the circle. "And this is?"

"A teleportation spell," he said. "They aren't the most practical form of travel, as they must be pre-prepared and can only be used once before the spell extinguishes. I created one in a cave a few days away from Volant and planned to create its pair near where I found Odella. Thankfully, the bond between them isn't activated until the spell is cast, so this was just a precautionary measure. I couldn't make the other one closer to Volant as, well..." He shrugged, and as his arm bobbed, so did the light, throwing the shadows everywhere. "You know how they are. Not fond of Scions and our magic."

Smiling slightly, she nodded her understanding. She stayed there, staring at the circle, while Roan extinguished his magical light and headed back to his supplies. "When will we head out?" she asked without looking back.

"Tomorrow, if all goes well," he replied.

Again, Ash bobbed her head, though she had no way of knowing if he saw it. She fiddled with her ring. It was all happening so much quicker than she imagined. Tomorrow she would be in Caeleria. A few days after that, she would be in Volant.

So quickly. Maybe too quickly. And then she would be working to accomplish Odella's mission, something only those chosen by the gods could do. But what other choice did she have if she wished to save her sister? Sit around and hope?

If it took that little, a Scion wouldn't be helping her with this. He must have thought that this was the right track. Not fulfilling her quest must have caused this somehow, and once it was completed, the strange ailment afflicting her should lift. Roan would help her through this. And he had already given her magic—

"It is the shape your energy weave had to take for you to safely have magic."

Ash frowned at the circle as the thought that had been locked in the back of her mind finally wiggled free. "Hey, Roan."

He made a grunting noise for her to go on.

"You said my magic had to take a certain shape, didn't you? When you wove it together? Did you mean it had to take that shape for me to safely use glamour, or—"

There was a sudden thud behind her, and she spun. Roan was on his knees, one hand on the ground, the other grasping his head.

"Roan!" She rushed to his side, eyes darting between the opening and him. Had the Modika found them? Could they have attacked somehow? "What's going on? Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm sorry. I..." He took in a few shuddering breaths and gave his head a small shake. He'd grown much paler than when she had last seen him only moments ago. "I think I have spent too much magic today. The teleportation circle requires little effort as it's already completed, but if I want any hope of activating it and traveling tomorrow, I think I really need rest."

"Yes, of course. I'm the one who should be sorry." Ash mentally kicked herself. Even if he hadn't been this exhausted, he had been showing clear signs of being tired since casting the spell. Rest should have been one of the first things on her mind. "Where is your bed mat? I can set it out for you?"

"I was just getting it, actually. It's right there." With some assistance from Ash, Roan leaned back on his knees and pointed to where he had dropped a rolled-up bed mat. "You should rest as well, Ash. The magic took its toll on you, and I have a minor warding spell around this place that will awaken me if anyone gets too close."

Her first instinct was to argue, but as soon as he suggested it, the full weight of the day settled on her shoulders, and a wave of exhaustion rolled over her. "If you are sure. We do both need well rested for tomorrow, I suppose..."

It took about fifteen minutes since Ash insisted they nibble on some of their rations, but they settled their bed mats on the ground and nestled into them. Roan was breathing softly within moments. Ash could feel herself soon following, but as she did, she couldn't shake the odd feeling that she had forgotten something.

*****

I forgot how strangely over the stop the writing was early on in this book, and I'm not sure I love it, but whatever xD Magic showcase!  And the plan is getting ever closer to unfolding!  Seems like they're going to be in Caeleria before Ash knows it, but is she ready?  That is the question!  Probably not because are we ever ready for anything life throws at us?  But I'm sure everything will be fine!  Also, Roan is very tired now.  Nappy nap time for seepy boi UwU

Let me know your thoughts on the chapter down below, and if you enjoyed it, don't forget to vote and comment! I also have a discord open to anyone who wants to join, and we have a section there to discuss the book :D Let me know if you want to join!