Song: "Beast Island" from The Music of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

I'm starting to wonder if I have the opposite problem of what everyone believes. My powers are harder to control the more I hole myself up. The less I deny myself the ability to feel, to think about my emotions and process them, the less I fear my light going off.

❂❂❂

When Light Spinner returned, Micah was asleep on the couch with his magic textbook on his face. Bending down to run her fingers over his hair, she gave a shuddering sigh. Mother, I have been a fool. A sidetracked fool.

I have to be more than myself to secure a better future for us. Now I've restored what I'd lost with Nell. I have a best friend now. And he is my child.

I'm a mother. She whispered the words as she unhooked her veil and pressed a gentle kiss to Micah's forehead. Tears came to her eyes, tears of happiness. "I'm a mother."

Light Spinner used kinesis magic to tuck him in bed, then undid his hair from the band that kept some of it in a bun. She walked back to the living room, opened the leather cover of her journal, and wrote with a trembling hand.

Dear Mother,

The Spell of Obtainment.

A gust of icy wind rattled the window, and Light Spinner closed it with kinesis magic. Deep breaths. She wrote again, swallowing hoarsely.

This is an idea based entirely in my own insane head. But without runestones, it could be the only way for sorcerers to help save Etheria. I learned about the Spell in my evocation class. The idea of using it has been shot down by every sorcerer in the past four hundred years, due to how it split the kingdom of Arxia and left over nine thousand Etherians dead in the subsequent war.

Sorcerers are not like princesses, whose power is contained in a single source: a runestone. Most of the time, spells for sorcerers take immense concentration, and this process comes more easily for some than others. But with the Spell, you become your own runestone. If successfully cast, it changes the dynamic of your body to automatically collect magic for future use. There's no magic strain, no danger of death, and you will be in complete control of your mind. If sorcerers could succeed in using the Spell, we could become strong enough to defeat the Horde without the threat of magic strain from the Pull.

The Spell has never succeeded before, and the results are catastrophic if it fails. Every sorcerer to attempt it has ended up dead, because while the Spell itself is not dark, it does contain darkness as a byproduct, and that darkness has thus far been too much for any caster to handle. It has never been attempted outside of a set of experiments by Emeth Auctor four hundred years ago, which caused the aforementioned war in Arxia.

I am an evocation sorceress - a powerful one at that. If I could learn somehow to get rid of the darkness while having that power for myself and others, I could help Angella stop the Horde. I could save everyone, just as you always wanted. I would never have to fear losing Micah or having him slip from my embrace if I was like a princess. And I know Micah would never leave me willingly.

My research begins tomorrow. The Guild meets in the winter to talk about a course of action for stopping the Horde, and that will be the perfect time for me to present my plan. Mother, you would be so proud of me.

Your daughter,

She put her pen on the page to write Alura, but hesitated. Alura was powerless, a girl who couldn't get anyone to love her. Alura allowed herself to be controlled by others.

Not anymore, she thought, giving a smug smile. From now on, she was in control. She signed Light Spinner on the page, a contented sigh rustling her veil. If Mother were still here today, she would recognize the nickname, which she had always called Alura when she'd been little.

✧✧✧

On the last day of class, Light Spinner took Micah down to the Lunarium. She stood in front of the cauldron. "I'm going to cast a power prism, and you will tell me how much magic is in it. Use the method we practiced."

She raised her hands upward, focusing on the prism she wanted to create. Glitter clotted itself together in front of her, magic gathering into a diamond-shaped structure with immense power trapped inside. Her stamina drained, and she crushed her eyes shut, buckling under the weight. Power prisms were so taxing; if she couldn't even handle this small bit of power, how could she hold one long enough to chain the Spell?

Light Spinner gasped as the weight weight lifted. Micah's hand was outstretched, an easy smile on his face. His dark eyes sparkled with joy as he kept the prism alive. Controlling a power prism was high-level magic, something one didn't learn till past their graduation.

How in the name of...

Light Spinner's focus broke, and she dropped the spell. "Impossible!" She slammed her hands on the cauldron. "Who else has been teaching you?"

Micah's face crumpled. "No one," he stammered. "I just did what you said. Did I do something wrong?"

She'd sounded almost angry with him. "No," she said, looking away sheepishly. "I knew you were gifted; I just didn't realize how gifted. You have incredible power."

Light Spinner turned around, gazing at the data crystals. "And I'm the one who will mold that power."

Micah looked away. "So...uh...you'll keep teaching me this?"

She walked toward him, placing a hand on his shoulder. The echoes of her own mother reached her head. Someday, Light Spinner would join Micah as a naturally gifted sorceress, and she would have the stamina needed to fight the Horde with him. Those adventures they'd share made her life a perpetual daydream.

"Of course," she said gently. "We're going to do great things together."

Micah blushed. "Yes!" He cleared his throat and bowed slightly, which they'd been trying to work on with other teachers. "I mean - thank you, Light Spinner."

She sighed. "Mystacor needs talents like ours more than ever before. Perhaps - " She considered showing him the full severity of what the Horde was doing. The deaths, the injuries, the conquering, the pain. "No," she said, folding her hands. "You're not ready."

Micah lowered his eyes. "I...I know I have a lot to learn," he said. "But I'm ready for anything. What is it?"

Light Spinner bit her lip from behind her veil; Micah was fourteen, and she couldn't shield him from the world forever. She walked up to the cauldron and waved her hand over the water. "Show me." She put into her head the worst of what the Horde was doing: their conquests, trophies, and terror.

Micah gasped. Light Spinner recalled her own shock as she gazed upon machines that Etheria had never seen before, or that were considered so ancient they couldn't be replicated. Guns. Tanks. Armored vehicles. It was a horrid nightmare, one that Light Spinner could barely believe a whole kingdom was living in.

"This is awful," Micah said, his voice trembling. "Why would you conjure this?"

Light Spinner regarded his face, which was cast in pale blue light by the cauldron. He still thinks the guns are few and far between, perhaps. And he's never seen a tank before. Moons, neither did I, not until a few months ago. "This is no illusion. It's really happening. The terrorists are a full army, and they have invaded our lands. They call themselves the Horde." She sighed. "They've accomplished much in this short time, more than our so-called leaders have."

"We have to do something!" He splashed the cauldron, and the illusion disappeared.

"Easy, Micah. The Guild meets soon to decide a course of action. I have a plan to give us the power needed to complete Angella's Rebellion and stop the Horde." Her mouth grew dry. "I only hope that Norwyn and his followers can see the threat as clearly as you do."

Micah squeezed her hand. "You'll make them see. They have to. If anyone can do it, it's you."

She returned his smile. "My research will occupy most of our days over winter break. You are welcome to come along, but you cannot look inside the books I am using."

"Why not?"

"The Guild has forbidden it," she said, gritting her teeth. "I won't have any chance of them not trusting me."

Micah nodded. "Yeah, I see. You'll give your plan to them, and I'm sure they'll listen. Then we can end the Horde before they hurt anyone else."

Heaviness rested on her shoulders. "I do hope so."

❂❂❂

Did you know...

● In the show, it's a little ambiguous whether Light Spinner wanted to use Micah's power for the Spell of Obtainment (in the sense that she uses others' power as Shadow Weaver) or not, though it is obvious that she truly loved him. I've always been of the mind that while the episode was written ambiguously, the most obvious events of the show lean toward a no. I like discussing different interpretations of the episode, so let me know if you want to hear my thoughts.

Tell me what you think...

● How will Light Spinner try to pull off the Spell?

● Is there information about the Spell that the Guild might be hiding from even her?