There are many theories pertaining to power decay for sorcerers. To understand how the Spell works, you must be aware of how magic communicates with the sorcerer.

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Shadow Weaver lay in her chair, one hand on the Black Garnet and the other touching the beginning of the circuit that hooked up to Hordak's cursed apparatus. Today, she had called upon the Spell's power as much as she dared, and siphoned enough magic to keep herself lucid.

Hordak stood curiously as more shocks passed through her, powering the portal. Shadow Weaver's eyes were puffy from crying, but she remained sitting there, listless. She didn't dare look at her other hand; her flesh had melted onto the metal of the apparatus, and she would only be able to unstick it once the Garnet healed her.

Hordak growled at his holo-pad. Over the last two years, they'd made no headway on the portal. Though the Black Garnet was the essence of electricity itself, it seemed not to be able to power the portal for long enough to actually render it functional.

Finally, Hordak threw his holo-pad across the room; it shattered against the floor. "IT IS MEANINGLESS!" he bellowed. "It cannot subsist on this worthless rock!"

He had not turned off the apparatus; Shadow Weaver swallowed. When she spoke, her tongue was a blunt slab in her mouth. "What if you combined magic with...with..."

Hordak glared at her, and Shadow Weaver gritted her teeth. "My lord, electricity is..." She tried to continue, but her words were like sludge. She had the thoughts in her mind, but her tongue couldn't articulate them...

He walked over and turned off the apparatus, ripping it away from her marred hand. Shadow Weaver dared to look at the burn. She gasped – somehow, seeing the wound made the pain worse – and sucked as much power from the Black Garnet as she could. The sensation cleared her apraxia, and she was able to speak again.

"As I was saying," Shadow Weaver said, leaning back as the magic knit her hand back together, "electricity is an element of Etheria. But all elements have magic in them. Electricity, ice, water, earth, moonlight, starlight, fire. If we had more power...if I had more power..."

Hordak tilted his head. "Your idea has merit. However, I am unable to harness magic to power these things. It is...unfamiliar to me, which is the sole reason I have not deposed you already."

Shadow Weaver felt a stab of pain at these words. "Then we work together," she said. "I am one of the most brilliant magic scholars on Etheria. I earned my Emeth when I was half the average age for completion."

Hordak raised a brow. "What is...an Emeth?"

"Do you have educational levels in the Galactic Horde?"

"We have ranks. Is this Emeth similar?"

"It's like a rank, but in training," Shadow Weaver explained. "Similar to how you trained me, I train the cadets to become lieutenants, and Carmen trains the lieutenants to become Force Captains."

Hordak was silent for a while; Shadow Weaver knew him well enough to tell he was deep in thought. "You have continued to prove your worth in terms of battle, though you no longer fight on the front lines," he said, pacing around her chair. "Do you know how to harness magic as a power source?"

"My lord, I am connected to a runestone. It exists as my power source."

Hordak hmphed. "My intent was clear, Shadow Weaver. Are you able to harness it to power machines?"

"No," she admitted. "But if I was allowed to learn...perhaps it could help me further. But we would probably need more than one runestone."

"Ah," Hordak said, and his mouth quirked up in a half-smile – a rare expression from him. "This is most convenient, Shadow Weaver. Do you remember when we requisitioned troops to the edge of Bright Moon?"

Shadow Weaver nodded, and he continued. "The Kingdom of Snows has a runestone, correct?"

"The Fractal Flake. Unfortunately, it's the most powerful one on Etheria. Obtaining it will be difficult."

"I was under the impression," he said, "that mine was the most powerful."

"The most dangerous and the most powerful are two different determiners," Shadow Weaver said. "The most dangerous class of spells is evocation, but the most powerful – and versatile – would likely be kinesis."

Hordak nodded. "Perhaps, then, you will succeed in your mission. I require you, by the end of this year, to succeed in capturing Dellanova and their runestone. You must keep the king of Bright Moon distracted so your mission will not fail."

"My lord, Micah will seek me out," Shadow Weaver said, a lump forming in her throat. "He always does –"

Hordak shook his head. "He cannot. You will send more troops to Dryl, and instruct them to hide near the mountains by Plumeria."

Shadow Weaver nodded. If she could get another runestone, perhaps she could stave off her insanity just a little longer...

Or I could get Nell's assistance. I could get him to care about me. To come with me to the Fright Zone.

She nodded. "I will do as you say. Might I also deploy more troops to the border of the Snows?"

"If you deem it necessary," Hordak said, hands clasped behind his back. He walked over to her, and Shadow Weaver stiffened, preparing herself for an assault.

Instead, her commander placed his hand on her shoulder, gripping it firmly – but also gently. Though he carried no emotion on his face, his intense stare locked onto hers made her swallow.

Hordak spoke. "If you succeed," he said, "you will have proven your worth to me. For good."

Shadow Weaver bit her lip. "No more of...this?" she whispered. "I'll be...free?"

"Mm. If there is another way, I will not require your assistance. You have more use on the battlefield."

Shadow Weaver lowered her eyes. "I...will do as you ask, my lord," she said, her voice coming out in a shaky whisper. "I will bring your people through."

Hordak nodded. "You are earnest. Go now, and deploy our forces. I will await your report, and your transformation into what you promised me when you joined my army."

Shadow Weaver gripped herself, her cheeks growing warm as she exited the room. But if only her lord knew that, despite his best efforts, her loyalties were still divided. For even more than his recognition, she wanted Nell to come and save her from her fate.

✧✧✧

Carmen walked with her lady to the infirmary following Lord Hordak's torture session, biting her lip hard as she watched Shadow Weaver clutch her head. "Damn it," she whispered. "I'm supposed to be going to the Snows' ball tonight. If I can't get these headaches under control..."

"It ain't till eight," Carmen said quietly. "Why dont'cha go and rest after we pick up the kiddos from the nursery?"

"I can't afford to rest," her lady spat. "That's why."

Carmen shoved her hands in her pockets, remembering the trip to Beast Island. Though two years had passed since the excursion, she had never forgotten the change in her lady's demeanor after they'd come back. It was the strangest thing, how her lady was losing her smile with each passing day.

She was going mad, and Carmen could see the beginnings of that. But she would always be by her lady's side. Mad people still needed food and water, after all. They still needed friends. But she couldn't get over the sadness in her lady's expressions as she wandered the halls at night, calling out the names of people Carmen didn't know. But there were two names that stood out to her more than any other.

Nell.

Micah.

She spoke of them as if they were friends during those hallucinatory episodes. She would cry for them, beg them to love her. As she wandered the corridors, speaking of those two names as if they were her most valued possessions of all time, she was likened to a ghost of a woman haunting the place she'd once called home. Carmen pitied her, but there was nothing she could do. A servant wasn't supposed to contradict her mistress, after all.

They stopped at the nursery, and Catra rushed into Carmen's arms. Adora did the same with Shads, who stiffened at the embrace, then pried Adora's arms off her. "Let's go back," she said tiredly. The four of them walked back toward her quarters, and Carmen's mouth suddenly became dry.

Shads was looking directly at Catra with murder in her eyes. Carmen gripped her daughter's hand more tightly. She had to come up with a plan of some kind. Some way to reverse the Spell of Obtainment, or break it before it made her snap on other people. She loved her lady too much to let her become a monster...

And yet, it wasn't her place. Shads was loads smarter, and she could heal herself if she chose. Carmen remembered what her lady had said when they were reeling from Micah's counterattack. The only person who could have helped me tried to kill me tonight.

Micah was the key, wasn't he? Didn't he know how to reverse the Spell?

She didn't know. But suddenly, she was tempted to find him at the ball tonight and ask. Because if she didn't, she would be dooming her lady to a life of eternal suffering.

❂❂❂

Did you know...

- I added the second scene of this chapter a little late into development. I thought it was very necessary to show how Shadow Weaver's attitude toward Catra has changed since the beginning of the story.

- Some readers will be confused that the Kingdom of Snows is the target of attack, considering Frosta says the Snows have remained untouched for a thousand years. However, I always interpreted that as ignorance to spare her from having to deal with how big a loss she was dealt when her parents died.

Tell me what you think...

- What might happen at the ball?

- How is Carmen changing as the story progresses?