Have you ever wondered what it’s like to have magical abilities? Did you ever want to master pyromancy and set ablaze the place that was once your sanctuary, but is now a land of cursed memories? Do you know how quickly you can make somebody die from hypothermia if you could encase them in a block of solid ice? Why walk through a forest in the dark when you can shock a corpse and turn it into a usable source of light?
The possibilities for magic is endless. And Salnia is here for me to bestow upon her the element of her choice; she’s been begging me for days to take her under my wing as my apprentice Primal Witch.
“Take up your catalyst,” I command her, “and show me just what you plan on doing with your newfound power.”
From the bottom of the steps to my throne, Salnia eagerly looks at me as she raises her hand, “I have already brought my catalyst, my Mistress! It is one that I shall make sure to constantly carry with me at all times.”
Why does she have her hand up? I question to myself. I inch forward a bit from my throne of human carcasses, taking note of a faint, gold shimmering effect around one of Salnia’s fingers. Curiosity takes hold of me as I approach, the skeletal steps cracking underneath my feet.
“What catalyst have you already selected for yourself? What are you willing to sacrifice in order to unlock your latent powers?”
I grab Salnia’s hand and keep it open, palm side up. Aged scaring and slashes are prominent all across her entire palm, irregularities in healed skin showing how many times one spot was cut open. A golden ring is loosely wrapped around her ring finger; there’s a name engraved on its underside, but there’s a scratch across it, making it completely illegible. I don’t hesitate to take the ring off to get a better evaluation of it.
“This ring seems to have gone through some wear and tear, has it not?” I ask.
Salina nods as she confirms, “Yes. It is the ring given to me on my wedding day. That was quite some time ago…”
“And you want to make this your catalyst. Why is that?”
“That ring has nothing but evil and malicious memories tied to it, memories that I will never be able to forget.” Salina gets up from her kneeling pose and stands up straight in front of me. When I look into her eyes, I can see a growing darkness emerging from within. “And I shall use those memories as my fuel for learning the kind of magic I intend on mastering.”
The talk of evil and darkness, using bad memories as her fuel for mastering magic. She’s using a gift of her from a time she one lived in bliss and happiness, but the marks on her hand tell the opposite. I can’t help but smile when I have an idea of what kind of magic my new apprentice would like to study.
I put the ring back on her finger as I ask one final question, “Salina, my future Primal Witch apprentice. What kind of magic and sorcery have to decided on to learn? Shout out your purpose and I shall decide if your intentions are worthy enough of my time and effort.”
Salina closes her eyes as she takes a deep breath to clear her mind. Her eyes focused on mine and her hands clutched, she yells out, “Show me the way of abysmal magic so I can torture my husband in the afterlife!”
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— via Daily Prompt: Bestow
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