The Writers' Circle

Moonlight shone down through the small window in Rowlen's hut, illuminating the table and its contents. The Stones that had previously been scattered across the surface had been pushed to one side to be replaced by a wide, ornate bowl, within which sat a large, multicoloured sphere.
	The pale glow of the moon cast eerie shadows over the features of Tam and Rowlen as they stood there, mentally preparing for the acts they were about to perform.
	'As I understand it,' said the older tulai, 'you've only so far studied the techniques used in dark magic, correct?'
	Tam nodded.
	'Ok, so now we're going to delve into the practical application of these techniques.'
	Again Tam merely nodded.
	'Are you ok?'
	Tam looked to his mentor. 'I'm a little nervous,' he admitted.
	The older tulai smiled and laid a reassuring hand on his shoulder. 'Relax,' he advised. 'I'm here to help, so don't worry - it'll only get in the way. It will be slightly more difficult here than in Jelosano. The city is saturated in magic and that magic is controlled and channelled by spells woven into the very stones from which it is built. Here, magic is wild and free and, whilst that makes it slightly more dangerous, it also allows you to be more creative with it, assuming you can locate it, that is.'
	Tam looked up at the older tulai questioningly and Rowlen restrained a sigh of slight frustration at the apparent lack of education that his apprentice had received. 'Magic is ever-present within Jelosano because the powerful spells that surround it keep it there,' he explained. 'Think of it like a lake that's hemmed in on all sides by the land. Out here, however, magic is fickle and elusive. A good mage learns to be ever-aware of the magical saturation of his surroundings.'
	'Won't that make it harder to try and do this, then?' Tam asked nervously.
	'I do have similar spells in place to keep magic flowing through this hut,' Rowlen revealed, 'though it isn't as tame as the magic that you will be used to.'
	He watched Tam as the young apprentice breathed in deep and exhaled in a shuddering expulsion.
	'Just stay calm,' the old tulai advised.
	'I'll try.'
	Rowlen smiled. 'Dare I assume that you know what this is?' he asked, turning his attention to the ball and sphere. Tam nodded in recognition. 'Good. Then begin in your own time.'
	Tam shivered again and slowly lowered his hands into the bowl, reaching for the sphere.
	'Channel the magic first,' Rowlen reminded him softly.
	Tam nodded again and retracted his hands, casting about him for a flow of magic that he could control. Rowlen was right - the magic here was much wilder than he was used to. It whipped around his mind, ever elusive to his inexpert will. He spotted the odd dark magic strand travelling in his direction amongst the others and tried to grasp it and bring it under his control, but it eluded him.
	'Be patient,' said Rowlen, and Tam glanced sideways at the older tulai, watching as his eyes flitted this way and that, tracing the progress of the dark strands in the sea of colour.
	Concentrating once more, Tam let his mind ease back into the sea of magic. He spotted the dark strands once more but this time, instead of heading directly for them, he eased amongst the multi-coloured flow, riding the currents and biding his time.
	'Good,' said Rowlen encouragingly.
	Tam resisted the urge to smile in satisfaction and continued to wait patiently until he sensed that the moment was right. He snatched out with his mind as a dark strand came streaming past and seized it on the second attempt, bending it around his thoughts and channelling the power down through his body to his hands. He felt his fingers tingle and the Lapiti around his neck heated up as they responded to the magic's presence.
	'Take it slow,' Rowlen advised, and Tam did so, cautiously lowering his hands once more to the sphere.
	This was the first time that he had attempted the magic whilst in possession of his hat of office and, now that he had it, he felt the weight of the expectation associated with it pressing down on him. Now was not the time for nerves and doubts, however, especially in front of Rowlen, and so he placed his hands on the sphere and reverentially lifted it from its bowl.
	'Check everything again before you start,' Rowlen advised, and Tam paused on the verge of initiating his spell. The pre-thauma checks were always the last thing on the young tulai's mind as he readied himself to perform a spell. He carried them out now at the older tulai's insistence, longing as he did so for the time when he could bend the currents of magic to his will with ease, as the more powerful mages were rumoured to do.
	Satisfied that he was fully prepared he glanced towards Rowlen, concentrating hard to maintain control over the energies that raged within him as he waited for the tulai's approval to commence.
	'In your own time,' his mentor said.
	Tam turned his attention back to the task in hand. He could feel the flow of magic coursing through his system. Though the powers were less familiar to him, the techniques used remained the same, and he gently pushed to force the energies towards the points of contact between his hands and the sphere. The orb began to pulsate from within with a faint light that gradually grew as Tam pushed more and more raw magic into it.
	The outer reaches of the globe began to liquidise before Tam's eyes and the resulting fluid cascaded around his cupped palms to plunge into the basin below. The process accelerated and Tam could feel the spell getting away from his control. The raw magic he was trying to manage still surged through him but, with his mind divided between channelling it and executing the spell, he was struggling to maintain focus.
	'Pull back slightly,' said Rowlen gently, bringing his hands either side of Tam's to assist his pupil.
	Tam did so and his mind relaxed as he felt his mentor took up the slack he had given, reigning in the spell with practised ease. All the while the liquid flowed into the basin below, surging and coiling in multicoloured hues around the confines of the hemisphere.
	'Are you ok to continue?' Rowlen asked.
	Tam nodded. 'I think so,' he said, maintaining his concentration as the older tulai pulled back, allowing him once more to lead the way.
	'Take it to the finish, then.'
	Tam nodded and began the final big push of energy that would complete the spell. Liquid gushed over his palms faster and faster, though in a far steadier and more controlled fashion than before, and stopped only when there was no more to thaw.
Tam looked down at the mostly still pool, still rippling slightly as the final drops dripped from the underside of his hands, and then at the black stone that was all that remained in his palms. He breathed out heavily. This was by far the most difficulty he had ever had when attempting to cast a spell.
	'Good job,' said Rowlen, promptly retrieving the rock from Tam's unresisting grasp and placing it delicately next to the basin. 'I'm assuming that you haven't been told what this spell is actually used for?'
	'Not really,' Tam admitted wretchedly, 'sorry-'
	'No, no, it's quite alright,' said Rowlen. 'I thought as much, anyway. Let me show you.'
	He busied himself preparing the next stage as Tam looked on nonplussed, watching as the old tulai selected a few Lapiti Stones seemingly at random from his collection.
	'I always think it's important for a tulai to know what the spell is going to be used for right from the start,' Rowlen said, smiling at Tam. 'I think that you'll find spell casting much more rewarding when you know the practical applications of it.'
	Tam watched as the older tulai picked up a red-hued Stone, its lustre dull in the cold light of the moon. He raised it over the languid contents of the bowl and let it drop. It created a minor disturbance as it penetrated the surface and then the swirling liquid raged in a circular motion, whirling faster and faster. Tam could hear screams of wrath and experienced a sensation of deep ire, holding him in its grip and inspiring images of fire, revenge and hatred.
	The vortex pushed all of the liquid to the sides of the bowl leaving the Stone in the centre of the bare, dry bottom and Rowlen swiftly reached in to pluck it out. Immediately the liquid settled down to its gentle state once more and the intense emotion vacated Tam's mind leaving him reeling.
	'What just happened?' the apprentice gasped.
	'The spell enables us to evaluate Stones as to their type,' Rowlen explained. 'Sometimes they reveal themselves as noises, other times emotions or images. We don't fully understand what causes it but its something to do with the natural energy within them.'
	Tam looked at the red orb. 'Couldn't you just tell by its colour?'
	'And you could tell the difference between anger, love and a whole variety of emotions in between?'
	Tam had to concede his point and looked on as Rowlen demonstrated several more Stones and the subtle differences between them.
	'So you section them off ready to distribute to the newly born?' Tam asked.
	'Something like that,' said Rowlen. 'The spell helps identify and imparts a signature on a raw Stone.'
	Tam breathed out a huge sigh. 'I don't know how you cope with all of the emotions.'
	'I know,' said Rowlen, picking up the black stone that had been at the centre of the sphere and holding it out to the apprentice. 'You get used to the usual ones, though occasionally even now one will take me by surprise. I take it you know how to close the spell?'
	Tam nodded and took the stone from his mentor.
	'Good,' said Rowlen. 'Finish it off, without rushing, and then get some rest. You've had a long day and I doubt it'll be much easier tomorrow.'
	Tam turned back to the bowl as Rowlen busied himself about the hut. He sensed the raw magic once more and channelled it to slowly pull the liquid from the bowl to coalesce around the central stone. The young apprentice had been given a lot to think about. Clearly magic was a lot more complex than he had originally though.