I did say I was going to post a couple of stories ... this one isn't quite set
for release yet (no notes at beginning or end yet) but enjoy it anyway. ^_^
Tim Miller
trmiller@bcpl.net
-- Attached file included as plaintext by Listar --
-- File: firsttime.txt
"The First Time" A Slayers fanfic
By Tim Miller
I study the yellowed page, sounding out the arcane-looking words:
"Darkness beyond the falling night,
Crimson beyond life's blood spilled:
In time's flow -"
"LINA!!"
With a gasp of surprise, I slam the old spellbook shut and turn around
to face my big sister. Luna's already in her mid-teens, with a body that makes
every guy stop and stare ... I hope I look like that someday.
If I live long enough, that is. "L-luna! Big sis!" I force a smile.
"Need my help with something - ?"
Luna brushes my words aside, stepping across the attic. "What were you
looking at? I heard you reading a spell ..."
"Uhhhhhh -" Hoo boy. Luna's gonna be pissed if I tell her I was really
reading one of her spellbooks; she'd probably kick my scrawny little butt like
Ceiphied whomping Shabranigdo's ass back during the beginning of time. "I was,
uh, just glancing at this ... I wondered what it said."
I never *have* been able to lie to my big sister. It's like she can
smell falsehoods or something, especially from me.
With a glower that could scare off a Mazoku, Luna picks up the dusty old
tome and slams it back into its place on the shelf. "Lina, messing with *any*
kind of magic is dangerous, but black magic is fifty times worse. Even a low-
level black magic spell could turn you into a mouse or something if you mis-
cast it."
"I wasn't going to actually *cast* anything!" I squawk. "I was just
looking at it, seeing how the words sounded! I couldn't cast a spell if my
life depended on it, you know that!"
"Wrong." Luna sweeps her hair back over her shoulder, and glowers at me
from behind her low-cut bangs. "Mother and Father may not show signs of it,
but we've got strong magic in our family's bloodline. Maybe not as strong as
the Red Priest Rezo, but he's been studying magic longer than our grandparents
have been alive, and I'm not much more than a dabbler."
I could swear I heard an unspoken 'yet' lurking behind there somewhere.
Luna continues, "You haven't even learned a single spell yet ..." She
trails off, looking up at the shelf of spellbooks. I just stand my ground,
half-holding my breath, keeping as quiet as I can.
Big sis really does love me, but she can be as temperamental as a dragon
with a pebble under its scales sometimes. The few times that I've done
something really wrong ... I *still* ache when I think about it. And worse,
like that time ... uh, do you mind if I skip that part? I couldn't even *move*
without whimpering for about a week after that.
At least she's never tried to kill me for something. I'd like to keep
that streak of luck going for a while - but you try being a little girl in a
nowhere village, in a country that's only known for grapes, wine, and maybe an
occasional great hero. BORING!! Nothing happens around here - except for the
harvest festival, of course, but I'm too young to even help stomp the grapes,
and the (few) other kids my age stay clear of me. 'Don't go near the
Inverses,' their parents tell them - what are *we* going to do? Especially
little old me?
Well, if big sister Luna is just a dabbler, I'd hate to see what she
could do with some *real* study of magic. She could probably resurrect
Ceiphied himself, with a lot of work and a little luck.
That is, if she specialized in white magic, the powers left to humanity
by the Gods. Black magic comes from Mazoku power, and shamanism calls on the
powers of the spirits of nature. Shamanism's supposed to be easier to work
with, since the spirits are all around you anyway, but the really powerful
Shamanist spells aren't quite as useful as straight-up black magic or white
magic.
- Why'm I thinking about *magic* right now? Geez ... just looking at
that one spell, Luna nearly bit my head off anyway ... keep quiet and think
good thoughts, Lina, maybe you'll get out of this one and still be able to sit
down....
"One spell," Luna murmurs. "You want to learn magic, kid?"
"Yes!!"
"All right ..." Luna picks a different book from the shelf - she has to
strain to do so; if she were wearing a shorter skirt I could see her undies
from where I am now. When she brings the book down, I can see the cover ...
Aw, nuts. A *novice* spellbook?
"There are a couple of spells that every beginner starts with," Luna
explains as she sets the book on the stand, paging through it. "But before you
can even go that far, you have to learn the essentials, the foundation of all
magic." She turns to look at me, and indicates a cushion next to the book
stand. "Sit down. Or kneel, whichever you're more comfortable with."
I quickly sit down cross-legged, putting my hands on my knees. "Okay."
Luna crouches in front of me. "And close your eyes ..." She puts her
hands on my shoulders, and I struggle not to flinch. "Relax, Lina, I'm not
going to hurt you. You just need to concentrate."
"... Okay." I take a deep breath, and close my eyes, trying not to think
about the time Luna held my shoulders the *exact* same way and cast a
lightning spell on me, after I'd been trying to sell her favorite panties to
one of the guys who's got a crush on her.
So much for concentrating ... Another breath.
"I said to relax," my sister murmurs in amusement. "Okay. Every human -
and other living creatures - everyone has a source of energy within
themselves. That's the source of magic, although in some people, non-magic-
users, it's barely a glowing ember. Life depends on that power; if the energy
is eliminated, the person dies and can't be brought back. Can you sense it in
yourself?"
"Is that the energy that healing magic affects?" I ask.
"Some spells do affect it, yes - refueling it, or amplifying it.
Replenishing the life-energy is harder for the healer, but its effects remain
more stable than if you just amplify the power to speed healing. Does that
help you to sense it?"
I frown a bit, keeping my eyes closed. "A little bit, I think ..."
"Let me know when you find it. I'll still be here."
I start to open my mouth to shout something - and then, all of a sudden,
I *do* feel it. "It's there ... warm and bright. Like a fire in my heart - or
not a real fire ..."
Big sis cuts me off with a gentle - a *gentle!* - squeeze of my
shoulders. "That was fast," she chuckles. "I guess all the times we've had to
heal you up have paid off."
That didn't feel very funny.
"All right. Now, you need to draw on some of that power ... just get
used to the feeling. Don't draw too much, just a little ... the amount of a
candle-flame. Then let it go: allow it to return to the source within you."
I try it. "It's like trying to pick up water."
"No, don't try to *grasp* it. Just ... call it forth. Like ... hm,
you're no good at calling farm animals in, or pets. Well, maybe this will help
a little with that. In any case, draw a little bit of energy out from the
source, to a 'place' in yourself where you can control it."
All right ... I give it another try. "Hey, it worked - almost ..." I
know I sound disappointed, but I can't help it.
"One more try, little Lina ..."
Wow - big sis doesn't sound that gentle very often. She used to use that
tone with me a lot more - when I was a baby; I remember the voice, but not the
words. I keep that gentle voice in my head ...
I can feel the power inside me now. It's like a fire, like I told Luna,
but it's not burning ... more like a fire that's been banked for the night, so
the embers will stay hot until morning. It's ... incredible. I can't describe
it, but I can *feel* it - oh, I can feel it like nothing's ever felt before.
And drawing on it ... it's like my own miracle. I feel like I could command
life and death, if I had enough of this power -
Well, that's the thing about magic: in theory, you *can*. But there are
limits on how much energy a human can control; if you try to focus too much
energy, you burn out. That's why the biggest spells - rituals, really -
require so much else: magic circles, special constructs to help hold and
direct the magical energy, even assistants to the main caster.
I carefully open one eye and look at my sister's face; we're both
smiling. "I can do it," I tell Luna quietly. "What now?"
"You have to offer that energy to the forces that will empower your
spell," Luna instructs me, dropping her hands and stepping back. "A good mage
can offer it with only a couple of words, or even without saying anything, but
there are incantations to specify where your energy goes, and what the power
coming back to you will do. Hold out a hand in front of you, like this." She
cups her palm in front of her, like she's holding a small ball; I mimic her
easily. "Now, here is the incantation. Don't just say it, but *feel* it:
Source of all power, light that burns beyond crimson,
Let thy power gather in my hand."
I close my eyes again, drawing out a bit of energy from myself, and
repeat the incantation. It feels strange - like as soon as I say 'Source of
all power,' *something* is there, listening - not sentient, not even aware of
itself, but *there* and responsive. 'Light that burns beyond crimson' brings a
different response; I don't actually see it, but if it were physical, it'd be
like ... well, light. Solid light - or 'material' might be the better word.
And the last part of the chant ... the energy I drew out of myself is replaced
by something else.
By a flame. In my *real* hand.
My eyes fly open again, and I whisper the word my big sister didn't tell
me yet: "Lighting." The magic - congeals, I guess - and a little ball of light
forms, rising out of my hand; I instinctively concentrate on it, realizing
that it's still a part of me, in a way - I can control it, or I can let go.
Luna is staring at me openly. "You weren't supposed to go that fast -
you skipped a step. But you cast Lighting so easily ..." She lets out a
breath, and a short laugh. "Damn, sis, I'm impressed. How'd you know how to
put the energy together with the incantation?"
"I just did ... it seemed reasonable." ... I hope I don't sound as
scared as I feel. "I did it right?"
"Yeah! Exactly right, and faster than *I* learned to cast that spell.
You've got even more potential than I thought, Lina ..." Luna stares at the
ball of magical light for a moment longer. "You didn't even mess up once -
that same spell, almost, can be used to create a fireball."
I swallow hard, sitting up straight; I hardly notice the light blinking
out, although I feel the magic flowing away as I lose control of it. "W-why
didn't you tell me, big sis?"
Luna just smirks in that mysterious way of hers. "If you knew about it,
you might have cast it by 'mistake.' That would have been a problem."
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh boy ... "C'mon, sis, I wouldn't cast a fireball in our
own attic! Not even by accident!"
"Magic's dangerous, Lina. I don't want you even *practicing* spells
around the house, or I'll tan your hide." Well, *that* was a mild threat,
coming from Luna. "And I don't want you looking at spellbooks unsupervised,
either. If you're going to study magic, you need a real teacher, someone who's
better at it than I am - someone who knows the risks that a student faces, and
is prepared to deal with those risks. Face it - you're not going to learn
magic overnight."
My shoulders slump, and I let out a quiet sigh that I just can't help.
"Yes, big sister."
"Now, come on downstairs so we can get on with the laundry. I have to
work tonight, and I don't want it still hanging out on the line when I leave."
"Coming," I sigh as I stand up. Luna doesn't wait for me to follow her,
she just goes down the stairs again. I'm tempted to dawdle, take another look
at one of the books, but she moved the stool away when she was getting down
the novice spellbook. I still remember the first couple of lines from that one
spell, though ...
'Darkness beyond the falling night,
Crimson beyond life's blood spilled ...'
... I'd better not even think about it. For now.