Total pages in book: 134
Estimated words: 127026 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 635(@200wpm)___ 508(@250wpm)___ 423(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 127026 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 635(@200wpm)___ 508(@250wpm)___ 423(@300wpm)
“Oh,” Kerrigan said, seeing how her visions had shaped her history. “That sounds right.”
“It is,” she said cheerily. “So, they’re not dangerous, but they are problematic. Especially if you don’t know how to handle what you see. More often than not, they are all jumbled. They’re not a clear line of thought. Sometimes, they feel like dreams, jumping from one point to the next.”
Kerrigan nodded. “Yes. I’ve seen that in the past.”
“The problem with that is that people think they know what the visions means. They believe that they can interpret prophecy, but it’s rarely what you think it is. Chasing after prophetic visions rarely helps anyone, and usually, it hurts them.”
She flushed. Well, if that wasn’t the truth. “Then, why do people get visions? Why even have this as a tenet?”
“Sometimes you need to know the future. Any glimpse into it to help you judge the present. It’s not always easy, but great minds can sometimes put together a list of possibilities, and then we can all work together to mitigate the potential fallout. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t.”
“I see.”
“Since you’ve already had some experience with visions, we’ll do a very short tutorial. I don’t think this is something that you should be doing on your own at all. There’s no way for you to interpret them alone.”
“Yeah. I sort of made a best guess at what I thought was happening.”
“Exactly. Guesswork is not that beneficial, long-term. We need precision.”
“So, how does it work?”
Cleora rearranged the spirit plane. The table and chairs disappeared. A moment later, they were seated in a wide circle of lit candles. This felt like what Kerrigan had done with Zina when she first learned how to enter the spirit plane.
“The circle is a barrier against unwanted influences. It is also a way to keep your thoughts in. We want to ensure both to call forward a vision.” Cleora cleared her throat. “I’ve only done this successfully a handful of times, when the emperor demanded it of me. It was completely draining. So, you want first to have a full well of magic present and possibly other magical users nearby to supply you with more magic. Burning yourself out would do you no good.”
Kerrigan gulped. Welp. That was what had happened to her almost every time she had a vision. Her magic had banked and then extinguished like a light until she passed out.
“With the spirit plane, you push your spirit out of your body. With dreamwalking, you push your spirit into another or pull a spirit into your own. But here, you are going to try to cast beyond our time. It’s a throw, as if you were fishing. Do you understand?”
“I think so?”
“Gather your spirit close to you and then focus your intention. It might not work, but if you want to learn about a specific future, then you need to think about it. Then, once your intention is on the future, cast forward and let the vision take you.”
Kerrigan did as instructed, feeling the well of magic inside of her. She couldn’t see or use it on the plane, but it was there. Then, she thought intensely on her wedding. Was what she had dreamed a real vision? She had to know.
She cast the spirit forward and waited.
She opened her eyes and looked at Cleora. “It didn’t work.”
Cleora laughed. “Well, no. Of course not. It doesn’t work on the plane. You have to be in a physical body to access the magic for it, but did you feel the cast?”
“Yes,” she said, disappointed. “I was hoping to try it.”
“You should practice it, but not tonight. At midnight on the next full moon will be the best time.”
“But that is when we will meet.”
“I will be running late. I have to attend to the emperor’s daughter for a special session of the patricians. Meet me after you finish your casting.”
Kerrigan had no idea what any of that meant, but it sounded important. “Okay. Is there a reason I can’t do it tomorrow night?”
“You can do it whenever you like. However, liminal times are always most advantageous. I don’t want you to burn yourself out. Take every precaution. It should not be attempted frequently, or it can drain your magic and eventually cause illness.”
Kerrigan guffawed. “Well, that explains a lot.”
Cleora nodded, her gaze shifting back to Tieran. “Will you look after her while she’s casting?”
Of course. It is my duty to keep her from her own stupidity.
Kerrigan glared. Cleora laughed.
“Well, I like him.”
“I thought you might.”
“Next month then,” Cleora said. “I look forward to hearing about another success story. Until next time, Tieran.”
And then she winked out of existence.
Tieran glanced at her, and then Kerrigan pulled them out of the spirit world. She wanted nothing more than to be able to cast her vision right then and there. But everything was wrong. She had no candles, it was bad timing, and there was no one around to help her if she burned through her magic. She hated that she had to wait when all she wanted was to see if her wedding was actually going to happen. Could she wait another month?