"So," I sighed, running a hand through my hair, which probably looked like a bird's nest after all this. "How do I un-still the water? Do I just say 'Un-still!'? Or 'Flow, dammit, flow!'?"
Violet's lips twitched. "A simple 'Flow' should suffice, with clear intent."
I took a deep breath, trying to calm the frantic thrum of essence in my veins. I focused on the water, trying to imagine it moving, rippling, flowing. I tried to push away the fear of messing up, of accidentally turning it into solid ice, or worse, solidifying the air around it.
"Flow," I whispered, trying to imbue it with a sense of release.
Nothing. The water remained perfectly still. A faint blush crept up my neck.
"Your intent is still fractured," Violet observed gently. "You are trying to undo what you did, rather than simply command a new state. Let go of the previous command. Focus only on the present desire."
I groaned. "This is harder than calculus. And I barely passed calculus." I tried again, closing my eyes, picturing a gentle stream, a babbling brook. I imagined the word "Flow" as a soft current, nudging the water.
"Flow," I whispered, trying to imbue it with a sense of release.
A faint shimmer, like heat haze, passed over the water. A tiny, almost invisible ripple appeared, then vanished. It was progress, I supposed, but barely.
"It seems your Voice prefers strong emotions, Cassandra," Violet mused, her sapphire eyes thoughtful. "Perhaps we should try a different approach for now. Let us move to something more… elemental. Something that responds to raw will."
She led me to a small clearing where the Heartwood trees grew slightly less dense. In the center, a single, ancient stone stood, covered in glowing, intricate runes that seemed to pulse with a slow, steady rhythm.
"This is a focusing stone," Violet explained. "It helps channel ambient essence. Your next task is to manifest a simple flame. A small, controlled spark. Nothing more."
"A flame?" My eyes widened. "Like, fire? With my voice?"
"Indeed," she nodded. "Speak the word 'Ignite.' Focus on the spark, not the inferno."
I looked at the stone. Fire. My mind immediately went to Alvis, to his arrogant Amber eyes, to the way he'd shattered that shield with a fiery blast. A surge of resentment, hot and familiar, flared in my chest.
"Okay," I muttered, squaring my shoulders. "Ignite. Got it. Spark. Not inferno. No accidental barbecue of ancient magical trees."
I placed my hand on the cool stone, feeling the faint hum of its essence. I tried to clear my mind, but the image of Alvis's smug face kept intruding. Spark, not inferno. Spark, not inferno.
"Ignite," I whispered, trying to be precise, trying to be controlled.
Nothing. Not even a flicker. My frustration, always simmering close to the surface, began to boil.
"Again," Violet prompted. "Clearer intent. Less… hesitation."
"I'm not hesitating!" I snapped, pulling my hand back. "I'm just trying not to accidentally set the entire forest on fire! There's a difference, you know!" My voice was rising, a familiar tremor starting in my chest. My eyes, I could feel it, were beginning to deepen, the violet swirling with impatience.
Violet sighed, a faint, weary sound. "Cassandra, your emotions are a powerful current. You must learn to guide them, not be swept away by them."
"Well, it's a little hard to guide them when I'm basically a walking, talking emotional fire hazard!" I retorted, throwing my hands up in exasperation. "I can't just flip a switch and be calm! My life just got turned upside down, I'm in a magical forest, and I'm being told to light a tiny spark when my brain is screaming 'incinerate everything!'"
My Voice, unbidden, resonated with my rising frustration, my sheer, overwhelming annoyance at my own inability. My eyes, I knew, were blazing with a furious amethyst. The tattoo on my arm burned, pulsing with an intense, internal light.
"IGNITE!" I roared, the word tearing from my core, fueled by a potent mix of anger, frustration, and a desperate desire for something to happen.
The stone didn't just spark. It exploded. Not with fire, but with a blinding flash of pure, raw light, followed by a concussive force that knocked me backward. The ancient stone, meant to channel essence, shattered into a thousand glowing fragments that shot outwards like shrapnel, embedding themselves in the surrounding trees. The air crackled with residual energy, smelling sharply of ozone.
I landed hard on the moss, winded, staring at the smoking crater where the focusing stone had been. My eyes, still blazing, slowly faded back to their dull violet. I felt utterly drained, but also a strange, almost manic exhilaration. I hadn't meant to do that. I hadn't meant to do anything but light a spark.
Violet stood frozen, her sapphire eyes wide, staring at the shattered stone. Her face was a mask of disbelief. "By the Ancestors," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "You didn't just ignite it, Cassandra. You overloaded it. You turned a simple command into a raw Echo Blast of pure light. You are… a force of nature."
I pushed myself up, groaning. "Yeah, a force of nature that can't even light a candle without causing a small-scale geological event. This is just great. I'm going to be the most destructive Fae Witch in history, and my greatest achievement will be making a rock explode."
Violet turned to me, her expression a complex mix of awe, concern, and a dawning realization. "No, Cassandra. This is not merely an Echo Blast. You didn't just release raw force. You channeled your frustration, your desire for something more, into the very concept of ignition. You amplified the inherent energy of the stone beyond its capacity to contain it. This is… a new form of External Power Amplification, but one tied directly to your emotional state. You are not just amplifying existing power; you are forcing an object to manifest its potential to an explosive degree."
My jaw dropped. "So, I can make things explode just by being really, really annoyed at them?"
"Potentially," Violet conceded, a faint, worried frown on her face. "And not just explode. You could, theoretically, force a seed to bloom into a tree in seconds, or a small stream to become a raging river. But the cost… the cost to your mentality, and the potential for uncontrolled destruction, is immense." She looked at the shattered stone, then back at me. "This approach is clearly not working. Your Voice resists conventional channeling. It demands… something else."
Just then, a faint, shimmering light appeared at the edge of the clearing, followed by the soft rustle of leaves. A figure emerged, tall and slender, their eyes glowing with a vibrant Emerald Green. They wore simple, earthy robes, and their presence radiated a profound sense of calm, like the Heartwood itself.
"Violet," the figure said, their voice soft, melodic, yet carrying a surprising authority. "I felt the disturbance. Another of Cassandra's… unique manifestations?"
Violet sighed, a hint of exasperation in her tone, but also relief. "Indeed, Lyra. Our lessons are proving… challenging."
Lyra. The Aether-Weaver. The one who had spoken of my grandfather, of breaking rules, of riding the storm. Her emerald eyes, usually calm, held a flicker of curiosity as she looked at me, then at the shattered stone.
"Perhaps," Lyra said, her gaze thoughtful, "the problem isn't the student, or the teacher. Perhaps it is the lesson itself. Some storms cannot be contained, Violet. They must be guided. And sometimes, a little chaos is exactly what is needed to find true control." She smiled, a knowing, almost mischievous glint in her emerald eyes. "Come, Cassandra. Let us see what happens when we stop trying to put a leash on your Voice, and instead, teach it to dance."
My heart gave a strange lurch. Dance? With my reality-bending, exploding Voice? It sounded terrifying. It sounded exhilarating. And for the first time since my awakening, it sounded like something I might actually be able to do.