The next time I saw Morganna was the next morning. We sat in her living room, sipping tea.
"His name is Rioric," I finally said.
Morganna momentarily froze, looking up at me over her tea cup. Then, she carefully set it down, folding her hands in her lap.
"Yes, this is correct."
"He was your lover? And how are you over forty years old? You look barely twenty."
"A perk of being blessed by a dragon." She waved her hand in a dismissive fashion. "But yes, he was. Killed by Corithas in the last war against the dead." Morganna bowed her head, looking down at her feet. "I pray everyday that he will finally emerge from the tree, healed."745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdQvLUAGgvK
"Forty years is a long time to be in a tree."
"It is, I know. I can't bring myself to end his life, whatever is left. What if I do it too soon? What if I were to burn him down today and he was meant to emerge tomorrow?"
"It's okay," I said. "I understand. You don't want to lose him." I stood up, moving over to sit next to her so that I could hug her. "He asked me to end it before I left, whenever I leave." I figured it might be best to be straight forward with her.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhA0ndGZKnL
She leaned into my embrace, and began to shake from quiet sobbing. I simply stayed and held her for who knows how long. When she finally regained some semblance of her composure, she pulled away, wiping her face free of the tears.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4ofCGijzH3
"It will be quite a while before you are ready to leave us and return south. Promise me you won't do it before?"745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG5UYX30Nzj
I took one of her hands between mine, and looked her in the eye. "I promise," I said, my voice stern.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCVpgy2kJye
~~~745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmc5JRmm8wY
It was the next day when my training picked up again. Morganna had me meet her in the library.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIAharyCcSz
"Now that you have been properly introduced to the power of the mind, it is time you learn the true power you can wield with only your mind alone. Magic in itself is the force that drives reality as we know it. It only responds to a particular language, hence why incantations are a vital part of any spell you will cast," Morganna explained. "However, wielding that power comes at a risk. There is something called the Rule of Three."745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF9LT00gt2T
I nodded along, trying to remember each word she spoke to me.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK3YMbitaeF
"Magic is addicting. You must control it. You cannot let it control you. This goes hand in hand with the second rule; magic is corrupting. The addiction to magic can twist you, turn you into someone you wouldn't even recognize. You will thirst for more and more power and knowledge once you really start to succeed. While ambition makes fast learners, you must remember control. Do you understand?"745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqq1N3LoW76
"Yes," I replied, barely unable to keep my tone even. My nerves were jittery with excitement and a bit of anxiety. I was eager to start trying out real magic. A small part of me worried on whether or not I'd be able to maintain control. I've always taken myself for someone with good self control, but what if this was too much?745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa0TRGCzJIS
"Good. That brings me to the final point. Magic is powerful. Like I said, it is the very fabric of reality. The invisible strands that bind everything in our world together. When you cast, you are altering that reality, for better or for worse. Sometimes, only temporarily, other times permanently. If you are not careful with casting, it is easy to break the fabric, and then all sorts of nasty things can happen to you or other people."745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpzUf6GQwbO
"Like what?"745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8INCUVWKuQ
"Well. There is one story of a sorcerer who created a portal in the middle of the ocean after being stranded. A vital part of the incantation is meant to create a filter over the portal, so that large amounts of any liquid can't pass through. A part of the incantation he forgot to speak. He drowned himself and an entire city before reality had gotten around to fixing itself."745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWw22UfPXnY
"That's horrifying," I stated bluntly. I couldn't even picture what that must have been like.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxgysgunS9M
"Indeed." Morganna reached for a book on the table next to her. She offered it to me. "This tome discusses the fundamentals of the language that all spells are casted with." I looked down at the book as I took it from her. Emblazoned across the front was the title, The Tongue, in fancy gold letters.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡohf6Kh6zu5
"The tongue?" I asked, arching a brow as I looked back up at Morganna.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡERmcTtjFmz
"The actual name of the language is unknown to everyone. So it is simply called the Tongue. It is strange, I know. But I didn't come up with it," Morganna stated, chuckling.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvyoSg8XjMV
"Why does nobody know it? Isn't it important for the language's name to be known?"745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS7fEi36tey
"Well, yes. The Tongue is an exception to that though. My personal theory on the matter is that the real name of the tongue is unknown to all but the gods. It is how they became gods, by using the Name to alter reality so drastically, that they became the post powerful beings to exist."745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf1VgiJ3ned
I tried to wrap my head around that. Was she suggesting that the gods were once mortal, like we were?745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡREmRoDKVqJ
"What makes you say that?"745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo0tfhc4v7W
"Well, the Gods are real, that much is certainly clear. I've even met one, a minor one. Her name was Vithys, Goddess of Riddles."745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvmcv6EOZQs
I was amazed. Morganna truly met a god? I wonder what it was like, to be in the presence of one. Was it strange?745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpDfFvCSh8d
"I imagine she spoke in riddles?" I asked.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡynvDYC9c27
"Very much so. She was a hard individual to talk with. But, there was something she said, something I didn't realize at the moment, but it hit me later. I don't remember exactly how it was worded, but I think she said something about the Gods being as numerous as the stars in the sky, and even stars started as simply sparks in the darkness. Then she said, all it took was a name, to turn sparks to stars." Morganna pursed her lips. "That's the gist of it anyways. Perhaps I could've misinterpreted her words. Still, I like to think my theory is correct. It would explain their existence, rather than the idea that they've always existed."745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhaY5tErRni
I slowly nodded my head as I digested that information. The more I rolled it over in my head, the more it sort of made sense. If the gods were once mortal, just like us, then it would explain their notoriously fickle nature. 745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4uuo5IBSlf
"Anyhow. Let's get started shall we? I'll go over much of it with you. Understanding the pronunciations in the beginning is vital," Morganna said. So together we sat down, and started from page one.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0qy5GaDn6k
