Orion began mixing some strange substances on a large, flat stone. Comet waited for him to say something but as the silence stretched on he wondered if he even remembered he was there.
”I’m ready to learn magic now.” He said nervously. He wasn’t sure what to expect.
“Do you believe in luck?” He asked.
“I don’t know, I’ve never really thought about it before.” He admitted though he had no idea how luck had anything to do with magic.
“Luck is the force of nature, always influencing us and the world around us and with the right resources, we can access it.” He said. He placed down a dish of strange paste. “Eat this.”
He sniffed it and scrunched up his nose. “Why?”
“It’s made of symbolic plant of each colony, it’s the first step to connect you to the valley. You’ll need it to use the powers of fortune.” He said.
Comet held his breath. He didn’t want to offend him so he quickly lapped up the strange green paste. He kept sticking his tongue out, the taste was strong on his mouth. There wasn’t any water in the cave that he could see.
”I don’t feel any different.” He admitted.
“Good, it would only make you sick if the valley can sense you’re bad luck.” He explained. “I know this is a lot to take in at once but the tensions in the valley are rising, and as the Magia is eager to remind me, I’m getting very old. I can’t be the one who brings balance and order anymore. We’ll begin simple, the power of silver. Come.” He moved into the middle of the cave and Comet followed him. He wanted to ask him so many questions but he kept them to himself.
“When you look into this mirror, what do you see?” He asked, indicating towards a rusty handheld mirror. There were black spots covering the glass but he could see himself and the cave around him.
“Myself.” He said. “How’d you even get all this stuff down here?”
“Humans used to live in the valley, floods and battles brought these into this cave. Now, focus on something other than yourself.”
“Anything?”
“Anything you can imagine then press your paw on the mirror.
He focused on the first thing that he thought of, the Old Man. The mirror was cool to the touch.
“Now, focus on bringing what you imagine onto it.”
“I don’t understand.” He said.
“You don’t have to, you have luck on your side, just focus on the thing you’re imagining and imagine seeing it in the mirror. Close your eyes if you have to.”
“Alright.” He said uncertainty.
When he opened his eyes, he still only saw himself in the mirror. He sighed. Orion must have been testing to see how gullible he was.
“Can you tell how to actually use magic or the power of fortune as you call it?” Asked Comet.
”I already did.” Said Orion and calmly placed his paw against the mirror.
A moment later, the image of a crow flying through the blue sky appeared on the old mirror face. Comet recoiled backwards.
He stared at it even as the image faded away. “You just need to have faith it’ll work.” Orion explained.
“Ok, I’ll try again.” Comet said then paused. “So it won’t actually bring what I imagine into the cave?”
”No, it’s only a vision of your memory.” He said, nodding towards the mirror.
Comet took a deep breath as he approached the mirror and placed his paw against the cold metal again.
He closed his eyes, and focused on his former owner. He was starting to fear it wasn’t working again until he felt a strange energy surge through him, he opened his eyes a crack and could see the Old Man within the Silver Mirror. It was like he was really there.
He exclaimed with shock and fear but the vision quickly faded.
“Did you see that?” He asked, worried Orion had missed it.
“Yes but even if I wasn’t here, I could still sense when energy is being used. With more practice, you can even see where resources are in the valley.” He explained. “I take it that you miss your owner?”
”Yes…” He said sadly but he didn’t want to cut the training short, “So, what can other resources do?” He asked.
”Silver can do more than that but I’ll show you an example of what copper can do.” He said, picking up a copper stone and giving it to Comet.
The stone was cold and smooth in his paw. Comet looked at it sceptically. Suddenly it lit up and sent a sharp shock into his paw and through his body. He jolted and dropped the stone.
“What did you do?” He demanded angrily, seeing Orion holding his paw to a glowing medallion around his neck.
“I was just showing you what copper stones can do. You should be grateful to even have the opportunity of seeing one, they’re very rare in this colony.”
“Next time, maybe give me a warning. I thought you were trying to kill me.” He said nervously as he looked at himself in the mirror. His shiny sleek black and tan fur was now spiked up. It would take ages to set it back right.
“If I wanted to kill you, I would have already. I don’t want to overwhelm you by teaching you all the resources at once so I’ll focus on silver. That way, you can show the Magia Council and SilverSkull that you can use at least one of the powers of fortune. If you do that though, they won’t let you leave, you know that, right?”
”They said they would give me a choice.” Said Comet, shocked.
”They won’t give you a choice once they know. So if you want to go back to your humans, I would keep this a secret.”
“I thought you wanted me to stay too?”
”I do but I will not force you to stay.” He said. “Once you are initiated, you will have to care for the wellbeing of all the valley.”
Comet was silent. Something inside told him, he could never go back to living like a pet rabbit after finding out he was a hare and could use magic. He finally found the companionship of rabbits he’d been missing so deeply since Mossy and Stone had died. Yet he couldn’t get rid of fear that the Old Man was missing him.
“I’m not sure if it’s right for me to stay when my owner might still need me.” He said.
“It’s up to you to decide if you have fulfilled your purpose with your humans.” He said.
”I don’t think I’ve ever served them any purpose.” He said honestly.
“Everything has a purpose. You served it by providing comfort and joy to your human and to your two rabbit friends, I will have served my purpose once I train you.”
Comet was initially surprised he knew Mossy and Stone then remembered he’d been watching them.
Comet thought more about it… he had served his purpose at the farm. His friends were dead and in a way, Felicity was right, he was a burden for the Old Man now. He deserved to rest and be free from responsibility in his old age. Despite her flaws, Felicity would take care of the Old Man. Comet realised they might both be happier if they embraced their newfound freedom and places in life.
Comet was quiet for a long time. Orion patiently waited from the shadows. “Before I agree to stay here and train with you, would I have to live in this cave?”
”Of course not.” He said with a laugh. “I’ll make sure of that.”
“And all I have to do here is give power to the Magia’s medallions, and then I can do what I want?”
”There will be a trial first, and being younger, you’ll be expected to be more active in the valley, using your powers to bring balance and order.”
”I think I might be able to do that.” He said.
“Do you want to do that though?”
”Yes, yes I do.” He said, holding his head high.
”Good. SilverSkull and Janu will want to see what you can do tomorrow morning.”
Orion nodded slowly and bent his head down to Comets. “Welcome to Eden Valley.”
ns 15.158.61.8da2
