Akira sat on the bamboo mat in the White Room and tried to focus. He’d been at it all day with no success. That he had magical ability was beyond doubt so why did he have so many problems retaining and activating any of the new spells? He’d instinctively mastered several as a child yet the adult him could learn the rituals and understand the mental state required but he couldn’t activate any of them?
He wished the good Doctor was still around but he hadn’t made an appearance since their return from Israel. Akira assumed that he either had passed over or had returned to the Chateau to keep an eye on his granddaughter.
So, why had Mary managed the breakthrough and he hadn’t? It was so frustrating.
The spell he’d learnt from the Doctor for example, ‘Rowan’s Window’, was something he fully understood the mechanics of, but couldn’t apparently reactivate – at least for the moment.
He tried again. Nothing, nada, nix…
Maybe he was trying too hard? When he’d first tried to use his Theurgical-Kinesis he’d started small – with a feather – and worked up, suspending disbelief primarily because his meta-abilities convinced him that he should be able to do it. He’d succeeded because he didn’t know he couldn’t. Could it be that simple?
<<No, nothing exists in a vacuum. Spells are merely a way to tap into the power that exists in all life.>>
Akira spun round suddenly and ‘saw’ the ghostly figure of Doctor Avery floating indistinctly it the middle of the room. Despite the manifestation not having a face, he got the impression it was smiling; at him!
“You’re back!”
<<I was never gone, just waiting for an invitation; though soon I’ll need to pass on the remaining energy I have accumulated to Donna. That is the way of power. The first law of thermodynamics states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed; energy can only be transferred or changed from one form to another. So where are you planning to get the energy you need for your spells from? Where does it come from at the moment?>>
Akira realised he honestly didn’t know.
<<Insight at last. Yet you obviously can manage those abilities instinctively. Admittedly, there are times they fail or are less successful than you wanted. Where does that power come from? >>
As he sat there, a small white flame appeared in his outstretched hands and danced there. It had been the spell he’d been trying to manifest, unsuccessfully until now. “How?”
<<I tapped into your life force, your personal mana to power it. You’re weaker than you were but that physical strength powers the spell. It’s why so many mages use artefacts imbued with borrowed energy to power their magics. That or they use others to sacrifice life energy, either willingly as a follower or forcefully as a sacrifice. You are also a meta-human, more powerful that a normal human and that energy has been leeched to power your mystical abilities as a child. Still is.
How important is it to you to be able to work magics? Enough to willingly sacrifice some of your strength and life force to pay the piper? I’d advise against negotiating with entities from Beyond for power but that’s a decision you’ll eventually make for yourself regardless of anything I can say or do. Without another source of energy, you’ll have a shorter life and that is a great corrupter.
I do leave you one gift though as a thank you for saving Donna. It’s an amulet in my top desk drawer that is in the shape of an eye of Horus. If you tell Donna that it’s there she’ll send it to you… It’s powered by the faith of a monastery in Bhutan and gives its bearer luck.
The gateway to your Baraka, your spiritual and physical energy, is now open and will remain so until such time as you consciously decide to close it. The mental conditioning required for each and every spell will take time to learn and can only be used whilst you have the energy to power it.
Thank you and the rest of the Balance for saving Donna and the others. I cannot stay any longer, the last of my energy fades and its almost time for my memories, my consciousness, to pass over for the final time. Farewell and thank you…>>
And with that the ghostly presence faded into nothingness. Despite the physical weakness he felt, the little flame continued to dance on the palm of his hand…
Now he needed to contact Donna.
Superhero Adventures, UK Style 