Devotia Ch. 15: Miracle

"This didn't feel like a mage," Callie defends. "It was completely different from the way that Suul's magic feels. Even her blessing was different-,"

"She blessed you?" Junivere furrows her brow and frowns. "She doesn't have the power to do that."

"That's what I thought, too. But she definitely did, and she told me to go out and spread her blessings in the world." Callie sits on the edge of the bed, holding her head in her hands, propped up on her knees. "She called me 'Hal Devotia Yalania.'"

Junivere returns to pacing for another few minutes, stern and quiet. Behind her eyes, Callie sees a hundred racing thoughts flash through her mind, rapidly investigating these claims against everything else she knows.

"Look," Callie says, interrupting the stormcloud of her thoughts. "I'm not asking you to believe me, June. I just need your help. I'm out of my depth here. I have no idea what I'm supposed to do or want or know... you've been in this so much longer than me. There's no one else I trust."

Junivere pauses and mulls over Callie's words. "Okay," she nods, releasing a tight breath. "Okay."

"Thank you," Callie smiles weakly.

"So you said she blessed you, and the magic felt different," Junivere begins, turning her attention to problem-solving. "What happens if you cast a spell? Is your magic the same?"

"I haven't tried."

Callie stands up, stretching her arms out before returning them to a timid ready-position. She searches inward for the pool of magic within her, hunting down the warmth within her and trying to coax it out.

"A simple ward," Junviere directs. "You can do a standard Buune, right?"

"Yeah," Callie nods, focusing the energy into her palms. She extends her arms out to their full length, imagining a shield spreading out from them. After a moment the air nearby warbles and trembles, eventually pulling together to condense into a translucent and foggy disk, perpendicular to her hands.

"That looks normal," Junivere inspects. "How does it feel?"

"It feels normal," Callie says, straining slightly to maintain it. She was never a particularly gifted mage; Junivere could hold a ward like this without thinking, but it takes a great deal of effort from Callie. But, as the familiar pool of energy seems to run dry, Callie feels an altogether different sensation bubbling underneath. "Wait... there's something else...?"

"Describe it."

"It's... it feels cooler, more fluid," Callie closes her eyes, focusing on the feeling. "It doesn't bubble the way that magic normally does... it feels like... like butter spreading on toast?"

"Butter on toast?" Junivere scowls.

"It's the only way I can think to describe it," she giggles, only to let out a gasp a moment later. The warmth of magic holding her ward open collapses, quickly replaced by a slick rushing feeling of the cooler energy. It slides through her limbs, pouring over her and racing out of her palms.

The Buune ward shatters, suddenly breaking into thousands of curved and rounded shards of the watery-glass, exactly as Yala's appearance in the mirror. They remain in formation, emerging from the center in an intricate, curved, spiral, all hovering millimeters apart from one another.

"That's new," Junivere gasps, the color draining from her face. "I've never seen that before..."

"This is exactly what Yala looked like," Callie exclaims, marveling at the beauty of the shapes. "It's magic, but it feels entirely different from anything I've ever felt before."

"Yeah," Junivere gulps, stepping closer to inspect it. She lifts a hand and places it onto the solid, shattered ward, where the magic blocks her from moving forward. Rather than the firm, unbending force of a typical Buune ward, this new form is elastic and compact; it bends softly under the pressure of Junivere's fingers, only to bounce back and expel them.

"It's so much easier to maintain," Callie remarks. "I don't feel tired at all."

"Gods," Junivere shakes her head in disbelief, "I'm starting to think you might not be making this shit up... This is an entirely different mode of magic. Not just a different form, or different technique. The entire basis for this is fundamentally different."

"What does that mean?"

"It means Yala might actually be stepping forward as a source of magic, not just a refraction of Suul," Junivere holds her breath for a long moment, exhaling it slowly. "You can drop the ward."

Callie relents, letting the glassy shards slowly dissipate into the air. "You believe me?"

"I'm not sure I could choose not to," she sits back down onto the bed, shrugging. "Whatever that was... that's new."

Junivere lays back, staring up at the ceiling with a thoughtful, baffled expression. Callie sits down beside her, laying a soft hand on her arm and stroking it reassuringly. She gives her friend some time, letting her process and try to come to terms with this new reality.

"So Yala is acting in the world now..." Junivere summarizes. "She's bestowing magic, she's anointing Devotia... what does this mean?"

"People keep telling me I'm a Devotia bringing change," Callie smirks. "I'm not sure that this is what they were thinking about."

Junivere smiles. "Hal Devotia Yalania..."

"Hal Devotia Suulvavi," Callie replies.

Author's Note:

Small notice so you don't feel gaslit: In the past, I've referred to Suul's lover as "Yamm." I've decided to change that to "Yala." So, if you noticed it, great catch! If not, well, now you know I change my mind sometimes. <3