Page 11 of The Chaosweaver's Daughter
“Tell me, what do you know about elemental magic?” Nesrina asked as she smoothed the hair on her own magically-crafted doll.
“There are four types,” the prince began. “Water, air, earth, and fire.”
“Maybe five, if we’re elementals!”
“Correct, both of you. Who can tell mehowelemental mages operate their magic?”
Princess Adella chewed her lip and made her doll pace.
The prince had an answer. “They can move and make their element using their well of power.” He held out his doll’s hand over a patch of grass, then plucked a bit of the greenery to simulate the doll doing earth magic.
“Good. Would you like to add anything?” she coaxed the princess.
“When the well runs out, their power is used up until they’ve had time to recharge.”
“Fantastic. Is each person’s well the same size?”
“No!” the twins answered in unison before meeting each other’s eyes and devolving into giggles.
She gave them a few moments to calm down before continuing her line of questioning. “What might it mean if someone has a small well?”
“They might be able to make enough water for a pot of tea,” the princess supplied.
“Or maybe they’re strong enough to light one fireplace?”
“That’s a definite possibility. And if they have a very deep well?”
“An earthshaper could carve out a pond.” Adella grinned.
“Yeah, and then their watercourser friend could fill it up!”
“Absolutely.” Nes nodded. “Here’s a tricky question. Would the pond be permanent?”
“Ohhh,” Princess Adella thought aloud while the prince tapped his chin to indicate the same process.
“I don’t think so, because when a watercourser makes it from their hands, it disappears after they stop the magic. The pond would be empty.” Ataht fidgeted with his doll.
“Nuh-uh. It would stay, because when Mum changes the earth, it stays the way she makes it,forever.”Adella spoke reverently.
“Oh.” The boy looked dejected.
“You’re both correct, don’t fret.” Nesrina patted the prince on the back of his hand. “Even if one of you had been incorrect, that would also be perfectly fine. It’s important to share knowledge and be willing to learn new things.” She smiled wistfully, wondering if her papa would agree with the sentiment. He sure had been set in his ways. “Do you want to know why you’re both correct about the pond?”
“Yes.” Ataht grinned.
“When an elemental mage uses their power to move their element, as it exists in nature, what they do with it is permanent. But when they’ve created the element from within, it disappears once they stop actively producing it.”
“So, if Mum scooped out a hole, and a watercourser filled it up with water from another lake, or the sea, it would stay in the new spot?”
The girl’s statement ended up being more of a question, which Nes affirmed with yet another nod.
“If my mum made a pond out of dirt from her hands, and then someone filled it with water from their hands, then it would all disappear eventually. Right, Miss Kiappa?” Ataht dropped his doll as his confidence grew and the distraction was no longer a necessity.
“Absolutely. The two of you have a wonderful grasp on elemental magic. Now, what aboutourmagic? Do we have a well of power?”
“I don’t think so?” The princess looked to Nesrina.
“Trick question. We do have a well, but we don’t need it to work our magic.Allmagic works like a muscle. With years of practice, you’ll get stronger. And for usnaughtbirins,once we’re as strong as we can be, as long as there are resources to use, we can craft anything we need.”
