13 It's Really Magic

Cassie had a collection of wooden tokens that she was planning to use for the attempt. They were nothing special, the bargain store sold them as drink coasters, and the wood was a very soft, fast-growing variety similar to balsa wood.

They would do for a talisman, though, and if it worked, they could be dipped in a durable epoxy to keep them from being damaged.

The first step was to draw the circle with a pen and make sure it was correct, then carve the correct lines and fill the inscription with the appropriate marker. If you tried to draw with the paint marker without carving first, it usually bled on the surface and ruined the intricate shape of the runes. Every kid learned that in the third grade while trying to make an arts and crafts project. Once that was perfect and the remaining materials were placed on top, mana was introduced to activate the circle.

These circles weren't the Witches' natural magic but an adaptation to add Versatility to their skills and integrate them with the modern world. They could often do the same thing, and usually more effectively, with a potion or a curse. The problem was that potions had a limited duration, and a curse had potentially debilitating side effects.

But they had no other options for things like lightning or similar charms. The elements other than nature were outside their purview. For a witch to be able to use the other Elements, she had to rely on reagents and magical inscriptions.

Cassie had very tidy writing, and her first circle looked nearly perfect. One rune needed to be adjusted, but that was better than expected for a first attempt that couldn't be traced from a premade template.

"It doesn't need much, just the circle and a sprig of herb. It says to use the one that I have the best affinity with. How do I tell that?" Cassie muttered, looking at the pile of ingredients they had.

"Try drawing mana in and then touch each of them in turn," Wolfe suggested.

They were trying to collect mana, so that made the most sense to him.

Wolfe took the token and began carving the circle, carefully referencing the book as he went. It was the same as doing the batteries, and his hand seemed to instinctively know which way it needed to go to make the perfect rune.

Cassie checked the herbs one by one, finding that Dandelion flowers resonated best with her.

Wolfe had finished his work and was double-checking the runes, so she reached out and tapped him on the arm where his sleeve had pulled up while he was working, keeping the woodchips from sticking to his sleeve.

An immediate flood of mana poured into her body from his, and Wolfe sat up with a sudden jerk. He had been practicing his mana collection earlier, and his mana pouch was stretched full.

The contact made Cassie's eyes glow bright purple from behind her coloured contact lenses, and Wolfe stared at her in awe. Jewel-coloured eyes in adulthood were said to be a sign of powerful Witches, and now he understood why Elder Maria was so protective of this particular granddaughter.

"You, you're the best material. But how? Blood magic isn't a thing." Cassie asked.

Wolfe knew that wasn't true. Or at least it hadn't always been true. He grew up on the lower levels, where Witches were feared, not revered, and the old folks told horror stories of the Witches using human sacrifices to power black magics during the war.

"Noxus Family Elders all have an affinity for magic, including the men, though they can't actually use any on their own. You need to keep silent about it, though. Letting anyone know could get everyone in this household killed." Wolfe warned her before she started coming to conclusions on her own.

"Touching you brought the most mana into me, though. Do you think it would be possible that you are actually the best medium we have for a mana charm?" Cassie asked.

"Honestly, yes. We don't have much to work with, so a Family Elder with an affinity for magic is almost certainly better than a simple flower from the garden." Wolfe agreed hesitantly, knowing where this was going.

Cassie already had the extractor needle out, giving him an eager look as she planned her strategy for the final creation of the amulet.

"Fine, I will draw a bit of blood to use, but I am totally blaming it on you if someone realizes what this is made with. If anyone asks, a Family Elder gave this to you as a gift, and you just charged it so you could use it." Wolfe told her, drawing a small amount of blood from his arm.

"It will be perfect. I just know it." Cassie insisted, mixing the small vial of blood with the paint in the marker using a thin stir stick.

Those weren't the directions, but everything else they had was a herb, so Wolfe assumed that this was something that Elder Maria had taught her.

She gently took the prepared token from Wolfe and began to work. The mana infusion had to match the drawing speed, and she was drawing mana as quickly as she could, but the effort was clearly draining her stamina.

Since he knew now that touching her would give her mana, Wolfe removed his glove and placed his bare hand on the back of her neck. She twitched a little at the contact, but Wolfe could feel the mana moving from his body to hers at a rapid pace.

The stress on her face faded, and her movements became smooth as she drew the circle on the talisman. As she finished, the symbol glowed bright purple, and all of the stored mana in Wolfe's body was suddenly drained.

Cassie let out a soft moan at the feeling before passing out and dropping the marker on the bed beside her.

Wolfe moved quickly, grabbing the paint marker and putting the cap back on before it damaged the talisman, then checked on the unconscious witch.

She was already beginning to move again, though her face was flushed, and her hands were trembling. She also wouldn't look Wolfe in the eyes, and he wondered if perhaps he had crossed a line with the extremely shy girl by suddenly touching her bare skin.

She had some self-confidence issues, but the contact was strictly to help her spell casting, so he hoped she wouldn't take offence.

"It's alright. I'm alright." She whispered, then gave Wolfe a shy smile.

"Grandma warned me that drawing mana from a living being was a pleasant and intimate experience, but I didn't expect the reaction to be that strong. Sorry if I startled you, but it was a bit overwhelming." Cassie said softly.

Oh, it was a pleasurable sort of feeling that made her pass out. Now Wolfe felt awkward.

Time to change the subject.

"How about you check that talisman and see how it turned out?"

Cassie nodded in relief that Wolfe wasn't going to push the topic, but he noticed that her eyes kept flickering back over to him, even though she was checking the status of the talisman.

"Wow, these are amazing. I didn't know that a mana talisman could help so much. I was told that having a Familiar doubled your mana-collection rate, so I thought the talisman had the same effect, but that's not what it does at all."

She looked at Wolfe as if he should understand, so he placed a finger on the token, but it only flowed one way. He could put mana in it but not draw it out. So, that's what he did. Wolfe focused his mana collection and filled the talisman, finding that it stopped accepting mana at about a quarter of his maximum capacity.