Ethan:
I love Naomi Seager!
That might be a Halloween-scary admission
for most seven-year-old boys to make, but it isn’t for me; and I start out this
report with that news because of some teasing directed our way tonight thanks
to Gwyneth Hathorne’s visit to our little town – and her attempt to kill us in
revenge for Cassie’s rejection of her offer of family and friendship.
There is so much to write about that
starting with love seems most-important to me; and that’s at least in-part
because love was a very big part of the Magi-powered defense that kept everyone
in Witch Falls safe from Gwyneth. The
rest of the news from our day at school pales in comparison – though we really
did have a lot of fun with the class party and Haunted House in the gym; and
even the trick-or-treating was amazing – even though we knew by the time we
started out that Gwyneth was on her way to town. Her visit is the news story of the day,
though; so let’s stick with that for tonight.
After we got home from school – Ehlana,
Naomi, Aiden, and me; we stayed in our costumes and hung out in the lounge
until we had our early dinner and then got ready to go trick-or-treating while
Mom and Dad stayed home to hand out candy.
They were taking pictures of us in the front yard with the decorations
as a backdrop when Mom, Ehlana, and I were hit with the danger warning of
Gwyneth’s impending arrival. We went
back inside for a quick chat about it, and while Mom and Dad weren’t thrilled;
they trusted Ehlana and me when we advised them that we weren’t supposed to do
anything to get ready for Gwyneth. For
her part, Gwyneth didn’t use her Magi talents while on her way to us, and that
was a huge blessing for us, since if she had; we’d have needed to do something
very different to try and keep her from finding out about all of the other Magi
of the Light by scanning their minds.
Ehlana and I weren’t worried about that during those first moments of
sensing the danger, and for the record; we weren’t afraid either.
We went trick-or-treating as planned;
covered our street and then some of the new section of town first – in part so
that we made it to stops at our ‘family’ homes first; and then we moved back
into the ‘old’ part of town and around to the streets south of Witch Falls
Road. That’s where Gwyneth caught up
with us after getting to town in a chauffeured sedan, but while she shadowed us
for quite a while; she didn’t attempt to meet or confront us. Once she’d had enough of doing that, she
moved on; and Ehlana and I knew she was going to check out our house and get a
look at Mom and Dad. We still weren’t
worried at that point, but while we sensed that it was time to head for home
too; we still played normal trick-or-treaters and stopped for treats at all of
the houses along the way. We crossed
paths with Gwyneth once more time along the way; got home; and had time to talk
with Mom and Dad for a few minutes before Gwyneth launched a surprise attack on
us with a massive blast of pure Magi energy that was so strong that Cassie,
Michael, Rowen, and Tim sensed it from where they were in classes at the
college or at their townhouses.
This is where I’ll admit that I was mad as
I launched a shield to defend my parents, sister, and our best friends; so I
put a lot into it. Mom and Ehlana felt
the same way as they did the same; and that triple-roar of power was
significantly-stronger than Gwyneth’s attack – which is why we were able to
keep her from killing us and destroying our home with that first, massive
blast. She didn’t notice that fact; and
wasn’t even remotely-deterred as she walked across the road to finally confront
us openly – and to be honest; I’m amazed at how oblivious she was to what was
going on around her. I’m not trying to
be insulting here. Gwyneth is brilliant
and an extremely-powerful Dark Magi Master, but there’s also no doubt in my
mind that she was so preoccupied with her own arrogant assumptions and
confidence that she didn’t pay any attention to what we were doing all around
her while she focused on her continuing attack.
I need to take a side-trip here because
every Magi in the area sensed her attack and our defense – including the Magi
that also witnessed the attack because they were here on the street or at
neighboring houses. That is going to
have a huge impact on our Magi community – and already is, but for this part of
the story; it’s important because we were busy putting up shields and wards
while continuing our defenses. Mom also
helped all of the non-Magi witnesses to forget what they saw and move away and
out of danger; and Gwyneth didn’t pay attention to any of that activity while
trying to blast us with mental and physical attacks that were very impressive –
in a very dark, scary way.
Mom, Ehlana, and I soon had help with our
defense. Once the shields and wards were
up; Dad linked with us; and then Naomi and Aiden amazed us by unconditionally
linking with us too and adding their considerable power to ours. As I already mentioned, that love and support
really did have a huge impact on our ability to stop Gwyneth, and for this part
of the story; I won’t criticize Gwyneth for not being aware of what we were
doing because our shields and wards were designed to keep our opponents from
finding out about the other Magi of the Light – and it continued to work
perfectly tonight.
We did let Gwyneth in on a family secret
that was a shock to her – and she didn’t take the news that Mom, Ehlana, and I
are Magi Masters very well at all. I am
going to return to picking on her a bit now for believing that she could still
defeat us even after getting that news; and it really is the height of
arrogance to ignore the facts around you just because they don’t fit your
self-perceptions. I don’t want to go on
about that, but then we didn’t let the fight continue for much longer anyway;
we locked onto Gwyneth’s power attacks and scared her by ‘pulling’ on those
power weaves; and then we let go and put an energy barrier up around her when
she pulled back instinctively once released from those holds on her. That ended the fight, since she knew what it
was and that she couldn’t do anything to get out of it; and then it was time
for the scene to get a bit weird for all of us.
Ehlana and I sensed what we should do next;
communicated that to Mom, Dad, Naomi, and Aiden; and then we went to escort
Gwyneth to her car and chauffeur – mostly to make sure that the protections we
kept going would keep her from sensing the Magi mental chaos going on all
around us as the other Magi reacted to what they’d sensed of the first Dark
Magi attack that they’d had in town in a very long time – and certainly beyond
living memory. The weird part of that
entire scene was the conversation we had with Gwyneth while walking over to the
Inn – which was where her driver had parked the beautiful luxury car that
Gwyneth likely thought was inconspicuous compared to the limos she’s used to
traveling in back at home.
Ehlana and I learned some things from
Gwyneth through that strange little chat, but she’ll have more fun with that
than I will; so I’ll leave it for her to write about and move along. We did not part with happy hugs and kisses,
so while we can’t foresee what choices Gwyneth will make next after this second
bad ending to an attack on our family; we are sure that our problems with the
Hathornes have resumed and will not be resolved anytime soon. The weird wasn’t over for us with Gwyneth’s
departure. Other Magi watched us as we
returned home, and the kids in particular couldn’t hide their shock, fear, and
every other emotion that they were being hit with in the aftermath of Gwyneth’s
attack and being exposed to the use of that kind of extreme Magi power. Add in Aiden’s jokes, my public admission to
Naomi that I love her, and some hugs that Ehlana and Naomi shared with Aiden
and me; and I’ll guess that Aiden and I are in for some serious razzing from
the other guys for at least a week or two.
We’ll take that hit to our reputations; and
the most-important news for the four of us is that the fight with Gwyneth has
left us linked together – and with Mom and Dad for Naomi and Aiden. That’s an all-new experience for them, but it
isn’t scary; since even Aiden has known for a long time now that the four of us
are meant to be together in an even stronger way than the connections Cassie
has with Michael, Rowen, and Tim. We
haven’t really been teased about that yet, but there were more jokes along the
way home again – including during our stops to see Jake, Stephanie, Violet, and
Dillon at Jacob and Miranda’s house and a visit with the Ayres before we got
home again.
The trick-or-treating wasn’t done yet, and
once we’d gotten Gwyneth out of the way; it had continued on our street. Dad stayed on the front porch to hand out
candy to the last kids and teens making the rounds; and Mom had us go inside
and get out of our costumes and ready for a family meeting that included a
vid-chat and telepathic link with our four favorite collegians. Mom helped Ehlana and Naomi with their
make-up; and we eventually had Uncle Adam, Aunt Leanne, Zack, Brianna, Violet,
and Dillon with us for that meeting.
We had a lot to talk about – including the
news Cassie had for us about how strongly they’d sensed the use of power even
from that far away, and while Mom thinks that Michael, Rowen, and Tim might
have only sensed that through their link with Cassie; Ehlana and I think that
they are strong-enough Magi that they could have sensed what happened on their
own without that link. That’s something
that we can ask around about, since there are other Magi living in other
places, but that might not be something that Ehlana and I get involved with;
since those Magi will likely go to the Magi Council with their problems. There are sure to be a lot of issues for the
council to deal with because of this, but Ehlana and I sense that those issues
will be some of the most-important parts of what has and is going to happen
because of Gwyneth’s visit. Having Magi
kids find out about other Magi kids or adults is just a small piece of the
bigger picture we can see – or foresee.
Our Magi friends and neighbors now know for sure that dangers from Dark
Magi are still very real, and while that might also be blamed on our family;
everyone needs to understand that we’ll all be part of the Ascension of the
Light. I don’t want to go into any
details with that tonight, but the point to be taken from this part of the story
is that the impact of this attack is going to be something for us to deal with
for weeks, months, and even years to come.
That family meeting took a while, but we eventually
wrapped it up and either headed home or up to our beds. Ehlana, Naomi, Aiden, and I got ready for bed
once we were sent upstairs, but then we got together on Ehlana’s bed; cuddled
in couples because at least three of us needed to do that for a while; and had
our own little bedtime chat. Nothing and
everything has changed for the four of us – and we’ll need to pretend that
nothing has happened at all by tomorrow morning when we go to school. We’ll be able to do that, but we’re also sure
that it is going to be a very interesting day because other Magi kids and teens
won’t be able to do the same; and the revelations will continue – even if that’s
just through the Magi kids being able to tell the difference between the
students and teachers that know what happened tonight and the non-Magi that
have no idea that anything important and dangerous happened at all. They’ll also know about us – at least for
Mom, Ehlana, and me; since everyone would have been able to sense our first
defense and where it was coming from.
I’m sure that I’ll have lots more on all of
that and much more in the coming few days, but I think that’s enough for
tonight. Aiden and I are in my room now;
he’s sleeping already; and I need to get some rest while I can. We should all be exhausted, but while I’m
tired; it isn’t as bad as I expected it would be after that much use of Magi
power tonight. I’ll leave that one to
Ehlana to investigate too; though I expect it has to do with the power sharing,
love, and support. For all I know; we
healed each other as we went along through the fight. That was, after all, a first for Ehlana,
Naomi, Aiden, and me; so it could take some time before we understand
everything that happened – especially when so much of what we did was
subconscious reactions to what we sensed.
I could go on and on, but let’s try to
cover more of this with the next few reports; and I’ll just wrap this up and
get some sleep.
Ethan – out!
***
Ehlana:
Love really is a good place to start with
this report, Ethan. I love you; and I’m
proud of you for being strong-enough to openly admit how much you love Naomi
too. All things considered, maybe that’s
silly when compared to everything else that happened tonight, but for the four
of us; that love – and our new links – is very, very important.
Since Ethan has covered a lot of the ‘what’
for the events tonight; I’m going to comment on some of the things he didn’t
write about – and some of the random thoughts I’ve been dealing with since
Gwyneth left town.
First up – let’s talk about those jokes
that Ethan mentioned. You can likely
guess that they were about Ethan and Naomi, but some of them were also because
of things that Gwyneth said to us – and specifically her offers to save Ethan
from his mundane life here if he’d choose to go with her instead. I’m not surprised that Ethan didn’t want to
write about that; since we both sensed that Gwyneth is truly attracted to him. Foresight isn’t required to know that things
would end badly for Ethan if he actually made that choice, but we’re of the
Light; and that would never happen. Some
of you might be shocked to know that he truly had a choice to make with that
tonight, but then the choice between Light and Dark is something that we all
deal with every day – whether we think about it or not. That was just a fairly-radical example of one
of those choices to be good.
I might be able to have some fun teasing
Ethan about what being bad might have been like for him, but I won’t do that;
and I am very happy that he did choose Naomi over Gwyneth – and our family and
friends over the life he might have had with a rich and powerful Dark Magi
Master.
That isn’t something that I should even
joke about at all even to that mild extent; since it is very serious. I do need to write about it, though, because
we now have two instances where Gwyneth has tried to get a Magi Master of the
Light to join her side. That truly is an
anomaly for Dark Magi, and while Corwyn and Gawain wanted Mom and Cassie too;
that was for very different, ugly reasons.
Gwyneth truly seems to be looking for someone to share her power and
wealth with – a sister in Cassie’s case; and a partner with Ethan – though that
does seem weird at our age. There could
be more to what’s happening with Gwyneth than we know, since Dark Magi are
guided by the Great Deceiver, but it is something to be aware of; and could
have an impact on how Gwyneth decides to move forward from here. There’s a good chance that Ethan’s rejection
of her offer will enrage her even more than Cassie’s rejection. On the other hand, I don’t even want to guess
about what might happen if she becomes fixated on Ethan the way that Gawain was
– and maybe still is – obsessed with Mom.
This is totally wrong, but I am so glad
that Corwyn didn’t have another son!
Moving along, while Ethan and Naomi got
teased a fair bit about Gwyneth and the hugging issues, there really is so much
more going on around us even right now to cover all of it in this report. Parents and Magi mentors are dealing with the
kids and teens under their care and guidance, and while I don’t know about
everything that is going on around here; Ethan and I can sense a lot – and we
foresee more to come. The Magi Council
will deal with all of that, and I expect we’ll be in on a meeting tomorrow; so
we’ll learn more – even if we won’t be allowed to help out with the other
kids. We will have choices to make, though,
and there are sure to be changes in how the Magi interact here in a lot of
different ways.
I also want to mention that the choices
Gwyneth will have to deal with are just as profound – for ‘her’ side of this
eternal struggle between Light and Dark.
It would be amazing if I could suggest that there was even a chance that
she’d turn to the Light, but the chances of that happening are as low as the
chances that Cassie or Ethan will change their minds and choose the Dark. That really is a tragedy, but the Ascension
of the Light won’t happen so-easily; and there’d be no need for ascension at
all if there were no bad guys.
That’s too flippant too, but the humor is
something we’re all using at least a bit to cope with the seriousness of the attack
and the problems we have to deal with now.
There is good too, though, so let’s cover a bit of that too. While our new links with Naomi and Aiden top
my personal list for that, we do need to remember that we put on a brilliant
defense right from the start of Gwyneth’s surprise attack. I’m not suggesting that it proves anything,
and there’d be no need for a lot of what we’re doing if we were assured of
succeeding in the Ascension, but we do now know that the work and training we’ve
been doing so far has been enough to prepare us for this first battle against a
Dark Magi. That’s important for us, but
it is also something that the other Magi should consider more-seriously when it
comes to their own training. Sure, we’ve
been working on that, but it has been a very slow process; and not many Magi
are taking their defensive training as seriously as they likely will from now
on.
I’m starting to really feel tired now, and
while I hadn’t mentioned it yet; Naomi has fallen asleep too; and I’m not
surprised that she’s tired after everything she put into helping to defend
Ethan and me. That is one more thing I
should mention, though, since we haven’t talked with Naomi’s and Aiden’s Magi
parents yet. That’s sure to happen
tomorrow, but I understand why the parents didn’t want to end up making a huge
scene at our house tonight. I’ll keep
you posted on that news too, but the only real change for us with all of our
parents is that they’ll need to deal with the fact that we really are inseparable
now and will need to spend even more time together than ever before.
For right now; that means snuggling in my
bed with Naomi and Silkie and getting some sleep. Stay tuned; since there is sure to be a lot
more to come on this in the coming days and weeks.
This is Ehlana Proctor; coming to you live
from what is now my past!
