Blackheart 200 Posted September 23, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted September 23, 2018 Hey there folks. Thought I might try something a little new. Let me know what you think, I'll try to make this an ongoing story. Hedge magic. Witchcraft. Words that conjure gnarled hags picking through viscera for bloody portents, or souring milk, or stealing children. In some parts of the world, Kindra supposed, they could’ve been true. But here, in Brightbow, they were far more mundane. Her elegant, slight hand swirled a liquid in a round glass with steady precision, one hand on a mixing rod, the other’s fingers twirling in tandem near the candleflame below it. If you didn’t know better, you might dismiss it as idle gesticulation. But Kindra was a witch. And the magic she wove through her fingers danced with the fire, cajoled it. Coerced it. Contained it. Caroused with it. You see, magic doesn’t make things out of thin air – or, at least, if it did, it was for war wizards and archmages and other fantastical nonsense dreamed up by nobles in castles far away. “Magic works with the natural world,” she intoned, her voice focused but inviting. Teaching is an invitation, after all. “You can’t make it do things that natural world doesn’t want to. But if you ask nicely,” she said, turning her hand as if asking the flame to dance, “Maybe take the world for a turn and a tussle, put a little of yourself into the world for it, and it’ll step right alongside you in its own way. A little like a boy one fancies.” Her sharp, green eyes slid sideways, and her tanned, angular face held the hint of a smile. “Or girl, as fancy may go.” Her audience, a curved and enregetic woman just coming into the word, blinked, then blushed and looked down slightly. Curly hair that played with gravity and the wind fell across her face and she brushed it away. She seemed nervous and fidgety, Kindra realized. She might have been, though that wasn’t all of it, she was sure. Wren had been her apprentice for all of three days so far, given over to the village’s witch when it was discovered she had the spark after waking up from sleep with the floorboards of her family’s house suddenly springing new growth. Kindra had been trying to get the youth out of her shell for all that time, with…disappointing amounts of success. In all fairness, however, being disowned by your family and left with the town’s dirty secret wouldn’t be easy for anyone. People might live next door to magickers here. They might even respect them. They certainly sought her help. But Kindra almost never received an invitation to dinner. “But what…About what happened at my h…My family’s house?” Wren’s voice was melodic, resonant in its low timbre and tinkling at higher pitch. Entrancing, the way wind chimes called. Kindra knew that would be a prime manifestation of the girl’s powers, at some point. Could feel the way she demanded attention, without ever knowing it. The witch nodded slowly, giving some thought about how to respond as the liquid in the bowl finished its transition to a rich indigo. She put the mixing rod down, and slowly, moving in such a way as to let her apprentice see everything she did, closer her hand over the fire. Wren gasped quietly, expecting Kindra to cry out in pain, but when she opened her hand in front of the younger woman, there danced the flame, contained just above the witch’s hand. “There are many magics, Wren. Many ideas in how they work, many thoughts in how they should work,” she murmured, focused in concentration and fascination as she made the little candlelight dance. “What I will teach you, and what I hope you learn, is that magic that springs from life. We look at forests, and see trees. But what you don’t see is that the trees live together, work together. Mushrooms talk through the soil, and the trees listen. And the animals call their own councils.” Kindra snuffed the flame, and adjusted her shawl to cover her more, the sudden chill from sustaining the fire making her shiver. Wren was quick – had watched her teacher in each move with intense dark eyes that drank her up. “Rocks and sand cleanse the river, and the river cuts channels for life to grow anew. It is called symbiosis. And this magic is good, because it works to better each of us. Even when you don’t necessarily know the answer to a problem, knowing the laws and lore that guide you will help you create something good in the world.” Wren sat, rapt, if still fidgeting. The girl obviously had to release her water, and badly, though she was enthralled by Kindra’s words, her teaching. A girl in a town like this rarely gets an education, and a mind like hers ate it up. The witch was looking forward to what came next, but she needed Wren to understand this. “When we don’t think about our magic, or the consequences of our actions, we may not foresee its costs. Magic cannot create something from nothing, and your expression of it had its own costs. Your floorboards sprang to life, and the tree outside your family’s home dropped dead the next day. The energy of life or other sources,” she said, returning the fire to the oil lamp she had stolen it from, “fuels these interactions.” Wren nodded sagely, though Kindra was sure she didn’t fully appreciate the meaning of the message. Without living some life, one couldn’t. Of course, the preparations involved in today’s ritual probably didn’t help. Wren shifted from foot to foot, obviously distracted. Bless her though, she certainly was trying. The witch smiled. “We’ll talk more of this again, for it is the most importance lesson you must, yet will never truly, learn. Today, we’ll be learning more of the magic that is profession. You’ve been very patient, especially given the circumstances. I assume you need to…?” She let the question trail off, drinking deeply of the situation. “Yes, mistress. I really, really need to go,” Wren said with a tremble in her voice, a catch in her breath. She briefly held her hand to her forbidden place, the creases and crinkles of the younger woman’s dress outlining her hips. Kindra could feel a heat rising in her body. The apprentice continued: “What are we doing, exactly?” “Just call me Kindra, dear one. You learn from me, and we learn together. I teach you not for my gain, but for ours.” Kindra turned, stepping toward the apprentice. “Unlike the more cosmopolitan centers of the kingdom, access to medicines, comforts, and even friendship and companionship are more difficult to come by out in the provinces. As a witch, you represent each of us who engage in magic. You are the guardian of the arcane energies here, and of the people too. We provide herbs and care for those who need it. For example, I provide the poultices and tinctures to the midwives that help women in labor. The medicinals that keep infants and children alive. Which is where this draught comes in.” “But I’m not pregnant, Kindra,” said Wren in confusion, “Well, maybe with water.” She giggled, then groaned, slipping a hand between her legs. Wren was so focused on not peeing that she didn’t notice Kindra’s eyes watching in hunger. “True. But there is a side effect to preserving life. It means that families need fewer children, for fewer will be lost to violence, disease, or famine. And so I aid there as well. This is called nightharbor, Wren. It causes the hormonal cycle – what this village calls a woman’s ‘red days’ – to falter and reset, to make her barren for a season. It causes no harm when taken in your state, for you have the fluid to quickly wash it from your body.” Kindra gazed on Wren’s curved body, fidgeting below her dress, the girl’s legs flexing in response to her need. She felt her heartbeat, subtly timed with intensity, felt her vulva become wet. “As you learn, you will experience each of what I have to teach you, so that you can understand how it affects others. You must know the experience, to be able to provide it.” She held the small bowl out to Wren, who took it with trepidation. “Will it…I don’t know…Will it hurt?” Wren took the bowl and looked at it nervously. She wasn’t at an age that often sought out the services of one such as Kindra. Usually it was mothers already having passed the gauntlet; those with some experience who knew what they wanted. “No, no,” Kindra laughed in a short, kindly way. Chimes against the wind. “The draught infuses your system, takes the part of us that builds toward a Quickening, and causes us to cease it. We pass this part through our water, none the worse for wear. Though it may make the process of watering a little faster,” she smiled, mischief dancing in her eyes. Wren nodded. “Nothing to it then but to drink, right?” Removing her hand from her crotch, she held the bowl with both. With a deep, slow breath, she drained the nightharbor. Kindra knew from experience that the effect was subtle but fairly rapid. It slipped toward the stomach, coursing like a river, where it would spread into the blood. It drew not only the excess hormones, but some of the toxins one might find in civilization. Drew it to the kidneys, where it would flood the bladder. With enough liquid, of course, it caused not harm. No harm, except… Suddenly Wren slammed her legs together with a gasp. There was, of course, the issue that the liquid drew itself into the bladder quickly, adding a great deal of volume all at once. For some, the desperation became almost immediately unbearable. For Wren, it was too much. “I…I can’t –.” And Kindra watched as the girl took a couple of steps toward the door, trying to get outside, before she bent over, holding on for dear life. Immediately a blast of golden liquid erupted from Wren’s forbidden place, spurting against the floor. She tried to stop it, but the tap wouldn’t close, and she gushed urine down her legs, soaking her dress. In an afterthought, the younger woman pulled her dress out of the way, revealing a soaked and yellowing white cloth covering her nether regions. Almost involuntarily, she spread her legs and squatted slightly, giving in to her biological need. Pee poured out of her in a fountain, running down her legs in rivulets, puddling on the wooden floors. A subtle groan emanated from Wren in relief and – Kindra at least liked to fantasize – pleasure at the relief. On and on she went, her own bladder in addition to the draught’s contents creating a small lake. Eventually, it trickled off, though it continued to drip from her for some time. It looked at though Wren had given up holding on, just trying to empty herself. When she finally stopped, the silence was deafening. Kindra watched Wren’s breaths, hard and deep from the exertion. After what felt like several minutes, the younger woman spoke. “Did you know that would happen?” Kindra blinked, broken from the spell. Dripping from her vulva. Desperately wanting to touch herself. But committed to her apprentice’s needs. “I…Yes. It…It is one of several possible side effects, though none of them are long-,” she paused as another burst of liquid poured from Wren, the younger woman pushing to empty herself with a deep sound. “Long…Term. I’m sorry.” A breath. A pause. Wren glanced at her with an inscrutable look. “I bet you are,” she said, sarcasm leeched through. Caught off-guard, Kindra scrambled. “I…I won’t make you experience something I won’t experience myself. I will teach you the nightharbor. And…And you can give it to me.” Silence echoed within the witch’s home as she waited her apprentice’s answer. She hoped she hadn’t gone too far. Had she? But Wren only smiled, a smile Kindra would come to know meant mischief. PieIsGood, Ranpalan, amugeR and 7 others 10 Quote Link to comment
Melificentfan 1,215 Posted September 23, 2018 ✨ Legendary Member Share Posted September 23, 2018 I am so loving this Quote Link to comment
Keita123 1,103 Posted September 23, 2018 Share Posted September 23, 2018 So far so good! Quote Link to comment
Blackheart 200 Posted September 23, 2018 Author Share Posted September 23, 2018 Thanks! I'll try to get the next chapter out soon. Melificentfan 1 Quote Link to comment
Weasel 1,097 Posted September 25, 2018 Share Posted September 25, 2018 Now this is interesting... Quote Link to comment
wedgeantilles 156 Posted October 4, 2018 Share Posted October 4, 2018 A very interesting first chapter, I'll gladly read more. Quote Link to comment
LittlePunkGirl 109 Posted October 6, 2018 Share Posted October 6, 2018 I like the set up Quote Link to comment
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