They began their descent into the sparkling darkness, Reynard leading the way. Apple and Lyn walked side by side. It was the farthest Lyn had ever been from Castle Moondial. Her father loved her, but he treated her like a fragile thing, like she was disabled. She resented it. Morgan was the only person who never made Lyn feel different or inadequate. By now, Father would have told Morgan that she was gone.

  Will she miss me? Lyn wondered. She tried to push those thoughts aside. I will learn to control magic, and no one will ever look at me with pity again. They will look at me with fear and respect. The thought made her brave.

  They hiked past towering crystal columns the size of ancient redwood trees. Even in the darkness, everything seemed to sparkle in rainbow colors. Buzzing insects flew by them at frantic intervals, drawn to Reynard's firelight. More than once, Lyn screamed as a flying creature swooped down to devour a bug that flew too close. They passed a crystal column near enough to inspect it. Enormous green and purple phosphorescent mushrooms grew on the base and surface of the column. Lyn reached out to touch it, but Captain Reynard grabbed her arm forcefully and pulled her back from it.

  'That would burn the flesh off your bones,' Apple interpreted for the captain. 'The crystals were formed by acid. Mushrooms grow on the crystals. Bacteria feed on the mushrooms and secrete more acid, and insects eat the bacteria.' Lyn leaned in and saw drops of dew-like liquid on the mushrooms fall to the cave floor and roll to flow into a small stream. They followed the acid stream for what felt like half a day. When they stopped to rest, the stream had become a river. More than once, Lyn saw translucent, silvery crabs leap from the acid river to battle and devour cat-sized, roach-like insects.

  They stopped for a lunch of nuts and dried fruits, and when they were finished, Apple jumped into Reynard's arms and interpreted his words for Lyn:

  'It's time to begin your lessons.'

  In a snap, Lyn was at silent, rapt attention. Reynard smiled and continued. 'Before you can use magic, you need to know what it is, where it comes from, and what it isn't.

  'The first thing to understand is that magic doesn't come from nothing. It can't create something out of nothing. The energy used to cast the spell has to come from somewhere. Witches and wiccans can either use their own quintessence, or they can use external mana. Both these options have risks, costs, and limitations.

  'When you turned the lights up yesterday in the hall, you were using your quintessence; and as you experienced, eventually you run out, and you're left exhausted. If you blunder a too-costly spell in battle, it'll be your last mistake. That's why it's vital to know your limits.

  'We're going to use the other method: harvesting and harnessing the mana from our surroundings. This cave is teeming with life and potential, but even that has limits. Different environments have different properties, which determine what kinds of spells you can cast. If you draw too much mana from your environment, you can leave it barren and lifeless. Stones and minerals are among the safest mana sources, but natural objects have a slow yield. It can be decades or even centuries until a mineral vein refreshes its mana potential, which brings us to the next law of magic: everything has potential. Some things have more potential than others, but everything can be subject to change. How much potential a thing has depends on its environment and its position in that environment. For example, the glowworms hanging above us have great potential. At any given moment, any one of them could catch a fly or a bird in their traps. Or their grip could slip, and they could fall to the ground or into the acid. Or they could mate. Possibilities increase potential. The more possibilities, the more mana it can yield; in turn, the more powerful spells you can cast.

  Stolen story; please report.

  'But as I said before, there are limits and risks. You're constrained by the potential in your immediate vicinity, and if you extract all the potential from something living, you'll kill it. That should be avoided for several reasons that you will come to understand.

  'For now, I want to close your eyes and imagine your mind opening and expanding. I want you to reach out and feel for the energy around you. Don't worry if you don't find it at first; it takes time and meditation. Clear your mind and surrender to a single thought. Concentrate on my firelight, and replicate it if you can. Do it now.'

  Lyn closed her eyes and reached out with her mind for Reynard's firelight, but she wasn't sure. She opened her eyes a couple times to see if anything had happened, but Apple translated that Lyn needed to be calm and surrender to the cave. Feel the cave. She looked around for things to feel and saw a giant phosphorescent mushroom not far away. Lyn reached out for it, and she thought she felt something tangible. Her mind floated up to the glowworms suspended like twinkling, deadly pearls, and she sensed them, too. Then she concentrated on Captain Reynard's firelight. She imagined pulling them to her and spinning a light of her own. A strange sensation took over Lyn, like warm water going down, but she didn't stop or open her eyes. She felt depleted, but something else, too: terrible fear and pain. Glowworms fell dead from the ceiling to land on her arms and in her hair. She opened her eyes to cry out and saw that the mushroom she had sensed earlier was shriveled and dark. Bugs were dead on the ground beneath it and all around. Lyn even saw a dead bird. Its skin was pale and transparent. Its feathers were few, and it had no eyes. Instead, it had large ear-like horns where eyes would typically be. Lyn started to cry because she felt them die. She felt their fear and confusion, and it hurt. But shining above her, an orb swirled with colors of the lives she put out: a small sphere of purple, fire red, silver, and white. Lyn felt tired.

  Captain Reynard spoke again, and Apple interpreted:

  'That was an excellent first effort. You took a lot of mana from living sources, but now you know why it's better to avoid those sources. To harvest mana from living things, you have to feel them and feel what they feel. Regularly experiencing that kind of fear and pain does harm to a person's mind. That's why, if one does harvest mana from the living, it's best to use restraint and moderation. Trust and consent make all the difference. Now I want you to concentrate on the nonliving sources. It's harder, but there are ways to make it easier.

  'Objects in motion have more energy than objects at rest. Try to concentrate on the river. It's constantly moving. Imagine yourself grabbing hold of the river and threading it into your magelight. The river will make it brighter.'

  Lyn did as she was instructed and felt for the river. Concentrating on her light, she reached out and pulled. This time, she didn't pull so hard all at once. Again, she felt something move through her, but it didn't hurt this time. She opened her eyes and saw that her light was now a swirling orb of turquoise, fire red, purple, silver, and white, and larger than the captain's formidable head. It shone beautifully in the dark, sparkling cavern. Captain Reynard smiled and dropped Apple. He turned, walked to a nearby crystal stalagmite, and broke off a crystal the size of his finger. Reynard returned and held up his hand toward Lyn's magelight. He pulled the light into the crystal and handed it to Lyn, shining brightly.

  Apple translated:

  'Some objects can store mana, and crystals make excellent vessels. Even though you used mana from outside yourself, harnessing that mana still exacts a toll. It gets easier. With practice, your stamina will increase. Let's rest for a while, and we'll continue moving after you nap. All the energy you harvested today is stored in this crystal, and if you conserve it wisely, you can use this mana for a long time.'

  Lyn accepted the gift with a wide smile, grateful to take a nap. She put the crystal in her pocket, lay down, closed her eyes, and was out like a light.