I'm sitting on a park bench with my white falcon roosting beside me. The skies are becoming dark in the distance, but I don't seem afraid or in a hurry to get inside. I'm watching a caterpillar on a stalk of grass. In a nearby bush, I see a butterfly emerging from a cocoon. It stretches its wings preparing for flight. The wings are a beautiful combination of black, green and blue; swirled together. I watch as it flies around the bush and then up to a small limb of a tree. After a few minutes, it takes off and flies out of sight.

The room is just coming out of darkness when my eyes focus on the breaking day outside my window. A smile blooms on my face as the idea of an afternoon off from training wakes me further. Grandma and Estel plan to take us down to the nearest town to shop. Shopping isn't my favorite activity, but it will give me the chance to spend time with the other girls in the group without a male presence.

As I step onto the first floor and head to the kitchen for breakfast, colors continue to surround people. My vision is one of a multi-colored haze; purple, red, yellow and orange dominate my world. I try my best to block them out and focus only on trying to get something to eat. After grabbing some toast and fruit, I sit at the kitchen island and concentrate only on the food in front of me. A game formulates in my head, one of how to make it from one point to another using the least amount of sight as possible. When people aren't in front of the dining table, where we have been having our lessons in Mageía, I calculate the most direct path from the kitchen to the stairs. With my plate washed, I head straight for them and up to my room. Luckily, no one is upstairs when I get there. I grab my waiting grimoire and quickly walk back down to the next floor. Stopping at the bottom, I scan for the best path to the table. Spotting a good opportunity, I take it and make it next to my seat without much interference. I breathe a sigh of relief as I sit down in the chair at the top of the table and face outwards. If we sit anything like we did yesterday, Mick will be to my right, Ande and Carleigh will be sitting across from me, and Tanner will be sitting at the head, opposite of Estel. My spot should allow me the chance to keep people out of my line of sight.

When Estel enters and goes to the side table, she greets me. I try not to look up, but my upbringing brings my head up to greet her. Blue and purple haze surrounds her, and I look out the window to keep a headache from starting.

Everyone else arrives, and I do my best to politely reply to them without looking at them directly. Yellow, blue and purple dance in my vision before turning to look at the front as if I'm looking directly at Estel.

Estel looks up and claps. "Great you're all here. Let's begin."

She gives a basic recap of the day before, reminding us to make sure to write down anything we find important.

She allows us to catch up before she starts teaching the next concepts. "When you're performing an incantation, you can recite the spell in any language you want. But keep this in mind, if you want to ask the Ancient Ones for help, it's best to speak in Greek or Latin. If you want to ask your ancestors or any other specific group of ancestors for help, speak in their language."

"What is the difference between using Greek and Latin? Why would you choose one over the other?" Carleigh asks, and I make the mistake of looking over the table at her.

Blue and various shades of purple shine back at me, and my head spins. I look down to get the vertigo feeling to go away.

I can just make out Estel's reply.

"I'll give this example from a spell I recited quite a bit. The first line is: Let go of my past. In Latin, this is: Dimittas meam praeteritam. In Greek, it is: Afíste to parelthón mou. Sometimes people find one language easier to say that the other."

"Why not just use English all of the time, if that is the language we know?" Tanner's voice seems so distant as I continue to try to only look at the table or out the window.

Estel's voice rings from my left. "You can, but asking for help in their language is honoring them. Just like calling on the ancestors you can use names like maiorum or prógonoi or, in my case, antepasados, is honoring those ancestors, their culture and their history."

Her steps stop, and I am only going to imagine what she's doing. I'm thankful she isn't calling me out about my behavior.

Her footsteps move around again. "You can learn some basic spells to get you started on your journey, but it is best to develop your own spells. They can rhyme or not, that's up to you. One of the most important things to remember is to always be clear about your intention. The followers of Zoidrys believe in the idea that everything needs balance in the world, and we must strive to achieve it. We do not use magic for malicious intent. We do not perform magic on a person without their consent unless it is a life and death situation in which the person is unconscious AND has not expressed prior to this event that they don't want magic used AND there is no one to represent the person. And we do not kill unless absolutely necessary."

"Is there anything specific that we will need for a spell?" The voice sounds like Ande, and I can imagine the twinkle in her eyes.

A deep breath comes from in front of the table.

I really need to try and get my head up long enough not to alarm anyone. When I do, colors dance again, but I force myself to focus on the birds flying outside.

Estel's voice reminds me where I am sitting. "It will depend on the person casting the spell. Similar to the healing arts, spellcasting relies on how the person interprets what is needed for a spell to be successful. There are so many items that you can use. For example, candles, herbs and crystals can all be used."

Estel stops and shows us some basic examples of what can be used and the purpose for each. I can, at least, get a basic idea what the objects are before I look away. I'll have to catch up later. Great!

After a short break, she continues, "There are also certain times a spell may be more effective than others. For example, days of the week, day within a moon cycle or time of the day can all have an effect on whether a spell is successful."

Again, she stops to give us details about basic concepts. There sure is a lot to learn for spellcasting. It seems rather natural but intimidating at the same time.

Estel looks around at all of us sitting around the table. "My best advice: practice a spell when you believe it will have the best chance for success. Take notes in your grimoire about everything you are using and doing during a spell. Once the spell is cast, observe whether it worked, and what happened if it didn't. Unfortunately, sometimes spellcasting is trial and error, so don't try life altering spells at first."

"Is that supposed ta be a joke?" Mick questions.

Estel cringes. "In this instance, I wish I was joking. Some horrible things can happen if you don't take the time to learn about spellcasting. I've seen too many inexperienced magic users try to rush the process, only to have it backfire on them. Time for lunch and then be ready to leave 30 minutes afterwards."

My hope is that the colors around people become more constant and not a continuous assault on my brain.

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[A/N]

Translations per Google Translate. Please let me know if any of the translations are incorrect, because I don't mind fixing mistakes.

Let go of my past. - (Greek - Afíste to parelthón mou.) (Latin - Dimittas meam praeteritam)

Ancestor - (Greek - prógonoi) (Latin - maiorum) (Spanish - antepasados)