The Gift of Good and Evil: Bound By Blood

The Power of Prophecy

Sophie laid on the couch of your office in the Castle for Evil. Kass was slowly pacing from one end of the couch to the other as she instructed Sophie in a gentle voice.

"I want you to try and relax as much as you can," she said. "Our goal is not to have you descend into a full dream, but try and ease your magic's itch by allowing it to show you a vision."

Since Sophie's dream, Kass decided to try and refrain from having Sophie try to dream during their lessons; though admittedly that would've been the safest place for her to do so. But you, Lesso, and Kass had discussed it and you could tell Sophie was scared; you didn't want to push her into something with no actual proof that you could pull her out of it again.

So Kass had focused on visions; a step up from a dream. Like a meditative state but not full sleep. Sophie hadn't been able to see any visions yet, but they kept trying nonetheless.

"Focus on your breath Sophie," Kass instructed. "In and out." As she said it, she took a deep breath in and let it out slowly and audibly.

You too found yourself breathing along with them. It was calming and helped you relax. With everything that was still up in the air about Sophie's dreams, the odd soil, the stymph with memory loss, and the missing potion ingredients your stress levels had skyrocketed. By now, you were starting to understand why Rafal and Rhian always seemed so tense.

You watched as Sophie's chest rose and fell with her breath; she seemed relaxed, but you could tell her mind was still swirling.

"What do you see?" Kass asked as she came to stop next to Sophie.

"I see..." Sophie started. You watched as her eyes squinted, though they were already closed to begin with. "I see..." She tilted her head as if looking at something.

You rose from your chair, excitement filling you. Maybe this time Sophie was actually seeing something.

"Nothing," she sighed as she opened her eyes and sat up. "I see nothing. Just the backs of my own eyelids."

She curled her knees into her chest, resting her elbows upon them as she ran her fingers through her now just below shoulder length hair.

"Ugh, this is so frustrating!" She groaned as she flipped around to let her feet fall to the ground. "We've been trying to get me to see a vision for weeks now. Why isn't it working?"

"Sophie," Kass said as she laid a hand on the young girl's shoulder. "Your magical abilities are different from my own. Your unique talents are just that...unique. Sometimes it just takes time."

Sophie scoffed. "Yeah...so unique that nobody knows how to help me."

"We're trying Sophie." You said as you came around your desk and sat on the arm of the couch. "Deciphering new unique abilities isn't always easy. And given the fact that we believe this one came from your connection to blood magic, this is an entirely new talent. Like prophecy but...different."

Sophie looked at Kass. "Maybe we need to start making a list of what's different and the same about you and I's magic. Maybe from there we can try and start mapping out how my powers work and use that knowledge to continue exploring its limits?" Sophie suggested.

"An excellent idea." Kass nodded. "That is what we will start with next week."

Sophie nodded. "Can I just ask...if you had just done what I did, rested your mind and brought yourself to that meditative state...would you have gotten a vision?"

Kass thought for a moment. "It is likely I would've yes. But I can call upon my prophetic powers and direct them to tell me about specific things. It does not seem like yours allow you to direct them. They tell you what they wish you to know about, instead of you telling them what you wish to know about."