"Let's begin," Ogron said to the fairy and two Wizards as they all gathered together just outside the castle.
Aiyana put a hand up first, interjecting with, "I'm laying down a ground rule before we start. If any one of you tries the same thing as last time, or if at any point I'm being attacked by all three of you simultaneously without explanation, I'm out. And I mean it. I'll jump right off one of these cliffs into those bottomless chasms below without a second thought, and you can kiss your chances of getting Duman back from Oblivion goodbye. Clear?"
Gantlos chuckled at her sudden brazenness, but nodded in agreement. "Alright, fairy."
"Fine by me," Anagan shrugged, "just as long as you fulfill your obligations here and actually free Duman."
"We're all in agreement then," Ogron concluded, clapping his hands once. Aiyana still didn't like the hint of cruelty in that sly grin of his. "Shall we continue?"
"Yes," Aiyana said, taking a deep breath, "let's just get this over with."
"That's not very optimistic," Gantlos said. "You realize you're the last host of one the most powerful forms of dark magic in existence and you want to just 'get this over with'?"
Letting out an exasperated sigh, Aiyana turned to the Wizard. "So far, all this stupid power has done for me is cause trouble and grief I surely didn't ask for. You'll have to excuse me if I'm not thrilled at the prospect of trying to mess with it again, Gantlos, but thanks for the input."
"Hey, we're doing you a pretty tremendous favor here, fairy," Anagan snapped at her. "We could just as easily kill you here and now -or worse, leave you to deal with that power of yours all on your own, as well as any damage and agony that may come along with it- so you'd be wise not to resort to sarcasm and wisecracks when dealing with us."
Aiyana gritted her teeth and glared at Anagan, but said nothing back. Deep down, she knew he was right, even if she wouldn't admit it aloud.
"Right," Ogron said, commanding attention back to himself, "Now that we've unnecessarily wasted more time, let's begin."
~<->~<->~<->~
Hours of lessons, advice, and failed attempts at wielding the Eternal Dark passed.
The fairy had tried training with the Wizards all together, then with just Anagan, and finally only Ogron, but it hardly seemed to making a difference. She now stood with Ogron as he tried for the sixth time to show her how to summon enough magic to expel into a small attack, but every time she extended her hand to unveil the magic, both Ogron and Aiyana's faces twisted into disappointment as there was nothing but empty air at her fingertips. Anagan failed to hold back an audible groan from where he rested against the castle wall a few meters from Gantlos, who looked over to see the speedster holding his head in his hands, upset at the utter lack of progress.
Ogron had gifted the fairy with an Aviaran charm to help manage her power, but she still seemed too cautious of the Eternal Dark to let down her guard and allow it to work through her. This was hardly news to any of the Wizards -or Aiyana- but none of them seemed to be able to figure out a way around this other than shouting at her to overcome her fears, which yielded no results.
Gantlos paid close attention to Aiyana's seventh attempt with Ogron, noticing every movement as she once again extended her right arm and tried to summon the energy. And once again, nothing, but this time Gantlos noticed something he hadn't before, as Aiyana's arm went rigid with her extension and her fingers appeared tense and stiff.
"Stop," Gantlos ordered, getting to his feet and approaching the fairy and Ogron. "I want to try something," he said, nodding to Ogron who left them without objection, apparently glad to take a much needed break.
Aiyana was already focused on Gantlos when he turned his head to look at her. She was very evidently exhausted and frustrated, just judging by the look on her face, but even Gantlos had to credit her for still standing upright and trying over and over without giving up for even a second. Whenever one of the Wizards was ready to throw their hands up and call it a day, Aiyana was still ready to give it another shot, even if she hadn't seen any results after countless hours of failure after failure without a moment's rest.
"Try again," Gantlos simply said, taking a step to stand directly behind her.
Aiyana sighed, but didn't retort. She took another deep breath and went to shoot her hand out, but hesitated and bristled as Gantlos put one of his hands on each of her shoulders.
"What are you-"
"Don't worry about it," Gantlos instructed, his face stoic. "Try again."
Aiyana obeyed, fully outstretching her right hand again, and Gantlos felt both her shoulders tense and seize as she did so. He also observed the slightest jerk forward of her right hand, as if trying to shoot the magic through her palm.
"Stop," Gantlos repeated his first command, removing his hands from her shoulders. "You're still too afraid of your power."
"Tell me something I don't know," Aiyana huffed, looking at Gantlos over her shoulder. "I'm trying-"
"That's the problem," Gantlos informed her. "You're trying to dictate. You're trying to force your power to do exactly what you tell it to, instead of giving it some freedom. You're too afraid of being controlled by it that you're demanding complete submission from it."
"Okay," Aiyana nodded, "and?"
"And," Gantlos explained, "that's not how magic works. There's give and take."
"Are you implying that whenever you use your powers, you try something and just hope your magic doesn't have its own idea and betray your intentions?" Aiyana asked assumedly. "That sounds like a disaster waiting to happen."
Gantlos shook his head. "No, that's not how it works. Not when you become sufficiently acquainted with your powers and experienced. I've been doing this for centuries, so I can command my powers to do whatever I like. But you're just getting to know yours. You have to persuade your magic to reveal itself, like coaxing a scared animal out of its hiding place; you have to convince it of your amicability, and show it you're willing to cooperate. Trying to wrestle and smother it to gain full control over it is hardly an effective form of negotiation."
Aiyana bit her lip, considering the Wizard's words. Eventually, she turned fully around to come face-to-face with Gantlos. "Okay. Tell me what to do."
"First, understand that magic wants to be used. It will always desire to be freed, and the only way that happens is when it is wielded by its host. This fact makes it extremely protective of its host -especially a blood-bound magic like yours- so don't be so afraid of it. It will never intentionally do you ill; its first priority, under any circumstance, is to ensure your health and well-being, as you and your power are eternally tied to one another."
"Oh," Aiyana said. "I... I didn't know that." She stared down at her hands, studying them, no doubt wondering about the untapped power within them.
"Enough attacking," Gantlos decided. "Just try to coax the energy to reveal itself to you. Don't try to force it to do any one thing, just give it some freedom and see what it does."
Aiyana looked at Gantlos for a long moment, then back at her hands, and swallowed hard. "Alright," she said finally. "Alright."
"And relax," Gantlos added. "Don't be so tense."
Aiyana nodded once, then gently lifted her hands between herself and the Wizard, palms facing up. She closed her eyes and her breathing slowed and deepened. A minute of silence passed, then another one. Gantlos watched the muscles in her neck and forearms gradually release, her fingers becoming less stiff with each breath. Another deep breath, and something happened. Just a flicker - a small, dark spark from her left palm, then two more from her right. Gantlos stared intently as the fairy continued trying to coax her power out.
The small, random sparks of dark magic slowly became more frequent and grew in size. They stopped looking like sparks and turned into ribbons of shadow, moving with fluidity and grace.
Aiyana finally opened her eyes several moments later, and Gantlos instantly saw that her irises had turned from their usual faded violet to a deeper indigo, with the blackness from her pupils seeming to extend further, corrupting the color with darkness. A look of amazement was immediately present on her face as she observed the now constant display of dark magic emanating from both her hands. A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth as she played with the power, watching it jump through her fingers and twirl around her wrists in an elegant fashion. Gantlos didn't even notice he was smiling until it was too late, and he quickly dialed it back, trying to appear as indifferent as possible. The shadows danced between the fairy's hands, travelled up her arms, and interwove themselves between locks of her dark hair before twisting into the air above her and vanishing into a puff of black and purple smoke.
By the time the magic had finished its show, Aiyana was beaming from ear to ear. After carefully summoning a few more shadows from her palms and joyfully observing their movements, she eventually bid the energy adieu and rested her arms at her sides.
"Thank you," she said to Gantlos, still grinning.
The Wizard only nodded, his face having returned to its usual half-scowl.
"You don't have to look so apathetic all the time," she pointed out. "I know you enjoyed that too."
"I don't know what you mean, fairy," Gantlos denied.
"Well done," Ogron applauded, interrupting the two of them. "It seems we've had a breakthrough. I think we'll call that enough for now, before you collapse from exhaustion, Aiyana. Might as well end on a high note."
"Sounds good to me," the fairy agreed, following Ogron back to the castle, though not before whispering to Gantlos as she passed him, "You can't convince me I didn't see that smile."