I expended a casting point and looked into the weaker amethyst. I’m not sure what I was expecting after the drama with the legendary 49pt stone, but it felt no different than any other gemstone I had explored.

  I looked up at Jade and said, “While it is not a hard and fast rule, there are often seven choices available. There are usually two common choices, an uncommon, a rare effect, a very rare, an extremely rare, and an extraordinarily rare option. The choices for your 7pt amethyst are, in the order I mentioned, Spirit Guardian I, Ectoblast II, Identify Auras, Summon Lesser Spirits, Infernal, or Divines, Ectoarmor II, Talk w/Presences, and Servant. The rarest by far is the Servant option.”

  Jade had actually pulled out a book and was writing the information into it.

  “That’s a good idea, Jade. But so you know, it is possible that two individual 7pt gems could have different options. They are likely to overlap, and could be identical, but it is also possible that they are quite different. Of course, that could also just be my inexperience with sorcery since most of my work has been with elemental magics.”

  She finished writing and made some notes. “Could you check the 14pt next?”

  “Sure. The 7pt gemstone tends to involve your level one spells. The 14pt gem should have level two spells or skills.”

  Jade said, “Sorcery levels are called Essences.”

  “Sorry, I should have remembered that. I was given an apprentice primer on sorcery and asked to read it. Quite fascinating, and there are opportunities for us to partner on magical creations later when we both grow in our fields.”

  I picked up the 14pt gem and expended a casting point. “The options for you in this one include, from most common to rarest, Ectoshield II, Ectoblast II, Spirit Strike, which does double damage against spiritual entities, Summon Lesser Spirits, Infernal, or Divines, Ectoarmor II, Banish Minor Spirits, and Astral Travel, which is the rarest option and a Third Essence spell.”

  I looked up as she was making more notes. “What is the difference between ectoarmor and ectoshield?” I asked.

  She spoke as she wrote. “Ectoarmor offers you spiritual health protection with damage coming off of the armor each time there is an attack, while ectoshield creates an instantaneous, but often short-lived barrier that has to be attacked, damaged, and knocked down before an opponent can get through to you.”

  “That is very interesting. Spiritual combat is similar to, but different from, magical spells that are designed with similar effects in mind for your physical health.” I replied.

  She said, “Yes, spiritual combat is more like mental combat in that regard. Psyban attacks follow a similar approach, and its mental combat creates a mental arena not unlike the spiritual arena. But mental attacks use imagination to a far greater degree. I was instructed in spiritual combat, but mental combat was used in comparison.”

  “Did you learn Psyban spells?” I asked, curiously.

  “No. However, I got the feeling that my master was preparing me for them or for the defense against them. While he never admitted it, because of the stigma associated with Psybans, I thought that perhaps he had skills in both guilds.”

  I let that sink in a bit. Psybans could be hidden as masters in other guilds, just like necromancers and shadow mages. I did not say anything because I did not want to insult Jade or her master, but it is possible that I had dealt with one or more Psybans and never even realized it.

  “How about the 28pt gem?” Stix asked.

  “Give me a second. I use casting points to dive into the gems, and I am getting low.”

  “Oh, sorry. I did not know it cost you to do this for me.” Jade said.

  “Actually, I think it might cost me more. I just realized that when I moved to the next gem, I had to expend a point as usual to enter it, but I think that I lost my connection to the 7pt gem and will have to start over.”

  “Then let’s choose the spells for the 14pt before you move on to the next gem,” Jade suggested.

  “Good idea.” I agreed. “What feature do you want for it?”

  “What if I end up trading these to you?”

  “Then the power stays as we make it unless I change it later. And that will cost me another point, but that's on me. They are your gems.”

  She smiled. “Thanks, Gwydion. Then I will choose the Astral Travel spell.”

  “That sounds interesting and probably what I would have chosen as well. It may be that the rarest effect sometimes jumps a level, which is pretty cool and gets you more powerful spells than would otherwise have been the case. Not that I really know what it means.” I said with a laugh.

  I looked back at the 7pt gem and I was right, I had to expend another point if I wanted to look into it again. I shared that with Jade, along with, “And I only have enough points right now to inspect your other gems before I need to grab a potion.”

  “I really am sorry about that,” Jade said again.

  “It’s okay. Want to look at the other three first?” I asked.

  Starla asked, “If you end up being out of casting points and something goes wrong, shouldn’t you maybe top off first?”

  I thought about it. “I doubt that it will be an issue. But then, I would not have worried about the 49pt gem if Bella hadn’t warned me.”

  Starla stood up. “I’ll run down and pick some up for you. How many do you need?” She asked.

  “Let Sandor know I need four minor potions and to tell Daniel to mark them down as shoppe potions. I have a feeling that you will be helping us, and I’ll need them to get you some new goodies to go with these gems.”

  Stix and Jade exchanged smiles as Starla walked out of the dining room and into the long hallway toward the stairs on the opposite end of the building.

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “Okay, let’s check out the 21pt gem. It will give you Third Essence spells.”

  Focusing my will upon the gem, I had no difficulty in discovering its features. “There are seven options here as well, including another Astral Travel spell.”

  I listed her options, and she decided upon Will Shield, which would protect her against both spirits and Psyban attacks.

  “Now for the 28pt gem and the Fourth Essence spells,” I said as I used another casting point and entered into the gem.

  I began to feel a bit more pressure inside the gem than was usual for me. True, my experience with 28pt gems was limited, but it felt different somehow. Not quite like my experiences with the shadow magic and necromantic gems, but not the same as the openness I feel with the elemental gems.

  “Okay, here are your seven options: Ectoblast IV, Ectoshield IV, Compel Spirits, Banish Spirits, Ectoarmor IV, Spiritwalk I, Scry Known Magical Object, which is the rarest effect.”

  She wrote hurriedly in her book and said, “That’s a tough one. My Ectoarmor and Ectoblast are only at the Third Essence, so these are more powerful. But Spiritwalk allows me to bring others with me. It is like an Astral Travel with a bit more protection and as a guided tour by the sorcerer.” She laughed.

  “And the Scry Known Magical Object could be used to find a treasure,” Stix said, and then added. “If it worked like that.”

  Jade nodded. “Yes, it could. The better I know the object, the easier it is to find. If you tell me about it, I read about its history, or if I have held it, each has different chances of success. The better my ability to picture it physically and spiritually, the more likely I can locate it.”

  “How do you picture things, spiritually?” I asked.

  She tilted her head. “That is hard to explain. It is a skill that took time over years of training and exposure to spiritual objects and places. Basically, everything has an essence. If you know it, you can locate it. One of the first spells I learned was Locate Presence, and my master took a brush of mine that I had used for years, which was a gift from my nan. He would hide it in the tower, and I would have to seek it out. Locate Presence makes it a snap if I know what I am looking for, but it cannot be alive, magical, or a spirit, of course.”

  Stix said, “You would have been wicked good at hide-and-go-seek. At least the seek part if you memorized someone’s shoes, or buttons, or something.”

  Jade smiled but did not say anything.

  “Which one do you wish to choose?” I asked, politely bringing us back on topic.

  “I am really torn between Scry Known Magical Object and Spiritwalk I.” She said.

  I grinned. “Well, you are in luck because this gem level gives you two options to pull from. It is not always the case, but often at 28pt and above, you get more than one option.”

  She clapped. “Then give me both.”

  I pulled them forward. “Both are available once per day, and the Spiritwalk spell allows you to both enter into the spirit realm with up to six companions but also lead them back out again. You do not need to recast it. It will remain viable as long as you do.” I said, explaining what I was learning from the gemstone.

  We moved on to the 35pt gem. “Your options are also two choices across seven options that include Ectoblast V, Ectoshield V, Banish Greater Spirits, Will Shield, Ectoarmor V, Scry Unknown Person, and Foretelling, which is the rarest effect. But this time you get to use each power twice per day.”

  “I’ll definitely take Will Shield. That is a powerful spell that protects you from domination by a spirit or opponent. And I’ll take the Ectoblast V. I need a heavy hitter attack spell if I engage in spiritual combat.”

  I chose those selections, and we all stared at the 42pt gem.

  “I’ll be up front. I have never tried this on a gem of that power, and starting with the last gem or two, I was beginning to feel…smothered is not the right word.”

  “Enfolded?” Jade offered.

  “Yes. It was like a hug, but not a warm hug and not a crushing one either.”

  “It is an effect of the Spirit Realm. It can be unnerving to those untrained and unaccustomed to it. It is not of this realm, and it carries its own winds and pressures not dissimilar, I am led to believe, as visiting the elemental realms of air or water, respectively.”

  “I do not have cause to stop, but keep an eye on me just in case.”

  Starla returned, and I drank two of the minor Magical Restoration potions and left two on the table. I looked at Stix and said, “I’ll leave these right here, shall I?”

  His eyes got wide and round, and he said, “What do you mean, Patron?”

  The ladies laughed. Jade said, “He’s good. Until you build up an immunity to him, you end up doing whatever he wants.”

  His eyes got even wider, and his pupils dilated to make him look adorable.

  “How do you do that?” Starla asked.

  Stix smiled and blinked. “It takes practice. Long hours in front of a mirror.”

  “Your favorite place,” Jade said.

  “Hey now!” Stix complained.

  We were all feeling the stress. “Well, here goes,” I said.

  I expended a casting point and entered the 42pt amethyst.

  Unlike the previous gems, I ended up in a place. I stood on a solid surface. There was a purple mist surrounding my feet and a purple light all around me. I could see no details of any structure.

  “How can I help you, young enchanter?” A voice rang out from the space around me.

  My blood pressure shot through the roof, and I felt a rush of adrenaline.

  “There is no reason to fear, my little brother. You are welcome here. I have not sensed one who could whisper with us in many ages.”

  “Who are you?” I asked. “I mean no disrespect. This is my first time.”

  “Then I am honored, and your luck is with you. There are some that would be hostile to you, regardless of your ability to whisper. I am the essence of this gem. A minor spirit made up of all the magic of the gem and the powers accessible in me.”

  The answer seemed paradoxical to me, but I was still learning about spirits and their powers.

  “I welcome you, and I am glad that we are meeting. I felt a kind of pressure and presence in the lesser gems; was that their essences?”

  “Perhaps.” The voice replied. “But the lesser gems are more constructs than essences. They do not have a personality or intellect, merely existence. They are easily shaped and controlled.

  “There is another gem that arrived with you. I was warned not to touch it or enter it.”

  “The other you speak of is known. We all came from the same stone of amethyst, broken into parts and made into a family of gems.”

  “Are you more powerful as one, together?” I asked, beginning to feel that Jade would not want to part with them if this were the case.

  “No stronger or weaker, alone than together.” It replied.

  “What danger awaits in the other?” I asked, visualizing the 49pt gemstone in my mind.

  I felt immediate pressure. “Do not summon it here, please.” Came the urgent request.

  I stopped.

  “I am sorry, I was trying to help you understand which gem I meant.”

  “No offense is taken, and no need to clarify. The other is a hostile spirit. It is very powerful and, if compelled, would wreak havoc upon the one whom you send it. There are no powers in that gem to choose from, just the legendary spirit.”

  I began to wonder about the invasion. “Could it defeat a powerful infernal?” I asked.

  “It is an impossible question to answer. Yes. No. Perhaps. Too many questions arise in the asking.”

  “That’s okay. It was just an idea.”

  “Do you seek access to the gem powers within me?”

  “Yes, I do for another,” I replied.

  “She whose master once bore us.”

  “I believe so, yes. What powers are in you?” I asked.

  “I shall show you.” It replied.

  And all my experiences before, where I had chosen the powers almost from an alphabetical list, changed to shapes and images as if they were colorful and moving statues around me in a large circle. Looking at each permitted me to understand their powers at an even deeper level than I had ever experienced before.

  It was as if their very being, their magical auras, were presented and made known to me. It was beautiful. If I were not disembodied here, I felt that its beauty would leave me in tears.

  The options in this gem jumped to eleven, which I thought was impossible. The powers included Bestill Lesser Infernals, Ectoarmor VI, Ectoblast VI, Ectoshield VI, Hide from Lesser Infernals, Locate Infernals, Scry Unknown Magical Object, Scry Unknown Essence, Spiritwalk III, Spirit Door, Talk w/Infernals.

  “Thank you, I shall return to her who will choose.”

  “It was a rare pleasure, and there is hope for you to return.”

  “You are most kind and gracious.”

  “It is my nature to be hospitable.” It replied. “She may choose three options as you call them, rather than two, which is typical. However, if one power is chosen, it may be used three times per day, two choices allow each to be used twice, and three powers may be used once each.”

  I bowed and willed myself out.

  The AL whispered into my ear. Enchanter Gwydion successfully learns the First Sorcerer Essence spell Identify Aura. No persona spell or skill points were used with this acquisition. That leaves you one point remaining.