Brigitta: part II

Brigitta: part 2

New to this story? 

Read Brigitta: part I

Blaer came up to talk to her. “What kind of magic is it?”, he said. “I don’t know, I wasn’t doing it on purpose…”, Brigitta replied. “I bet your plants always look nice.”, Blaer said. “They do, she always got the prize for the nicest planter bed back when we were doing our Ice Baby training with master Högna.” Ylfa said. It startled Brigitta. She hadn’t seen her coming over.

“But they didn’t grow any faster than the other kids’ plants…”, Brigitta said. “No, but they made good salves and ointments. I never needed to use as many plants to get strong medicine from your herbs.”, Ylfa said. “I’ve never heard of plant magic before though.”, Blaer said.

“That’s because it’s known as Growing Magic and it is quite rare on our island. Since you’re all distracted anyway, clear up your stations. We will make some music and then you can go home when Brigitta’s parents get here.”, master Nýr said.

“But what is Growing Magic? How does it work? Can you get it even if no one in your family has it?”, Blaer wanted to know. “I will talk with Brigitta’s parents first. Tomorrow, I will explain what I know. Though I must warn you, I know very little of this subject so don’t expect too much from me.”    

The class took out the instruments and made a fair go at some of the well-known folk songs. When Brigitta’s parents entered the room, master Nýr signalled for them to stop. Throwing curious looks at Brigitta, the students cleared away the instruments and scampered off.

Later that evening, Brigitta sat in her room staring at her Gentians. They had sent her away when they had their talk. Later on, her parents told her that master Nýr suspected she didn’t have any Ice Magic at all. 

That she had gotten through Ice Baby training by relying on her Growing Magic but that she had reached the end of the line. He suggested contacting teachers from the south to ask for their advice.

None of it seemed real to Brigitta. While she had always liked plants and flowers, she never really gave them much thought. But now she wondered, if growing magic meant she could feel plants instead of ice. Hesitantly she reached out her right hand and gently touched the stem of a Gentian. In her mind she asked the same question she had always used to start her spells: “Where are you?”.

A tingling sensation flowed from the stem through her fingers. Startled, she pulled her hand back. Brigitta flexed her fingers. The feeling was somehow… familiar. She reached out to the Gentian again. Its presence reached her fingers before she even touched it. “Oh! Well, hello I guess?”. She pulled her hand back again and folded it into her left.

She had other flowers in her room. Would she be able to… Brigitta turned to look at the other pots. Wild Pansy, Wood crane’s bill, Purple Saxifrage and Lavender. She asked all of them where they were. Feeling their answers all at once sent shivers up her spine. “Well, this is new isn’t it? I suppose I’ll have to mind what I say to you from now.”

She had talked to her plants before but now she felt like they might actually be listening. With all this going through her mind, Brigitta got into bed but couldn’t fall asleep. She tossed and turned reaching out for the presence of her flowers, finding them and then letting them go. It was four in the morning  before she realised one of her flowers could help her sleep.

Reaching out again, she asked for the one that could help her. The lavender responded by filling the room with her scent. As Brigitta relaxed, she thought she heard someone singing. There was a stirring of leaves in bright colours swirling about her. A flurry of red, yellow, brown and green surrounded her until it was all she could see.

Somehow she found herself in a sunlit meadow.  The grass felt soft beneath her feet and the air was warm. Up ahead Brigitta saw a short tree with a broad canopy full of snow coloured blossoms. A mass of blossoms covered a figure lying still on the ground. Moving closer, she saw it was actually a green boy. He seemed a little  younger than she was. 

The boy appeared to be sleeping but something told her that wasn’t quite right. Brigitta had already decided to wake him up when the tree whispered to her. Looking up, she saw there was a green girl perched on one of the branches. The girl sat staring off into the air and yet… The whispering tree and soft grass connected in Brigitta’s mind. She understood the boy slept an unnatural sleep. His sister (?) kept watch and would jump on anyone who threatened him. 

Brigitta stood still and examined their faces. They did look very much like each other. She could believe they were brother and sister but trees and grass in a place this warm might be more fanciful than the ones back home. ‘I can’t go around trusting flora I’ve just met. That could be dangerous.’ She explained herself to the grass and the tree. They became quiet as if offended by what she had said.

Brigitta felt a little pang of guilt yet she didn’t take it back. No point trying to unsay what had already been said. Instead she tried to wave at the girl in the tree. Perhaps, getting her attention first would be the safest way of approaching them both. But the girl kept on staring into space. Almost as if she was sleeping with her eyes open. 

‘Alright, I’ll admit it, they’re both weird. Do you suppose there’s anything we can do about it?’, Brigitta spoke aloud to the grass and tree. When they didn’t respond she sat down where she had stood with a puzzled frown on her face. The sun grew brighter, there were birds singing somewhere.

Brigitta opened her eyes to the waking magic her mother had weaved all through the house. Her bedroom was light as if the sun was rising while birdsong filled the air. Waking up in the dark of winter was a lot easier when you could pretend it was still summer. Brigitta recalled her dream and hurried to write it down before she would forget.

At school she sat behind her desk chewing her lip at the book that lay on top of it. Master Nýr had casually put it there at the beginning of his lessons. “It’s not going to bite your fingers off you know?”, his gentle voice startled her. “Oh! I know. It’s just… nobody else is doing this, are they?” She held her head down as she said it.

Master Nýr crouched before her desk searching for her eyes. Keeping his voice low, he replied: “You have a unique kind of magic. One that has gone unnoticed for too long. Now I can assure you help is on the way but in the meantime, why don’t you give yourself a chance to learn the magic that belongs to you?” Brigitta reached out and pulled the book closer.

It’s cover read: ‘The elements of Elemental Magic’. “I thought you said I had Growing Magic?”, she asked. “Yes, but it is my understanding that in order to learn it, you must go through some other forms of magic first. Will you give it a go?” His yellow eyes held her amber ones for a moment. Brigitta nodded and set to work.

A week went by before master Nýr finally announced that a visitor had come. An Elemental Master who originated from the south but lived abroad now. He’d been summoned by the Southern Council of Magic to advise them regarding Brigitta. Her parents had already been notified. Master Nýr and the Elemental Master would be coming to visit later that evening.

Brigitta didn’t know what to make of all this fuss. She confided in her cousin Alrún: “He’s come all the way here for me but what if I’m no good?” “Well then he got a trip and an interesting experience. I’m sure he’ll visit the council about other stuff as well. Besides it’s not like we have lots of people here with Growing Magic, so whatever you manage to do will be good enough.” Alrún shrugged. 

Still it was with sweaty palms that Brigitta sat rocking her chair in the living room waiting for the masters to come. Her mother moved about straightening things that already stood as straight as can be. Her father was reading one of his many books about moss. How he always managed to find new books on such a limited subject was a thing of mystery.

The living room was round with three archways leading off into other parts of the house. Although her father had wanted a fireplace, they had underfloor heating instead. Her mother had insisted upon it for practical purposes. 

So the old mantle had been converted into a type of cupboard which had always been used to store Brigitta’s things. Over the years the toys had been replaced with ever more books (though she had none about moss), leaving only one shelf for her colouring pencils and paper.

The dark brown curtains had been drawn across the windows to shut the cold and darkness out. The room was lit by various lamps hidden behind chairs or discreetly standing beside the dresser and her mantle cupboard. There were also the two green hooded lamps mounted on the wall at either end of her father’s meandering bookshelf. He had made it himself so that it not only resembled the hilly landscape, but fitted their curving wall precisely.

Being unable to concentrate Brigitta watched her mother moving about until the sounder called throughout the house announcing that Master Nýr had arrived. Brigitta felt it a pity then, that she would not learn how to make her own sounder one day. Somehow it seemed the sort of thing only Ice Magic could accomplish. The two men came in.

A shock went through Brigitta as master Nýr introduced the Elemental Master Dellingr. A bit taller than master Nýr, master Dellingr looked like something from a picture book. With his deep red hair, yellow eyes and brown skin he reminded Brigitta of fall foliage. His bright green sweater and moss green pants added to the overall picture of a forest gone walking.

Brigitta had known the peoples south of the mountain range looked different. But up until now, she had only seen them in pictures. She couldn’t help but stare. Master Dellingr smiled and offered his hand. “Dellingr Dvaerg-Kaetilsson, pleased to meet you.” “Hello master Dellingr, I’m Brigitta Mulsted, nice to meet you.”, Brigitta shook his hand as she spoke.

The same tingling feeling she’d had with her plants, seemed to come from his hand though it felt far off. Confused, Brigitta tried to get her hand back but master Dellingr wasn’t letting go. “Don’t worry, I’ll only need a moment”, he said. Trembling, she felt his hand heat up. Just like that, the tingling spread all over her body.

Out of nowhere a wind struck up and swirled about them. The hand holding hers went cold and with that, the wind seemed to gather above their heads to form a cloud. As heat and cold alternated rapidly in master Dellingr’s hand a torrent of water rained down on their heads. Brigitta was struggling to see when she sensed something withdraw from her hand.

Thinking Dellingr had finally let go, she was surprised to feel his fingers still firmly wrapped around hers. The rain stopped. Shivering, she noticed a swirl of air surrounding their clasped hands. As the swirling grew, heat spread from Dellingr’s hand. A flame burst into being around their hands.

With a scream Brigitta yanked her hand back but still Dellingr wouldn’t let her go. “Calm down! The fire won’t hurt us. We’re nearly there. Just one more, alright?”, he said in a soothing tone. Eyes wide, breath raging, Brigitta stared into the flames. He was right, they didn’t hurt. Now that she was looking at it, it wasn’t a big fire. Just a few small flames flickering about their hands.

When her breathing calmed down, she felt another tingle from Dellingr’s hand. It shot through her going down to her toes and up to the tips of her hair. The flame instantly dropped to the floor as if it had gained weight. When she looked down, there was a pile of earth lying at their feet.

“Well done Brigitta. I can now safely say, you have indeed got Elemental Magic in you. Obviously water is your strongest element. Earth came rather easily too. That last one was to be expected in someone with a propensity for Growing Magic.”

He finally let go of her hand. Brigitta wiped the water out of her eyes while dripping onto the carpet. Something retreated from the room. A warmth spread in its place. Just when she was expecting a flame to burst forth again, it stopped. Her hair was dry as a cork. She felt her clothes and stared at the carpet. Everything had dried up. Only the pile of earth remained to remind her that it had all been real.

“Well, that was rather spectacular wasn’t it mother?”, her father said. Brigitta jumped. She had forgotten there were three others in the room. Master Nýr seemed very pleased. Father was saying something that made the masters laugh. Her mother smiled with eyes that spoke of worry.

“Master Dellingr, can you explain to me how this Elemental Magic has anything to do with Brigitta’s supposed Growing Magic?”, mother said. “Yes of course!...”, master Dellingr said. But father interrupted before master Dellingr could go on. He got everyone to sit down and offered to get food and drink before allowing them to speak of their business.  

With some sweet cakes and a nice cup of hot root brew everyone seemed to relax a bit. Brigitta felt inexplicably tired and was happy to be sitting down. “So master Dellingr, perhaps now you can explain Brigitta’s magic and give us some advice?”, master Nýr said. 

“Certainly! Where to begin… Mrs. Mulsted, you asked me what Elemental Magic has to do with Growing Magic. To put it plainly, one is a building block of the other. You see, Growing Magic is what we call a ‘composite magic’. Its spells are composed of Material Magic, Elemental Magic and Direct Magic.”

“In our country we usually find Elemental Magic in the peoples south of the mountain range. The peoples that live in the mountains and those north of the mountain range have two different types of the so called ‘isolated magic’." 

"Your own Ice Magic for instance, is an isolated form of Elemental Magic. Rather than using all four elements, the spell work is entirely focused on manipulating the state of the element water. Do you understand so far?”The grown-ups nodded their heads in unison. 

“What does this mean for our Brigitta?”, mother said. Dellingr braced himself. “It means that she will need at least three masters before the masters of Growing Magic will consider taking her on. I have spoken to them, they insist that they cannot begin her training unless she has completed the basics in all three of the magics I mentioned before.” 

Dellingr paused with a pointed look at Brigitta’s parents. “How can we arrange for her lessons then?”, father said. “There are no other students this side of the mountain range. Which makes it unprofitable for a master to come here. I’m afraid Brigitta will have to go to a place where you can share the costs of teaching with the parents of other students.”, Dellingr said.

“Do you mean she’ll have to move to the south side of the island?”, mother asked. “I mean she’ll have to move to Cledwyn. It’s the nearest place where she can find all three masters without the costs getting out of hand.”, Dellingr said.

“You want me to send my daughter to live in a different country? But she’s only twelve years old!”, mother said. “Mrs. Mulsted, I realise this is a bit much. However I ask you to consider that your daughter has essentially missed five years of schooling. Training as an Ice Baby has enabled her to use the element of water but she is years behind on what she should be capable of.”

“If you keep her within our country, she could only learn the basics of Elemental Magic for the next few years. After that, she would still need to catch up on Material and Direct Magics before she can even begin with her lessons for Growing Magic. It would take years for her to finish school.”, Dellingr said.

“When you mentioned Cledwyn before you spoke only of the cost of hiring a master. Now you’re speaking of time. Tell me, how is sending her to live far away going to speed up her schooling?”, father said. “In Cledwyn there are several boarding schools where she could do a three year course. She would start the first year with both Material and Elemental Magics. From the second year on she would get classes in Direct Magic as well.”

“After three years she can take the proficiency exams for basic levels. If she passes, she can continue her training with extra courses in Direct Magic and beginners classes in Growing Magic. It is my understanding that getting to a basic level of Growing Magic takes five years.”, Dellingr said.

“But she’ll be twenty by that time! Almost a grown woman, surely you can’t expect us to part with her for the rest of her childhood?”, mother yelled. “Perhaps, you could visit Brigitta at this place she will be staying?”, master Nýr suggested.

“Visit? While someone else raises our daughter?”, father said. “She is your only child, if you could find work during your visit, you might move to Cledwyn, be near your daughter while she is going to school and come back when she is done?”, master Nýr pressed on.

Brigitta felt overwhelmed. Move to another country, live in a boarding school, learn a different language? She knew some Cledwyeg but ordering drinks and asking for directions probably wouldn’t help much with her lessons…

“We need some time to think about this.”, father said. “Of course! We can come back at another time. Master Dellingr will be staying at our Council house for two weeks. I’m sure you can visit him there with any questions you might have?”, master Nýr said. “Absolutely. I have some Council sessions to attend but please feel free to drop by or leave me a message.”, master Dellingr said.

The masters took their leave and silence descended upon the Mulsted home.