Sherah and the Saplings: Intro to magic

It was finally time. Sherah had spent the last 3 days in the Hooman camp recovering from any effects the forest had inflicted upon her and now she was prepared to go in and meet again with Visus. She would be going deeper in than usual so she had prepared everything imaginable. As she walked deeper inside the forest, there was a massive anticipation building inside her. This whole month has been leading up to this one moment. Her goal was about to be achieved and she could finally learn whatever secrets the Saplings were willing to offer.

Visus was in his home awaiting her, conversing with her guards about the entire ordeal when she arrived. As soon as they looked at each other, the guards were ordered to remain at the door as usual.

"There you are my dear. I can tell from your face your extremely excited for this. It has been a whole month after all."

And of course her face hid nothing. As soon as pleasantries were over, Sherah wasted no time in explaining everything she learned about the rituals and different prayers that the Saplings engaged in. In her mind, she was ready. After talking over a bit about the procedures and a few other details, Visus took her a little bit deeper in the forest to a small clearing where she preferred to spend her time meditating. A very peaceful area with nobody in sight, Sherah was at ease. There was nothing here except for the ground, the nearby trees, and the incoming sunlight. Perfect for a practice session.

"Watch carefully and see if you can do the same thing" as Visus sat down right in the middle of the open space and prayed to Fauna. After about a minute of humming and silently talking, all of a sudden a flower bloomed instantly. Shortly afterwards another formed next to it and more kept rapidly appearing until there was a circle around her. Within seconds, Visus had surrounded herself in a small ring of flowers.

Sherah was amazed. She has yet to witness the actual magic be used, only the prayers in which the Saplings did to show their devotion to Fauna. To think that flowers could be grown so easily instead of having to do the planting and farming back home. She watched carefully as the ritual had come to an end and prepared for her turn

"Ok I suppose I should give it a try now. Wish me luck"

Visus smiled and watched with a large curiosity as Sherah sat in the circle of newly formed flowers and meditated. She tried her best to be attuned with the nature around her and to tap into the magical energies of the forest. She could hear the whispers of the forest and of Fauna. They called out to her and she tried her best to listen. Like Visus, she felt something inside of her, a similar feeling when she casts her own magic. She did her best to focus the energy on a flower of her own, right outside the ring. When she opened her eyes she saw her results.

Only a single small flower formed and it was a rather small one. Sherah was disappointed at first but Visus explained something she had been thinking of for a while now.

"I am honestly quite surprised. Normally only a Sapling can perform magic here. Perhaps it is your kindness to our people that Fauna may have given you a gift, even if it's a small one. I think the hard truth is that you simply are not a Sapling and refuse to convert to one. But you are welcome to keep trying."

Sherah thought about it for a bit. Visus was right, she was not a Sapling. She was a Risuner and always will be. But she thought about how Risu would react if she was watching her and decided it would be for the best if she would at least try to understand Fauna more.

"When I meditated, I could hear her. I could hear Fauna and the people of the forest. They were calling to me and it felt like I was being pulled in by their voices. I was hesitant to allow it to happen and only listened to a small amount. Do you think I should embrace her call?"

Visus smiled back "I think it is the only way Sherah. Let's see what happens"

Once again, she sat in the middle of the circle and prayed. This time she allowed all the voices to fill her as much as possible and could feel a stronger presence. As she focused her energy, roots came out of the ground. These roots wrapped around each other and slowly but surely there was a new tree in the clearing. It was a small tree but new plant life was forming and it was even beginning to produce walnuts.

Sherah kept meditating on this single tree until suddenly, she felt a pain in her tail. She stopped immediately and the trees growing came to a halt. Turning around revealed the dangers of embracing the Sapling ways and using their powers. Her tail had turned entirely green and the very tip of it had turned to leaves. She immediately panicked and went back to blocking out the voices before turning to Visus and hoping for an answer.

"I must thank you Sherah. For because of you, all Saplings will now know this. For others to be able to use our magic, it requires sacrifice. If you do not fully embrace being a Sapling, you will never utilize our power to the fullest. Your first attempt will seemingly be the best that you can do as a Risuner."

"It seems so. I want to thank you for allowing me this chance. I still would be happy to practice some more with you and see if I can push the boundaries further. But for now I think I will go back to the Hoomans and heal myself."

"Of course my friend. When you come back however, I want you to start showing me your gem tricks you talked about. I am curious what these little rocks can do"

Sherah smiled at her before being escorted back to one of the main paths and heading over to the Hoomans. She had so many questions but could only speculate until she got a chance to go back in the forest. But one thing is for certain, Sapling magic without being a Sapling is near impossible and if it were not for the fact that the Risuners have good relations with Saplings, it might have been impossible.