"What kind of fundamentals?"
"How death magic actually works. How to collaborate with it instead of forcing it." His shadows moved around his shoulders, and she was starting to recognize that as a sign of something. Agitation? Interest? Both? "Most importantly, how to work with guidance instead of relying purely on instinct."
He set the corrupted stone aside and selected a different practice piece from his collection—this one slightly larger and pulsing with steady light. The contrast was immediate. Where the corrupted stone had felt hostile and chaotic, this one felt welcoming. Almost eager.
"We'll start with something that won't fight back," he said, positioning the new stone between them. "Tell me what you sense."
She pressed her palm against the stone's smooth surface. The reaction was immediate but gentler than she'd expected. Power flowed up her arm like warm honey, comfortable and pleasant. She could feel the stone's internal structure, the way magic moved through crystalline channels in steady patterns.
"It feels..." She paused, trying to articulate the sensation. "Contained but not constrained. Like it's holding power rather than trying to suppress it."
Something flickered across his expression. Approval, maybe, or satisfaction. Hard to tell with him. "Go deeper. What else?"
She let her awareness sink further into the stone's magical patterns, trusting her instincts the way she had when picking locks. Sometimes you just had to feel your way through. "It wants to connect to something. Some pathways lead nowhere, like roads cut off halfway to their destination." She frowned, concentrating. "It feels incomplete. Not damaged, just waiting."
"Ward-stones are designed to work in networks," he explained,moving closer to the table—near enough that his scent reached her. "What you're sensing is the stone's resonance patterns searching for compatible connections."
That made sense. She lifted her hand from the stone, spreading her fingers as residual energy dissipated. The sensation was oddly pleasant, like stretching after sitting too long. "Is sensing that level of detail normal?"
"No."
His blunt response made her stomach tighten slightly, but she was getting used to his directness. At least he didn't sugarcoat things or lie to make her feel better. She could work with honesty.
Even if it was occasionally terrifying.
He selected another stone from his collection, this one larger and radiating more actively. "Try this one."
The moment she touched this stone, the difference was noticeable. Where the first had been patient and contained, this one pulsed with complex energy. Multiple patterns flowed through its structure simultaneously, creating interference loops and harmonic resonances that made her fingertips buzz.
Like standing too close to something electrical, but not quite painful. Just intense.
"More active," she said. "The patterns are layered, like multiple conversations happening at once."
"Can you sense how those conversations interact?"
She focused deeper, following the individual patterns as they wove around each other. When one pattern pulsed, it triggered responses in others, which in turn influenced the first, creating feedback loops that fed on themselves. A dance of energy, each partner responding to the other in increasingly complex ways.
"They're not just coexisting," she said slowly. "They're collaborating. Building something together that's more complex than any individual pattern."
"Exactly." The single word carried weight, warmth threading through his tone, making heat spread through her chest.
"Now, without lifting your hand, extend your awareness to the other stones on the table."
She kept her palm pressed against the active stone and reached out with her magical senses. It felt like stretching a muscle she hadn't known she possessed. Gradually, she became conscious of the other stones' presence. Each one singing its own unique song, but all of them trying to harmonize.
"I can feel them," she said, surprised by the clarity. "They're all different, but they want to work together."
"Good." He reached for a piece of equipment she hadn't noticed before—a metal framework designed to hold multiple stones in symmetrical arrangements. "This is a practice ward-frame. It allows stones to connect in stable conditions."
As he placed stones into the framework's holders, she could feel each new connection through her contact with the active stone. The individual songs began to blend, creating harmonies far more beautiful than any single stone could produce. Like an orchestra tuning up, finding their collective voice.
Her breath caught. The harmonies built and built, each stone's voice finding its place in the whole. She hadn't expected death magic to be beautiful.
"Try guiding the energy flow between them," he said, his tone taking on quiet authority. "Gently. Ward magic responds better to persuasion than force."
She focused on the connections, feeling the pathways linking the stones. The magic flowed like water seeking its course, but she could influence its direction with intention. She tried nudging the flow into different patterns, coaxing it along paths that felt more natural.
The response was immediate. The stones' light shifted as energy found new pathways, and she felt the system adjusting to form patterns she hadn't consciously designed. It was adapting to her touch, learning what she wanted before she fully articulated it to herself.
