No sooner than I met Taliana leaving her home to earn her wings, I found myself following her journey to this elusive Cave of Secrets. On the way there, she discovers a discarded magic wand. Fairies are already magical, so what good would a wand be? I wasn’t sure. So, I pondered the event. More than anything, I suspected, it would be a sort of playtime for Taliana. A distraction from her sober journey. She would find the object curious and want to see how it worked. Inherently magical, she might think it would just “work” for her. However, that would not be the case as fairy magic and the magic of wizards and witches is quite different. Thus, she would wave it and shake it and try to do something, getting only odd and disastrous happenings, as a result. But, after getting frustrated, she would put some thought into it and discover that she could get it work, only maybe not as she expects.

Taliana flitted along an overgrown, mossy path. The dirt was packed and solid from the journeys of many a fairy. Yet, the travels were not so frequent as to prevent some overgrowth. Fairy crystals were found along its edges, along with wan succulents, wild grasses, and the occasional flower. Petulant pixies darted about, wandering from plant-to-flower and circling her head and feet. She waved a hand at them, pursing her lips. She was about to scold them when her attention was grabbed by an unusual stick laying on the edge of the path.

As Taliana bent down to examine the twig, she thought she detected magic about it. It did look rather straight and polished for a twig. There weren’t any twists or knobs. The end was so pointed as to be almost good enough for writing. She picked it up.

A small tingle shuddered through Taliana’s delicate arm. It traveled from her arm up to her neck and made her right eyelid twitch. She turned the stick over and over.

“I do believe this is a magic wand!” she exclaimed, suddenly remembering stories her mother had told her about human witches and wizards. The Fairy Kingdom didn’t know if these humans had fey blood, or some other magical genetics. But somehow they had come into an affinity for magic. But they couldn’t quite control it like fairies did. So, using magical ingredients, from magical plants and animals, they had come up with a way to focus their magic through objects. Some of them were sticks, like this one.

Taliana couldn’t suppress the curiosity. She flourished the wand in a playful manner and pointed at a nearby flower, wanting to make it bigger. She giggled with delight but, in a wave of unpleasant sparks, soon found herself landing hard on her bottom. She certainly hadn’t expected that. She stood and waved the wand again, this time managing to keep her feet. But the effect was very much the same. She was pushed backward by a magical force. The poor flower didn’t end up faring so well either. It was flattened to the ground. It didn’t look proportionately bigger. It looked unhappily fat and uncomfortable.

Taliana, not yet serious about the wand, continued to swirl and point. She chose several targets. But all ended up the same looking quite miserable. She had ended up on her back, again, a few times, as well.

Gritting her teeth and examining the wand more closely, Taliana began to examine it with her own innate magic. It was a peculiar thing, clearly attuned to another user. She wondered how they had lost it. Clearly it wasn’t a thing just anyone could use. She would have to attune to it. Dared she try? Of course.

As this song ends, Taliana manages to attune to the wand and get a few successful spells off. They are high notes and the minor chords are no longer present. Unexpectedly, they are delicate and careful, and not necessarily powerful, as she might have expected. For her, focusing her magic through the wand didn’t make it easier to control, as it did for a human. It made it more muted. This is because fairies don’t need magic wands.

I’m not sure what Taliana will do with the wand. It may lead to another song. I’m not sure. But I’m certainly pondering a song for the Cave of Secrets and perhaps one for when she gets her wings!

Here is JOURNEY: Discovering a Magic Wand