I knew the Quartz Witch was a member of the High Coven, but maybe the Hidden Witch had ruined my perspective of her. I knew she had a great deal of mana—as a witch I could always feel a certain gulf between me and any given mage. Madam Quartz’ was just much further away than most. As powerful as I thought she was, never did I think I could feel the same force manifesting constantly with every word that left her mouth.

  The magic circle the Hidden Witch left beneath her feet was noticeably blazing as well. It honestly put mine and Shale’s to shame at this point. The mana bursting from it made me realize just how truly weak I was, even with assistance.

  “To pass in grandeur or return on calm winds, from sea to sky.” Madam Quartz’s voice almost pierced the sky, but not quite. It still seeped into my mind the same way the Hidden Witch’s did as her heartbreaking worries carried over the hills with each word. I could feel her emotions carry within them in the same way. “A whim of the land and one of its ilk, heavens bear my wish.”

  Her voice almost gave out. Speaking these words took a great toll on her, but she managed to maintain cadence and uphold the incantation, no doubt due to the magic circle despite her exhaustion. She had overwhelmingly proved herself to not give a damn for this island, but something lit a fire in her.

  I hope I can become a witch that still gets excited to do the right thing even centuries later… Just like them. The Hidden Witch and Madam Quartz appeared in my mind, but one obviously outshined the other. In this moment though, the Quartz Witch didn’t seem any smaller than the hero who sacrificed herself to prevent the island below from destruction.

  Crystalline sand formed countless rivers in the sky, blowing out on the wind or forming ripples above. They seemed boundless as Madam Quartz kept pumping mana into it. If it weren’t so sparkly, I would have believed it was a natural weather formation.

  “Let my will travel like the breeze,” I could somehow feel that the words she spoke were uncertain to even herself. As if she never knew what was beyond this point, but despite this, her voice was calm, yet powerful as it echoed over the clouds which lit up as her crystals unfurled above us. “And the weight of the world stray fleeting as the clouds.”

  “Imminent streams carved of land’s whimsy form the Quartzen Cirrus, my will to conquer even the sky,” Rather than crystalline dust, it almost looked like waves of silver insects shrouding the sky, but the amount of power flooding from the Quartz Witch resonated with me on the level of the Hidden Witch from earlier. Perhaps due to the magic circle which magnified her will, the final declaration of her spell shook the island and the sky alike; I wouldn’t even be surprised if the sea below trembled. “Crystallize!”

  Suddenly her pearlescent clouds of quartz covered the island like a wrinkled blanket and bolts of lightning the color of earth struck what few trees showed signs of life. There was the indomitable authority of the Hidden Witch even as her cerulean pillar died down, but now it seemed Madam Quartz’ dominion exceeded even that. No matter where I turned, her crystals covered the sky in clouds to meet the blackened sea of storm above and below.

  “You…” The Hidden Witches voice spoke out in confusion. “Why—”

  “Idiot!” At the Quartz Witch’s words, the newly revitalized rivers seemed to splash over. “You can hear me now, can’t you?! How many are you willing to sacrifice tomorrow to save a few today?!”

  I could feel the anguish of experience dripping from her words.

  “I… won’t sacrifice anyone.” The Hidden Witch’s words sounded more distant each time she spoke.

  “Not even yourself?” Cirrus clouds formed at high altitudes or from an island’s runoff, and when they grew too thick, it was almost certain a storm was coming. “Has everything I ever failed to do… meant nothing?!”

  Madam Quartz’ words echoed across the sky and we could almost feel sadness bursting from the spring afar. Its light flickered still.

  “But… Just leave.” I couldn’t help shedding tears as the Hidden Witch’s words fell. This situation was beyond me and my old schoolmate Shale. “It is done. You may return to your—”

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  “Don’t make me repeat myself…” Earlier I thought that Madam Quartz had really been done in by the Hidden Witch’s harsh words, but was she always such a force of nature? I had heard of her accomplishments, but none of them painted the picture I saw today. She practically curled her fingers around this island with the so-called Cirrus of Quartz that even burned away the storm, and seemingly forced reluctance from the spring at will, “Idiot. This was not your plan. We bought you time, didn’t we? Didn’t we?!” Her words shook the condensed earth beneath mine and Shales’ feet, “Now do your damn job!”

  To throw a witch’s words in their face was one of the greatest affronts one could commit. A witch’s word was their will, as it was their oath. That’s what I’ve learned since I was just a young girl, at least. As if in response, the Hidden Witch seemed to groan in pain.

  But it manifested as the island shook. Our magic circles faltered, threatening to flicker out as the earth beneath us quickly fell from our grasp.

  “No!” I shouted, desperately trying to hold the island together. The further my control got from it, the more fragile it felt, like sand running through my fingers. I can feel it—it’s falling. I’m sorry everyone… I couldn’t save you. My thoughts turned to all those below as my end came in blatant futility. At least I tried my best.

  ___

  “We bought you time, didn’t we? Didn’t we?!” Somehow Cira awoke from a deep slumber, or something like a deliberate stasis, to the sound of the Quartz Witch’s words, “Now do your damn job!”

  Oh… She’s right. What was I doing again? That’s it… This island lacks a will. If Pita can do it… I can do it. It’ll just take a little something. A gift, if you will.

  Cira looked out over the island and watched the witches in a panic. Somehow, she felt very attuned to everything around her and stopped the island from shaking. Loose sand and rubble found its way back and reformed.

  This is nothing I’ve read about, nor attempted. I have only experienced it firsthand. I, however, am a living being. At the very least, I have an idea of what needs to be done.

  Cira had always been comprised of some mysterious amalgamation of souls, and this was never clear to her until she became reforged. The sense of unity she felt as an individual was something she had perhaps longed for her entire life, yet never known to desire.

  I am not some tool to be used to conquer the sky, nor am I an island or a corrupted caster steeped in greed. I am Cira, sorcerer of many skies, and stalwart solver of problems.

  This felt like a declaration of fate, but Cira did not reveal the Auld Sprig, nor did any rainbow flames illuminate the land on this day. Names, titles, and intent held great meaning. Cira knew this. She felt ashamed for almost relinquishing herself to live up to her intent, but now she could move on.

  What is this island’s intent?

  No one wants to die. That’s this pain in my chest. The storm fiend threw his life away for this very goal in vain. Cira’s mind kept crossing back to that gull young Pita crafted.

  If only he knew how talented he was… All this effort. Blood, sweat, and endless tears over the years brought me to heights of sorcery I never thought possible, and it takes this much to even consider it.

  Granted, the scale was off by multiple orders of magnitude, granting sentient will was a remarkable feat. Something without will was typically considered an object, and imbuing one’s will upon it was entirely different from granting it one of its own.

  “Lazulei.” Cira appeared next to the spring and placed a gentle palm upon it, “Island of fleeting form on the desolate sea of dark storms. Resist the urge to return and appear before me.”

  Cira didn’t think, she simply encanted the words she felt in her heart.

  “Lazulei,” Her calm words caused the rain to lighten to a trickle, “Come forth.”

  Just like before, a cerulean pillar jutted into the heavens. The rivers all dried up for a tense moment as the spring seemed to resonate with Cira’s mana. As it hardened almost to crystalline form like Aquon, something started to emerge from it. At first, bubbling and liquid like water, but after a few seconds, it took form. A brilliant blue with an almost hazel glow coming from within, this mass started to pour out of the spring like sands of an hourglass before coalescing on the lakebed.

  Despite the shallow waters, they were still fully submerged. Cira frantically sunk an arm in and grabbed on, pulling her out on instinct alone.

  “Lazulei!” She cried, pulling a young girl not unlike Ella of Acher out from the shallow pool, “Are you okay?!”

  Whoa… Cira saw her hands in front of her and clenched them, feeling the response of skin and bone for the first time in a while. She didn’t even remember changing back or how long she was without a body. It startled her to notice the lack of its absence. Am I… fine?

  Cira turned her face and was met with bright amber eyes beset in a body of faint cyan like the young undine copy.

  “Are you…” The girl had delicate features not unlike her own, “My mother?”

  “…what?” Cira was dumbfounded. Okay, just think… What was I doing just before this? I was with the witches right? Then… I went to look at the spring? I remember the Quartz Witch’s voice.

  “Mother,” The young girl Lazulei spoke in earnest, a hint of worry in her tone despite her bright eyes, “I… I want to live.”