The Seance

Victor leaned against the arm of the couch, clenching his eyes shut. A wave of dizziness washed over him, making him sweat.

Peeling open his eyes, Victor focused on the blue mark that shined on his wrist. Morena had cast the spell on his arm, stating that it sealed a bit of his power and helped him control his magic.

Victor twitched his fingers, a bead of sweat on his brow. A handful of sludge materialized in his palm, cold and almost electric. The hair on his arms stood up, and Victor grinned. The spell seemed to be helping. He strained, and the ectoplasm turned solid, like ice.

Victor’s heart pounded. He was getting the hang of it. Maybe he should give himself more credit.

“Alright, independent study time is over,” Morena announced, stepping into the living room, clapping her hands, “It's time for the next lesson!”

“But we just had a lesson!” Victor squeaked, sitting up. A headache gnawed at his temples, a side effect of not enough food and not enough sleep. Victor was hoping he could hold out until he went home.

“This is the speedy-course, kiddo. We have more than enough time for multiple lessons in one day.” Victor detected a sense of urgency in her voice, a break from her usual relaxed mannerisms.

----

“There are two primary branches of death magic: necrourgy and necromancy. Necrourgy is what we just practiced- working with spiritual energy, creating ectoplasm. Necromancy deals with divination and communicating with the soul.”

“I didn't know there was a difference,” Victor admitted, cheeks flashing red.

Morena touched the top of his hand. “It's fine, Victor. ‘Necromancy’ is the blanketed term for death magic that most people use. There's no need to be embarrassed about it.”

“Most death mages pick a specialty and stick with it, but it's important to try to dabble in both. To be honest, I don't know that much about necromancy and divination. That...was my husband's area of expertise.” Morena shook her head, “But that's beside the point.”

Morena rested her hands on the table, shuffling through a spellbook. “All living creatures have a soul, which contains spiritual energy. When something dies, its energy is released back into the universe, and we death mages are able to control it.”

“Particularly powerful souls are able to attempt possession, but it's a risky move on their behalf. That's why a basic shield spell is used in a seance circle. The shield spell will protect you and prevent the summoned soul from escaping. I suggest having a partner power the shield spell, in the event that you are rendered unconscious during the seance. If you faint, you're free game for possession. Don’t attempt any high-level spell alone.”

Morena tapped the table, making Victor look at her. “But, if you do find yourself in a situation where possession is inevitable, let the soul enter your body. It sounds counterproductive, but you are the most powerful in your own body. You'll have to fight for dominance, but you have home field advantage.”

Victor nodded, his hands trembling. The lesson had taken a serious turn.

Morena moved to one a shelf, where a goldfish sitting in a bowl swam in  carefree circles. Victor assumed she must have moved it there in between lesson times. Morena unceremoniously dumped the bowl’s contents onto the floor.

Victor watched in horror as the fish twitched and struggled on the hardwood, and finally went limp. “That was horrible!”

“Death magic is nasty stuff. Now summon its soul for me,” Morena said casually.

Victor lowered himself to the floor, sitting in front of the dead fish. Numbly, he reached his hand onto the table, grabbing a ritual pencil and started to draw a pentagram.

Morena touched her hands to the rim of the ritual circle, a blue barrier erecting around Victor. “I've got the shield spell. This fish isn't malicious enough to need a barrier, but it's good practice.”

Morena tossed him a pocket knife. “It's good to have a direct link to your subject. Belongings work, but a corpse or blood works best. Put a little of its blood on your cheek. That should suffice.”

Hugging his spellbook to his chest, Victor retrieved a miniscule amount of blood from the fish and rubbed it across his cheek. Grimacing, he shook his head, starting the seance.

Crackling magic surged through the runes Victor had drawn. A spike of pain in his lower back took him off guard, but he gritted his teeth, pushing more energy into the circle.

A bluish vapor appeared before him, bright light bleeding off the tiny form. It was almost comical, seeing a fish shrouded in such an ethereal air.

Victor’s ears began to ring as Morena clapped his shoulder. “Good job, Victor! Now, for our next course of action-” Her voice was overpowered by the droning in his head.

Victor’s head started to spin as he struggled to focus on Morena, dark spots clotting his vision.

“Victor,” Morena snapped, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I'm okay,” Victor slurred.

Victor’s eyes rolled in the back of his skull and he fell to the ground in a heap, much like the fish.

Author's Note- literally everything in his chapter was important. im not just throwing in magical facts for the lolz. consider the bulk of this foreshadowing