The beginning of October was a hard one. The weather took a turn for the cold and the people were getting stressed as the school year got more in-depth with classwork and homework. Each day that passed, Dyani could feel not only her stress level increase but also her frustration. Something was shifting around her and there was no explanation for it. Her magic was beginning to go haywire at random times. One morning she woke up with a different color of hair that took two days to sort out. Just recently, her magic had built up during a heated debate over theory and blew the windows out in the classroom.

  She noticed that she was not the only one who seemed affected; no one had said anything. It was as if this was an everyday occurrence and that made it all the more worrisome for Dyani.

  The smell of dirt and the grounding feel of the Earth Magic section of the school soothed her. She had not realized that there had been a nasty under-the-skin itch feeling. It had been a few days that she felt this calm. The class was gathered around their own plants that they had to tend to. When Bertani stepped into the greenhouse, she gave Dyani a small smile before clapping her hands.

  "As you all are aware, we are soon reaching Samhain. This means we should have the proper plants for the traditional setting."

  A student raised his hand.

  "Professor, I thought we were not permitted to do the traditional ritual on school grounds?"

  The teacher's expression flickered briefly before smoothing out into a neutral mask. "You are correct, Mr. Jeraim. We do not practice here on the school grounds and only those with permission to leave during the night are allowed to return home. As it is, not all families can harvest or grow their materials. They can come to us for those. Now, onto the next part. I will need you to split into groups to begin the harvesting of the different plants that would be needed. You will be graded according to the quality of the harvest and how it has been prepared into the proper bundles."

  Dyani stood up to help when she was shoved out of the way. Another group laughed and took over the place that she wanted to work with. Dyani rolled her eyes at the immaturity, but that didn't help the itch that grew under her skin. Her magic flared and the pots that they were digging in cracked and burst. There were screams of shock before Professor Bertani darted over to repair the mess and help the students. Dyani stepped away and noticed that a few of the students not focused on the group were looking at her in curiosity. She looked away and tightened her grip on her bag. Just before she got the nerve to leave, a hand gripped her shoulder.

  "Miss Dyani, would you like to help me out?"

  "Of course, ma'am."

  She waved a hand, "No ma'am, you can just use Professor or Bertani. It makes me feel old."

  Dyani laughed, a bit of tension releasing with it. "I know the feeling. It is weird being called Miss."

  "That would be solved if you told people your last name, you know."

  Dyani shrugged, "I am lucky that I can keep that to myself. I'd rather protect my family. You know?"

  Professor Bertani nodded her head, "Absolutely. Now, let's go over here and you can help me."

  Dyani set her bag down next to the slightly older woman's belongings. The itch was relieved a bit but it was still a struggle with her magic. It wanted to be free and she tried to free it. Except that each time it built up too much, it caused more destruction than she could handle. Trying to get some of this gone would have been nice, but even meditation was not working.

  "Come and follow me. They know what they are doing and I can tell you aren't aware of some things."

  They walked through the greenhouse and into a smaller, enclosed space. Bertani placed a hand on the wall next to the room and it opened up under her touch, a shimmering of a ward falling apparent to Dyani's eyes. This part was a bit more in touch with the magic and Dyani wondered how something more closed off could be so in touch with Earth Magic.

  Seeing the look of awe, Bertani explained. "This is one of the few places where the school connects with the local ley lines. Our wards and other aspects of the school are tied to each space. I'm bringing you here for a good reason and Britt spoke to me about this. Please, sit."

  They sat in the center of the room, which was flourishing with many plants and even some insects. Dyani watched as a Snizit flitted back and forth while a Frizit nested in the leaves of a beautiful snowy flower.

  "How much has Britt or the other teachers gone over the different holidays?"

  "Not much and my reading hasn't been in those areas. I haven't thought of them, in truth."

  Bertani sighed and rubbed her temples. "There is much to teach you then. First and foremost, we're going to talk about Samhain. It's the closest other than Yule and it's super important to the magical world. All of our holidays are, but this one is particularly powerful."

  Dyani brought her knees to her chest and ran her hands through the loose dirt. It was soothing. She wanted to slip off her shoes and let her toes wiggle in the dirt too, but figured that was disrespectful.

  "As you know, the nonmagical world refers to Samhain as Hallowe'en, yes?"

  Dyani nodded.

  "Then you know that some also refer to it as All Hallow's Eve and Samhain. These are familiar to you, correct?"

  "I am familiar with their names and their significance to a degree. Mostly each culture believes in different aspects. For example, the more commercial Hallowe'en is something that kids dress up and visit houses for candy. In an older version of this, dressing up in costumes was because of the thinning of the Veil. This Veil was between the living and the dead. On that night, the Veil is open for spirits to come through. Including monsters. Hiding your face on those nights prevented you from being harmed or kidnapped."

  Bertani stared at her in shock, "You know a lot more than some of the students."

  Dyani shrugged, "Most people know these facts because Hallowe'en is so commercialized. Dia De Los Muertos is also well known because of a recent movie that came out. During the same time, usually the day after Hallowe'en, the Day of the Dead is now understood in the Mexican culture as celebrating ancestors. Well, that's a rough idea of what it is, not the full understanding."

  "Really? That is very interesting. I was unaware that nonmagicals were familiar with working with ancestors."

  Dyani gave her a strange look. It was a bit of a surprise how isolated some were from the world they dwelled within. Thoughts aside, Dyani knew that in some areas, she was more knowledgeable. It seemed that her studies in psychology were enough to give her a leg up. Although it was few and far between when those times were, she would take it.

  "Our Tribes still practice a lot of ancestor worship, same with many countries in the East."

  "Hm, I was not aware of this. Thank you for telling me."

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  "Glad to help," Dyani responded.

  "Now, at least you will be able to understand the importance of Samhain easily." She paused and took off her shoes. her hands and feet wiggled down into the dirt that Dyani wanted to play with. Following her lead, Dyani sighed in happiness as the swell of her magic bled through her body and through her feet into the ground. It itch had faded and it made her more relaxed than she had felt since before the school year had started.

  "Samhain is a sacred night in which the Veil thins. You were correct in this, as well as working with the ancestors. Our ritual on that night allows us to contact and speak with our deceased family and the ancestors before us. This ritual is usually done with a traditional crowd and is not actively practiced at the school. Although knowing Britt, he will sneak you out to get you to the ritual site. There is one that is commonly used with those who are closer to Mother Earth and the Goddess."

  "You mean her Blessed?"

  The woman sucked in a sharp breath, "Be careful of calling them that and using that around anyone that you do not trust with your life. That can get you into trouble with many, not just the Headmistress."

  Dyani's brow furrowed in disgust before she schooled her features. A nod and Dyani knew that most topics seemed to be taboo to speak of. At least anything that had to do with Magic and the Goddess. It was becoming tedious avoiding so many subjects when she was just trying to learn and figure out where she stood within all of this.

  "Now, the ritual consists of a fair few things. One of which is the blood of those partaking, hence the more illegality of it. Many herbs, plants, and base supplies are needed for the ritual. It is two weeks before the night, and most of the Earth Magic class will focus on harvesting plants and flowers. I will be working with you while they do their own work."

  The magic in the area shifted with each mention of Samhain. The more they talked about the ritual and what it consisted of, the more that Dyani could tell there was a deeper connection. Magic was swelling and overflowing like the ocean's tide rising.

  “I can tell that you have been struggling lately, well, most of the student body could, but I think it would be good for you to start meditating.” The professor stated.

  The stare that Dyani gave her could have scared a small child. “I have been doing that since you taught me at the beginning of the school year. It’s been immensely helpful, but with everything that’s been going on and now you tell me about Hallowe’en, it has gotten worse. Meditating is not helping. Nothing is helping.”

  The response was a thoughtful hum.

  “Have you tried contacting the earth magic and even the Goddess?” She paused and continued before Dyani could answer, “Nevermind that. You may have to use this ley line even to have the potential of connecting deep enough. Don’t tell anyone I taught you this. The Headmistress would have my head. Not to mention, students aren’t permitted in these rooms.”

  There was a pause in the conversation while that sunk in. Of course, Dyani couldn't speak about it. That was how it always went. It was beginning to grind her gears and now she could see why Britt wanted to get her out of this place as fast as possible. There were times that she felt like she belonged and things were exciting, but there were other times when she couldn't stand being in such a closed community. It was suffocating to be unable to speak, question, or do things they considered taboo. Dyani snorted. It was as if the entire school and maybe even the community connected were part of a large cult. Although most never realized it. Very few did and they were very few and far between. Most keep close to their chest on their beliefs.

  It was all frustrating and Dyani was growing tired of it all quickly.

  "Dyani?"

  "Hm?" She turned her head to look at the Professor who gave her an odd face.

  "Are you listening? I suggested we start teaching you how to connect with the ley lines."

  "Ah, sorry. My thoughts decided to run away and take me with them."

  She chuckled, "It is fine. Do you want to start now and then I can check on the class? They've been left to their own devices long enough and I want to check that nothing is on fire or broken."

  "Of course," Dyani laughed. "They would be the ones to ruin the entire place, wouldn't they?"

  "Oh, you have no idea. Last year, they had accidentally broken all the windows in the place when someone used the wrong fertilizer on the Quickening Vines, and they crawled through everything and had to be trimmed back. They still grow too much."

  The two had a good laugh for a minute before Dyani settled into a comfortable meditation position.

  "Now close your eyes and reach out like I taught you before. When you get there, let me know."

  Since doing these exercises frequently, Dyani found it easy to reach the Earth Mother and the magic dwelling on the planet itself. This area was so saturated that Dyani could feel her body wanting to absorb as much as it could. Wild magic called Chaos magic and vice versa, at least that was how it had been explained to her when she first got a magical high off of meditating.

  "I can already tell that you reached the magic. I want you to follow it like a river. Ley lines act like large rivers with small streams flowing out. This is usually how places or wards tap into them through the streams. It tempers the flow of magic so it is not as overwhelming. I want you to follow that magic until you reach the ley line. Do not connect with it, but be close."

  Dyani knew immediately what she was talking about. The Professor's voice faded away. Behind her eyes, she could see the ground beneath her like a web of light. Everything had these silvery-white lines around them, but there were larger concentrations that flowed around. Her magic moved out and down to one, where she received a significant boost of energy and magic. That was typical, but she noticed over time that the magic she had before was taking on a silver sheen, like the Wild magic that belonged to the Earth. Her Chaotic magic had originally been a dark sheen, much like if black was metallic with a silvery light through it. It was an odd combination but she knew that the remnants of the ritual were wearing off after using her magic so much.

  Taking a deep breath, Dyani followed one of the magic lines until she could see the approach to a large well. It was like she had gone from a small stream to a large, Grand Canyon-sized reservoir. Dyani shuddered. There was no telling what would happen if she touched that pure magic.

  Another magic was moving along the ley lines and it was one that she recognized. The Goddess was answering her call. At least, it was not an intentional call. Yet. In the back of her mind, she registered that the wards around the room had snapped back up and Bertani had left her alone. There was no warning for the tug on her magic as she was pushed into the overwhelming stream of the ley line. Dyani did not have a chance to scream in shock or pain before she was yanked from her body.

  The world was familiar. It was the same as when she first arrived in the world of the Goddess. Except, there was something off. It wasn't quite the realm she was used to, now that she was getting a feel for it. The magic that was the Goddess was skewed in a way that made her uncomfortable. It was like hearing a song with one note just slightly off. A shuffle of fabric and Dyani turned to find the Goddess standing before her. In place of the typically very striking Goddess, there was a decrepit hag. This was a woman that looked emaciated and hunched over. Skin sagged and even looked as if her skeleton was falling apart. Dyani sucked in a sharp breath at the shocking sight.

  "Dyani, my dear."

  A gnarled hand reached out and it was then that she noticed the changes in the Goddess beyond the shocking appearance. Now, a sheer blinding white completely encompassed her body from her hair to her clothing. Her skin was becoming paler than a ghost, and lines of dark purple were crawling up her arms and legs. Even her chest and neck were not safe from the creeping veins. The most terrifying aspect once she got used to everything was that the chain was no longer confined to the ankles. Instead, her body was wrapped in them: some thick, some small. The most prominent was the one that circled her neck and was glowing a bright red. It seared at her skin, causing wounds to crack open.

  Dyani reached out a desperate hand to help the Goddess before her. Just before they touched, Dyani was yanked back against her will. A cold hand wrapped around her throat and squeezed to trap the scream from escaping.

  "None of that now," the voice rumbled. It sent shivers down her spine and Dyani wanted to balk at the pressure on her throat. "You will be a good girl and not interfere or this will be the least of your problems."

  Dyani tried to kick back but the grip on her tightened to the point of tears. Her breaths came in gasps and for the first time since the botched ritual, Dyani felt the streak of fear course through her.

  "You'll behave, won't you Dyani? Such a bland nonmagical that got a gift from a dying Goddess."

  Dyani went to spit a nasty response to his question, but the tight grip prevented that.

  "Ah, ah. None of that. You are such a fighter. I see why she chose you. Well, never mind that. You will behave or I will see to it that you regret ever stepping into the magical world."

  She could feel the breath against her ear as he lowered his head. Lips brushed across the outer rim and Dyani wanted to gag at the touch.

  "Understand me, Dyani?"

  A blast of magic rolled through the area, and the vision of the Goddess changed into the familiar visage that Dyani had come to know. The explosion swept past her in a fiery torrent that swept the unknown male away from her. Dyani tried to turn around when the Goddess picked her up and vanished the two of them out.

  Dyani gasped as she slammed into her body and it jerked back as an automatic response. The back of her head smashed against one of the window panes and she felt the blackness slink in. There was a gentle brush of magic against hers. I’m sorry, it said.