Magic Words

A lot of the magic in the book is set off by a single word, and the new students learn them one at a time.

Three words for the test

During the island test, each student may use only three words, which they choose themselves from a list.

Chris, Ahra and Retia each choose differently:

• Ignis makes fire. Retia chooses it because they will need fires and light, and because she wants to be able to burn whatever attacks them. Her fire is blue.
• Scutum creates an invisible shield. Ahra chooses it because he would rather stand in between than attack.
• Defluo moves you to another place in an instant. It is one of the very hardest words on the list, and Ahra thinks Chris has gone mad. Chris picks it anyway, because it feels right. All the scroll says is: say the word, think of the place, and let go.

Surain also uses Defluo when he gets the three of them back from the island of the animals.

Lux

Lux makes light. It is one of the first words the students practise in their spells lessons.

Meaning it

Professor Daleth, who teaches spells, puts it plainly: spells are not about saying words but about meaning them. You can repeat a word a hundred times and get nothing out of it, because the meaning is what shapes Dherak into something specific.

And the words have a cost. The first time Ahra uses Scutum for real, he feels drained afterwards, as if someone had scooped something out of him.