The next morning, Selene and Cyan dove straight into training. Selene had always healed fast, even before her magic was awakened. So though it was sore, the small punctures had closed enough for them to begin.

Cyan had instructed Selene to sit somewhere she was comfortable as long as it was outside of their tent. So, she chose atop one of the stone columns, where she wouldn't get wet from the snow. Cyan took her place beside her and closed her eyes.

"It will take some time before you will actually be able to focus your magic energy into the ink. I'll try to describe it to you, but this is something you must feel for yourself."

"Alright," replied Selene.

"You also have a core of magic that you can feel, yes?'

Selene muttered, "Yes."

"When focusing magic into your tattoo, you must reach into that core and draw out your magic slowly. The hardest part is not letting that magic manifest. You must keep it in its original raw form, transferring it from that core to your tattoo. It takes incredible concentration and may take weeks or even months to master."

"How long did it take for you?" Selene asked.

"About two weeks."

Selene laughed, "I'll do it in one."

"We'll see about that," she responded, "Now concentrate."

Selene cleared her throat and closed her eyes again. She reached down and felt that core of magic inside of her. She hadn't the slightest clue of how to call on that magic without turning it into that cold blue flame. She could do nothing else but try.

She reached into that source of magic and slowly drew it out.

Blue flames burst into life all around them. Selene's head snapped to Cyan, fearful that she was burning her. Yet Cyan remained seated with her eyes closed, seemingly unbothered by the inferno that snaked its way around her. Selene finally got a grip on her magic and extinguished the flames then asked Cyan, "Why didn't it burn you?"

"I gathered this would happen, so I placed a border of my wind magic around my body. Similar to a cloak. You can't burn me like this. Not unless you actually wanted to."

Selene nodded, giving one last glance to her companion and trying to spot the thin veil of magic she summoned. Seeing nothing but trusting the elf's words, Selene tried again.

Over and over she tried to draw out her raw magic but received nothing but flames. Her frustration grew until she could barely contain herself and the column they sat on felt like a cage.

"I need a break," Selene said through gritted teeth.

Cyan said nothing as Selene jumped off the stone and marched away.

She went to the canyon's edge and paced back and forth, kicking the snow as if she were a child. She didn't understand why she was struggling. Months ago, she had mastered her magic and could use it easily. But this training felt foreign to her as if the magic she was trying to create didn't belong to her. She wasn't sure if it was possible for her to store her magic in her tattoo.

In fact, many people told her that her magic was an ancient one. No one was sure of its capabilities nor its limits.

What if withdrawing raw magic just wasn't possible for her? What if they were wasting their time here?

"You've been at it for less than a day and you're already thinking about giving up?"

Cyan had perched herself above Selene, staring down at her with amusement in her eyes.

"Are you certain that this is possible for me?"

"Why wouldn't it be?" she asked with her head tilted to the side. She reminded Selene of a wolf watching her quizzically.

"My magic is different than others, isn't' it? How do we know that it even has a raw form?"

Cyan leaped down from her perch, the snow crunching beneath her boots, and walked to the edge of the canyon.

"Have you ever wondered why I have two forms of magic?" Cyan asked.

Selene blinked. She had, of course, noticed that Cyan could use both wind and her black fire, yet had never questioned it. The elf was much older than Selene and had figured that the ability came from her Fae blood and her experience.

"I hadn't thought too much about it," she responded.

"All magic, when stripped down to its most basic principle, is energy. Us wielders are able to produce this energy the same as a human--" she glanced at Selene, "A regular human would produce the energy to walk. Ours just takes a different form. So when you ask if you are able to control the form your magic takes, I say yes. Because all magic is the same, energy."

"But then why is my magic so different from everyone else's? Why can no one else use Moonfire?" Selene asked.

"Where magic's base level is energy, the second level would be you. How you think, the person you are. When I use my wind magic, usually I am calmer. I suffocate your fire to protect myself and the foliage and animals around us. When I use my fire, I am angry or fighting for something. My personality is different with each magic I use. Your Moonfire symbolizes who you are. That's a big reason wielders can fight so much longer than the average warrior. Not only is our stamina higher, but even after that's used up and we have no more energy, we can use our emotions to summon."

"I understand," Selene said, her eyes to the ground as she processed Cyan's words.

"Would it be possible for me to master another type of magic in the future?" Selene asked.

Cyan laughed, "I would say so, yes, but not for a long time. It was a skill that took me many years to learn."

Selene chewed on her lip. Every day she was slowly understanding the power inside of her more and more. She remembered when they first started their training, Cyan had said to Selene, You are the magic. The magic is you.

At first, she thought the elf meant that it just came from her. But now she knew what she meant. The magic only exists, because Selene does. The Moonfire inside of her would not be Moonfire if Selene did not think the way she did or act the way she did or even walk the way she did. Everything she did dictated how her magic formed and the damage it caused.

This training they were doing would not only help her store magic power but would strengthen it as well. If she resolved herself to accomplishing this task, then her willpower would increase along with her magic power.

Selene looked back up at the elf, "I see now."

Cyan smiled, "Good. Now get back to training."

***

Three days had passed and Selene had yet to have any sort of breakthrough. She spent her entire day atop the columns trying to draw out her raw magic. Yet no matter how many times she tried, nothing happened besides blue flames.

Every so often, Cyan would leave and return with meals. Selene barely noticed that she was gone. She would devour the meal and go right back to focusing on her task. She never felt anything different each time she summoned her fire nor did she feel she was any closer to making a breakthrough. Nevertheless, she continued until long after the sun had set. Cyan would call for her from the edge of the tent, unwilling to step out into the cold for too long. Then Selene would start the next morning before the sun had even risen.

And she accomplished nothing.

On the fifth day of her training, Selene nearly gave up. She had spent half the day trying to extract magic and had hit a wall. She didn't know what to do to change the outcome, and after her flames burst to life before her eyes for the thousandth time, she unsheathed a dagger and flung it with all her strength into a column, sending the dagger shooting through its brittle surface and out the other side. Her breathing was uneasy as she struggled to keep herself in check.

"Dammit!" she screamed.

"Yelling like that is going to draw all sorts of monsters here," Cyan said as she appeared at Selene's side.

"No matter what I do, nothing changes," Selene growled.

"Are you giving up?"

"No!" she snarled.

"Then what are you doing talking to me?"

Selene drew a shaky breath, calming herself.

"It's clear that I'm not getting anywhere with this. I want to try a different approach,"

Cyan eyed her, "Which is..."

In the blink of an eye, Selene had unsheathed a dagger and aimed it to Cyan's throat. The elf was faster and she had already pushed off from the column and landed on another, higher one ten feet away. She took out one of her own daggers and flung it at Selene. Without missing a beat, the woman shot up both of her hands and caught the blade with her palms, throwing it back at Cyan who dodged it easily.

"Is this your new approach?" she asked as she dodged Selene's attacks.

"If I sit still for another minute--" She used her foot to flipCyan's abandoned short sword up into her hand. "--I'm going to explode."

Cyan laughed breathlessly, "It seems you already have."

Cyan unsheathed the huge sword she kept strapped to her back during the day and parried each of Selene's blows.

Now concentrate, Selene told herself.

As they spared, sparks flying as their swords clashed together, Selene began to pull out that magic.

"Cyan, bring up that wall of wind, now!"

Just in time, she did before the clearing exploded into flames. Then they went out as Selene extinguished them.

Move as the flames do. Feel how your muscles contract and release and then...

She lunged forward, dancing around Cyan as if she herself were one of the flames she was so used to using.

She tried once again to pull out that raw power and this time something was different. For a moment, Selene saw in blue. Just as quickly, it disappeared.

But Cyan smiled a broad smile that showed all of her teeth, her canines making her look vicious. She began to attack with a new ferocity, jabbing and slashing anywhere she could. Selene received more than enough cuts in the process, but every time she drew out her magic, blue lit up her vision again and again as if she were looking through fire.

"Your tattoo," Cyan said, "It's glowing."

Selene flipped away from Cyan and stared into her reflection in her blade. Her tattoo was indeed glowing. In fact, it looked as if it were burning. Blue tendrils of smoke spread from the lines and dots on her face, making them slightly larger. The blue she saw through seemed to be the smoke rising from the line across her nose.

She had done it, finally. She had learned how to transfer her magic to her tattoo. She had been trying for so long while sitting, that she was getting nowhere. She needed a new outlook. She had mastered her magic through fighting, it was only right she master this the same way. Now that she had done it once, she could do it again. From this point on was only learning how to keep the constant flow even when she wasn't fighting. But without a doubt, the biggest challenge was behind her.

Cyan's voice echoed through the dead peninsula as she said, "Shall we continue? If you beat me then we can leave tomorrow, and if I beat you then you go get supplies by yourself," She smiled and spread out her arms, "Do we have a deal?"

Selene answered by launching herself at the elf, her red eye's alight with fire.

She would win this. And then she would return to Aiden.

I'm almost home, she thought, wait just a bit longer.