The Nature of Magic Blogfest

Yes, at last I am posting, and here is what this blogfest is all about:

"Write or share something you've already written that, to you, shows the nature of magic. It can be an excerpt from your WIP, something you've written especially, poetry, whatever strikes your fancy. It just needs to show the nature of magic as it exists for you or for those you write about." - Tessa Conte

Here's my entry, taken from my epic fantasy novel that may or may not someday be finished. For now it is an epic mess, but it holds sentimental value since I started writing it when I was about 14. Hehe. It's undergone some serious changes since it began, but anyway...here is something illustrating the nature of one particular type of magic present in my novel. Please note that it's barely edited.

"Callihroe, what happened?" she asked the stricken woman.

Callihroe's face lifted. "I betrayed my own people. I ignored the laws that have stood for centuries past. I ripped myself from my own race. I have no home."

It was a little unsettling how calmly she spoke. She almost sounded as if she did not care what she was saying.

"You also saved our lives, Callihroe. And no doubt a lot of other lives that would have been taken, too. But…tell me, how did you do it?" Thaixha asked curiously.

The snow woman shuddered. "I used the Bowfynntine." Briseis looked up sharply and walked over to stand before her as she murmured, "I am as good as dead now."

"You know the Bowfynntine?" Briseis demanded. "You know how to work it?" It was a foolish question, of course—she'd just witnessed Callihroe's knowledge with her own eyes. Still, the snow woman nodded.

"How?" Briseis asked urgently.

Callihroe shook her head tiredly. "I am as good as dead," she whispered.

Briseis sighed. "How?"

Thaixha pulled her away. "Briseis, stop it. She is upset," the Foranden said. Briseis looked away in frustration.

"What is the Bowfynntine?" Kilian spoke up from behind them. His sword was still gripped firmly in his right hand.

Callihroe turned slowly to face him. "A forbidden magic that was used in the old world. It is forbidden because of how it works. Because of the materials that are used to make it work."

"What materials would these be?" Krandak asked.

Callihroe hesitated, then stood up and waited for her head to stop spinning. She walked to one of the stone walls and placed her hands on the cool surface. Then she turned around again so that she was facing everyone.

"Souls. Souls that have been trapped within this stone for as long as my people have been dying. You see, when we die, there are a few ways we can go—and this is one of them. Those sent here are sentenced to an afterlife within these walls. I can feel the plight of the spirits here. And now, I feel their anger. They would kill if they could." She shook her head. "I can never outrun this. Someday, when my time comes, I will wind up here. And then they will have their way."