Gwen sat in her mother’s chair in the downstairs library, absently reading from a journal while considering Verdan’s words. The idea that Ceravwen was the missing link to control her powers was ridiculous at first glance. Everyone knew that Ceravwen didn’t care for her title as patron of witches. Though, maybe everyone was wrong. Time and again, Verdan was shaking her view of the world. She didn’t know what to believe anymore.

The men had returned yesterday afternoon, and she’d spent all her time since then reading about Ceravwen and her domain. Gwen hadn’t learned much about Ceravwen growing up. It was time to remedy that.

Gwen already knew some of the basics from common knowledge, but she focused more on learning about Ceravwen’s domain. Women, rebirth and witchcraft, it was an interesting domain. It was even more interesting how it all meshed with Ceravwen’s husband, Dassdarth.

Dassdarth was the patron god of Nature and Hunting, a wild god by any standard. There was a lot of overlap between his nature aspect and Ceravwen’s domain, Gwen’s weather magic was a perfect example.

Verdan had said that Ceravwen was the source of the original weather witches, but Gwen couldn’t help but wonder how much Dassdarth had to do with it.

A distant rumble of thunder brought her back to her plans for this evening. There was a storm coming in and if she wanted to try to connect with Ceravwen, now was the time. A storm was the perfect representation of her weather magic. From her grandmother’s notes, it would be the time to commune with her patron and try to connect with her.

The only question was whether she wanted to do it, to link her fortunes to some unknowable deity that her ancestors had turned their backs on. She had so little information on what worshipping Ceravwen meant. For all she knew, it could mean blood sacrifices every new moon.

Sighing softly, she closed the journal and set it to one side. She was being ridiculous. She knew full well that Ceravwen was a positive force in the pantheon of gods, so there was no chance that she would ask for any foul rituals to demonstrate obedience. Dassdarth was more of a neutral figure but still on the positive side of things.

If she was honest with herself, she was just afraid, afraid of committing to something bigger than herself. It was bad enough spending so much time with people she barely knew and having them live in her childhood home, but at least this was a temporary thing. Committing to Ceravwen was a bit more permanent than that.

‘I guess it comes down to what I want more,’ Gwen muttered to herself, glancing back over to the book she’d set down. Her grandmother had spoken a lot about Ceravwen, saying that it was more important to be genuine in what you did than to follow set rules. To Gwen, that sounded like a chaotic way to worship someone, but it appealed to her all the same.

Thunder rolled again, closer this time. The moment of decision was drawing ever closer.

Gwen sat in her chair, indecisive and unsure.

Thunder boomed, echoed by several smaller echoes, each loud enough for Gwen to almost feel the thunder. It sounded like a massive storm. The more distant lightning strikes were pounding out a steady beat, like a distant drum urging her onward.

A flicker of energy sparked around her fingers, reacting to the strength of the storm above. Arcing lightning jumping harmlessly between her fingers, each arc a brilliant white that both hurt her eyes and mesmerised her while leaving behind a bit of warmth. She rarely got to see her magic in a quiet setting like this. It was a bittersweet pleasure to watch it. She knew that once the storm passed, it would end, and she would be unable to bring it back.

It was that thought that made her rise to her feet. She’d seen the others use their magic so often that it physically hurt her to think of living any longer with no control. Between Verdan’s strange, surprisingly versatile magic and the impressively controlled power Kai had demonstrated, she had more than enough examples of how things could be.

A decision made, she blew out the candle and raced upstairs, her feet finding the steps in the dark with an ease born from years of usage.

Lightning split the sky, illuminating the whole cottage for a moment as she emerged into the living room. Heavy raindrops already coated the windows, the steady patter of rain a comforting sound as she stripped down to little more than her underwear. There was little point in getting everything wet.

Heart racing and suddenly out of breath, Gwen shivered as she opened the door to the cottage and a chill wind whipped through, bringing no small amount of water with it.

After a deep breath and a single step, she was outside, pulling the door shut behind her, the cold rain hitting her directly as she stared up at the voluminous clouds that filled the sky. Searing bolts of crackling light arced between them, her magic providing a faint echo as it jumped between her hands, warming them and warding off a small portion of the biting wind.

There was only one place that would do for this, the ancient tree that Verdan said powered the wards that protected the glade. The tree had watched countless members of her family come and go. It was only right that she was near it when she tried to connect to Ceravwen. Kneeling before it, she looked up at the swaying branches, then up at the looming darkness beyond it, pushing away the cold, the thunder and the rain as she focused on what she wanted.

‘Ceravwen. I know my family has long since turned from you, but I wish to repair that bond. I wish to learn and become a witch like my ancestors were, in control and able to do good for nature and man alike.’ Gwen spoke aloud, the wind stealing her words the moment they left her mouth.

Verdan had told her of how he gathered Aether and shaped it to his will, a carefully monitored and mentally intensive process. She’d imagined the link to the goddess to be similar and searched in vain for it as she whispered her request for control once more.

Lightning flashed, and the roar of thunder broke her from her concentration. The sheer volume of the thunderclap made it feel like the ground beneath her had been smote in half. A shiver ran down her spine as she thought of the destructive power of the storm raging around her and just how fragile and defenceless she was right now.

Pushing away her awe, Gwen started to focus down and block it all out once more but paused with a grimace. This was Verdan’s way of doing it. This wasn’t her; this wasn’t witchcraft. Her grandmother spoke in metaphors and strange flowery language, but she always focused on how they were all one part of the larger design of nature.

For better or worse, Gwen was a weather witch, a storm witch by any other name, and this was her natural environment. She could feel her magic racing around her, active and surging in a way she’d never really experienced before, but she’d never stood out in a storm like this either.

Throwing away the rational approach, she followed her instincts and opened up her senses, drinking it all in. The freezing cold, the biting touch of the wind, the pounding rain, the bright lightning and the deafening thunder. Accepting it all, revelling in it all, she found what she was looking for. A glimmer of understanding, a notion of the true nature of weather, of storms, of what she could be.

For the briefest of moments, Gwen understood it all. At that moment, she made the connection she sought, her goddess welcoming her open heart with equally open arms. Something touched the very core of who she was, drawing out a thread and spinning it into a chord that was pulled away and into the sky.

A caw broke Gwen out of her reverie, her eyes flicking up as she saw something large and dark descend down toward her. Lightning flashed, its brief illumination revealing a large raven, its feathers a shimmering blue-black that captured the eye.

Lifting her hand without thought, Gwen stared in surprise as the raven gently settled onto her wrist before hopping onto her shoulder, providing a strangely familiar and comforting weight. The raven cocked its head and stared at her expectantly, Gwen simply returning the stare with a confused expression for a few moments. It was only when the lightning split the sky once more that she realised that things had changed.

The magic all around her was as chaotic and unresponsive as always, but now she could feel it in a more tangible way through the chord that had been pulled from her. No, it was a bond, a bond that led right to the raven on her shoulder.

From that bond, a trickle of energy ran down to her. It was magic that was unlike everything around her. It was calm, welcoming and soothing in a way that she hadn’t expected at all.

Drawing on it eagerly, Gwen felt some of it flow from the raven into her and with it, the chaotic magic all around her became tangible. It was only the slightest use of her intent to send a gust of wind out from one hand, its passage creating a vortex in the rainwater that was beautiful in itself. The cold of the rain was somehow muted now as well, the same with the wind. She could feel it, just not to the same degree as before. Truly, her magic had awoken now.

‘Thank you. Thank you, Ceravwen,’ Gwen whispered, tears mixing with rain as she wept, her joy only slightly tainted by the knowledge that her family would never know this feeling.

The magic from the raven was consumed by use, but only slightly. The majority of the energy was taken from what was around her. She instinctively knew she could do the same effect several times more with what she had left.

This must be the power of Ceravwen. This was the key to everything. She could feel a slight trickle feed down the bond, forming a pool of magic in her core. It was such an odd sensation; she could manipulate it as though it was a third hand that she’d never known she had. It was clumsy and awkward for now, but even that was a huge step forward compared to before.

The storm above was passing by, its lightning withdrawing as its fury was wasted on the indomitable mountain range that sat between them and Hobson’s Point. Gwen watched it go with a hint of sadness, the feeling of being connected to all of nature was receding with it, leaving her tired, cold and wet.

‘Here, put this on,’ Kai said from next to her, making Gwen start in surprise and flush a little. Kai was holding out a voluminous cloak to her, his gaze studiously being kept off to one side. Suddenly highly aware of her limited, soaking wet clothing and how revealing it all was, Gwen took the cloak and settled it around her shoulders, pulling it in tight around her. She wasn’t as cold as she thought she’d be, standing out here in the rain, but the cloak was still more than welcome.

‘Thank you,’ she said softly, blushing even more as Kai turned back to her and gave a slight bow.

‘It was my pleasure.’ Kai gave her a small smile as he turned to let her lead the way back to the cottage. It looked good on him.

‘I’m sorry if I woke you,’ Gwen said, pulling open the door to the cottage and stepping inside.

‘Not at all. It was the thunder that woke me. I simply happened to see you out there and thought you’d get cold,’ Kai said, shutting the door behind them and gesturing for her to lead the way into the kitchen. ‘Tea?’

‘Please,’ Gwen took a seat at the kitchen table, pulling the cloak tight and enjoying its warmth as Kai lit the stove and set a kettle atop it.

Watching the usually stern and stoic sorcerer set himself to make her a cup of hot tea was an unusual experience for Gwen. She’d been unsure of what to think of him at first. He’d seemed cold and distant when they first met. However, she was beginning to think he actually cared a great deal more than he liked to show.

‘I saw what you did, was your communing a success?’ Kai turned to look at her, showing none of the fear or loathing she was used to when people saw her powers.

‘Yes, or at least, I think so. I seem to have made a new friend at least,’ she nodded to the raven that was still sitting on her shoulder, watching them both with interest.

‘So I see. What was the term Verdan used, a familiar?’ Kai cocked his head, the bird copying his motion, and smiled before looking over to Gwen.

‘Yes, I don’t really know how to explain it, but he calms my magic, makes it usable. The goddess herself sent him to me. Verdan was right about that at the very least.’

‘He does have a habit of being right about these things,’ Kai muttered, shaking his head slightly as he poured out two mugs of the mint tea that Gwen kept on hand. Coming over to the table, he sat opposite her and passed across one of the mugs.

‘Thank you.’

They sipped their tea in comfortable silence, letting the warmth of the tea do its work and banish the lingering cold of the outdoors.