“Such as?” I asked as we started walking again.

“Well, all sorts of things,” Ken replied. “Magic is a tool like any other, just a bit more flexible than most and requiring more creativity. There’s shapeshifting, for example, though that’s a highly complex branch of magic, and an offshoot of Transmutation, which you’ll be learning first.”

“That’s what you were talking about before when you mentioned transfiguration, right?” I said, putting pieces together in my mind. “Changing one substance into another? Which, incidentally, sounds incredibly useful.”

“It is,” Ken agreed, “but there’s more to it than that. Transmutation covers that, the reshaping of objects into other objects, and lots of similar disciplines. It used to be called Alchemy, but many thought that was too narrow a name for it.”

“Wow,” I took a few steps before asking, “So…the Philosopher’s Stone…?”

“Is a real substance, yes,” Ken said with a nod. “It is, however, extremely difficult and dangerous to make.”

“Of course,” I said dryly. “It would have to be, or it wouldn’t be so incredibly rare.”

“Exactly,” he smiled. “It’s also not actually a stone, but that’s another story. Let’s see…there’s Divination…”

He must’ve seen the instantly dubious look on my face, because he chuckled. “Oh yes. Astrology, fortune telling, scrying, remote viewing…it’s all real, and one of the most useful branches of magic you can learn.” He paused briefly, then smiled wryly. “Of course, attempting to tell the future in any way is a difficult task by any means. The best one can hope to do is predict the most likely course of events, so caution is always needed.”

“So…it’s more like calculating probabilities rather than ‘seeing the future,’ so to speak.”

“In a way,” Ken nodded. “It’s very complicated, and a skill that very few spellcasters have a real talent for. Then there’s Summoning, which we won’t get into for quite a while, for reasons you can probably guess.”

“Too dangerous,” I said. It wasn’t a question. I’d read plenty of fantasy stories, and summoning things usually didn’t end well even in the best of circumstances.

“Quite,” Ken said flatly. “I suppose I’m saying that a lot. I want to impress on you the caution you’ll need while learning some of these skills.”

“Consider me cautioned.”

“Excellent.” Ken looked both pleased and relieved.

“What else is there?”

“Well, there’s healing magic, which is obviously of great value. And Enchanting, which is weaving magic into the substance of mundane objects…usually things like jewelry, swords, books, that sort of thing. And all sorts of different types of Ritual Magic, which can overlap with pretty much every other branch of magic. And, of course, Evocation. Combat magic.”

“And defensive magic?”I asked.

“Indeed. It’s part of the same branch, and uses many of the same principles. As you learn one,” he said, “you will learn the other.”

I digested that in silence as we walked. It made sense to me that offensive and defensive magic would be intertwined in that way, as they would inevitably involve opposing forces. “It’s like ballistics, I suppose,” I said thoughtfully. “When you understand how and why a bullet behaves the way it does, you’ll be better prepared to figure out how best to design protections against it.”

Ken considered that, then shrugged. “It’s not a perfect analogy, but it’s close enough for our purposes right now. And here we are.”

He stopped in front of an incredibly ornate door. It appeared to be made of iron, and was covered with runes and strange patterns made of gold, silver, quartz, and what I thought might be obsidian, all of them embedded in the surface of the door. The door’s edges were bordered with a thin row of spidery writing that were both similar to and entirely unlike the other runes, and which had been carefully filled in with some kind of opalescent paint. There was no door knob or handle, just a lock, and the hinges looked heavy and solid.

“That,” I said in a subdued voice, “is quite a door.”

Ken chuckled softly. “Yes it is. Come closer, I want you to try something. Consider it your first real magic lesson.”

“All right,” I stepped up beside him, close to the door, and tried to ignore the nervous flip of my stomach.

“In magic,” Ken said, “all practitioners - all of the ones I’m aware of, at any rate - agree on one thing above all else: The most efficient way to channel power is by gathering it with your left hand, and projecting it with your right.”

“Why?” I asked curiously. I was right-handed, but I imagined there had to be some left-handed wizards out there who felt a bit irked by that rule.

Ken shrugged. “I’m honestly not sure. The metaphysical laws of the universe aren’t as easily explained as they are defined, and often actively defy explanation. I’m familiar with no less than two dozen theories as to why energy channels most easily from left to right, and several of them are directly contradictory.”

I stared at him.

He smiled a little and shrugged again. “Best to just accept it for now. Learn how magic works, and worry about why it works later. Some spellcasters have dedicated their lives to the question of why magic works the way it does, and the answers they’ve reached are - once again - contradictory.”

I blew out a somewhat frustrated breath…I was used to ‘why’ having an answer, however complex it might be. “All right…”

Ken chuckled softly. “It bothered your mother at first too. At any rate, what this all means is that energy is best sensed using the left hand. What I want you to do is hold up your left hand…yes, just like that. Now spread your fingers, and hold your hand a few inches from the surface of the door.”

I did…and after a moment I felt a strange, almost electric pressure against the palm of my hand. It made the skin there tingle a little, and almost seemed to be pushing against my hand. “I feel…something. Some kind of pressure, maybe?”

“Excellent!” Ken said happily. “That’s a very good start. Now, concentrate on what you’re feeling, and move your hand slowly over the door without actually touching it. This door is heavily enchanted, and you might be able to get a sense of what the enchantments are by what they feel like.”

I gave Ken a long, slightly doubting look, then turned my attention back to the door. I concentrated on my left hand, on what I was feeling as I slowly traced the surface of the door. As my hand passed over one of the obsidian runes, I felt an increase of the pressure against my palm, and paused there. “This one,” I said slowly. “It feels like it’s actively pushing against my hand.”

Ken nodded. “Very good! That rune, and the others like it, make up a force ward designed to repel anyone who touches the door when they shouldn’t be. It’s not very powerful, as such things go, but sufficient to knock a grown man off his feet.”

I pulled my hand back from it. “Yikes. Why the security? I mean…if it is security. I’m making an assumption.”

“And a good one,” Ken confirmed. “I’ll tell you before you open the door. For now, let’s continue the lesson.”

“I’m not going to set these off, am I?” I asked nervously.

Ken smiled. “Not unless you touch them. Now, hand to the door…”

I relaxed and returned his smile. “Yes, Professor.” I turned my attention back to my hand again as Ken laughed softly, and began moving my hand over the door again, being careful not to touch it. When my hand passed over one of the embedded silver runes, the tingling sensation increased so much that I pulled my hand back from it instinctively. “This one does something involving electricity?”

Ken looked surprised and pleased. “Yes! Very good! Those make up the anchor of a ward which adds a Taser-like effect to the force ward.”

“You know what a Taser is?” For some reason, my brain had jumped to that. Maybe it was just trying to cling to something that was part of my old view of ‘normal.’ Or maybe it just felt out of place for a ghost to be discussing Tasers.

Ken smiled. “I watch television when I’m very, very bored, and your father had a subscription to Popular Science for a long time. And, of course, I read books. Lots and lots of books.”

“Oh,” I felt a bit silly. “Of course.”

Ken gestured to the door, still smiling. “What about the gold runes, or the quartz?”

I resumed my survey of the door, passing my hand over one of the embedded gold runes. I felt warmth against my palm as I did. “Something to do with fire?” I guessed.

Ken nodded. “Very good.”

One of the quartz runes seemed to pull on my hand instead of pushing against it, but it was a gentle pull rather than a strong tug. Like a weak magnetic effect. After a minute of considering this, I shook my head. “I’m not sure about this one.”

Ken smiled. “That’s all right. It’s a complicated one. I’ll explain in a minute. How about the runes around the edge of the door?”

I shifted my attention to them, gliding my hand over them. As I moved down their length, I got a distinct impression of secrecy and protectiveness, of careful attention and quiet watchfulness, somehow tied to the quartz runes. After a moment, I got it. “It’s a lock. They’re keeping the door sealed. And they have something to do with the larger quartz runes.”

Ken looked impressed, which made my cheeks heat up again. “That’s right. That’s really excellent, Mistress. You’re a natural. But I shouldn’t be surprised…your mother took to this sort of lesson quickly too. These runes, together with the quartz ones, make up a set of blood wards that prevent anyone outside of your bloodline from opening this door, even if they have the key for it. Your parents put these wards into place…and added an exception for me, of course.”

I looked at him for a long moment. “I imagine you’ll tell me why the security is necessary at some point?”

Ken nodded. “When you’re ready.”

“I’m going to hear that a lot at first, aren’t I.” I felt only a little indignant about it. But more than that, I trusted Ken to judge when I was ready.

Ken smiled. “Quite a bit.”

“So this door,” I said, “it’s not going to zap me, torch me, and blast me into the far wall when I touch it?”

He laughed. “No. Go ahead and open it.”

I freely admit to feeling just a bit nervous and hesitant as I slid the Master Key into the lock. I was, after all, dealing with forces that I absolutely did not understand yet. That’ll make anybody with half a brain and a smidgen of good sense nervous.

To my relief, the door didn’t shock me, roast me, or blast me off my feet. It unlocked smoothly, and opened onto the most weirdly fascinating room I’d seen in the house so far.

It was a circular room, lit by a mixture of torches evenly spaced around the room in wall sconces, and by what appeared to be quartz crystals that glowed brightly with clear white light and were embedded in the ceiling. The room was easily twenty meters across, and was filled with a mix of free-standing bookcases and worktables, surrounding a large circular area in the middle.

The worktables were of several heights; some were low enough to sit at, others were obviously meant for standing work. They were covered in a vast variety of tools and instruments, some of which I recognized (various beakers and flasks, a few Bunsen burners, writing and drafting tools, a large mortar and pestle, and more), while others were of such bizarre design that I couldn’t even begin to figure out what they might be used for. Each table had one or two of the glowing crystals attached to them on hinged swing-arms, providing excellent illumination.

The bookcases were crammed full to bursting with - what was to my sensibilities, at least - rather haphazardly stacked and shelved books of every shape and size. In just the bookcase nearest to the door, I saw a canvas-covered book small enough to fit in the palm of my hand, sitting on top of a leather-bound tome that had a two-foot long spine and was comfortably a foot thick.

But it was the free space in the center of the room that really drew my attention. The space was completely free of the clutter that threatened to overflow from the rest of the room, and was instead dominated by what I guessed was one of the magic circles that Ken had mentioned earlier. Only it was considerably more complex and ornate than what I’d been imagining.

It was a little more than four meters across - about fifteen feet, I guessed - and was undeniably a work of art, made up of several distinct elements that blended together into something beautiful and elegant. The outermost circle was a tightly braided double helix made of silver, platinum, or both (I later learned it was both). Two feet in from that was a second circle made of steel and copper, likewise woven together into a helix.

Between them, golden runes were embedded into the floor to form another circle. They appeared to be broken up into words or phrases, visibly divided by fist-sized uncut gemstones in a rainbow of colors. In the very center of the circle, strips of metal (again embedded in the otherwise unbroken stone floor) - I thought they were gold, copper, silver, steel and platinum - made up the sides of a five-pointed star, its tips just touching the inner ring of steel and copper. Within the pentagon at the center of the star, I thought I saw another smaller circle of runes, though these looked like they’d been painted onto the floor.

“Wow.” It was all I could think of to say.

Ken smiled. “We’ll do most of your lessons here at first. All of the tools you’ll need are close at hand here, and you won’t have to go to the trouble of creating your own circle until you have a solid grasp of how they work. Also, the room itself can easily be…shall we say, hardened against errant spells while you’re learning.”

I looked around slowly, taking it all in and imagining how much time I was going to spend in this incredible, bizarre room.

“Your mother spent a lot of time here during her own training,” Ken said, “for the same reasons. And of course later, when she was doing research or summoning something. Your father spent quite a bit of time here too, especially after your mother died.” He sighed softly. “For a while, I could hardly get him to leave this room except to eat. At least he never locked me out.”

“Lock you out?” I asked, wiping a few unshed tears from my eyes.

“Oh yes,” Ken said with a nod. “The room itself is a circle, and if you look at the ceiling you’ll see that the whole room is edged with another ring of steel and silver. It can be closed and sealed against outside magic and spiritual entities…which is, incidentally, how it is also protected against errant spells. That’ll be one of the first things I teach you how to do.”

“Again,” I said, approaching overload already, “wow.”

Ken chuckled softly. “Getting a bit overwhelmed again?”

I glanced at him and smiled sheepishly. “Maybe just a little. It’s an awful lot to take in.”

He nodded. “I can imagine. For now, let’s just have a look around the room. I’ll tell you what some of these things are, and then it’ll be time for dinner! Tomorrow, we can begin to study channeling energy by choosing the materials for your first Focus.”

“Focus?” I was starting to feel like I’d be asking questions and expressing awe constantly for the rest of my life. Somehow, it didn’t feel like a bad thing…I was beginning to really understand how little wonder I’d felt in my life so far.

“A Focus,” Ken said, “is a general term that describes any tool made by a spellcaster for the purpose of making it easier to channel and direct energy, or to make performing specific types of magic easier. They’re not a requirement for spellcasting, but they do ease the process by providing a tangible tool with a specific intent, specially prepared to channel and focus energy in specific ways. Thus, a Focus. Capital F.”

To my surprise, that made sense to me. “Since magic is based on channeling energy, a Focus makes spellcasting easier by simplifying the mental effort needed to make it happen.”

Ken blinked and nodded. “Exactly, Mistress. I’m surprised you reached that conclusion so quickly.”

I shrugged a little. “It just makes sense. If there’s a mental effort involved in a job, it’s only natural to try to find ways to simplify or eliminate the mental effort.” I gave him a lopsided smile. “That’s human nature.”

He chuckled. “Very true, Mistress.”

“So what will I be making first?”

“The first Focus most spellcasters make is a general-purpose tool for gathering and focusing energy,” Ken said. “The most common type is a staff of some sort. The staff is a very flexible tool in many ways.”

Amusement and curiosity welled up in me, and I giggled. “Seriously? A real wizard’s staff?”

Ken looked delighted, grinning at me. “Oh yes. You’ll be following in the footsteps of Merlin and Gandalf in no time.”

I grinned back at him. “Now that’s something to look forward to. But I’m not growing a long white beard to go with my hair.”

Ken laughed, and I laughed with him. It felt very good.

When we’d both settled down a bit - and, I noticed, I felt more at ease after the release of laughter - Ken held up a warning finger. “Mind you, general purpose Foci are sometimes the most difficult to make. So don’t be surprised if it doesn’t work right on the first try, or takes several days, or even weeks, to make it work properly.”

“A computer engineer I know once told me ‘You can have it done right, fast, or cheap. Pick two.’” I said. “I imagine that applies here as well, at least to some extent. And I’m not afraid of hard or time-consuming work.”

Ken smiled warmly. “You’re quite right, Mistress. And I never for a moment though you would be.”