Lidda followed Casra along the new path. It was barely visible in many places and looked like a trail which wild animals such as deer might have made. Still, the walking was easy and the ground fairly level as they worked their way downward toward one end of a valley. Lidda liked the privacy it afforded their conversation. She might even bring up her attraction to Casra's brother if the opportunity presented.

"So, what do you really believe in?" Casra asked. She could be very direct.

"Oh, not much of anything." Lidda replied with an unfamiliar sense of dread. She was afraid this was going to turn into a sales pitch for Casra’s religion and Lidda really didn't want that to come between them. Lidda had forgotten all about the Ring of Sora until her folks brought it up that morning. Now Lidda wondered why Casra had waited so long. At least she might have a few answers for her nosey parents the next time she went home.

"Come on,” Casra pressed, “You must have some world view. What makes sense to you?"

"My folks are officially agnostic. Mom's a CPA, Dad sells insurance. It's all about numbers and such. No room for religion or mysticism in their world."

"Yes, but what about your world?" Casra seemed determined to pursue the conversation.

"I only believe in what I can see, touch, or know with my own senses or reason. I like to pick things up and examine them. I believe in the scientific method. I like theories that can be tested, proven or disproven, open to questioning by anyone."

Lidda realized it wasn't going to be a short conversation. "So, what about you then?” Lidda added. “What do you believe in?"

"Oh, I believe in just about everything." Casra said in a matter-of-fact manner.

"Everything? You're kidding right?" This was not what Lidda had expected.

"Yeah, pretty much everything. You know where there's smoke, there's fire." Casra was tossing one of Lidda’s favorite expressions back at her. "And if there isn't any fire, well there is still the smoke to deal with."

"So if you can find no evidence to back up something, you believe in exactly what, the smoke?" Lidda stumbled over the flat edge of a rock hidden in deep grass. "Ouch! I believe in that rock."

Casra chuckled. "Physical pain is unequivocal at least. But, yes, you could say I believe in the smoke too." Casra didn't seem to share Lidda’s conundrum. "Everything is the product of some underlying reality or belief. And so it has a reality of its own then, no matter how fleeting, it does exist for a while and affects the reality around it."

"And what if it is just an illusion, or false belief? Like a magic trick or the belief in perpetual motion?"

"It is a sum product of its past, present, and future existence as measured by its interaction with other things." Casra settled down on a large flat boulder. Her skirt flowed out from around her waist as she sat cross-legged.

"Well, that sounds like a new theory of causality," Lidda said making herself comfortable beside Casra on the warm surface of the boulder.

"Not causality, reality." Casra opened a soda and pulled a couple of apples from the picnic basket they had brought with them.

"Let's see if I have this right. Without any proof or investigation, you just accept everything as reality?" Lidda was feeling a little lost and could tell that Casra was an old soul in this battle.

"You don't have to know origins to have proof of existence. What if the men and machines who built that house over there were dead and destroyed? The house still exists. Maybe the builders just got on a spaceship and disappeared? You might never know who built something or how, but there it is." Casra leaned back, enjoying the soft breeze playing through her hair.

"Ok then, but what about ideas or religion?" Lidda thought she may as well dig deeper. "If everyone who believed in a religion had died, if all their literature and structures had been lost or destroyed, if no living person had ever heard or read about this religion, then what? Was the religion real? Or just in their heads?"

Casra was not affected. "If the house we just spoke of was razed to the ground and there was no trace left, did it not exist? It's no different with beliefs. Just a different type of existence. Religion and beliefs affect the reality of the people who believe in them. Whole civilizations are built around these beliefs and then may all disappear. Still real."

Lidda bit into her apple and tried to wrap her head around what Casra had just said. "So, the effect of the belief is real, even if the underlying premise is unproven or false."

"Exactly. Smoke has its own reality and existence. It may not do what you expect it to do. It may say one thing and do another. It may not follow the laws of physics or rules of society. It is not necessarily tied to your assumptions. The mistake is in trying to understand it in terms of what it is not."

"If someone tells you they can perform a miracle or telekinesis, but they can't, then their claims can be proven false." Lidda was trying to get back on solid ground.

Casra paused for a moment. "I see your point. People can lie or be deceived, certainly. But perhaps they have been privileged to catch a glimpse of another form of reality that you haven't experienced. Maybe they failed to understand it fully or could not explain it to you in familiar terms. I may be powerless to fly, but I can talk about it and birds can do it. That could seem very extraordinary to a person who had never seen a bird."

Lidda had to wonder where Casra was going with all of this, but she was certain this conversation was leading up to something. "I would have to remain skeptical until I had witnessed it myself. I need firsthand experience. Until then, I would judge their statements and beliefs considering their general rationality and behavior patterns," Lidda said. She pushed a strand of hair from across her eyes. "And there are accepted ways to prove things false."

"Sure, and we believe in the proofs. But how do you know what you don't know? There could be realities which do not lend themselves to our logic and math." Casra was drawing circles in the dirt with a bare toe.

"Like physics before relativity was discovered?" Lidda wasn't sure what point Casra was trying to make.

"Yes, like that. And what if all that we consider to be insanity, hallucinations, miracles, myth, or magic were but something from another pattern of existence?"

"I would still be skeptical. For example, I couldn't believe in fairies or elves just on that slim possibility."

"What if a fairy is not a fairy, but is just the way it appears to you?" Casra asked.

"I would need a lot of convincing."

"I could show you a fairy right now if you want." Casra smiled her mischievous smile and got up from her stone perch clearly knowing Lidda would follow. "Let's go somewhere more secluded."

They went down a winding path toward a stand of tall trees which grew along a small stream running through the meadow. The trees grew thicker until they formed a canopy overhead. They continued on the path until they had left the meadow and stream bank to go even farther into the woods to where the path ended in a small clearing with wildflowers and buzzing bees. It was beautiful and peaceful.

Casra sat down in the grass and motioned for Lidda to do the same. They sat there for a few moments until Lidda felt obliged to speak.

"So, I'm waiting..."

"Sometimes you have to call them out." Casra gently tossed a round stone that she had been holding in her hand toward the edge of the clearing. Lidda saw nothing at first, then a gentle glow could be seen in the shadow of the trees. Gradually a form took shape. It was the figure of a fairy, pale green with gold tipped wings. The creature flew up from the ground and appeared to be dancing in the wind.

Casra held out her hand and the fairy flew out into the sunlight toward her, hovered on gossamer wings for a moment, then sat down lightly on her outstretched hand. Lidda was speechless. Casra looked at Lidda and nodded to her to hold out her hand. Lidda cautiously extended a finger.

"No, palm flat up like mine."

Lidda did as she instructed, and the tiny figure flew from Casra's hand to Lidda’s. Lidda felt only a faint buzzing sensation as it settled down again.

"This is too weird!" Lidda exclaimed, thinking she must be dreaming. The creature flitted away to the edge of the clearing after Lidda spoke. It disappeared in a little green flash. Where it had been was a small stone that looked like the one Casra had tossed out except it was glowing ever so slightly.

"It left something behind?" Puzzled, Lidda got up to investigate and retrieved the stone.

"A fairy stone." Casra said without any surprise in her voice. "A very special gift indeed."

"What should I do with it?"

"It's yours to keep. Think of it as a sort of wishing stone, but it doesn't give you real things, just smoke." Casra said.

"Like what?"

"Well, think of something. A mythical beast perhaps."

"A unicorn then!" Lidda tossed down the stone and a moment later there appeared before her a lovely creature, snowy white, with delicate features. The unicorn ran timidly toward the shadows before evaporating in a mist.

"What kind of trick is this you are playing on me?" Lidda's heart was racing with a mixture of doubt and excitement.

"It's not a trick at all. The sun and warmth of your body will provide energy to help power it. The more energy, the stronger it becomes. You can tell others about your visions if you wish, but if you try to show it to anyone else, it will just look like a rock to them. It is a gift for you alone." Casra sounded very serious as she walked over to pick up the stone and handed it back to Lidda.

"So if I tell anyone, they will think I am nuts because only I can see it. And this thing grows more powerful? Now that's a scary thought." Lidda was still feeling out of touch with reality and would not have been surprised to see a dragon. She quickly put the thought out of her head for fear it would materialize.

"It's under your control actually and the unicorn disappeared because you were uncomfortable with its presence. Certain safeguards have been built in."

Lidda really wasn't ready to accept it, but she forced herself to ask more questions. "Safeguards built in by whom?" she asked.

"By those who made the stone of course. Today's magic is tomorrow's science." Casra seemed to be trying to put it in words Lidda could relate to.

"And if it really starts to drive me nuts, how exactly do I get rid of it? Will it follow me around?" The words were hardly out of Lidda’s mouth before she regretted them and realized the very last thing she wanted was to lose this wonderful new toy.

As though reading Lidda’s mind Casra reassured her. "All you would have to do is toss it away and it would find its way back to the world that created it." She added, "It will not hurt you Lidda. Look at it as a little present from me."

Casra reached in a deep pocket of her skirt and pulled out a small ornately tooled leather bag strung on leather lacing that was just the right size to hold the stone. "And this pouch is a gift from Reddge."

"So, you were both planning this all along?" Lidda said as she suddenly realized just what Casra was trying to say. They were leaving before the semester was over.

"Had to find the right time is all." Casra offered as they turned to go. "I have to leave tomorrow. We were called away early and Reddge couldn't be here."

"Not so soon!" Lidda was devastated that Reddge hadn't come to say good-bye. She already missed the warmth and excitement she felt when he was around. Lidda thought of the firm grasp of his hand and the thrill she felt when they touched. She was angry at the same time for his abrupt departure and the pain it was causing.

They walked along in silence. The trip back seemed longer. There was so much Lidda wanted to know, but she couldn't find the words. They finally reached the campus and headed back toward the college and dormitories.

"We'll see you again next summer, I promise." Casra said and looked at the stone now glowing in Lidda’s hand. "It likes you!"

"Next summer is a long time from now. You don't seem to care much about time, do you?" Lidda was certain of that much as she placed the stone in the pouch and secured it around her neck.

"We have forever. Or don't you believe in forever, Lidda?"

Lidda felt her eyes brim over with tears, her face flushed with emotion. "Where are you from, I mean where will you be going?"

"We travel from place to place."

"Like gypsies?"

"Not exactly. We're touring and visiting all the Great Houses to complete our education."

"What are Great Houses?"

"Our people have developed a network of properties over the centuries, each of which specializes in one skill or another. Take my clothing for example. One house will make garments such as these, another will make leather goods or shoes. We make things to sell commercially and to meet our own needs."

"And that is why you came here?" Lidda asked, her mind filled with uncertainty. She didn't even know the right questions to ask after what she had just witnessed.

"Exactly, for the gardening I told you about. We were taking lessons from the local Great House that runs a nursery and tree farm not far from here. You may recall the name, Castonea Gardens. We are expected to learn about as many different things as possible and then develop our talents. We school our children in this manner and as young adults we tour the various houses to decide what skills are best for us. Eventually we each aspire to have our own Great House."

"Do you know what you will be specializing in yet?"

"No. There's no hurry. I won't be eligible for my own house for a few more years until I have apprenticed in a trade and then found a mate who either shares my interests or complements my skills. I do like horticulture."

"What about Reddge?"

Catching the interest in Lidda’s voice, Casra smiled. "Well, he is very good at leather tooling, but he enjoys working with horses even more."

Lidda quietly wondered if she could enjoy a life raising fine horses. They had reached the fork in the road where their ways were about to part. "So how can we keep in touch until next summer?"

"I am always with you Lidda." Casra gave Lidda a big hug. "But you should visit Castonea Gardens. I think you will find it interesting, and you can learn more about our organization there." She pressed a business card in Lidda’s hand.

Lidda watched her walk away and felt for the stone in the pouch to see if it was still there. It felt warm to her touch, and this somehow reassured her. Lidda could feel its power and a new phantom was softly forming in her head.

"Oh, they are called magitons, not fairy stones." Casra called out one last time as she departed.

Lidda was anxious to find what this magiton held in store for her. 'Tomorrow's science' and 'over the centuries' still rang in her ears. These were no ordinary people she had met from this Ring of Sora. Lidda was beginning to believe in 'everything' too.

A feeling of apprehension slowly filled Lidda like a brewing storm. The future was much closer than she had imagined, and she felt very unprepared. Her carefree college days had vanished. Why did she get this stone, this magiton? Why was she chosen?