B4 - Chapter 10 - Magic Wings

When Lily and Rose finally landed from their magical flight, Rose was on top of the world. She threw out an endless barrage of questions at Lily while gushing about the experience and marveling at what Lily's glyphs were capable of.

"It was an inscription, not a glyph," Lily corrected.

"Same difference," Rose insisted, much to Lily's dismay.

Sighing, she shook her head and let Rose continue to rant and rave about the experience. She herself had to admit that it was not nearly as bad or terrifying as she had expected, though she was still not planning to make it a routine method of transport.

Lily's lack of an overwhelming response must have ticked Rose off, as she soon hounded her.

"You've got to take advantage of this! You could finish this floor today if you put your mind to it. Heck, over the holiday, you could probably catch up to me if you were flying around."

In response, Lily could only really chuckle nervously. She didn't want to say no, but at the same time, she didn't want to agree to such a proposal. If she was going to use magic to fly more often, she wanted to do it at her own pace, slow and steady, gradually easing into it and building her confidence.

She tried explaining this to Rose, but it was met with resistance. Rose definitely believed in the "rip the band-aid off" approach and felt that if Lily kept throwing herself into the deep end, she would get used to it in no time.

Eventually, they calmed down and opted to take a small break, so Lily could recover. After having provided the Mana for several inscriptions, not to mention the mental energy required to draw the initial one and edit it, she was a little fatigued. Thankfully, Rose had come prepared and pulled out all sorts of snacks and rations from her bag, treating them to a very delightful brunch.

The topic of their conversation gradually shifted to helping Rose fly, and because of that, Arakil was included, with his words written down so Lily didn't need to constantly speak on his behalf.

"I've tried focusing my Mana to my wings like you suggested last time, but it just doesn't seem to work," Rose explained. "I thought maybe I needed more practice with wind spells or something, especially after seeing Hana's performance…"

Lily found herself bobbing her head in agreement, fully understanding why Rose would draw that conclusion, as Hana's performance was just that spectacular. She also knew Rose was fully capable of casting wind spells, but, just as back in the orphanage, she preferred not to, since fire was far more accessible.

[That's actually a common misconception. You don't need wind or air spells to fly.]

"You… Don't?" Rose replied, sounding genuinely confused.

Lily was also shocked by this, especially considering her own flight inscription was making use of three wind glyphs.

[Indeed, magic opens multiple paths to achieve flight, and wind only happens to be the most commonly thought of method. However, regardless of all of that, when it comes to magical creatures, that is when it completely turns on its head. Think about it logically, how could a dragon ever fly?]

Rose frowned at the question. "What do you mean? It has wings, so obviously it can fly?"

Lily nodded in agreement; why have wings if it couldn't fly?

[But at that size and weight, it would never be able to get off the ground. Birds fly because they have low body mass, large wings relative to their body, and a streamlined shape. Now look at your average dragon; the wing-to-surface area is completely wrong! Not to mention some species of dragons don't even have wings, yet they still fly!]

"Oh… I think I understand. Birds have hollow bones or something, right?" Lily asked.

[Some do, but not all. But yes, that is one of the ways they have evolved to reduce their weight and make flying easier. Dragons, on the other hand, have some of the densest bones in existence; there's a good reason why so many adventurers coveted their bones for arms and armor.]

"I kind of get what you're saying, but dragons can fly," Rose replied.

[Yes, and that is precisely my point. Dragons are beings of magic. That is precisely why they can fly. The same could be said for a majority of magical creatures; if a pegasus were just an ordinary creature, it too wouldn't be able to fly with those wings. Now that same problem arises when it comes to demis, you're human-shaped, which is arguably much worse than the original myths you've inherited your bloodline from, yet I'm sure countless demis can fly, no?]

"Pretty much any demi that has wings can fly," Rose confirmed with a nod. "I looked into it when trying to solve my own problem. It made me wonder if I was the problem, since I was having such a hard time."

[Well, the answer is magic, of course, and the reason you're struggling could very well be insufficient image training or even a lack of confidence.]

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"You need to believe in yourself more…" Lily whispered.

[Exactly.]

Arakil hadn't revealed everything, probably due to not wanting to accidentally spoil Lily's plan to Rose in case it somehow diminished her chances. But despite that, she had quickly caught on that it must have been related to belief. Magical creatures had myths and legends written and spoken about them for ages, and that was what fueled them.

Lily couldn't help but wonder if the very first dragons maybe had to use wind magic in conjunction with their wings, or something else, to fly, but eventually they grew beyond the need for it. Thanks to all of that, providing a solid foundation, even demis with only a faint bloodline connection from those same myths could reap the rewards.

It's all so fascinating… And it really shows how powerful our minds are to influence magic in such a way.

Magic was obviously the catalyst that made all of this real, and without it, it would be nothing but empty wishes. Still, it gave Lily tremendous hope for her future plans, and she couldn't wait to see it come to fruition.

"Image training… Confidence… Man, it really feels like I'm back in the orphanage listening to old Richardus," Rose said with a chuckle.

"Even if you disliked him, he was right," Lily pointed out.

"I know, I know…" Rose sighed.

Lily smiled before turning back to Arakil. "So, how can we help?"

[Flying like before would help provide her the experience, but you could also try setting up an even more focused environment. Rather than flying over a distance, you could create a simple glyph to help hold her in the air until Rose finds the spark she needs to take over.]

Wait… Is Arakil suggesting I do to Rose the same thing he did to me with the wand? But if I did that and she didn't unconsciously take over, wouldn't she fall and get hurt?

Lily was usually quick to agree with any suggestion Arakil made, but this gave her some concern. Maybe she was projecting her own fear of flying onto Rose, but she wasn't too fond of this kind of deception with a potential risk involved.

"Mm, I like the sound of this. Basically, I get some help to get off the ground until I don't need it anymore?" Rose asked.

[That's the gist of it.]

Rose nodded happily and turned to Lily, her eyes brimming with anticipation. Seeing her sister so excited made it basically impossible for Lily to refuse, especially after all the help she had provided at the start of her very own magical journey.

"Okay, I'll get to work. You can start clearing out any monsters around us," Lily suggested.

Rose quickly rushed to hug her. "You're the best!"

After that, Lily was left alone with Arakil as she slowly began plotting an initial design for Rose. Since it was just the two of them, Arakil revealed that Lily's suspicions were correct.

[If you include a toggle in the design, you can temporarily turn the glyph off and back on again. If you're fast enough, Rose won't even notice the change, and it should gradually ease her into feeling the flight for herself.]

{Okay… That's better than I imagined. I thought you were going to suggest turning it off entirely.}

[That is the ultimate goal, but at first it just needs to be quick back and forths. You can chalk up any disturbances to a bit of wind turbulence since this isn't a full inscription preventing that.]

{With how quickly you thought of this plan, you have me worried about what you're secretly putting me through…}

Arakil chuckled. [Well, would you even realize it was happening?]

Unfortunately for Lily, she had no idea, although that didn't stop her from suddenly questioning many of the tasks and activities Arakil had her perform routinely. Were the hand exercises really to help limber up her fingers for magical gestures, or was it somehow some deviously hidden training plot? Similar thoughts raced through her mind, but she couldn't find even a hint of suspicion in any of their recent actions.

He's probably joking… Or maybe he wants me to think he's joking so I don't realize it? Ugh, I can't believe he was giving me a fake wand!

Lily continued to draw while pouting, just a little. Eventually, the glyph was complete, and not long after, Rose returned after securing the perimeter.

"Wow, this is bigger than I thought it would be," Rose said excitedly.

"It's bigger, so it lasts longer," Lily explained. "And also the effect is tied to the drawn area, rather than me designating a new one. That way, you know to stay under the glowing glyph."

"I see! I had no idea it worked that way."

Truthfully, Lily could've used a smaller glyph and just kept topping it up with Mana, but just in case she was distracted for whatever reason, she wanted it to have sufficient capacity to remain active without her intervention. She could've drawn auxiliary glyphs for capacity, but simply making it larger was a much simpler method to get the same result.

With the glyph ready and placed on the ground, Rose stepped into the large circle, and Lily activated it. Upon activation, Rose was lifted up into the air, before reaching the maximum height Lily had set into its sigils, where she stayed. It was just above the treetops, high enough to provide a satisfying visual aid for Rose while still keeping her within shouting distance.

"Lily, this is amazing!" Rose shouted down.

"I swear she's way too excited about anything related to flying…" Lily whispered, not feeling the same about it.

"Do I need to flap my wings!?" Rose asked, already flapping wildly.

{Does she?}

[Technically, she doesn't, as her flight is purely magical. However, flapping them even if it provides no tangible benefit can greatly enhance her mental image, as well as that of those around her.]

"You can! It will help you learn to fly quicker!" Lily shouted back.

"Okay!"

And so Rose was flapping her wings wildly, clearly trying her best to imagine herself flying. Lily used her Magesight and confirmed that Rose was also focusing the Mana to her wings, meaning everything was set up for success. All that was left was for Lily to begin the secret training.

Even though this had Arakil's seal of approval, she was still hesitant. Not only did she not approve of keeping Rose in the dark, even if it was genuinely for her own benefit, but she couldn't help but worry about what would happen if something went wrong. Unfortunately, with Rose's expectations and Arakil's insistence, she was outnumbered and eventually gave in.

[Remember, just very tiny bursts at the start. You can then gradually increase the off duration as you go along.]

With a reluctant sigh, Lily began the process and very nearly lost her cool right from the start. With the glyph only off for a brief moment, Rose had plummeted several inches before returning to the original position. While Lily had seen it all happen before her eyes, her sister was somehow none the wiser.

"Man, it's really windy up here!" Rose shouted. "The inscription was so calm, but this feels like a real experience!"

[Excellent, looks like the setup is perfect. I think you'll find Rose adapting quicker than you realize.]