Eve's Awaening

"Why am I not freaking out more right now?" I said as Sean pulled onto the highway, "I mean: wizards, vampires,

sex magic

? I should be freaking the hell out right now. Am I in shock?" Sean let out a little chuckle and gave me a reassuring look.

"You just survived a life or death situation so your adrenaline is still pumping," Sean explained, "also, just did a pretty big piece of magic especially for your first time."

"That wasn't my first time by the way," I said a little too fast before realizing he was just talking about magic, "I mean I've had sex before, but nothing like that has ever happened."

"Well, it's not unusual for magical talents to take until adulthood to develop but from the research I've done, tantric practitioners usually have their power manifest during one of their first sexual experiences," Sean explained before thinking for a moment and adding, "although there was something about manifestation requiring both parties to... uh... you know." He made a vague flourishing gesture as he stumbled through the last part.

"You mean both people need to have an orgasm for the magic to work?" I asked, smiling at his awkwardness after what we just did together.

"Yeah, at least for the first time anyway from what I've read," he said as his awkwardness melted away with a chuckle, "has something to do with making the connection necessary for a magical channel to form but that's all advanced magical theory that we can discuss after I make sure you survive long enough to figure out the basics."

"Pretty sure I just showed you I know some basics," I said teasingly. Wow, the high from this magic was pretty crazy, I was still tingling with an energy that wasn't wholly sexual but that was definitely the prevailing aspect of it.

"Basics of magic, love," Sean replied, "you definitely have the other stuff down, although you do have ingrained instincts for it with your power." I thought about those words for a minute before asking for clarification.

"So, you're saying that my magic also makes me a natural at sex?"

"That's the gist of it, basically your body," he glanced over to look me over appraisingly at the word body and I felt a little jolt of desire as he continued, "and instincts have been shaped somewhat by the magic that's a part of you. You also have an innate ability to pickup on sexual cues and body language which probably helps in that arena as well."

"Soooo, super sex powers," I summarized with the utmost of class.

"Super sex powers," Sean repeated while nodding solemnly. We pulled into the parking lot of a furnished apartment complex near the airport with a sign marketing for traveling businessmen. Sean parked and we got out of the car walking maybe ten feet to the door of the nearest apartment.

"I always make sure I'm on the ground floor with parking as close as possible because I'm extremely paranoid and the closer to the ground, the stronger the wards I can put up," he explained as he unlocked the door and pulled a glowing stone from his pocket. Then he murmured something into the stone and I felt a sort of static tingle in the air as we passed through the doorway, must have been the wards he mentioned.

The room was definitely nicer than anywhere I had ever lived but it did have the air of loneliness about it. Like you could feel in the clinical arrangement of furniture that it was only a cheap reflection of a home. As I was.having these philosophical thoughts about the living room I suddenly realized the weight of everything I was dealing with. My knees began to feel weak and I made my way to the couch.

"I think the high from the magic or shock or adrenaline or whatever is wearing off because I am suddenly feeling very freaked out by the existence of vampires and magic and the fact that I just fucked some Irish guy I only just met tonight

without any protection"

I emphasized the last part which I found humorous later considering the threat of pregnancy or an STI had hardly seemed like relevant threats under the circumstances.

"Okay Eve, just breathe," he said reassuringly, "this will pass and I'm here to explain all the supernatural stuff."

"Just breathe?" I shot back at him with a derisive chuckle, "I just found out that magic is a thing, I have magic sex powers which are like the worst powers for me to have, vampires are real, and oh yeah, they're trying to kill me!" Sean put it hands up in an 'I surrender' gesture.

"Ok, you're right," he said apologetically, "

just breathe,

was a fuckwit thing to say and you have every right to be freaked out right now. Most practitioners your age have had a decade at least to prepare for and hone their gift, to come into your full power so suddenly and without any preparation would be enough to throw anyone for a loop. As far as the protection thing goes, the magic we used would have ruined any potential for pregnancy and I have a handy charm that guarantees I can't contract things like that."

"Good!" I yelled in an angry tone I was no longer sure was necessary, I toned it down before I continued, "good, I'm glad about that last part and might need to know where I can get one of those charms but I am also very glad that this isn't just me going crazy"

"You aren't," he reassured me, "this is all real and I will make you one as soon as I have time. You are in very real danger but right now we're as safe as we can be and you should rest." I shook my head before he finished speaking.

"Not yet, I need to know more," I said, matter of factly, "I need to be able to wrap my head around some of this before I'll be able to get any sleep. My brain is gonna keep trying to connect dots unless you connect a few for me."

"Ok," was all Sean said before disappearing into the bedroom. I heard the sound of a zipper and some rummaging followed by what sounded like a very Irish stream of curse words when what he was looking for apparently wasn't where he thought it had been. A few moments late he came back our with what looked like a tiny silver telescope covered in elaborate etchings of symbols and geometric patterns.

He set the telescope down on the coffee table in front of me and pointed it away from me before tweaking some dials on the side. When he was satisfied with the dials he straightened and began to speak, "Magic is life and vice versa, neither can exist without the other." As he said this the little ruins on the device lit up and it began projecting a three dimensional image of a small acorn.

"Oooh, cool visual aid," I said reaching out to touch the telescope and then thinking better of it.

"I find it helps with the drier parts of this explanation," Sean said, obviously pleased with himself, he snapped his fingers and the acorn began began to sprout, growing as if in time-lapse as he continued, "so, magic is life, it's literally all around us. To be alive means to be in constant opposition to the death and entropy. Think of it as the way you are in constant opposition to gravity to stay standing. Magic can be thought of as the excess energy created by the constant struggle of life itself and we call those who can access and manipulate this energy practitioners."

"So like witches and wizards?" I asked, staring at what was now a miniature oak about six feet tall floating in the air and hoping he didn't expect me to hold all questions until the end of his lecture.

"Yes," Sean answered, not perturbed in the slightest by my interruption, "although those are actually classifications based on levels of aptitude and power but we'll get to that." He made a gesture and the image in the air changed to that of a androgynous diagram of a human body. " Now, let's speak a little more specifically about your type of magic. You are what was once referred to as a tantric practitioner which is a bit of a misnomer because while Indian practitioners did use the practice of Tantra to expand the magic it's origins far predate it."

"Very interesting, professor," I teased, even though I was finding it very interesting and it was kind of adorable how much he enjoyed explaining the subject matter, "will there be a test at the end?" He smiled at my comment, taking it with the good humor intended.

"Basically, the way you access power if vastly different from most practitioners in that we are limited by the amount of magic in our bodies and the ambient magic in the air. Even the most powerful practitioners can only store so much raw magic and while there are workarounds like magical items that can serve as a sort of magic battery, ones that can store a useful amount are rare and extremely valuable."

"Why?" I interrupted yet again, unable to restrain my curiosity. Sean seemed to enjoy having such an interested audience though because he immediately jumped on my question.

"Why are they so rare?" he asked, I nodded and he posed another question, "why do you think?" I thought about it for a minute before replying.

"Well, if it's like most things then I assume the materials are in very short supply or maybe the process of making them is somehow prohibitive?"

"Great guesses and not too far off the mark," Sean said approvingly, I felt like I was about to get a gold star or something, "actually the process is extremely prohibitive because nobody knows it. The only known magical batteries are actually artifacts and in spite of the efforts of some of the best artificers in the world nobody has figured out the methods used in their creation."

"Artificers? So that's another type of practitioner?"

"Yeah, its the school of magic revolving around the creation and manipulation of magical objects," he explained. I thought on that for a second before speaking again.

"You're an artificer aren't you?" I asked. He looked a little surprised but nodded, confirming my guess.

"I am, how did you come to that conclusion?"

"Well," I said, trying to think of how to articulate it, "first of all, I've seen you use at least 5 magic gadgets and I'm betting that I've missed you using a few others more covertly." He smiled approvingly at my words, clearly impressed by my deduction. "But that's not all," I continued, "there is also this feeling I get from that projector thing and it's really similar one that I got when I walked through the threshold and when we weeeeree, you know," I said making a vague motion indicating I was referring to our earlier dalliance.

"When you touched my power," he said seriously.

"Well you're a modest one," I said stifling a giggle at his wording. He turned red as he realized the innuendo in his words.

"I meant," he said, clearing his throat awkwardly, "we made a metaphysical connection as well as a physical one. You literally opened a conduit to my magical power directly and now you can recognize a kind of signature to it as well as access and draw from it with my consent."

"So that's my power? I'm like a magic sex vampire?" I shivered at the last word as it brought to mind the monsters I had only just learned exist.

"No," Sean said seriously, "the technical term for what you're describing their would be a succubus and the key difference there is the requirement for consent. The human soul offers some protection against malicious magic like that. You also can't affect free will the way a full blown succubus could but there is also another reason that I said no to that being your power. Do you remember the spell you did to destroy the vampires?"

"How could I forget," I said, thinking about the sun light I had summoned in the middle of the night.

"That wasn't my power, and it was way beyond anything I could accomplish even with months of preparation. That was the application of pure, unadulterated life magic. Your power fully awakened and you tapped into magic itself to produce something so close to sunlight that it retained it's purifying effects."

"I did all that with

sex?

" I asked more than a little incredulous.

"What is sex?" Sean replied with another leading question.

"Well it's supposed to be fun but I would probably characterize it more as stressful, embarrassing, and underrated," I answered, stopping to reconsider for a moment before adding, "present company excluded of course."

"Well those are some issues we may need to get into later and thank you for excluding me there but the answer I was looking for was a means to create life. First and foremost, the very act of sex exists in opposition to the forces of entropy. It is how we create life, create a new soul, and it's what humans have always done when facing down mortality. Why do you think there are sexual components to so many pagan rituals? Our ancestor's response to the darkest days of winter were to gather together, throw a party, and have sex. Hell, birth rates still show that that's basically where the human mating season still falls because it's our natural response to the season that most wants us dead."

"Well, that was somehow morbid, inspiring, and a little sexy all at the same time," I said with complete sincerity as I considered his words. "You're saying that I can access magic more directly than most practitioners which is why I was able to pull off such a crazy spell."

"Exactly, but I wouldn't expect to be able to do something on that scale again anytime soon if I were you. Some of that was all the pent up magic from your late manifestation and generally the first spell a practitioner manages is unusually potent."

"Why's that?" I asked, eliciting a shrug from Sean.

"Nobody is really sure but there are theories. I personally lean towards the thinking that it's because manifestation is usually tied to a dire situation and thus the combination of instinctual magic use and fight or flight instincts combine to manage something well beyond the practitioners limits."

"So the first time is the best?" I mused.

"Hardly," he said with a chuckle, "it's just way more powerful, and while it's true that some never do anything as grand again it is also not uncommon for powerful practitioners to surpass their manifestation. It also should go without saying that power isn't everything. Skill and technique can accomplish feats that would be impossible with power alone."

"Oh, I get it," I chimed up, excitedly "the way a relatively small guy like Bruce Lee could send someone flying with a three inch punch." Sean's eyebrows went up and the corners of his lips started to twitch upward, I felt a blush and added, "what? I like classic martial arts movies. We got a problem?" I raised my fists and bounced a little back and forth as if in a fighting stance, without actually standing from the couch.

"No problem," Sean managed through his laughter, "it's actually an excellent metaphor for what we're talking about. Skill means you can do more with less raw power although I have a feeling you won't have to worry about a lack of power for very long."

"Why's that?" I asked, lowering my hands and then quickly raising them again in excited realization, "because I'm not limited to using only the magic in my body and the ambient magic around me."

"Bingo," Sean said, pointing to the androgynous person still floating in the air as though he just remembered it was still there, "oh, here, let me show you. Still getting used to using this thing." An orb appeared in the center of the figure's chest and it was half full of a glowing blue substance, then dots glowing the same blue as the substance in the orb appeared in the air around the figure. "Most of us practitioners go around slowly absorbing ambient magic," as he spoke the dots began to be drawn into the figure and I could see a barely perceptible change to the level of blue in the orb, "we collect it until it's full and then we're topped off until we need to tap into it. It's not a fast process so naturally practitioners use a more active absorption method if they need some quick magic without drawing on their reserves too much."

Next the dots began to swirl and be drawn into the figure faster but the level of the reserves didn't change this time. "This method allows them to channel the ambient magic directly into a spell, the downside is that it is much less efficient so combined with the fact that most places don't have a high level of ambient magic to begin with, means that this method is only useful for fairly rudimentary stuff: manipulating elements, minor transmutations, or in my case, I could throw together a simple one use object like a magic smoke bomb or flash bang."

"Got it, you can slowly accumulate a reserve of magic or pull ambient magic in at a lower overall yield to full a small spell," I summarized again. He nodded and then looked at me seriously.

"This is important," still serious, which I was trying hard not to find incredibly sexy in the Irish accent (trying and failing), "you're right,

I

can do that but

you

can't. Not any of it, that's part of what sets you apart from other practitioners. You are both more limited in some ways and less limited to an insane degree in others." I set bolt upright at that last part. What could he possibly mean by

to an insane degree

? He seized on my renewed attention to continue the explanation.

"You can't absorb or manipulate ambient magic but you can absorb from another practitioner's reserves and you can also tap into the source for lack of a better term," he gestured at the projection which now showed two figures intertwined suggestively and there was a path of blue particles moving from one figure's orb into the others. He gestured again and a small light appeared at where the figures intersected and began to glow brighter filling the figure representing her with the blue light. "It means you can refill your reserves faster and also that you can sometimes well surpass even what you could safely contain in your body."

"I'm sensing a but coming," I interjected.

"But-" he continued as if I hadn't said anything, "it also comes with the risk of overloading your body's own safeguards and effectively frying your brain if you try something you're not ready for."

"Ok," I said after letting out a low whistle, "so no experimenting with advanced magic, gotcha."

"And I hope that's enough explanation for the night because we both need to get some sleep before we talk to the council," he said turning off the projector with a gesture.

"The council?" I repeated questioningly.

"My bosses, the mages council. We need to petition for your membership so you can gain the protection of an apprentice."

"Oooh," I replied, "a real life council of wizards? Like robes and flowing beards?"

"Yes," he said putting a hand to his head as if he hated this line of questioning and has had to endure it before, "there are a few older wizards who go for that look but most of us prefer to look at least a little more modern. Now, you can take the bedroom and I'll sleep on the pull out." I didn't argue with the chivalry and I headed in the direction he had indicated. I stopped at the door to the bedroom and looked back at Sean fiddling with the dials on the magic projector.

"Sean," I said causing him to look up from the device, "thank you, I know this is your job but you've also gone above and beyond so thank you." He gave me a smile and a nonchalant wave of the hand.

"Not a problem love. Goodnight," was all he said.

"Night," I said before entering the bedroom and shutting the door behind me.

After a very quick shower to clear my head I climbed into the bed and was out before my head touched the pillow. At some point I started dreaming that I was back in the bar the night before but this time it was empty except for Sean and myself.

"That was no line, love," he was saying as though we were back in the same conversation as before, not acknowledging that we were the only ones in the bar.