“I would much rather talk about the magic-using priest,” the woman said, like she could read my mind. “Or, the magic that people use unknowingly and inadvertently, like how your coven operates.”
“I’m sorry,” Roy said. I could tell that while he was enjoying the conversation with the woman, he didn’t really believe a word she said. “But do you really believe all of this is real? I mean demons, weres, vampires, incidental witches? I don’t want to sound disrespectful, but while this is all very entertaining to listen to, I can’t believe that any of it is real. Not without seeing it for myself.”
“I respect your doubt,” the woman said. “Doubt is what keeps secrets safe, so as a witch, I never feel a duty to prove anything that I say in regards to the arcane. It is best that the truth stay hidden in plain sight, even if that means that a witch like yourself never fully realizes their powers. Convincing you is of no benefit to me, you are the only one who would gain from embracing it, and your coven I guess, or whomever else you chose to help with your abilities. Yet, even in your ignorance, you still generate palpable magic, and you have found other witchy people to collaborate with. You are a fine witch even if that means nothing at all to you. Thatis the thing about Incidental users of magic, the arcane energies that pervade the universe flow through vessels as a function of nature. Even before humanity had words to speak spells, we had magic coursing through us because magic courses through everything. Witchkin are marked for a specific purpose by the universe and we can harness great power with intention, but we can also do so inadvertently. Belief in arcana, or ignorance of it can’t substantially impede the natural order of things. So you get priests who use religious ritual sometimes wielding magic because of their natural born inclinations that are activated through ritual. The priest that I worked with to banish the demon was one of the greatest teachers that I ever had and he thought witchcraft was the stuff of the very demon he banished. He taught me how to properly perform a ritual. He believed wholeheartedly in the incantations he said and gestures he made with his hands and he wielded both with an intentionality that I had never seen before. He taught me the importance of understanding and feeling the parts of a ritual with all of yourself and I was a better magic user for it. Roy, I sense that you are extremely empathic. And I have read your writing, and I must say that it shows in the work you produce, and I wonder if you have a hard time being around people? Are you a sociable person?”
Valeria and I answered for him that he is not. He is a nice person, very pleasant to talk to, but it is difficult to introduce Roy to new people, he avoids it like he is permanently living in 2020. I always wonder how we even managed to meet.
“I’m sure there are a lot of reasons why testis the case,” the woman continued, “but I think your aversion to people has to do with your abilities. Your empathy manifests as a form of divination, you are able to get glimpses of a person by training your attention on them and that can be unpleasant to experience, especially if you don’t understand it. Reading someone doesn’t happen like it’s shown in movies for everyone. It’s like recalling a memory, but it belongs to someone else and it sometimes depicts future event, and those can be muddled in the mind in an unpleasant way. People must exhaust you.”
Roy was quiet. I could tell that the woman had struck a nerve for him.
“I may have said too much, but I am glad that I came here. I sensed that I should and I am glad that I followed the intuition. I can go now if I have upset you.”
“Not at all,” Roy said, sounding distant. “You’re welcome to stay and eat with us. There’s plenty.”
The woman agreed and we had a pleasant evening. I talked to Roy later about his change in mood after the woman told him her impressions of his witchiness.
“I just…” Roy hesitated for a moment, really searching for words to describe his feelings. “Not only did she seem to really get my personality, but she explained something that I could never understand and had thought about before. The way she described it made sense because it is true for me that being around people is mentally exhausting for me. I’m not saying I believed everything she said, but that part spoke to something I’ve never been able to put words to.”
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