Key To A Goblin's Heart

Michael's POV 

I can't believe she is gone. Even if we weren't exactly together and even if I was the one of the people to encourage her to go back, I missed her. Damn it! I thought it would be easier to get over her when she was gone, but somehow her absence made me value her more. I had this inherent urge to go to Maefhaelore to find her, but I can't. I wish I was capable of strong enough magic to open a portal to the world of goblins. 

Alas, that seemed highly impossible at this moment. As I was told by Genia, only goblins or magi can open a portal to their land. The rest however need to be transferred by someone else there. The remaining Goblin's I knew here were banished from the land, and they feared or respected their queen enough to abide by the banishment. The Goblin world was cruel in it's own way.

"Mike" I heard a soft voice call my name breaking me from my melancholic reverie.

"Genia" I let out a forced smile. I can't believe even smiling was this hard for me now. "What brings you here".

"I was passing by until I noticed your gloomy face" She mumbled. "You must love Cassie a lot given how you are so affected by her". She said with a poignant smile on her face.

"I dunno," I shrugged. "What's the point of loving someone you can never have? I need to let her go. We are not meant for each other" I mumbled. She was quiet for a while so I asked her, "You are free today"?

"With Cassie gone, I don't have much duties to attend to" She smiled. "She was one of my major responsibilities. I have some time to spare," she nodded. "If you want, I can accompany you here". She suggested.

"No, Thanks" I scoffed. She looked a bit hurt so I continued. "Sitting here doing nothing is not just a waste of time but also a bit sad" I sighed. "How about you teach me some magic instead. I remember that our lessons were paused on multiple occasions" I shrugged.

A smile appeared on her face as she spoke, "I would love that." We both got up from our seats, "Meet me at the ground ten minutes later." And she disappeared. I frowned, wondering why we couldn't go together, but she is entitled to her privacy and I am definitely not the one to pry.

I waited at the ground for her until she finally showed up. She was almost running with excitement that made me wonder what was up with her. "I have something for you".

"Oh" I mumbled. She was extremely friendly with me, and now a gift… I hope I am not misreading her intentions.

"Here" She handed me a book. I furrowed my brows at her as I failed to read the characters on it. "This is a book of '100 useful charms for daily life' Vol1. This has many spells that you can try on your own"

I chuckled at her, "I really appreciate the effort genia, but I can't read this language."

"Here is a guide to the characters" She opened the last page where the guide was shown. Each character represented a syllable. "Remember how the spells I taught you are a bit different from english? It's because they are made in the ancient goblin language. This book is in english, but the spells still use the original characters" She explained. "You might need to cross reference before you try them".

"Aha…" I nodded as I flipped through the pages confirming her assertion. "I might just note down their phonetics version below" I mumbled. "Thank you Genia, I really appreciate this gift a lot. A book full of spells? That is so handful"

"Well, if you are interested in books.. You can always check out more in the library." She offered.

"There is a library" I deadpanned. I stared at her as if everything in the world, including me, froze.

"Of course there is. There is always a library," she chuckled.

"How come no one ever took me there!? I have been here for months! And I didn't know there was a library?" Somehow my voice raised a bit involuntarily.

"Not many people go there. Scholars, like Mr Sofosys, are the ones who prefer to go there," She explained. "I didn't know you were this fond of books, or else I would have taken you there earlier".

"Are you kidding me? I love books… I love books. Before I came here, I was preparing for the MCAT. I have to say that I miss reading on a daily basis." I affirmed.

"Then after our session I will take you there" She smiled.

I nodded at her enthusiastically, "So what are you teaching me today"

"Vitality" She declared. "The essence of life follows through each and everything that has ever been or that will ever be. Everyone… everything goes through the process of aging, even the things that humans categorize as 'non-living'. For example, that tower was much shinier when it was first established." She pointed at the Helminge Tower.

"Okay…" I mumbled, getting more fascinated by the minute and at the same time getting confused. What was the endgame here? I wondered.

"So, we will learn to channel that today" She declared.

"Wait, isn't that Cassie's thing? To manipulate life energy"? I asked, recalling how she cured that wolf the other day.

"It's a bit different. Cassie can manipulate life energy. Which means the source of that energy can be anything. With us, the source is us" She shrugged. "Which means, when you vitalise something, you are giving away your own energy."

"Wait, so will that cause me to… die early or something"? I had to ask.

"No, a little energy drain will be refilled in a healthy individual in no time" She smiled.

"So kinda like blood donation? You give blood but your cells are back in a few months" I nodded enthusiastically. 

"I am sorry" She however frowned. "I apologise, but I am not familiar with earthy cues".

"Right, never mind." I brushed it off. "So channel my life energy? How do I do that? To what do I do that"? I asked.

She looked around and then started walking and like an obedient disciple, I followed. "How about this plant?"

"It looks pretty lively to me" I frowned.

"It isn't. It's dying" She brushed her finger through the leaves softly. "See how dry these have become. In two days they will turn yellow and shed off,"She said.

"Wow" I mumbled at her botanical expertise. "Okay, so what do I do"? I asked. 

She gave me a spell and asked me to focus. "This might take a little practice as not everyone can feel their own energy for the first time. But if you have good magical skills for a beginner, you should try it." She encouraged.

I did as I was asked and after what seemed like a minute and I opened my eyes to see that nothing had changed I frowned and looked at Genia, who simply encouraged me to go again. I did. This time, before I could hold it for a whole minute I heard a whoosh sound prompting me to open my eyes only to realise that I set that poor plant on fire. 

"Oh my god! I am so sorry" I apologize immediately to the burning plant for no apparent reason. Suddenly I was glad it wasn't an animal or a human on the other end of my magic. "Was this supposed to happen? No wait of course not. This is incineration, not vitalising. Can this happen"? I asked Genia who remained frozen at her spot. Wait, did my skewed up magic make her like this? I panicked. "Genia" I called her softly. "Genia"? This time I shook her lightly, prompting her to finally look at me. "Oh, thank god" I sighed in relief. "Was this a possibility?" I asked her.

"No" She shook her head lightly. "Spontaneous fire is one of the highest grades of power. Something that requires a goblin years to master" She informed me.

"Well, I am a half fairy, not a Gobin" I snorted.

"Exactly" She looked at me horrified. "A fairy can manipulate fire, spontaneous ones are beyond our purview. Are you sure you are half fairy? And not a half Goblin?" She asked me.

"Well I…" I struggled to answer her question. "It's not like I got a DNA test to determine my species," I shrugged. She frowned as she once more failed to interpret my 'science stuff.' "I don't have a definite answer to that. The fact that I can be half-fairy was put forward by Cassie and Sofosys. I think they made a guess" I shrugged.

She was quiet for a moment contemplating things silently as she looked away. However, the moment of silence was starting to annoy me. I needed to know what was going through her head cause once more I was panicking about my own identity. "There is a fair chance you might be half-magi… or even a half Goblin." 

"Is there a way to determine for sure?" I asked.

She was quiet once more until she mumbled with unsurety, "Maybe"?