Mage Catalyst by Christopher George Page B

didn’t make any difference as the vortex still faded and vanished. Frustrated, I returned to the document and re-read the relevant section.
There just weren’t enough details on how to perform the technique. It was as if the document was written for someone who already practiced the basics of mana, not someone as completely untrained as me.
This probably was the case, I reflected ruefully.
I began to wish that the document was indeed written as an incantation, simply recite the words and the spell would work. It always looked so easy when they did it that way on TV shows.
Tired and frustrated, I returned back to the document and kept reading. Eventually Renee’s grandfather moved on to further points, but it wasn’t until I got towards the bottom of the document and read the following section that I discovered another interesting point.
    …The aura of a mage is different from a human. It is darker, soaked with the residue of expended mana. Those capable of reading auras will determine that the aura is that of a particularly creative or passionate person, however this is not always the case. When using the awareness spell the luminance provided by one with a mana-soaked aura is far greater – as the effect is intensified by the mana in the aura. Mages can be seen via an awareness blast at a far greater distance and with far greater clarity.
    Great, the one spell I couldn’t figure out properly was the spell I was supposed to use to find Renee. Brilliant! I hadn’t seen the point of this spell until now. Subconsciously I hadn’t really wanted the spell to work. I was blocking myself but not consciously. It was amazing how often I was doing this to myself.
Reinvigorated, I attempted the technique again, my legs crossed on the bed, my hands held outstretched with a small vortex of blue mana slowly revolving in the gap between my fingers. I gently flexed my fingers.
Boom.
With a burst of bright light, the vortex exploded sending particles spinning in various directions, most were quickly absorbed back into my body, but several made it as far as a metre away before dissipating.
Well, it was a start. But unless Renee was hiding behind my wardrobe I doubt I’d be able to find her using this technique. Pleased with myself, I resolved to test that again later and finish reading the document. At the bottom of the document was a footnote: a comment left by Renee’s grandfather.
    …mages must always hide their power from the world around them, our kind does not exist in the fabric of society and society MUST be protected from our existence. Should they discover us, one of the two must end, either we will be hunted into extinction, or we will destroy that society in an effort to control it.
The world is changing around us now and becoming smaller. The mistakes of our kind cannot exist in a world dominated by the media. You must always be careful, my student, and remember that we practice what we learn in the hope that we never need to use it.
Others of our kind are our only threat and in them we face our greatest challenge. Too many of our kind fall prey to arrogance of their powers. Too many claim godhood and declare themselves all-powerful. They always fall.
I urge you with humility to learn from my mistakes, from the consequences of my actions. We are not gods, we are but men with a man’s weakness and faults.
It is folly to assume that with great power comes the authority and maturity to exercise that power responsibly. Too many of our kind have fallen along that path and been destroyed.
Victor Whittlesea
    1992
    This just raised further questions. What mistakes had Victor made? Who was this apprentice that Victor had left notes for? Was it Renee? This didn’t seem like the kind of message you would leave for a grandchild.
I pushed the laptop away from me and suddenly became aware that I was very weary. It was the kind of fatigue that sneaks up on you. My body was jazzed and I could feel the energy coursing