The Owl and the Frog

Chapter 23: A Blessing or a Curse?

"Master, what happened to all the magic users in Amphibia?" asked Lilly.

"According to various historical sources, it almost seems as though one day, they just vanished," said Amara.

"I honestly don't know," answered Uodeela. "It's as much a mystery to me as it is to you. The salamanders were the ancient keepers of magic. We were the ones who taught it to other amphibians and tried to keep the traditions alive. Over time, it seems they just gradually disappeared. Even when I was young, the only other salamanders I knew were my parents and my grandmother. I've tried to do my own research, but haven't been able to find much."

"What about Valeriana?" asked Lilly.

"She is the only other salamander I know," said Uodeela. "I've asked her about what she thinks happened. She has a few theories, but again, no real concrete answer. Anyway, enough of that. Back to our lesson. As I was saying, curses can only be removed by the caster. And since I am your teacher, I must say that if you ever curse someone, you should also be prepared to remove it. Curses should only be a last resort against those who really deserve it. If they learn whatever lesson you were trying to teach them and show remorse for their actions, then you should remove the curse for them."

Uodeela continued, "Now, there are two ways to inflict a curse: the direct way and the indirect way. The direct way requires you to be in close proximity to your intended target and also requires that you have the curse already prepared. In this method, all you have to do is throw the curse at your target (with the required intent), and then it will take effect." Uodeela pulled out a small bag to show her students.

"Now, there is another way," said Uodeela, "the indirect method. It is a bit safer since you can cast this curse without being next to your victim, though you still have to be relatively close for it to work. You can't be here and curse someone in Newtopia, as that is a little too far away. This method requires that you mix together a special brew in your cauldron. When the brew is ready, you can place it in the final ingredient to cause the desired effect on the victim. The one downside to this method is that it takes several hours for the curse to take effect."

"Luz, you and Lilly pair off," said Uodeela. "And Amara and Gustav, same thing. I'm going to give each of you the ingredients to make a very minor curse. It's not that debilitating, so all it will do is grow extra hair on you. You're going to try to use the direct method to inflict this curse on each other. Now remember what I said, you have to have the right intention. I know you're all friends now, but if you don't have the desire to do harm, your curse will be ineffective. Are you all ready?"

"Yes," replied the students.

"Good, then pair off and prepare a few bags of curses, and we'll see what happens," said Uodeela.

As the lesson went on, it became clear that the intention part of the curse would be hard to do correctly. Already, Luz had thrown three curse bags at Lilly but had been unable to curse her. Same with Gustav and Amara. They had thrown the curse bags at each other but had not caused the desired curse.

"See what I mean about intention?" said Uodeela. "I thought we might have an issue here since you've all become good friends, but there's nothing wrong with that."