Alys Glasse
She'd been expecting ice to burst forth, and so when flames appeared, she bit back a yelp of surprise. Deimos's promise that she would not be harmed rang in her ears; she was altogether more nervous about fire than she had been about ice pellets. Ice can be just as dangerous as fire, she chided herself as she prepared to call up a new illusion. Don't be so ridiculous!
Still, it was harder now to conjure anything at all, and she struggled to bring so much as a flicker to life for a few seconds, eyeing the flames nervously. After a moment, though, a new illusion sprang into place: a cardinal, which appeared at first on her shoulder, peering around with interest at its surroundings. She realized that if she focused on the bird, on making its movements realistic, it was easier to keep her nerve; unfortunately, a realistic bird would probably be afraid of the flames as well, and so she eventually ended up back to square one.
And so again began the struggle: her cardinal would flicker in and out of existence as her focus improved and then waned again in the face of Deimos's conjured fire. She had learned, though, from the last time, and it took her less time - but no less effort - now to hold her cardinal in place for a full minute.
Still, it was harder now to conjure anything at all, and she struggled to bring so much as a flicker to life for a few seconds, eyeing the flames nervously. After a moment, though, a new illusion sprang into place: a cardinal, which appeared at first on her shoulder, peering around with interest at its surroundings. She realized that if she focused on the bird, on making its movements realistic, it was easier to keep her nerve; unfortunately, a realistic bird would probably be afraid of the flames as well, and so she eventually ended up back to square one.
And so again began the struggle: her cardinal would flicker in and out of existence as her focus improved and then waned again in the face of Deimos's conjured fire. She had learned, though, from the last time, and it took her less time - but no less effort - now to hold her cardinal in place for a full minute.
