Disclaimer: This chapter will revolve around wand making. The specificities of the process are not fully known and so I've filled the gaps with how I imagine it should go. That means plenty of homebrewed spells. Perhaps there's some deep lore describing the process in detail, but I didn't find it and neither do I have the time to make lengthy researches, unfortunately. So if you see something abhorrently wrong lore-wise, please feel free to let me know.
That being said, enjoy the chapter!
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Arabella sat in her quarters, meditating with Arya while trying to keep the outside noise from distracting her. The castle was abuzz with activity, even during the night. Blacksmiths worked overclock to produce weapons, armors, horseshoes and whatever else the army from Riverrun would need.
While they sat in front of each other with their eyes closed, Arabella reflected on her performance since she arrived in Westeros. Saving Bran was a mix of her luck for being in the right place at the right time, and her knowledge of the spell to halt his fall. The same could be said of saving the Lord of Riverrun, which she didn't even fully cure. Still, considering the circumstances, she did better than anyone could have in her position.
The use of an Unforgivable Curse to make Cersei and Jamie confess was a questionable call. It definitely saved the realm quite a lot of scheming from the Queen's part, but now there was a war looming in the horizon anyways and even to claim that she had saved the King and Lord Eddard in the long run might not prove truthful as they might still perish in battle against the Lannisters.
What was bothering her the most, however, was her lack of combat effectiveness. It's true that Arabella had had no prior real combat experience before the ambush in the River Road and the squaffle with Jamie Lannister back in Winterfell. She only had experience from her dueling classes, but even there, her performance was better than that. Her lack of decisiveness when it comes to real battle situations almost led to Arya's death. And that was something she wasn't going to allow to happen ever again.
For now on, even if she'd have to use every knowledge of Dark Magic she possessed to keep herself and Arya safe, she would. After all, using an Unforgivable Curse was already a one way ticket to Azkabahn anyways and she had already used two, so might as well use everything she knew from her secret escapades into the restricted section of the library back at Hogwarts and other doubtful knowledge-acquiring methods.
Not to mention that she was also keen to learn the magical secrets of Westeros and Essos as well. So far, her research of such powers had given her only minor bits and pieces of knowledge to add from what she already knew from the source material, but she didn't expect the lords of the North or the Riverlands to have many books on these topics anyways.
She knew that she'd eventually need to go to King's Landing and then to Oldtown. In the latter, not only the Citadel had a hoard of knowledge, but House Hightower was privy to many secrets related to occult arts. If she could capitalize on the fact she had saved Ser Garth Hightower back on the King's Road, perhaps she'd have access to some of those secrets.
It was also becoming apparent to her that a journey to Essos was also going to be necessary, especially if Oldtown proved uncooperative. Her best bet to see actual magical knowledge would be the red priests of R'hllor, especially those in Volantis, the warlocks of the House of the Undying in Qarth and the necromancers and shadowbinders of Asshai. These were obviously dangerous people to be around, especially the Warlocks of Qarth with what they tried to do with Daenarys in the original story, and Arabella definitely didn't want to have to go that far, but there were no active sorcerers in Westeros she could consult with, thanks to the Faith of the Seven.
Which reminded her of another problem.
The Starry September in Oldtown had instructed the septons to preach and give sermons against her and her magic. Most septons were moderate, asking only for the stop of her practice. Some of the most radical ones, however, preached that Westeros would be safe only after her death. Even in Riverrun some of these voices could be heard, though they were quickly suppressed by Lord Holster Tully. Without the explicit support from the High Septon in the Great Sept of Balor to this condemnation, however, the priests of the faith still stood divided.
This didn't fully throw a wrench on Arabella's plan to go south and visit the Citadel and the Hightowers since the payout in knowledge had the potential to far surpass the risk and danger, but she understood that she'd need to be extra careful when going there. She already knew some of the Maesters were trying to harm her and now some inside the Septs were trying the same. With that, another ambush like the one led by Amory Lorch seemed more a question of when instead of if.
That being said, while she planned to avoid these ambushes, as well as keeping an eye out for assassins and poisoning, she also expected and even welcomed a fight. This way she'd show to the whole of Westeros and to herself that she wasn't a witch to be trifled with.
With her determination strengthened, she decided that they had meditated enough. She opened her eyes, scanned the comfortable room and looked out of the window to see a night of full moon. Not only that, but there were plenty of stars in the sky, something Arabella rarely saw in her homeland, given the light pollution of the 21st century, apart from perhaps Hogwarts.
"Arya, come with me to the Godswood" she said to the girl who just then opened her eyes and looked at her with anticipation. Nymeria, who was sleeping next to them, also perked her head up to hear the conversation.
"What are we going to do at the Godswood? Are we doing a ritual?" she stood excitedly, which startled Nymeria
"Yes, Arya, we're doing a ritual" she smiled at the girl "It's high time you had your own wand!"
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The Godswood of Riverrun was far smaller than the one in Winterfell. Given that most in the Riverland worshiped the Seven instead of the Old Gods, the Godswood had been converted more to a secular garden instead of an actual religious sight for prayer. This happened with many prominent Houses in the south. Even Highgarden had a Godswood, albeit another secular garden nowadays.
As both girls and the wolf approached, the place was absolutely empty and only the sound of their steps and the wind running across the leaves could be heard. In the centre of the Godswood stood a Weirwood Tree with its red leaves and its red-sap-crying-face.
At first, Arabella wanted to break a small stick out of its branches, but, in case the Old Gods were real in this version of Westeros, she decided not to do anything that might offend them. She looked around the tree and quickly found a small white branch that had fallen from the tree not long ago.
The same could be said of the tree's sap, which was considered the Old God's blood. It was her original idea for a binding agent for the wand, but she'd have to use something else that didn't mean a grave sin.
"Arya, before we start, here's what you need to remember about wands: while wandless magic is possible to cast and you've done so yourself, it is much harder to control and it's also much less precise. The wand gives us this focus, precision and impact. That's why every wizard from my continent has one."
She continued as the girl nodded and looked at her intently.
"Where I'm from, the wand chooses the witch or wizard. Here, we don't have that luxury of browsing shelves until a wand bonds with you. We're gonna make a wand ourselves and we're gonna make it choose you."
"Right! What do I need to do?" the girl asked with clear excitement.
"First of all, I need you to pluck some hair from Nymeria and place it here in the iron pot" She said, handing the object to the girl "Do you want me to use a spell to keep her calm?"
"No need" Arya answered with a smile "Nymeria is strong. A much better wolf than Lady, she won't run! Isn't it true Nymeria?"
The Direwolf gave her a lick on the hand and a short low howl of agreement. Arya approached and started stroking Nymeria's fur and patting her head. Arabella smiled as she watched how a girl and a fierce wild animal could share such a close bond. To Arya, the Direwolf was no more dangerous than a puppy.
Then, Arya took a dagger she had on her, something Arabella had bought for her after the ambush as a last resort. She placed the blade against a handful of fur and cut it, making sure not to harm her friend's skin. The blade sliced the fur out flawlessly and there was no reaction from the Direwolf, who now laid down to rest and observe.
Arya put the fur on the deep iron pot she had been given and returned to sit down next to Arabella on the ground, handing her the bow.
"Good! Normally one would use unicorn hair, phoenix feathers or dragon heartstrings as the core, but the first two animals don't exist here in Westeros and Dragons have also been extinct for more than a century. So, Direwolves are some of the most magical creatures we can find here. Their hair will have to do. Now we need a binding agent. It will make sure that the magic present in the core and in the wood act well together."
She continued as she analyzed the contents of the bow.
"While we could use something like wax to bind the core inside, perhaps it wouldn't be enough to make the wand fully yours. Also, we need something to compensate for the low magic present in the Direwolf's fur in comparison to the other cores I mentioned. I expect the branch of the Weirwood Tree to offer some magical enhancement, but we can't count solely on the Old Gods. This next part will be uncomfortable for you Arya. As a binding agent, I have chosen your blood."
Arya's eyes widened in shock. She didn't expect to have any such costs involved in the process of wand making. She remembered Arabella saying how her magic required no blood sacrifices and indeed, Arya had never seen Arabella using blood as a requirement for spells before. It had been one of the main reasons her mom had let her study with Arabella.
"But… you said our magic doesn't need blood sacrifice?"
"And normally it doesn't. However, magic here works differently and while my wand works because it carries magic from my world, to create a new magical artifact we must obey the toll set in this world. I won't take much of your blood and once the wand is fully made, it will work just like mine. The incantations we practiced will make sure of it. Are you ready?"
After a while, the girl nodded with a resolute expression.
"Very good. Give me your dagger and place your wrist above the pot" she said, extending her hand.
The girl picked up her dagger, the blade gleaming with the moonlight and gave it to Arabella. Then Arya placed the wrist as commanded and Arabella made a cut at it, allowing the blood to flow freely into the pot.
"Ouch" the girl winced.
"Sorry, it will be over soon"
The blood quickly covered the Direwolf hair and started to create a gooey mix. Once it was enough, Arabella placed her wand on top of the wound.
"Vulnera Sanentur"
The cut quickly shut and Arya's wrist bore no marks of the previous kiss of the blade. Then, she waved her wand at the pot on the floor.
"Incendio"
A small, yet steady burst of fire left her wand and heated the mixture of blood and hair until it started to boil. She mixed it until the gooey blood was firmly attached to the Direwolf hair. The smell of iron was strong and both girls felt a slight nausea.
She gave Arya the branch of the Weirwood Tree. The branch itself was a thin long stick with smaller ones deriving from it. One red leaf still clung to the branch.
"Now, while I finish mixing this, take this branch. I want you to focus. Imagine what shape you would like your wand to be. Just like no two Valyrian steel swords are equal, no two wands are equal. You need to see it in your mind, the length and overall design. Then, recite the incantation we practiced and shape it."
Arya looked at the branch in her hands for a while, until she had a specific result in mind. Then, she spoke the incantation, while keeping her eyes peeled on the branch.
"Figura lignum"
The white branch started twisting in her hand as the thin main stick shortened, but also grew thicker until it held almost the length and thickness as Arabella's wand. The smaller twigs encircled the main body of the wand, forming a spiral that led all the way to the tip. The red leaf moved with this spiral, turning into a red coating of paint above the twigs. It was the most flashy wand Arabella had seen in a long time. Her own wand had some fancy carvings on the aspen wood, but not even close to being this eccentric.
"Someone has a great imagination. It's beautiful, Arya!" Arabella smiled, "give it to me so we can proceed."
"Thank you!" she smiled back, giving her the wand "what should I do now?"
"Now, you wait a second" as Arabella said that, she placed the wand inside the iron pot. The fur and blood mix was thick and most of the moisture was gone either being dissipated by the heat or being absorbed by the hair. She nodded to the girl and placed her own wand above them and Arya did the same with her hands. Together they spoke the next incantation
"Core insertio."
With the spell being uttered, the blooded fur which was splattered across the bow condensed into one single thin red and grey string and slithered inside the wand, leaving only a bowl of dried blood behind. Both girls could feel the power emanating from the wand. It had awakened in a powerful state, much like Arabella's own wand, perhaps even greater.
A wand of this quality was rare in the Wizarding World and the fact that they were able to create it was something that left Arabella astonished. Was it the blood sacrifice that made it that potent? Or the wood of the Weirwood Tree? Could Direwolf fur hide some greater magical power she hadn't felt? These were questions to which Arabella had no answers and only further experimentation in the future could yield results.
That, however, was a concern for a later date. Now it was time to see if the wand truly worked. She dared not touch it, afraid that the wand would bond to whomever touched it first. So she just signed to Arya.
"It's all yours Arya, take it"
The girl hesitated before placing her hand over the wand and grabbing it. As soon as she did, the wind in the Godswood intensified out of nowhere and Arya could swear she heard voices talking to her. It sounded like they were congratulating her for unlocking her inner potential.
"It seems it warmed up to you" Arabella said "Now let's test it"