"Both," Fay answered quickly and easily. Though she made no move to show her own Jewel, she dismissed the tongue of flame in her hand and instead created an illusion of a White Jewel. "The body can't hold the power of the abyss, so we wear Jewels instead. Each Jewel is a reservoir of power. The darker the Jewel, the deeper the reservoir. To perform Craft, one reaches into that reservoir—"
She pinched thumb and forefinger together inside the illusion and drew a strand of White light from it.
"—and then applies it to a spell. Without the power of the Jewel behind it, a spell is just a fanciful wish."
Dropping her hand, she dispelled the illusion and picked up her coffee once more. "A Jewel is far more than an aesthetic piece," she continued dryly, though Aithne wasn't the first Stranger to imply that. Good humor softened her dry tone. "Without it, we are not Blood."
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She pinched thumb and forefinger together inside the illusion and drew a strand of White light from it.
"—and then applies it to a spell. Without the power of the Jewel behind it, a spell is just a fanciful wish."
Dropping her hand, she dispelled the illusion and picked up her coffee once more. "A Jewel is far more than an aesthetic piece," she continued dryly, though Aithne wasn't the first Stranger to imply that. Good humor softened her dry tone. "Without it, we are not Blood."