Uodeela and her students were outside in front of the house. They had cauldrons ready to learn curses finally.
"So, I know I've mentioned this before," began Uodeela, "but curses are inherently dark magic. The effect of the curse varies depending on what effect you wish to cause on the target, but all of them require intention. A curse won't work if you don't have a strong enough intention to cause harm. That is the main reason curses are so dark. You need to want to cause harm to the target, so you have to want your target to suffer."
Luz, Amara, Lilly, and Gustav looked at each other gravely.
"This desire to cause suffering is why you need to be careful," continued Uodeela. "If you give in to these feelings too often and begin using curses too frequently, it is only a matter of time before these dark thoughts turn you into a sadist. It is very easy for a curse user to become addicted to this feeling of inflicting pain and getting joy or pleasure from it. That is why curses are a severe form of magic and should only be used on those who are truly deserving of them."
The students continued to listen as Uodeela continued talking.
"The other thing that makes curses dangerous is that once inflicted, they can only be removed by the caster. So once you've put a curse on someone, they are essentially at your mercy until you decide to cure them."
"There really is no other way to get rid of a curse?" asked Amara.
"As far as I am aware, no," replied Uodeela. "And If I don't know of another way, then it likely doesn't exist."
"This seems like a really bad idea," said Luz. "Why would they make it so that curses can only be removed by the caster? What if the caster doesn't want to remove the curse?"
"You have to remember that magic users tend to be a bit more physically weak than others," said Uodeela. "Curses were a way for us to even the playing field. You might think twice about attacking a magic user if you knew they could put a curse on you. Curses were meant as a deterrent, though these days, there are so few curse users left that you'd be hard-pressed to find one."
"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."
"I just can't bring myself to want to cause suffering to Lilly," said Luz. "She's my friend."
"Yeah, same here," said Lilly. "I don't want to hurt Luz."
"Why does the curse require an intent to hurt, Master?" asked Gustav.
"It has to do with the background magic in Amphibia," replied Uodeela. "You see… well, to be honest, even I'm not entirely sure how it works, but my mother and grandmother both taught me that they believed that there is some kind of force, spirit, and power in Amphibia. They believed it was what powered magic in this land."
"But what exactly is it?" asked Luz.
"That's the thing we don't really know," said Uodeela. "Even my grandmother, who was one of the best witches ever, didn't even know if it was real or not. Still, she theorized that it is what allows potion ingredients to grow in this place. It's what allowed the magic gems to be made, and it gives curses their power. The thing is, this force, whatever it is, has a dark side. And if you invoke its power to use a curse, then it wants to cause suffering."
"It wants to see people suffer?!" said Luz, horrified
"Mind you, I'm not sure if it's real or not," answered Uodeela. "It was only a theory my grandmother had. But seeing as curses won't work without this intent, I feel she was at least on the right track."
"Maybe we'd better stop for today then," suggested Amara.
"That's fine," said Uodeela. "I think as long as you understand the concept and the theories behind curses, you should be fine. If there ever arose a situation where you needed to curse an enemy, I would hope it would be someone who was deserving of your hatred. It's honestly very nice to see that you've all grown so close that you can't imagine wanting to cause a friend to suffer. You've all grown a lot since coming here. Especially you, Amara."
Luz, Lilly, and Gustav all turned and smiled at Amara, causing her to blush.
"If I have grown, then it's thanks to all of you," said Amara, smiling back at her friends.
This moment was broken up, though, as a frog came running to find Uodeela.
"Uodeela, there you are!" said the frog in a panic. "We need your help!"
"What's going on?" asked Uodeela.
"Some toads from the east showed up in town," said the frog. "They're being led by Captain Bufo."
Uodeela looked visibly worried at this. "You three, stay here. I'll check this out."
Uodeela followed the frog back to the town. As soon as she entered, she noticed the large battalion of troops in the town square. Captain Bufo was already there, speaking to the town.
"Citizens of Tadpole Pond," exclaimed Bufo, "I have heard about the collapse of the Southern Tower. With Grime and his soldiers removed from the area, I figure it is time to expand my own territory. This town happens to sit on the border between the Southern and Eastern regions of Amphibia, so I claim it as my own. You now have the honor of paying taxes to me instead of Grime!"
"But we already paid taxes to Grime for the year," said an elderly frog in protest.
"Well, Grime isn't in charge anymore. I am!" declared Bufo. "And if you don't want me and my toad army here to decimate your town, then you will cough up more money or else!"
Uodeela calmly marched towards the captain. "Bufo, I should have known you wouldn't waste any time taking advantage of a power vacuum."
"Ah, is this the famous Uodeela I've heard so much about?" said Bufo mockingly. "Is this who Grime was afraid of? Hard to believe that you could cause Grime so much trouble."
"Keep talking, and you'll see just how much trouble I can cause you," threatened Uodeela. "You have enough towns under your control as it is; there is no need to get greedy. How about you take your army and go back to your tower before I make you?"
Bufo laughed at Uodeela. "Pssh! Unlike Grime, I'm not afraid of you."
"Well, that just makes you stupider than Grime," snapped Uodeela.
"You're stupid if you think you can beat me," challenged Bufo, drawing his sword. "How's about we see how tough you really are? I challenge you to a one-on-one fight! If you win, then me and the toads will leave. If I win, we take over the town."
"As if you'd actually keep your word," said Uodeela. "But fine, I'll humor you, Bufo. Maybe once I thrash you in front of your troops, they'll think twice about how strong their leader is."
With that, the toads spread around, encircling Bufo and Uodeela and forming a tight wall to keep the combatants together. Bufo waved his sword in the air, trying to intimidate Uodeela.
"Don't let him scare you, Master," called a voice from the crowd.
Uodeela sighed and turned to find her apprentices in the crowd watching the fight. They gave her a guilty smile but also waved to encourage her.
"I suppose I should be angry that you didn't listen to me and stay at the house, but at the same time, I'm glad you're here. Now, don't worry. This won't take long," bragged Uodeela, closing her eyes.
Bufo charged straight at her with his sword drawn. Uodeela opened her eyes and jumped straight over him. Once she was on the other side of Bufo, she wasted no time using wind magic to blow him straight into the toad wall. Bufo collided with the wall but managed to recover and charge right back at Uodeela. Uodeela summoned a large orb of light and threw it straight at Bufo. He held up his hand to try to shield him from the blast, and Uodeela took the opportunity to swing her tail at his feet in an attempt to trip him. Bufo fell down but got up almost immediately and began slashing wildly at Uodeela. Uodeela gracefully dodged his strikes, then summoned a sword made of ice to her hand, where she began using it to block and counter him.
"Aw, what's wrong, Bufo?" mocked Uodeela. "Thought you'd be stronger than Grime."
Bufo merely growled in response and continued his attack, trying to find an opening. Uodeela had finally had enough and decided it was time to end this. She threw her ice sword away and placed her hand on the ground. A moment later, a large group of vines rose from the ground under where Bufo was standing and entangled him in them. He tried to free himself, but couldn't move.
"And with that, I think our little duel is over," said Uodeela casually. "So, are you going to leave, Bufo?"
"Um, no! Toad soldiers, attack!" commanded Bufo. "You may have beaten me, but you can't take down an entire army!"
"You sure about that, Bufo?" asked Uodeela. With that, she used her tail to reach into her hair and pull out a bottle. She passed it to one of her hands, uncorked it, and drank down its contents.
"I think you and your army are about to have a bad time," said Uodeela with a smile, and in a few seconds, she began to glow and transform into her Red Heron form. Bufo's eyes lit up as he saw the massive beast emerge. He was clearly not prepared for this. One of his soldiers came up and cut him free from the vines.
"Retreat! All soldiers retreat!" yelled Bufo. He and the soldiers started fleeing the town as Uodeela snapped and clawed at them in her heron form. It wasn't long before all the toads had left the town, retreating to the safety of their tower.
"Whoo-hoo! Nice one, teach!" called Luz.
"Way to go!" cheered Lilly.
"That showed them," said Amara.
"Looks like the toads are gone," called Luz. "You can change back now."
The Red Heron stopped moving and turned its head towards where her students were. She eyed them for a few seconds before heading towards them and trying to eat them! Luz jumped out of the way just in time to avoid being eaten!
"Uodeela, what are you doing?!" cried Luz.
"Master, stop!" yelled Gustav.
"Teach, what's going on?" asked Lilly. "You don't need to be a heron anymore! Turn back into a salamander!"
The pleas of the students fell on deaf ears as the Red Heron lunged at them again.
"What's happened to Uodeela?" cried out a random frog.
"Why isn't she turning back?" asked another.
"She's lost control of the heron form!" exclaimed another frog. "Everybody, run!"
The panicked citizens began fleeing in all directions, trying to avoid the deadly rampage of the Red Heron. Luz and the others took refuge behind a house as they tried to think of what to do.
"Why isn't she turning back?" asked Amara.
"I don't know, but we have to do something!" exclaimed Lilly.
"We need to get her away from the town," said Amara. "I have an idea. Gather round,"
The students gathered around as Amara explained the plan to them.
"Everyone understand?" asked Amara. The others nodded their heads.
"Okay," said Amara, "let's head back to the house and get ready. Luz, it will be up to you to get her back there." Luz nodded her head in agreement.
The Red Heron continued to terrorize the town, shrieking and causing destruction in its wake, though it became distracted as a fireball flew into its face. The heron looked to where the fireball had come from and saw Luz.
"Hey, Uodeela! Over here!" called Luz, trying to get the heron's attention. The heron let out a shriek before turning and chasing Luz. Luz managed to use her fire magic to move a bit faster, jumping into the air and creating mini jets from her hands to propel her forward. She began leaping away from the town, back to where the house was in the forest, with the heron chasing her in hot pursuit.
As Luz got close to the house, she looked back to make sure the heron was still chasing her. The heron was still behind her and was gaining, but Luz almost had her where they needed her.
"Now!" she yelled as she got into position.
In an instant, Lilly and Gustav jumped over Uodeela, holding ropes In their hands. Amara climbed up to Uodeela's head and attempted to subdue her (having taken a strength potion first to give her an edge). Lilly and Gustav continued jumping over and across Uodeela in an attempt to tie her down. When they finally had enough ropes on her, Amara climbed up to the Heron's beak and forced a sleeping potion down her throat. Though the heron's large constitution prevented it from fully falling asleep, it did seem to calm it down. The students walked up cautiously to the heron.
"What's going on?" asked Luz. "Why didn't she change back?"
"I have no idea," said Lilly.
"What are we going to do?" asked Gustav. "I don't know if we can keep her tied up like that forever."
"We need to figure out a way to change her back!" declared Amara.
"But how?" asked Lilly.
The four students stood there, looking from each other to their teacher, not quite sure what to do.
"Amara, you've read up on magic before coming here," said Gustav. "Can you think of anything?"
Amara put her hand to her head as she tried to come up with something, anything. Finally, she spoke, "I can't think of anything. Even if I could, I have no idea how Uodeela's unique curse/potion works. If she really came up with it herself, then I don't think there would be any books on the subject. Plus, you heard her. Curses can only be removed by the caster."
"But she's in no state to remove the curse herself," said Luz.
"Something has obviously happened with her potion," said Gustav. "It's done something to her mind. Maybe we can try to get through to her."
Gustav walked closer to the heron, who had calmed down after ingesting the sleep potion. But as she saw Gustav approach, she began to thrash around and tried to move her beak to eat him.
"Teach, it's me, Gustav," began the toad. "You agreed to take me in because you thought I was different from the other toads. Please remember me." The heron stopped thrashing but didn't change back.
"Master, it's me, Lilly," said Lilly as she walked up to where Gustav was. "You've known my dad for years. You promised after what happened to my mom that you would train me in magic so I could defend myself. Please remember." The heron continued to stare at the frog.
"My father told me that he paid you a great amount to train me in magic," said Amara. "He said it would help the Light name and would bring honor and prestige. I wanted to learn, and I tried to be a good student, but I've also grown to care for not just you, but Lilly, Gustav, and Luz. You were part of the reason for that, Master. Please remember!" The heron closed its eyes, as though struggling with itself.
"You took me in when I was a stranger," began Luz. "You taught me how to brew potions and use magic, and you even said you'd help reunite me with my friends. You've done so much for me, so please hear my voice and come back to us."
With that, the four friends joined hands and kept repeating, "Please come back, Uodeela."
The heron had its eyes closed and began shaking its head as it heard what the kids were saying. After a while, the heron finally began to glow and change its form back to a salamander.
"UODEELA, YOU'RE OKAY!" screamed all the students as they rushed towards her to give her a hug.
"Hey, easy there," said Uodeela. "I'm not feeling so good."
"We thought we might have lost you," said Luz. "You didn't turn back after you chased the toads away."
"It's good to see you again, Master," said Amara.
"Why don't we back up a bit?" said Uodeela. "What exactly happened after my duel with Bufo? I can't seem to remember a thing."
Luz launched into an explanation of what happened after Bufo had been defeated.
"Ha, I knew he wouldn't surrender," said Uodeela. "So, I transformed into the heron and chased his army away, but then you say I didn't turn back."
"Exactly, Master," said Lilly. "We were trying to figure out what happened to you. We had to get you away from the town and tie you up to get you to calm down, then we started talking to you, and that seemed to do the trick. Why didn't you turn back?"
"I'm not exactly sure," said Uodeela, "though I have a theory. I've been using this potion/curse for many years. When I first started using it, I wasn't aware that there would be any long-term consequences, but the last few times I used it, I swear there were times when I blacked out and couldn't remember what I'd done. I wasn't always able to retain control of my mind. Today, after I drank the potion, I completely blacked out. I couldn't control the heron at all."
"And you think it's somehow related to how long you've been using this potion?" asked Amara.
"It's the best guess I have," said Uodeela. "I developed it over 100 years ago and have been using it off and on ever since."
"Wait a minute," interrupted Luz. "Did you say 100 years ago? You're over 100 years old?!"
"Well, yeah. Salamanders have a long life span," answered Uodeela. "My grandmother lived well into her late 600s."
"Wow, that's… Wow!" exclaimed Luz, unable to say anything else.
"They're the only species in Amphibia that has such a long life span," said Lilly.
"Well, newts are a little bit long," added Amara. "Most newts can live into their 200s, and I think the oldest newt ever lived to be 300 years old."
"In any case," said Uodeela, "the only theory I have is that I've used the curse potion for so long that it's had some nasty long-term effects on me since I need to be in control of the heron form in order to change back and remove the curse. If I'm not in control, then I can't change back. In essence, I would be stuck like that forever. When you all started talking to me somehow, it drew me back. I was able to take control of the heron again, but it was very hard. I'm not sure if I could do that again."
"Master, you have to get rid of the curse potion then," said Lilly. "You can't risk using it if you would be stuck as a heron forever."
"I suppose I'll have to," said a weary Uodeela. "In any case, let me get back to my room. I need some rest, and it looks like you need some, too. Thank you to all of you for helping bring me back. Let's take tomorrow off and rest a bit."
Later, up in her room, once Uodeela was alone, she opened a wardrobe in her room to reveal a single bottle of her curse potion.
I should get rid of this, thought Uodeela, but it's so useful. What if I'm in a situation where I need it? Is it really worth the risk? I can't just get rid of something I've used my whole life. What if the toads come back and I need to scare them away? I know the kids would get nervous if they knew I still had a bottle around, but even so…
She continued to stare at the bottle, unsure of what to do…