A Test Lesson

Fundamentals must have taken a full hour … and at least almost double before I even began getting a solid grasp on it. 

Erecting a magical barrier specifically designed to thwart and keep out Death itself wasn't the one-hand-tied-behind-my-back trivial effort as it probably sounded like. 

Definitely also not how I thought I'd be spending the few remaining hours left before the year draws to a close. 

Thankfully, convenience was on my side here - having unraveled the intricacies of impenetrable barriers only quite recently gave me all the experience I needed to go ahead and forge my own. 

If not for Mom, and the whole song and dance she had put me through, then I genuinely don't think any of this would have been possible in the timeframe I was given.

So… thanks Mom. 

I think.