I could swear to stop using it?

...I don't know what that is.

If you promise you can't break your promise. 

Can't like can't? That sounds dangerous. What happens if you try?

...nothing? Since you can't?

Wow. Yeah, don't do that.

But then you could tell me!

That's kind of proof that I shouldn't, though, if you're seriously thinking about doing something more dangerous to try to get it instead of being careful and waiting.

I don't understand what you mean. It's not dangerous. It just means I wouldn't do it.

It's dangerous in kind of the same way a hex is dangerous - it's something you can't control, that limits you. What if someday you need to be able to use my magic, once it's safe?

What if I need to use it now, and you haven't taught me?

There's not nearly as much chance of that happening in the next few years as there is of it happening sometime in the whole rest of your life afterward.

I could promise not to use it until it's safe and you'd have taught me anyway, then.

She considers, and then sighs.

I want to talk to an adult who knows more about swearing, first - your parent, maybe. And I'm not sure I'll be able to even if they agree; it was possible to share my magic by accident, and when I asked Aulë to fix it they made it so I couldn't share it at all, so I'll have to get their help to give it to you. But if it works how you're saying... yeah, that's probably okay.

I really want to learn.

I know. She goes and hugs him. But I don't want anything bad to happen to you.

Learning is more important to me than being safe.

Sigh, snuggle. If this were a different kind of dangerous that'd be less of a problem.

What kind of dangerous?

The kind where you die if you do it wrong. If I taught you now and you actually tried practicing it, you'd have to practice every day and break all your spells, every day, for half a year, and not forget any of them, because if you did they might kill you. And not cast on any people, at all, nobody, for half a year, because if you cast on a person you can't break that spell, and it might kill you.

You didn't have to do it that way!

Yeah, I didn't. But I don't have a way to let you learn the way I learned. Maybe that's what the Valar are going to do.

I hope so. Do most people who learn magic die?

Most people don't - it happens sometimes but it's pretty rare. But most people learn with safer magic, and from mages who have spells that let them see magic so they can make sure their students don't forget about any of their spells, and as adults so they have an easier time being patient and not forgetting anything.

And even if the Valar can't make it safer I can learn when I'm an adult?