The Sorceress’s Apprentice

The Great Tree loomed before me, endless steps hewn from ancient roots that gnarled and twisted. The first step was not nearly as tall as I remembered. Father had been taking me here before I could even walk. He would let me climb as he told me stories of the Sorceress Luna and her court within the Tree, its curving bark becoming as familiar and comforting to me as a mother’s embrace.

But today I was not here to sit and listen to stories. After years of studying and training, I was finally going to meet the Sorceress. And I was to become her apprentice.

“Amara!”

The voice sounded behind me before I could mount the stairs. I gripped my satchel against me and turned. But it was only Lysia. She was already out of breath from the trek up the hill, her light brown hair flying loosely around her like she was still a child, coming to ask me to play.

I faced her, pressing my mouth into a line. “What is it? If you came all this way to wish me good fortune, I—”

“No.” A tentative smile grew on her face. “I have come to join you. I tried to meet you at home but your Father said—”

“What do you mean, join me?” I stared at her, ready to tell her I didn’t need company on the most important day of my life.

“I also wish to become Luna’s apprentice,” she said breathlessly, ducking her head. “I wanted to tell you about my invitation but…”

I had to hold myself back from laughing. Frail little Lysie, a sorceress? But my amusement quickly froze into anger. She knew better than anyone how much I wanted this. When we were children, becoming a sorceress like Luna was all I ever talked about. And now, I spent my days reciting incantations from Father’s spellbook until my vision was blurry, or learning how to flick my wrist just so until my joints were sore.

“You?” I lowered my brow, hoping I could scare her off. “I didn’t think completing the Basic Rites was enough to have the Sorceress take notice of you. If that were the case, half the girls in the valley would be trekking this way.”

“I’ve been practicing Remedium,” she said brightly, cutting through my scathing tone. “Ever since Mother got sick, I have been getting better at healing spells.”

“Well.” It made sense. She had healed my scrapes on more than one occasion. But I tried not to react, as Remedium was one of the few practices I had absolutely no aptitude for. Still, that alone wouldn’t be enough to impress the Sorceress. “I suppose we can walk up together, then.”

I turned back to the Tree, and Lysia happily bounded forward to keep up with me. Admittedly, it was nice to not be alone on my climb. But if she thought I was going to wait for her on the stairs, she was sadly mistaken.

I set my eyes upward, on distant branches that scraped the clouds. The thought of magic coursing through my veins effortlessly, that power would wait at my fingertips to attend to my every whim, was tantalizing. Father had always tried to become part of her court, to get just a taste of that free-flowing magic that the Sorceress possessed, but they thought him too bloodthirsty for his time in the war. Now I was so close to fulfilling the dream for both of us. I could not let anyone get in the way of that, not even Lysia.

“What do you want with all that power, anyway?” I asked, taking the steps in stride as she started to fall behind.

“I think…I think a lot of good could be done,” Lysia said, stopping and bending over to catch her breath. “If my healing magic were stronger, I could eradicate blue fever from Aurelia.”

I sighed. Naive Lysia, only thinking of others. “If that was possible, would the Sorceress not have done it already?”

“I do not think Luna knows what goes on in the valley, Amara. Not as she should.”

We fell silent after that, focusing all our energy on climbing. The steps became narrow and twisting, and gusts of summer wind threatened to blow me off the treacherous path. Despite my aching legs, I did not allow myself to slow. Lysia could not think she had a chance against me.

At last, I reached the entrance. Two guards stood at double doors that were nearly three times my height, spanning the width of the Great Tree’s massive trunk. It was inlaid with intricate silver markings, runes from an ancient language that would have been forever lost had the Sorceress not discovered its meaning. She called it the Language of the Moon. Whoever could read the moon runes had access to the most powerful magic imaginable. As her apprentice, I would be one of the few to gain that knowledge.

“Amara, daughter of Evander,” I announced confidently. “I am here to see the Sorceress about the apprenticeship.”

“And who is your companion?” The guard on the left gestured behind me.

I balled my hands into fists as Lysia’s form sagged forward. She brushed a piece of tangled hair behind her ear and straightened her plain tunic.

“Lysia, daughter of Vergil,” she said in a wispy voice. “I am also here for the apprenticeship.”

“The Sorceress Luna is waiting.” The guard on the left tapped his staff three times on the door, causing the double doors to slowly open.

We stepped into the circular room, lit by dappled sunlight from windows far above. More moon runes decorated the walls, concentrated in a constellation pattern above the delicate throne opposite the door. Upon the throne sat the Sorcerer herself: a striking woman with sharp features and a deep violet robe. If it wasn’t for her hair, gleaming like spun silver against her waist, I would have thought she was much younger than I knew her to be.

“Welcome, young mages of the Aurelian Valley,” she said with a graceful nod, inviting us forward. Lysia and I bowed. “The others will join us shortly.”

The Sorceress beckoned to a guard that stood at a smaller door, and he moved aside, allowing a line of three elegant girls to enter. My chest tightened. How foolish of me to think I’d been the only one considered, that the apprenticeship would simply be handed to me. But it didn’t matter. I squared my shoulders, ready to prove myself.

The other girls were introduced as Phoibe, Viatrix, and Felina. I sized them up out of the corner of my eye, wanting to be familiar with my competition. I could tell they were from the Capitol, and had no doubt received formal magical training unlike Lysia or me. My father’s voice kept me strong. “You don’t need tutors or magical academies like those spoiled Capitol girls. You have actual talent, Amara.” With his wisdom and extensive skills as a mage, he was the only teacher I ever needed.

These girls also looked delicate. Judging by their pristine appearances and skimpy footwear, they had come by way of airship and not had to climb the Tree’s thousand steps.

“Why don’t we start with a simple demonstration from each of you?” The Sorceress studied us with sharp eyes. “I expect you all have something prepared.”

We all nodded in unison. I waited, hands twitching, for her to ask for a volunteer. I was ready to show her that my hard work and abilities could best their privileges.

Instead, she dipped her head towards the end of the row. “Phoibe?”

Phoibe gave a gentle smile, silvery-blonde braid swaying as she stepped forward. As she lifted her hands to summon her magic, her eyes gleamed with a violet light. My stomach dropped out with dread. Then she spoke, proving once and for all that I never had a chance.

“Yes, Mother.”