The Trial- The Dragon Mage chapter 1

Audrey is a lonely girl stuck in a little village. Agni is a misfit dragon prince who cannot stand the expectations of his father. As their needs collide, they are taken on an adventure of their lives

Chapter 1 �" The Trial:

    A blisteringly cold, empty expanse surrounded her, which gave way to intense, unending heat. She hovered in the empty space, gazing above her to see a golden palace floating through the ether. Stepping foot on the castle grounds was like walking across the surface of a star. The gold bricks that made up the palace grounds roiled like lava, but were solid enough to walk upon. A pair of immense double doors, carved from the finest wood and unmarred by the blaze around them, opened on their own.

    An invisible force seemed to sweep her off her feet, carrying her through the doors and into the palace proper. The inside was just as garish as she had assumed from the golden exterior of the castle. Tall stained-glass windows glowed with brilliant luminance, painted with pictures of humble creatures receiving fire from a star-like entity. An immense carpet provided the only variety in color to the palace. It was framed on both sides by a line of broiling columns and stretched up towards a large throne sitting on top of an altar.

    Smoke poured from fancy chandeliers hanging from high-vaulted ceilings, creating a haze throughout the throne room. But that invisible force continued to pull her along. Across the carpet and up a small set of stairs until she stood facing the throne. Coughing and waving away the smoke, she spotted a small goblet sitting upon plump, golden cushions. Picking the goblet up, she saw that it was filled with blue, flickering flames.

    The flames flowed down her throat like liquid. She closed her eyes, feeling a sudden rush of cold as the flames licked at her insides. When her eyes popped open, she found that the golden palace was gone and she was back in that empty expanse. The goblet fell from her hand, disappearing into the darkness below.

    An immense tornado of flame sprung up around her, leaving her trapped within the spiraling walls. The sound was deafening, forcing her to drop to her knees and cover her ears. She continued to stare at the swirling flames despite the heat, her eyes watering from how bright the golden flames were. Shadows crawled across the blazing walls, following the turning of the tornado.

    The shadows morphed into visages of dragons; the undulating of the flames appeared to make their wings flap as they spiraled around the tornado. Her eyes narrowed as she spotted one of the dragons growing larger than the others. A mask of bone melded around its head, before it detached from the flaming walls and flew straight towards her. It was much bigger than it appeared on the wall, unhinging its jaws as it rushed to consume her…

C**k-a-doodle-do!

    Her eyes snapped open as she bolted up, her arm jerking and accidentally sending one of her pillows onto the floor. Her tired eyes narrowed as she turned a withering glare towards her windowsill. A large rooster had found a place on the ledge, clucking about, his scarlet head bobbing up and down.

“Tűz,” she whispered, summoning a small ball of fire with a single word. The rooster, taking no notice, reared back to begin letting out another crow, “C**k-a-doodle-” but was cut off as she launched her firebolt at the annoying chicken.

    It hit the rooster with a crisp pop. The chicken screeched as it fell from the windowsill, wings flapping wildly, hitting the ground only a few feet below. The smell of burnt feathers filled the air as she heard it flap away, clucking loudly the entire time. She laid back down with a sigh, staring up at the thatch ceiling above her. The clucks faded into the background and she thought about going back to sleep. 

    But she didn’t stay down long. A ticking cuckoo clock decorating one of her walls made it clear that if she didn’t get up soon, it would be rousing her itself. She let out a groan as she rubbed her eyes, and rolled out of bed to begin dressing. Beside her bed was a little chest, with the pillow she’d thrown earlier folded against it. She opened the chest up and grabbed her work clothes: a dirty white shirt and overalls, both of which with burned threads hanging loose.

    She spent a few moments preening herself while looking into her mirror, dragging her auburn hair back over the right side of her face. She hadn’t bothered to cut it in months, so she pushed it all behind her back, letting it hang down past her shoulders. She gave the mirror a small, confident smile, pleased to find that her teeth were still whiter than her skin. Most of the people she knew couldn’t say the same. A calendar was hanging from a nail in her wall not too far from her mirror, upon which was a date circled several times… today’s date.

    “Audrey! Get out of bed and come and get breakfast!” a piercing voice rang through the house, causing Audrey to flinch.

    Audrey closed her eyes and counted quietly in her head, one… two… three… only for that voice to scream for her again. With no other choice, she tore herself away from her mirror and left her room. The house was quite small, two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a kitchen smashed up against the other three rooms. She opened her door, stepping past her mother’s bedroom and down a short hallway to get into the kitchen. 

    A small, round table sat only a few feet away from a wood-burning stove, with three chairs ringing the table. One of these chairs was currently occupied by a woman with long, auburn hair pulled back into a loose ponytail. A pair of hazel eyes glared at Audrey as she walked up to the table. “About time,” the woman huffed, her lips set in a hard line.

    Audrey pulled a chair out from the table, the legs scraping against the uneven floor,  before sitting down. A wooden plate was waiting for her, with two sad-looking eggs sitting upon a piece of burnt toast. “You really need to quit your wailing,” she growled right back. “The neighbors are probably beginning to suspect a banshee haunts this house.”

    “Sit down and eat your breakfast,” the older woman said, holding up a piece of burnt toast of her own. She took a large bite and crunched it spitefully, giving Audrey a narrowed look. “You’re eighteen now, so learn some respect.”

    “You say that like I’ll be here long enough to learn, Tania” Audrey smirked, picking absentmindedly at her breakfast.

    “You have your father’s arrogance, but none of his talent,” Tania glared right back.

    “Well at least I have something of his. I already look like you, imagine if I acted like you too,” Audrey chuckled. “Then I’d be a failure to the church and a single mother-”

    “Audrey-”

    “With a boyfriend living it up a thousand miles away and a daughter who-”

    “Audrey!” Tania snapped, finally causing Audrey to stop talking and look back at her mother. A palpable silence hung in the air, Audrey meeting her mother’s practiced glare with one of her own. The silence simmered for a moment, crackling with tension. “Your chair is on fire,” the older woman calmly said.

    Audrey blinked a few times, before bolting upwards. Indeed, she had accidentally set her chair on fire. She quickly began patting her clothes and the chair out, smothering the flames as best she could. But burn marks remained, matching the dozens of other burn marks splattering throughout the house from similar accidents. At least her clothes were still intact.

    “And you honestly think you have a chance?” Tania asked, as Audrey patted the last of the flames out. “Ten years training as a Mage and you still can’t control your own fire.”

    “Whatever,” Audrey rolled her eyes. She shoved her chair back under the table before stomping towards the door. “I’m going to work.”

    “Aren’t you going to finish your breakfast?” Tania asked, a sickly-sweet tone in her voice.

    “I don’t eat charcoal. Learn to cook and maybe I’ll eat your poisoned food,” Audrey said, before slamming the door behind her.

    Grumbling to herself, she headed behind her home and walked across their small backyard, trampling a few of the splotchy weeds. A large wall marked the end of not only the yard, but also the edge of the village. The wall was a few feet taller than her, but was made up of whole logs of wood, giving her plenty of handholds to pull herself over with.

    The walk was short, and the chance for a breath of fresh air. The sun, Atis, rose over the hills and inspired a sense of calm within her. A sea of wheat spread out over her left, hemmed in only by a little wooden fence, which led towards a barn. It was large and it’s doors were already open. She hopped the fence and strode into the barn, ignoring the animals milling out.

    A young man was gathering eggs into a basket from nests placed on long benches against the walls of the barn. Dozens of chickens clucked about, waiting patiently for their eggs to be collected so they could be fed. The moment Audrey walked into the barn, they quickly flocked towards her, clucking louder in excitement. The man glanced at the chickens, before turning around with a frown on his face.

    “I’m here for work, Charles,” Audrey said, looking down at the man, who stood a head shorter than her. The chickens flocking around her didn’t bother her one bit. “And I’m here early today.”

    “Don’t think that means you’ll get extra pay,” Charles grunted, crossing his arms over his chest. A tattoo, depicting a shattered flame, was displayed across his chiseled stomach, already glistening with sweat. “The balance between when you arrive late and when you arrive early is now slightly more in your favor.”

    “Why would I want to keep a good, clean record when I’ll be leaving soon?” Audrey asked with a small smirk. “I’ll be out of your hair soon enough.”

    Charles rolled his eyes, before turning back around to continue gathering eggs. “Whatever you say,” he said. “I suppose my father and I should be thankful that you decided to show up at all for your ‘last day in Redwood.’”

    “Exactly,” Audrey preened, flipping a strand of hair back over her shoulder. “So what are we doing today? Anything out of the ordinary?”

    “Yes. In addition to your normal jobs, I need our fattest pigs slaughtered. At least four of them,” Charles said. “The sheep need to be brought in to be sheared as well.”

    Audrey hesitated for a moment, before a sly grin spread across her face. “That seems like a lot of work. Are you sure you’re not just piling on as much as you can to get your money’s worth before I go?” she asked.

    Charles paused, clenching his basket even harder. “It has nothing to do with that… and no, you’re not being paid extra,” he said.

    “I’m not asking for more pay,” she replied, unable to help her smirk. “You think I actually have a chance! Admit it, you do.” 

    Charles spun around again, his left eye twitching. “If that’s how you want to interpret us being slightly busier today than usual, then be my guest. You have about as much of a chance of passing your trial as I did. None,” he added, making a slashing motion with the arm unladen with eggs.

    “Then I guess that’s the difference between you and I,” Audrey said. She leaned down to grab a fifty-pound bag of feed, hefting it over her shoulder once she had a good grip. “I have confidence in my abilities.”

    “You’re so annoying,” Charles grumbled.

    “And you’re so pathetic,” Audrey shot back, before turning around and trotting out of the barn, disappearing around the corner. The fifty pound bag did little to impede her steps. The moment Audrey had vanished, the chickens all immediately turned around and began swarming Charles, clucking loudly as they did.

    “You all are as aggravating as she is,” Charles hissed, pushing aside an older hen with his foot. He could tell her time was coming soon, she had laid less eggs than usual this month. “I wish I had her unearned confidence…”

    Audrey, who had just re-adjusted her grip, couldn’t help but frown. She tried not to make it a habit to eavesdrop on others, especially since she was a little too tall to avoid notice most of the time. A little curse leaving her lips, Audrey made her way towards the pig pen.

    Audrey ripped the bag open and began feeding the pigs. The pigs were large and aggressive, pushing and shoving to try and get the most food possible. It gave Audrey ample opportunity to determine which ones were the largest. She selected the four biggest pigs and carefully coaxed them out of the pen. Using more feed, she led them away from the pen towards a large shack not too far from the barn.

    She slaughtered each of the pigs with a strike from a hatchet stored within the shack. After killing each pig, the messy part of the job began. She hung each one up by their ankles and slit their throats to let them bleed out. It was typically a two-person job, as each of the pigs weighed nearly three hundred pounds, but Audrey had the strength to do it herself. And the pulley system inside the shack helped quite a bit. Once each of the pigs were bled dry, she gutted each one and painstakingly butchered them. Each cut was then salted down for preservation.

    Audrey decided to tackle the other special task she had today first. Gathering the sheep wasn’t hard, as the dogs did most of the work. All Audrey had to do was count them to make sure the dogs hadn’t missed any. It wasn’t her job to shear the sheep.

    She headed towards the small house next to the barn and opened the unlocked door. She was immediately flocked by three dogs, all of them excited to see her. She couldn’t help the small smile on her face as she knelt down to let them lick all over her while she scratched behind their ears. Each dog had a collar with a small nameplate around their necks. Tex, Artur, and Brick were their names.

    “Audrey!” a voice drew the young student’s attention towards the small kitchen not too far from the doorway.

    “Yes, Mrs. Gregson?” Audrey asked, flinching a bit as her name was called. An older woman, several years Tania’s senior, stood in the kitchen chopping vegetables.

    “I need help preparing lunch, it needs to be stewing away soon,” the older blonde said. She sent a disapproving scowl towards Audrey, who was still on the floor with the dogs.

    “I have other chores to do today. I have to herd the sheep and milk the-” Audrey was interrupted before she could finish her sentence.

    “I don’t care what chores Charles gave you today, he should be the one doing them,” Mrs. Gregson huffed. “It’s not right to make a young lady run about out there, dirtying her clothes.”

    Audrey’s grumbled as she pushed the dogs off herself and stood to her feet. “I was hired as a farmhand, not as a chef,” she said. “And I don’t mind the work either.”

    “A woman’s place is in the kitchen, it’s not proper for you to be out there,” Mrs. Gregson said. “Besides, I need help in here. Come peel and chop these potatoes. They need to be boiled and mashed.”

    “Yes, Mrs. Gregson,” Audrey sighed as she headed to the counter and began helping the blonde prepare lunch. Flames licked up Audrey’s hands and arms, sterilizing them before she started peeling potatoes.

    She grumbled quietly, beginning peeling the potatoes, struggling not to cut herself with the slippery knife. It was frustrating, but she made quick work of the task and began chopping them. Cutting the potatoes into thick chunks was much easier and something she had far more practice with. The chopped vegetables went into a pot on the wood-fire stove. A snap of her fingers lit the fire in the stove before she began pouring water into the pot. Then a generous sprinkling of salt.

    Mrs. Gregson had finished chopping carrots and onions and other vegetables, before pouring them all into a large pot over a nearby fireplace. She then poured a large jug of orangish-liquid into the pot. Audrey recognized it as chicken stock, something that Mrs. Gregson must’ve prepared last night.

    “Audrey, a light please?” Mrs. Gregson said, snapping her fingers a few times.

    Audrey didn’t even turn around as she summoned a small flame to her finger and cast it behind her straight towards the fireplace. She had done it often enough that she didn’t need to see it visually. She heard a soft gasp from Mrs. Gregson, suggesting that she might’ve been a bit closer to the firebolt than she wanted to be.

    “Audrey! You need to be more careful!” Mrs. Gregson practically screeched.

    “I didn’t hit you, did I?” Audrey rolled her eyes. She straightened her back a bit, before being forced to duck back down. The house was a little small for her. The Gregsons were shorter than average and tried to save as much space as they could. As such, Audrey’s six-foot frame barely fit inside the building, her head often scraping against the ceiling.

    Mrs. Gregson sighed heavily as she walked back over to the kitchen counter and began pulling something out from a cupboard. It was a grinder, which she quickly attached to the countertop. Audrey watched out of the corner of her eye, though she continued to focus on the potatoes. She needed to take them off the heat once they were soft enough.

    “Put a pan on for me and start getting it hot,” the shorter woman ordered. Audrey swiftly complied, pouring a little bit of oil in the pan. She watched Mrs. Gregson begin to debone and grind lamb meat using the grinder.

    The freshly ground meat was tossed into the warm pan and immediately began to sear. Mrs. Gregson chopped the lamb so the small chunks could fry faster. It only needed to brown before it would be tossed in the pot with the vegetables.

    “Are you going to season that?” Audrey asked as she grabbed the potato masher and began pressing down into her pot to carefully crush and mash the vegetables.

    “It’s going in the pot, it doesn’t need seasoning,” Mrs. Gregson said simply.

    “At least some salt,” Audrey protested.

    “I don’t want it to be too salty.”

    “It won’t be, it’ll help enhance the flavor of the meat.”

    “Girl, don’t question my cooking. I thought you were hired as a farmhand?”

    “And yet here I am,” Audrey deadpanned. “You wanted my help, so you’re getting it. Season the lamb.”

    “Don’t worry about it and don’t question my experience,” Mrs. Gregson grumbled. “You’re here to help chop vegetables, not actually help cooking.”

    Audrey ground her teeth, but couldn’t resist the urge to continue the argument. She drained the potatoes and chopped some herbs. “I thought you said I belong in the kitchen? Maybe I have some natural talent you don’t know about,” she claimed.

    “Experience still beats talent,” the blonde said. She took the lamb off the heat and over to the pot. She poured it in and gave the contents of the pot a good stir. “If you think you’re so talented then maybe you can cook something by yourself next time.”

    “Maybe I will,” Audrey grumbled as she tossed the herbs and butter into the mashed potatoes. She continued mashing until the potatoes were nice and creamy without a lump in sight.

    “I don’t need your help anymore,” Mrs. Gregson said upon seeing Audrey done with the potatoes. “You can go back to doing the work you were hired for.”

    “Yeah, yeah,” Audrey rolled her eyes once again. She ducked down and carefully exited the small house. She saw the dogs were already outside, panting hard. Charles was feeding them treats and not a single sheep was in sight. He and the dogs had already wrangled the sheep for shearing.

    Audrey continued to work well into the afternoon, feeding more animals and milking the cows. She had just finished filling yet another bucket of milk when she heard the chiming of a triangle hanging on the Gregsons’ porch. Audrey carefully brought the bucket back to the barn, before jogging back to the farmhouse. She arrived to see Mrs. Gregson waiting for her, tapping her foot in annoyance. Audrey just glared at her, not bothering to make any excuses.

    The blonde grunted, before moving aside and letting Audrey inside. Audrey could tell that Mrs. Gregson had considered not feeding her. Audrey’s employment didn’t specify that she would be fed every day, or that some of her payment would be withheld in exchange for food. However, Audrey was usually allowed to eat with the family for lunch, especially if she had helped prepare the meal.

    Audrey sat down at the table across from Charles and between the older Gregsons. Mrs. Gregson quickly served each of them and they ate in silence. Audrey noticed the three of them sending her glances, but she chose to ignore them. She was focused on eating, as she hadn’t had breakfast.

    “We understand that you will be undergoing your trial today,” Mr. Gregson spoke up part way through the lunch. Out of all of them, he had glared and stared the least at Audrey.

    Audrey politely swallowed the food in her mouth before speaking, “Yes,” she said. Despite being her direct employer, she interacted with Mr. Gregson the least. The only times they spoke, it was about business and nothing else. He knew nothing of magic, and didn’t pretend to like his wife.

    “Do you have any idea how long it will take?” Mr. Gregson asked.

    “I don’t. No one ever does,” Audrey admitted. “But once I complete it, I don’t know if I’m going to come back to work here.”

    “Oh?” was the only response from Mr. Gregson. From the corner of her eyes, she could see Charles cringing and Mrs. Gregson rolling her eyes.

    Audrey licked her lips slowly as she realized she had never told Mr. Gregson that she didn’t intend to stay a farmer all her life. “When I pass my trial, I’ll be a fully fledged Mage. I can get a job at a church and I can study magic on my own at my own pace,” she explained carefully. “Working at a church is important for my magical career…”

    “I see,” Mr. Gregson said, stroking his chin carefully. Audrey, believing the conversation was over, went right back to eating. But the older man was only in quiet contemplation for a moment, before continuing with, “It sounds almost like you aren’t planning on staying in Redwood.”

    “I’m certainly thinking about it,” Audrey admitted. Though she wouldn’t admit that she didn’t like the little village. “There are more opportunities elsewhere.”

    Mr. Gregson was silent for a good moment once again. “In that case, I will be paying you for your services this week in advance,” he eventually said.

    “Oh, uh… thank you,” Audrey said, stumbling over her words. She was certainly not expecting him to say that. Nor did she really know what to say either.

    Mr. Gregson grunted as he sent his own glares towards his small family to prevent them from complaining. Audrey barely even noticed as she continued eating, wanting to leave as soon as possible. She had to get to church anyway.

    Once she had finished her meal, Audrey stood up carefully. Keeping her head low so as to not bump into the ceiling, Audrey awkwardly headed towards the door. The Gregsons watched her, not commenting, at least at first. However, once she reached the door and began opening it, Charles called after her, “Good luck.”

    Audrey couldn’t tell if he was being sarcastic or not.

    Redwood was a large village, surrounded by a tall, wooden wall made of solid tree trunks. Audrey’s home was in the southeastern part of the village, along with most of the homes in Redwood. The Fire Church was in the Northwest, as far away as possible from her home, which meant extra walking for anyone living on one of the surrounding farms. But making it back into the village was easy enough. The walls were tall, but since they were made of tree trunks, they weren’t difficult to climb.

    Audrey pulled herself up and over, landing in her backyard. Not wanting to catch her mother’s attention, she refused to look at any of the windows as she passed the house by. The fastest way to the Church would be through the marketplace in the center of the village. It would be difficult to push her way through at this time of day, as the streets were cramped and the market was very busy.

    Redwood wasn’t a very wealthy village. Its streets were tight and made of dirt while its buildings were made of wood. Farming was the main commerce for those that didn’t work for a church. Pigs, roosters, and sheep wandered the streets freely. Farmers kept track of livestock through colored bandanas. Thus, most of the stalls at the marketplace sold produce and clothes. The farmers freely traded goods directly while those that worked for the Church used gold and silver coins in the shape of dragon scales.

    There was only one merchant family within Redwood, and they owned the only real store. It was one of the very few buildings in the village made of brick and mortar. It sat near the center of the marketplace, selling more expensive goods. If anyone wanted something that wasn’t produce or clothes-based, such as jewelry or anything forged with iron, it could only be bought at the Astrapi Family Store.

    Audrey stuck to the edges of the marketplace, as far away from the Astrapi store as possible while also avoiding the majority of the crowd. Only the village guards clustered the fringe of the marketplace. They dressed in bronze armor and carried spears, though they had a short sword at their sides and a shield on their backs. They were mostly men, though Audrey knew that a few of the village guards were women. They kept the peace and prevented theft within the marketplace, but if the village was attacked, it would be the Mages that sprung to its defense. Not the guards.

    Wolves and bears weren’t the worst thing to wander out of the Reaches of Hydrafell, and the village guards weren’t at all prepared to deal with threats to the village itself.

    Audrey ignored the stares of the village guards, knowing they didn’t much like Initiates. She knew that the guards enjoyed harassing lone Mages and especially Initiates, so she picked up her pace before they could get any ideas. The Church protected its own, but they couldn’t protect her all the time.

    She managed to make it out of the marketplace with no interruptions. The guards had given her a few looks, but luckily none of them tried anything. From the marketplace, the Fire Church was a short walk up the main street, then a left turn through a small alleyway between two houses. The church itself sat on a small hill with a large perimeter fence around the building. This gave the church one of the largest lawns in the cramped village. Though it wasn’t much of a lawn, as the grass that could have grown in front of the church was little more than a bed of ash.

    The fence was made of iron and tall enough to protect the church from vandals, as well as keep anyone wandering past from being able to see or hear anything from within. The lock on the fence had no keyhole, but Audrey already had the key. She grasped the metal lock and let out a soft breath. Channeling her Essence, she summoned flame to her hand with a simple spell, “Tüz.”

    The lock quickly heated up, the springs inside expanding, causing gears to turn and plates and tumblers to fall out of place. The lock body suddenly came free from the shackle with a satisfying popping sound. Audrey easily removed the shackle from its place, swung the door to the fence open, and shut it behind her. The lock was actually a training tool for younger initiates, helping them learn how to localize their flames to their hands and hold it there long enough to heat something up. She remembered struggling with these for hours, even after all of her classmates had already popped theirs open. She’d never quite forgiven these locks for that.

    The lock eventually cooled and she put it back into place with a wonderful click. The brick-and-mortar church was one of the largest buildings in the village. On the roof of the chapel was a large, bronze bowl. A bright, orange flame was burning within the bowl, dancing with all the colors of Atis. As Audrey approached the main doors to the church, a small bout of flame leapt from the bowl and rained down upon her.

    The flame had many purposes, the most important of which was defending the chapel. Audrey easily, and without looking, reached up and caught the small fireball in her hand. The flames licked her fingers hungrily, but found only skin that could not easily be burned. She flicked the flames away like water droplets, scattering them against the ash that made up the ground. 

    She opened the front doors and walked into the chapel. A dozen rows of pews, with small breaks between groups of two to create walkways, led up to a raised platform where a podium stood. Behind the podium was a large altar with several candles scattered about and a golden brazier sitting in the center.

    Several men and women wearing red robes and scarlet veils were on their hands and knees, cleaning and scrubbing the floor, the pews, and the podium. As the doors shut behind Audrey, each of them looked up and stared at her silently. The only sound echoing throughout the otherwise empty chamber was the sound of flickering flames from the candles.

    Audrey could feel their glares burning even through their veils, but she refused to back down. “Where’s Deacon Harold?” she asked, finally shattering the silence. The others slowly pointed towards the set of doors that led deeper into the church, towards the classrooms. Only for the doors to open and a man wearing a deeper red set of robes to walk into the chapel. 

    The man was middle aged and walked with a slight limp. He carried a large book under one of his arms and a pair of scrolls was tucked beneath the other. The candelabras mounted on the walls suddenly burst into flames as the man made his way onto the raised platform and towards the altar. Audrey recognized him immediately as Deacon Harold.

    “Assistants, please, gather the others,” Harold said, gesturing towards the veil-wearing workers. They quickly stood without a word, and marched off, exiting through the same door Harold entered through. Once they were gone, Harold turned his attention towards Audrey, beckoning her forward.

    Audrey obeyed, weaving between the pews to approach the raised platform. She stood directly across from the podium and watched Harold place his book and scrolls onto it. The book was opened to a pre-marked page, but the scrolls weren’t touched. The fires that burned on the candelabras began waning, eventually becoming smaller, flickering flames.

    “You didn’t come to your class today,” Harold said simply.

    “I had work,” Audrey replied.

    “Audrey…” Harold frowned, placing his hand onto one of the scrolls he had brought. “You forgot about your final instruction. A spell to help you in your trial.”

    “I… I didn’t forget,” Audrey muttered. “I still get the spell, right?”

    “Of course, but you must learn it on your own,” Harold said. Without the tutelage of her primary instructor, she would have to decipher the scroll herself.

    “That’s fine,” Audrey said, though there was some hesitation in her voice. It was no secret to the Deacon that Audrey struggled learning even with her primary instructor. “What’s my trial?”

    “You will find out soon enough,” Harold said. The doors leading to the classrooms opened and students of all ages piled into the chapel, their classes interrupted for the ceremony. Some were as young as eight while others were only a few months younger than Audrey. In total, nearly fifty Initiates found seats in the pews.

    Behind the Initiates were the instructors, three of them. Two men and one woman, all three of them appearing to be at least Deacon Harold’s age. One of the men and the woman headed towards the back of the church, standing behind the pews. The other man stepped onto the raised dais and stood next to Harold. He was bald, with a well-groomed, gray goatee, and a nasty scar traveled across his face and down his neck, disappearing into his red robes.

    Further behind the instructors were the assistants that had fetched them. They filed onto the raised platform and kneeled behind the altar. Their left hands clasped their right wrists as they held their right hand, palms facing upwards. They bowed their heads and small flames lit in the center of their palms, flickering and dancing quietly.

    “Audrey Caminus, ten years ago, you were selected by Arkosh to become an Initiate. You have studied hard and learned much. Now that you are eighteen, you have earned the right to take the Mage’s Trial,” the Deacon read from his book. “Each Trial is a unique test and must be completed alone. This Trial will test you like you have never been tested before.”

    Deacon Harold raised his hands and cast his gaze out to the other Initiates in the pews. “It has been nineteen years since an Initiate from this church has passed their Trial. Audrey Caminus, you have a chance to break this curse,” he said. A chill passed through Audrey’s spine, causing her to swallow hard. “Upon passing your Trial, you will become a fully-fledged Mage.”

    Audrey drew in short, quick breaths, clenching her fists as she stared Harold down. It was happening… finally happening. She had dreamed of this day for years, for a decade. The Deacon opened his mouth to continue speaking, but Audrey interrupted him, “I will break this curse. I will follow in the steps of my father… I promise.”

    Audrey could practically hear the cringing and grimacing of the older Initiates. The frown on the instructor standing next to Harold was also quite visible. But Audrey stood firm, staring at Deacon Harold to see what his reaction was. He cocked his head ever so slightly, but his expression was otherwise neutral.

    “Kneel, Miss Caminus,” he said. She complied immediately, dropping to her knees. But she didn’t bow her head. She watched him turn around and pick the brazier off the altar. The assistants kneeling behind the altar began chanting, their voices reverberating throughout the chapel.

    Deacon Harold held the brazier above his head and spoke loudly and clearly over the chanting, “Túzára!” Blue flames erupted into existence within the brazier. The fire lapped at the edges of the brazier as if they were liquid, begging to be poured from the bowl and onto her.

    “Audrey Caminus, by accepting this brand, you understand and recognize that failure to complete your Trial will result in being barred from Magehood. You will not be allowed to learn any further magic,” he said as he brought the brazier back down to chest level. “You have one chance. Do you accept your trial?”

    Audrey bit her tongue to hold back a sarcastic remark. She had seen several of these rituals for older Initiates than her, and she always wondered why this question was asked. She showed up and was kneeling before the Deacon… of course she accepted her trial. But she bowed her head nevertheless and responded with a respectful, “Yes.”

    Harold dipped his fingers into the blue fire, drawing out the flickering flames that stuck to his digits. He then flicked his fingers at her, blue fire splashing onto her as if it was water. The flames washed over her, simmering in the air. “Then you are hereby blessed with Arkosh’s holy fire, may He guide your light.”

    The blue flames licked at her body, before suddenly condensing towards her left arm. She quickly grabbed her left wrist with her right hand, holding it up towards the Deacon with her palm facing upwards. The flames spread across her arm, pooling in her palm. She gritted her teeth as she felt the blaze searing a symbol into her arm, halfway between her shoulder and her elbow. A stylized fire sigil, a magic tattoo that marked her as a hopeful Mage, taking their trial.

    The flames suddenly shot from her arm into her palm, where it was easily collected by Deacon Harold and deposited back into the golden brazier. Audrey was left holding her position, covered in sweat while the Deacon returned the brazier to its place on the altar. It had been a long time since fire had actually hurt her, she hadn’t expected the branding to actually feel like one.

    “You may stand, Miss Caminus,” Harold said, taking his place back at the podium.

    Audrey carefully pushed herself to her feet. Her arm still hurt, but she kept a brave face, sucking in slow and deliberate breaths to steady her rapidly beating heart. No turning back now.

    “As is tradition, your Primary Instructor will present you with your final lesson,” Harold said as he took one of the scrolls from the podium and handed it over to the scarred, bald Mage next to him. “Sir Zarcon, would you be so kind…”

    The scarred Mage practically snatched the scroll from Harold’s hand. “If she had just shown up to class, then this part would already be over,” he grunted. He hopped off the raised platform and stalked straight up to Audrey. He was just slightly taller than her, and he got right up in her face. “Let’s hope that’s not the mistake that costs you your Magehood.”

    He shoved the scroll against her chest, which she quickly took. “It won’t, I have a feeling your tutelage wouldn’t have helped much anyways,” she hissed right back. The scroll had wooden caps on the ends of the scrolls, but attached to one of the caps was a metal clip. It attached to a belt loop on her overalls.

    “You’re nothing like your father,” Zarcon spat back as he turned to walk off, heading towards the back of the church.

    “Audrey,” Deacon Harold drew her attention back to him. He grabbed the other scroll on the podium and handed it over to her. “This scroll contains the contents of your trial. You may not open it until you exit the village, and must be read before dusk. Once the scroll is read, you are not allowed to return until you either succeed or give up.”

    Audrey accepted the scroll, noticing it had engraved, gold knobs instead of wooden caps. It also had a metal clip that attached to one of her belt loops. The scrolls weren’t too heavy, but they were slightly awkward against her side. “I won’t be long,” she promised.

    “Be careful, Audrey,” the Deacon let out a long sigh. “And if you can’t handle it… don’t be ashamed to quit.”

    Audrey’s eyes narrowed. Of course she would be ashamed to quit… everyone would be. That’s what the veils were for, after all. “I will never quit,” she declared, venom seeping from her words.

    “You still have so much to learn, child,” Harold said, a frown set on his face.

    Audrey ignored him. She was done here, and she wanted to begin her trial as soon as possible. She swung around and marched out of the church. She held her head high, doing her best not to look at any of the Initiates who watched her leave, their eyes wide with a mixture of doubt and judgment. She equally ignored the instructors, especially Zarcon.

    The doors to the church shut behind her, leaving her alone once again. She let out a slow breath, before leaving the church grounds and headed towards the front gates to the village. Atis was already low in the sky, but she had a little time before sundown. She would have plenty of light if she needed to travel somewhere.

    She headed towards the marketplace, as the main road that led through there also led straight to the front gate. However, as she approached the marketplace, she heard loud shouting. The marketplace was incredibly crowded, but Audrey got a glimpse of what was going on. A group of guards restraining and detaining someone. More than likely a thief or scammer trying to rip off a customer.

    Making it through the marketplace like this would be difficult, so she chose to go around. She picked a side alley and swung wide to the western part of town. Then she headed south, ignoring the sounds of yelling and fighting. At least, she ignored the sounds until a thunderclap echoed throughout Redwood. Audrey didn’t need to check to know that a Mage had shown up to help the guards restrain the thief.

    Redwood wasn’t very big, bypassing the marketplace didn’t add much time to her journey. But it did take her by two buildings that she had forgotten about. Two buildings that she tried to avoid as best she could, but in her haste to leave the village, it had slipped her mind. She hoped that her quick pace would get her by these structures without any issue… but her chances were slim.

    She passed the first building with ease. A large brick mansion, the largest building in the village. The mansion itself wasn’t that much larger than the average house in the village, but connected to the building was the only tavern and inn present in Redwood. The Astrapis lived in this house, ran the tavern and inn, and also ran the only actual store in the marketplace. The man of the house was a highly successful merchant, ferrying goods across the expansive wilderness of the Dragonheart Empire, all the way to the Capital. The woman of the house and her daughters ran the tavern and inn. These two things made the Astrapis the wealthiest family in Redwood.

    Servants worked hard on the garden in front of the mansion, watering flowers and pruning bushes. It was one of the few other jobs available in the village. Audrey side-eyed the servants, carefully scanning their faces. Seeing that a particular face wasn’t among them, she picked up her pace and passed the mansion. But that only led to the second building that she did her best to avoid.

    The Lightning Church. A brick building very similar in style to the Fire Church, but it lacked the fence around the perimeter. It almost seemed to be inviting wanders to investigate, but Audrey knew better. The burn marks on the grassy lawn of the church told enough of a story. She knew to give the church a wide berth, though today she had another reason to do so.

    Four blonde women were practicing on the church grounds, tossing spells back and forth to each other, lightning streaking from fingertip to fingertip. They were clad in boyish outfits, all of them wearing tight, ankle cut pants and T-shirts, hugging their skin. As Audrey passed in front of the church, one of them took notice, biding the others to stop. They turned to stare at her, their eyes burning with hate. Then, almost like they thought as one, they began jogging to try and cut her off.

    Audrey picked up her own pace, but she wasn’t nearly fast enough. Something hard smacked into the back of her head, sending her tumbling to the ground. She laid on the ground, stunned, for nearly a minute. She could barely make out the four lightning Initiates blocking off the street in front of her, leaving her only escape behind her. She carefully pushed herself up to her feet and turned around to make her escape.

    Only to stop right in her tracks. Another blonde woman, this one slightly taller than the others, though still a full head shorter than Audrey. She was pale, with bright blue eyes, and had her hair pulled back into a tight bun. She tossed a rock up and down in the palm of her hand as she smirked cruelly at her victim. She wore dark blue robes with streaks of lighter blue highlighted throughout. Audrey recognized her immediately; she was the eldest daughter of the Astrapi family. Cinderella Astrapi.

    “Where do you think you’re going, fire b***h?” Cinderella asked, venom dripping from each word. Audrey barely had time to react as Cinderella cocked her fist back and threw the rock she was holding.

    Audrey reacted just fast enough to catch the small projectile, wincing as it dug into her palm. “Leave me alone,” she said. The urge to throw the rock back at Cinderella was strong, but Audrey knew better than to push her luck with the bully. It would just make her mad. She dropped the rock and turned to yell at the four Initiates blocking her path, “Now get out of my way!”

    The four Initiates just sneered. She recognized each of them, of course. They were almost like Cinderella’s goons, doing whatever she asked of them. They even dressed like her. They were short and not particularly strong, but they were vicious and mean, just like their ‘boss.’ They did not budge as Audrey yelled at them.

    “Now why would they do that? Especially when you haven’t answered my question,” Cinderella’s voice was much closer than it was just a moment ago. Audrey whipped her attention beside her, to see Cinderella mere inches from her. Lightning sparked around her body, and she held up a scroll with golden caps on each end.

    “Wha… hey!” Audrey snarled. She recognized it as her trial scroll immediately. “Give that back!”

    “I thought I remembered your birthday,” Cinderella chuckled, tossing the scroll up and down, catching it in her hand each time. “Congratulations on turning eighteen,” she sneered.

    “It’s not like you to remember facts about the peasantry,” Audrey hissed. “Tuz,” spoken, almost like a curse, summoned fire to her fists.

    “I make a habit of remembering things about people I hate,” Cinderella shrugged, not at all intimidated by Audrey’s display. “I was hoping to run into you today, otherwise I would’ve had to track you down. I have something to show you.”

    Cinderella dropped Audrey’s trial scroll onto the ground and reached for her robe, but Audrey was having none of that. Almost roaring in anger from seeing her scroll dropped carelessly on the muddy roads of Redwood, Audrey closed the gap between her and Cinderella. Flames still surging in her fists, she threw one forward, slamming into Cinderella’s chest. It was like hitting a steel wall, but it sent her wheeling a few steps. Audrey then snatched her scroll off the ground.

    “It’s been a few weeks since we last saw each other. At that point in time, we were evenly matched…” Cinderella trailed off as she unbuttoned her robes and shrugged them off her body. Audrey’s flames had eaten a fist-sized hole in the blue fabric and with them plopping down into the mud, they were definitely ruined.

    Cinderella wore something similar to what her cronies did. Her shirt matched her robes, but was sleeveless and shoulder-less. Her pants were cut off at the knee, but hugged her legs just as tightly as the four lightning Initiates. She leaned down and rolled up one of the legs of her pants, showing off a tattoo on her thigh. Three lightning bolts intersecting. “But no longer. As you can see… I’ve passed my Mage’s Trial,” she continued.

    “So? Everyone knows the trials they give to Lightning Mages are rigged and far easier than any of the other churches’ trials,” Audrey huffed, reclipping her scroll to her belt loop. “It’s just like your pathetic, jealous God to push her Mages through to challenge Arkosh’s dominance!”

    Cinderella snorted, before suddenly shoving Audrey hard enough to knock her back down. Audrey landed on her a*s, quickly trying to scamper back up as Cinderella closed the gap between them faster than Audrey could comprehend. Audrey’s fires were smothered as her fists were doused in mud. “You don’t know a damn thing, fire b***h,” Cinderella growled, before her cruel smirk returned. “How about I give you a hint as to what I did to pass my trial?”

    Audrey opened her mouth to express her lack of interest, but was cut off by Cinderella reaching into her pocket and pulling out a fist-sized scale. She tossed it right at Audrey, who was able to catch it with ease. Audrey gripped the scale, a scowl spreading across her face as she realized what it was. It was green, concave, and came to a slight point. There was a ridge on one side and was a shape she had seen replicated many times before. She summoned fire into her hand, burning off the mud, but the scale didn’t even change temperatures.

    It was a real dragon’s scale. “Where did you get this?” Audrey demanded, glaring back up at Cinderella.

    “I’ll let your imagination fill in the blanks,” the Lightning Mage shrugged. “But it certainly wasn’t an easy trial. At least until I knocked it out of the sky…”

    “Liar!” Audrey cried out as she flung her other hand forward. It was still filled with mud, though it was more like tar after having been heated up by Audrey’s flames. The mud was slung true, striking Cinderella across the face.

    Momentarily blinded, Cinderella let out a screech of indignation and took several steps backwards, trying to wipe her eyes clean. Audrey began pushing herself up, but Cinderella’s goons were already on her. Or at least, three of them were. The tallest one stayed back and watched with a frown while the other three laid into Audrey.

    Audrey took a right hook followed immediately by a punch to her nose as she struggled to her feet. She tried to fight back, hitting the youngest right in the eye. She screeched and took a step back, but the other two, strangely identical, women continued to pummel her. Each of their punches came with a sharp shock, locking up her muscles and intensifying the pain immensely.

    “Get away from me!” Audrey let out another roar, before flames erupted around her entire body. The blaze flared like pouring alcohol onto a campfire, scorching one of the women who was attacking her.

    She screamed and backed away, her hands bright red from second degree burns. “Fei!” the other Initiate that had just managed to step away from Audrey fast enough to dodge the blaze shouted. She leapt immediately to Fei’s side, taking her hands and plunging them into the mud to put out the flames and protect them from the heat.

    “Mei… it hurts,” Fei whined as her twin patted her down, putting out all the little fires eating away at her clothes.

    “Don’t worry… I’ll get her, I’ll make her pay for this,” Mei whispered quietly as lightning began dancing around her body.

    Hssshhhh, the searing sound of mud boiling and rapidly drying out echoed nearby, causing Mei to look up. Looming right behind her was Audrey, wreathed in flames. As her clothes began burning away, it was clear the Initiates had left a few bruises, but otherwise Audrey was unharmed. “You were saying?” Audrey asked, cocking her fist back and throwing it right at Mei’s face. She rarely got the opportunity to actually enact some revenge, and she planned on savoring at least this much. Lightning Mages prided themselves on their speed, but if Audrey could catch them, speed was of no help.

    A crackling boom of thunder blasted throughout the village once again. Audrey didn’t have time to react as Cinderella cleared the tar-like mud from her face and moved fast enough to intercept her fist from Mei’s face. Cinderella caught the punch with ease, gripping Audrey’s fist hard enough to prevent her from breaking away.

    Audrey flinched away from Cinderella’s blazing amber gaze, as the lightning began surging around the Mage stronger and stronger. Audrey knew what was coming next, and with Cinderella’s increase in power, no doubt it would be the worst shock she had ever gotten. She closed her eyes as she prepared to receive the electrocution…

    “Ahem!” an annoyed voice cut through the crackling lightning, causing all the belligerents to swing around to see who had spoken. A woman with short, black hair had her arms crossed a few feet away from the group. She wore the same blue robes that Cinderella had been wearing.

    Behind the Mage was a small group of guards, escorting a pair of unconscious men towards the barracks. The barracks acted as a small jail and was situated right next to the Lightning Church. With the barracks and the Astrapi household on either side of it, the Lightning Church didn’t need a fence, though it still had defenses.

    “Cinderella!” the Mage finally called out once she had their attention. “Please help the good guards escort these thieves to the jail.”

    Cinderella scrunched up her face in disgust, before letting out a defeated sigh. “Yes, Deacon Marigold,” she said. With clenched fists, she began walking towards the group of guards, waiting for their escort to resume.

    “Don’t forget your robes,” the Lightning Deacon said. “You’ll be spending the rest of the day cleaning and fixing them.”

    Cinderella’s face flushed in embarrassment, but she snatched the robes off the ground regardless. As she passed the Initiate who had stayed out of the fight, Cinderella smacked her on the back of the head. “You’re a coward, Lariel. I hope you don’t hesitate like that during your own trial,” she growled, before heading towards the barracks to continue the escort.

    Audrey stood defiantly in the center of the road, still on fire. The mud beneath her had cracked and dried out and her flames continued to draw moisture from the surrounding area, creating a larger and larger patch of dried mud. The twins that she had been standing over quickly shuffled away from her and raced towards their Deacon, Fei holding her hands up to show the Deacon what had happened.

    “You poor things… I thought I taught you not to hit things that you couldn’t handle,” Marigold cooed as she checked each of Fei’s hands. She tutted quietly, before noticing the last Initiate holding a hand over her left eye. Marigold gestured the girl over and gently removed the hand, spotting a rapidly darkening black eye. “Nirin, Nirin, Nirin… you are lucky that the heat didn’t burst your eyes. Now back to the church with all of you! And don’t expect an easy night either! After a pathetic display like that, you all need more training!”

    Audrey flinched as each of the Initiates ran past her, sending her scowls as they did. But none of them were foolish enough to try and touch her while she was still on fire. Audrey turned her attention back towards the Lightning Deacon to see Marigold approaching her. Audrey shifted her stance unconsciously, just in case she needed to fight or flee.

    “And you, little flame, should run on home and put on some new clothes,” Marigold practically deadpanned. “Lest I have you arrested for public indecency.”

    Audrey glanced down just in time to see the last of her outfit, her favorite boots, burning away. She grimaced, though she also had to hide a deep blush, and picked up her scrolls that had fallen on the ground. She hugged them against her chest, before dashing off as fast as she could. She needed a new outfit.

    Audrey raced back home, swinging wide around the marketplace again to avoid as many people as possible. The flames wreathing her body went out right as she reached her front door. She threw the door open and stepped inside, shutting the door behind her. She shut her eyes and took a moment to pant and catch her breath. “Running home naked again?” Audrey’s eyes snapped open to glare into the kitchen.

    Tania was sitting at the kitchen table, a bored expression on her face. A large trunk was set in the center of the table. Audrey, continuing to cover herself with her scrolls, made her way over to the table, but remained standing. “It was Cinderella again,” she muttered.

    “You need to leave that girl alone,” Tania huffed. “She hates you now, remember?”

    “Oh, I remember. Remember that it’s your fault,” Audrey growled, having to resist the urge to slam her fist down on the table again. “But it wasn’t like I was seeking her out. She just happened to catch me while I was passing by…”

    “In any case… it’s a good thing that you did burn off all your clothes. I was beginning to worry that you wouldn’t come back after receiving your trial,” Tania said, placing her hand on top of the trunk.

    “I wasn’t planning on coming back,” Audrey grumbled, turning her nose up as Tania pushed the trunk closer to her. “What’s this?”

    “I got you something. Conveniently, something that you need right now,” Tania gestured to Audrey’s lack of clothing.

    “You bought me something?” Audrey raised a skeptical eyebrow. “That’s not like you at all.”

    “Got, not bought,” Tania rolled her eyes again. “Now, go try this on. You might be a bit big for it, but it’ll fit.”

    Still confused, Audrey grabbed one of the trunk’s handles and hefted it off the table. The trunk was heavy, but it didn’t feel like there was anything else in it besides clothes. With a huff, Audrey turned and headed towards her room. Not wanting to give Tania the satisfaction of seeing her try on whatever this was in person. Tania didn’t move or protest, she just sat there and waited patiently for Audrey to come back.

    Audrey tossed the trunk onto her bed and slammed her door. She set her scrolls on her bedside table, before grabbing the lock on the trunk. It was the same sort of lock on the fence of the Fire Church, and only took her a moment to open. With the lock cast aside, the trunk swung open to reveal… a dress.

    “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Audrey scowled as she began picking through the contents of the trunk. She pulled out a silken blouse, colored with oranges and red, and with a built-in corset, the likes of which Audrey had not seen in Redwood before. She pulled out an orange skirt, which was inoffensive enough, but hardly Audrey’s style. She scrunched the skirt up and lit her hands on fire, deciding that whatever cruel prank her mother was playing on her wouldn’t stand.

    But no matter how hot she made her hands; the skirt did not burn. Unraveling the skirt to glare it at, she found that it had sustained no damage. Upon paying closer attention to the material of the fabric, she realized that it wasn’t cloth or wool. It was something else. Audrey checked the blouse too and found that it was made of the same material as the skirt. 

    With a long, drawn-out sigh, she began putting the outfit on. The outfit was designed for someone much smaller than her, but she managed to wriggle into the blouse and adjust the corset. The shirt hugged her body in an uncomfortable way, squeezing each of her curves. The skirt was much easier to put on, as it fit perfectly just above her hips, if perhaps a little too tight.. It had to have been Tania’s. Audrey was taller than she was, but this would be a perfect fit for her mother.

    Looking back into the trunk, she found two more things in the trunk. The first was a belt with a pack attached to the back of it. The pack was small but could probably hold a few days’ worth of rations. The only useful thing so far. The second was a set of low heels, which Audrey immediately tossed back into the trunk. There was no chance she would be wearing such ridiculous footwear.

    She marched over to her clothing chest and threw it open. She could accept the blouse and skirt, as it was fireproof, but she only had a tolerance of so much. However, as the closet door swung open, she found it completely empty. Every single article of clothing she had sitting in the chest, including all of her shoes, were gone. Slightly panicked, she raced towards her dresser to find it also cleaned out. She had no choice.

    Grinding her teeth together in frustration, she stormed back over to her bed and threw the trunk onto the floor. She would rather walk around barefoot than wear heels… but she had no idea how far away from Redwood she would have to walk. And the ground outside the village was far less forgiving on her soles than mud. So she threw the shoes on, grumbling and attached the belt around her waist to cover as much skin as possible.

    She grabbed a hunting knife she kept in her bedside table and attached that to her belt, before reattaching her scrolls to her belt as well. Two metal rings were fashioned on either side of the belt, perfect for clipping the scrolls onto. She didn’t waste time looking at herself in the mirror. She knew that she hated how she looked.

    Her heels clicked and clacked against the wooden floor of the house as she marched back into the kitchen. Her fists were clenched and her teeth were gritted as she came back to see her mother sipping from a glass filled with some reddish liquid. “You look lovely, dear,” Tania said, a smirk spreading across her face.

    “What did you do with the rest of my clothes?” Audrey accused, setting her hands on the table and leaning across it.

    “They were reduced to ash, just like the rest of your clothes,” Tania shrugged.

    “You burned my clothes?” Audrey asked, her voice cracking as she tried not to scream. “Why would you ever-,”

    “I had to make sure you’d wear my gift. Besides… if you went out on your trial in anything else, you’d just burn right through them,” Tania chuckled. “So you should be thankful I went ahead and did what you were already going to do.”

    “Where did you even get this ridiculous getup?” Audrey growled. She hated the fact that Tania had a point… at least in the sense that she needed something fireproof. 

    “The outfit is mine. My mother gave it to me for my trial. She told me it’s worn by Fire Mages learning in the cities of the Empire. It’s expensive and very fashionable in the royal court of Essence Crux,” Tania explained, a little smirk on her face. “It fits you very well, despite how much taller you are…”

    Audrey’s eye twitched as she struggled not to work herself up again, her hands shaking angrily. “Well, no wonder you failed your trial then!” she huffed. “Out there in the wilderness, looking like this! This is Redwood, mom, not the Capital! I bet you didn’t even make it…”

    Audrey trailed off as she watched Tania take a long sip of her wine. Her expression was serious, not the cruel smirk Audrey would have expected. Audrey clenched her fists as she felt tears threatening to fall. “Your mother wanted you to fail your trial. She did the exact same thing you’re doing to me,” she said.

    Tania remained motionless for a moment, before finishing the wine in her glass. “Yes, that’s right. You know, my mother was never supportive of my decision to join a church. She thought I was better off finding a good husband and being a doting wife,” she said. “I spent every waking moment preparing for my trial, to prove to my mother that I was doing something worthwhile. But she died before I turned eighteen. And what she left me was that outfit with the express purpose of me wearing it during my trial. It was one final ‘f**k you,’ from her.”

    “Then why did you wear it?”

    “You don’t understand. I spent every waking moment training and getting stronger. I wanted to prove to my mother that I wasn’t wasting my time. I was the strongest f*****g Initiate in that church… I thought that I could do it, no matter what stood in my way,” Tania hissed. “I thought I could finally prove my mother wrong, that I could take her dress and shove it back in her face. But I was wrong.”

    “I’m not going to let some silly dress slow me down.”

    “Oh, but you will. You’re right- that dress was never made for a place so far from the bustling streets of the Capital. You’ll notice it’s tight, and breathing is especially important for casting spells just right. And heels? Wherever you’re going, they’re of no use.” Tania chuckled. “I stumbled around for weeks, before coming back broken and defeated.”

    Audrey swallowed hard, her glare returning. “Then why are you making me suffer the same fate?” she growled. “If you think you’re getting some revenge against your own mother, the only person you’re hurting is me.”

    “My mother is dead and gone, revenge against her is pointless,” Tania chuckled. “No, I need you here Audrey. This is the only way to make you realize that.”

    “You mean force me to stay,” Audrey snorted. “So I’m going to force you to realize that I’m destined to be a Fire Mage. If that means having to take my trial in this stupid dress, then that’s what I’m going to do!”

    A sickly-sweet grin curled across Tania’s face as she set her empty glass back on the table. “Then go. Prove to me that you have what it takes to be a Fire Mage,” she practically giggled. “But be thinking of potential husbands for when you come crawling back.”

    “I’m not going to follow in your footsteps, Tania,” Audrey growled as she marched towards the door. She opened it with nearly enough strength to pull it off its hinges. “I’m following in dad’s.”

    Audrey didn’t get to see Tania’s expression as she slammed the door behind her. She hoped that little line had struck a nerve. For all of Tania’s talk of being the strongest Initiate, that wasn’t what Audrey had heard. She had heard that her father was far, far more powerful. He had actually succeeded in his trial and was sent to Essence Crux to continue his training.

    Audrey made her way towards the gates of the village. She had completely forgotten to pack any rations, but she was so focused on the task ahead that she didn’t care. She ignored the passersby and guards that whistled at her, drowning out their catcalls with her internal fury.

    The front gates always closed when Atis set, leaving her with little time to get outside and start her trial in time. The grass outside of Redwood was a welcome change in terrain for her feet, which were already starting to ache. But she pressed onwards, getting a good distance away from the village before finally unclipping and unraveling her trial scroll.

    To her surprise, the scroll was blank. She furrowed her brow at it, waving it around and trying to hold it up to Atis to see if that revealed any words. But neither of those helped, and she was briefly worried that Cinderella getting a hold of it might have tampered with its magic somehow. But just as she was about to roll the scroll back up, she felt her tattoo beginning to ache. Blue fire arched down her arm and across her fingers, searing patterns into the scroll that swiftly became words. Instructions on what her trial actually was.

You must recover a pound of Blaze Crystals to help fuel the defensive pyre on top of your church.

    Audrey read aloud, a feeling of dread creeping into her stomach. Blaze Crystals were incredibly rare. She remembered them from her studies, but had never seen one in person. They only occurred when dragonfire was trapped by the sap of an alshasms tree and allowed to harden and crystallize. It meant she would have to go to the Reaches of Hydrafell, the great forest Redwood was only a few miles from, if she wanted to find any Blaze Crystals. A place that humans were strictly forbidden from entering.