First Witch's Tale

He turned and led the way through the gap in the wall. I hesitated, then forced my wobbly legs to follow him. Magic sparkled around me, growing stronger as we made our way towards the castle. It towered over us, so large I had difficulty believing it was even real. The largest building I had seen in my entire life was a longhouse belonging to an extended family, with room for over forty men, women, and children, but the castle made it look tiny. I got dizzy just looking up at the sheer immensity of the building. It was difficult, if not impossible, to believe it was made by human hands. I learnt, later, that no one knew who had really built the castle. It had been deserted when Lord Whitehall arrived to lay claim to the nexus point and name the castle after himself.

Bernard kept walking, but reduced his pace so I could look around. It was just too big. The hallway was immense, the stone corridors large enough for three or four men to walk abreast comfortably, the handful of teaching halls seemingly big enough for much bigger classes. I spotted a number of young men practising their spells, watched carefully by older magicians. There were no women. I wondered, suddenly, if Bernard was going to get into trouble bringing me into the castle. It was unusual for women to be allowed to enter the headman’s hut when he was passing judgement, after extensive consultation with the village elders. I had certainly never been allowed to enter myself, even after what had happened to David.

I swallowed, then asked. “Will your master be angry if you bring me to him?”

The magician chuckled, as if I had said something funny. “I shall have a few sharp words with myself later,” he said. “I am the master of the school.”

My complexion, thankfully, hid my embarrassment. And confusion. Lord Bernard was the master of the school? What had happened to Lord Whitehall? And what … I pushed the thought out of my head as Lord Bernard led me into an office and pointed me at a chair. My stomach growled uncomfortably as I sat, reminding me it had been too long since I had eaten something. Anything. Lord Bernard shot me a sympathetic look, then snapped his fingers. A young woman entered a moment later, bearing a tray of food. I hesitated, even as the food was placed in front of me. I had been cautioned never to eat food without a clear invitation.

“Please, eat,” Lord Bernard said. The servant retreated and returned a moment later the second tray, which she placed in front of her master. “A magician has to eat to power his spells. We discovered that a long time ago.”

“I never knew,” I muttered. The stew in front of me looked and smelled delicious. The bread was clearly new, baked only a few short hours ago. I was very familiar with stews intended to use up the last of the slaughtered animal, but this … I shook my head as I started to eat, hoping I wasn’t making a bad impression. “No one ever told me …”

“No one told me either, until …” Bernard shook his head. “What else do you know about magic?”

I took a bite of bread, trying to compose an answer. “Very little. I was told magic was inherently dangerous, that men who practised magic could be very dangerous and women shouldn’t practice magic at all. The hedge witch couldn’t give me much instruction. I thought … that’s why I came here.”

Bernard leaned back in his chair. “Magic is … complicated. In the olden days, using magic damaged the body and mind alike. Men who used magic risked going insane, a problem made worse by … well, we’ll talk about that later, if you stay. Women who used magic lost their ability to have children, for various reasons. It took us years to determine ways to cast spells that limited the damage to the human body. There are still issues, for reasons we have never been able to determine, but it is much safer – now - for both men and women.”

He met my eyes. “It is true we sent out messages inviting magicians to Whitehall. It is also true that we have had no female candidates, until now. Many of us are unsure about accepting young women as students, even after … perhaps because of … well, that’s something else we’ll talk about later. If you joined us, you would be the first female student and you would be very much isolated from the rest of the student body. It would take time for them to accept you as a peer. My wife is old enough to be your mother, more or less, and she was the daughter of Lord Whitehall himself. You are much younger and much less prepared, in many ways, to be a student. On the other hand, you do have rare potential and you are obviously willing to work hard to succeed.”