“There goes another one.” I sighed, stomping out the flames hungrily consuming my shimmering witch hat.
The ethereal lotus resting on its brim, reminiscent of the moonlight from which it got its name, was not spared the injustice of a brutal demise, truly unfit for such a beautiful flower. The delicate petals scattered by the force of my foot burned to nothing as they fled through the air.
“Sorry about that, Estesia.” My sparring partner for the afternoon sprinted to my side, a fiery warlock known as Phoenix. His majestic pact companion who earned him that moniker flew right in tow.
“These things happen.” I shrugged coolly, but as I repeatedly stomped on my smoldering hat, perhaps it was clear I was a little more annoyed than I was letting on.
We had been training for an upcoming tournament in the Spellcraft Arena annex gym. I was slow to deflect a fireball, and my hat paid the price.
Stomp. Stomp. Stomp.
“Uh, isn’t that flower supposed to be precious to you?”
“Whatever.” With a final slam of my heel, I ground what was left of the flower to dust. “Let’s call it a day for now.” I scooped up the charred remains of my hat and strolled to the exit.
Phoenix called from behind, “Does that count as landing a hit?”
Without looking back, I shot him a nasty hand gesture.
Phoenix wasn’t totally incorrect. I wouldn’t be the Silver Witch if it weren’t for the moonlight lotus. In that regard, it was a bit precious to me. The fragile flower, which took months of patience to bloom under just the right circumstances, was a constant reminder of the hard work it took to shine at the top.
Still, the idea it represented was more durable than the flower itself. In a magical sport like Spellcraft, collateral damage was expected. I had long ago stopped counting the number of blooms I lost because they were crushed, burned or drenched.
Given its fussy nature, the flower wasn’t easy to come by. Fortunately for me, I was a witch before I was an athlete. And fortunately for Phoenix, tonight just so happened to be a full moon.
***
With the sun setting behind me, I hopped off my broom and floated down towards an idyllic knoll, tucked safely away in an unassuming part of the Aramore countryside. The orange horizon began to dot itself with stars, both moons becoming emboldened as the sun started to disappear.
With its pastoral views and quiet scenery, this hill was one of my favorite places in all of Aramore. It was a well-kept secret that made it the perfect place to get away for some solitude. In fact, I wouldn’t have known about this knoll at all if it weren’t for a certain witch I begrudgingly called my sister.
The small pond at the top of the hill wasn’t always there, I built it myself to cultivate moonlight lotuses. In fact, with a basket full of gardening tools and various pots of germinating seeds, the entire knoll was my personal nursery. A plump bag of soil caught my eye, which was only unusual because I was running low and hadn’t had the chance to restock yet. A handwritten note was attached by an amber-colored ribbon.
E,
You were looking a little light on topsoil, so I thought I’d bring you some from the apothecary. This batch uses riversand and should be the perfect weight for your lotuses!
Love,
Wis
“Tch.” What an annoying woman… I thought with a soft smile.
I approached the pond, row after row of lotus buds spaced carefully away from each other. I crossed my arms with pride as I gazed upon the fruits of my labor. I turned my head up at the moons expectantly. Oceana still had a couple of weeks and was only half-full, but Luna was shining brightly.
It was almost time.
I closed my eyes to enjoy the quiet for a moment, meditating on the hard weeks of training still to come. Another tournament meant another chance to prove myself. I refused to lose my title to anyone.
Perhaps Amberfinch deserved an invite to thank her for the soil. I’m sure Isabel would love to come too. I shook the sappy thought away. Why should I care?!
I opened my eyes just in time.
Having finally taken in just enough moonlight, one by one, the lotus petals began unfurling from their glowing stamens. Their mystical light reflected off the water, as if holding a celestial mirror to Luna herself. The combined light from the lotus pond and the heavens above was so brilliant, it was like the very air had been dyed silver.
As I bent down and gently plucked a new bloom for my hat, the sleeve of my robes taking on an otherworldly beauty, I couldn’t help but wonder… would I ever manage to shine this brightly too?
Credit: @abundango
Isn't this illustration incredible?! My illustrator has, once again, outdone himself. Of course, this meant I had to create the perfect Chronicle to feature her!
The Silver Witch, or Estesia Mistral, is one of the new characters to appear in volume two of Wis' Apothecary. She seems to be a new fan favorite, and I'm so glad she's resonated with so many people - including my illustrator.
While she considers Wis a rival, it's clear she has more affection for the master witch than she let's on. In fact, you can say that about her attitude in general. Like the wind she literally uses to shield herself, she has a persona that's sharp around the edges... protecting her true feelings. Still, she's competitive, strong and cool, yet another mentor for Isabel to look up to!
And if you haven't had a chance to pick up volume two yet, you don't even need a copy to meet her: I posted her full story to my blog here as a special sneak peek ahead of its release.
With that said, allow me to take a moment to not just plug volumes one and two of Wis' Apothecary, but my Discord server as well! I'm currently working on some designs for merch, and there are some other big announcements on the way too. So check us out, you won't want to miss them!
Until next time, thanks for reading!
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