The Eternal Phoenix & The Apprentice!

The Eternal Phoenix. A name given to the most powerful witch to ever exist, and one that suited her perfectly. When she first came to my home in Lurin I felt like I was looking at the goddess of the sun in human form. Long and wild hair that flowed like a raging fire, piercing orange eyes, and a constant, almost unbearable heat radiating off of her.

According to the royal records, she simply appeared one day. No one really knows where she came from, and if she knows she hasn't told anyone. But her impact has been undeniable. For centuries she has protected not just our nation, but the world as a whole. Wars were ended, politicians suddenly had the interests of the people at heart, and so long as she was around, the monsters stayed away from villages, towns and cities alike.

Then there's me! My name is Mari. I'm in my mid 20s, I have long black hair, I'm pretty short, and I only just graduated from the academy. I'm usually quick to disappear in crowds, but not today..

"Mari, keep up! I'm not looking for you if you get lost!" The Phoenix called out to me.

"Ah- Yes, sorry!" I called back as I ran after her.

Today is our first supply run since I became her apprentice, and the day I get my focus. It's just a little strange, because, well..

"The Eternal Phoenix!!"

"She's as beautiful as ever!"

"Look! There's the apprentice!!"

"Eternal Phoenix!"

The crowd here was huge! Not your regular busy market huge either. It felt like a festival in the streets. No matter where we went there were people shouting for her attention, and even more strangely, my attention! Honestly it was starting to go to my head, right up until I ran face-first into The Phoenix.

"Ughi!" Was about the least graceful sound I could have made as I fell flat on my butt.

"Today, Mari, I will be choosing your focus. You don't want something big and bulky like a staff, or something that can be easily taken from you like a wand. Do you wear jewellery? I think a bracelet would work nicely for you."

"Ah, uhm.. sure!" It felt like I didn't really have a choice, but I wasn't going to argue with The Phoenix of all people.

Of course the shopkeeper looked as though they were about to pass out from excitement, but The Phoenix didn't seem to notice anyone besides me. Anytime she looked away from the products on display, it was only to look at me, and every time those glowing eyes looked into mine, I could feel my pulse quicken.

"Next, spell parchment! I don't normally use it so we're going to need to stock up for your sake." And off she went to the next shop. I chased after her as quick as I could, my backpack rattling with all my belongings from home. "W-What do you mean you don't normally use parchment?" I asked as I caught back up.

"You'll see." She said as she loaded my arms with a few stacks of spell parchment, more than I had ever used even during my time at the academy. It was heavy enough I almost felt as though I would buckle under the weight, but I managed to stay standing and walked after her to the next shop.

Over and over we stopped; food, toiletries, clothing, materials of all different kinds, it was a constant whirlwind of shouting and noise combined with the heat of the sun and The Phoenix herself was making me feel delirious..

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"There were way too many people." I said as I fell face first onto the sofa, leaving everything we had purchased in a pile by the door.

"You're going to have to get used to it I'm afraid. Despite my best efforts they treat me and my apprentice like royalty. Now, back on your feet, we have to prepare your focus."

Reluctantly I slid off the couch and followed her into her workshop, a vast space filled with every possible tool you could think to ever use in the craft of magic, and the place I'd be spending a lot of my time from now on. She motioned for me to sit in a plush chair next to a workbench, then pulled out my new focus.

"We'll have to attune it to you first, then we're going to strengthen it. Are you familiar with attenuation?" She asked.

"We covered it in the academy, yeah!"

She handed me the focus and I immediately set to work, "Good, so while you're doing that I'll prepare the strengthening sigils."

To work with The Phoenix herself was something I had never expected would happen, and to do so in her workshop was even more amazing! I immediately set about to drawing the necessary sigils on some nearby spell parchment, then placed the focus in the middle and activated them. After a bright glow, it was attuned, I had even beaten my record for fastest attenuation! But it was only when I looked up from my own work that I saw something truly miraculous.

Here I had been, writing out my sigils on parchment, excited to impress her, and The Phoenix was writing them on the air itself, as though she viewed all reality as a spell parchment. Around us hovered sigils of all different kinds, all linked together by a web of ley lines so dense and complex as to hardly be comprehensible. I could feel the immense power of the spell vibrating through my body; it felt like I could hardly breathe.

"Mari, your focus, right here please." She stated. I followed suit, avoiding the sigils with care as I placed my focus in the only empty space that remained in the spell.

As soon as I stepped back, the sigils near instantly collapsed in on themselves, creating a volume in space that surrounded my focus. I swear the ground itself was shifting and churning, seemingly anxious of  the power contained in such a small space. When I looked at the spell, I could hardly even recognize that I was looking at the sigils I'd spent the last seven years studying, much less understand what they were doing.

The Phoenix stepped towards my focus, twisting that collection of sigils in a few different directions, before clasping her hands together, causing them to condense into the centre of the focus, a singular white point of light that seemed at the same time impossibly bright yet gentle.

"There.. now as I said earlier, I chose this focus due to its small form factor and inconspicuous nature. Your opponents will aim for your focus if they know they can get it away from you, so we won't give them the option to begin with. Hold out your hand." She said.

It seemed a bit too small to fit, but it was clear I didn't need to worry as a single point of heat appeared in the band, and it split apart. With a quick dunk in a nearby bucket of water and a loud sizzle as steam escaped, she brought it up to my wrist, now easily able to fit around it.

"This is where you come in. I'm going to weld the focus around your wrist. You need to channel your mana into the band to ensure it doesn't burn you. Can you do that?"

I gave a quick nod, then began concentrating on the shape of the band and pouring my mana into it to cool it as much as possible. Then the heat began as she pressed the two halves of the band together. It was intense, unlike anything I'd ever experienced before. There were students with particular aptitude for fire at the academy and I'd thought I'd felt true heat because of it, but this.. it took every ounce of my mana pouring into the band at a rate I'd never managed before, just to keep it from burning me. A single, controlled point of heat, and it still felt as though I was fighting off an entire wildfire on my own. Panic began to set in, and right before I faltered, it stopped, and the last thing I saw before my vision went black was her smiling face. She had such a pretty smile..

*Author's Notes: Hi there! First time doing something like this, and if you made it this far I assume you enjoyed it! I have no idea where I'll go with this, it's just off the top of my head 'cause I felt like writing something. Anyway, see ya next chapter!