Bronwyn had lived in the same house since her Introduction. In the same room, in fact. It was located in a hall with three other rooms, all occupied by other girls in varied stages of Study. They rarely interacted; Study was conducted very solitarily, by their respective familiars. It was all very secretive, hidden in the country, disguised as a farm. There was a man and woman who did have children who did operate the farmwork aspect of the household; they served more as servants and caretakers than anything else. In fact, Enru and the other familiars seemed to be the landlords of this place, its true stewards.
Appleby Manor, it was called, and it housed mainly apple orchards, though a sizable vegetable patch and livestock barns also had their place on the property. It was in a gently rolling river valley, bordered by high mountains and thick pine forests. In the fall, patches of aspen trees interspersed among the pines provided patches of pure gold, and silvery groves in the fall that reminded Bronwyn of home. Now she knew why; the dream had told her.
She roamed the northern pastures, leaning on the edge of a paddock fence that housed her grey mare. She held some apples in the pockets of her skirts, and she pulled one out to munch on now. The mid-afternoon sun beat warmly on her shoulders, and the stillness of the summer afternoon weighed heavily on her. Not even a cricket stirred; the air was hazy and thick with the scent of cut hay.
Bronwyn. Enru appeared at her feet. Come with me. Obediently, the girl followed the cat, threading up into the forests. She focused on the placement of her feet among the stones and roots of the trees, breathing evenly and deeply to concentrate her inner abilities. She knew a test was upcoming; the terse way Enru had spoken to her belied it. She could always tell.
They emerged some time later in a highland meadow, almost perfectly circular in shape. At one end lay a pool, fed by a small trickle of a waterfall. In the center was a great boulder, worn smooth by time and the elements.
Sit, commanded Enru. Bronwyn approached the stone, feeling the building of magical energies like a crackling of static in the air as she drew near. By the time she reached it, her hair felt like it was standing on end.
This is the focal point of two great Energy channels. It is a sacred place; the reason we chose Appleby Manor as one of our training grounds. Enru was quiet a moment, pacing around Bronwyn agitatedly. Your test will come soon. His ears flicked back and forth, as though irritated by a fly or disturbing noise and his steps were restless, back and forth, back and forth.
Bronwyn nodded and lay back, still breathing deeply. She closed her eyes to meditate, feeling the warmth of her inner power surging in response to that of her surroundings. She let her unspoken question float away, knowing Enru would catch it without her speaking aloud.
Passing this test is vital to the continuance of your training. It will show us, once and for all, in which domain your powers chiefly lie. From this point, we shall specialize your training. Assuming you pass.
Bronwyn nodded again, silently, and waited. She waited so long that she had begun to doze slightly in the warm sunshine, against this warm rock, when a loud crackling filled the air like thunder.
Immediately Bronwyn was on her feet, eyes open, senses alert. All appeared normal in the meadow, before she scanned it with her internal sight.
There. In the bushes. Darting forward stealthily, Bronwyn send magical queries forward, probing the energy signature. It was whimpering, hurting, and Bronwyn strode forward a little more confidently, though still wary.
She was about ten paces from the signature, but could not see the source, when it burst out of cover, barreling toward her. She leapt aside just in time; its claws snagged her skirt with a rending sound as it passed, ripping it from knee to ankle.
Swiftly, Bronwyn send a ball of crackling blue energy at the thing, simultaneously forming the sign of protection with her left hand. Keeping the sign between her and the thing, she circled it, much more cautiously. She still couldn’t see it with her human eyes but it appeared to her inner sight like a fiery ball of energy.
But she still sensed it was hurting, and lashing out due to fear, not aggression.
She approached it cautiously, sending out psychic waves, calming ones, projecting comfort. It trembled but allowed her to come quite close, to the point she could see its physical construct of a bear. A cub.
Whirling around just in time Bronwyn slammed her magic-shield against the mama-bear construct. A trap! she thought, panicking. Now at she stood between a mama bear and its cub. Worse, a magical construct of a mama bear and its cub. She thought for a split second about her options, and ran.
Her feet pounded her out of the field quite quickly; it was a small meadow. She was in the thick pine forest now, using her inner sight to sense where to place her feet. She saw a rise up ahead, but could not see beyond it. Rising up its height, she leapt off the top, expecting to land after a few feet on the other side, and continue downhill.
She didn’t. She kept going up, with no land beneath her, and her breath coming in ragged gasps, and her heart exploding in her chest-up and up and up-
She looked down.
Nooo! howled Enru from somewhere below as she immediately began to plunge, downward, the wind whistling in her ears, her rent skirt flapping wildly about her as she tumbled. Mercifully, blackness took her before she hit the ground, sparing her the pain of impact.
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