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Chapter 1
Punch to the left, right-hand block.
Kick to the shin, leg up and pivot.
I swing my body around, grabbing a handful of herbs from my pocket, and pucker my lips to blow them in my opponent’s face.
He stumbles backward, sputtering and blinking rapidly against the concoction. It’s a quick spellcasting that doesn’t use too much energy, employing the properties of the herbs for a temporary spell of confusion.
I smirk and stand with my arms crossed, satisfied with my win.
Once the spell wears off, my father glowers at me in disapproval. “Amelia, you know spellcasting is outlawed until you’re sworn in,” he barks at me, rubbing leftover pepper off his face. “Clearly, I need to put another layer of protection on the greenhouse.Again.”
My father, being a top official for the Elderhood, is one of the few citizens of the Society who our Elders allow to usespellcasting. The Elderhood is the closest thing our community has to a government, though most of the time they act more like gods. Granted, they are very powerful beings, with magical abilities beyond our imagination, so being revered as gods is not exactly a surprise. I imagine that’s why citizens don’t question their authoritarian-style rule.
The Elders view magic as too dangerous for average citizens to learn, their reasoning being that in the olden days, centuries ago, humans would use it selfishly and create havoc. Therefore, it was outlawed for the “greater good”. However, all top officials have personal greenhouses on energetic lock and key in their backyards, and I’ve been able to break into ours since I was young. All it took was a little energy work for the first break-in, and once I took the herbs I needed for the subsequent times, it’s been alarmingly easy to go back every time since. Granted, my father always increases the protections once he's realized what I’ve been doing, but he’s never had the same sense of discipline toward his magic, so my dedication to the craft has always been an advantage over him.
I roll my eyes at my father’s words. “How are you supposed to gauge my progress without assessing all of my abilities,father.”
Even if I couldn’t break in, it wouldn’t be the end of the world. Herbs are not necessary for casting spells, but only using one’s energy for magic can take a toll. The use of something natural and tangible allows the caster to borrow its properties in lieu of personal energy, therefore fighting off spellcaster’s fatigue.
That is one gift the Elders possess: the ability to use their energy for as much spellcasting as they want. It’s rumored that Elders can be fatigued, as well, but it would take an insurmountable amount of magic to do so. More magic than I will ever witness an Elder perform at one time, I imagine.
He gives me a look of disapproval. “That shouldn’t be anabilityyet, darling. If one of the other officials caught you messing around with magic, they’d have your head.”
I fight the urge to roll my eyes, because I know what he says is true. “I know that, father.”
Not that I will listen to him; I never have before. My journey with magic began when I was young, maybe eight or nine, when I started sneaking into my father’s study while he was at work to learn everything I could from his personal library. The books mostly consisted of practical official guides, nothing too in-depth or sensitive. However, after reading the basics, I began to experiment on my own. That’s when I learned how intuitive I found the practice to be.
He starts toward the locker rooms of the massive training center, grabbing a towel from one of the nearby bins to wipe his forehead. “Go freshen up, your mother is expecting us for breakfast before service.”
I sigh but do as I’m told and head to the girl’s locker room. I’ve been training for a position as a top official for the Elderhood since I was old enough to walk. This is much earlier than the majority of the Society’s citizens, who tend to find out their work role in their late teens. Normally, people are assigned their role after years of studies so that the council can base it on their strengths. The problem with being the eldest child of a top official, however, is that you are expected to follow in your parent’s footsteps, and therefore your destiny is decided before you’re even born.
I am always told that I should be grateful; officials are given many benefits over other citizens. They are considered the cream of the crop, tasked with keeping our Elders safe and therefore deserve the finest pleasures the Society has to offer. Never mind that there hasn’t been an attack on our Elders in centuries, at least not since they cast out the Dark Elders.
The Dark Elders. Now there’s a topic that nobody likes to discuss, at least outside of service. The Dark Elders are everything we are told not to be—dangerous, vile beings who live outside of the Society’s walls, just waiting for an opportunity to bring down civilization as we know it. At least, that’s what our Elders preach. Seems like dramatics to me.
There was a time when our Elders and the Dark Elders roamed the Society freely, ruling together. They call this period the “Peace Era”. It’s said that one day half the Elders, the ones we now name the Dark Elders, ambushed our Elders with the intent to end the peace. They planned to rule over humans in a cruel and callous manner, thinking themselves above us. When our Elders ultimately won the battle and the Dark Elders fled from the Society, ours discovered that they had been planning this bombardment for nearly a century. This is the usual reason for the way our Elders currently rule; they worry about another attempt from outside the Society, so they keep our rules strict and without mercy. They say it is for our benefit.
I’ve never felt particularly drawn to the official life, other than magical practice. That barely counts, though, as it’s only taught for “as-needed” purposes, such as being used to protect our Elders and citizens. I’ve not really felt drawn toanySociety path, to be honest. It’s like there’s something missing that I just can’t place, let alone fulfill. I’vealwaysfelt like there was something missing.
Sure, there are things I enjoy, such as cooking, but not enough to make a career out of it. And though I quite enjoy learning the intricacies of magic; as my father noted, I’m not technically supposed to be learning this, yet. The way the energies flow through me when I use my abilities almost makes the rest of my training worth it, however.
I contemplate ways to use my magic to get out of today’s service as I shower. The Elders have a midday service everyweekend, where we read Elder scripture and get lectured on the merits of the Society. Some services, like today’s, are particularly abhorrent. Today is a True Partner service day.
Being assigned your True Partner is something every citizen of the Society experiences at twenty-six, chosen by our Elders. The Elders would tell stories of how in early days, True Partners used to be chosen by citizens on their own, on the basis of love, but they quickly noticed how often the citizens would flit from one person to another. This is when the Elders created a new system: True Partners would be assigned based on a day-long personality and value test given on each citizen’s 26thbirthday, when their brain is considered fully developed.
My birthday was 3 months ago, and I will admit that the process was absolute Hell. I was stuck in a room, practically in solitary confinement, for 18 hours where I performed a mixture of experiments and surveys. The experiments were odd, as if they were trying to gauge my behavioral responses to different situations, and the surveys forced me to examine every inch of my being. Over the next few months, the Elders would choose another person of age as your True Partner, and a binding ceremony would then take place before your twenty-seventh birthday.
Despite the constant chatter about the benefits of the process, it has always felt a bit…empty to me. Personally, the olden days seemed to have it right. Maybe citizens had multiple partners, but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t true love. After all, how can you experience true love without exploring your emotions to begin with? Whenever I mentionthis to my family and friends, they laugh and wave me off.
Well, except for my best friend, Olivia. She’s always been more understanding than most.
However, this is the process; we don’t question it.The Elders know best.
Even if we begin to question the Elders’ system, we all still play the game. There’s no other option, after all, unless we want to be cast out to the Dark Elders.
As much as I disagree with our ways, talking about it and actually doing something about it are two completely different things.
