The Iron Trial [Magisterium]

Chapter One... Enter the Witch

        "Clarissa, you get back here right now!" My grandfather demanded as I stood, my back to him, before the door of our house.

        "No, I'm going. Everyone who has mages blood has to take this test. This isn't an option." I replied my words clipped. "You know this."

        "It's an option if I say it's a damn option!" I set my hand on the door handle with a slight sigh. Grandfather put overprotective on a new level, a rather godly level. I understood that he loved me and was worried for my safety, however, sometimes much like now he really needed to learn to let me do what was necessary. It wasn't as if I really wanted to do this, he must know that.

         I was about to open the door when he spoke the forbidden words. "She died because of those people!" A chill slowly entered my body as my fingers slid from the door handle. I half turned to face my grandfather. His white hair was a mess around his head and his blue eyes were narrowed in anger. It wasn't a face I saw often... He was usually calm but not when magic was concerned. It was part of how my mother died after all.

        The only thing he ever told me about my mother's death, was that she died in a meaningless war. What war? I had no idea. No mortal war had been waged within my lifetime. I had checked many times. So that meant it was a mages war. She died because she had magic blood. Blood that she had been given through my grandparents. As a descendant of her blood, it was highly possible I was also a mage. Lucky me, right?

        "Many innocent people die in wars. We're not the only ones who ever lost someone." I said coldly, my eyes narrowing on his shaking hands. He wasn't just angry, he was scared. I pinched the bridge of my nose, I couldn't be mad at him when I knew he was simply worried for me. That wasn't going to stop me from doing what needed to be done however, I grabbed the door handle again and threw the door open. Who knew what would happen if I didn't show up for this test. I wasn't stupid enough to find it out.

        "Don't you d-" I slammed the door shut, effectively shutting out my grandfather's next words. I grabbed my longboard that was resting against the side of the house, waiting for me like the gentlemen I named him after. Sir Galahad had been a birthday present three years ago. I kept him in the best condition possible and used him to go basically everywhere. By everywhere I meant school since I didn't really do the whole leaving the house thing much. Of course, I was missing school today because of this stupid test. It wasn't like I enjoyed private school but it was better than whatever awaited me at a mages school.

        Who wanted to be stuck with a bunch of stuffy old mages learning magic tricks that don't teach you anything useful for everyday life? Not me. The stuck up old geezers at my current school were already bad enough. I was going to school to be a fashion designer some day, maybe I would create a few manga series on the side. Magic tricks wouldn't help me achieve any of the things I wanted from life. Which reminded me that I needed to speak with my martial arts master at some point this week, the guy had told me to take Judo but the classes had been too much for me to add onto my already chaotic schedule.

     Although, I was only taking those classes to make sure no one could get too friendly with me anyways. With my deep crimson hair, which apparently, I got from my mother's side, put with brownish copper eyes filled with flecks of molten gold, a gift from my father, and long thick dark lashes against porcelain skin. A lot of people wanted a piece. I'm sure my bored attitude didn't help matters though. I just wasn't interested in people. I like their clothes, and maybe even their faces. But everyone was ugly on the inside, it was only a matter of time before they showed it. If I was being honest, even I had ugly moments. I blame it on grandfathers indulgence.

        My feet buzzed as I rolled down the hill that leads up to my family home. I kept my weight carefully even, so as I hit the jump I set up over the 'moat' I didn't go flying off. The slight river didn't go all the way around my house, so it wasn't a real moat, but it was deep and wide enough to be a decent river. It flowed from the mountain that wasn't too far from our house. I did some climbing there and hiking when I had the time. There was a forest surrounding it that I liked to get berries and flowers from. Blackberries grew there as well as strawberries, the odd raspberries made an appearance in the spring as well. I jolted out of my thoughts as my fingers brushed the ground as Sir Galahad landed back on the smooth concrete.

        My first stop was the guest house, I was sure grandfather had already informed the driver not to take me anywhere but my governess would never say no to me. I really shouldn't be late for mages after all, who knew what they were capable of. Think they'd kill me for it?

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        I knew I was running late as soon as I arrived, I waived off my governess's attempts to come with me and promised to ask for her help home. Everyone was scrambling to get inside the plane hangar. With Sir Galahad under my left arm, I followed a dark-haired man and his dark-haired children inside.

        Inside the hanger, everything was crazy. Kids milled around, their loud and annoying voices carrying in the vast space. Bleachers were set up along one metal wall; even though they could hold many more people than were present, they were dwarfed by the immensity of the room. Bright blue tape marked x's and circles along the concrete floor. I couldn't help but wonder what those were for. Maybe that was were they'd make an example out of those with no magic ability...

        I took my seat, setting Sir Galahad under my feet in the process. I pulled up my black leather fingerless gloves with the edges of my teeth, a habit I had from when I used to get into fights as a child... Who was I kidding? I still got into fights. It was one of the signs that I was getting ready for a fight. This fight might not be physical but it was a fight all the same. I had to make sure that I failed. I couldn't go this magic school. I had a life! I pushed a lock of hair behind my ear as I kept looking around the large space.

        There were many more people here than I expected there would be. I didn't think that so many people had magic in their veins. Perhaps that had been foolish of me. If there had been enough for a war in my mother's time... Then perhaps there were a lot more dangerous people out there then I thought. My eyes finally went to the last space it hadn't looked.

        Across the other side, in front of a set of hanger doors that would once have opened to let airplanes taxi out onto runways, were the mages. My doom was standing there staring right back at me.