Complicated Blue: The Extraordinary Adventures of the Good Witch Anaïs Blue

The Witches Handbook

The witches handbook, or promptuary as it is officially known, is one of the most important objects in a witches arsenal. They are indispensable and all witches have their own personal copy.

Handbooks vary in size but most of them resemble a pocket dictionary. In ancient times, before the advent of paper, witches were forced to carry more cumbersome versions of the handbook around, usually in the form of bamboo scrolls.

Herein lies a major fallacy concerning witches. There is a misconception that witches have magic wands. Mortal perceptions of witches are rarely correct. Over the centuries the depiction of a witch and her scroll adapted. Eventually, it was misinterpreted altogether. At some point the image of a scroll was whittled down to a stick. A stick has no power. A witches handbook does. It holds immense knowledge and knowledge itself is power. As a witch grows and develops she discovers more about her special traits. All this knowledge is recorded in the handbook.

Incidentally, if it hadn't been for witches, paper would never been have invented as early as it was. In particular the use of paper to write things down on. If it hadn't been for witches we would still be using it to wipe our posteriors, wrapping up our groceries and for packing valuable objects.

The Chinese were the first to be blessed with the recipe for paper. One particularly inventive witch in the Gansu Province had been experimenting with making something to wrap her potions in. She hit upon the idea for paper one day whilst trying to pound a rag wafer-thin. In no time, the discovery spread swiftly through the witch community. Eventually, the Chinese arm of the Organisation decided to reveal the knowledge to mortals, in order to precipitate development of the material. The rest is history.

It was one of the rare occasions when a decision was made to assist mortals in their advancement. Under usual circumstances this would never happen. Witches are not permitted to do anything that permanently influences the human race. It was more a question of practicality. They just got sick of carrying around bamboo scrolls all the time.

Due to the fact that witches cannot congregate, the promptuary provides one of the few possibilities of communication between them. Aside from functioning as a messaging service, promptuaries also do more mundane things such as being a news provider and a map. They are capable of more things than can conceivably be imagined. No witch has fully utilised all of its potential. A promptuary should therefore be considered as the ultimate book.

Fundamentally, the main differences between a handbook and a modern mobile device is the power supply and the material it is constructed from. Electronics are not infallible and witches would never rely on something so sensitive or prone to breaking down. Over time witches have developed paper and imbued it with extraordinary properties. Although a promptuary outwardly suffers from heavy usage, they are virtually indestructible and have become an entity unto themselves. A promptuary has to last a lifetime and for a witch that is exceedingly long.

Just like names, promptuaries are specific to individuals. In general it will react upon the core desires of its owner. They can also be commanded to do specific things but this requires extensive experience. They are not of any use to someone who has not made the same journey through life. There are no advantages to possessing someone else's promptuary. You need to gain the knowledge before it goes in the book. Quite often you cannot properly understand something without having experienced it first hand. It is counterproductive.

As in all realms of the universe, only true or honestly acquired knowledge is useful. Spurious knowledge is worthless.

Thanks for reading.

PUBLISHING UPDATE:

ANAIS HAS GONE OUT INTO THE REAL WORLD.

THIS REST OF COMPLICATED BLUE IS TEMPORARILY UNAVAILABLE ON WATTPAD IN COMPLIANCE WITH AMAZON KDP SELECT TERMS.

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ANAIS WILL BE REAPPEARING SOON ON WATTPAD IN BOOK 2 OF THE SERIES.