ᴡʜɪᴄʜ ᴡɪᴛᴄʜ (Geralt of Rivia)

ɪɪɪ.

ᴡʜɪᴄʜ ᴡɪᴛᴄʜ

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ: ɪɪɪ.

It was nigh time for the young students of Aretuza to ascend.

Those who were ready, of course. Others, Doralis, Anica, Lark, they were too weak. They would be of no help to a king one day. None of the other girls knew it, but Tissaia had her way of dealing with them. Their magic would make them suitable conduits for Aretuza, turned into eels to forever supply the place with the power it needed.

Thazina wasn't sure where she would be placed. Really, she wasn't sure what would become of any of them.

She knew what ascension meant. She and Fringilla and Sabrina had whispered about it during nights when there were no lessons to be done, huddled in the confines of Thazina's room, the candles burning low in their sconces, using their bottled lightning to keep just a little bit of brightness in the room. It meant that they could become better versions of themselves. They could be enchanted beautiful enough that their kings would want them to stay at their sides forever. 

It also meant that they would not be able to have children.

But what should that matter? Thazina never desired to have children. She was still a child herself, admittedly, and Tissaia would not let her forget that fact. On days when Tissaia held her back from lessons, she warned that Thazina's magic was volatile, that she could not let the chaos overwhelm her so. 

It became obvious as the day of ascension grew closer that Tissaia wished to send her to Cintra. It was where her very first vision took place, she was a native to the kingdom. King Dagorad preferred druids and his daughter, Princess Calanthe, hated mages to the point of making sure her father would ban them from the kingdom, but Tissaia had been in deep correspondence with the king and it seemed like he might have been wearing down. 

Perhaps the realization that it was highly likely that Thazina's first vision, a queen looking stunned with a white-haired man, was perhaps about Calanthe herself, had nudged King Dagorad in the right direction.

She met with the enchanter, Giltine, days before the ascension was to occur. He circled her, looking her over carefully, analyzing every little detail of her face and body.

"I didn't think Cintra allowed mages," he noted.

"Tissaia is trying her very best," Thazina answered. "I'm hopeful that she'll succeed. My visions almost always take place in Cintra, so I suppose I must make it there somehow."

He chuckled softly at that. "You are quite tall," he noted. 

"I like my height," she said, voice wavering just slightly because she wasn't about to explain that being taller made her feel more like an adult rather than the child that Tissaia claimed she was.

He tsked under his breath but nodded. "All right, then. I suppose I can work with it."

He scanned her one more time, scribbling at a piece of paper, drawing something.

He snapped his fingers, then, letting fire ignite around them in a circle, lighting the dark room to reveal a circle of dresses to choose from for the day she met her king.

A black dress was what she chose. Skin-tight with a pattern of ridged scale-like shapes. The collar covered nearly her entire neck. A black leather belt held the shape of the waist.

"Black," he said. "Powerful. King Dagorad will never be able to refuse you when he sees it. And your hair will be like fire."

A soft smile played at her lips. "Good," she said.

Fiery sounded like a good plan.

She stood before the mirror in her room, holding the dress before her, practicing her best smile, a smile that would convince Dagorad to take her on.

Trouble was brewing, however. Fringilla had originally been planned to go to Nilfgaard, while Yennefer was meant to Aedirn.

But Tissaia had shifted the pairs destinations, and Yennefer certainly was not happy.

Thazina saw her stalking down the hall toward Tissaia's study and bit at her lip.

Finally, the day came. Thazina listened as mage after mage gave their pledge.

"I, Sabrina Glevissig, offer myself to the Brotherhood to make good on the promise of the Spheres. To not place value before virtue."

Yennefer was nowhere in sight. Thazina bit at her lip, scanning the people for just a moment as if willing Yennefer to appear among them.

"Welcome to the Brotherhood of Sorcerors," a man said once Sabrina was finished. "You may perform your enchantment."

Everyone's turn came and went and yet Yennefer still had not arrived. Her chance was gone.

Thazina came away from her enchantment slimmer, taller, even, her hair a darker shade of red, her eyes bright and clear.

She looked like a woman, not a child. A woman grown, strong and proud.

And King Dagorad seemed actually impressed by the sight of her.

At the center of the room, the mages danced with their assigned royalty. Thazina knew every move, every graceful spin and dip.

"Don't think one dance will convince me to allow you into my kingdom," he noted as they navigated the throng of dancing pairs. 

"I'm from Cintra, you know?" she said. "So, technically, I've already been to your kingdom. Was raised there, in fact."

He snorted. "Your rectoress says you see the future. That one of your visions may be about my daughter. Care to tell me it?"

She nodded. "It was my very first vision. I was twelve when I saw it. A queen, dark-haired, and dark-eyed. Standing in a great hall alongside a man with silver hair and amber eyes. I saw only a brief glimpse, but she looked rather surprised by whatever was happening."

"And your most recent vision? What is it?"

She didn't even have to think. "A child's birth. A girl, with ashen hair and blue eyes. A princess, judging by how many people were in the room. And the woman from my first vision, she was there."

He nodded along, listening closely.

"Understand, my king, you will want me in your kingdom. My visions will prove valuable to you."

He nodded faintly. They finished the dance, and Dagorad offered a small smile before he left her, hopefully, to speak to Tissaia.