The world of Nyx is full of magic and unexpected wonders, filled with different races of creatures and most of all—— witches. After the death of the demon king which was defeated by Emrys and his party, it has been announced that the new golden age was coming.
Being born with mana and can cast magic in this world is quite rare. Still, us humans strive hard to reach harmony and maintain this peaceful age despite the differences. There also lives a humble witch in her abode, an atelier made of a huge tree and you'll get lost there due to rumors saying it has a hundred rooms. It was said she has lived a hundred years, with hair blazing fiercy red and eyes of a garden full of greens, the butterfly witch—— 'That's me.'
Living a peaceful shut-in life in my atelier, it was quite boring being alone for decades but it'll do as I dislike crowded places and especially unnecessary noises. Isolating myself, practicing all sorts of magic, reading all the books in my library and even mastering my specialty as well as weaknesses. In order for me to be prepared for that journey, I must forge myself better to survive. Although I don't really coop myself up in this tree, I have 12 doors that lead to each city. It's a portal, a more convenient form of transportation than using an old-fashioned broom riding in the skies.
Circe keys—— a type of key crafted specifically for witches, these are used for witch's transportation although, for it to be activated the witch must visit the place first-hand and mark a glyph there for a door to be activated. Marking places is how these keys can work.
A way to erase traces of Circe doors are either of the two; erase the marked glyph or lock the door from the other side which can only be opened on that side. However, my mother, a great witch, already activated that a long time ago which connected the doors outside to my treehouse. Twisting the key into one of the doorknobs, opening the door greeted me at the lively harbor of the Aktaio kingdom. The moist breeze of fresh sea air is nice when summer is approaching as it's been a while since I stepped foot outside.
Wearing a hat and a cape with a hanging glyph emblem, people kept giving me weird looks, most were indifferent yet they always found their way to have a glance at me. The hat is a witch's signature attribute after all.
"Hohoho a witch! It's been a while, butterfly witch." That's my nickname, an owner of a magic shop greeted me.
"Hello miss Gail, it's been years hasn't it. Did Penelope come by here?"
"Sadly, she hasn't visited in years actually." In a dejected tone, she said. The owner of the magic shop is my friend, and she owns most of the magic shop's branches. Though knowing her, she sleeps and lazes around a lot, no wonder she hadn't visited this branch for years.
"It's alright, I bet she's cooped up in her bubble workshop."
Rummaging through the products, I bought the herbs that I've been looking for months. In spite of having a garden of my own, the tropical climate in my atelier is the reason why acquiring herbs that grow in the harsh cold is impossible. I have to go in the northern region sometimes by myself, fortunately the shop this time has restocked. Just remembering how I nearly fell back in the mountain ranges just to retrieve mints at the edge of a cliff. To begin with, why are my doors always marked on mountains anyway?
"Thank you for your patronage, please visit again, butterfly witch." I smiled in return and went on to buy supplies that could sustain me for the whole year.
…
People are giving me weird looks again, I mean who wouldn't. Imagine a witch carrying a literal mountain of groceries.
'Well. ..this is getting heavier.'
An average lady holding six feet of bags and foods, walking smoothly through the busy crowds of the market and pavement. How'd I do that? Easy, using lightweight spells and balancing things are just my forte. After learning all sorts of magic, even the impractical spells, which is not useless since it's very suitable for lazy witches like me at home.
"Are you alright, miss? Should I help out?"
"I'm fine thank you." I scoffed off proudly to the worried guy at the port and kept walking trying to find the marked glyph. 'Just where is that door?'
I kept walking and went down a few steps of stairs that lead to the sands of the seashore. As the sun is setting at the horizon, it seems I wasted a good day of exercise, sweating a lot as spring is over, now it's time to go home to my atelier. From this view, the whole ocean was dyed with shades of warm cider oranges and tangerine yellows, it reminded me of a friend who loves sunset. The sound of waves crashing against the sands, it was a tranquil place to be alone and relax, there aren't many people here on this rocky beach.
There's a train of small islands that follows towards my atelier. Actually, I can fly towards it right now since it's already visible in this range though it's very far. It resides at the very edge of the horizon, it looks so small that I can barely see the island.
I placed down the loads of six feet worth of shopping and stretched my arm backwards. Even though I already placed a lightweight charm, yet my whole arm was still sore. Pushing the Circe key into thin air, I found the lock, twisting the key and a door appeared. Home sweet home—— is what I thought to myself.
Going downstairs in my basement, there's a door that leads to my vault of supplies. Filling up the room with herbs, foods and drinkable water, etc. I went back upstairs at the top of the tree to stargaze. Turning the telescope to where I want it to be, studying constellations for astrology and in hopes of finding a new undiscovered star.
'Ho Ho Ho it's always been my dream to have a constellation under my name.'
Without realizing it, I fell asleep in my astrology room and everything went dark. Crowded places always drain me.
…
*Ko-koo! Ko-koo
The sound of my doorbell is similar to an owl's onomatopoeia. Ignoring it thinking it's probably my imagination but it kept going.
*Ko-koo! Ko-koo
In an attempt to cover my ears with my pillow it was to no avail, I had enough and went downstairs to open the door, unraveling the annoying thing that kept bothering me at early dawn. It's either my ghosts pranking me or my mother who returned from her adventures.
"I'm coming! So stop pressing the doorbell!"
I pulled the door open and nobody's there. Forgetting the fact that I hadn't summoned my ghosts in a while for them to vex me, and my mother only returns every 25 years or so.
"Hello…" A tiny voice from a small child with her enormous hat and broom greeted me. "Are you perhaps ms. Audrey, the butterflyl witch?"
"Uh— Yes? Oh yes, yes, that's me."
She took me by surprise, a teeny adorable witch with messy olive green locks of hair, it seems she traveled from the harbor to the train of islands and all the way here. Greenhorns these days are staggering.
"May I help you?"
"Uhm. I'm still a g-greenhorn witch." She sounded hesitant and shy as she took a deep breath. "PLEASE TAKE ME IN AS YOUR APPRENTICE!" Her voice, even shouting in high pitch, is so cute, it reminds me of a squirrel squeaking acorn. "Ah— I'm sorry for the abrupt yelling." Even her manner of apologizing is charming.
"Did you come here alone?"
"Huh? Yes." I was flabbergasted. To think she already mastered magic transportation and at a far distance. Uh— she already came this far, I can't turn her back anymore. We had a staring contest for a moment.
"Come on in." Yawning and stretching as we walked through the corridors and the kitchen of my atelier. Inside lies a cemented pillar with staircases twirling around it. She carefully took steps to climb behind me as we reached the living room on the second floor, the only clean place in my house. It was quiet for a moment as I sat her down on a couch beside the fireplace where she placed her broom. Since it's summer already, I took out the fire and opened the windows by flicking my hands. I can see her eyes of bewilderment. To begin with why are my windows placed above the walls, mother and her weird ways of architecture. The silence broke when she asked.
"Is it true that the atelier tree consists of a hundred rooms?" Where did she hear that, goodness sake.
"No, but it does hold a lot of needless doors."
"Amazing." She clapped her hands with shining eyes. Having so much potential to become a witch, I must remind myself she's merely a child.
After preparing tea and placing it on the table, I sat in front of her. "Shall we introduce ourselves then?" The child probably got so tense that she even properly sat her posture.
"Don't be afraid, I don't eat children." I giggled which loosened her up a bit. "Should I start? You probably already know my name, I'm Audrey Nomad."
"Yes! lady Audrey is my idol, I heard so many stories of your great tale." My great tales of a hundred years ago, she probably meant how I challenged and sealed Abraxas 50 years after the demon king got annihilated. Good old days where I was filled with motivation. "Oh I got carried away, apologies. I'm Biome, a greenhorn who aspires to become a witch. An adventurer who will also write her own history." That's a big ambition young kid, she clutched her hands with those emerald eyes full of passion.
"You don't have a surname?" Shaking her head eagerly as a response. I see, she's an orphan, a hidden talent that wasn't born in any of the big mage families.
There was a moment of awkward silence.
"To be honest, I'm not accepting apprenticeship at the moment." Suddenly the sparks in her disappeared, she looked discouraged. "Though, I'll make an exception for you." I patted her head in which I saw a smile forming on her face.
"Pass my exams, defeat my magic and you'll pass as my disciple. I'll even recommend you to the academia of magic." She gulped, it must've pressured her a bit. The title 'disciple' is only used to those entitled witches worthy of privileges and are the predecessors of a pathfinder, if lucky, the legendary sages.
Greenhorns huh.. I was once a greenhorn as well, greenhorns is a term used for apprentice witches who hadn't taken their exams yet to become an official adult witch. To legally cast magic, a greenhorn must be under the supervision of a licensed witch. This is troublesome. I really didn't plan on taking in an apprentice despite my friends kept telling me to take one to pass on my knowledge. But I have a big goal in mind, and it's dangerous for a child to come along with me, rather they'd be a burden.
"Welcome to my atelier, Biome. Feel free to call me teacher, professor, master or whatever suits your taste."
"Teacher…" The young child mumbled though I heard her quite loud and clear. Blushing while holding her cup of tea, she looks happy that she got accepted to become my apprentice.
"Training will start tomorrow, make sure to rest well for the night." We walked to the middle of the tree where there was a pillar with cemented staircases. As we walked upstairs she seemed to like the bed above the bookshelves facing the window.
"Do you want to sleep there instead?" Her face then was dumbfounded, a burst of laughter then filled the room. "Just kidding, that'd be dangerous, who knows you'll fall off the window and drown in the ocean."
As we reached the third floor of the atelier, I showed her to my room.
"Knock on this door if you need anything for help, and hmmm." Thinking of another way for her to call me. I clenched my hand in front of her and upon opening it suddenly a transparent butterfly appeared that slowly formed into a jeweled hair ornament as I placed it in her beautiful fern hair. "Break it." She looks scared, and hesitated before breaking it and to her surprise after it broke to pieces it became a transparent butterfly again and formed back into a hair ornament.
"Whenever my creations break, I get notified. Will this count as a gift?" Her eyes widened in surprise.
"You really are the butterfly witch." She stumbled in and crouched herself before doing a high jump. "AMAZING!"
'No, you're just so adorable.' My thoughts said so.
The second floor happens to have a mezzanine structure, instead at the end of the room lies a staircase that leads to the upper case of the mezzanine room. Opening the door lies an empty room with a mere bed.
"This is a spare room, it's a bit dusty and your mentor here is a lazy witch so I hadn't really cleaned up in a while. You'll be staying here from now on, design it however you please." Her eyes twinkled in emerald reflections, she looks like the happiest child in the world.
"Aren't you quiet? You were brimming with energy just a while ago. Don't be afraid to ask me when you need anything ok?" She turns to look up to me.
"I'm your guardian now after all."
"T-thank you." She started crying as tears welled down her rosy fluffy cheeks. "Thank you so much, teacher." She hicks as gewy slimes down from her nose, a cold. She started crying and I don't know what to do. I suck at comforting children and so flickering my hand and what appeared to be a box of tissues, I offered it for her to let out that cold. She engulfed herself with those tissues whereas her eyes peeked in curiosity as to what kind of expression I currently have right now. Sigh.
I still dislike kids though, that doesn't change it, and this case just happened to be different.