Morning. I woke before the sun and practiced magic alone in the courtyard. Not combat magic, not healing. Transmutation. I pulled the spell tight around …

Teacher Ot summoned us before dawn. Not an hour for stories or ceremonies. An hour for secrets. An abandoned library, he said. Retrieve these books. …

The commendations were finally given. The gremlins did not return. A small mercy. Then came the Choosing: Each student must declare a primary branch and …

We had earned our commendations. One week of service to the five branches—Rain-Scribes, Tempest-Sun, Cascade Bearers, Emerald Boughs, Uzunjati—and we stood on the stage to …

The Uzunjati came to us in the morning, and their challenge was no challenge at all. They asked us only to listen, and then to …

The Emerald Boughs live up to their name: they are the reaching limbs of the Magaambya. Our task was to be delivering letters. Simple. It …