Visit her mother

The sun had already dipped below the trees by the time Alice reached her mother’s tower. It stood on the hill above their family estate like a silent sentinel, pale stone streaked with ivy and lined with glowing runes. The air around it always felt thinner, as if the magic woven through its walls stretched into the sky itself.

Alice climbed the winding steps, her limbs still sore from training, her pride even more bruised.

The door opened before she could knock.

“Come in, child,” her mother’s voice drifted from within, soft and knowing.

Alice stepped inside, closing the door behind her. The air smelled like lavender and ink. Shelves bowed under the weight of tomes, and floating orbs of light drifted lazily through the upper reaches of the study.

Her mother stood in the center of the room, her robes the color of dusk, her hair silver and bound back in a single twist. The lines around her eyes were the only hint of her age, everything else was timeless.

“I sucked in training again” Alice said, her voice breaking before she could stop it. “I tried everything. Every move, every trick. But it wasn’t enough.”

Her mother turned, her expression calm but kind. “That's why it is training. It was not a war.”

“It felt like more than that,” Alice said, collapsing into a chair. “I’m stuck. I’m training every day, but no matter how hard I try, I hit a wall. I need more. I need something different.”

Her mother studied her for a moment, then slowly walked to the far side of the chamber, where a bowl of crystal-clear water sat upon a polished obsidian stand. She knelt before it, her fingers weaving through the air in a complex, fluid motion.

Alice sat up straighter. “You’re using your Sight?”

“Only a glimpse,” her mother murmured. “I don’t chase the future, but I will ask it to speak.”

The water rippled. The light in the room dimmed. Magic hummed like a string being drawn taut.

For a long moment, there was only silence.

Then her mother inhaled sharply.

“What is it?” Alice asked.

“There is a shadow,” her mother said slowly, eyes fixed on the water. “A storm gathering in Londor. Something dark is growing there. I'm unclear as to what, but it means to enslave everyone there.”

She turned to Alice, her expression grave. “It wants power. And it will consume anyone in its way.”

Alice felt her stomach tighten. “And me?”

“There is something there for you,” her mother said. “If you go, you will find what you seek, but not without cost. The future around Londor is clouded, dangerous. But it is also where your power lies waiting.”

Alice stood slowly, heart pounding. “That is far. I’ve never even left the region.”

Her mother’s eyes softened. “It will test you, yes. But you’re a Caddel. And Caddels don’t run from danger.”

Alice drew a breath and nodded. “Then I’ll go. I have to.”

Her mother rose and stepped close, placing both hands on her daughter’s shoulders.

“I cannot protect you once you leave,” she said. “But I believe in you. I always have.”

Alice swallowed hard, but straightened her back. “I'll leave at once.”

As she turned to go, her mother spoke one last time.

“Remember this: you were not meant to follow. You were meant to lead.”