It’s time for us to actually start our journey. One of the things I like this game is that it encourages you to get messy and just start the game. I especially loved this line:
Just make mistakes! And I’m writing this long hand so I’ve made plenty of mistakes. Some of the first things you start to do is writing your character and writing their previous home.
My witch is a sixteen-year-old girl named Crisantha (Cris for short). She’s a helpful and kind witch, who has a hard time saying no and setting boundaries. She lives in Mossgrove with her familiar, a rat named Catsglow and her mentor Jeseela. In Rosegrove traditional magic is prized over more modern forms of magic using technology.
Cris decided to move to Tealrose City where magical innovation is birthed because for one: She wants to show that new magic isn’t always bad and two: that she can handle herself. She’ll be there for a year and hopes that in one year she can bring back so many new spells.
Two Days before Departure
Packing Up and Remembering Mossgrove
I packed up my things into a suitcase—simple clothes and some cookies made with Mossgrove lavender. I looked out of my window, observing the children playing. In a year, they’ll be a little bigger, but other than that, nothing will change. Mossgrove is a city of tradition, after all. I wonder how much I’ll change in that time.
I know that when I come home next year, some may be a bit wary of what I’ve learned. Some of the older folks will outright tell me to keep that new magic away from them. I hope, though, that they’ll at least be willing to try new technologies. While I appreciate that they hang on to their legacy, I also see that there could be room for innovation.
I grabbed my satchel and put Catsglow on my shoulder. “Let’s go pick up another batch of cookies.”
Catsglow seems happy with that.
Picking Up Cookies
I tried to sneak past Jeseela on my way down the stairs. She always bragged about having a sixth sense just for me, but I tried anyways. I crept down, being careful not to make the boards squeak. Jeseela stood over the stove, brewing… something.
“Did you pack everything?” Jeseela asked.
I never did get away with much.
“Yes, Jeseela,” I sighed.
“Your grimoire, your herbs, your tools?”
I suppressed a groan. “Yes, Jeseela, I had all of it.”
“Come here,” Jeseela said.
I slumped my shoulders a bit and did as Jeseela asked. Whatever was on the stovetop made my nose wrinkle in disgust.
“Here,” Jeseela took a ladle and poured the mixture into a glass bottle and handed it towards me.
I stepped back from it. “What is that?”
“A ward from people who will do you harm in Tealrose.”
This time I did groan. “I’ll be fine,” I said. “I knew all kinds of wards, remember? You taught me. And I had the best teacher in the business, so I was good!”
“If you thought you’d get out of this by flattery, you had another thing coming, Missy.”
As I opened my mouth to respond, one of the children from outside burst through the doors. “Miss! You have to help; a wildsnake bit Hector!”
Jeseela onto the counter. “Come, Crisantha, you’ll take the lead on this.”
“Got it,” I said.
I ran out with Jeseela following behind me. The kid sat in the grass holding their ankle. I opened up my satchel and pulled out an all-purpose balm. Thankfully, these snakes didn’t produce a lethal poison, and it was easy to heal. I rubbed it on the child and saw it wasn’t working at all.
“It’s not working,” I said as Jeseela approached.
Jeseela turned to the child. “What did the snake look like?”
“It was white with some green,” the kid said.
Jeseela shook her head. “Then that’s another snake entirely. That’s a Galen snake.” She turned to me. “What do you do for a Galen snake.”
“Puppyflower petals!” I opened my satchel and pulled out the petals and rubbed them on the child’s bite. Slowly, the bite’s redness subsided, and the bump dissipated.
I sighed in relief.
“Thank you!” the kid said.
Jeseela patted my back. “You did an excellent job. If this were still your first year, you would’ve panicked.”
“I told you I could handle myself,” I said.
Jeseela gave me a small smile. “I know you did,” she sighed. “It’s not you I’m worried about; it’s those tradition-breakers. What poison will they feed you? What will they do if I can’t protect you?”
I stepped in and gave Jeseela a hug. “I’ll be okay.”
“Okay, I trust you.”
I stepped back and smiled. “Well, now it’s time for me to get my last round of Mossgrove Lavender cookies.”
I really like how this is going so far. When we come back Cris will be saying her goodbyes to everyone and going on her journey to the city. I’m excited to see where the story will take us.
