It was unexpected, but a nice to see the spotlight shift to Richeh today. It was even more unexpected to see Qifrey had submitted an application for her to take the test alongside Agott. It just goes to show how much he acknowledges her abilities, contrary to her stubborn belief that she shouldn’t learn further from textbooks (aka: other’s spells).
For Richeh, something happened with her brother some point when he was taken into apprenticeship with another Witch. He seemed anxious, perhaps knew he wasn’t going to see her again for a long time. But the most important parting words he had left her was to always be true to herself. Don’t let anyone tell her otherwise.
Richeh took that promise seriously. She’s committed to joy of creating all sorts of wonderful spells. However through likely the combination of negative experience with her previous mentor (which may be why she doesn’t really like or trust adults), and being separated from her brother, she leaned into it to the extreme. It became so twisted, that she stubbornly refuses to look at any spell book, fearing it will contaminate her creations.
But there’s a purpose to reading lots, and in this case, purpose for studying others’ spells creations. It helps you understand what works, what doesn’t work, and teaches new things that can prove helpful to solving a problem or conflict when stuck at a roadblock. Or better yet, it could inspire a new creation, or realize there’s a way to make it even better. This is what why Qifrey doesn’t want her to turn away from looking at other people’s spells. There’s value of expanding your knowledge.
Although Richeh felt betrayed by Qifrey for having her do the test against her will, Qifrey tried to explain to her that it’s because he feels she needs to do it, for her own sake. He wants her to trust him, just as he trusts her too. He’s not doing this to set her up for failure, but in hopes it would further empower her to pursue what she desires.
The Sincerity of Shield Test is certainly different than expected, but the stakes are just as high. They may not be escorting a human, but a Myrthon is still a living and breathing thing that can suffer when in pain or about to be killed. I kind of dread a bit what happens when students like Euni repeatedly fails tests. I’m not sure if Alaira or anyone else who may serve as the supervisor for the test intervenes before bad things happens.
There’s a good reason why they made the Serpentback Cave the testing grounds for Sincerity of Shield exam. As Alaira said, when forbidden magic alters the environment, the Witches must take responsibility for it. Since the paths has altered and endangered the migration route for the Myrthons, it’s their job to safely escort them through the corrupted path.
The cave is riddled with dark forbidden magic dating back from the era of chaos. This is no simple task for the students to pass. The purpose of this exam is to use magic to protect their subject from magic. Additionally, there’s an extra challenge they must overcome: Not be spotted casting magic by their subject. Although it’s not an Outsider, it’s because they are using a magical contraption, “Mirror Cloak of Borrowshade” that while worn, projects an illusionary guise of a nearby beast. Honestly, this is actually crafty loophole in the rules.
On the side note, it would be kind of funny if their subject wasn’t actually the animal. But another Witch who uses the same mirror cloak spell as Alaira. It would be a surer way to ensure no fatalities.
But Agott and Richeh aren’t the only ones taking the test today. Alongside them is another apprentice Euini. He has already done this test twice, and still failed them. Unfortunately for him, he’s under the wing of an insufferable prick Master Kukrow who takes no responsibility for his students. The actual audacity to go on about trading apprentices so he could have Agott (who’s from a reputable household) under his wing instead. Don’t even get me started on how he demeaned the poor boy even further. These type of mentors are absolute trash. In-fact they have no business being mentors if they can’t even do their job properly! Qifrey was so done with this guy– even more so when he started trash talking Richeh. Gave him a nice cold shoulder. Well done.
Last but not least, while it appears Coco has yet to receive her dedicated pen yet, she is making progress with her drawings. Qifrey has come to notice that she’s already developing a specialty of drawing precise, straight lines thanks to her experience working at her mother’s textile shop. Drawing curves is more challenging for her because that’s not something she’s used to do doing.
Coco also has a newfound appreciation for spells. She has always loved looking at the magic picture book because of the gorgeous details, but now she knows all of that are puzzle pieces to magical creations and usages, it’s even more mesmerizing to her. Coco’s sincere passion and affection for magic is probably something you don’t see a lot among apprentices who have been studying to become witches for a long time. Everything is still fresh and new to her, but she just can’t stop gushing about it,and it’s really wholesome to see. That’s why for Coco, studying these textbooks and looking at the spells is a great joy to her. It’s also why, if she were to ever have her memories erased, it really would strip her of a large part of her identity. After-all, who is Coco without her passion and love for magic?
