Apprentice Selection

Waiting her turn, Abbi sat with the remaining children who had turned ten this cold season. This cold season in the cave seemed endless. She would soon be called to be tested by the Elders. She already knew she could sense pain so she might be a Healer but she could also reach the animals. She would much rather be a Herder. Some of the other children said they could feel all four different magic threads but this testing was designed to determine their paths. She didn’t think she had anything for Growers. She was never interested in the plants. They grew, were harvested, and eaten - nothing more.

After the testing, they would start their apprenticeships during this warm season. The Head Elder would make the final selection. Each person was only allowed to use one thread in their life. The cautionary campfire horror stories were enough to keep any of the children from trying to do any magic. It was drilled into everyone that you only did one type of magic and only after you were properly trained. You did the magic alone, never with others. There had always been a whispered story about someone who had broken that creed. Sometimes the story told of a man, sometimes a woman, sometimes a couple. But the ending was always the same; horrible death or permanent exile by the Circle of Elders.

Zach just came out of the room with a big grin, “I get to be a Grower!” Abbi was happy for him. It was what he wanted.

Her turn was next. Abbi was called in to the large room. The circle of Elders were seated around the single mat set on the floor. She scanned the faces of the Elders. There were several she had never seen before. She had heard some of the older boys whispering about strangers entering the caves a few weeks ago but she didn’t realize some of them were Elders.

Told to sit facing the Head Elder, she lowered herself onto the single mat and sat cross-legged. The strangers were behind her, their stoic presence made her nervous. Unlike the villagers, they were on their knees with their feet tucked under which just enhanced their height.

A prickling ran down her back causing Abbi to squirm.

“Did you feel that?” queried the head Herder.

“Yes, “ she replied, her voice strong and confident. Relief and elation surged through her. It was the path she wanted. The circle knew it too, so they had started there. While not everyone could be given the path they wanted, it usually worked best if desire and talent matched.

A sharp tug from the right.

“I felt that too,” she quietly admitted. The sensation was stronger, if she told them that, would they make her a healer instead?

Honesty was demanded by the Elders. She had seen the head Healer out of the corner of her eye, the Healer had tilted her head in thought. Abbi’s mother had confided in the head Healer. She had noticed Abbi’s discomfort last cold season when her younger brother had burned his hand on the hearth stone.

“Ouch!” The sting in her palm startled her into exclaiming loudly.

Confusion crashed upon her. What was that and where did it come from? The Head Elder’s eyes flicked over her head to one of the strangers behind her.

“Abbi, think carefully, is there anything else?” The Head Elder looked deeply into her eyes. She felt something tugging at her but she couldn’t tell where it was from. The next tests should be from the head Builder or Grower. She had been taught that it was important to the future of the village be sure what threads each child could reach.

A strange sound filled her ears, low, drumming and insistent. The song vibrated in her bones, drowning out any other thoughts.

“Who is humming?” Abbi shook her head, trying to clear it. The tune grew louder, overwhelming. It was unlike anything she had experienced.

“What is that song?” It felt familiar but she knew she had never heard it before. The song felt as though it was coming from the past, a tune long forgotten.

Abbi could see the Head Elder’s intense stare watching her, penetrating and judging, but she couldn’t tell what the woman was thinking.

“Enough!” she proclaimed loudly. She looked over Abbi to the strangers. Her voice was sharp, loud enough for them to hear even across the room.

The melody vanished. Abbi closed her eyes, trying to remember odd tune that she could no longer hear. She took several deep breaths to slow down her racing heart, it had matched the beat of the tune.

She heard a slight shifting or rustling behind her from the strangers. The Head Elder announced to Abbi, “You may leave.”

“Yes, Head Elder.” Rising slowly, Abbi left the room. Her ears still rang and her nerves were a tangled in confusion. Why hadn’t she been told her path?

Abbi stepped back into the waiting chamber, the echo of her feet on the stone floor helping her back from the song. The other children looked up, waiting for her to announce her path. She opened her mouth, but no words came. The hum still echoed inside her, quiet, steady and relentless but just beyond reach.

She realized with a chill, the Head Elder had not told her as she did not know. With a shiver, she realized the campfire stories were not just warnings.