The Sorceress of the Sword 1

By Aanya Jayasuriya - Grade 4 BONG! BONG! BONG! The town of Arcstead (also known as the capital of magic) woke to clear blue skies without a cloud in sight. Shopping stalls opened their shutters, townspeople threw open the windows, and Cheryl Sinclair was sleeping peacefully in the Arcstead library. “Could everybody please gather in the town square for a few important updates? Thank you for your co-operation.” A light, melodic voice blared from the speakers positioned at the top of every local building.

In the library, Cheryl jolted upright. She glanced around to refresh her memory. “Ugh, did I fall asleep again?” Cheryl sighed. She stood and grabbed her bag. She packed the books she was borrowing into it and slung it over her shoulder. Cheryl pushed open the door, rushing to the town square, not bothering to put away the books she had left strewn all over the table. As soon as she was out of sight, a book in the corner closed with a snap. A very well-known man with ginger-brown hair made his way to the table. “Interesting. Very interesting.” He murmured as he left the Arcstead Library. Why, I wonder, would a normal girl be studying sorcery and swordfighting?

Cheryl hung near the back of the crowd, not really paying attention to anything the woman up the front was saying. Cheryl had her hood up so no one would recognize and annoy her. Her shiny black hair was hidden in her black hood, and her crimson eyes were nowhere near as odd as the bright pink and purple hair of the man in front of her. The woman up front had never shown her face. She was known as the Angel of Arcstead, with silky white blonde hair. Her face was covered by a white mask with golden markings resembling an owl. She wore a white dress with silver embroidery. The reason she kept her face covered was a mystery better left unsolved. For all Cheryl knew, she was her cousin’s favourite teacher, Miss Angel.

Cheryl was tempted to sidle out of the town square gathering, but she’d rather stay there for another month than have to go home to listen to her annoying brother all day. Once everybody was dismissed from the town square, Cheryl sat on the edge of the fountain with her book, flipping it open to a random page. After all, she had read it so many times, she pretty much had it memorized back to front. Cheryl started reading the page, sucking the information in like a vacuum. She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear just as a big commotion started. Cheryl got to her feet to try and get a better view. The moment she caught a glimpse of shimmering purple hair with neon yellow scattered through it, she knew what was happening. The five most powerful sorcerers had come to call.

The Council of Magic were known as the most powerful sorcerers the world had ever seen. There was a guardian over each of the five regions in Ecros. The Angel of Arcstead, was, obviously, the guardian of Arcstead. She was remarkable at animal taming, and she had a battalion of creatures at her beck and call. She was also exceptional at healing wounds, particularly ones that were inflicted by magic. Then there was the guardian of Thalvof, Sir Cabal. Sir Cabal was known because of his speed. The reason he was elected to the Council of Magic was because of his superhuman abilities. He had super speed, super strength, he could jump to super heights, etc. Sir Cabal was also great at explosions. Ithinlym was protected by Dame Heike, the woman with purple hair and yellow highlights. She was a master of illusion and altering appearances. She could make a capybara look like a bunny rabbit in a party hat. Dame Heike’s eyes were always gleaming bright blue, with a mischievous twinkle. There was also the ruler of Yirdem, Lord Bonas, who was the most fearsome summoner known to any kind. He could summon anything,  from spirits to cursed plants. And finally, the guardian of Oveld, and the newest addition to the Council of Magic, Ardoch, the shape shifter. He could turn into something else, not just look like it.

“We come bearing news.” Sir Cabal boomed. His superhuman powers sadly made him super-loud, unlike the whispery Lord Bonas. Cheryl had planned on tuning them out, but she had a lurking feeling that Ardoch hadn’t arrived in Arcstead with his companions. Cheryl slipped through the crowd to the front. . Dame Heike was entertaining the other kids around Cheryl’s age by telling them a story about a cockroach she found. “And then, I got the best idea. Can anyone here guess what it is? What about you, over there? With the black hood?” Dame Heike called to Cheryl, who had wandered over to the fringes of their group. “Um, to turn it into something that an annoying sibling would eat?” Cheryl just said whatever she would’ve done in that situation. “Why, yes, that’s correct! You know, young lady, we could use a brain like yours on the Council. Between you and me, Ardoch and I are the most normal.” Dame Heike grinned, leaning in to whisper.

“We need a new member for the Council of Magic. The ogres are becoming more restless by the day. If anybody believes they are strong enough, Ardoch will be waiting by the fountain to test your mettle. Thank you for listening.” Sir Cabal stepped back, and was about to leave when Ardoch stepped forward. “Also, a few days ago, there was a marvellous swordsman practising near the library. I would appreciate it if whoever that swordsman was, would consider testing their strength against me at the fountain.” Ardoch finished, looking straight at Cheryl.

Silently, Cheryl cursed herself. She had no interest in becoming a member of the Council of Magic, and now a member had directly asked her to join! I’ll fight there, lose, then leave. They should quit trying to get me to join if I lose. So, I’ll lose. So later that day, Cheryl dug around in her room, looking for the half-face mask she had made a while back. It was red, with gold glitter and black fake gems lining the edges. She sighed, allowing herself a short moment of nostalgia before putting on her mask, lifting up her black hood, and going to battle a member of the Council of Magic.

“Well, well, well. Looks like the mystery swordswoman showed up. Though I did not realise you were so short. And who knew you and Angie both love mysterious masks? At least yours is a half-face.” Ardoch was waiting at the fountain, with a crowd of people around the fountain. “Can we get this over with?” Cheryl asked, picking up one of the wooden swords lying at Ardoch’s feet. “Fine, but would you at least remove the hood? It’s annoying.” Ardoch asked lazily. And then Cheryl started the battle.

A few minutes later, Ardoch was sitting on the floor, his hands held up in surrender. Cheryl cursed herself. I overdid it. Now I have to join the Council of Magic. The five most stuffy people on the planet. “Please, join the Council. We could use your help.” Ardoch panted. Cheryl shook her head, and in the process her hood fell back, revealing her long shiny hair.

 Aha. It is the girl from the library. Ardoch thought triumphantly. Now, how do I tell the others? They can get her onto the Council. The girl from the library - Cheryl? Something like that- quickly lifted her hood back, then she turned on her heel and left.

I THOUGHT MY PLAN WAS TO LOSE! Cheryl silently screamed at herself. But before she could fully yell at herself, she needed to hide her hooded cloak and mask. She made her way over to the cupboard, but then her brother began to knock on her door. “Cheryl? You in here?” Magnus called through the door. “Yes, but don’t come in!” Cheryl frantically dashed to her bed and hid her mask in her pillowcase and shoved her cloak under the bed. She opened the door. “Yes? I was just, er, finishing up some homework!” She lied nervously, nudging the cloak with her toe so that it was better hidden. “But it’s the school holidays.” Magnus eyed his little sister suspiciously. “Oh, well you know me! I like to keep on top of things!” Cheryl cringed at her terrible lie. “Okay.” Magnus replied, looking less than convinced.

“Hey, did you hear about the girl at the fountain? When she fought Ardoch, she won!” Magnus exclaimed. “Really? What did she look like?” Cheryl decided to pretend she was clueless. It wasn’t very hard, considering the fact that she really had no idea what she had been doing there. Sure, she had a long list of Dumb Cheryl Mistakes where she had almost revealed her swordfighting skills but she’d never done something as major as beating a member of the Council of Magic in a public space, with a crowd! “Wow, you really are clueless. She was wearing a mask, and a hood. People say that her hood fell back, but I didn’t see it.” Magnus continued, without sparing a glance at his little sister.

Later that night, after Ecros itself had fallen asleep, the Council of Magic had a meeting. “What is it? And why did you have to wait so long to tell us?” Dame Heike yawned. “I do hope this is important, Mr Ardoch, as this is an extremely inconvenient time.” The Angel of Arcstead smoothed her already impeccable white gown. “Did we miss anything?” Sir Cabal boomed, his voice louder than a gunshot. “Cabal, didn't we tell you to be quiet when talking? The entire point of a midnight meeting is to keep it a secret!” Lord Bonas scolded Sir Cabal. “I think that’s everybody. Now, Ardoch, explain why we had to meet in the middle of the night, and why I had to hide this place by making it look like an old, abandoned witch cottage?” Dame Heike demanded. She wasn’t normally the grouchy type, but she was really tired after a long day of performing at schools. “I found a candidate for the Council.” Ardoch began. “Her name. . . is Cheryl Sinclair.”

Cheryl woke with a jolt. She glanced around her room. Everything’s normal. Just go back to sleep. Cheryl thought. She pulled her curtain back a little, and the glowing silver moon reflected off her mirror. She closed her eyes and tried to go back to sleep. Eventually, she did, but she was tossing and turning all night long. Around three o’clock in the morning, Cheryl gave up trying to sleep peacefully. She lifted her hood to cover her face and grabbed her blade. As she was sheathing it, the moonlight glinted off her blade, momentarily lighting up her room. She spotted her mask, the one she had worn the day she fought the shape shifter, Ardoch. She sighed, then pulled it onto her face. Then Cheryl made her way to the fountain. She was going to practise her spellcraft.

Cheryl often forgot about her magic. Her sword was in her hand the second there was a threat, she hadn’t even thought about her sorcery for about two years. But what if she could enchant her blade? Or she could distract her opponent with a bright flash of light, then defeat them. Ithinlym was super high-tech, so when she visited with her brother, she had a full-fledged practice session with robots that acted and fought like ogres. While ogres certainly were stupid, they were excellent fighters.

Cheryl yawned as she woke up the next day. The birds outside were chirping cheerfully, and once Cheryl pulled back her curtains, the sunlight flooded the room. I could go eat breakfast, but I should probably practise a few spells. Cheryl lifted her blade, and was about to start, when she realized her door was wide open. I can’t let my brother see. “Close.” Cheryl swished her finger, closing the door. Good, that works. Cheryl picked up her sword. She read a chapter of the book that was lying open on her bed. “Okay, so this shouldn’t damage anything if I swing it.” Cheryl took a deep breath, then enchanted her blade. She swung her sword down on a vase, and it shattered. “Cheryl, you good?” Magnus called. “Yeah, just knocked a picture down. I’ll fix it later!” Cheryl lied smoothly. Then a letter drifted into her room.

To Cheryl Sinclair,

We know who you are—beware. You’re the one who bested Ardoch’s might, by the fountain, in silver light. Join the Council of Magic, or be shown, your secret name to all be known. Forgive our force, our plea is dire— Foes arise, the flames grow higher. Yet hope remains, your power true, can turn the dark to dawn anew. We’ll wait beneath the half-moon’s gleam, for your reply to bind our dream.

— The Council of Magic

Cheryl had to reread the note to decipher it. Seriously, why did they have to make it rhyme? So, if I don’t join the Council of Magic, they’ll tell everybody who I am? And here I was thinking they were supposed to be the good guys! Cheryl glanced outside. It was nighttime. But I just woke up. How is it-? Then she remembered Dame Heike’s specialty. They want to speed up my decision. Smart, but not smart enough. Cheryl flipped through her book. She quickly found the chapter called Dispelling Illusions. “Here we go.” Cheryl swung her blade in a circle, then threw a peacock feather she had found last year into the air. The circle she had swung her blade in glowed, then flashed blindingly bright, and when the white light faded, the illusion had disappeared. She looked at her book again, and this time she spotted the line: This will only dispel the illusion for the caster. Cheryl sighed.

Cheryl looked around the forest. She had donned her mask and cloak, grabbed her sword, and ran to the forests at the edge of town. Her goal was to get to the Crystal Caves. She rushed to the centre of the forest. It was rumoured to be safest there. As Cheryl ran, the sun began to rise, glowing like a beacon. The sunlight revealed the true beauty of the forest, from the emerald green leaves on the tree to the beautiful sunstone yellow wings of the parrots. Cheryl stopped and stared in awe at the beauty of the forest. How can something so beautiful house something so terrifyingly scary? Cheryl wondered.

Her entire life, she’d been told to stay away from the Forest of Jewels. Apparently, there was a dragon roaming around it. Everybody knew that dragons were fearsome predators, and Cheryl knew that the dragon was nicknamed the Onyx Terror. But how could the forest still be so breathtakingly beautiful if there was a giant, hungry, fire-breathing dragon in it? WOULD YOU DESTROY YOUR OWN HOME? Thundered a voice in Cheryl’s head. “What?” Cheryl drew her blade. Make the being this blade touches fall asleep and not wake up until I touch them with this blade again. Cheryl’s heart felt like it was going to beat out of her chest, she was so scared. SO, YOU DON’T KNOW DRAGONS ARE TELEPATHIC? The booming voice continued. “Oh no. Don’t tell me-” Cheryl’s heart stopped when her fear was confirmed. A woman stepped out of the shadows, followed by a huge - no, ginormous - no, gargantuan! - dragon.

The dragon was truly terrifying. Its yellow claws were about the size of Cheryl’s head and were razor sharp. They could slice a carrot into twenty in about half a second. Its eyes were blood red, with flecks of brown around the sideways pupil. Its scales were beautiful though, each one shiny black, as if they had just been polished. The spikes on its back were gleaming red, as well as its wings, and the underside of its neck, tail and belly. It looked more like a fantasy dragon than a Chinese mythological dragon. Then Cheryl remembered where she was. I can’t be thinking about how the dragon looks! It is a giant, scary dragon, and it's right in front of me! Cheryl was half a breath away from screaming, when she noticed that the human who was in front of the dragon was now gone. She’d have to worry about that later. First, she had to survive the next few minutes and get to the Crystal Caves.

“It won’t break out of your control, right, Angel?” Dame Heike was fidgeting. “This doesn’t feel right.” Lord Bonas agreed. “I agree with Bonas and Heike. That’s an innocent twelve-year-old girl out there! How are we even sure that Ardoch is right about this girl being the one who bested him?” Sir Cabal whispered. “I’m sure of it!” Ardoch promised. “Trust me, I wish no part of this. That dragon was ever so unruly.” The Angel of Arcstead adjusted her mask and smoothed back a strand of her pale blonde hair. “What, did you wreck your precious spotless mask?” Dame Heike muttered. The Angel heard her though, and stepped on Heike’s foot with her heels.”OUCH!” Heike screamed.

I thought I heard the Angel of Arcstead’s voice. Cheryl muttered. She chanced a look around the clearing. There was nobody there. Weird. Cheryl stepped forward. Closer. Closer. Closer. Until the dragon was only an arms’ length away. She shut her eyes and reached out her hand. Unseen to Cheryl, the dragons’ mouth opened, and it breathed red-hot fire on her. “OWWWWWWWWW!” Cheryl screamed at the same time Heike shouted.

Back in the shadows of the tree line, Bonas scolded the Angel. “Thanks to you, the so-called swordswoman burnt her hand.” In the clearing, Cheryl retaliated. She picked up her fallen, but still enchanted sword with her good hand and hit the dragon’s foot with it. There was a poof, and a red cloud, then a baby dragon was in the spot that the Onyx Terror was standing before. Cheryl carefully got up and circled it. It was the same colours as the Onyx Terror, but smaller.

Oh no. Cheryl thought. I just turned the dreaded Onyx Terror into a harmless baby dragon. By accident. So, yay me? Still, of all the times for my spell to work wrong, why now? But I can’t leave it here to fend for itself. No Cheryl, you are not considering taking it. The Onyx Terror let out an adorable yawn. OK, Cheryl, you are not considering leaving that behind. Cheryl picked up the Onyx Terror, sheathed her blade, and made her way to the Crystal Caves.

Cheryl wanted to stop running to catch her breath, but for all she knew there were even more ferocious beasts roaming around the forest. A glimmer of blue caught her eye, and she turned to find what was drawing her attention. “Wow.” She breathed. She had finally found the Crystal Caves.

The Crystal Caves were a mesmerizing sight. The part Cheryl could see was a huge sky blue, cotton candy pink and lavender structure, all harsh lines and angles. The caves looked like they were carved out of crystal, so Cheryl could see where it got its name. Each colour faded into the next in an ombre effect. Cheryl was in awe of the Crystal Caves beauty. PRETTY! PRETTY! PRETTY! The Onyx Terror told Cheryl. So, dragons really do have telepathy. Cheryl thought. YUP! COOL! COOL! COOL! The Onyx Terror jumped off Cheryl and tried to breathe fire. A small puff of smoke was all that it could muster. “You really need a better name than the Onyx Terror. Hmm, how about . . . Darkwing?” Cheryl threw a few words and a bunch of letters together. Darkwing! Darkwing! Darkwing! “I guess that’s a yes.” Cheryl led Darkwing into the Crystal Caves.

The Crystal Caves were just as breathtaking on the inside. The crystal walls sparkled like a thousand jewels had been crushed until they were like glitter and then thrown all over the walls. Cheryl moved to one of the walls to inspect it. Even her reflection was shimmering. Darkwing pulled at her cloak. What? Cheryl thought. BUNNY! BUNNY! BUNNY! “Where?” Cheryl glanced around. Then she spotted a fluffy white bunny rabbit. She knelt down to pick it up, but it bit her hand, digging into her flesh. “OWWW!” Cheryl screamed again. “Why does a bunny have such sharp teeth?” Cheryl reached for her sword, only to have her hand close on thin air. “What?” Cheryl looked around. Her sword was lying next to Darkwing.

Pick up the BLACK bit and bring it to me. Don’t touch the silver blade. OK? Cheryl thought. TOUCH SILVER! NO TOUCH BLACK! OK! Darkwing replied. “No!” Cheryl groaned as Darkwing bit down on the sharp silver blade. Then there was a puff of black smoke, and when it disappeared, Darkwing was gone. And towering in front of Cheryl and the bunny rabbit, was the Onyx Terror.

“What?” Cheryl yelled. “How-? OH! Of course, my spell had to backfire!” Cheryl picked up the trembling bunny and backed away. The bunny jumped out of Cheryl’s arms and bounced to the exit. The Onyx Terror moved closer and closer to Cheryl. She braced herself, when the thunderous footsteps stopped. “Huh?” She looked up. The Angel of Arcstead was standing in front of Cheryl. “Thank you!” Cheryl gasped. “Looks like you did something productive for once.” Dame Heike stepped out of the shadows, followed by Sir Cabal, Lord Bonas and Ardoch. I WOULDN’T THANK HER JUST YET. The Onyx Terror boomed. Somehow, Cheryl knew everybody could hear him. “Whatever do you mean?” The Angel snapped. But Cheryl could hear the panic in her voice.

Why would the Angel of Arcstead be worried? Cheryl wondered. Then the Onyx Terror swung its tail and knocked back the Angels’ hood and knocked off her mask. Heike, Bonas, Cabal, Ardoch and Cheryl gaped at the person in front of them. Then all the pieces clicked for them. The Angel of Arcstead appeared the same week that a criminal had escaped. The criminal always showed her face. The Angel of Arcstead was actually Laudan Sangrey, the escaped prisoner that had never been found.

Laudan Sangrey scowled. She tucked a loose strand of blonde hair behind her ear, like she still cared for her appearance a few minutes before she was inevitably going to be arrested. Her glittering azure blue eyes and blonde hair made her look more like a fairy tale princess than a criminal.

Lord Bonas snapped his fingers, and two spirits rose from the ground. One held Laudans’ hands behind her back as the other one handcuffed her. “Take her away, to the most heavily guarded cell this time.” Bonas waved his summons in the rough direction. They took Laudan Sangrey away. Now that she was gone, the Onyx Terror turned to Cheryl. It bent its knees in an unmistakable bow. YOU SAVED ME IN THE CLEARING. I AM NOW IN YOUR DEBT. The Onyx Terror told Cheryl. “Um, does that mean I can call you Darkwing?” Cheryl asked. She really didn’t want her pet dragon to be known as the Onyx Terror. IF THAT IS YOUR WISH. HONESTLY, I PREFERRED THAT NAME.

“Urgh, we have to get back home now.” Dame Heike frowned. “Could we ride on your dragon, Miss Sinclair?” Lord Bonas asked, his long brown hair gleaming. Cheryl turned to Darkwing. He nodded. “He said yes, but first you have to explain why you were following me.” Cheryl ordered. The remaining members of the Council of Magic shared a look, then obliged. A lengthy explanation later, Cheryl was gobsmacked. “So, let me get this straight. You set a dragon on me, threatened to reveal my identity and did countless other things, just because one person thought I was the mystery swordsman?” Cheryl asked. When they nodded, Cheryl sighed. “Come on then.” She climbed onto her dragon, and once the Council of Magic had, they set off.

“I thought you should know, Cheryl. Ardoch was the one who was so sure. And I guess, it’s entirely your choice whether you want to join the Council of Magic. We weren’t really acting great when we sent you that note. Guess we’re lousy protectors, huh?” Dame Heike cracked an exhausted smile. Her long purple hair shone in the moonlight. “Dame Heike?” Cheryl spoke up. “Yeah?” “I want to join the Council of Magic. Otherwise Arcstead won’t have any protector.” Cheryl tossed back her hood and removed her mask. She fingered the gold filigree patterns around the edge. “If you’re sure, I’ll go tell the others.” Heike rose, smiling as Cheryl nodded.

Once they landed, Heike dispelled the illusion on the sky. The town of Arcstead was flooded with sunlight. Townspeople rushed into the streets once word got out that the Council of Magic was back. When everyone was there, the new Council of Magic slid down Darkwing’s tail to tell everybody the news. Sir Cabal started to speak. “Your protector, the Angel of Arcstead, was no other than the deadly criminal Laudan Sangrey. So, she has been taken to the most secure prison cell in Ecros. I’m sure you’re all wondering ‘so who’s the new protector of Arcstead?’. She is the Sorceress of the Sword-” “But I’m sure none of you will trust yet another masked, cryptic named protector, so you can also call me-” Cheryl removed her mask and hood. The crowd gaped as they recognised the face of the quiet library dweller. “That’s my sister!” Magnus yelled. “-Cheryl Sinclair.” Cheryl finished.’’