The Choosing was to be held deep beneath the central citadel, in the catacombs that were as symbolic of rebirth as of death. Though the nuances of symbolism were lost on Claudia as she instead found herself morbidly fascinated by the warped and jutting bones embedded in the mottled marble.

She fussed with a loose thread of her robe as she sat on a cold stone bench alongside her fellow graduates and soon-to-be acolytes. She desisted when the bronze embroidery cuffing her sleeve threatened to unravel irreparably. Claudia then swung her feet in anxious pendulums until a scowl and pointed clearing of the throat from her seat neighbour inspired her to stop.

Though her fretting only increased, the thudding of her pulse felt in her deepest tissues, as her fellow acolytes stepped into the Choosing hall, one after another.

Claudia knew they were to exit through another set of doors after their Choosing. The better to maintain an air of silence and solemn mystery amongst those yet to Choose. Yet she couldn’t help but feel as though the room had truly devoured her peers, one by one, an undeniable portent of doom.

The ornate doors of carved bone and marble stood tall and steadfast, veiling the chamber beyond where Claudia might Choose wrong, failing her path, failing her future, her family—

“Claudia of Noble House Hollycouth, please step forward.”

A robed woman with a low hood made a marking on her charter with a piece of charcoal as Claudia stood on weak legs and stepped towards the door. As with all the previous acolytes, the woman opened the doors with quiet ceremony, ushering Claudia through with a whispered blessing. “May your spirits shine and guide your path.”

Claudia jerked a nod, and stepped into the chamber beyond.

Like the amphitheatre far above, this chamber too was six-sided, though the low stone ceiling was roughly hewn and studded with shards of glowing quartz.

Concentric tables ringed the space in tiered half circles, around which were seated dozens of hooded figures. Set before each figure was a bronze candle carved with the sigil of the Guild they represented.

A figure wearing fine golden robes sat in a high, throne-like seat behind the curved tables, bearing over and down on the proceedings of the circle below. The Arbiter of Guilds.

“Step forward, young apprentice, and Choose the light of your path.” The Arbiter spoke in a voice like smoke, gravelled with age and authority.

As Claudia stepped into the chamber, each shadowed face turned to watch her progress towards the centre of the room.

Claudia passed through a gap between tables, keeping her eyes locked forward as she approached the plinth at the heart of the room. There rested a candle of plain bronze, wax smooth and unmarked.

Claudia picked it up, clutching tight against the trembling of her fingers. Heart in her throat, Claudia spun slowly, taking in the sight of each Guild Master, faces shrouded by hoods and the hazy heat rising from their flames.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Claudia could feel panic clawing up her throat, choking her as she desperately sought the sigil which might, by divine provenance, stand out from the rest. Through her mounting anxiety, Claudia failed to even recognise half the sigils around her.

Guess that rules out those Guilds, then, Claudia thought with a manic sort of humour.

In her haste to Choose, a Guild, any Guild, Claudia’s gaze landed on a pair of familiar eyes. Eyes which mirrored her anxiety. Eyes she had known her whole life, which represented certainty, surety, destiny.

Almost stumbling, Claudia strode forward with her plain candle, holding it out with shaking arms and pleading eyes.

After several moments searching Claudia’s face, Francine touched the flame of her candle to Claudia’s wick.

The flame caught, and Claudia nearly fumbled her candle as the solid wax flared bright with the sigil of the Alchemists Guild. Claudia kept her grip on the candle, however, and her eyes on the burning intensity of her sister’s gaze, as the wax melted away. Claudia was left clutching a quartz token bearing the Alchemists’ design.

“Welcome, Apprentice Claudia of Nobel House Hollycouth, newest acolyte to the Guild of Alchemy.”

Claudia grinned at Francine, eyes watering in relief that the Choosing had worked, that the Choice was done. That it was over.

Her sister smiled in return, both pride and concern shining in her dark eyes, before gesturing her path towards the rear of the chamber.

Claudia gripped her token hard enough to mark her skin as she stepped out of the dark chamber into the hallway beyond, making her way up from the catacombs and into the sunlight of a spring afternoon. Claudia could breathe again.

~~~

Francine leaned against the doorway as Claudia stood in her room, comparing her various tomes, reticent to pack any of them away.

Her small collection of alchemy texts remained on newly bare shelves, looking rather sad and meagre.

“I know it must seem hard to pack everything away. To change so much at once,” Francine said, placing a gentle hand on Claudia’s shoulder. “But you’ll feel so much better with a fresh start, I promise.”

Francine’s eyes sparkled with enthusiasm as she gazed around Claudia’s half-packed room, before taking a seat on the large bed.

Claudia nodded slowly. She supposed that made sense. New start, new books, new tools. New purpose.

With renewed determination, Claudia packed away her paints and inks, her art journals, sundry artefacts and toys, and any books not related to alchemy.

Claudia and Francine laughed together as they worked to pack, seal, and store away all the boxes beneath Claudia’s bed.

“See! Doesn’t that feel so much better?” Francine breathed as she spun in the newly cleared space, desk and shelves all mostly bare. “Just you wait! You’ll feel so much more focused with your own space entirely dedicated to alchemy.”

Claudia forced a smile at Francine’s enthusiasm, swallowing down the heaviness in her chest. Perhaps it would feel better. Tomorrow.

“I can’t wait to study with you, Francine,” Claudia said truthfully.

“Here, I brought you something.” Francine fished in the pockets of her dress and withdrew a small green book bound in apple leather.

Claudia opened it, brushing her fingers over notes written in a familiar script.

“That was my first journal when I was an apprentice. I thought, perhaps, you might find it useful…” Francine eyed Claudia anxiously as she flipped through the delicate pages, tracing her fingers across the paper.

Claudia looked up with a true smile. “I love it, Francine. I’ll treasure it, thank you!”

With great care, Claudia placed the journal on her shelf alongside her remaining books.

“Well, do more than treasure it. Learn from it!” Francine teased with a playful pinch at Claudia’s side. Though she looked pleased as she dashed from the room to pick berries for a celebratory tea cake.

Claudia stood in her emptied room, feeling unexpectedly hollow.