The smell of fried fish and freshly baked bread wafted through the air of The Loose Anchor Tavern as a merry band of musicians played for the enormous crowd. The patrons were mostly sailors making port, passing time as their ships were unloaded. Very few Blackwater residents ventured outside the high stone walls of Blackwater to the dockside tavern that was so often filled with pirates. They gambled, drank, and on occasion, were known to draw a cutlass or two when they disagreed as to the winner of a bet.

Fire from the large stone hearth in the center of the room illuminated the tavern in a deep orange glow dancing shadows throughout the crowd as the flames flickered. The Blackwater flag and the crest of the Silver Talons hung down from the wood beams above, and the head of a dragon-like sea monster stared down from a plaque mounted over the bar. Serving girls maneuvered through the packed tavern with trays of ale and food. A dirty man, wet with sweat, ale, and the stench of a good long period at sea, grabbed the backside of a young serving girl who brushed past him—a pretty girl with fiery red curls.

“Let’s see if the carpet matches the drapes,” he said as he whirled the girl around to face him. His hot, stinking breath assaulted her nose as he puckered his lips and tried to bring his face to hers while simultaneously trying to get a hand up her dress. She groaned with disgust as she shoved away from him and tipped her tray to the side, spilling its contents on the floor. She drew the tray back and smacked him across the face with it. A mixture of saliva and blood flew from his mouth and he looked back at her with furious anger.

“You dirty wench!” he growled as he launched to his feet and drew back his fist to hit her. Before he could make contact, a hand, more powerful than his own, blocked his strike and held his hand in place.

“That would be very unwise of you. I know you probably do not know who this young woman is, but I guarantee, if you lay so much as a finger on her again, your corpse will be hanging from the wooden beam outside this very tavern as a warning and no one in your company will be able to dock here ever again. Now, as the owner of this establishment, I suggest you leave and do not let me see you here again; otherwise, you will be at the mercy of Commander Leon Rend.”

His eyes widened at the mention of the name, but the man did not attempt to hide his scowl as he spat more blood and saliva on the floor. He said nothing more as he gathered his things and moved toward the exit. Declan, the owner, watched him go until the tavern doors swung closed behind him.

“Sophie, are you okay?” Declan asked, putting a sympathetic hand on the back of her shoulder.

“Yes, I’m okay,” Sophie said, nodding.

“I promised your father you would be safe working here, if you would rather work in the kitchen tonight, we can move you off the floor,” Declan said with concern.

“No, I would prefer to stay on the floor, I need the tips,” Sophie replied. She didn’t tell Declan, or anyone else, what she was saving for; they would find out eventually. Sophie brushed off her apron and began picking up the mugs of ale she dropped on the floor. Declan returned to the bar and the night carried on as usual.

At closing time, Sophie traded in her coppers for as many silver pieces as she could, and exchanged as many silver pieces as she could for gold.

“Well, what’s the haul tonight, Soph?” Declan asked.

“Eight gold, five silver, and two copper.”

“Pirates are lousy tippers.” Declan frowned and shook his head, reaching into a secret pocket inside his vest. “Here, you deserve this, I appreciate you coming in tonight.” Declan handed her a small leather pouch. Sophie opened it and counted the shiny gold pieces inside.

“Twenty gold? Declan, I know you only pay the other servers half this amount a night. I can’t accept this,” she said.

“You can, and you will. You handled yourself pretty well with that pirate, and you deserve this much just for having to deal with him. You not only worked as a server but security too, and on your regular night off.” Declan chuckled. “Double duty, double pay.” He gave her a pat on the back. “Come on, I will walk you to the gate.”

The docks at night could be dangerous for anyone, more so for a young girl traveling alone. Sophie was thankful for Declan’s company. She knew she would be safe once she was inside the high stone walls surrounding Blackwater.

Declan was barely thirty and had been married, but was already a widower. His wife went through a rough pregnancy and an even more difficult childbirth. The midwife did all she could to save the baby, but Katarina did not survive. Their son, Nikolai, was now five years old. Sometimes, Sophie watched him for Declan when the tavern was slow. She enjoyed both jobs equally, even on the worst night.

When they reached the entrance, the guard saw them and immediately signaled for the man on top to raise the gate. The chains crunched between the gigantic stone gears as the man tuned the crank.

“Get home safely, Miss Rend.” The guard nodded to Sophie and went back to his post.

“Thank you,” she called to the guard, and then, turned back to Declan, “Thank you for walking me to the gate. I will see you tomorrow evening.” She gave him a quick and friendly hug, patting him on the back. He was like family to her, and her father. Declan and his wife used to run the Gilded Lily, the members-only tavern inside the guild hall, but after his wife died, everything within the walls of Blackwater reminded him of her. Declan made it as far out of town as the Loose Anchor. The old inn closed for a while, a few years back and they had to shut down the docks when the aquahydra took up residence in the bay and destroyed any ship daring to enter. Without patrons, the owner could no longer afford to keep the place.

They thought the monster would eventually move on, but it stayed in the bay for a long time and the town of Blackwater began to suffer, cut off from the supplies they needed to survive. The only path out of town connecting to the rest of the continent was through the Stonehold Mountains. The switchbacks and paths were too narrow for a wagon, horses could make it, but goods and supplies had to be carried through the mountain pass.

Many gladiators from around the realm tried to slay the monster, but none were successful, until Leon Rend came to town with an army from Braidwood. The legend says he gathered every soldier, every magic wielder, and his magical weapon, the Greatsword of Destiny. Together, they made a plan, and Leon bravely led the battle against the creature. The monster claimed a few ships and many lives in the battle, but Leon kept fighting until he struck the final, killing blow.

It was many years ago, Sophie was not yet out of her mother's womb then, but there was no shortage of people to tell her how wonderful, brave, and mighty her father had been. She had lived her whole life so far hearing people tell his story, bards sang songs of his heroism from here to Braidwood. A few months before he got to Blackwater, Leon and his soldiers liberated Braidwood from the tyrant, Orion, and his dragon-riders. The rebels focused on taking out the dragons with large harpoon catapults, while Leon went after Orion alone. Wizards from all over the land fought alongside the rebels, shooting lightning, and frost at the dragons, meeting their fiery breath with twenty-foot walls of ice.

The continent they lived on, was once a kingdom ruled by a man who the stories and folklore say was a good and fair king, but when he passed away without an heir or even a wife, the fighting began. Some wanted the continent to remain a kingdom, others wanted to split the continent into several kingdoms. In the end, three guilds were formed; an eastern, western, and central guild.

Back then, there were dragons, knights, jousting tournaments, and royal balls. Now the dragons have been hunted to extinction and the only ball Sophie has ever been to is the guild ball at the Silver Talons Guild Hall in Blackwater. The parties were fun, but it was always the same people from Blackwater. She longed to meet people from other places, such as the kingdom of Ledora. She'd heard so much about their city of gold, lavish masquerades, and their dragon prince—although she had no idea why, dragons were extinct as far as she knew.

Sophie was always fascinated by stories of dragons and knights, fancy dresses, and royal dinner parties, but what interested her more than all of those things combined, was magic. Dragons were not what some stories claimed them to be, yes, they were large, frightening beasts, and were known to get hungry, but they were magical creatures with abilities beyond any human’s wildest dreams.

Stolen story; please report.

Some legends say the silver dragons could shift into the form of either a human or an elf and could live among the people undetected. Silver dragons used to inhabit the mountains northwest of Blackwater, but the people who feared them, spread their fear to others and led attacks against the beasts until there were none left. The absence of the silver dragons took its toll. The people had not known, but they had been the only thing standing between the neighboring towns and the red dragons inhabiting the island just north of Stonehold Keep.

Stonehold Keep was abandoned after the red dragon attacks. If there were any people left alive, they ran as far and fast as they could. Even though the dragons have been gone for many years, no one has been to the keep since the attack, they’re still terrified the red dragons may return. Since then, the people of Blackwater at least, have taught their children the silver dragons were our protectors and it was a mistake to attack them. For many years after, people searched the world for a sign of a silver dragon, but if there were any left, they did not wish to be found.

Sophie's thoughts came so quickly, she didn't even realize how far she'd walked until she reached the front stoop of her house. She opened the door to her house quietly, trying her best not to wake her mother or father. The evening’s work and the walk home finally hit her as she crept into her room. She had barely taken off her boots before she collapsed backward onto her bed. The down comforter, and soft furs enveloped her and she drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

The next morning, Sophie came out of her room to find the house empty. Her father was either already at work or had not yet been home. Her mother, Samantha, was probably at the market getting fresh produce for the day, or at her sweet shop. Sophie grabbed her coin pouch, attached it to her belt, and went to the back of the house and out to the cellar. She pulled on the heavy metal doors using the strength in her legs to open them completely.

The cellar was dark and musty. The light from the outside illuminated only the first few feet. The wooden stairs creaked as she descended. Sophie felt her way to the first sconce and took the torch out of it. She picked up the flint and steel from the table beneath the sconce and struck it until the spark took to the fabric of the torch. She carried it with her through the main room, which was large and filled with shelf-stable dry goods, spices, flours, and jars of preserved fruits and vegetables. There were three doors off the main room, and she entered the last of them. Sophie placed the torch in a sconce and the dim light illuminated the treasures in the room; trunks and trinkets, men’s clothing, and old books about dragons, and about the world before dragons disappeared. The name Balefire was etched into the front page of some of the tomes, although the name meant nothing to Sophie.

She had been going through the storage room for weeks because of the small leather-bound book she found. It was a wizard's spell book, handwritten with incantations, runes, and recipes for various potions and elixirs. Sophie didn’t know any wizards personally, but she heard the wizard at the tower in Lapis Highland was looking for an apprentice. The cost of his mentorship was a thousand gold pieces. This was to ensure the safety of his student and to purchase the required focus and components needed for training. She almost had enough, a few more weeks working the floor at the tavern should do it.

Sophie took the spell book, tucked it into the waistband of her trousers, and smoothed her tunic over the bulge. Sophie had been practicing for days already and could make a few of the easier spells work, but she needed more components. She continued inspecting the items in the room, going through trunks, and flipping through pages. Sophie pulled a book from the large shelf, and tried to make sense out of the strange symbols written inside. It wasn't any language she had ever seen before. Closing it, she put the book in an old satchel she found among the old clothing—she'd ask Gabe to translate it later. After cleaning up a little, Sophie closed the door, and re-locked it the way it had been when she found it.

Sophie went to her favorite spot, a place in the forest beneath a weeping willow standing next to a babbling stream. Birds sang happily in the canopy as tiny creatures scurried across the forest floor. Sophie always came to this spot when she needed quiet time alone, or when she was sad. She didn’t know why, but time beneath the willow tree always helped her ease the worry she felt. Sophie made herself comfortable, leaning against the trunk of the tree. The moss below was a nice cushion. She listened to the birds and the sound of the stream and then, the crack of a twig behind her. Jumping up, she peered around the trunk of the willow then let out a sigh of relief when she saw it was just her friend heading her way.

“Gabe, you scared me half to death,” Sophie scolded.

“Sorry, I thought I might find you here,” he said, as he sat down beside the stream and began removing his boots and stockings. Sophie watched as he slid down the bank and into the cool water, which was only ankle-deep.

“Come on, Sophie, wade with me,” Gabe called, smiling with child-like wonder. He always took joy in the simple things, the change of seasons, swimming in lakes, wading in streams, and of course, Sophie’s company. She didn’t know why he always wanted to be around her, she wasn’t exactly a ray of sunshine on her best day, but ever since they were little, Gabe was by her side. He never admitted to having feelings for her, which was perfect, because for whatever reason Sophie didn’t think of anyone in such a manner.

While the other girls were talking about the boys they liked, Sophie was learning to read and speak other languages. Few girls could speak more than the common tongue here in Blackwater, and they had little interest in learning, but Sophie could not satiate the hunger for knowledge she felt. No matter how many books she had, it was never enough. This alone, usually made people give her a wide berth.

Sophie sat down, resting her back against the trunk of the willow. She pulled out the small leather book, read the materials needed for the first spell, and then looked around the forest for whatever she could collect. When Gabe saw she was not going to join him in the stream, he climbed up the bank and came over to see what she was so interested in. Sophie showed him the book and the excitement and surprise on his face told her he thought it was the greatest thing he had seen in quite a while.

“Have you tried any spells yet?” he asked.

“I tried a few over the last couple of weeks, but I ran out of components, which is why I came out here. Did you happen to bring your flint and steel?”

“I never leave home without it,” Gabe replied with a grin.

Sophie instructed him to build a small fire as she pulled out some of the specific items needed. She found a cricket by the bank then grabbed a handful of the softest sand and carried both to the fire.

“I’m sorry,” Sophie said to the cricket as she placed it in the flame. She sprinkled the sand on top of the bug as she whispered, “somnum penitus” into the fire. The base of the flame glowed bright green, roared once, and then went out completely. The sand at the base of the fire still had a soft illumination to it. Sophie picked it up in her hand. It was cool to the touch. She spotted a raven hopping along the forest floor nearby and repeated the incantation, blowing the green sand from her hand toward the bird. Immediately, the raven puffed up and settled in for a deep sleep.

“Wow, awesome,” Gabe exclaimed.

Sophie crept close to the raven and apologized before she proceeded to collect her next component; a writing quill plucked from a sleeping bird. She grabbed a few of the raven’s long tail feathers, counted to three, apologized to it again, and then pulled as hard and quickly as she could. The raven squawked awake, frantically flapping as it hopped away. Finally, it gained a wind beneath its wings and was able to take off in flight.

“Why’d ya do that to the poor bird?” Gabe asked.

“For these.” Sophie looked down at her hand, opening her fist to reveal her prize; five black feathers. "Want to help me try out a new spell?"

"Of course, like you even had to ask. Let's see what you can do," he replied.

“This one will require you to be asleep,” Sophie said.

Gabe found a soft patch of moss and made himself comfortable. “Sleep is one of my favorite things to do, I will be your test subject any time as long as I get to take a nap!” Gabe settled in and closed his eyes.

Sophie waited until he began snoring softly to begin. She focused on the quill in her hand and closed her eyes. She whispered the incantation as the forest disappeared around her. She sat with her legs crossed, focusing on the words. She touched the quill to the palm of her hand and wrote the message she wanted to send to Gabe. Wake up. She scrawled the words again, but still Gabe slept.

Maybe I’m not doing it right, Sophie thought as she got up and tapped Gabe on the shoulder. He stirred and sat up.

“What did it do? I don’t feel any different.” Gabe said, rubbing his eyes.

“It didn’t work. I need more practice,” Sophie replied as she emptied her coin pouch into her hand and stuffed the coins into the pocket of her trousers. Next, she scooped up the remaining sand from the first spell and put it into the small purse, it no longer glowed, but still shined with greenish-blue glitter.

“I have to be heading home. Want to walk with me?” Gabe asked, offering her his hand to help her to her feet. Sophie nodded, accepting his help. They strolled back through the woods, listening to the birds chirping in the branches, and the bugs trilling in the shade of the budding bushes.

When they reached Gabe’s house the goats greeted them at the fence. They bleated loudly as he approached, recognizing him as the one who cares for them.

“I know, you guys are hungry, come on then.” Gabe waved to Sophie as he led the goats to their feeding trough.

“Hey Gabe, wait,” Sophie called, almost forgetting the book she had brought with her. “I don’t know what language this is in, but I thought maybe you could find out for me.” She handed Gabe the book. He opened it and looked at the strange lettering.

“I have never seen anything like this, but I can ask the other scribes, there are quite a few older scribes who only write ancient texts because they are the only ones who can read them,” Gabe told her.

Sophie thanked him and waved before she continued walking home. The whole way, all she could think about was magic, adventure, dragons, and of course, what it would be like when she became the very first female wizard’s apprentice.