Mira Fen's Arc

Chapter 1 of 6

Mira Fen set down the small iron striker and watched the girl from the corner of her eye. The workshop smelled of wax and cold metal. A single flame guttered on the bench, low and steady, and the girl had pressed herself flat against the far wall again. Mira breathed out slowly. The lessons would have to wait until the fear did. She had a craft to pass on, and only one student to give it to. Mira pulled a thin metal stick from a drawer and crossed the room slowly. She knelt and placed it in the girl's palms, closing her fingers around it. "This is light you hold," Mira said. She struck the tip. Sparks bloomed in a bright, soft shower between them. The girl flinched, then stared. She did not drop it. She did not run. When the last spark fell, the girl looked up, eyes wet but steady, and held the spent stick out for another. Mira lit three more for her, one by one, until the girl's hands stopped shaking. Then Mira led her outside to the iron bowl on its low legs, already banked with coals. She struck flint and the fire climbed. The girl stood a full pace back, watching the flames twist. She did not press to the wall. She did not cry. She breathed. Mira fed in another log and felt the lesson take its first root. Tomorrow, the girl would have to step closer.