Will Thornwood's Arc

Chapter 4 of 1

Will climbed out of the mountains with Fenwick at his side. Three days under the lake had left no wound he could see. But something had shifted inside him. His hands felt warmer than the air. At night he saw faint blue light behind his closed eyes. He did not know what the lake had made him. Until he knew, he could not go back for the thing he truly came to find. So he turned toward the one place that might hold answers. The Moirai Sisters lived past the edge of town, where a hibiscus tree grew heavy with red flowers by their door. They had sold Fenwick the map that led to the lake. Three middle-aged women, they saw things others could not. Will had never trusted them. Now he had nowhere else to turn. The three sisters waited on the step when he arrived, as if they had known he was coming. The eldest, her gray hair pinned up, studied him without blinking. "The lake kept you," she said. "And then it let you go. That happens rarely." "What did it do to me?" Will asked. The sister with wild curls stepped close. She took his wrist and turned his palm up. A red hibiscus flower drifted down from the tree and landed in his open hand. A sign. Good or bad I do not know. The eldest sister has a vision “ you must find the mage castle and seek a mage who will help and with luck train you. The youngest sister shook her head. "Many trials await you, many adventures will determine what you will become.” Travel to the forest and to a valley. The valley of the mages. A school, will they accept you is unknown. He understood now. The lake had not simply changed him. It had made into something, but what good, evil? His life had changed and what lays ahead and the decisions he makes will have ripple effects on the land. He turned from the sisters and started down the road, Fenwick by his side.