Charm School

North of the castle, shaded from its view by a large grove of tall palm trees, stood a large clearing. Within stood a large circle of earth, cleared of the surrounding grass. Brigid and Star and L’shaya stood at the north end of the clearing, watching as Soraya and her followers entered from the south, followed at a short distance by the rest of the women from their class. The others arranged themselves about the sides of the clearing as Brigid and Soraya faced each other across the several yards of the circle.

Soraya turned and spoke to the assembled women. “Here, outside the walls of the castle, we have titles, we have families. Know then that I am Soraya, Topaz Princess of the Jewel Kingdoms of the Golden Circle, heir to twenty generations of sorcerous might. Power and magick is my birthright: I have trained in sorcery since my birth.”

The raven-haired enchantress turned to face Brigid with a fiery glance. “Who are you and what have you to match that?” she said scornfully.

Brigid smiled slightly and inclined her head politely. “Who am I?” she began, her voice easily carrying throughout the area, “I am Brigid, Lady of the Court of Amber, child of the blood of Dworkin, Initiate of the Pattern, and apprentice in sorcery and enchantment to Princess Fiona; and I am Brigid, high born of the Courts of Faerie, shapeshifter, enchantress and sorceress. Magick and power is more than just my birthright, it is my very nature and blood.” Watching carefully, Brigid could see a momentary narrowing of her opponent’s eyes, but no other sign: she could hear the sudden inrush of breath from several of the audience and a low chuckle from Star. “Shall we begin?”

Far too late to back down now, Soraya stepped boldly into the circle, and Brigid followed. Soraya started a low chant and caused the wind to rise within the clearing, whirling dust devils about the edges of the circle. Brigid followed the measure of the spell more by instinct than by knowledge, and added her own counterpoint. Soraya’s magickal signature of a dark blue mist met and merged with Brigid’s hazy green lightning, and when they had stopped, a glowing circle appeared, outlining the bared earth.

Without hesitation, Soraya began. She knelt to the ground: her finger traced a human figure in the air, up, around, and back down the earth. Where her finger moved, a line of dark blue light remained. When she finished, the air within the line solidified and a knight in dark blue armor stood before her, shield and sword held ready.

Brigid only gestured briefly, and appearing suddenly from the cloud of glowing green before her stood a figure in a black hooded cape, its hands and face hidden within the cape’s folds. The two advanced to meet in the center of the circle. The knight raised its sword high, and then there was a sudden buzzing, hissing sound as a blade of brilliant green light, the same light as Brigid’s magick, sprang from the caped figure’s suddenly outthrust hands. In one swift downward swing, the green blade of light swept down through the knight’s blade, severing it near the hilt, then swept back upwards through the knight itself, thigh to shoulder, on the return. The knight divided in twain and crumpled to the ground and vanished: the caped figure saluted Soraya and Brigid, then faded into mist.

Angered, Soraya motioned, and between her hands a dark blue mist arose, twisting and forming into a dark dragon shape towering over her head. The dragon’s head scanned the ground before it, then focused upon Brigid. In response, Brigid’s hands outlined a human form in green mist and lightning before her. The mist solidified into a tall figure, with hair so black it was almost blue, wearing a tight blue tunic and a red cape that rippled from his broad shoulders. The figure crouched, then sprung into the air, meeting the dragon full on with a mighty blow of his fist. The figures exploded in a blaze of blue and green magick, the dragon preceding the figure.

While the first figure was still in the air, Brigid’s hands were moving again; this time conjuring a tall figure with glossy black hair and a billowing black cape, a pale, sensual face, and just a hint of fangs above his lower lip. He inspected Soraya sensually, eagerly, hungrily, and bowed and said “Good evening, my lady.”

Soraya shook her head to recover from the shock of the dragon’s destruction, and for a moment lost herself in the raw sensuality of the vampire’s gaze. He seized the moment to advance across the circle, the motion breaking the spell he had over her. She reacted rapidly, releasing a curling swirl of energy that coalesced into a pillar of yellow fire. The vampire screamed as the power of the night and the power of the day met and canceled each other out.

“The first round is a draw, then,” said Soraya. “The next won’t be so easy.” Brigid only shrugged in reply.

Eschewing the conjurations, then, Soraya and Brigid began a contest of dueling spells: fireballs and lightning bolts flew across the center of the circle, to be stopped in displays of blue and green fireworks by each other’s potent shields. Several of the explosions rocked Soraya, but Brigid stood calmly, having never moved from the place she began the duel.

After several minutes of this, Soraya paused and glared at Brigid. “I grow tired of this game,” she began crossly, but Brigid cut her off.

“A game?” replied Brigid coldly. “Is that all you think this is, a game? You may have fought for honor or glory: I’ve fought for my life under these circumstances. You need a lesson in fighting as well as in manners.”

With a wave of her hand, Brigid conjured a field before her that reflected Soraya’s next spell back at her, redoubled, momentarily stunning her. Brigid then pulled her arm back, and a lance of green lightning formed in her hand. She threw it into the center of Soraya’s shield, splintering it into shards of fading blue light. Brigid followed it with a trio of flickering green witchlights which orbited Soraya’s head in a dizzying array.

“No, no, no …” said Soraya weakly as she began to waver in response to the dance of the witchlights in her gaze. Her gaze grew dull as her eyes began to reflect the dancing, flickering light, until they rolled back under her eyelids and she slumped to the earth.

Without the matching will of Soraya to maintain it, the dueling circle faded away, leaving Brigid standing it the center of circle of bare earth. She looked proudly about at the women assembled, a weary smile on her lips. In the silence, she said “You can come out now, Fiona.”

Part of the darkness under the trees dispersed, and Fiona strode into the clearing, accompanied by a tall raven-haired woman wearing a diadem with a large sapphire centered above and between her raven eyes. The crowd separated to allow the two to approach the circle. Brigid inclined her head towards her mentor, and then towards the other woman.

There was the slightest hint of a smile about the corners of Fiona’s lips, while the other woman looked sternly between Soraya and Brigid. “Exactly as I predicted, Zarastel,” said Fiona.

“I’m sure my daughter has learned the lesson meant for her,” replied Zarastel coolly, looking down at Soraya’s unconscious body.

“If she can,” remarked Brigid offhandedly.

“Oh, she will,” said Zarastel coldly, almost maliciously, glancing in Brigid’s direction. “And you need a lesson, too, Brigid: that the line of Crysoberyl is not to easily trifled with. That is an honor left to your betters, child.”

Zarastel intoned three harsh, flat words, and suddenly her eyes grew immense in Brigid’s gaze. Brigid could feel the strength of Zarastel’s mind battering at her own. The ring on Brigid’s finger flared into life, and the sensation was cut off as a feeling of silence and steel settled about Brigid’s mind.

Brigid took a deep breath and stared at Zarastel. At her unspoken command, Brigid’s ring ceased its protection, and Brigid’s eyes met Zarastel’s again. The battle then began in earnest.

Zarastel had a momentary initial advantage in her many years of experience, yet Brigid proved a quick learner, drawing upon her own training and experience against some of the most powerful psychics of a Shadow that produced beings of superhuman qualities, and from some source deep within that she barely knew existed. She felt Fiona’s teaching and her own Faerie nature come together, along with the lessons of her senseis, come together in ways she had not expected.

In the space of a few heartbeats, yet lifetimes long in the span of time within the mind, the two realized they were too evenly matched to continue in this manner. Both retreated to their bodies, then Zarastel closed her eyes, briefly touched her thumbs to her sapphire pendant and then pointed both index fingers towards Brigid.

One short word from Brigid stilled the dark lightning coalescing between Zarastel’s hands. Brigid mentally commanded her armband; the power within the armband flooded into her limbs as she somersaulted forward across the several yards that separated her from her opponent, rising up directly before Zarastel before she could cast another spell. Brigid’s hands leapt forward, pinning Zarastel’s hands and arms above her head in an unbreakable grip with one hand and pressing into the sides of Zarastel’s neck with the other. Zarastel opened her eyes in surprise, to glare back at Brigid, who said calmly “You, too, need to learn a lesson, that the blood of Amber is not to be trifled with, old and young,” but Zarastel’s eyes fluttered backwards under her eyelids before Brigid finished, and her head slumped forward. After several more seconds Brigid allowed Zarastel’s unconsciousness body to fall to the earth.

Brigid stood over Zarastel’s body as Fiona approached her. Now in Fiona’s eyes she could see an honest feeling of satisfaction and pride towards Brigid, and she smiled warmly to Fiona in thanks.

Fiona accepted Brigid’s thanks with a slow smile and nod of her head, then she turned and curtseyed politely to Star. “Empress Y’nastar, I do hope you are not too upset with our little ploy: I could not predict exactly what form of petty maliciousness or vengeance Soraya would take upon you. I do trust your honor has been satisfied?”

Brigid’s eyes widened. “Empress?” she thought.

Star inclined her head regally to Fiona. “It has, indeed,” she replied graciously. “My honor has been satisfied, and,” she continued, the merest hint of a grin flickering about her lips, “my standing in regards to the Queen’s has also been enhanced. My thanks to the Princess Fiona, and to her apprentice.”

“Apprentice no longer; indeed, she has been apprentice in appearance only. I name Brigid sorceress and enchantress in her own right.”

Brigid bowed low before her mentor in acknowledgment of the honor.

“Shall we go home to Amber now, Brigid?” asked Fiona as they walked back to the university.

“No, there is still more for me to learn here.”

Fiona smiled, and Brigid knew she had passed another of Fiona’s little tests. “As you wish. I shall see you in two weeks, then.” With that, she turned away and disappeared into the darkness, with only the slightest shimmer of light surrounding her departure. Brigid looked back towards Star and L’shaya, and Sinister, and thought that there definitely was more for her to learn about in the months ahead.


According to Brigid’s personal history, she got her Screen Extra’s Guild card when the was 16 (she was an emancipated minor by then) and appeared in a number of SF movies because she was a shapeshifter. She appeared in the background in several scenes in “Star Wars”, especially the Cantina scene, which is where she met Mark Hammil, and in several of the Star Trek movies.

She was also an avid comics fan when she was growing up, quite common as hers was a Shadow where superheroes were the norm. Given her powers, it was only logical that she would one day become a superhero herself.

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