- [thudding] - [footsteps running]
[AGOTT] It's mating season for the scalewolves.
To prevent injury to their coming offspring,
they use sharp bodily impact to shed their plaitscale fur.
Were they to forgo mating,
they wouldn't have to weaken themselves.
I sincerely believed
that there was nothing I could learn from her.
That Outsiders didn't belong here,
that they had nothing of value to offer the world of magic.
But...
if she can learn how all of it works,
just as the rest of us do,
how is she different?
[♪ opening theme song playing]
[pen scribbling]
[Coco gasps excitedly]
All right! I did it!
You most certainly did!
You've developed a reliable talent
for drawing your spells. Well done.
[COCO] I'm so happy!
But still...
There aren't many spells I'm fully confident
in my ability to draw.
I keep falling back on the seals I'm more comfortable with.
- [Coco sighs] - [brushbuddy squeaks]
[QIFREY] If you ask me,
those particular spells...
the ones you can complete easily and consistently,
are, in fact, your specialty.
[Coco gasps softly]
♪
I have a... specialty?
[QIFREY] Hm.
Take a look. See the common thread?
All of these spells include straight lines.
Look at the difference in confidence between
your curved lines and your straight ones.
Think back to the day we first met.
You were drawing straight lines then as well.
Every witch has their own specialty.
Identifying yours will give you confidence,
when you need to believe in yourself.
If you're uneasy, say it aloud.
Let your ears hear the words.
My specialty is straight lines.
They're what I can always draw.
It's true, isn't it?
Straight lines are my specialty!
From now on, I'll focus on straight lines!
Now onward on a straight line to success I go!
Now, now, not so fast, young lady!
[COCO] Huh?
Mastery of your specialty spells will come naturally.
The spells you'd do well to practice,
are the very ones that give you the most trouble.
In so doing, you may even find new specialties.
[Coco gasps softly]
[QIFREY] Ready to start?
[Coco chuckles nervously] Uh-huh.
[paper rustles]
[COCO] Incredible.
Casting Seals are more and more impressive to me.
[Coco gasps softly]
With everything I've learned about them,
the specifics of exactly how they work...
I can appreciate how hard they must have been to design.
[Coco exclaims]
- Incredible. Truly incredible! - [QIFREY] Uh?
Incredible magic drawn by incredible people!
Her vocabulary of praise
- is rather limited. - [Qifrey chuckles]
[COCO] This all feels incredibly beyond me.
Want to come look, Richeh?
- [RICHEH] No. - [brushbuddy squeaks]
I have no interest in looking.
I prefer to draw.
[COCO] Really? Are you sure?
- There's so much to learn! - [RICHEH] Very sure.
- It's incredible! - [RICHEH] And stop your swaying.
[Coco sighs]
There is more to the study of magic
than training your hands, you know.
- Much more. - [scribbling]
By turning our focus to the advanced spells of others,
we witches can effectively train our eyes to--
[RICHEH] I don't want to!
Richeh, are you hurt?
Let's see.
My dear girl,
you mustn't cast spells while agitated.
It's dangerous.
[Richeh grunts]
Wait. Richeh, hold on!
[OLRUGGIO] With eyes closed to the guideposts of learning
and ears plugged to the words of your teacher,
you've nowhere to go and no way to get there.
[Qifrey gasps softly]
- [door closes] - [running footsteps]
[Coco pants] Richeh!
I, um... I'm really sorry.
I didn't...
[COCO] Huh?
Richeh, are you...
in here?
[door closes]
Where could she have gone?
[brushbuddy squeaks]
What's wrong? Do you know where she is?
[brushbuddy huffs]
[yelps] What are you doing in there?
[Coco gasps, yelps]
[Coco exhales]
[COCO] Brushbuddy?
What is this place?
[Coco gasps softly]
- [wind blowing] - Huh?
[Coco gasps]
[gasps]
[exclaims excitedly]
[brushbuddy squeaks]
Don't recall inviting you here.
Oh, sorry. I followed brushbuddy.
What a beautiful spell this is!
It's like ribbons made out of crystal!
[chuckles]
[RICHEH] I made it myself. Haven't named it yet.
You made your very own spell?
Now that really is incredible!
It's beautiful, Richeh!
My eyes are so happy! [laughs]
[RICHEH] Unique perspective you've got there.
[Coco continues laughing]
I really... really love this spell.
[Coco laughs]
[Richeh gasps softly]
[RICHEH] You can take one if you want.
[Coco gasps]
[RICHEH] I have plenty.
What? Really? [chuckles]
Thank you!
I'm honored!
So, uh...
Can I ask something?
Why don't you want to look at spell books?
Maybe it's because I still have so much
to learn about magic.
But to me, it's a pleasure.
I adore it!
Imagining who invented the spells, and for what!
It's one of the best parts of magic for me.
Not for me.
I don't want to think about anyone's spells but mine.
I know what would happen if I looked at those books.
They'd start making me copy whatever was in them.
I'd have to draw things I didn't want to.
Spells that aren't my style.
I'd hate that.
Richeh.
It's nothing to do with you.
I just don't need other people's spells.
Not one bit. They'd only contaminate mine.
[QIFREY] You know,
Richeh only joined us here
after her apprenticeship to another witch
came to an untimely end.
That stubbornness of hers is a shield she hides behind.
Much like the thick fur that protects
the noble scalewolf.
I never know how hard to push.
[OLRUGGIO] The sad truth is...
people just aren't as simple as spells.
Speaking of...
Uh? What's this?
Stones?
Snugstones, to be precise.
My latest creation.
They're intended as a sleep aid.
Simply pop one under the covers
and you'll be warmed from tip to toe.
Might not offer more than comfort,
but pass them on to your apprentices.
Thank you, I will.
There's such kindness in your magic.
Far more than in your words.
Oi! This is purely for research, you got that?
Before I can start selling these things,
I need some data on how effective they are!
We needn't argue about it, surely.
[QIFREY] Uh?
- Olly... - [OLRUGGIO] Hm?
You miscounted. There are five of them.
[OLRUGGIO] Four for the girls.
And one more for you. That's five.
[Qifrey gasps]
Set a good example for them and get a good night's sleep.
You are a teacher, eh?
I shall try.
[clattering]
A letter. Who could it be from?
Hello. I've returned.
- [QIFREY] Agott. - [AGOTT] Uh?
Your timing couldn't be more convenient.
I've received word from the Great Hall.
The date for your second test
- has been set. - [gasps] When do we leave?
- [QIFREY] Three mornings hence. - [bird screeching]
At Cape Romonon, in Serpentback Cave.
♪
[RILIPHIN] Are you making ribbons from crystal?
[RICHEH] Uh?
What a charming spell, Richehlette.
I'm impressed.
- [Richeh grunts] - [Riliphin gasps]
[RICHEH] Huh.
Look at it, Rili.
Roly-poly sparkly. Pretty.
[RILIPHIN] Huh.
[Riliphin chuckles softly]
[RICHEH] Huh?
[Richeh sighs]
♪
What is it?
My dear Richeh,
your big brother loves when you express yourself
through your spells.
Never lose that.
Stay true to who you are.
[RICHEH] Rili?
Where are you going?
Do you not want to look at my spells anymore?
Don't go.
Rili!
[Richeh groans softly]
A dream.
[Agott groans] How could I have let myself fall asleep?
I'd resolved to dedicate every available moment
before the test to practicing!
These blasted Snugstones!
Curse them and their luxurious warmth!
- [OLRUGGIO] Yeah! - [all laugh]
[QIFREY] All is well, Agott.
Everyone always worries they haven't prepared enough.
It's natural.
Approach it as the person you are now...
In service to the person you'll be next time.
[Agott inhales]
[AGOTT] There won't be a next time.
I am of House Arklaum.
I will be passing this test on my first try.
[MAN] My! what a heartening pronouncement!
Different as night and day from this sad little failure.
My apprentice Euini has failed this test twice,
despite having only one chance a year.
A remarkable disappointment!
I'd trade the lad away without a thought
to have an Arklaum daughter under my wing!
[QIFREY] Master Kukrow...
Apprentices are human beings. Not possessions to be traded.
[KUKROW] But that would be preferable, no?
A faulty possession can be repaired.
How dare you speak like that!
[EUINI] Oh. It's fine, really.
After all, what he says is true.
I am a poor apprentice,
and I've caused Master Kukrow no end of trouble. So...
I apologize that my incompetence continues
to reflect so poorly on you, Master!
And furthermore,
please allow me to apologize in advance
- for my future incompetence! - [QIFREY] Are you all right?
[WOMAN] Sorry to have kept everyone waiting!
As it happens,
the closest Windowway has become unusable.
I had to walk all the way here.
Quite the imposition!
It's a giant brushbuddy! And it's talking to me!
[gasps softly]
Hate to disappoint, but look a bit more closely.
- She's a witch. - [COCO] What?
Aren't transformation spells forbidden?
[ALAIRA] A Mirror Cloak of Borrowshade.
A magical contraption that handily allows its wearer
to project the illusionary guise of a nearby beast.
A pleasure to meet you. I am Alaira.
And it will be my responsibility
to administer the second test here today.
You'll be the test proctor, then?
Pure coincidence!
I see you've brought the apprentices
who aren't testing today as well.
♪
The second test, the Sincerity of the Shield.
As the name suggests,
you become like a protective knight,
ensuring the safety of your target
as you escort them through the Serpentback Cave
from its entrance to its exit.
At no time may you lose sight of your charge.
If either of you reaches the cave exit alone,
you will have failed.
Furthermore, being seen casting a spell
will also constitute a failure.
[AGOTT] Does being seen casting a spell
pose some kind of danger?
[ALAIRA] Well, there's no risk of exposing
the secrets of magic, but you will fail nonetheless.
For you'll have exposed your humanity.
Shall we proceed?
Put on your cloaks and have a look.
[Coco gasps softly]
- [birds squawking] - [all gasp excitedly]
[COCO] Are those gryphons?
Close, but no, they're myrphons.
A species that lives near the water.
The Serpentback Cave, our test site,
is a ruin from a more tumultuous age.
A labyrinth spell pervades its caverns,
making it highly dangerous to stray from the path.
[squawking]
[AGOTT] So, the object of the second test
is to use our magic to protect them from magic?
That's the gist!
It's exceedingly rare for humans to enter the ruins.
But for ages now, the animals have been using them
as a route between their breeding grounds
and their winter nests.
We witches must take responsibility
for altering their environment.
And so, every year, when the young ones embark
on that journey for the first time,
we offer guidance and protection to keep them from going astray.
As long as you remain shrouded in those cloaks,
the myrphons will perceive you as one of their own.
But take care, for if you should remove them
or disrupt their seal, the myrphons will flee!
[AGOTT] So that's it.
Compared to drawing spells without being seen by humans,
this might actually be harder.
[ALAIRA] You'll each be in charge of a myrphon.
This one is yours, young man.
- And here's yours. - [squawking]
And this last one goes...
to you.
[squealing]
Richeh too?
[RICHEH] Sorry, there's been a mistake.
I'm not taking the test.
That certainly is confusing.
I was sure you applied.
[QIFREY] There's no mistake.
You'll be taking the test, Richeh.
It's true.
[Richeh gasps]
[wind blowing]
You liar.
Richeh.
I know you remember.
You said you'd always let me do what I wanted.
That was the reason
I came to you in the first place.
But in the end, you don't care what I want, either.
You're just another adult making rules.
[QIFREY] I care very much what you want.
That's why I'd like you to take this test.
Because I care.
I believe that what you will learn from it
will empower you to live the life you want to live.
So...
May I ask you for your trust this one time?
[Richeh sighs]
[Coco gasps]
[RICHEH] I'll take it, but I'm doing it the way I want.
[QIFREY] Hm.
Hm. Fine with me.
[RICHEH] If I try it and hate it,
I'll never do it again.
And if it makes me stop being me,
this will be the last time I ever trust a word you say!
[running footsteps]
[KUKROW] It appears you have a handful of your own.
I'm afraid fools like that have no hope of being corrected.
Nothing but complaints and excuses from them.
[sighs]
Honestly, it's all such a bother.
- Why can't children be more-- - [QIFREY] What was that?
Sorry. Could I trouble you to repeat yourself?
[Kukrow gasps]
Ah, but the hour grows late!
I must be making my way back to the Great Hall.
[Qifrey gasps]
You mean you're not staying for your apprentice's test?
[KUKROW] Huh? Surely you two have the situation well in hand.
Stop dilly-dallying and get to it!
Incredible! He really left!
Euini.
I'll do my best not to fail, I promise!
Yes. Good. I suppose.
The time is near.
[QIFREY] May they each elude the darkness,
and reach the end safely.
For that is why we have magic.
[birds screeching]
The migration has begun.
♪
All right, follow me.
[grunts softly]
♪
[TETIA] Off they go.
Now then, might I interest the two of you
in a late breakfast?
I could share a bit of history as well.
History?
[QIFREY] Yes.
You don't know terribly much about magical ruins
like the Serpentback Cave, do you?
[Agott panting]
[QIFREY] The effects of forbidden spells
drawn before the Day of the Pact...
[Agott gasps]
[QIFREY]...still linger across the world like scars.
What? This is the road we have to take.
As you said,
the goal is to use magic to protect against magic.
And so, my little magic knights,
show me how you'll traverse this path.
[♪ closing theme song playing]