Chapter 51 - A Master's Joy

Following the sumptuous five-course celebratory feast held by the gracious Emberhart family in honor of Eric's monumental induction as Seraphina's sole official magical apprentice, one of the humble household servants respectfully escorted the visiting guest of honor away from the grand candlelit banquet hall.

He led her through a maze of torch-lit corridors adorned with finery at every turn until at last, they arrived before the towering gilded doors of the lavishly furnished guest bedchamber that had been meticulously prepared ahead of time for Seraphina's personal occupancy throughout the duration of this long-term stay.

After politely holding the door for the sorceress, the servant bowed deeply and took his leave. Now safely enclosed alone within the grandiose suite, Seraphina immediately raised a slender hand to subtly gesture, channeling will to magically activate the interior locks with an audible series of clicks for privacy.

She then proceeded to gracefully glide across the ornate Myrian rug and heavy velvet drapes in order to securely close the curtains across each of the suite's towering stained-glass windows, denying any outside eyes from peering within.

Lastly, Seraphina channeled additional tendrils of power into weaving an intricate soundproofing ward - a nearly impermeable magical barrier preventing any manner of noise within the boundaries from escaping. Only once thoroughly satisfied through cautious examination that complete secrecy had been secured did the strictly disciplined scholarly mien at last fall away from Seraphina's elegant features.

In its place swiftly blossomed a truly euphoric grin as she began gleefully dancing and twirling about the plush carpets with sheer uncontained girlish delight, no longer forced by etiquette to keep her profound emotions neatly bottled away.

"I have finally acquired a true worthy apprentice after so many disappointing fruitless years of seeking in vain!" she exclaimed loudly to the empty sound-sealed guest suite, laughing while whirling with unfettered excitement.

"Young master Emberhart has demonstrated arcane knowledge already vastly outstripping apprentices twice or thrice his tender age, coupled with such raw yet nuanced talent unlike anything I have surveyed over decades," Seraphina continued gushing enthusiastically to no one but herself, "and his scholarly temperament is mercifully complemented by genuine humility completely contrary to my cynical prior assumptions about pampered youths born so high!"

Nearly breathless from the sheer exhilaration of possibilities and potential racing through her thoughts regarding mentoring Eric, she, at last, collapsed atop the plush silk sheets of the luxurious canopy bed, staring up at the elegantly embroidered velvet drapes above while grinning broadly, ear to ear.

"Just imagine the untold heights we shall reach side by side, as master and disciple traveling the arcane path together, once I begin bequeathing him the full treasury of my most coveted spells and esoteric secrets gathered over centuries of tireless occult research!" she whispered aloud, barely containing her excitement.

For nearly countless years now stretching back to when she first departed her own tranquil isolated homeland, sailing across oceans in pursuit of locating one worthy student to train up in the way she herself was mentored ages ago, Seraphina had reluctantly employed her estimable talents by providing tutelage to the ungifted broods of royal and noble houses scattered throughout the mainland kingdoms.

This was done while fruitlessly maintaining hope of at last discovering that one fabled student of unique brilliance and dedication, whose destined coming to stand loyally at her side as life-long apprentice was allegedly foretold in obscure fragments of prophecy she doggedly clung to when faith flagged.

Yet all promising youths evaluated over the long lonely decades had unfortunately proven lacking in some critical way, possessing deficits of mind, body, or spirit beyond her power to correct, for all her vaunted reputation and centuries of accumulated insight.

Some students entirely lacked any natural magical aptitude from birth, rendering further instruction a pointless endeavor. Others when faced with the true rigor and sacrifice intrinsic to ascending beyond basic spellcasting competence quickly grew petulant, entitled, or devoid of the hunger to push limits and unravel mysteries required to attain true mastery.

Once or perhaps twice per century, Seraphina had come across an initially promising child prodigy, yet even these rare talents fell short of her dream in the end. Over decades of compounding disappointment, she had slowly resigned herself to the likelihood that perhaps she may never locate the specific destined student whose fabled coming was foretold. A discouraging notion that utterly disheartened her, until now.

For in kind humble Eric Emberhart, barely eight years of age but already exhibiting wisdom, discipline, and mystical potential far beyond his tender years, her flickering hopes of fulfilling destiny had been renewed utterly. In her weary soul, she was already certain beyond shred of doubt that this demure boy marked by fate was indeed the prodigal apprentice she had tirelessly sought across seas and generations. At long last, their intertwined fates were bound.

But for now, after enduring so many harsh bitter seasons of stoic perseverance in pursuit of her dream, Seraphina simply needed this one night to fully release her towering elation without regard for propriety or keeping emotions bottled safely away. She laughed, cried, and screamed her profound joy to the heavens themselves, caring not who heard. Starting on the morrow, their epic journey would begin in earnest. And she knew its glory would irrevocably reshape the destinies of master and apprentice both...