The Apprentice, Volume 1

By Christine Griggs

What do you think of when somebody says the word Wizard? Perhaps an ancient, wizened old man, with a long white beard. Maybe the image is of a handsome youth with great power and bravery, righting the wrongs of the world. Some wizards are sinister villains, using their magic for debauchery and evil. No matter what, wizards are men who symbolize power, knowledge and mystery.
This story is about a wizard, but not the type you might envision. Apprentice Wizard Dorian is everything a wizard should be: brave, powerful, intelligent. There’s only one problem. He is actually a she.

Collects The Apprentice Issues 1-4.
Illustrated by Alysia Robinette, Stacie Arellano & Nick Katzfey.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Eccentric Tomato
• Release date: Sep 17, 2014
• ISBN: 9781310896323

Christine Griggs

Christine is the lead writer for Eccentric Tomato, the e-publishing imprint of Kumate Works Studio. She specializes in writing illustrated fantasy fiction through pulp-fiction style short stories, novellas and comic books. Proven unable to draw anything other than unsophisticated stick figures, she primarily works with artists Alysia Robinette and Melinda Nelson as Kumate Works, who bring her stories to life through their illustrations. For additional projects, she will also call upon her many artistic colleagues. Her print work has been well received at various anime and comic conventions.When not writing or cracking a whip at her artists, Christine pays her bills by working as an administrative assistant. In her spare time, she also enjoys traveling, reading, spending time her boyfriend, playing with her cat, watching Star Trek and cooking tasty things.

Book preview

The Apprentice, Volume 1

Christine Griggs

Copyright Christine Griggs 2014

Published by Eccentric Tomato at Smashwords

Collects The Apprentice Issues 1-4

Illustrated by Alysia Robinette, Stacie Arellano & Nick Katzfey

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Table Of Contents

Dorian the Beardless

Homecoming

Rogue Healer

Attack of the What???

Stupid Wizard Rules

Dorian’s Magical Journal

About the Author and Illustrators

The original wraparound cover painting for the print volume. Alysia Robinette

Issue 1 Cover, Alysia Robinette

Dorian the Beardless

Girls aren’t allowed to be Wizards. That’s the law. In fact, any female caught studying magic beyond the healing arts could be put to death. Then how did I manage to get an apprenticeship to one of the greatest wizards of my parent’s time? Simple. My uncle is Alvar the Indirectly Prolific, Chief of Wizards. He first noticed my gift when I was a kid, about four years old. During a family reunion, one of my brothers pulled on my pigtail and magically ended up in a tree. The following year Uncle Alvar showed up on our doorstep and laid claim to me. With 11 children, my parents didn’t mind letting me go. I vaguely remember the day he brought me to my master, Sandar the 45th Genius Wizard-Smith.

Now, Doreen, he says to me, after cutting off my long red hair and dressing me in boy’s clothing. You aren’t a girl anymore. Remember that.

Why? I asked. I was at that phase where I always asked why.

Because girls aren’t supposed to be wizards. He informed me. But you are going to be the most powerful wizard of all time. And my successor. So you can’t be a girl anymore. Now you are a boy. Your new name is Dorian. And you are going to study with my dear friend Sandar.

Funny, I didn’t feel like a boy. Why? I asked again.

Wizards can’t teach their kin. Uncle Alvar was patience itself. But don’t worry, Sandar is very great and wise and will teach you well.

So my apprenticeship started. Sandar was indeed wise and powerful and great. He was also a million years old and a touch senile. I suppose that’s a good thing, considering it appears to have kept him from noticing that his student was lacking in some areas and expanding quickly in others. He tended to exist mostly in the past, often calling me by the names of his previous students. Fortunately, despite this, his skills never diminished even though the rest of his mind was fading. I’m also a quick study and love to read, so my own skills grew fast. Before my sixteenth year, Sandar declared me fit to end my apprenticeship. As soon as my beard grew.

That’s one of many stupid wizard rules. An apprentice can’t graduate to full wizardhood until their beard grows to one inch. They are made to shave if they don’t measure up. What that has to do with the price of bread, I have no idea. But those are the rules and naturally this presented a problem for Uncle Alvar. He still intended for me to succeed him. Personally, I would rather just remain an apprentice.

Master wizards get posted to courts, serving kings and nobles and the like. There’s cushy money to be made, but your beard has to be at least half grey to gain master level. At that point you also get a title, and each title is completely unique. After a thousand years of master wizards, you can tell they are running out of titles. Still, the title is what really makes the higher ups gravitate to the masters. Other wizards find work in villages. The work is hard; the pay sucks and you have to put up with snotty aristocrats. Of course, masters have to put up with them too, but at least they are paid well for it. Apprentices, however, live off their masters, work odd jobs for extra cash and they don’t have to deal with the stupid people in charge. Senior apprentices waiting for their beards, like me, get to go out on the really dangerous assignments their masters didn’t want to bother with or are too chicken to take on. That was the part I really liked, running around, having adventures and performing feats. Uncle Alvar was determined though and I spent a long time wondering how he intended to get around the small detail of my beard. On my sixteenth birthday I found out. Uncle Alvar showed up to celebrate and brought me a present.

It’s a potion. He declared proudly handing me a bottle. It’ll make your beard grow, boy. So you can become a man, and a fine wizard. I pulled the cap off the bottle and sniffed. My eyes watered in self-defense. It smelled like he took rotten garbage, cheap perfume and asafetida and boiled it in rancid fish oil. If it didn’t put hair on my face, it certainly would put it on my chest, or peel the paper off the walls.

Thanks Uncle, but no thanks. I recapped the bottle quickly. I’d rather just stay as I am.

Why? Uncle Alvar looked disgruntled. If you want to become the greatest head wizard of all time… I knew this old speech by now. He spouted it whenever he felt disappointed with me; for instance, when my chest started coming in, or my voice refused to deepen or my moon phases started. Not wanting to hear it, I turned and left the room.

Where are you going? he demanded, outraged.

Master Sandar will want his tea soon. I informed him.

Uncle Alvar drew himself up to his full height of five feet, four inches. YOU WILL NOT TURN YOUR BACK ON ME! he bellowed. I am the head of this order, Alvar the Indirectly Prolific, most powerful of all Wizards! I could destroy you in an instant.

Yeah, yeah. I said over my shoulder, waving on my way out. I stood in at 5’8 and His Shortness" didn’t intimidate me. Besides, if he hurt me, Mother would have a few choice words for him, perhaps more. There are very few people the Chief Wizard fears, but my mother topped the list and we both knew it. I prepared tea and brought it into Sandar’s study. Alvar joined him, looking annoyed.

Thank you, Ferdinand. Sandar’s ancient voice greeted me. Despite his decrepitness, I was fond of Sandar. He treated me kindly, made sure I had enough to eat, a little extra spending cash and a comfortable place to sleep. Also, while he worked well in the familiar surroundings of his tower, fieldwork was definitely out of the question, so I got all those assignments. In exchange, I tried to take care of him as best I could. He seemed to appreciate it and basically let me do as I pleased in exchange.

The gong sounded, announcing a visitor. I left my master and my Uncle and answered the door, like a good apprentice. Who should be there, but my master’s boss, Lord Duke Kovar. He owned a great big castle and controlled the nearby town of Westeria. The wood where our tower stood was on