Beautiful fanart by LunaTiel! Thank you for your support on my book, my friend.

Song: "Katolis Sunrise/Everywhere You Look"  from The Dragon Prince Season 3 OST

Do you remember the day I started writing to you, Mother? It was on a cold autumn morning. You gave me a journal for my fifth birthday in Novembre and told me you wished for me to write everything I experienced in it, because my life was a great story and you wanted to read every moment of it. You propped my small body up on the big chair in the kitchen, and the paper and ink emitted a homey fragrance as I wrote about how much I loved you. I have not stopped writing since.

❂❂❂

On a cold, misty morning, a pair of horses trotted along the path between the Montañas Brumoses to the western edge of the Etherian supercontinent. They dragged a wagon behind them, the canvas shielding the people inside from the rain but not much else as it persisted down the rugged road. Quiet was the dripping of condensed mist against the fabric, a rhythmic white-noise that kept two of the three of its inhabitants fast asleep.

Micah huddled in the wagon, shivering from the chilly weather. Feeling hadn't left his hands, but his breath whispered out in puffs every time he exhaled the cool air. Not only was the elevation higher, but the further his family traveled from their desert home in Tropicilas, the colder the air grew. Cheer up. You'll only have to deal with this for a whole school year - might as well get used to it.

He gave up on falling back asleep and stole a peek at their surroundings outside. The grass was no longer blue, but a deep shade of spring-green. He grinned and laughed, then tightened his cheap, threadbare jacket around his thin frame. "We're here, Mom!"

She yawned and rubbed her eyes, carrying motherly grace as she rose from her cot, her dress sleeve slipping off one shoulder. Homey beauty rested in her gentle eyes as she smoothed her unruly black hair - hair that their whole family took pride in. Swooping up his two-year-old sister Castaspella in her arms, she smiled. "Alright. There should be someone at the gorge who will help the protection spell recognize you."

As the carriage stopped, Micah grabbed his mother in a hug, breathing in the ocean for what would be the last time in nine months. "I love you, Mom." He scooped his sister up and kissed both of her chubby cheeks. "I'll miss you too."

She sighed, taking the toddler again. "Head out. Dad's waiting with your things."

Micah nodded, jumping outside the wagon and onto the ground. As he took the bag that contained a single change of clothes, slinging it over his shoulder, his father gripped his shoulders. "Micah, when you return, you'll be a sorcerer. You understand that?"

Micah's heart leaped when he thought of exploring Mystacor's life - his mom had awesome tales of what Arxia Academy was like - but he wasn't keen on sitting in a chair for eight hours a day listening to stuffy old people drone on about things he didn't understand. But he inhaled and nodded. I do want to be a sorcerer. I'm sure it'll be fine. I'm not a dumb kid.

Abraham looked into Micah's matching dark eyes. "Don't be a bad student. I know a classroom is a new thing for you, but your mother was able to manage sorcery. You will be too. Don't make your teachers wish they hadn't taken their jobs."

Micah wanted to protest that his mother had grown up in the rich Dellaneve city of the Kingdom of Snows—not the poorest class of Tropicilas—but he held his tongue and nodded again. "I'll try."

His father held him, the same strong arms that hauled nets of fish from the Eastern Ocean now clasping his son in a bond of love. "Goodbye, son. Don't disappoint us."

Micah gripped his things as his father got in the wagon and his mother took the lead on the horses. "I won't," he said in a small voice.

✧✧✧

"Hello. Why're you just standing there?"

Micah jumped, spinning around. The speaker, a tall girl with milky white skin and pointed ears, held several large book bags. Did she just...appear right next to me? Micah bit his lip. "I was...trying to figure out how to get the protection spell to recognize me."

"Recognize you? Are you a first-year?"

"I...yes," Micah said, scratching behind his ears. The girl was several years older than him, and her expression was hard to read due to the veil covering her nose and mouth. Her long brown hair blew in the misty wind. "How?"

She grabbed his hand, shoving one of her heavy bags in the other. "Jump!" she called, then pulled them both over the edge.

Micah gripped her for dear life as his stomach moved into his throat. "What're you doing?" he screamed.

"Let me go, or we'll have a hard fall!" she shouted back.

No sooner had she spoken than he'd crashed on his face in a knoll of grass. Groaning at the blunt pain, he staggered to his feet. "What the—"

The girl smoothed her skirts and adjusted her glasses. "My bag, please."

Micah passed it back to her, hotness coming to his cheeks. The dewy grass beneath his feet was the same pale spring-green as the plants around the mountains. It's pretty. But so small. He plucked a small purple flower from the knoll. "Is this...Mystacor?"

She snorted. "No. This is how we get to Mystacor. The kingdom's enchanted by invisibility and protection spells, but we can bypass it on this transport."

The hunk of rock they were standing on rumbled to life, bringing them through the misty air at a leisurely pace through the pink morning sky. Mist caressed their bodies, and Micah smiled at the cool sensation. "What's your name?"

"Asteria, daughter of Absalon of Bel Delvala," she said primly. "Yours?"

He tilted his head. "Micah...?"

"You don't have parents? Or know where they came from?"

"Oh. Right." He cleared his throat—full names were seldom used back home. "Lady Asteria, I am Micah, son of Abraham of Tropicilas. Better?"

"Only somewhat," Asteria said, gazing ahead solemnly. Micah's eyes passed to the edges of the kingdom as they entered the invisibility spell. Colorful Western designs bedecked the large marble buildings of Arxia Academy, the quaint cottages of the townsfolk of the capital shadowed by the rising daylight moons. And above it all, massive gaia trees provided shade to the island, their golden apples high above on their lofty branches.

Sorcerers walked along the road, some with staffs and others with magical lanterns or charms. Micah could barely speak at the beauty of the island. That's so cool. Wonder when I'll learn to use those.

As soon as he stepped onto the pale green grass of the floating island, someone tightly hugged him from behind. "Oh—my—gosh!" she screamed. "NEW STUDENT!"

Micah grinned. "Nice..." he gasped. "Nice to meet you. Who are you?"

"Ver, my child, let go of the student," a satyr woman chided from in front of Micah.

The girl did as she asked and danced around him, dark face grinning. "You're so cute!" she screamed. "This is the best day ever!"

"You say that about every day, silly," Asteria said, letting the little satyr hug her. "This is Veritas. Micah, we're going to find our teacher. Today's a big day for her, and we'll kind of catch it if we don't."

Micah nodded. "Can I come with you?"

Ver shook Asteria's shoulders. "Yes! Light Spinner will love him!"

Light Spinner? That's a nice name. Micah's face lit up, but Asteria shook her head. "She's under a lot of stress right now, Ver. I wouldn't have even suggested we go, except she asked us to." A sigh. "And asking for her is actually commanding," she added in a mutter.

"Why can't I come?" Micah asked. "Veritas seems to like her."

"Ver likes everyone, unfortunately," Asteria said. "We'll catch up to you later, Micah. I think we're in the Phoenix Dorm together."

She skipped away hand-in-hand with Veritas toward a woman who stood alone in an orchard nearby. Her tall stature glowed faintly, and she wore a dark blue dress with a white sheer cape. Her gaze passed over her shoulder toward the girls, revealing pointed ears and a veil. Ah. She's Delvalian, too.

But before he could follow them, Ver's mother placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm Arvina," she said. "I'm one of the members of the Guild of Sorcerers—those are the governors of Mystacor. I'll help you find your dorm, and later we'll go to the coronation."

Micah nodded, walking away from the girls conversing with the strange woman in the orchard. Power, perhaps, was what he felt. Magic hummed around her, something he'd sensed his entire life. But there was something else about her. Something more mysterious.

✧✧✧

Light Spinner stood alone in the grove of trees, adjusting her gown and veil as she finished off a golden apple, the purple juice staining her mouth - though no one would notice. Ten years of studying finally paid off, and she would be crowned today as the youngest member of the Guild of Sorcerers in over five centuries.

She gripped the book she'd been reading. Her mind was torn between dwelling anxiously on today's events and sinking into a network of ideas about runestone magic, but Veritas' excited shout resounded from behind her, jolting her back into the real world. "Light Spinner!"

She'd barely turned around before the satyr barreled into her waist, wrapping her arms around her teacher's tall frame. Light Spinner smiled from behind her veil as Asteria curtsied. "Thank you both for coming here."

"Of course!" Veritas said. "Why wouldn't we?"

Light Spinner pried the satyr's arms off; she liked Ver, but surprise hugs from anyone were unwelcome. She clasped her hands together. Many reasons, Ver. "How are you two?"

"We're fine," Asteria said. "But I just got here, and I have to drop off my things at the Phoenix Dorm. You probably have to get ready too. Come on, Ver."

"But I want to stay!"

"Too bad. I need help." Asteria dragged Veritas out of the orchard, and Light Spinner sighed, clenching her fists. She focused on what lay ahead: a thicket of trees and flowers, a place for lovers to talk. This is a happy day. You'll be able to use your wisdom and magic, and you can make a difference with it. Mother will be proud.

Will be. The words stuck in her mind like sap. She could pretend Mother was in the crowd that night. Pretending was her life at this point, easy as speaking properly or studying into the wee hours of the morning. She inhaled, drawing a spell in midair, the golden mandala yielding an illusion that she longed to be a reality. A woman with long, wavy blonde hair and green eyes. A woman whose kindness shone out from every action of hers.

Light Spinner's voice wouldn't work. I am a queen of Mystacor. I am a Guild member. Mother would be so proud.

But emptiness still lay in her heart.

❂❂❂

Did you know....

● This book is the first in a canon-compliant trilogy about Micah and Light Spinner. It started out as simple writing practice, then evolved into a fix-it fic series since Season 5, in my view, was very much lacking when it came to them specifically.

● Light Spinner is my favorite character in She-Ra, especially in the first half of the show. She's also the most hated character next to Horde Prime.

● This book expands upon my favorite episode in the series, Light Spinner, which details her backstory. As such, during the scenes I've novelized from the show, I will show the scenes I used in the chapters they correspond to.

Tell me what you think...

● Have you seen either She-Ra series? If so, who's your favorite character? If you've seen both, which do you like better?

● What did you think of Light Spinner when Season 2 came out?