What a shitty day to be alive. Rae rolled out of bed and stretched before looking at the alarm clock on her nightstand. 6:00 AM. Some people might not think that’s too bad, but for Rae, it was miserable. She had never been a morning person. She probably never would be. But for the time being, this was her reality. She flicked her wrist and pushed the button down with a touch of magic, silencing the annoying ringing of the alarm bells. 

Rae stood up, walked over to her vanity, and threw a light orb in the center of the room. Ugh. She had horrible bags under her eyes. It had been a long night because she was so anxious about today. It was her placement exams. Today would mark the beginning of her life after high school. Would decide if she was going to go directly into the workforce or if she was going to one of the numerous magical academies spread throughout the world. If she was lucky, she’d place into one of the cheaper academies. Her parents should be able to swing it.

Rae had always felt magic flowing through her. If it wasn’t for the limiter on her wrist that everyone had to wear until their placement exams, she felt as though it might overwhelm her. She was excited to take it off, but she was worried, too. She knew magic could do powerful things. Powerful, awful things. For certain things like light orbs or wiping the bags out from under her eyes, it was wonderful. But she had seen the dangers of it first hand. She had once been caught downtown in a flash riot. Giant beasts of different elements had flown through the sky and torn buildings apart all around her. If not for her dad, she likely would have wound up dead. Plenty of people died in that riot. It had led to a harsh crackdown on a local sect of witches that wound up in even more dead. Magic was dangerous. But it was beautiful, too.

Rae ran her fingers over the bags under her forest green eyes as they disappeared before flicking her wrists and pulling various makeup applicators out of their cases around the vanity. She sat down as the tools went to work applying her makeup, fighting the urge to fall back asleep. Today was going to be long. She wished there was a spell that would get rid of sleepiness. At least a spell she could do. Waking spells required more power than a limiter would allow. It capped everyone’s magic at twenty cells of unfocused magic. Some people would never go higher than that, even without the limiter. Others could go up to 100 cells. Rae’s dad had 91 cells of primarily elemental magic. It made him one of the most powerful witches in the city and earned him a high-ranking position in local law enforcement.

As the makeup finished applying itself, a knock came at the door. “Just making sure you’re awake, honey,” a voice came from the hallway.

“Yeah, mom. I’m up,” Rae replied through a yawn. “Can you make me some waffles? And coffee. Lots of coffee.”

“Of course, honey. Make sure you’re ready for today before coming down. Your dad’s going to be ready to take you to the academy in thirty minutes.” Rae heard her mom shuffling down the hall toward the kitchen. She looked in the mirror and noticed how dolled up she looked. She hated it. Why had she decided to put makeup on? She never wore makeup. And if today was the first day of the rest of her life, she should be herself. She wiped her hand over her face and extracted all the makeup into a small ball in her palm. She tossed it in the waste bin next to her vanity and went to the bathroom.

Once she was done, Rae walked into her closet to find clothes to wear. She slid into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt with her favorite band, The Cocoas, on it. She looked in the mirror and whipped her hand. Her long blonde waves wrapped themselves up into a messy bun behind her head, and a band appeared around it. Her eyes looked too big for her face, but she had grown used to them over the last couple of years.  She used to wear glasses that framed them nicely until her parents paid for an alteration specialist to fix her vision to be slightly better than what was considered perfect. Now she felt like she almost looked like an alien. People often told her she was pretty, so she didn’t worry too much about it.

She walked out of the closet, grabbed her zip-up jacket off the back of her desk chair, and walked out into the hallway as she slipped it on. She walked down the stairs to find her mom placing two waffles on the table with the syrup bottle and a cup of coffee waiting for her.

“Thanks, mom,” Rae said as she plopped into the chair and grabbed the mug. She took a sip of it and felt herself melt into her chair. This shit was better than Moondeer. Her mom was an alchemist. This made her exceptionally talented at making her own coffee from raw ingredients and just a smidge of magic. Rae immediately felt her sleepiness drift away. She knew it was only a temporary reprieve, but gods, was it a welcome one. She slathered her waffles in syrup and began eating.

“Are you nervous, Rae?” her mom asked. “It’s okay if you are. I was nervous for my exams.”

“A little bit,” Rae lied. She was more than a little nervous. “What if I don’t score as high as you and dad?” Rae’s mom was an 87, just shy of her dad. Her specialty was illusion magic. She worked as a therapist at a local firm. Her illusions helped people face their fears in a safe environment. Rae always thought her mom got a sick little kick from conjuring people’s fears, but she never questioned it. She had only used her illusions on Rae a few times, and it was always a pleasant experience when she had.

“I’m sure you’ll do great, sweetheart. You’re always using magic as if it’s an extension of yourself. It’s in your blood. Even if you don’t score as high as your father or me, you’ll do great. And who knows, maybe you’ll be one of the rarer specialties. I’ve always wanted a technomancer in the family.” Technomancers were the rarest specialty in magic. In ancient times they were mislabeled as materialists, able to manipulate tools to do their will, like catapults launching significantly farther than engineered. As technology advanced, it became more obvious that they could manipulate technology of all types. They’re the most well-paid specialty of all, able to do research and development for tech companies at an unrivaled pace. Rae was always amazed by the advancement of telecommunications. The telegram became cell phones in ten years, and now it was just an optical chip implanted behind the ear.

“Yeah, I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Rae lied again. She wasn’t sure of anything. What if she ended up being a mundane? Low-level witch with no notable power to speak of. Gods, what if she scored less than thirty cells? She’d be limited to nothing generalist spells and have to get a real job. Fast food cook or cashier at a grocery store—just a regular person. Rae shuddered at the thought. Her parents did such fantastical things. She had to score well. She just had to.

“Hey, Rae. You almost ready to get going?” her dad asked as he walked into the room. He wore his usual suit and tie with his detective badge attached to his belt. He was a part of a special task force that investigated the illegal usage of magic. 

“Yeah, I just finished breakfast. You wanting to eat before we go? We’ve got plenty of time.” Rae took another sip of her coffee. She wanted to stall as long as she could. She wanted to just stay home all day. She knew that wasn’t an option, though.

“I ate before you got up. You know me, early riser,” he replied. He grabbed a cup of coffee from Rae’s mom and downed it in one before heading toward the door. “Let’s go; I need to report early today. The academy should already be open, so you won’t have to wait outside.”

Rae rose from the chair and followed her dad out, stopping to hug her mom before leaving. They walked into the garage and climbed into the car. Rae’s dad whipped his hand, and the engine roared to life. Most people preferred silent cars, especially now that cars ran purely on magic. Rae’s dad was not one of those people. He preferred to hear what he called muscle in his cars. The three they owned sounded like jet engines when they were started up. Rae’s mom hated it, but she had long since given up that fight. She did most of her work from the house in her office, so she rarely had to use the cars herself anyways. When she did, she used a muffling charm to at least quiet it down for her.

As they pulled out of the garage, Rae turned her cellular chip on. A screen appeared in front of her that only she could see. She navigated to Elysium, the biggest social media application in the world. The newsfeed was alive with talk of the placement exams. People were posting pictures of them already at their desks, some at local churches and others at the academy. Rae had wanted to take the exam at the local church of Hecate, but her dad wouldn’t hear any of that. You’re going to be attending the academy, he said. You may as well test there.

Rae wasn’t sure if she’d be able to go to Pious Academy. It was the most prestigious academy in the world, located in the world’s capital city of Thorton, Rae’s home. The city was named after the god Thor and housed the central government that oversaw the planet. She would probably go to one of the smaller academies in some of the other states. And she was okay with that. Her mom had gone to Nebula Academy out in Acai. Rae always thought that would be a beautiful place to visit and go to school.

She continued through her newsfeed while being bombarded with anxious posts full of nervous banter or excited messages full of confidence. She checked her texts and had already received a few messages from her friends saying they had reserved her a desk near them. A small comfort in the face of what she was about to do.

“You nervous, Rae?” Rae’s dad asked.

“Yeah,” Rae said quietly. She turned her cellular chip off and looked at her dad. “Were you nervous for your test?”

“Of course, sweetheart. It’s a terrifying thought—one test to decide the rest of your life. A lot of people contest the results and retake the exam, but the scores are always the same. And to think your life hangs on the precipice of greatness based on what kind of numbers you put up. It’s terrifying to think about. But what you have to remember is that your mother and I love you no matter what. We’re here for you. If you become a taxi driver, a professional ball player, or even a detective like your old man. We love you no matter what you do. And we’re proud of the person that you are, not the magic you hold.”

Rae was silent. She looked out the window and watched as the sun started to rise over the cityscape they were driving towards. She knew her parents loved her. But what if she wound up just being a disappointment? The rest of the ride was silent as Rae leaned against the window. She was lost in her own head, and it just made her more nervous.

After about twenty minutes, they pulled up to the academy’s front gates. “Alright, Rae. We’re here. Good luck. You won’t need it, but I’ll wish for it anyways. You’re going to do great.”

“Thanks, Dad. Love you.”

“Love you, too, baby girl.” Rae got out of the car and shut the door behind her. The sun was up enough now that the street lights around the gate were off. It was still a little dim but lit enough that Rae could clearly see her way. 

The gates were huge wrought iron with intricate designs woven into the tops of them. Iron depictions of the Triad of major gods. Different sects of more minor gods splattered around throughout history, but the core three remained the same. Hecate, Thor, and Ra.

Of the Triad, Hecate was the goddess of magic. The goddess of everything Rae held dear. It was said that she made the determination for each person’s magical prowess when they were born. It was her that Rae prayed to every day in the hopes of becoming a powerful witch. And if someone was low-born or powerless altogether, it’s said that someone in their ancestry angered Hecate and they were being punished.

Beside the gates was a tall brick wall that wrapped the entire campus. Rae knew that the wall was enchanted to prevent anything from passing over or under it. Anything that tried would be instantly vaporized. It resulted in a lot of lost frisbees and dead birds, but it was for the safety of those who attended the academy. The only way in was the gate, which was impenetrable if the gate was closed. There was no safer place on the planet.

Rae passed through the gates and saw the giant marble buildings that littered the campus to the side of the path that led straight from the gates. The buildings were ancient, preserved by magic, and looked every bit as impressive as one might imagine from the most prestigious school in the world. Most of the buildings were only a few stories tall, with the occasional exception, and had large pillars along the front entrances. Each building had a large rounded staircase that led up to the front double doors, and they were all identical except for the large signs at the top of each entry. All of the buildings at Pious Academy were named after defunct gods. Deities worshipped by past civilizations that nobody truly believed in anymore. She was looking for the Odin building. Rae had already done a campus tour last year, so she knew where she was going.

She arrived at the building with the golden plate above the large double doors that read Odin. In his primary mythos, he was equal to Ra in power and the father of Thor. There had been exceedingly more proof that the Triad existed than Odin, though, and he fell out of favor over a thousand years ago. She stepped up the marble steps and through the cracked doorway. Inside was a gilded hallway with checkered floors. A rich red carpet was down the center of the hallway. Torches lit the way down to the back of the building, where a staircase to the second floor was. There were at least a dozen doors off of the hallway that led to classrooms, offices, and other rooms that the academy used for various purposes. 

The first three classrooms to the left were being used for the placement exams today. Rae’s friends had saved her a seat in the second classroom. She made her way to the classroom and could feel the magic buzzing from within. As she entered, the front desk caught her eye. There were a couple of dozen testing kits sitting on the front desk. Powerful artifacts created by the Department of Magical Examinations that would tell a user what their magical status was. One of those little devices would determine the rest of her life.

“Hey, Rae, over here!”