Sunlight bathed the world in a clean white brilliance, dancing in icicles and across snowcapped branches. The crisp air stung the back of Phineas’s throat. His snowshoes provided the only noise in the forest. Everything was still, like the calm before the storm. He fished in one of the many pockets sewn into his fur coat until he found the spoon he had given to the boy.

The handle, once as plain and smooth as the snow around him, was now covered in rays arcing from a central circle. The symbol of the sun. Phineas absentmindedly rubbed his thumb over the ridges. He had only ever seen Bloodiron react with this symbol once before. There was no way this boy… no, best not to think of that now.

The woods around him began to thin as he approached the road into town. He dismissed the spoon as he stepped onto the bridge over the Keld. It melted back into a stream of metal that joined the rest of the band around his upper arm. The boy would need his own band. It was his right after all. Phineas wandered through town, buying a few empty sacks and fresh cloth for clothing. An apprentice needed to look the part. He recognized a young girl playing in the street; one of his old patients.

“Excuse me? Haley, was it? Do you know if Mistress Svinger is at the orphanage right now?”

“No sir, she’s that aways. Visiting Master Erikson ‘bout one of ‘er favourites.”

“Thank you my dear. Has your friends fever returned?”

“Nope.” Her mouth hung open a second longer, but she shook her head and went back to rolling a snowball.

“And you don’t need to worry about Quill. He slipped on a patch of ice while hunting, but I found him quick enough to treat him. He’s resting up at my cabin until he’s well enough to go home.”

Before the child had a chance to respond, Phineas was already moving through his daily routine. He spent some time checking in on a few of his more frequent customers; dried sage and lavender for Mr. Nichols’ headache and mint for Mrs. Solan’s stomach. Coriander for Farlah’s fever, henbane and hemlock for Lind’s sore ankle. The sun was nearing its zenith when he finally made his way to the orphanage. She’d probably be back by now.

Two stories of wood and stone stood tall against the backdrop of trees. The second floor was newer than the first, and it showed. Children of various ages danced through the snow, barely missing each other with snowballs. Phineas ducked as one sailed over his head. A quick chorus of apologies was followed by soft thuds as more children joined in. The inside of the building was better maintained, but the furniture left no guessing as to the financial situation of the orphanage. Tables that might not have a single original piece left. Chairs with cracked wood. A fireplace blackened with soot.

Phineas turned right, crossing through the dining room. Mistress Svinger’s door stood open, inviting his entrance. The difference was startling. The small office was heated with a Firestone of all things, proudly displayed on the wall next to a Waterstone presumably for summers. The cot to the the right could barely be called a cot with the number of sheets and furs on top of it. Phineas silently noted the almost completely hidden hatch underneath the bed. His eyes refocused on the desk to his left, and more importantly the woman sitting at it. Her build was slight, with iron-grey hair wrapped into a tight bun on the back of her head and small glasses sitting at the tip of her nose.

“What do you need?” asked a sharp, reedy voice.

Phineas paused, his hand hovering next to the doorframe as if to knock. “Well, I came to ask about one of your children, as well as to deliver a message.”

“Then speak man, I haven’t got all day.”

“The message first then. Quill sends that he is well, and should be returning soon.”

“And the question?”

“I would like to take him on as my apprentice. I have found his skills sufficient enough to warrant further training.”

“Hm. Why him? I have plenty of others who are more skilled in herbs. Surely you would want one of them.”

“Why I chose him is not your concern, Mistress. I am simply here to get the boy.”

“Then it shall be twenty silver for the papers. I will have them ready for you within two days.”

Phineas’s face betrayed none of the disgust he felt as he rummaged in his purse and pulled out four silver marks, each worth five silver coins. Mistress Svinger’s eyes flashed for a moment before she cleared her throat.

“I forgot the mailing fee, since a copy of the papers will of course need to be sent to the local governor. That will be another five silvers.”

This time Phineas’s face darkened. He pulled out three more silver marks.

“Then Madame, I hope you will accept this small donation, which I am sure will help the children,” he placed the coins down on the table with a bit more force than necessary, “immensely, as well as possibly speed up the time it takes those papers to be finished. I hope you have a good rest of the day, and Light bless you Madame.” He almost spat the last words out, and turned on his heel, leaving the woman salivating at the extra money.

Quill was miserable. It had been hours since Master Phineas had left to deliver his message. He had tried to get up, but the girl, Cinder, had forced him to stay in bed. It had been three days since he had last stood up, admittedly most of them were spent unconscious, but impatience kept him moving, switching positions to try and get more comfortable. The door of the cabin opened, letting in much needed fresh air. Phineas came in, pulling off his gloves.

“What do you know about Bloodiron?”

“Bloodiron? What about Haley, did you see her? How did the Mistress react?”

“We can discuss that later. What do you know about Bloodiron?”

“Only what the stories say. Why?”

A stream of what looked like liquid metal flowed down Phineas’s arm. It danced around his fingers with a delicate grace. It gleamed a dark grey in the sunlight, with flecks of bright red dappling the surface.

“This is Bloodiron. It’s from my own band, and I am giving it to you on loan. Your might eventually have a band of your own, but that comes later. For now, I want you to put this on. You’ll have to forgive me. I suspected you might have been worthy, so I tested you without your knowledge. If you would like to see the results for yourself, then here.”

The metal flowing around Phineas’ hand coalesced in his palm, slowly twisting into the shape of a small dagger. “Just hold this for a moment.”

Quill held out his hand hesitantly. “I thought Bloodiron was used by the Darkseekers and Dawnkeepers. It’s almost impossible to find.”

“Normally, yes,” Phineas put the hilt into his outstretched hand, “But when you retired from the order it becomes much easier to obtain.”

“What did you just say? You retired from the Darkseekers?”

Phineas barely paused at this, merely gersturing at Quill’s hands. “Take a look at that dagger. Do you see the hilt?”

What should have been smooth metal was now filled with rays bursting forth from a central circle. Quill rubbed his thumb over it in awe.

“How did that happen?”

“Bloodiron is a unique material, metal imbued with enough magic to nearly have a life of its own. And with that near-life comes an impossibly accurate intuition. The Sunburst is a very rare formation that shows up when very promising individuals first interact with a piece of Bloodiron.”

Phineas waved his hand over the dagger. It melted again into thin ribbons, this time flowing up Quill’s arm before settling into a band.

Phineas stood up. “From this point on, I will be taking you on as an apprentice. You will learn medicine with Cinder, but you will also work directly with me to master this band. Enjoy the rest of the past few days. It will not be like this for a very long time.”

“But what about-”

“I spoke with Mistress Svinger. It is being made official now.”

“That’s not what I was going to ask. I’m worried about Haley. If I’m apprenticed without her she’ll never let me live in peace.”

“Then I’ll talk to the Mistress again tomorrow, but I doubt this village will need three future apothecaries. For now, you’ll need rest, and time to get familiar with that band I gave you. Once you can feel its heartbeat we will start your training.”