<em>It was two weeks until her fifth birthday, and Áinfean was out playing. She didn’t notice the small dust devil following her. It was about a foot high and was colored a grassy green. Her father noticed it, however, and called for the Academy.<br/><br/>Áinfean was watched by the men from the Academy until the dust devil formed again, then she was put onto a horse with a man who told her she was special. The man told her parents they could come visit her once her training was finished, and they could write her any time they pleased. <br/><br/>Her mother was crying, and her father was looking at her sternly. Áinfean realized then, her mother wasn’t crying because their only child was being taken away. She was crying because of the shame she felt at having birthed a mage. Áinfean looked away from her parents to the road ahead, and she didn’t look back.</em><br/><br/>Áinfean woke with a start. The dream plagued her every year about this time, but she was used to it now. She never had heard from her parents, nor had she tried to contact them. If they wanted no daughter, they had no daughter. Áinfean looked out the window. Sunrise.<br/><br/>She dressed quickly and walked to the local tavern. Perhaps there would be good news today. It was the meeting of the village’s Council, and Áinfean wanted to attend. It was open to the public today, and there was to be big news.<br/>