Out To Train

River flinched at Annemarie's voice which briefly startled from her contemplation. She looked up at the old woman who did not need a walking stick to walk perfectly.

"You can be anything you wish to be, River," Annemarie repeated. "And you are more than strong enough to be a leader. You just need... practice."

Would practice make people change their minds about the girl they had condemned and believed to be frail? Would it make them see her as more?

Make them believe that she was more?

Annemarie held out a worn leather-bound book that had a surface etched with swirling symbols that seemed to shimmer with an otherworldly glow. An aura of power emanated from it that gave her the heebie jeebies.

"This," Annemarie continued, "contains all the spells you need to familiarize yourself with. With this book, River, you can be anything you want to be."

River stared at the book, mesmerized by the cryptic symbols and the power it seemed to radiate. Uncertainty nibbled at her. Was she tru