L. J. Amber

TEWWBAD Chapter 32

CHAPTER 32 – Lost in Translation

Fortunately, thanks to the time she had spent listening to liturgies at the shrines, Laewyn was familiar with the spirits of the woodlands. Unfortunately, as Celaena contorted in her slee...

TEWWBAD Chapter 31

CHAPTER 31 – Enchantment by Acquaintance

Laewyn was fully dressed when Saphienne and Iolas entered Celaena’s study, sitting by the window in a clean set of clothes identical to those she had worn the day before; she fl...

TEWWBAD Chapter 30

CHAPTER 30 – Defining Boundaries

Once the demonstration had concluded, and the doused braziers had been returned inside with the other implements, Almon instructed the three apprentices to sit on the grass and take notes...

TEWWBAD Chapter 29

CHAPTER 29 – The Outline of Barriers

Rain poured down across the Eastern Vale, flowing down the sloped centre of the grove and on through the elaborate, winding channels that led to the western river. Saphienne always li...

TEWWBAD Chapter 28

CHAPTER 28 – Show and Tell

Saphienne and Celaena found Iolas waiting for them outside the bakery, still plucking flowers from his robes as he leant next to the wide window. Saphienne settled next to him while Celaena wen...

TEWWBAD Chapter 27

CHAPTER 27 – The Presence in Absence

Always quick to think of others, Iolas sprang toward Celaena the moment she collapsed within the gravel circle — though not swiftly enough to break her fall. He took her hand in his...

TEWWBAD Chapter 26

CHAPTER 26 – Mirrors

The horror that Saphienne and Iolas felt as they watched the spirit leave the circle was joined by terror, both apprentices swiftly backing away from the creature now inhabiting Celaena. That somethi...

TEWWBAD Chapter 25

CHAPTER 25 – Prisms

Saphienne could be forgiven for thinking that all her lessons in magic would take the form of gentle demonstration followed by intellectual discussion. After all, while he had emphasised the wonder an...

TEWWBAD Chapter 24

CHAPTER 24 – What Connects

There are months when nothing makes sense, and moments when everything at last comes together — when all the puzzling pieces that were scattered along the path suddenly click into place. Saph...

TEWWBAD Chapter 23

CHAPTER 23 – What Distinguishes

In retrospect, Saphienne realised she had made an assumption: she had counted on the fact that Peacock would be able to read her notes. She realised her oversight while walking with Iolas ...

TEWWBAD Chapter 22

CHAPTER 22 – Innocence

“I suppose the solstice festival feels long ago to you, given your age. You don’t remember, then?”

Brought back to the present as Gaeleath spoke, Saphienne stepped forward, as though sh...

TEWWBAD Chapter 21

CHAPTER 21 – All the Ease of Summertime

There had been a puppet show for the children. Saphienne would remember that, nearly five years later.

She had been nine years old, golden haired now summer had arrived, wear...

TEWWBAD Chapter 20

CHAPTER 20 – For Reason and Passion

When the tea was finished, and the wind stirred restlessly through the bushes, the apprentices stood and exchanged farewells. Celaena hugged Iolas and then Saphienne before she took th...

TEWWBAD Chapter 19

CHAPTER 19 – Just Friends

Although Saphienne knew the layout of the village well, she had seldom spent time in public spaces other than the library. Her mother disliked going out unless she had to, and children under the...

TEWWBAD Chapter 18

CHAPTER 18 – Moving Ahead, Falling Behind

Spare a thought for Celaena and Iolas as they sat with Saphienne in the parlour of their master. Although both were older than her – Celaena turned sixteen, Iolas still sevente...

Chapters Revised With New Content!

Don't worry — new chapters are still releasing on schedule!

Hello everyone,

Have you ever finished doing something, only to figure out how to do it better, just a little too late? That was me, a week ...

TEWWBAD Chapter 17

CHAPTER 17 – Look, and Look Again

Walking through the village while under a magic spell was quite unlike anything Saphienne had experienced before. She had never tried wine – despite the many bottles her mother kept un...

TEWWBAD Chapter 16

CHAPTER 16 – Of Magic Made Tangible

Saphienne, Celaena, and Iolas were all very excited for their first practical lesson in magic, and when their master stood to begin, the three apprentices straightened up where they sa...

TEWWBAD Chapter 15

CHAPTER 15 – Intangible Lessons

To ensure she wouldn’t arrive last, on her first day of lessons Saphienne set out for the wizard’s abode even earlier, still yawning as she made her way through the outskirts of the vi...

TEWWBAD Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14 – An Immovable Rock

See Saphienne as she was becoming, the forthright young girl, fourteen years old. Her hair was once more brown as the earth, and she was still pale — though even these features had begun ...

TEWWBAD Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13 – Small Things That Matter

Upon noticing Faylar waiting in the grove, Saphienne shut the door to her family home slowly, curious about why he was just standing there. He had obviously seen her come outside fro...

TEWWBAD Chapter 12

CHAPTER 12 – Taking Care of Her

The man who emerged from Saphienne’s family home was dressed against the cold, wearing a long, padded coat that was split at the front and back, the woollen scarf around his neck wound v...

TEWWBAD Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11 – Misapprehensions

In her countless hours in the village library, Saphienne had read that elves possessed much better eyesight and hearing than many other creatures, and that most of the shorter-lived peoples ...

TEWWBAD Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10 – Around the Issue

By now you have a faint inkling of the woman Saphienne would become, and the people who shaped her as she grew. Two of the five moments that defined her have been described, and we crossed o...

TEWWBAD Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9 – Emerging Shapes

On the night of her first confrontation with the wizard Almon, Saphienne was physically tired, having spent the day working with stone. And yet, as she walked back through the outskirts of the...

TEWWBAD Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8 – A Frozen Summit

There was no reaction from the other elves when the illusory glade of flowers and floating stars dissolved away, not immediately, their silence made starker by the wintery clearing to which th...

TEWWBAD Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7 – Seeing and Believing

On the day of Saphienne’s twelfth birthday she had risen with the dawn, bathing herself while her mother still slept. As the first light of day shone through the windows of her family h...

TEWWBAD Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6 – The Great Art

Months before Saphienne stood in the parlour and answered the wizard, she had been examined for apprenticeship by another accomplished artist.

Gaeleath had arrived at her family home early...

TEWWBAD Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5 – A Bloody Contest

“What in the world? Another interruption?”

The wizard had remained seated in his chair when the door flew open under Saphienne’s knock, though the three elves that s...

TEWWBAD Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4 – Choosing a Side

With all the options Saphienne had before her, even Filaurel thought it strange when the young elf chose tailoring as her next art. The girl had an extremely keen mind, and while there was a c...