The little mute witch part 1

The queen took Rufus back to the throne room, where she sat on her throne. There Bouzid waited for them.

She was petting her giant ants and giving them food like she was feeding pets, not giant monsters that could rip through a human if they wanted to.

"She truly is a wonderful example of a witch," the queen noted while watching her smiling.

"She is kind, unlike those other witches from other tribes," Rufus noted.

"Well, yes, she was one of my best students."

"Students?"

"I train and bless every locust witch. Only the most gifted of girls are accepted to be my disciples."

"So you can give them power?" Rufus asked, stunned.

"Yes. Just like the emperor blesses the sentinels of embers, I bless my witches. It is not an easy procedure, and many do not survive, and it takes great willpower to live through it. Even if they survive, one may fail to summon and control the insects of the desert. But if one is to survive, one can then use divine power similar to mine. You can even bless objects that then bare a small portion of the power of the being," the queen explained.

"I feel like Aesis is isolated in the universe since we have no idea of these things."

"Well, yes. Aesis doesn't have a god or many strong divine beings that can pass their power by blessing people. Aesis is a weak place in many ways."

The queen said as Bouzid left the room.

"It seems Bouzid has a special place in your heart. Unlike the other witches, you seem to care for her a lot, letting her stay here all the time."

"Ahahahahahahaa."

"What's so funny?"

"There are fewer grains of sand in the desert than the times I have accused of being biased towards Bouzid."

~~

Around ten years ago in the past, new applicants to become locust witches were arriving in Kairouan. Only those who had some amount of divinity and believed they could survive the process of becoming a locust witch had come.

Many prominent clan leaders sent loyal members of their clan, hoping at least one would survive the ordeal.

The queen was inspecting the arrivals by disguising herself as a local. She walked past each applicant, trying to grasp their level of divinity and see their resolve from their eyes.

"This quadrennial will be costly as well," the queen thought to herself.

All applicants were nervous and their respective clan leaders forced many to apply. Only a few of them wished to become genuinely a locust witch.

At that moment, a young girl bumped into the queen. She immediately ran off, with the queen staring right at her. She felt a small amount of divinity from her. Not enough to make her stand out from an average human, but enough for the queen to sense it.

Satifa reached into her pocket and realized the girl had stolen her gold pouch.

~~

The girl ran to a closed alley, thinking she had stolen something good. She opened the pouch, startling the young kid, and a brown locust jumped out of it.

"Of all the people, you decide to pickpocket from me. What bad luck you have," the queen said, who had appeared right next to the young thief.

The girl got alarmed and ran away. Instead, the queen smiled, vanished, and turned into a swarm of locusts. She flew over the city and started to chase the girl.

The pickpocket ran, but the queen saw that she wasn't terrified. The young girl threw rocks at the swarm, thinking that could stop her, but instead, it only piqued the queen's interest even more.

After a short chase, the girl ran into an abandoned building. Satifa followed her inside. She looked around but couldn't see the young girl anywhere.

She heard some commotion coming ahead, so she went to investigate.

"I suggest you give up now. You gave it a good shot. But do not worry, I will not harm you," the queen said.

She thought the girl was behind a pile of trash, but as she tried to surprise the thief, she only found a rope tied to a pillar. Satifa turned around and saw that the cord led to the door where the thief was holding onto it. The thief pulled the rope hard, causing a platform to fall onto the queen.

The girl then ran away and thought she had gotten away. Still, she got enveloped inside a tornado of locusts surrounding her. The queen then repapered from the locusts and smiled.

"This chase ends here, and so does your life of being a thief," The queen asked.

The thief didn't answer, but neither did she show any fear.

"Don't be afraid. I am offering you a chance of a lifetime. You have any parents?" the queen probed.

The girl shook her head.

"Come with me, and I will give you a family. You are precisely what I am looking for. A fighter, and I will mold you and build you into something greater."

"What do you want me to do? There is always a catch," the girl asked.

"I want you to become my witch. What is your name, by the way?"

"Bouzid."