Sixteen year old Iolanthe Seabourne
is an elemental Mage who can call forth fire. Over the centuries, elemental
magic declined while subtle magic surged. Now, elemental mages are usually capable
of nothing more than parlor tricks with their dwindling magic. Iolanthe's
powers would be considered above average. Now living in a small Little
Grind-on-Woe, as far away as possible from the Conservatory of Magical Arts and
Sciences, she is teaching herself subtle magic in an attempt to gain entry into
an academy for a better career than the circus. Her guardian, Master Haywood,
is perceived in the village as an addict, even though Iolanthe tries to cover
for his absences. He has fallen far from the brilliant scholar he once was to a
village schoolmaster who is in danger of losing his position.
Out practicing calling forth fire
for Rosie Oakbluff's wedding that afternoon, Master Haywood’s housekeeper, Mrs.
Needles, spies Iolanthe. She is impressed by her abilities but when Master
Haywood discovers that Iolanthe is divulging her powers, he is furious. He
forbids her from performing at the wedding. He didn't know Rosie was marrying
into an important family of collaborators when he agreed to let Iolanthe go. He
tells her that she cannot let the agents of Atlantis see her manipulating the
elements. She would be taken away. Iolanthe doesn’t understand why she would be
in danger from Atlantis when lighting the wedding path is an ordinary feat. She
is only doing the wedding as way to help ensure that he might keep his position
since Mrs. Oakbluff, the village registrar, has a say in Master Haywood keeping
his position. He only wants to keep her safe. Iolanthe refuses to stay away. He
destroys her elixir so that she cannot go.
Knowing Mrs. Oakbluff cannot find someone on such short notice, Iolanthe
goes to the bookcase looking for a way to repair the elixir. In a desperate
attempt, she searches the last book she would ever consider. Written in
languages she cannot read, Iolanthe finds a handwritten note in the margin that
light elixirs can be revived by a thunderbolt, no matter how damaged. She
suddenly realizes that she must summon a thunderbolt herself to fix the elixir.
Iolanthe knows that she is "a fine elemental Mage by current standards"
but she wasn't anything compared to the Greats. Why does she think she could
"accomplish a feat unheard of except in legends?" Knowing no other
way to repair the elixir, she grabs her wand in an attempt to amplify her
elemental powers. Suddenly, a lightning bolt strikes down.
At the same time, Prince Titus of
the Domain sees the brilliant column of lightning from a distance. Instantly,
he knows "that this was the very sign for which he had waited half his
life" for. Ready or not, he was unprepared for the prophecy to come true.
Dismissing his servants, he quickly gathers the necessary materials for his
journey to the mage responsible for the bolt of lightning. He needs to get to
her before Atlantis does. He goes to Marble, his Barbary Coast peryton, a beast
that is a cross between a dragon and a horse, to vault to the suspected source
and find the elemental Mage from the prophecy.
Iolanthe picks herself up from the
blackened ground to find the elixir fixed. She is ecstatic that her performance
at the wedding will be perfect and that Master Haywood will be forgiven for
trying to ruin everything. She suddenly looks up to see Prince Titus and Marble
swoop by. He is floored to find out that the elemental Mage who brought down
the bolt of lightning is a girl. "Archer Fairfax could not be a
girl." He looks again and Iolanthe has been joined by a furious Master
Haywood. A villager, Mrs. Greenfield stumbles across them and Haywood casts an
illegal spell of forgetfulness on her to cover Iolanthe's actions. Confused by
what he has done, she is even more confused when he tells her to come with him
if she wants to live. Atlantis will be coming after her. Throwing Mrs. Needles
from the house, the prince follows them. Before Master Haywood can help
Iolanthe escape, Mrs. Oakbluff, who is also the village constable, has come to
arrest them for the assault on Mrs. Greenfield. Master Haywood gives Iolanthe a
packed satchel that he has no idea what is in it and ushers her to a large
portal trunk. Mrs. Oakbluff has knocked the house down and incapicatated Master
Haywood. She comes for Iolanthe.
Meanwhile, Prince Titus is looking
for where the girl Mage has disappeared to. Iolanthe has been transported to a
safe house through the portal. He tracks her to her hiding place where unfortunately
she is attacked by the one person entrusted to keep her safe. He rescues her
and takes her to his suite in London. Explaining to her the prophecy of their
births; she is supposedly a great elemental Mage who The Bane (the head of
Atlantis) needs to extent his power and his life and he is her protector. When
their location is comprised and Atlantis draws too near, Prince Titus must fall
back on his original plan; Iolanthe must masquerade as a student at Eton, an all-boys
school. Her new identity is that of Archer Fairfax. It doesn’t take long before
Titus begins to fall in love with Iolanthe and those feelings will threaten his
part in the prophecy.
Can Titus keep Iolanthe safe from
Atlantis? Will Iolanthe be able to fool everyone that she is really Archer
Fairfax, a boy? Is she the Mage from the prophecy? Why does the Bane want
Iolanthe? What are the great powers she supposedly wields? To what lengths will
Atlantis go to find Iolanthe? Why is Prince Titus so willing to help Iolanthe?
What happens to Master Haywood? What secrets does Iolanthe discover about
herself? And will Iolanthe return Titus’ feelings?
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