This is a secret that helped me pass the screening process, at least I think it did because there aren’t many witches that still practice the craft. Mostly it’s because it takes a lot of time and concentration, plus it is an art that’s kind of convoluted.  

Back then, it wasn’t a secret-secret but, it's not something I openly advertised at the request of my parents. They never explained why, though I did find out later... 

So, what’s a weaver? A weaver is a witch who can manipulate, to a certain extent, raw mana. I like to think of it as embroidery. Yes, I know how to sew, knit, and crochet. I’m an old lady soul which makes sense considering how I was practically raising myself. Not that I blame my parents, they had good reasons to be away from me. 

Anyway, back to undo the spell on the scroll.  

Undoing a spell is difficult, I think I said that already, unless you are the caster, or you know what you are doing. An object with a spell on it is kind of like a piece of fabric that has an embroidered pattern. As a weaver I can take pieces of this pattern out, it’s like I’m unraveling the pattern by taking out the threads. However, the mana doesn’t go to me, it does not increase my mana, I can’t absorb it, and I can’t change it. A blue string will be a blue string even after I take it out of the fabric. So, this petrification spell once I unravel it, must go somewhere else.  

I had to transfer the spell to another object. The only things near me were trees and rocks so I chose a rock. Next, I had to worry about the original caster in case they were nearby or if another person spotted me. Undoing this spell would take some time, depending on how well I performed, so I had to make sure I was properly prepared.  

Before I could start, I had to make sure it was safe for me to leave my guard down as I weaved. My first thought was to use gloom again, but if they attacked with a wide-range spell I would be hit, and depending on the spell I could get badly hurt. I couldn’t let that happen, so I took the time to use a protective sigil.  

A sigil can take on many properties depending on how it’s drawn, on what it’s drawn, and with what it’s drawn. There is a lot I can say about sigils and all their uses but, for now, I’ll keep it simple. Sigils drawn with raw mana are crazy strong, etched on wood or stone as a foundation makes it extremely potent. The rule of thumb with sigils is: that the clearer the lines and sturdier the material equals a better reaction and activation of the sigil.  

I had several premade sigils sewn to my dress in an indiscernible pattern for those who didn’t know the method to my madness. It took me a super long time to expertly fit each sigil with its individual tether. A tether is what activates a sigil, and it could range from an attribute acting on it, a touch, an insertion of mana, so many ways. I keep it simple by using thread and then adding an extra stitch to one of the symbols. All I had to do was untether it with my handy dandy seam ripper conveniently located on my hat seam on the outside. I would put it in my hat but grabbing a small item from a void is hard.  

The five protective sigils I had were near my chest and waist, that way I had easy access. In total I had prepared twenty-five sigils, each grouping in a different section to help me waste less mana. Each group of five sigils had a category of protection, warmth, or staying cool. Since I didn’t know what the test was going to be exactly, I covered the basics for survival.  

After taking the tether out of the sigil, which took me less than a second, glowed to life. The power of the sigil feels warm against my skin, so I always make sure to layer and use a thick fabric.  

Unraveling the spell on the scroll took me less than two minutes. Pretty fast because whoever placed this specific spell left a lot of openings. When a spell is cast on an object it forms a cover, like when someone covers themselves with a blanket. It’s this blanket that has an embroidered piece on top. What I do as a weaver is I take out the embroidered piece which dismantles the blanket’s hold on the object. Immediately after I do that, I must place it someplace else because depending on the mana it will try to snap back in place. At the time of the test, I couldn’t completely dispel it as the caster could though, now that I have proper training, I can do more. But all in good time, a story takes time to tell and there’s always an order to things.  

Weaving is like running my hand over a clear pool of water, barely disturbing it as I pass my palm over it and then plink my other hand dips in causing a tiny ripple over the surface. I repeat the same movement back and forth until I feel like the water in the pool churns and swirls. Later, it became more like playing the harp and plucking many strings at once in a non-delicate kinda way but, I won’t explain it till I get there.  

Once I achieved what I set out to do I left immediately. A bit cowardly but, when... no, I don’t think I have an excuse other than being scared. It took a lot to lose some of that fear, but the first step is always to have a little bit of courage to admit you’re afraid, then you can begin to proactively face those fears.  

And then you fall into a pit of mud with a sleeping boar to really drive the point home. 

A very specific example because it happened while I was running away, I failed to see the pit and slid right into it.