In a dark hut standing on a chicken leg, hidden in the very heart of an ancient forest, an unnatural silence reigned. The Mother Witch had set off for the distant wetlands, leaving behind her three daughters: the eldest, wise Luna; the mischievous, fiery-haired Ember; and the youngest, ever-laughing Mia.
“Now it’s our turn!” Ember whispered, pulling her mother’s stolen wand from beneath a pillow.
The girls gathered around a massive, cast-iron cauldron. Luna tossed in dried lizard tails, Mia poured in stardust, and the brew bubbled to the rhythm of a deep bass that seemed to shake the very foundations of the hut. Ember, wanting to speed up the magic, clumsily touched the wand to the rim of the glowing cauldron.
CRACK! A blue spark shot upward, and a powerful shockwave ripped the tall, pointed hats from their heads. The hats rose high toward the ceiling as thick, purple smoke began to pour from their tips. For a moment, they swirled in the air, hissing and sparking, before suddenly landing with a dull thud on a dusty oak bench against the wall.
The girls froze in terror, staring at the smoking headwear.
Hoping to fix her mistake, Ember struck the cauldron with all her might. BOOM! A sound like a cannon blast echoed through the room. In a split second, the hats launched off the bench and slammed back onto their heads, covering their eyes down to their noses. The force of the impact was so great that Ember’s red braids instantly unraveled, and her long hair exploded in every direction, sparking with the excess of wild magic.
The joyful laughter of little Mia rang through the hut. The brew in the cauldron began to glow with a brilliant green light, and the shadows on the walls started a wild dance of their own. The fun was just beginning, and the power of the wand seemed to have no end...
