The Iron Trial

Callum, or “Call,” is an angry 12-year-old who misbehaves at school. His leg often hurts and causes him to walk with a limping gait; he must sit out of sports at school and is sometimes bullied for this. Once, when he is very angry as a group of boys start to beat him up, the concrete under him cracks.

Call’s dad, Alastair, a debonair antique dealer, picks him up from school. Call has been summoned to a magic trial for the mysterious Magisterium, a magical school. Alastair, who went to the school himself as a child and who used to be a mage, constantly tells Call about the dangers of magic. He urges Call to fail the magic trial by making his mind as blank as he can.

At the trial, which seems to be in an abandoned air hangar, Call and his father join many adults and children on bleachers.

Some of the adults in the bleachers are magical, but some are not. Call’s father explains that the non-magical parents have been told that their child has been summoned to interview for a place at an elite school, such as a pre-pre-medical school or an academy for the rich and famous.

Kylie, a girl Call knows from school, is among the aspirants, or the children trying out for the Magisterium. Call hears a voice in his head instructing all aspirants to go to the front, and he does so.

The children go to a room filled with desks, which quickly transforms into an immense, glittering, stalactite- and stalagmite-filled cave. A young woman named Master Milagros supervises the aspirants as they take a test in silence; Call is shocked by the questions, like one about the comparative speeds of a dragon and a wyvern. Call shakes his pen as instructed to prompt ink to come to it, but so much ink spurts forth that it covers him and his desk. He is told to go clean up.

Master Rockmaple leads the next test. He explains that the aspirants need to climb up a rope to a red ball. An arrogant boy, Jasper, tries, but the rope continues to grow as he tries to climb, leaving him no closer to the top. Aaron, a sporty boy, finally manages to outstrip the rope’s growth, touching the ball.

Call is summoned. He tries to explain that he can’t climb because of his leg. Master Rockmaple insists that he try. Call glares angrily at the ball, which suddenly bursts into flames.

Next, the aspirants are told to make a piece of paper rise off a desk. Determined to fail, Call instead focuses on telling it to stay put, and it sinks into the desk, becoming fused with the wood. Angrily, Master Rockmaple gives Call a score of negative 10 for the task. Jasper makes rude comments about Call.

Finally, Call attends the final test on his own with a Master he hasn’t met yet, a large man called Master Rufus. Master Rufus sits in a room beside a bowl of water with a flame burning in it. He instructs Call to take the bowl and keep the flame burning. Call takes the bowl, which erupts into flames. Confused and angry, Call watches it; Master Rufus tells Call that he taught both his parents and that he is disappointed that Call is intentionally trying to fail the test. At this, the bowl cracks into pieces and continues to burn. Master Rufus grabs Call’s hands and claps them together, causing the fires to go out.

Back at the bleachers, Call sees that he has the lowest score of all the aspirants. His father congratulates him.

Masters choose aspirants to train under them for the next five years. Call’s father assures him that he won’t be picked. Master Rufus picks Aaron and Tamara. Rufus explains that he has chosen three aspirants and then picks Call. Alastair yells at Rufus that he can’t have Call and that Rufus has already killed enough of his family. Mages begin to surround Alastair and finally pull Call away. As Alastair is escorted out, he throws a knife at Call, which Aaron catches for him.

Master Milagros chooses Jasper, who glares at Call.

Many kids are not selected; Call sees that Kylie is sent home crying. Jasper angrily tells Call that he took his spot; Call says that he doesn’t even want to be there.

They stop at a gas station; the others buy snacks, but Call has no money. He also realizes that he has no luggage. He tells the kids on the bus that they’re all going to die. Aaron, unperturbed, asks him to elaborate, and Call explains that his mother died. Tamara points out that she must have graduated, seeing as she had a baby before she died. When Call says that she died in South America, Jasper says that she must have died on the mountain; another student, Gwenda, clarifies that she would have died in the Cold Massacre, killed by the Enemy of Death.

Call learns that the Enemy of Death has the power to imbue chaos into animals and people, turning them into wild zombies. While most mages need fire, water, earth, or air to draw power from, the Enemy of Death is a Makar, a powerful mage who can summon power from nothing. Call makes jokes, offending Tamara.

The bus stops, and they get off.

A massive set of double doors is set into a rock face. Master North tells the students that they are powerful and will learn to control that power through training. Master Rufus splays a hand and mutters something; the doors open. The students are warned to not explore on their own; it’s easy to become lost in the tunnels.

The archways and caverns of the Magisterium amaze the students. They are led into a shared dormitory space through an iron door; their first year at the Magisterium is called their Iron Year. Master Rufus gives Tamara, Aaron, and Call metal cuffs, which act as keys to enter their rooms and classrooms. As the students progress through the Magisterium, additional strips of metal will be added to the wristbands to illustrate their achievements.

Master Rufus produces bread and tells Tamara, Aaron, and Call to think of their favorite foods, which suddenly fill their plates. Call asks Rufus if he can contact his father, but Rufus explains that Call should leave Alastair alone for the time being.

After dinner, Call goes to his new room, which is plush and ornate. He hears Aaron and Tamara giggling outside and reflects that they’re probably laughing at him.