Magyk

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death, emotional abuse, child abuse, child death, and animal cruelty.

Septimus Heap is born on the darkest, coldest day of the year. His father, Silas, visits a Physik Woman named Galen to obtain herbs for the newborn. On his way through the Forest, Silas finds an infant with violet eyes under a bush. He decides to take her home and bundles her under his cloak. Gringe the Gatekeeper mocks Silas for being an Ordinary Wizard and informs him that Marcia Overstrand has been appointed to the position of ExtraOrdinary Wizard. Marcia appears to Silas and urges him, “Tell no one you found her. She was born to you. Understand?” (5). Mystified, the man agrees. Silas, his wife, Sarah, and their sons live in the Ramblings, a sprawling stone building attached to the Castle that contains “small factories, schools and shops mixed in with family rooms, tiny roof gardens and even a theater” (3). When Silas arrives home, a Matron Midwife rushes past him with his infant son, whom she claims is dead. Silas hands the baby girl he found in the Forest to his weeping wife.