Serena Walkerton's life has not followed the path anyone expected. Born into the House of Walkerton, a family of modest wealth and rising social standing in the city of Brighton, Serena was groomed from an early age by her mother, Verna Walkerton, in the many nuances of being a lady. Verna's plan was for Serena to marry well and thus elevate the family to new heights on Brighton's social ladder. But those carefully laid plans were thrown out the window when Serena began to exhibit an aptitude for magic and, even worse in Verna's eyes, a streak of stubborn independence that motivated Serena to pursue her training as a sorceress rather than a career as someone's wife.
Though her mother was initially against the idea, Serena's unrelenting passion and some help from her father, Arlen — a quieter, more accommodating presence than his formidable wife — wore Verna down until she finally capitulated. The family steward, Chane Taldman, who had long served as a steadying influence in Serena's life, also helped convince her parents to finance the apprenticeship. With their reluctant blessing, Serena began her studies under Persimmius Falconian, a mysteriarch and pyromancer based in Brighton. Persimmius was demanding in ways Serena had not anticipated. He stressed discipline above all else, pushing her to master the fundamentals of controlling her sri — the life force energy that fuels all sorcery — before attempting anything ambitious. His methods were strict, his patience thin, and his expectations unforgiving. Under his tutelage, Serena learned the foundations of her craft, though she chafed at the slow pace and rigid structure of his teaching.
Serena is fortunate to come from a family of means, since pursuing magic is not without its costs. Too soon, though, Serena learns those costs are sometimes more than financial. Scandal ensues during her time with Persimmius, and in its aftermath, Serena finds herself sent away from Brighton to Wildemoore Manor, a remote estate far outside the city. There, she enters a new apprenticeship under the master sorcerer Ansanom. Where Persimmius was strict and methodical, Ansanom is eccentric and reclusive, a man consumed by his own arcane research. Wildemoore is a lonely abode surrounded by wilderness, and Serena soon finds herself bored and longing for company, even if such company includes her mother. Her visits from the outside world are limited to periodic check-ins from the family steward, who arrives bearing a lender's note for Ansanom and a careful eye toward Serena's well-being. It is a quiet, isolated existence, and one that leaves Serena restless and eager for something more.
Serena is fifteen years old, blonde-haired and blue-eyed, with the bearing of a young noblewoman and the temperament of someone who has never been content to sit still. She talks freely, often at length, and possesses a sharp wit that she wields as readily as her sorcery. While she has proven herself a practitioner of exceptional raw ability, she very much remains a sorceress in training. She was born and raised in the city of Brighton in the Earldom of Kettering.
Serena's attunement to her sri rivals that of any master sorcerer, a fact that is both her greatest asset and her most persistent challenge. As an apprentice, she possesses enormous potential but lacks the discipline to properly harness and channel that energy. Tutelage under Persimmius gave her the fundamentals, and Ansanom has pushed her further, but neither master has solved the core problem: when Serena's emotions run high, her magic threatens to slip beyond her control. It is a vulnerability she is keenly aware of and one that fuels a quiet uncertainty beneath her outward confidence. Of the magic she feels comfortable casting, she can easily heat a pot, automate a broom or mop to clean, or open a locked door. She remains less confident about controlling ancient elemental relics or how she will fare in a true confrontation if she ever finds herself in one.
FIRST APPEARANCE
Serena first appears in Engines of Alchemancy (The Alchemancer Book One).
