Magyk

Magyk

Cover art for Magyk by Mark Zug
Author	Angie Sage
Cover artist	Mark Zug (illustrator)
Country	England
Language	English
Series	Septimus Heap (Book 1)
Genre	Fantasy novel
Publisher	HarperCollins and Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date	March 2005
Media type	Print (hardback & paperback)
Pages	564 (+32 of EXTRAS) (paperback edition)
ISBN	(UK paperback edition)
OCLC	60383978
Followed by	Flyte

Magyk (Mag-ike) is a fantasy novel written by English author Angie Sage. It is the first book in the seven-book Septimus Heap series. The sequel, Flyte was released in March 2006, Physik in March 2007, Queste in 2008, Syren in September 2009, Darke in July 2011, and Fyre in 2013. The book cover of Magyk alludes to the diary that the ExtraOrdinary Wizard Marcia makes for her apprentice, Septimus Heap. The cover also depicts Septimus's Dragon Ring, rendered as if it were sitting atop the diary.

The story's setting is mainly centred on the Marram Marshes, which is where Aunt Zelda lives. It also takes place in a castle simply known as "The Castle", which started as a small village inside the curve of a river. A moat was built to prevent witches and wolverines from a nearby forest from attacking the inhabitants.

The book begins with Silas Heap, father of the eponymous protagonist to the series, returning home through the winter snow. As he is walking, he feels a heartbeat in the snow, through magical means, and finds that a baby girl with violet eyes has seemingly been abandoned in the snow. Since Silas already has seven children, he finds that another will do no harm and that his wife, Sarah Heap, will not disagree. He hides the baby in his cloak and continues his trek home. However, he is confronted by the ExtraOrdinary Wizard, Marcia Overstrand, who warns him that he should not tell anyone about the baby he found, and that the child should say she was born to him. Silas agrees, to her as the new ExtraOrdinary Wizard. Silas continues his walk home, to bring his wife the herbs she needs and a new child.

Upon reaching his home, Silas sees the midwife run out with a bundle of cloth, wailing that his newborn Septimus, the seventh son of a seventh son, is dead. Silas and his wife, Sarah, decide to raise the baby girl in place of Septimus, as if she was their own daughter. They name their child Jenna.

Months later, Sarah learns from a friend that the queen has been assassinated, and the castle is under the control of the Supreme Custodian. As well, the queen's newborn daughter had gone missing. Her friend also says that the assassination had occurred months before, but had been kept a secret. She mentions that it happened around the time Alther Mella, Marcia's mentor, had been killed. Sarah realises that Jenna was the missing princess, but decides to keep this a secret from everyone, other than Silas.