Magic Runaways

[???] The sounds of echoing footsteps could be heard along a dimly lit halfway. With each step reverberating and echoing off the bookshelves that served as the walls of the place. The shelves that stood so tall that it felt like they stretched for miles upon miles. Upon these shelves were books that each told a different tale or story. Some were long, and others were short. Some were about revenge, and others about love. While some told stories that were lost to time, others told stories that would be taught for the rest of time. Yet despite how impressive this vast collection all might seem. THe man who owned and controlled this place was by far more impressive than these things.As the footsteps grow louder and louder. A silhouette of a man began to form.

He was a tall man with dirty blond hair. He wore an black eye piece that covered most of his upper face, and was laced with intricate golden designs. He had on a dark blue vest with a black under shirt. He wore dark blue pants, and black shoes. And On both of his shoulders were golden plates that were connected together with golden beads. Which help hold up the cape behind him. With the underside of that cape was a patter of glowing stairs of the night sky.

That man walking down the hallway was………….. Me :).

“Sorry for doing that to you. I just had to describe myself. I just couldn’t help my self,” the man said with a smile. After the man spoke he waited for a response but got none. THen with the snap of his fingers he said “Oh right!” with excitement before pointing at you.

“I forgot That we can’t really speak to me at the moment.” As he said that he paused for a second to think.

He scratched his chin for a bit thinking. Then looked at you and said “If you here then you want to here a story right?”

After he spoke he would snap his fingers again, summing a chair, a lamp and a book in hand before sitting down. With a grin he would say “This story is one of my favorites so let me do the honor of reading for you.” As with a smile he began to read.

It was a violent stormy night. Rain was cascading down like a never ending flood. With it striking down with enough force to crack small pieces of the earth open. THe storm had winds that could uproot trees and send them flying for hundreds of feet. The rain oppressed every other sound that existed. With the only thing over shadowing it being the lighting would crack with the sound of 1,000 tents exploding at once. WIth it sounding like a deafening explosion.

Yet despite this this wasn’t what to fear. As what man beast and man quiver in fear of during the storm was Instead it was the silence. As when every there was silence it didn’t mean the rain had just stopped. No, no, no it meant something worse. As ever so often there would be a burst of wind that would be so strong that the rain would get swept and brought back up into the sky. And as the rain droplet would float, hovering, in the sky.

A gust of wind would pick them up and send them flying down. Compounding their original force with a thousand of them. Causing each droplet to hit with more force that hail the size of a baseball.

Which would cause beast and man alike to shiver in fear. AS they would pray for their shelter to hold up against the mighty force. All while their houses moaned and ached in pain as they stood against; the rain.

Yet despite all the sound that was being made. THere as one thing that could be heard. Off in a small town in the kingdom of varraid. Stood an orphanage that rested on a hill surveying the town. And on the orphanage doorstep there was a crying wail. A wail so loud that it could pierce the veil of sound made by the rain.[Head master] I shot up, started and awakened from my bead. AS the sound of the thunder faded from my ear. I clutched at my chase in innate fear from the sound. While I let my racing heart calm down. After sitting there for a couple of minutes. Letting my heart tko calm down. I would reach over in the dark to where my night stand was. Trying to pick up the lantern I had left on it. It took me a bit to find it because how dark it was, but when i felt something cold and hard I pulled it towards me.

I would set it on my lap and feel around on top of it. Where I would find a button that poked out top. Feeling it I would press it. IT would take a couple of seconds, but the magic stone inside would begin to light up, and give of a small faint heat. The lantern bathed my room in a soft orange light. Seeing this I would reach for my glass on the night stand and put it on. I would then get up out of bed, and head towards a window in my room with the lantern in hand. As I would pull away the blinds and lift the lantern up to see. THe sight shocked me a bit. Never in my 29 years of life had I seen a storm this bad. You couldn’t see more than 20ft outside the house. Beyond that the rain made it look like a grey fog that didn’t shed any light. I would turn my gaze upwards to the slight blue tinted shield that stopped the rain from hitting the house. I saw the rain hit the shield, splattering against it creating a thin film of water to cover it. All while every couple of seconds it would pulse a light blue color before quickly fading The only thought and or feeing that came to this sight was dread. “Damm, i’m going to have to replace the wards around town in the morning,” I said discordantly mumbling my words. As I knew how much a pain that was going to be to do.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

I jumped for the sudden sound that rang out from behind me, as I turned to face what was making the noise. Looking back I saw that the sound was coming from my door. Seeing this I quickly grabbed my robe, putting it on, before going to my door and swinging it open. When I opened the door I saw no one standing there, but the sound still persisted as it echoed down the hallways. As yet, somehow, despite being farther away It was just as loud as it had been in my room. Seeing this, with an annoyed expression, I left my room to go investigate. I swear if Jackson is playing a prank on me. I will drag him around town in the morning helping me reinstate the wards around town… But wait. Isn’t it too late for Jackson to be awake? He’s normally asleep by now. Never mind who it is. IF they keep knocking on the door, they’re gonna wake up the kids. These were the thoughts that ran through my mind as I descended the stairs to find the origin of the sound. When I got down to the first level I looked towards where the sound was coming. Seeing that it came from the front door. Seeing this I went to reach to open the door before pausing. How could someone be knocking in the middle of the night during a storm like this. It didn’t make sense. As I hesitated, the knocking grew louder and louder.

As the sound grew, so did my annoyance. Whoever the person was doing this, was going to wake up the kids. And if they did that then I would have to put them back to sleep, which would mean less sleep for me. So with annoyance I grabbed the door handle before swinging the door open. I stood confused for a second. As before me was just the dimly lit porch of the orphanage. No one was there that seemed to be causing the knocking. It wasn’t until I heard a distant wail that I snapped out of my confused state “WHAAA! WHAA!,” was the distinct sounds that the two babies, who were wrapped in blankets, made at my feet.

Seeing it I was confused. How did it end up here? HOw could someone have dropped him off without being swept up in the storm? There were so many questions I had, but none of the strength and willingness to answer at the moment. I would set down my lantern before bringing the two babies inside before calculating them to try and calm them down. Surprisingly though after the two were brought inside they seemed to calm down easily. Which isn’t usually the case. I placed both of the babies on a table before stretching my hands. As from my pocket I pulled out a black pen that had a golden tip and an accent on it. With it having a crimson red feather sticking out of it, and a light lavender crystal at the end of the pen. After I pulled it out I would stick it in the air while I imbued magic through it. As I would then draw a golden sigil in the air. When I had finished it. I would swipe my pen across it. Which sent the sigil at the two babies, which would envelope the two in a golden life.

The sigil was a simple medical check up spell to see if the two babies were sick. Luckly, despite being stuck outside in the rain for god who knows how long. The spell came back saying the two were perfectly healthy. Seeing this I let out a relieved sigh. As a baby getting sick at this age could easily die from it. And I didn’t think anyone could mentally handle that. While i thought this i would look at the babies.

The first baby was a boy, and had strands of brown hair on head. He was sleeping peacefully, but had something wrapped around him which caught my attention. It was a checkered green and red pattern of cloth that was wrapped loosely around his neck.

Knowing how dangerous that could be for him. I would pick up the cloth and pull it towards me. But as soon as It left the baby’s possession that little piece of cloth grew 10 fold. Turning into the size of a scarf.

The sudden size change had startled me a bit. After all, I wasn’t expecting it to grow triple the size in my hands. Seeing this though I turned the scarf around on its side and inspected it. There, on the side of it, in faint blue light was a small text that glowed a second before returning back to normal. Seeing it made me assume it was some type of enchantment. I would look at the baby and eyed him for a bit. Confused why he had this as these type of enchants are rare. I would think this before placing it beside him, and turning my attention to the other one. Who was also thankfully asleep. The other baby was a girl and had stands of silver white hair on her head. I looked at her, studying her before spotting something in the cloth that wrapped her. Seeing this I went to her and used my hand to pry the thing I saw.

There tucked in the black it was a black ring with purple and red accents twisting a mixing throughout it. I would inspect it, turning it over in my hand before spotting something. There in the middle of the ring was engraved the name “Anya.”

Seeing this I didn’t think much of it for the time. After all, I was tired and just wanted to go to bed. I was already lucky that the two of the babies had fallen asleep so quickly. So with a tired yawn I would pick up the two kids and bring them to the nursery. As I tried to come up with a explanation for the Jullian, Jackson, and Amellia in the morning. I stared at the sky with a smile on my face as i recaleld the fond memories before saying “It has been 4 years since that day.”

In front of me I heard a voice of a little boy say with pride “HA! SEE Anya, You’re not older than me!”

“Yes I am! Even if we were found at the same time, I’m still older.” A girl, who was around the same age as the boy, said in defiance

“How so,” said the boy cheekily

Hearing this I looked down to see the conversation unfolding.

The girl would point at her snow white hair and say, “See how I have white hair. Only old people have white hair. Which means that I’m older.”

The boy hearing this said “Name one old peros who has white hair.”

“Are you blind? Head master i s right there in front of us. That all the proof you nee-” the girls said pointing at me before being cut off with a swift, but soft chopped to the head by me. Which caused the boy to laugh.

“I’m not that old, I’m only 33.” I said annoyed.

The girl holding her head a bit, would ignore the chop, and look at the boy and say “ I’m still older”

“Nuh uh,” said the boy in response.

“Yuh, uh,” said the girl

“Nuh, uh.”

“Yuh, uh.”

While the two of them repeated their cycle of nuh uhs and yuh uhs. BOth arguing right in front of me like I didn’t exist. I couldn’t help but smile as I thought back on the last 4 years.

THe brown hair boy’s name was Xaiver. I had given it to him as it sounded good at the time. He had brown hair, and vibrant emerald green eyes. HE wore a white shirt and blue pants, and that scarf around his neck.

He was a confident, kind child. Who seemed to like to express his opinion on a lot of things. THough at times he was kinda stupid. He was taller than the girl next to him, a fact which he uses to annoy her.

That girl next to him was Anya. I had given it to her after the name inscribed on the ring she came with. SHe had silver white hair, and amethyst colored eyes. She wore the exact same out fit as Xavier. A white shirt and blue pants. BUt unlike him, instead of a scarf she had tied a string around the ring she came with and wore it as a makeshift necklace. She was a nice, smart, kind, but shy girl. Well shy around anyone that doesn’t live at the orphanage. Though out of everyone in town she seems to act the most freely around Xaiver. The two of them, though they won’t admit it, are quite fond of each other. Thought that might just be because there attached to anything that came with them to the orphanage.

It had only been a couple of months since I decided they were old enough to receive the thing they came with. I only held them to make sure they weren’t accidentally destroyed or swallowed. After all they were infants and you know how a toddler deal with items like that.

Despite that though they had grown attached to their things and wouldn’t let anyone touch it or have it. Hell it took a lot of convincing for Xavier to allow me to wash his scarf. THough there is something that they are more attached to than their items. Its each other.

Every since that fateful day the two of them had been inseparable. Even when they were babies, and i would take one out to change there dipper. THe other would immediately start wailing and crying. Only calming down when the other one was place back with them. IT was a hella of a pain to deal with.

Even now that is the case. About a couple months ago Anay got badly sick, and when Xaiver found out he stayed by her side 24/7. Whenever we tried to pull him away, he didn’t get sick. He would become extremely fearful and struggle to get out of our grasp. IT wasn’t until she got better that he calmed down.

At first I thought because of how close they were that they might be related to each other, but as times pass it looks less and less like the case. They just dodn’t look like each other at all. Xavier had green eyes while ANya had amethyst. Xavier had brown hair while she had white. Xavier has a bit of a stout build while ANya doesn’t. I just can see them being related.

Still when I look back at the past 4 years. I can’t help but reminisce how those two little babies have grown so much in such a short time. Even them being able to argue over trivial stuff like who’s older. Just thinking about it makes me chuckle.

“Headmaster, are you laughing?” Xavier said, snapping me out of my thoughts.

“Yeah, it’s not funny. THis is an important conversation and it needs to be taken seriously.” Anya said, backing up Xaiver.

As I looked at the two I chuckled a bit and said. “Who knows? It might be that funny?” With a playful smile on my face. Though the two of them didn’t seem to like that answer. AS they then began to lecture me on how it is not okay to laugh at others. THe thing I had been trying to teach them for some time now despite Julian setbacks.

Hearing all of their lectures I chuckled and said “Okay, okay, I’m sorry. If you want I can make it up to you,” I said with a smile. THe two in repose looked at me suspiciously, and waited for what I was about to say.

Seeing this I got up from the box that I had been sitting on before bending to their eye level, and saying “HOw about I teach you about magic.” As I spoke those words I saw their eyes lit up with light fireworks.

“See MR smith putting on a small class for all the kids in the town today about magic. See i was just gonna let the other go while you two stayed behind, but to make it up to you i’ll allow you to go with them,” I said as I lied effortlessly through my teeth. I had always had the intention of bringing them along, but they didn’t need to know that.

“Really” THe both of them said with star struck eyes.

“Yes Really. ALl you need ot do is forgive me,” I said with a smile.

“We forgive you,” the two of them said in unison.

“Well then,” I said as I stood up, patting off the dust form my coat. “Why don’t you put on your shoes and outside clothes then?”

After I had said that I saw the both of them instantly dash off into the house. Whihch in response made me chuckle to myself.

[Xavier]

Me and Anya rushed quickly inside our house and room to put on our shoes and clothes. When we got done we rushed down stairs to be met with The headmaster, jullian, AMellia, and JAckson all at the door standing ready for us.

The head master stood closest to the door. She wore a white shirt with a long dark blue skirt. SHe had on her circular glass that helped her see but at the same time gave her a friendly look. Which helped give off a friendly elderly person vibe she had.

To her right was a girl whose name was Amillea. She was 8 years old and had brown hair with golden yellow eyes. She wore a light blue dress with a yellow head band. She gave off a semi annoyed expression that seemed to be directed at the two boys to her right.

The first boy to her right was Jackson. He was 9 years old and the eldest out of all of us thought not by much. He had blue eyes which complement his blond hair. He wore a born vest, with blue pants, and a white undershirt. He was currently arguing with the boy across from him, JUllian.

Jullian, the final, but not certainly least, was the one that was arguing with Jackson. He was 8 years old and had black hair with grey eyes. He wore a black overcoat on top of his white shirt and blue pants. He was the trouble maker out of all of us.

When we approached them Headmaster said “Well since you two are here now let’s get going,” with a smile as she opened the front door before stepping out.

As we made it down the hill me and ANya could barely contain our excitement. We rarely went into town without anyone else coming with us. After all, it was the head master rule.

when we would ask her why? Her response was “You’re not old enough to go into town by yourself yet.” Which was stupid. Both me and ANya could handle ourselves without help. Though despite how much we told her this she wouldn’t budge on it.

The second reason is because we got to learn about magic. We knew the headmaster knew how to use it, and have seen her use it to heal people in town a couple of times. Yet When we asked to learn more about it she would come up with an excuse to not teach us it.

The worst part is, until recently, the head master was the only mage in town. So she was the only one who could actually teach us stuff about it. WEll that was until recently when Mr Smith came into town. As he himself was a mage.

He had recently moved her with his wife after being on an adventure for some time. ANd at least from what I have heard, he was a good one at that. But besides that I don’t know much about him.

“Would you shut up?” Said Amiella to both Jackson and Julliean.

The two of them, ever since leaving the house, were arguing about how bad Jackson’s taste was with food. WIth Jackson being in denial about his taste buds, while Julliean tried to convince him.

Which to be fair Julliena was right. Jackson was known to have the worst taste in things out of everyone. I Guess though Amillea had gotten fed up with the argument. ANd so, promptly, to them to shut up right before we entered town.

When we go into town the headmaster would direct us to a building in the middle of town. The building was decently big and seemed like it would be spacious. After all there must be many people coming to learn about magic from mr smith.

The headmaster would guide us through the door and into the building. There were around 5-8 rows of chairs that had varying amounts of people seating in them. With each role facing the stage. We would eventually pick a row, and as a group would sit in it next to each other.

While people waited for it to start the place was being filled with quiet conversations. Hell a minute hadn’t even had passed since we sat down before Julian and Jackson had started arguing again. Though that was to be expected.

I would turn to the head master and ask “When does it start?”

“Yeah when does it start?,’ said Anya, joining in.

The headmaster eyed us and said “It will start here in a couple of minutes.”

“Awww, why can’t it start now,” said Anya impatiently.

“Yeah why the wait?” I said.

With a sigh the head master would turn to the two of us and say “Look I know the both of you are excited but be patient. Almost nothing comes good when it is rushed.” As she spoke she gave a serene smile trying to reassure us.

In response I would roll my eyes and cross my arms. Diverting my attention to the ground. That was until something would not only catch my eye but everyone else’s. As suddenly from the stage a small cloud of smoke would appear.

The sudden sound and sight had stopped the conversation that was happening, as everyone looked at the stage. As in the next second a man would walk from the smoke with a devilish grin on his face.

“Well welcome everyone. I’m Mr. Smith, and I would like to start off by thanking you all for coming to my lesson.” The man said as his voice filled the place.

The man looked to be in his early to mid 20s. He has crimson red eyes, short black hair, and a black beard. He wore a white under shirt and black vest with blue pants. He also adored a black cowboy hat that had a red feather attracted to it.

“Well to start off my lesson I would like to ask y’all a question. Do any of you know the definition of what magic is?” He said to the crowd.

A boy, who was closer to the front, raised his hand excitedly along with a few others. “You there young lad.” Mr Smith said, pointing at the kid.

The kid, no older than 7 years old, said “ Magic is the making of things by using mana in the air!”

Mr Smith nodded before saying, “ You’re half right. Mana is involved in the making of spells, but it isn’t quite what the definition of magic is. Instead we define magic as the phenomenon of bending reality to one’s will or shape. Thought pretty good answer kid.” He said, trying to reassure the kid.

“Now since we know what the definition of magic is we can now define what a mage is.” He said before pausing. As then he would take a deep breath with a wave of his hand summon fire into the air in an arc.

“ A mage is someone who can use magic, and do things like this. They gain the ability to do things like this due to something called a core.” As he spoke he would control the stationary fire in the air and compress it into a ball in the palm of his hand.

“The core is the palace where a mage draws upon the mana in their body, with it existing on the opposite side of their chest from their heart. IT is something that develops as a person gets older and their body condenses their mana into a singular place.” He paused, taking a breath.

“Now even though only 1 in 100 people can naturally produce a core. It is still important to know about magic and the core levels. That way if you ever need or meet another mage in your life you can safely guess the limitations or abilities.” He said.

“ This is because a mage’s core can be improved upon into 6 stages: Red, orange, yellow, blue, silver, and white. With each stage giving that mage more control, power, and mana to use.”

The man then pointed at himself before saying. “See myself, i’m at the peak of the yellow stage. That means I’m able to do extravagant things like this with ease.” As he spoke the ball of fire in his hands suddenly began to twist and grow in size before turning into a small tornado.

This would cause an audible gasp to come from the audience. But that wasn’t the end of his show. The tornado would grow more powerful and faster before splitting into two. In the next second Mr Smith would throw his hand back and forward in a circular motion, guiding the magic in an arc behind him to his shoulders. As then on both of his shoulders were two small dragons looking like creatures made of fire.

The sight caused an audible gasp from the crowd. I would personally turn to say something to Anya, but was met with the sight of her being star struck at the magic. With her eyes glimmering with excitement and her jaws hanging open. THe sight would make me chuckle a bit. Which in return would get me a glare from Anya, as she looked at me annoyed for laughing at her.

“This is what a simple mage of my caliber can do, so I imagine someone who is at blue stage or higher.Imagine what they could do that I can’t. And so before we end this I want to say one last thing. For those young folks in the crowd who dream to become a mage. Trust me when I say this. There is almost no limit to what magic can do. So try your hardest to succeed in your dreams.”

When he finished his sentences he would send the two dragons out above the crowd before exploding them. Causing a shimmer light of the fire to spread around a light up the room. As he finished his lesson.

A couple of minutes later, after everyone had almost left, besides us. We heard a voice call out to us “Wait!” At the sound we would stop in track and turn to the source of it. There running up behind us was Mr Smith. He would come running to head faster before stopping and saying “you’re the other mage in town right?.

“That I am,” the head master said.

“Well it’s nice to meet you. THe name is Mr. Smith,” he said as he reached out his hand to shake.

The headmaster would shake his hand saying “You may call me Mrs. O. Now was there something you wanted to talk about or did you just want to introduce yourself?” she asked curiously.

“I just wanted to introduce myself and know the competition in the area.” He said with a grin as he rubbed the back of his head.

“Oh don’t worry dear there won’t be that much competition, as I only specialized and can use healing and barrier magic.” The head master told the man.

“Oh? I never heard of a mage only being able to use those two type of magic?”

“Well I guess i’m the first. But hey at least there are a lot of nexus in town that you can fill that I can’t.” She said with a smile.

“I guess so,” he said with a sigh of relief.

“Oh why do you look relieved at that information?” the head monster asked.

Mr Smith, scratching the back of his head, and looking guilty at the floor, “TO be honest I really didn’t want to compete or take possible income form someone who runs the orphanage in town. So hearing there some other niche’s i can make my coin off of is nice to hear.” He said with a guilty smile.

“I’m glad to know that too, as I know everyone has to make their coin somehow.” The headmaster said smiling.

The two of them would talk a bit more before Mr Smith said “Well I should get going. I don’t want the wife getting mad at me,” he said with a smile.

“Well it was nice meeting you Mr. Smith.”

“It was also nice meeting you, Mrs. O,” he said with a smile before departing.

When we left the building me and Anya started talking about the performance and magic. ANya would say “ I wonder how useful magic would be for doing chores, like laundry or cleaning.”

“Of course you’re thinking about chores when it comes to magic, instead of things like the adventures you could go on with it.”

“Hey!”

“Knowing you wouldn’t use magic for anything entertaining just for boring things,” I said mockingly to Anya.

“Hey, I would also use magic to go on adventures. Just like you, I have the foresight to see how it can be useful in daily life. Unlike you dumb oaf.” Anya protested back.

“Hey I’m not a dumb Oaf”

In response Anya would shrug her shoulders at me before saying “ Are you sure?”

“Yes I’m sur-,” I said before stopping. As I realised she was trying to rile me up.

“Oh cat got your tongue?” she said mockingly.

“No it just realised that i don’t have to satisfy you with a response,” I said with a grin.

In response Anya moved her hand open and closed to mock my voice. Which i just ignored. Some silence would pass after that interaction before being broken by my voice. “Hey Anya?”

“Hmm?”

“If either one of us become mages, you know what we should do?”

“Hmm, What?” she said curiously, tilting her head to the side a bit.

“We should go on an adventure together, even if it is only one of us who becomes a mage.”

In response Anya said “Sure why not. Just don’t try to be much of a hindrance while I take care of the bad guys with my magic, okay?”

“IN your wildest dreams,” I said in response.

A sudden sharp bump in the carriage woke me up from my reminiscing. I would look around startled, but saw the same old nothing in the carriage. Seeing this I would let out the sigh as I leaned against the side of the carriage and looked out of the window.

Outside I saw the trees that seemed to stretch for miles high in the sky pass by. Trees so tall that you would have to crane your neck to see even the leaves of the place. The sight made me think of much simpler times. Where we barely just learned about magic, how the world felt so vast yet so uncomplicated.

BUt hey at least we kept that promise form back then. As I thought that I shifted my gaze to my right. Seeing the white hair girl lying down next to me. Using her arm to cling to mine to keep her up right. As it brought back memories of all what has happened with each other.