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I continued to stare at the piece of paper like it was about to burst into flames should I look away. My grandmother was a Magi? No, sorry… Is a Magi!? A High Mage, as she wrote. What the heck is a High Mage? Is that why when she went away on “trips” she was gone for months at a time? I put the one piece down and picked up the second, biting the inside of my lip. I was confused and I hated the feeling; I needed to know what was going on right now.
A Magi is a magic-wielding person, usually with a gift for controlling an element, and communicating to the creatures he or she raises. An element is one of the five elements of the world: Air, Water, Fire, Ground and Shadow. I am a Ground Magi, Kendall. I can manipulate earthquakes, cause them or stop minor ones, but that’s about the extent of my control. I don’t know what your element could be; all Magi’s have some control over one element, rarely ever two.
Try testing yourself. Go to the field outside of your Keep, and see if you can make the ground tremble. Go to your fireplace and see if you can start a fire. Go to the stream – and be extremely careful – and see if you can make the stream speed up or slow down. Make a soft or strong breeze. I would ask you to see if you can manipulate shadow, but that’s a tricky element as it is, and is generally rare for any Magi to have control over it.
Next stop, go to the Stream. This Stream almost runs through the entire world; every Magi’s Keep is close to the Stream, unless they were unfortunately dropped in Voltare, then that’s a big walk for a few eggs. There you’ll be able to pick up the eggs floating downstream. These eggs are for everyone, Kendall. You can take as many as four at a time (don’t ask me why you can’t take more than four; something to do with the balance of things as well as keeping the eggs you have alive), and take a variety. You do have the room for them.
I rubbed my eyes. There was more writing on the paper but it was dark and my eyes were hurting. So, instead I chewed over the things I now knew. Okay, so basically I was a wizard who could control one of the five elements, and talk to animals. This was too much for one day. What else could I possibly be? I was just Kendall! Picking up the paper I moved from the couch and started on the long trip to finding my bedroom. I must have one, considering that this Keep is mine. “
Bedroom, come out come out where ever you are!” I called, my voice echoing down the hallway.
No one answered. Okay great. I kept walking down the hallway, frowning. I would need a map of this place. I held Gram’s letters in my hands as I poked my head into each and every room on my way down. I finally found it after looking in five rooms, and gasped at the sheer size. It had a four-poster bed, a small couch, and a fireplace… without a fire. I rolled my eyes. Of course there wouldn’t be a fire! An idea sparked in my head, as I looked down at the letter Gram had written me. Maybe now would be a great idea to test myself. I went to the fireplace and knelt at it, and stared.
How does one go about making a fire without tools? How was I supposed to make it appear? I sat back on my calves and sighed, rubbing my eyes. I was too tired for this. I stood and stretched, shaking my head. I would play with my magi skills in the morning. I moved to the bed and crawled in, shivering as I checked under the bed and under the sheets for anything creepy crawly. Good, I was safe. I tucked in and rested my head on the chilly pillow.
I had so many questions running through my head it was a surprise to myself that I fell asleep so quickly.
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I woke up to a pounding on the Keep door. It wasn’t like a nice ‘
hide-ho, neighbourino can I borrow some sugar?’ knock. No. This was a ‘
good very early morning to you let us in right now and we might not knock your door down’ knock. Grumbling, I get out of bed and head down to the door. My Keep looked very empty in the daylight, and I was suddenly very aware of how massive it really is. I rolled my eyes and approached my door, opening it to reveal a tall, slightly round man with brown hair held back in a ponytail. On his shoulder was a bird – larger than a robin but no bigger than an Eagle – with a robin’s red chest yet the build of a sparrow. Across his chest was a strap that lead to a bag that was filled – for the most part – with eggs.
“
Greetings,” he started. “
I am Master Belmos. I live a few miles south of you, by the desert.” He rumbled with a slight accent. His bird chirped on his shoulder… followed by a screech that didn’t belong here. I must have balked at the sound because this Master Belmos guy chuckled, turned slightly, and allowed me to peek silently over his shoulder at the massive … thing there. It was black and orange, with the front of an eagle and the end of a horse. My mouth must have dropped because before I knew it, Master Belmos pushed my jaw back up. “
Zirus doesn’t appreciate people who stare. May I come in?” I blinked, turned my gaze and looked back at the man. What the heck!?
“
Are… are you a Magi?” I asked meekly, stepping back to let him in. He raised a hand at the massive … thing and stepped in, glancing around. Was he appraising my Keep? Why do I care? I closed the door behind him and ushered him into the sitting room. “
Yes, I’m a Magi. I specialize in caring for the creatures that roam the world.” Oh. Okay. “
Do... you have any special element powers?” I ask, hoping to prod a tip or trick from him. He shook his hesd. “
Sadly, I wasn’t gifted with an elemental power. I was given enough of one gift though, so I don’t necessarily need the second.” I nodded. He glanced around, gingerly setting the eggs in his bag on the couch.
“
You must be new.” He stated rather matter-of-factly. That sort of annoyed me. How did he know?! “
You don’t have any creatures running around.” Oh. Well, excuse
me. “
I… I fell through a portal, and landed here… I only just woke up and -” He raised his hand at me to silence me, and I huffed. He raised his eyebrow much like my Grandmother would, and began to speak. “
You should go to the Stream and fish some out. Beyond your Keep is the Koi Pond, where you can drop some gold in and fish for different Koi. You do have a separate pond, don’t you?”
I shrugged; I hadn’t done much exploring and with this Master Belmos in my Keep, it wasn’t helping that fact either. He nodded, pulled a small sack of whatever out from his bag and handed it to me. “
Gold to help you start up. You’ll earn more by helping others raise their creatures, and if you have the right gift, you can also breed and sell the offspring of your creatures to new Magi or Magi’s looking for the creatures they can’t get in their area.” I took the gold and held it, the weight of it noticeable in my hand. Maybe this will help me get things for my Keep, like more candles and stuff.
He smiled and turned back to his bag, which had toppled over. He scooped it up and headed for the door, as I followed him slowly. “
If you ever find yourself with too many eggs at one time, set up a trade with me and I’ll take any extras you can’t sell or no longer want.” He suddenly reminded me of my Grandfather; always looking after the pets he found injured on his property regardless of if they were dangerous or not. I nodded as I put the gold bag on the table and walked him to the door.
“
Good luck, young Magi. I suggest you go to the Stream and pick your first companion, as it’ll be the creature you bond with the most. All other creatures will bond with you, but not as powerfully as your first creature.” I nodded; this seemed like a spiel he had said many times before. “
Thank you, Master Belmos.” I replied as he walked out the door. He turned back and smiled at me, his sparrow-eagle thing chirping happily. “
You’re welcome. Farewell,” He waved and headed down towards the big half-eagle half-lion thing, taking the stairs easily.
I closed the door once he was down a few steps and sighed. What the heck was I going to do. I walked back towards the table where the gold was and made the assumption that this was the currency. Trading, bonding, creatures… All of this new information was giving me a headache, and I still had another page to read from my dear ol’ Grams. What was I going to do? I was on my way back to the bedroom to grab a few more hours of sleep when I heard something in my living room.
Was it a massive bug? Was it a creature of some sort? Heck. I took a breath and turned around, heading for the living room as quietly and as carefully as I could.
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to be continued.
