《The Call of Magic [Cozy & Magical]》


 Chapter 1 - The Sacred Calling

    The town of Hillion was on the smaller end compared to its neighboring towns, but it wasn¡¯t without its own specialties. It was peaceful, far away from any of the madness that plagued major cities, and the people that lived here were almost entirely self-sufficient. Beautiful farms encompassed the landscape, creating a picturesque scene throughout the entirety of Hillion.


    Laying on the outskirts of town, just inside its stone walls, was the town''s only orphanage. It was a quaint wooden building with a large grassy field around it. Like the rest of Hillion, it was peaceful¡ª unless you needed some silence. The sound of joyful screaming and laughter clouded the air with noise almost all seconds of the day, but that was expected of a place dealing with lots of children.


    It was edging closer to night time as the sky began to be coloured a warm purple and orange from the setting sun, which meant it was supper time for most of the town. Inside the orphanage, the kids were getting ready for their food, hungry from a long day of play and learning. The older kids split jobs amongst each other, some would wrangle up the younger ones who couldn''t seem to sit still, while the others helped Mrs.Funkell prepare their food.


    Mrs.Funkell was the owner and caretaker of the Hillion orphanage, and had taken over it after her mother passed it on to her, something she was planning to do with her own daughter. She was in her mid thirties, but had the sternness of an older woman and the warmth one needed when living with a cohort of crazed children needing both affection and discipline in equal parts.


    Eventually, the gremlins (children) were all seated and ready to drown in the pleasure of freshly cooked food. Their mouths were practically hanging open in hunger. The smell of the food drifting from the kitchen enchanted them, putting them in an odd state of silence that only ever occurred during this brief period of time each day.


    It didn''t take long for Mrs.Funkell and her helpers to come out of the kitchen with large platters of food that they hurriedly placed on the table. That''s when the floodgates opened and a war only the fittest to fight broke out. Tiny hands shot out with speeds beyond human comprehension, snatching up whatever food they could claim before anyone else. Yelling, slapping, and anything else they could get away with without Mrs.Funkell getting mad at them was fair game.


    ¡°Alrighty calm down, there''s plenty of food! Jeremy, don''t put back food you''ve touched, that''s bad manners, you gotta finish it all¡ª don''t give me that look, your stomach was bigger than your head young man. Sima, I know you like biscuits, but you can''t stuff them in your pockets for later, how many times do I have to tell you!¡±


    Isabelle, Mrs.Funkell¡¯s daughter, came out of the kitchen after a few minutes with a single plate of food in her arms. She and her mother locked eyes then nodded to one another.


    ¡°You kids enjoy your meals, I''ll be right back¡ª and for my sake Liran, take your time. We don''t need another stomach ache this week okay?¡± Waiting until she got a response from the boy, she left the dining room following after her daughter with her own plate of food in hand.


    The two briskly walked through the halls of the orphanage until they reached a closed door at the far back of the building. Mrs.Funkell grabbed a silver amulet with a gleaming yellow gemstone resting in the center that was hanging off a metal hook just next to the door. She then had her daughter open the door as she brought in both plates of food.


    A four year old girl was crouched on the floor playing with wood blocks, while various other toys were strewn about haphazardly around her, filling up the majority of the floor. When the girl heard the door open behind her, her attention snapped to Mrs.Funkell who had just come into the room, and she rushed over to her with a smile.


    ¡°Oof, you''re getting bigger everyday aren''t you!¡± Mrs.Funkell said to Kira as the little girl crashed into her with a hug.


    ¡°Momma!¡± The girl happily called out. When she smelt the food in front of her, her eyes opened and she ran to the little circular table that rested in the center of the room, waiting in anticipation. Once Mrs.Funkell put down the food, the two started to eat together.


    ¡°So how was your day?¡± Mrs.Funkell asked Kira.


    ¡°Mmmmmm¡­ boring. When can I play with everybody else?¡±


    Mrs.Funkell had to stop herself from frowning. ¡°I¡­ I''ve already told you, once you''re older, I can hire a wizard to help train you so that you can control your magic. For now you can play with me and Isabelle. Are we not fun to play with?¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Kira shouted in disagreement, ¡°You are fun to play with¡­¡± She opened her mouth to say something else, but closed it at the last second and continued eating.


    Mrs.Funkell sighed internally. She really wanted Kira to live, play, and get into trouble with the other kids, it was just too dangerous with her magic since it could go out of control at any point. She was lucky enough that the mayor was a splendid man and somehow managed to get her a magically enchanted protective amulet, but that still only meant one person could be around her at a time and be safe.


    A sudden loud knocking sounded throughout the orphanage, pausing Mrs.Funklell in her thoughts of Kira¡¯s potential future. It seemed someone was at the door. Though she was a little perplexed, there weren''t any deliveries expected today. Did one of the kids cause trouble when they went into town? Or was it the mayor checking up on them again?


    There was only one way to find out.


    ¡°I''ll be right back sweetie, someone''s at the door.¡± She got a nod from Kira in response and left towards the front entrance. As she passed her daughter who was still standing just outside the room, she handed her the protective amulet and told her to keep Kira company while she answered the door.


    Strutting through the halls, she reached the front door and opened it to be met by an old man three heads taller than herself. He wore loose black robes that just skit an inch over the ground and he had a droopy pointy hat atop his head that pressed against the overhang outside the entrance. His beard and hair were both a glossy white and hung as low as his belly button.


    ¡°May I help you sir?¡± Mrs.Funkell spoke first, wondering who this man was and what he was here for. ¡°This is an orphanage if you weren¡¯t aware.¡±


    The old man reached into his robes and pulled out a white crystalline stick that had pink mist swirling around inside it, blatantly showcasing its magical properties for her to see.


    ¡°Oh my! Sir wizard.¡± Her eyes almost popped out of her head and she hurriedly bowed to him, recognizing the badge he held.


    ¡°You can call me Rynus, and there''s no need to bow to me¡­ though I¡¯d appreciate a warm cup of tea and maybe a place to sit down and talk if you don''t mind my intrusion.¡± He smiled, or at least Mrs.Funkell believed it was a smile. It was hard to tell when his face was covered in hair.


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    His friendliness was something she didn''t expect from a wizard. There were always rumors floating around that didn''t paint some of them in the greatest light, but as she taught her children, just cause you hear something, doesn''t mean it was true. She inspected the man, using her decades of training to determine his intentions here, then her eyes shot open as she saw something she¡¯d only ever heard stories about. There, coiling around inside Rynus¡¯ chest was an orange glow.


    ¡°It can''t be¡­ Do my eyes deceive me?¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡± Rynus rubbed his beard wondering what this woman was talking about, until it clicked. ¡°Ah, you can see it, can¡¯t you? I thought it was a myth that a true mother couldn¡¯t see it long ago, but I found out I was quite wrong.¡±


    She nodded, then took a step back and motioned for him to come in. ¡°I also thought it was hogwash the Wondrous Society spewed out to make themselves seem more¡­wondrous in a sense, b-but I can see it¡­ almost feel it¨C wait if you''re here, that means you''ve come for one of my children?¡±


    ¡°That''s correct.¡± Rynus nodded.


    ¡°Wow, this¡­ this is truly wonderful!¡± Mrs.Funkell smiled with glee, her eyes continued to focus on Rynus, staring at the orange spark that rested in the wizard''s chest and thrummed like a heartbeat would.


    ¡°I still can''t believe I can actually see the thread of a sacred calling.¡± She said with fascination, before shaking her head and saying, ¡°Now then, where''s my manners, come on in, I''ll brew you a cup of tea.¡±


    Rynus chuckled and walked into the orphanage as Mrs.Funkell stepped aside to let him through. She led him back to her office, but before they could get there, she noticed Rynus had branched off on his own in a trance-like state and wandered towards Kira¡¯s room.


    Mrs.Funkell rushed over, but he was quicker than her and threw open the door to Kira¡¯s room and stepped in. He was following the connection that vibrated inside of him, telling him where to go.


    ¡°Ah, you''re not allowed in here without an amulet!¡± Isabelle yelled out seeing some random man walk into the room, but seeing her mom come rushing in right behind him made her pause. The two locked eyes and seeing the look coming from her mom, she stopped freaking out and started to watch what this man was doing here.


    Rynus slowly walked over to Kira and stopped in front of her, then crouched down to her eye level. The two stared at each other for what seemed like eternity, before Rynus spoke out, ¡°You must be Kira.¡±


    ¡°You know my name?¡± She squeaked a reply, tilting her head to the side in confusion.


    ¡°I do, because of this.¡± Rynus poked his chest with a smile. ¡°Can¡¯t you feel it too?¡±


    Kira furrowed her eyebrows wondering what he was talking about, but her expression changed quickly and she hummed a response. She closed her eyes and said, ¡°It¡¯s¡­ warm.¡±


    Getting off of the chair, she came right up to Rynus with her arms raised and yelled with a grin, ¡°Upsies!¡±


    Rynus didn¡¯t hesitate to grab her in his arms, making sure she was firmly and comfortably held, before he stood back up. Kira rested her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes, almost purring in satisfaction. After about ten seconds, Kira was already snoozing on his shoulder with a smile.


    ¡°How beautiful! My little Kira.¡± Mrs.Funkell shed a tear watching Kira look so happy, knowing her life was going to be alright now.


    ¡°Ma your crying!¡± Her daughter whisper-yelled. ¡°What¡¯s happening?!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve just witnessed a once in a lifetime event, I''ll explain later.¡± The mother replied while wiping a tear away from her face. With a strut, she walked right up to Rynus and cleared away any tears still remaining before she put on her bravest face.


    ¡°So what now Sir Rynus?¡±


    ¡°I was about to ask you the same thing.¡± He answered back.


    ¡°Huh?¡± She lost her composed face almost immediately. ¡°She¡¯s to be your apprentice right? Why ask me?¡±


    ¡°Is she not your daughter?¡±


    ¡°I mean¡­ biologically no¡ª¡°


    ¡°Is she not your daughter?¡±


    Mrs.Funkell took a deep breath in and nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right, she¡¯s my daughter! Now what plans do you have for her?¡±


    ¡°I would like to ask you for permission if I could bring her to my home to properly train her in the art of magic, but I¡¯d rather not separate her from her family if possible.¡± Rynus explained.


    Mrs.Funkell giggled, prompting Rynus to ask her why she was laughing. ¡°I thought all wizards were arrogant, even though you appeared nice, I was expecting you to just barge right out of here with Kira in tow. Look at me making assumptions, I''m so silly.¡±


    Rynus nodded with a look of understanding. ¡°I can¡¯t blame you, too many wizards are beyond prideful. I¡¯m lucky I have a good master to teach me otherwise.¡±


    ¡°Mm, then you have my permission to take her home.¡± Mrs.Funkell tried her best to hold back the flood gates, but seeing the tension leave Rynus after saying that, her tears started to flow once more.


    ¡°What about her friends? I don¡¯t want to take them away from her?¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­¡± She sighed. ¡°Luckily for you¡ª or unfortunately for her¡ª due to her being an illborn, it''s too dangerous for her to be around the other children lest her magic flare up. With this amulet, at least one person can be with her, but that¡¯s mainly just me and my daughter Isabelle here.¡±


    ¡°Ah, an illborn you say, ah yes, I see the mark of thorn right here. What a coincidence.¡± Rynus tugged on the collar of Kira¡¯s shirt to see black thorn markings wrapped around her neck like a tattoo. ¡°I forget how the non-magic view the children of thorn, or illborn¡¯s as you call them. It''s unfortunate, though it makes sense. Their magic outbursts can be fatal for many.¡±


    ¡°How did you¡ª ah the protective amulet I see, you must have had an interesting time raising her. Did you not think to bring her to a magical orphanage instead? They would have been able to raise her properly there.¡± Rynus asked.


    Mrs.Funkell sighed, ¡°The mayor did recommend I do exactly that, but¡­ I had been raising children my entire life, I thought myself capable. It was fine at first, a little challenging, but by the time I realized the mayor was right and she would have lived a more freeing life elsewhere, I had already grown to love her too much. She¡¯s my child.¡±


    ¡°Am I a bad person because of that?¡± Mrs.Funkell asked, not really too Rynus, but more so to herself.


    ¡°Of course not, maybe Kira would have had a more freeing life in an academy, but she wouldn''t have a mother and sister that love her like you two do.¡± Rynus comforted her, which brought back the tears from Mrs.Funkell¡¯s eyes.


    After a few seconds of silence ¡°Then¡­ there isn¡¯t any issue if I take her away?¡± Rynus asked once more.


    ¡°None¡ª but you can¡¯t forget to occasionally visit!¡± She put her foot down on that point. She had raised Kira since she had gotten her as a new babe, and she didn¡¯t want to simply give her away for good. Kira was her daughter after all.


    ¡°You have yourself a deal. I¡¯ll come at least once a year then.¡± Rynus proclaimed and shook Mrs.Funkell¡¯s hand, solidifying the deal as best you could without magic.


    Mrs.Funkell gently petted Kira¡¯s hair with an endearing smile, kissed her on the cheek, then stepped back. ¡°Take good care of her will you?¡±


    ¡°You don''t want to wait for her to wake up and say goodbye to her yourself?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid I¡¯d become even more of a crying mess then I am¡ª plus I have a dozen other kids waiting for dessert, I think I¡¯m fine with waiting to see her next year.¡±


    ¡°What about yourself?¡± Rynus asked Isabelle, still standing just next to her mother.


    Isabelle dashed over to him, pecked Kira on the cheek like her mother, then ran out of the room, towards the dining room.


    ¡°She¡¯s a little shy, that one.¡± Mrs.Funkell explained with a grin, rubbing her watery eyes.


    A silence hung over the room for just a brief moment, and Rynus took that as the signal for him to go. With one last farewell, he left the orphanage with Kira in his arms, heading back to his home, now a home for the both of them now.


    ***


    Rynus weaved his way through the nightly streets, all the while carefully holding the fast asleep Kira in his arms. He looked at her and felt the connection in his soul continue to settle further as they had been together for a few minutes now.


    Fate had finally brought him his apprentice. Just like his master had done with him, he was to raise her like his own child, all the while training her to be a wizard. He was overjoyed now that he was able to finally take a step towards being a master wizard, something long overdue.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go home shall we?¡± He gently cooed and poked her nose lightly.


    He stopped walking when he arrived at a dilapidated looking stone building with cracks covering its walls, and a tattered shingled roof. He walked down a dark staircase leading to the entrance below, and calmly pushed the door open. What lay past the entrance was quite the opposite of the exterior. It was a small room plastered with red patterned wallpaper that had a single polished wood desk at the back. Sitting behind the desk was a gentleman wearing a sleek maroon suit with a monocle wedged between one of his eyes.


    ¡°Good evening, how can I help you?¡± The man spoke in a raspy voice, licking his finger to turn a page from a book over.


    ¡°A gateway to the capital Orshon, if you would.¡± Rynus showed the man his wizard''s badge, the crystalline stick, and was quickly waved to the side room after paying a small fee.


    The side room was barren with the only thing of note being a circular etchings that lined the back wall. Rynus sent a pulse of magic into the back wall, causing the etchings to light up with a dim white light, opening a gateway. The wall inside the etchings disappeared and was replaced by a view of the other side of the gateway, a similar looking room as this one.


    Without pause, Rynus walked through, taking him and his new apprentice through to his home city, the capital city of the great kingdom of Relia, Orshon.

 Chapter 2 - Kiras First Taste of Magic

    The city of Orshon was one of the few pillar cities that existed on the continent, and for a good reason as well. It was the capital city of the Relia Empire, the largest empire around, and was filled to brim with wonders. Magnificent shops of grandiose scale were scattered throughout the city, selling different specialties. There was a three story building that only sold bread, or a magnificent stone tower that breached the clouds above and sold all manner of exotic beasts. Weapon shops could be found on every corner, and there was even a red light district as large as some small towns. There was no shortage of strange shops, restaurants, or magical stalls, and those weren¡¯t even in the actual magical district where the real wondrous places could be found.


    Whatever one could need or want was somewhere in Orshan, you just needed to know where to look.


    A young lady, freshly into her teens, rushed through the markets of Orshan with a brisk jog, carrying a basket in hand. Silky blonde hair coated in sweat stuck to her face, something she had to occasionally peel off herself so she could see where she was going.


    The early morning sun barely breached over the stone walls surrounding the city, sending a beam of cascading light throughout the area. Even though it was early in the morning, the markets felt just as busy as any other part of the day. It was crowded with folks doing their shopping, stall owners yelling about their product, and people haggling over prices.


    The young lady grabbed the last bit of her errands, a fresh couple of apples, and started making her way back home. She lived in the outskirts of the city, outside of the hustle and bustle, past all the buildings and into the green area of the city where the farms lay. It was quiet over on this side of the city, not many people were around.


    It took her a quarter of an hour of jogging until she arrived at an oddly shaped wooden building just a short walk from a dirt pathway that branched off the main road. The building consisted of three stories, the first floor being the smallest, then it got wider on the second floor, while its last and third floor was a little smaller than the second floor, but still larger than the first. An offshoot building was connected to the left side of the second story, with a gap between it and the main building, creating a pathway between them. The roofs were tall and pointy, and were overlain with reddish brown tiles that seemed a little worn down.


    A wooden staircase went up from the dirt path and led up to a small deck just outside the second floor entrance. The deck had fence railings surrounding it, interlaid with curling vines and flowers to give the mostly wooden building a splash of color. Jutting out of the right side of the building was a massive signboard as tall as the building itself that read, ¡°The Wizards Orchard.¡± With its size, you¡¯d be able to read it from quite far away without issue.


    ¡°I¡¯m home!¡± Kira yelled aloud as she burst through the entrance on the second floor. She hurriedly brought this morning''s purchases into the back room where her master was preparing for work later in the day.


    ¡°Welcome back.¡± Rynus greeted his apprentice without turning. ¡°Come now, it¡¯s almost time to open.¡±


    She slapped on her apron, washed her hands, then began helping Rynus with his preparations. There was a lot involved with running a restaurant, especially when there were only two people, but her master''s magic solved a lot of those problems. Like almost everyday since she¡¯s been here, she watched in fascination as food magically flew through the air with delicate control; being sliced, squeezed, or skinned in midair. Once the food was prepped, it would find its way to one of the various stations in the kitchen manned by her master''s other magic; unseen servants is what he called them.


    Kira''s job in the Wizards Orchard was a little mixed: she occasionally pitched in with the cooking, she helped the unseen servants serve and clean tables, but her main role was to interact with their customers. Unseen servants made things efficient, but restaurants, especially one with a more relaxed caf¨¦-like atmosphere as their own, needed some social aspects to really thrive. Her master was the main chef and was busy using his magic to prepare and cook, he didn¡¯t have much time to interact with his customers. That¡¯s why Kira, someone not allowed to use magic yet, nor as efficient in laborious tasks as a magically made servant, was assigned to this role.


    But after today that might just change! She finally turned 13 yesterday, and after a spectacular birthday party that took up most of her day yesterday, she was anticipating her magical studies to truly start after work today. She had waited for 9 whole friggin years without being able to learn magic, and she was so close to it every day seeing her master''s magic, that it almost drove her crazy at first.


    Rynus had explained countless times why they had to wait until she was thirteen, something about safety and allowing them to live as kids while they could¡ª blah blah blah, that didn''t matter anymore. She was going to learn magic if it was the last thing she did!


    She was allowed to read some very basic books about magic, and read is exactly what she did. The dozen or so books that Rynus let her read were practically worn out due to her having read them countless times, and she was soooo ready to start blasting magic already. The blossoming smile had yet to fade from her face since this morning, and she could feel an extra skip to her step due to the excitement.


    Time zoomed by and it was opening time. Kira popped out the front entrance, flipped the close sign, and comfortably greeted her early morning customers.


    ¡°Morning Kira, today has to be the day right?¡± Albert, a larger gentleman with a curly mustache asked her with a friendly tone. He was one of their few neighbors here in the greener part of the city, and owned the largest farm around.


    ¡°I hope so!¡± She beamed, ¡°Rynus even said the shop is closing 2 hours earlier than normal.¡±


    Albert clapped her on the back with a joyful chuckle and congratulated her before he found his way over to his normal seat near the side windows.


    ¡°Kira dear, you''re glowing with energy!¡± An older lady who ran a potion business on the outskirts of the main city district said aloud. ¡°Since I wasn''t able to come to your little party yesterday, I brought you a present today. Use it well, Rynus will know what to do with it.¡± Before she could say anything, she found a large alchemical bottle filled with a glowing orange liquid in her hand.


    That was generally how the rest of her day went. Familiar faces came in, wished her well, maybe gave her a present, ate and drank their normal meals, then left while congratulating her once again. She didn¡¯t even realize she was closing until she had already flipped the open sign back to the closed side.


    Patting her hands together, she shut the main entrance doors and watched as plates began to hover back to the kitchen while wet soapy rags scrubbed the numerous tables on their lonesome. She bobbed and weaved through the chaos until she stood a few feet in front of Rynus, who was currently sorting through today''s revenue. He sat on a large plump chair located in their ¡®employee¡¯ break room (there were only two of them so it was more of a second living room) with his head down counting out the coins.


    Kira didn¡¯t want to be a nuisance so she sat across from him, anxiously waiting with fidgeting hands for him to finish up the last few of today''s tasks. Her legs bounced up and down while the rest of her could barely stay still.


    There was a brief few minutes of silence before she heard Rynus chuckling. Her attention snapped back his way, wondering why he was laughing.


    ¡°Sorry sorry, I¡¯ve been finished for a minute, but I couldn¡¯t help myself from watching you unable to sit still.¡±


    ¡°Master!¡± Her face turned red from embarrassment and she crossed her arms angrily at him.


    ¡°Hahaha, well they do say patience is a virtue.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t say that after teasing me!¡± She yelled at him, which prompted Rynus to laugh even more.


    ¡°Alright, I apologize for teasing you.¡± Rynus stood up and walked out the backdoor, leading to their expansive backyard behind their house, and turned around as he was halfway outside. ¡°What are you waiting for Kira? Let¡¯s get started.¡±


    All previous animosity she held for the teasing dispersed in an instant and she rushed after Rynus onto the grassy yard. Behind their house were two main things; a massive grassy field that filled most of her vision, and a fruit orchard further away with gigantic fruit trees. Most orchards run by non-wizards made sure they pruned their trees to keep them from growing to massive sizes, but Rynus had no issue picking fruits from 50 feet up, so he let them grow. Of course he still needed to monitor the tree''s health, but there was plenty of magic that could prevent damage from diseases or over-fruiting.


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    Rynus led her to the halfway point between their house and the orchard where a decently sized dirt training ground was found. There wasn¡¯t any equipment laying around, but for wizards, they really only needed themselves and their wands.


    ¡°Come sit right here.¡± Rynus pointed to the middle of the training ground, to which Kira swiftly complied.


    ¡°I know you''ve read through those books on basic magic, magic history, and some interesting stories over and over, which is great, but now comes the real thing. You¡¯re going to be using magic for the first time today¡ª at least intentionally doing so.¡±


    Various scenes flashed through her mind from times her magic flared up, something that a child of Thorn was supposedly prone to doing. Blowing up a table, blowing up a chair, blowing up the deck, blowing up the kitchen¡ª now that she was thinking about it, she had blown up a lot of stuff by accident.


    ¡°Today will be simple and short, you''ll see why in a minute, but the following days I¡¯ll slowly begin to teach the fundamentals of magics while we wait for the school year to start.¡± Rynus finished his earlier statement. ¡°But first, we must take some precautions.¡±


    He pulled out two amulets from his robes, put one on his neck and one on Kira¡¯s neck. ¡°These are protective amulets as you might know, they¡¯re quite a standard piece of jewelry to enchant. The ones we have here are on the higher end of power, they should protect us against a good amount of magic.¡±


    Kira raised her hand and spoke after Rynus gave her the go ahead. ¡°You¡¯ve never had me or you wear one beforehand, because I shouldn¡¯t be hurt by my own magic, and you''re much stronger than me, right? Why wear one now? ¡±


    ¡°Good question, do you understand your condition as a child of Thorn?¡±


    She nodded, reciting what she remembered Rynus had explained to her some years back. ¡°A child of Thorn is born with more mana in their bodies than normal wizards, which tends to eventually build up and burst out as young wizards can¡¯t effectively control their magic. A child of Thorn also wields magic more chaotically and has less control in general. Those two factors will lead to more magical accidents occurring.¡±


    ¡°Correct! We¡¯ve experienced your flare ups numerous times over the years¡ª and I¡¯m not blaming you, that¡¯s just how it is. There are ways to prevent this flare up, but it comes at the cost of stunting your natural magical growth as you develop as a child, which is why I just let the explosions come.¡± He smiled at the mildly embarrassed Kira.


    ¡°These flare ups come from the excess mana you have stored in your body leaking out because your physical body can¡¯t contain any more. This means the power is weak, because it''s just what''s naturally built up and leaked out. But say, what would happen if you flared up with all of your mana?¡±


    ¡°A bigger explosion?¡±


    ¡°Mm.¡± Rynus nodded with a smile. ¡°Remember how I¡¯ve told you, whenever you feel that energy, that thrum inside of you, to try and ignore it and push it away? Well I¡¯m incredibly proud of how well you did for the last nine years, however frustrating it was for you. But in just a minute, I want you to do the exact opposite and dive right into it!¡±


    Kira''s eyes lit up.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, I want you to embrace the magic in you, don¡¯t hold back anything. If anything goes wrong, we have these just in case.¡± He held up the amulet. ¡°The gap between our magic is large enough that I could probably defend myself, but better safe than sorry.¡±


    Rynus took a few large steps back, then said. ¡°Okay Kira, you can begin whenever.¡±


    ¡°Wheeeeeew.¡± She took a deep breath out and closed her eyes. It was hard to focus when her heart was beating as loud as a dragon''s roar and her mind was continuously fantasizing about the possibilities of her potential magic in the future. But all it took was a hint of her magic to be felt, then she knew she had a choice; push it away like she¡¯s been doing for the last decade, or grab ahold of it and not let go.


    ¡®Here we go.¡¯ She chose the latter and pulled the dormant magic lying within her to the forefront.


    Like a comforting thunderbolt, the mana shot through her body, making her experience a brand new sense that she never knew she had. It¡¯d be impossible to describe what she was feeling to someone without magic, like it wasn¡¯t possible to explain sight to a person born without vision.


    It was almost akin to being born anew.


    She smiled and her instincts took over. The mana itself felt like a warm mist caressing her, but this mist was special. It wasn¡¯t intangible like normal mist, more like a liquid that she could move throughout her body. It loosely gathered itself together into a ball that swirled rapidly in the center of her chest, until suddenly, the mana was gone with a flash.


    ¡®Huh? What happened?¡¯ She tried to reach for the mana but it wasn¡¯t there anymore.


    Slowly she opened her eyes and saw the landscape around her was a little different than a few seconds ago. A crater about the length of a wagon cart was a few meters in front of her. Sparkles of mana glittered around above the crater.


    ¡°Fantastic! That was quite powerful for an apprentice.¡± Rynus cheered from the side as he approached her. ¡°So how did it feel?¡±


    ¡°It was¡­ amazing.¡± She said, trying to grasp the fading sensations, but to no avail as her mana was clearly spent. ¡°What happened? Was that me?¡± She pointed to the crater.


    ¡°Indeed. I¡¯ve noticed over the years that most of your flare ups are mana blasts. It seems you may have a particular affinity for that magic.¡± Rynus explained. ¡°Even though today''s session was short, that will be enough for now. It''s gonna take you a while to fully recover your mana due to it being your first time really using magic after all. We¡¯ll continue tomorrow again, but in a more controlled manner.¡±


    Kira nodded, even though she was a little disappointed today was over so soon, she was still elated that she had actually used magic. And she knew it would only get even more exciting from here on!


    She went to stand up and realized that she simply couldn¡¯t. Her muscles just wouldn¡¯t move.


    Rynus chuckled at her, ¡°It¡¯s mana exhaustion, don¡¯t worry. A filling dinner and a good night''s rest will get you back on your feet.¡± He bent over and scooped her up into a princess carry then headed back inside.


    After an early, but delicious dinner that ended with Rynus¡¯s famous apple pie, she had just enough strength to walk upstairs into her room. She plopped onto her bed face first and closed her eyes, letting the softness and warmth of her mattress sooth her oddly immobile muscles.


    ¡®I¡¯ll just take a quick nap.¡¯ She said to herself. The sun was still out as evening had only just come around the corner and she didn¡¯t want to sleep her entire day away. Alas, her body said otherwise and she ended up sleeping until the afternoon of the next day.


    Luckily, today was Sunday, which meant the restaurant was closed, giving Kira more time to spend learning magic. She wondered what her master had planned for today as she ran down the stairs, all the while smelling the aroma of her master''s breakfasts. She almost found herself drooling from the smell alone.


    ¡°Today I have some special plans since it''s our day off work.¡± Rynus announced to Kira who was furiously munching on her food like she hadn''t eaten in weeks. ¡°First, we''re gonna swing by the markets and purchase your first starter wand.¡±


    Her hands stopped shuffling food into her mouth and she sat there, mouth agape, staring at Rynus with fervent eyes. A wand? For her? She flung herself out of her chair, ignoring the breakfast she was just enamored with, and began to put on her shoes.


    ¡°Wait wait! At least finish your breakfast first Kira!¡± Rynus shouted from the kitchen. ¡°She hasn''t even heard what else we''re doing today.¡± He whispered the last part.


    With one shoe on and the other still in her hands, she tossed the loose shoe aside and ran back to the table and immediately began eating once again, but this time, twice as fast. Rynus wanted to say something, but he could only watch her with a small grin, lovingly laughing at her actions in his head.


    ¡°Done!¡± She yelled then repeated her previous movements and dashed back to the front door. Once her shoes were tied and her favorite floppy black wizards hat was on her head, she was ready to leave. Turning to see where Rynus was, she egged him to hurry up and threw herself through the front door and down the stairs to the pathway below.


    Rynus of course hurried along, he didn''t want to keep his apprentice waiting any longer. He knew how much she longed for her own wand, it''s what most considered the first sign an apprentice was readily learning magic.


    While not having a wand didn''t mean a wizard couldn''t use magic, it was an important tool that every wizard needed if they wanted their magic to flourish. Wands could do many things; increase a spell''s power, speed up the casting speed of a spell, help control a spell, and much, much more. There were an infinite number of wands that could be made using different woods, different supplementary ingredients, different sizes, and different shapes. All those aspects went into making a wand. Creating the perfect wand for oneself was one of a wizard''s greatest tasks, something that could take decades to do¡ª and for some it could even take a century.


    Kira was getting a starter wand, a premade wand without any supplementary ingredients, usually made to help with control and mana efficiency. It was mundane in terms of wands out there, but it would still be a wand Kira could call her own. Now that she was actually able to start using magic and no longer needed to continue pushing it away, she wanted to fully immerse herself in the world of wonders that it was. From now on, her life was about to completely change.

 Chapter 3 - Her First Wand

    Following the path into the main city, they continued deeper and deeper until they reached the magic district of Orshon. Like her master, the people here were all dressed in long dark robes and had various types of hats resting on their heads, mainly ones similar to their own, but she did spot a few unique hats that stood out. There was one similar to a top hat  but thrice as tall, a funny fella with a curly mustache had a wide brimmed hat that curved like an umbrella; Kira got a chuckle seeing a feathery hat that looked like a nest atop a lady.


    Besides robes and hats, Kira recognized a few races she had read about, but had only seen them a few times around the normal part of the city. But here, in the magic district, they could be found every which way you looked.


    All around her were shops and stalls that were oddly shaped and sparkling with magic. They would immediately stick out if they were placed anywhere besides this district. She looked up to see a stone building somehow arching over the street, and when she peered inside, the people looked sideways to her, but they appeared to be walking around like normal. A stall to her right had wooden legs growing on its four corners and was walking down the street while its owner was hawking their wares. A shop that looked like an upsized version of a treasure chest was brimming with guests, though Kira wasn¡¯t sure what they sold inside.


    She wasn¡¯t able to visit the magic district without her master due to the potential for¡­ well lots of things to go wrong, but everytime she did come here, it was a wonder to behold! Unfortunately she didn''t have much time to let her eyes wander the wondrous scene around her because she felt her master tug on her arm and then pulled her into a shop.


    Wands of all shapes, sizes, and colors were neatly placed on soft maroon cushions resting on numerous shelves that wrapped around the back and side walls of this place. The interior was spacious and from the shine and polish that came from every nook and cranny, it was clearly well taken care of.


    Kira¡¯s eyes finally landed on a woman facing away from them, who was carefully dusting a wand on the back wall with a wispy feather duster. She inspected it to make sure it was pristine before moving on to the next. She was just as tall as Rynus and had long black hair tied up in a bun. Kira could spot the edges of some glasses peeking out from the side of her face.


    The women made sure the wand in front of her was properly cleaned before she turned to face them. Her face was pretty, as most wizards seemed to be from what Kira had seen, but appeared cold and emotionless. Her eyebrows were sharp, resting with a downward curve, and her cheeks were slightly hollow as her jawline was quite pronounced. Circular glasses with black rims gently sat on her smooth nose, while the eyes behind them stared at the two new customers.


    ¡°Rynus.¡± The woman said plainly, recognizing Kira¡¯s master. Her eyes trailed down to look at Kira and one of her eyebrows raised up in response.


    ¡°It''s been a while Merran, I was surprised to hear you were back so soon, how did your journey go?¡± Rynus replied with a smile.


    ¡°Successful. I thought I would be gone for 20 years, but I seemed to have lucked out with my finds¡ª now who¡¯s this?¡± She stared, unblinking at Kira.


    Rynus wrapped his long arms around Kira¡¯s back and pushed her slightly forward. ¡°This, my dear friend, is my apprentice, Kira.¡±


    Both of Merran¡¯s eyebrows raised this time, before promptly returning to her normal stoic face. ¡°It appears my luck wasn''t as good as I thought, I completely missed your apprentices growing years.¡±


    Rynus chuckled with a grin, ¡°Others may call you cold, but I know the real you. As sweet as ever.¡± He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her. ¡°It''s good to see again, I would¡¯ve visited sooner, but I didn¡¯t even know you were back till a few days ago.¡±


    Merran froze for a second before returning the hug with an awkward pat. ¡°Yes well, I had a lot I needed to get sorted out after 15 years away. I was thinking of making a trip to your place tomorrow anyways.¡±


    After they released each other from the hug, Rynus said, ¡°Good good, I''m glad you''re back. And as it''s my dear Kira¡¯s time to start learning magic, I brought her over to the best wand maker I know.¡±


    ¡°Hmph.¡± Merran huffed and Kira swore she saw the tiniest of smiles curl up on her lips for a split second before disappearing. ¡°Come here child.¡± The woman beckoned her over.


    Kira looked up to her master who nodded at her with an almost childlike enthusiasm just like her own most of the time. She stepped forward in front of Merran with a little nervousness tingling through her stomach. Rynus and Merran seemed to be friends, so they must know each other quite well, but that didn''t make Merran any less intimidating to her.


    ¡°Has Rynus treated you fairly?¡± Merran asked, surprising Kira a little with the question.


    Kira nodded, remembering all the times Rynus had spoiled her with delicious foods or bought her cool presents for her birthday. He hadn¡¯t really allowed her to interact much with the magical side of life just yet, which did annoy Kira at first, but as she grew older, she knew he was just trying to keep her healthy and safe.


    ¡°Good. Now then, give me your hand.¡± Merran reached out and gently clasped Kira¡¯s outstretched hand. Instantly, Kira felt a little jolt on her hand as they touched. ¡°Ah a child of Thorn, what a coincidence.¡±


    The black marks of Thorn had grown along with Kira as she aged, and it still fully circled around the base of her neck, but they were currently hidden by her clothing. Somehow Merran was able to tell she was a child of Thorn without evening seeing the marks.


    ¡°Hmm, what do you think of magic Kira?¡± Merran asked as she was pressing and prodding Kira¡¯s hand.


    What did she think of magic? That was a hard question she didn''t know how to answer immediately and needed a second to think about it. She loved magic obviously, even though she hadn''t even learned to use any yet, but seeing what her master was capable of, or what she had read about in her books, it was all so amazing to her. It had caused her some sadness when she was still living in the orphanage, but those days were so far behind her she barely remembered them. In fact, now that she and Rynus visited Mrs.Funkell¡ª her mom¡ª and the rest of her orphanage family every year, the more those memories were becoming good ones. With Rynus by her side, she could play with the kids without fearing that she¡¯d hurt anyone, and had grown closer to the ones she was never able to hang around with beforehand.


    Memories and feelings swirled inside of her, but she knew she couldn''t just stand there in silence forever so she said the first thing that came to mind, her true feeling on magic.


    ¡°It''s the coolest!¡± She said a little louder than she wanted with a large grin on her face.


    If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°Simple¡­ but that''s not a bad thing. Mmm, your mana is faintly erratic, but there''s a power to it.¡± Merran spoke to herself aloud, trying to get a good read on Kira¡¯s magic.


    ¡°Okay let''s try some wands out.¡± Merran let go of her hand and walked around her store, searching for the right wand, before she carefully picked one up and held it out to Kira. ¡°Now my dear, this is a real wand, treat it with respect, but don''t shy away from it. Let your magic flow throw it naturally.¡±


    Kira nodded and took a reddish brown wand from Merran with two hands, being careful not to drop it. The second her fingers touched it, she felt a tingle course through her and almost dropped the wand on instinct, but she was luckily able to quickly clasp it so it didn''t fall.


    Once she knew she had a firm hold over the wand, she held it with one hand and held it up to her face to inspect the wand. It was a simple wand with a classical wand shape; long, thin, and cylindrical. There were no curves, spirals, or any other odd designs. She felt her magic interact with the wand as it slowly seeped into its wooden base from where her hand was touching it, and she could feel her mana change and grow as it crept up the wand.


    ¡°Has Rynus taught you any magic yet?¡±


    Kira shook her head. ¡°Not yet, we just started yesterday.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, I guess teaching a child of Thorn without a starter wand would be more difficult, but this makes my job a little more challenging.¡± Merran said, then surprisingly smiled. ¡°I want you to point the wand at me and to try channeling your mana through it.¡±


    Rynus opened his mouth to say something but got a deadly stare in response from Merran, not wanting him to interrupt her work.


    ¡°Are you sure? Rynus says I have an affinity for¡­ well, blowing things up with my magic.¡± Kira asked, a little anxious about following Merran¡¯s instructions.


    ¡°Don''t worry about that, just try and shoot some magic child.¡± Merran reassured her¡­ in a way.


    ¡®Well if she''s okay with it.¡¯


    Being able to feel her mana slowly course through her hand into the wand made it easier for her to push more mana into the wand. She pointed it at Merran and after a few pushes, she jumped back in surprise as a rush of magic burst out of the wand in a scattered form, sending little bits of raw magic flying out in front of her.


    Before the magic could hit anything and potentially damage it, Merran waved her hand a wall of yellow light rushed, and every bit of Kira¡¯s magic that passed through it disappeared as if it was never there to begin with.


    Kira stood still, then her whole face lit up with joy! She had used magic again! It felt a little different than yesterday''s whole lesson, because instead of just attempting to call forth all her magic at once, she made little pushes until a small amount of magic came out. And she could still stand afterwards!


    ¡°So how did it feel?¡±


    ¡°That was amazing! Did you see that master!?¡± She flashed him a wide smile and Rynus clapped in response, making her giggle.


    ¡°Not the magic dear, the wand. Did it feel smooth? Is it too heavy or light? Does it just feel off in a way?¡± Merran interrogated her with a barrage of questions.


    Now that she was thinking about it¡ª


    ¡°It¡­ It felt¡­ weird?¡± Kira tried to grasp the feeling and explain it, ¡°And it''s a little heavy I think, I''m not too sure.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm, did it feel like the wand didnt like your magic? Rejected it even?¡±


    ¡°I didn''t feel like it rejected my magic, but more like¡­ it didn''t like the taste of my magic?¡± Kira said, which made Rynus chuckle hearing her foody metaphor.


    Merran took the wand back from Kira and started mumbling to herself while searching for a new wand for Kira to test out. The dark haired wizard zipped around her store, zoning in on the wand she thought was best for Kira after hearing her remarks.


    Eventually after a few minutes, Merran presented her with a new wand, one that immediately caught her attention just seeing the sleek design. It was slightly longer than the previous wand, about twice as long as her forearm, and was made of a dark brown wood polished to a shine. The section near the base was a lighter brown and extruded outwards creating a thicker section to hold onto it more easily, with floral etchings around the rim to give it a little more of a unique shape. At the very bottom of the wand was a little rose protrusion made of the same lighter wood.


    ¡°Woah.¡± Kira unintentionally said, seeing the wand in front of her eyes. It was totally different than the first wand she tried and it almost immediately felt just right when she took it into her hand.


    ¡°Once again, try channeling your magic through it.¡± Merran chimed in.


    This time, it took one push for her magic to simply breeze through her body, through her wand, creating a small streak of mana that shot right out of her wand. Shocked that it worked so easily, Kira¡¯s eyes widened watching her mana get dispersed once again by Merran.


    ¡°That was awesome!¡± Kira shouted in joy and channeled more mana into her wand, this time pushing a little harder. Her folly got the better of herself and she felt her wand blast out more mana than she could control, and more than her body could handle, as the force of the magic sent her falling onto her backside.


    ¡°Ouch.¡± She winced, but looked up in embarrassment at what she had just done. Of course, the experienced wizard had easily blocked her blast. Merran then walked over to her and leaned down, offering Kira her arm.


    ¡°She¡¯s a little feisty isn''t she?¡± Merran said, eyeing Kira¡¯s wand. ¡°I think she likes you.¡±


    ¡°It¡­ she¡­ she''s awesome!¡± Kira cheered. "Wow, that was so much different then the last one. It was like she wanted to use my magic!¡±


    ¡°Mm, that''s a good sign.¡± Merran nodded. ¡°So how do you feel?¡±


    ¡°This is the one!¡± Kira raised the wand high above her head and stared at it with love. ¡°For sure!¡±


    ¡°Hm, that''s a good sign. A wizard should follow their instincts when it comes to things like this. As long as you''re sure, then that''s good. Though second try, I guess I''m getting pretty good at this.¡± She mumbled that last part.


    ¡°So this is the one then Kira?¡± Rynus came over to her and double-checked with her decision.


    ¡°Mm!¡± Kira''s eyes were glued to the wand.


    ¡°Perfect!¡± Rynus clapped. ¡°How much for the wand Merran?¡±


    ¡°For a friend''s apprentice? None. She can have it for free.¡±


    ¡°What? Free?¡± Rynus was taken aback. ¡°I can''t do that, your wands must cost you money, time, and love. I insist, we can''t take it for free.¡±


    ¡°Then I''ll accept a few free meals from your restaurant if you want to pay, but I won''t accept money from you.¡±


    Rynus rubbed his long willowy silver beard in deliberation, before he nodded. ¡°Fine, you have yourself a deal. Free meals for a year, whenever you want, however much you want.¡±


    ¡°A year? That''s a long time for you to give me free food. That¡¯s worth way more than a starter wand.¡±


    ¡°That''s my only offer, and I''m not taking no for an answer.¡±


    ¡°Hmph.¡± Merran¡¯s cold expression lifted just a little. ¡°Then I''ll make sure to take advantage of this deal.¡±


    The two spoke for a couple more minutes after their deal was made, something about her decade long travels, but Kira was too busy staring at her wand to really pay attention to what they talked about. What a dream come true! Her first wand, in her hands!


    Wah! She cheered internally and could feel the magic in her body grow closer to the wand as a bond was forming between them. How much she wanted to try pushing her magic into the wand was almost beyond her self control, but she held firm. If she ended up blowing up this shop, or damaging one of Merran¡¯s wands¡­ oh she didnt want to imagine what punishment Rynus would give her. She bet he would take her new wand away from her for a week, or even put their magic lessons on hold¡ª she could not let that happen!


    ¡°How fascinating!¡± Rynus remarked to something Merran had told him. ¡°Oh, would you look at the time, it was great seeing you again, Merran, but I have another appointment I must take Kira to shortly. Are you still thinking of visiting the restaurant tomorrow?¡±


    ¡°Mm, I¡¯ll come sometime in the evening.¡±


    ¡°That works, though I¡¯m closing early until the school year starts, so if you can¡¯t find me inside, I¡¯ll be somewhere in the back training with Kira.¡± Rynus explained.


    With that, Rynus gave Merran a farewell hug, one that Merran returned a little more comfortably then the first one, and left the store with Kira. She was still too busy studying her wand and almost forgot to thank Merran, but as the door was closing, Kira shouted from outside, ¡°Thanks Merran!!¡±


    Merran watched the door of her store shut and a light giggle escaped from her lips. A smile rested on her face, one that didn¡¯t seem to go away. Rynus really found such a perfect apprentice. Oh, I should bring her a gift tomorrow, but what would she like hmm?


    While Merran was deliberating gift ideas, Rynus and Kira trekked through the streets of the magic district, going deeper into the center. Eventually Kira snapped out of her current wand obsessive state and asked Rynus where they were going now. She already had her wand, was there something else they had to get right now?


    ¡°It''s a surprise, you''ll see very soon.¡± Rynus chuckled as Kira pestered him to tell her already, but he resisted her adorable plight.