《The Archmage of Wonders》 Prelude Time itself did not weigh on the wisp''s endless journey. It was merely an echo from a bygone era. The era was mere moments ago; equally, it was forever ago. The echo beamed and brimmed with brilliant ripples of light, each cascading across its surface. Broiling like a fire, the wisp roiled with wonder and heat, and every passing moment the eclipsed night stole every lick of the wisp¡¯s flame, dulling its wonder. It was being was slowly suffocated under an endless restful silence. Its wondrous light will disappear here, like the many before it. It will drift into a slumber, its trail of echoes becoming nothing but forgotten noise. It was the only wander of a forgotten world. It was floating across the seamless void, traveling between areas of warmth and areas of cold. For the wisp, it was comfortable and welcomed. It was a single light that echoed across an eternal night. The light wavered within its travels as if bracing against an unforeseen wind. A starless kingdom was ahead for now and for always. The light''s path left ripples on the night''s surface as its journey continued. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. A noise spoke out against the inky night and its fervent silence. Like the sound of ice cracking within a frozen lake, it was chaotic and otherworldly. The wisp and its journey found no interest in the loss of silence. The rabid noise of unweaving grew. It propagated from a mere whisper to an abhorrent shout. In a moment, measurement returned to meaning as a thin strip of angelic multicolored dream cut into the eternal night. It redefined the void¡¯s laws, making itself the definition of down. It was a rift of dream and its surface boiled and burned with potent multi-colored light; resembling the surface of a star, it created flares that tore into the fabric of the night. The rift of dreams buzzed with endless power; however, despite its eternal power, the endless night, like an ocean eroding a beach, it will erode the rift¡¯s grasp on the plane. The wisp, for the first time, began to fall. With every moment, the distance shrunk toward the rift¡¯s lake of brilliant color. With every moment, the rift lost more of its hold on the plane. The wisp fell towards the multicolored opening, absorbing every ounce of light it could withstand. It collided with the rift, and like a drop returning to the ocean, ripples of dream surged across its surface. The light and all its wonders were once again subject to the realm of dreams. Chapter 1: The town of Rivaelet She had me. I was a mere sheep, and she was my shepherd. I was sandwiched between several buildings in a shared courtyard. Behind me were open barrels, trees, and shrubbery. And as much as I loved barrels, trees, and shrubbery, it wouldn¡¯t help me here. She was closing in, time was limited. I moved left and right to try and shake her off, cleverly, she reacted in kind, following my every movement. Her face curled into a smug grin as she announced, ¡°I swear I won¡¯t let you escape this time.¡± She was probably right. I needed to form a plan and fast. The surrounding buildings were towering, with vertical wooden pillars, intricate balconies, and lines of rope that hung from building to building, probably, for drying clothes; it was climbable, maybe. However, turning my back to her would have been a mistake, and her look gave me the impression that she was waiting for any chance to pounce. I think the reason she hadn¡¯t already was because of my reputation for escaping. Now, the problem was that every second I spent thinking she would only get closer in, and her smug grin showed she understood that. I wasn¡¯t giving up yet; I had a plan forming, and all it needed was to distract her for a few moments. Hopefully, a few moments was enough. I looked somewhere behind her and with a face of surprise. I gasped, ¡°Is that Mr. Garthe?¡± Instantly, her posture changed as her head slowly and carefully turned to glimpse behind her. She had taken the bait. Faster than I¡¯ve ever run before, I sprinted towards the streets of Rivaelet. Worryingly, my distraction hadn¡¯t lasted long, and it took her only a few seconds for her to gauge my betrayal. Turning to me, she lunged in my direction. She was faster than me, and while the distraction hadn¡¯t lasted long, it might have been enough. The street was just a few steps away, and she was already on top of me. Her hand was beginning to reach out to grab me. She began to cheer out the words I feared the most, ¡°You¡¯re¡­ I¡­t---.¡± Somehow, my jump into the streets caused her tag to miss, and for her to tumble into stonework behind me. Now, I had the advantage. The cobbled streets clicked and clacked as merchants paraded the streets with their magically-propelled carts. Ophelia wasn¡¯t giving up, and like a wolf stalking her prey, she followed every step I took. I couldn¡¯t dodge forever, and eventually, she would be back in striking distance of me. Although, I had one last trick in mind. I knew the location of my dearest and greatest friend, Ulfred. His sacrifice would be a necessary loss. I weaved between the merchants and their carts. Each in their own way cursing, growling, and sneering curses in my direction. Unbothered, I tore across the bridge that separated the village in half and sprinted toward the central garden where our game had begun. I was not alone in this endeavor, as Ophelia had made it clear in her insults and her explosive steps. It sounded like from her insults and her exhaustion that she was maybe five to ten feet behind me. As I ran through the streets, my vision turned behind me goading her further, ¡°Ha! Even if you had a headstart you still wouldn¡¯t have been able to catch me~!¡± Just from the few glimpses I had taken, her face was red with anger, and it caused her to clip a poor merchant''s stand sending its contents flying. Laughing, I turned my focus back to the roads ahead, narrowly avoiding a merchant stand of my own. Just ahead of me, the buildings became more organic, that is to say, they were slowly being overtaken by vegetation. The green thorned vines that webbed across the shops and homes alike were reminiscent of the Central Garden. The Central Garden was a place of delicate flowers carpeting the ground between trees and bushes. Its perfectly carved stone walkways led passersby through tunnels of vines and circled a central pond. Its druidic guardian, if she was awake, would wander the garden and guide its growth. Today, however, I will not be respecting its beauty, and instead, every shrub, tree, and slightly vibrant flower will be used to throw off my assailant. After several minutes of circling trees and diving through bushes, I found myself nearing the central grove. Getting to the grove before Ophelia could see me was all that mattered and she was gaining ground. I followed the winding path as it curved around the central pond. I could see the grove through the trees, it was within grasp. The vines and living wood sculpted the central grove. It was elegant, alive and its architecture flowed like a waterfall. It also happened to harbor my dear friend Ulfred. Carving through the stone archway that separated the grove from the garden I looked behind me. Ophelia wasn¡¯t in sight yet; I still had time. Past the stone arch was a delicate grotto and in its center a living wooden hovel with arching windows on every side overlooked the pond behind it. Ulfred, when I last saw him, was hidden somewhere behind the hovel. Hopefully, he was still there. As I glanced behind me Ophelia had past the stone archway and was carefully scanning for me. Her eyes locked with mine and the race was on again. I scrambled around the hovel and I nearly tripped over Ulfred. I had noticed Ulfred a second before nearly tripping over him; he was crouched down and hugging the hovel. He looked at me quizically while I skittered around him, ¡°Allay, hey! Where is Ophel-¡± Behind me sounds of injury pierced out from Ophelia and Ulfred. As Ophelia tripped over the Ulfred going head over heels into a patch of nearby Lilies. Ulfread, while crying out in pain, flopped along with her as the impact carried him. ¡°I-gotchu!¡± She yelped with glee while currently face down in the dirt. Uncontrollably, laughter spilled out as I looked down at the dog pile. Ophelia, flipping over and now realizing she had not caught me, took in a breath of defeat. ¡°Why¡­¡± She heaved, ¡°Are you¡­ So difficult to catch?¡± ¡°What can I say? I am just that cool,¡± I stated rather matter-of-factly. She turned, her eyes staring into mine, ¡°I swear on my name, I will drown you in the Lumen Ocean.¡± Ulfred, finally joining the conversation, said, ¡°Ophelia, your new name from this point on is Oaf,¡± as he spoke his hand rubbed an injury on his head and slowly he picked himself up. ¡°I hope that wasn¡¯t loud enough to alert Nima.¡± He worriedly scanned the grove. Equally as worried, I swept the sanctuary, and only after confirming that she was not close by I whispered, ¡°I am pretty sure she takes a nap around this hour, she is extremely old.¡± That got a laugh out of Ophelia and a worried smile from Ulfred. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! Nima was in her own league of the mean. As the current guardian of the grove, she ruled it with an Iron fist, which in her own right was worth respect. However, if you dare decide to have any fun within the grove, she will crucify you. The grove to her was like her personal magi-vault, but instead of holding ancient magical artifacts, it instead contained flowers. Although, to her credit, Rivaelet¡¯s Central Garden was beautiful beyond words. I glanced down at Ulfred and smirked, ¡°Well, anyways, you¡¯re it. Start counting.¡± His eyes glanced upwards into mine and with desperation, he hesitantly responded, ¡°Yeah, well, I am on base.¡± What. ¡±No, you weren''t! There is no such thing as base!¡± I blurted out. Before the argument could continue any further; a wail, whose volume only increased, propagated the valley. ¡°Is that the storm alarm?¡± Ophelia questioned. ¡°I think so?¡± I guessed. ¡°Do they use that alarm for attacks?¡± I glanced at Ulfred looking for any answer. ¡°I don¡¯t think so. I think my dad may have mentioned something like this happening this morning.¡± Ulfred cautioned. ¡°Ophelia!¡± A rough voice filled with worry called out from somewhere in the central garden. Ophelia, recognizing the voice, yelled back, ¡°I¡¯m right here!¡± A few moments passed before a figure walked through the stone arch. He was a large, extremely burly man, who wore hunted leather skins and had pouches strewn all across him. His face was dirty, his hair was a mess. He looked relieved as he saw Ophelia. However, that quickly turned to disappointment and then to anger. He looked each of us up and down as he approached, and with a satisfied look, his deep voice bellowed, ¡°You know damn well that yall are not supposed to be here.¡± His hand shifted down into one of his pouches as he pulled out a stone of glowing runic circles. ¡°I¡¯ve found them in the central grove. I¡¯ll wait here until you get them.¡± He grumbled. The stone vibrated, and the normally sweet voice, now filled with venom, emerged, ¡°I¡¯ll be there as soon as I can. A lot of the southern wards still need to be refilled. Please tell Allay, that when we get home we are going to have a very long conversation.¡± Welp, this was it, I was dead. ¡­ We were being watched like a hawk, Mr. Garthe made sure we were as silent as a mouse. Well, he didn¡¯t directly tell us to be quiet, instead, his intense gaze pretty much simplified to, ¡°If you say or do anything I will kill you.¡± How friendly. Ulfred was the first to be picked up, and it was by a servant who wore his house¡¯s emblem. The servant was an older man who was groomed to perfection. He gave the air of elegant noble refinement. The servant was swift in arriving settling matters and departing. ¡­ My mother, however, took a lot longer, and by the time she arrived, the sky had gone from a beautiful radiant day to a rolling storm of ominous dark clouds. The garden was being blown left and right with leaves being torn from their branches. As If I had a sixth sense I could almost literally feel the upcoming judgment before she even appeared. She passed the stone arch and like a dragon swooping down to ruin a village her eyes of eternal hatred and radiant anger scoured my entire being. The wave of emotion it caused immediately dropped my head and eyes to stare at my feet. ¡°Allay, you have a lot of explaining to do.¡± Her words were cold and filled my entire being with endless disapproval. ¡°This morning, when I told you to stay home and finish your chores. What had I explicitly told you not to do?¡± Still looking at the ground I whispered back, ¡°You, told me that under no circumstances was I to leave the house.¡± She scoffed, ¡°Do you also the remember reason why I said you were under no circumstance to leave the house?¡± She echoed back. I stared deeper into the ground, my gaze nearly drilling to the Lumen Ocean, I hadn¡¯t been listening. ¡°no¡­¡± I squeaked. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s great, then let me remind you. Today there is going to be weather that will cut, slice, and drag you into the air.¡± She snapped. ¡°I am sorr-¡± I began before she cut me off, ¡°Sorry? No, no, no, sorry won¡¯t cover it this time. Now say your goodbyes because you won¡¯t be seeing your friends until the day of Radiance.¡± Finally, I looked up appalled at her suggestion, and paled, that was months away, practically forever! She turned her attention to Garthe, ¡°Thank you for finding him. I¡¯m going to take him home before the storm gets worse, could you please inform Mayor Richet that I will be late for our meeting.¡± He gave a curt nod and led Ophelia away. I waved a solemn goodbye, knowing it would be a long time till I saw her again. My mother swiftly grabbed my wrist and dragged me out of the Central Garden. ¡­ Overlooking the town of Rivaelet was my favorite pastime. From the living room¡¯s front window, I could see the entire town of Rivaelet. Each side of the valley and even the Southern Gates were within view. The Southern Gate¡¯s stone walls looked so small from this distance, and I could barely make out the various vines that climbed across its wall. The creek separated the town and aimlessly flowed toward the southern wall, unfortunately, buildings blocked most of my view of the creek. The town¡¯s amphitheater just barely climbed above its surrounding townhouses; making it just barely visible. Although, nothing was as cool to see as the farms built into the valley¡¯s walls. The gardens were my favorite part of Rivaelet. A portion of the mountain was flattened, turned to farmland, and then repeated a few feet above it, and while they didn¡¯t climb up the entirety of the mountain, it harvested enough food to feed everyone in the valley. I am, surprisingly, really grateful that my mother found me when she did. As we got home the winds had ramped up and were probably enough to drag me into the air. Thankfully, I had the town''s only first-rate mage by my side, and she was able to easily divert the wind around us. However, if it had been any later I have no idea what she would have done because even now, the wind was continuing to pick up. The skies were dark and rolled with intense pressure. The only light able to pierce through the clouds came from the auroric Leyline of Air. When we got back to the house, my mother let loose. I¡¯ve been yelled at before, but this time, I wasn¡¯t getting off light. I had really upset her. Anyway, now I can¡¯t leave the house till the day of Radiance, which is 3 months away. This also wasn¡¯t something I could escape from. I was forced to sit and watch her remove me from our Alarm ward. So here I was, sitting in our living room, staring out our front window. My list of chores had doubled, studies my mother assigned tripled, and my access outside was nowhere to be found. I looked around the living room, its arched doorways, fancy furniture, and bookshelves filled to the brim with books wouldn¡¯t keep me forever! Maybe, just maybe, I could convince Dad to give me some freebies. ¡­ It was late that night when I was awoken by the sound of shattering glass piercing my dreamless sleep. Groggily I climbed from bed and stood with my drowsiness shifting me from side to side. My room was shrouded in darkness and my bedside window hadn¡¯t the faintest bit of light shining through. It took me a second to shake off my sleep and reach for my bedroom door. A howl of wind flooded my room and drowned the hallway with its frigid bite. I shivered in place, eagerly awaiting to find whatever was wrong and return to bed. The hallway wasn¡¯t long and because of the lightless corridor, I could barely make out the living room. I pushed against the wind and used the arched doorframes to steady myself as pulled myself into the living room. The mana lamp responded to my entry and its light, slowly, filled the room. Our front window was broken, a rock of ice had shattered it into hundreds of pieces. The couch under the window was shredded by glass shards, which dangerously stabbed out. The hardwood floor was splintered and a glowing rocky sphere of ice sat in its crater. There was stirring behind me; most likely the sounds of my mother and father waking up. But, something wasn¡¯t right. The glass shards and portions of the ice were wrong, somehow. Hesitantly, I reached down and picked up the largest glass shard I could find. As I picked it up a sliver of it pierced my skin and caused me to whence in pain as red ichor began to stain the glass. I watched the blood trickle across the surface, but I found no reflection of blood nor the room. Instead, an otherwordly vision had found its home. Chapter 2: A Nightmare Finally, I breathed a sigh of relief, after a long and arduous day of studying, chores, and verbal assault by my mother. Closing the door and eagerly eyeing my bed in anticipation of a well-needed night''s rest, I swiftly changed into my sleepwear. Funnily enough, when I was younger, I was afraid of falling asleep, but after the last few days, I found myself in a world of wondrous dreams. These dreams started two nights ago when the ice storm shattered the window and the glass contained an otherworldly vision. With that thought, a cold bite seemed to snip at my spine and searing heat poured across my skin. Even though it was just a reflection. However, that night, I saw a world of splendor and I remembered it all too vividly; I sat in a carriage of some sort, rocking side to side, as beams from an eternally watchful ball of fire pierced through towers which tore over the treeline and touched the sky. The dream brought with it understanding. That ball of eternal fire, a star named Sol. Those towers that tore across the skyline, were skyscrapers. The carriage that I traveled in, was similar to magically-propelled-cart was a car. With my sleepwear now on I carefully remove the covers to my bed, looking out my window as I do. The Ice storm a few days ago was now long gone and instead, a crystal-clear pitch-black night sat above. It was nearly pitch-black because of the sporadic distant tiny lights that dotted the sky. The second night after the ice storm, I dreamed I was between two lakes on a grassy strait that separated the lakes. The lakes themselves were filled with a sea of stars and those stars were a mere reflection of the grandeur above. They poured across the sky with uncertain delicate purpose. I knew now that they were trillions of miles away. I knew now that they were echoes of ancient furnaces that may no longer live. I knew now that they each had their own worlds that were too alien to describe. I knew now what world I visited in my dreams, a world called Earth. Pulling the covers to my chest, I closed my eyes and drifted into slumber. ¡­ The sweet yet sickly sour smell poured across the room. With a pull and tug, I tried to move my vision to view across the room, but it gave no ground as my perspective was firmly locked in place. Twisting and turning my body returned me nothing. Why couldn¡¯t I move? This dream was different from the ones previous in that I was able to look and move as I wanted. Instead, my view was solely fixed, and my movements were not my own as I watched as I placed a liquid vial into a warm bath of boiling water. Chattered chorused across the room, the voices themselves spoke with a smooth drawn-in alien accent, and as their alien speech crossed my ears I found understanding. ¡°I think it needs to be heated a little longer¡­¡± One said while another screeched out, ¡°Woah! Watch it!¡± All while another voice, closer this time, expressed concern. ¡°I think we missed a step?¡± My vision snapped upwards towards the last speaker. The view was fuzzy like it wasn¡¯t fully realized. He looked to be a lanky man with brown eyes and red hair. He was looking down at the notebook, his eyes darting left and right across the page. The room around him, now partially in view, was large and filled with people. While its edges were fuzzy I found some recognition in the environment. It contained glassware, some bubbling with water, and others set aside. From the looks of it, and from what my mother had described in the past. It reminded me of an Alchemical lab. Wait, Alchemical? Something about those words didn''t feel right. Like a joke was sitting on the tip of my tongue about fools gold. I felt my mouth move, and words that I didn¡¯t form poured out, ¡°Have we?¡± As I spoke, the edges of him started to sharpen little by little. What was his name again? I swear it started with an R, maybe Ronald, Riddle, Ripley? A dry sand-like grit filled my mouth; What was my name again? How could I forget it? It was right there, I knew it started with an A, maybe Abel, or, Al? ¡°Did we add the acetic anhydride?¡± He asked while turning his whole body to look at me with a notebook in hand and eyes of uncertainty. My name was missing, but it didn''t feel like it was just my name something else, something more important was missing and I couldn¡¯t remember what it was. Something that meant more than just my name, something similar to my core was missing. ¡°I am pretty sure we did?¡± I responded, unconsciously as my view turned and my body snapped to a notebook, whose entry I could not read. ¡°I think we did. I mean if we didn¡¯t then we are just boiling water.¡± I started to smile while my gaze wandered back to the man whose name was on the tip of my tongue. With an expression of amusement, he repeated, ¡°Just, boiling, water.¡± He and I started to chuckle. That''s right his name was Jacob, I think. Jacob from my Chemistry class. Like an ocean wave surging into a broken damn, it all came back. My name is Samuel and I study Physics, how could I forget? The world shuddered and began to shake violently. Similar to a watercolored painting the colors started to bleed into each other. The ground underneath me broke as I grappled onto the desk keeping me from falling. My grasp was slipping my grip faltering as I heard a loud siren begin to burn the world with her words. I finally let go and awoke. ¡­ ¡°Wake up Allay! I cannot believe that you are still sleeping at this hour!¡± A woman¡¯s voice filled with scorn and anger exploded throughout the room. Groggily I lifted myself out of bed. My body is slow to act on my intentions. The room itself was well-lit as light poured from a window behind me. There were crude drawings posted on the walls and clothes were strewn all across the floor. The woman herself stood at the arched entrance into this strange bedroom. She beamed into me as if she was trying to set me on fire. ¡°Um¡­¡± I wavered for a second or two, ¡°Who are you?¡± I asked as I didn¡¯t recognize her. Something wasn¡¯t clicking, wasn¡¯t I just doing a chem lab, didn¡¯t I fall as the ground broke? Am I still alive? With a sound of annoyance, she continued, ¡°I am your Mother, and if you don¡¯t get yourself up and ready for the day this instant you will never leave this house.¡± You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. I stared at her as I shifted from side to side. My Mother? Here? Why was she here? My open stare at her caused her to falter. Her expression quickly changed to worry. ¡°Allay, are you alright, do I need to come over there and knock some sense into you?¡± Allay? Who is Allay? It took a few more tense moments before it clicked. I am Allay of Rivaelet. I am not Samuel he wasn¡¯t real. It nagged at me a bit, who is Samuel, and why do I remember him? Wasn¡¯t he only a dream? ¡°Yes, Mom I am alright. I was still waking up. I think.¡± I re-affirmed. ¡°Are you sure you''re alright? We can take today off if you aren¡¯t feeling well, but it will set us behind.¡± She reassured as her head cocked to the side, watching me carefully. ¡°Yes, I am good, I thought I was still dreaming,¡± I confessed, a little embarrassed. ¡°Alright, you won¡¯t have any chores today, but we need to start studying immediately. We are still behind, and there is a lot more to cover. So get dressed and meet me in my office.¡± She turned leaving me to my thoughts. Last night''s dream, was different than the rest, and unlike a normal dream that fades with dawn, I lost myself. Well, maybe, I had found myself? I remember that morning, the taste of toothpaste, the sweet smell of a morning waffle, and the hours spent studying chemistry and calculus. No, that can¡¯t be me it was just a dream, and with that, I took in a long breath as another day of studying awaited me. ¡­ Again, I found myself in my mother''s office it was an addition attached to the side of our house, and its interior was filled to the brim with books, movable boards of chalk, and magical scrolls. Along the walls were magical artifacts each sealed away by glass. I wandered over to a little desk that held my notebook, pencils, and books. ¡°So, let us start with a bit of a review.¡± My mother said, beginning today¡¯s lecture. ¡°How do you form a spell?¡± I thought for a second and prepared an answer, ¡°If I remember correctly when casting a spell, you will the magic in the environment to¡­¡± I faltered for a second before continuing. ¡°Vibrate in a known pattern?¡± She looked at me with a smile and returned, ¡°That''s partially right. A mage casts a spell by willing their environment by extending their desire out onto the world and, as you said, cause it to vibrate in a pattern.¡± She paused for a moment, ¡°However, especially with magic, there is always more to the story, but because you are a fledgling mage that explanation will work for now.¡± She brought her hand to her chin while humming some tune. ¡°Now, what are the lifelines of magic that flow through our world, and more specifically, what are their names?¡± I know they''re called leylines, but naming all of them. I am not sure I remember them all, but I can certainly try. ¡°They are called Leylines and they are named¡­ Leyline of Air, Leyline of Earth, Leyline of Light, and the Leyline of Fire?¡± She spoke with a chuckle and spoke, ¡°Close, you added one and removed another. The Leyline of Light isn¡¯t a Leyline. Instead, it''s an intense burst of magical energy, that emanates somewhere outside the world whose path changes every day, referred to as radiance. This is where we get Radiance Day as it''s when Radiance flies over our town.¡± She spoke while turning towards a close chalkboard and swiftly wrote down a question while repeating, ¡°What makes a Leyline a Leyline?¡± ¡°It being a source of magic?¡± I questioned. ¡°Hmm, that is fair, however, Leylines aren¡¯t a source of magic.¡± She paused before continuing. ¡°Although a lot of people see it as a source of magic, interestingly enough, they are just high concentrations of flowing mana.¡± With swift precision, she flipped the board around and an entire chalk drawing of the world came into view. ¡°Here, look at this map, and with it tell me what you think makes a Leyline a Leyline.¡± The map itself was pretty barebones. There were no cities labeled, no villages mapped, no borders drawn. There were Leylines and surprisingly enough rivers, lakes, and mountains. The Leyline of Air started in the West and ended in the East. The Leyline of Earth started in the South West and ended in the North East. The Leyline of Fire, wrapped nearly the whole world starting in the South East crossing the Leyline of Earth, and ending in the North East. Although there was one point, which was helpfully circled, that every Leyline crossed. ¡°Is a Leyline a permanent structure that crosses the area that was circled?¡± I questioned. With a nod of glee, she challenged, ¡°What is that point called and more importantly why is it there?¡± I could feel it at the tip of my tongue and I could almost make a guess. What was it? Yesterday she related it to a river or a lake. I was looking back at the map with the leylines, rivers, and lakes. I made a guess, ¡°It is a massive lake? Are the Leylines acting like rivers that flow to a massive lake of mana?¡± ¡°Exactly, this point is called the Nexus point and you may ask why there? Well, the traveling from the bottom of the world to the ice sheets above there is another Leyline. The Leyline of Space.¡± She paused and flipped the board back over again, writing as she spoke, ¡°The Leylines are, like you put it, rivers that flow to a lake. That lake is the Nexus point. Again, like everything, there is a more in-depth reason why, but--¡± ¡°What is it?¡± I jumped in before she could continue. Turning around and eyeing me curiously she pushed further, ¡°Well, basically, like rivers everything flows to the lowest point. Leylines are filled with tremendous concentrated magical energy and they also flow to the lowest point or lowest level of energy. The Leyline of Space, which holds together our entire world, creates a region of extremely low energy density. ¡± Her head turned a little to the side as she paused. ¡°I¡¯m glad you asked that. If you pass the entrance exam and you continue asking a lot of questions your professors will love to tell you about their research.¡± She turned back to the board. ¡°Now that we are thoroughly off today¡¯s lesson plan let us start talking about magical foci.¡± Weirdly enough, I was excited about today and beyond curious about today¡¯s lesson plan. Which was an abnormal feeling, in the past I had always hated her lectures, but I was learning magic how could I not be interested? Maybe it was because of the dream I had last night? Either way, it didn¡¯t matter, back to learning magic. ¡­ Closing my notebook and resting my exhausted hand I stood up from my desk. My mother was erasing the board as I stood to exit. ¡°You did very well today.¡± I heard behind me. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen you so studious. So, I¡¯ve put some thought into it and I will give you a break tomorrow. Now that doesn¡¯t mean you can leave the house. It¡¯s just a day to relax.¡± I turned to see her still wiping away the board. I moment passed before she turned to meet my gaze, ¡°Also, just to check in, are you alright? While you did amazing, you did seem distracted. Anything you want to talk about?¡± ¡°Last night I had a scary dream,¡± I replied while staring at the chalkboard. I don¡¯t think scary was the right word. I don¡¯t even think dream was the right word. It was like a memory. It couldn¡¯t have been a memory, right? Whose memories would it have been? Samuels? She gave a nod and returned to cleaning the board. Should I tell her? What would she think? No, not yet at least. While it had been scary to forget, I am still me right? ¡­ The smell of freshly baked bread and sweet roasted chicken overflowed from the kitchen into the dining room. The dining table was, of course, covered in scrolls, books, quills, and ink. I, along with my mother and father, were sitting at the table. Mother was scribbling away at some drawing while eating and father sat there reading some recent news. Picking away at my food instead of just eating it I practically set my plate on fire from the stare I was giving it. What would I dream of tonight? Would I lose myself again? Have I already lost myself? Information that was entirely alien to me keeps finding me. Earlier when I stared into a board of magical formulae I saw the patterns and series of mathematics. When a question was asked about the world I found information regarding elements, chemicals, and atomics. All information that meant nothing without its contexts. With a plate half eaten, I stood up drawing everyone''s attention, ¡°I don¡¯t feel all too well, may I be excused to get some rest?¡± My mother''s look at me was filled with deep worry as she gave a nod while my father, busied with reading, gave the go-ahead. ¡­ My room was cold and entirely too distant. Something about the cold darkness seemed to spill into my room and create an aura of darkness. I took my time changing into my sleepwear and crawling into the bed that was frozen to the touch. It was only when I was buried in my covers that a sound of light tapping prodded my window. Slowly opening my eyes and gazing at the window a branch and mighty wind was the sound''s cause. Closing my eyes once again, I ventured back into the depths of sleep.