《Touchless》


 Chapter I

    "It''s been 3 months!" Avedara complained. "Three months since I sent in my application! I mean, how long does it take to send a letter to G''ilar City? It''s barely even 10 miles away..."


    Her mother just shook her head. "It takes time for letters to be sent to their destination. Plus, you were warned that it would take quite a while before it would even get read." Avedara fell onto her bed, arms outstretched. With an exaggerated sigh, she mumbled, "I know. I''m just tired of waiting. Attending the College is a big deal and I really want to know if I made the cut!"


    Avedara Orghae, the only daughter to the great Q-class wizard Brunus Orghae, paced back and forth in her bedroom while her mother leaned against her door frame. Her father had graduated from the Mage''s College of Zestral, as well as his father and his father before him. Avedara''s family had attended the college for centuries, and she was not about to tarnish her family name by being rejected!


    Her mother shook her head again. "I know that this is a big deal, but there''s no reason to be worked up about this! You already submitted your application and there isn''t much that you can do about it at this point. We just have to wait and see." Grunting, the teenager pushed a pillow onto her face. "Plus, with your scores, there is no way that you are not going to attend!"


    Avedara sighed and slumped her shoulders. Turning to her mother, she replied, "I realize that Mom, but I really want to go and I''d be the first one in the family that didn''t attend." Scoffing, her mother crossed her arms. "And just what do you call me, missy?"


    "A housewife."


    Her mother rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Keep walking in circles until you burn holes in your soles for all I care. I''m going to go to the market. You coming?" Avedara brushed her silky black hair out of her face. "Why not. Don''t wanna have to get new shoes. Just let me change first!"


    Sitting up on her bed, she heard her bedroom door close and footsteps receding down the stairs. Swinging open her wardrobe doors like a shop opening for the day, she rummaged through her clothes until she settled upon a lemon yellow shirt with a knee-long blue skirt. She quickly undressed and folded her nightie as she put on her outfit. "There we go," she mumbled under her breath.


    Avedara had a nasty habit of mumbling to herself at random times, which often landed her in trouble after heated arguments with her mother. Just the last weekend, she had gotten into an altercation with her mother about arranged marriage. While storming off, she was muttering under her breath, which quickly earned her a swift slap across the cheek for her insolence.


    Shaking off the unpleasant memory, Avedara donned a white floral wide-brimmed hat and ran downstairs with a pair of white sandals in hand, slamming the door behind her. After nearly trampling over two maids and a butler, she dashed out of the front door and into the carriage in which her mother was waiting for her.


    Straightening her messed up silky black hair, she slipped her sandals onto her feet. "You good to go?" her mother inquired. Smiling, her daughter replied with a nod. "Let''s go, Arnwell!" she said loudly. In response, the coachman snapped the reins and urged the trazo to walk. The purple, horned, scaly creature, which looked like a crossbreed between a tiger and dragon, grunted softly and began toward the manor gates. Avedara always preferred coach rides to teleportation as she enjoyed watching the scenery and listening to the pitter-patter of the reptilian talons against cobblestone.


    It took an hour to make it to G''ilar City, the capital of Gilaria. The city gates were lined with gold and silver, glittering in the afternoon sun as the carriage passed through. Guards patrolled the cobblestone streets while the inhabitants scuttle around like mice. Avedara looked upon the city folk with disdain and disgust.These pathetic impotent worms, these Touchless pieces of garbage, these disgusting insignificant insects! They are worthless! Hideous! Imbeciles! Why must I share the air I breathe with them? Those that don''t have magic aren''t fit to live in the same city as the Enchanted Queen!If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    As the carriage passed through the streets, she witnessed a group of wizards in an alleyway about her age casting spells at a Touchless boy. Smirking and chuckling to herself, she imagined being in one of the wizards'' shoes in that alley, enjoying the fear in the boy''s eyes as she incarcerated him with the stone in the surrounding walls. To taste his terror, to scar his fragile mind, to make him know his place. To make him understand that those without the magic Touch are only meant to be crushed under the boot of their magic-wielding superiors.


    They rode a while longer before arriving in the shopping district of the city. Beautiful dresses, enchanted wares, and expensive knick-knacks lined the windows. The carriage came to a stop in front of a charmed jewelry store. Nearly flying out the window, Avedara jumped out of the carriage unceremoniously. Shaking her head, her mother calmly stepped out of the car holding the cabby''s hand. "Child, I swear you''re going to be the death of me..." Chuckling, her daughter shook her head. "Your heart isn''t that frail, Mom. You''ve lasted this far!" The pair walked into the shop and began to look around. Row upon row of gems and precious metals filled the store, boasting their power through the ethereal glow that shrouded each one of them. After searching for a little while, Avedara stopped upon a pair of bejeweled earrings. The silver earrings had a purple sheen that seemed to surround them, an indicative sign of the mana stored within them.


    All beings of the world have mana. It is essential for life to exist and someone''s lack of it could endanger their very life. All animals, plants, monsters, people, and sometimes even gemstones contain mana. Through its use, mana stores can increase their maximum amount, allowing magic-users to use more advanced spells with extensive practice. Those with exceptionally high mana stores can perform magic - those with the Touch. People who have a substantially lower amount of mana are called the Touchless - those without the ability to perform magic. Enchanted wears with mana stored in them can be used in emergencies to refill mana stores or can allow Touchless to perform magic using the stored mana as a battery. This pair of silver earrings had about 1000 units of mana stored - roughly 1/2 of Avedara''s maximum mana. "Do you find those interesting, ma''am?"


    Avedara spun around and came face to face with a tall, well built blond boy around her age. Startled, she blushed and couldn''t form any sensible words. "I-I-I-I... u-uh..." The boy laughed a little and stepped back. "That pair in particular is one of my favorites. They look beautiful, have a very strong enchantment, and are relatively cheap for their stats. In any other shop, this pair could go for roughly 3 platinum coins, although we''re selling it for only 1 here. She loved the way he looked at her when he said the word "beautiful". Her heart began to flutter as he brushed aside his long, silky hair. "Are you interested in purchasing them, ma''am?"


    That last question pulled her out of dreamland and back into reality. She straightened and cleared her throat. In her most posh voice possible, she replied, "I do, in fact, like them, however 1 platinum coin is still very expensive for me at the moment. Thank you very much." Walking down the aisle, she blushed the hardest she ever had in her life.Oh my gosh he''s hot!she thought. Her mind raced with the thought of him.He''s perfect for me!


    She turned left at the end of the aisle and walked towards the cashier, spotting an elderly man sitting in a chair behind the desk. "Excuse me, sir, have you seen my mother?" The old man at the register grunted as he straightened his back. "Nah, sorry missy. Although, have you seen Chris? He''s one of my employees around your age. Blond hair, tall?" Her eyes glowed at the discovery of her crush''s name. "Sure thing, sir. He''s over in that aisle," she responded pointing at the aisle she just came from. The old man grunted again. "That good-for-nothing Touchless. Slacking off again. I''ll make him mop the floors for ignoring my orders from this morning!"


    Avedara froze. Had she heard him incorrectly? The handsome young man that she had fallen in love with, a Touchless? A piece of garbage that deserved to be trampled? He didn''t seem so bad, though. He was kind, cheerful, and made her feel like no one ever had before. Was she wrong? Was she sorely mistaken about the Touchless? Were they not so worthless after all?

 Chapter II

    "Look at me when I''m talking to you, boy!" Chris snapped his head to come face to face with his boss. Oh crap, he thought. I started daydreaming again! Mr. Taber shook his head in annoyance. "What am I gonna do with you, Charles?"


    The 16-year-old winced at his first name. His boss only ever called him that when he was incredibly nervous. Something was off. "What''s wrong, uncle?"


    Mr. Taber sighed heavily. "We have a noble coming in today to pick up a shipment of enchanted silver rings. However, the store is a mess and if they''re not satisfied with the product, they could ruin us with a single word. They''re that influential!" Chris took a step back. This had been the family business for almost 30 years -- it couldn''t end just like that!


    "It''ll be alright, uncle. We''ll make a good impression!" Mr. Taber looked into his nephew''s eyes which had been filled with determination. "That''s right, bud. We can do this... but no slacking off!"


    For the next few hours they mopped the floors, dusted the entire store twice, and pushed out all of their most expensive items. Chris had just finished placing the last piece of enchanted wares that they had when he heard the sound of claws on cobblestone approaching. He stiffened. Only nobles with N-class and higher wizards in their immediate family were permitted to own trazos. Exactly how powerful are these customers?


    The bell rang when the door swung open. A girl about his age pranced into the store and immediately began looking around in the jewelry section. A woman, presumably her mother, walked in elegantly and began to go to the back of the shop to where his uncle was. "Sorry about Avedara. She''s been stressed lately, so I invited her to come with me." Mr. Taber laughed heartily. "Oh, it''s no problem at all Mrs. Orghae. Let her have a look around! We might have something that she likes."


    Immediately, Chris froze. Orghae? he thought. As in the Q-class wizard Brunus Orghae? He shuddered at the thought. If such a powerful noble liked the shop, the family business would boom! They could afford to hire a more experienced enchanter to make more expensive and powerful merchandise, they could afford to deliver to their customers, hell, they could even take family vacations! However, if even one thing was wrong, his uncle was right -- they''d be out of business immediately. Chris walked the aisle to see if everything was in place. His uncle was right. It had to be perfect.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    Apart from the chatter between the Lady Orghae and his uncle, the store seemed eerily quiet. Hadn''t the Lady brought in her daughter as well? After a little snooping around the store, he caught her staring enthralled at a pair of jewel-laden earrings. Tend to the customer... don''t screw this up! With his best smile, Chris walked up to Avedara. "Do you find those interesting, ma''am?"


    The girl visibly jumped at the sound of his voice, turning around so fast she whipped his face with her hair. Trying his best not to sputter her hair out of his mouth, he looked at her with the most relaxed smile he could muster. Avedara''s face turned beet red. Chris suddenly began to panic. Oh crap. Did I offend her? Quickly trying to save himself, he explained the product to her. "Are you interesting in purchasing them, ma''am?"


    With her face quickly returning to its original color, the noble regained her composure. Assuming a powerful pose, she turned her chin up and said, "I do, in fact, like them. However, 1 platinum coin is still very expensive for me at the moment. Thank you very much." As she began to walk away, Chris scowled behind her back. He hated snobbish nobles, especially those who believed that they were better than those who didn''t have the stroke of luck being born in their caste. He could faintly hear his uncle talking to someone, specifically hearing the words "Chris" and "Touchless".


    Chris cringed. Although he wouldn''t let anyone know it, he was incredibly insecure about his lack of magical abilities. At the age of 10, children of Gilaria have their mana level evaluated to see if they have the Touch. As soon as Chris had placed his hand on a crystal ball that was used for this procedure, it flashed black repeatedly. He was quickly rushed to the nearest hospital with no idea what was going on, only to find out after dozens of tests that he had a mana capacity of 12. The average mana level of a peasant was around 400. Mana levels that low could be fatal, as mana was what gave every living thing life. A mana level of 0 means death.


    Twisting his bracelet, he silently wished his uncle wouldn''t share his status as a Touchless so openly. The object of his nervousness was an orichalcum circlet which glowed green, indicating it was a mana-enhancer. 500 mana -- that''s what it increased his maximum capacitance by. With the ornament, he was able to cast maybe a single spell safely, but it was still incredibly risky.


    He saw that Lady Orghae was outside by the carriage and Avedara was about to exit the store. As she headed for the exit, he called out to her. "Have a good day, ma''am!" Halfway out the door, she stopped, turning to face him. Her eyes narrowed and it was clear she had a tic in her jaw. Without a word, she strode out the door and into her carriage.


    Great. Another pro-Touch.


    Will it ever end?

 Chapter III

    "Honey, are you alright?" Avedara sighed as she laid her cheek on her fist. He had to be a Touchless... Life''s not fair... She just sat there, gazing into the street. Now it was her mother''s turn to sigh. "It''s alright. You''ll get into the College."


    Oh yeah, the College... She had been so caught up thinking about Chris that she had forgotten all about it!  Her dreams... her ambitions... how could she let anyone let her lose sight of them for even a moment? Audibly groaning, Avedara put her head in her palms. Why was she getting so worked up about this? Whatever...I''ll be fine. Lady Orghae tsked at her unladylike sounds.


    "Avedara, control yourself! What''s wrong?" she asked, slightly annoyed. Turning to her mother, she donned a blank expression. "I''m not sure. I think I''m just losing my mind," she replied. I''m not gonna tell my mom that I was thinking about a Touchless. She''d fillet me!


    The Orghae family had a reputation for being strictly pro-Touched (as do most nobles), so they were sure to raise their next generation in the custody of only Touched people -- even their staff at their estates. Every maid, butler, cook, gardener, or serviceman wielded magic, using low-level magic such as watering flowers and sweeping the floor up to higher tier magic like creating enchanted wares for the family. However, there is a limit to what money can buy, so even though there are "higher" tiers of magic, no employee came close to the truly unquestionable power of the Wizards and their noble families.


    When they finally had returned to the estate, Avedara wordlessly went straight to her room, quietly shutting the door behind her. Lying down on her bed, she pulled her palms to her face, groaning. It had been a long day. Why was this day going like this!? First I was stressing about getting accepted into the College, now I''m fawning over a Touchless who I haven''t known for more than 15 minutes! Snatching a pillow from her bed, she pulled it over her face and screamed as loud as she could into it. Even though it was muffled, to Avedara it felt as in she was emptying all her cares into the feather-filled sack. After a few moments, the pillow slid off of her face and onto the carpet.


    Ahhh, that''s better. Standing up, she began to walk toward the closed door. Suddenly, she froze, hearing a distant thumping sound... What is that...? Putting her ear to the door, she listened to it as it became increasingly louder. With her face still against the wood, the door swung open, causing her head to get pushed towards the wall. "Lady Avedara?! Are you here?" Sliding out from behind the door with her hand against where she had hit her head, Avedara replied with a sheepish, "Yes, Emily... Please knock next time..." In the doorway was a short, blonde maid around 16 years old. With her freckled face beet red, she bowed deeply. "Sorry, ma''am! It''s just that you received a letter from the College!"This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    With her eyes wide, Avedara snatched the letter from the maid''s hand. She turned the black envelope over to reveal blue wax with the College''s enchanted seal on it, which ensured that Avedara was the only one who could cause any damage to the document or the container it was delivered in. She flew from her room with Emily in tow, sprinting all the way to the dining hall where her mother was enjoying her afternoon tea. The tall, grandiose room was filled wall to wall with family portraits and satin drapes. The tile floor was polished so well that the entire room reflected off of it, making it seem even bigger than it already was. She ran over to Lady Orghae with a wide grin. "Mother! The acceptance letter came!" Avedara exclaimed, waving the letter above her head.


    Putting down her cup of tea, Lady Orghae turned to face her daughter with a smile on her face. "Let''s open it, then!" Pulling up a seat next to her, Avedara carefully broke the wax seal, exposing the mana-filled quartz crystal powering the enchantment. Using her nails, she extracted the crystal and put it aside. Although it was pretty weak, Avedara always wanted a crystal of her own to practice storing and withdrawing mana with. She reached into the envelope and pulled out a piece of paper with a light blue tinge to it. Without warning, the words on the letter began to glow a bright purple. A disembodied woman''s voice pierced the air, reading the illuminated words aloud.


    "Avedara Orghae, daughter to the illustrious Q-Class Wizard Brunus Orghae and heir to the Orghae Family, it is the honor of the Mage''s College of Gilaria to grant you admission to our academy next semester. We look forward to seeing you among our student body in the upcoming months. Enclosed is your school supply list, as well as a map of the campus. The semester begins in 67 days. Good luck, and may the Frae guide you."


    As the voice trailed off, the words lost their light on the letter. The giddy grin on Avedara''s face grew wider by the second. She shrieked with excitement so loudly that the windows almost shattered, sending her mother into a hysterical laughing fit. "Honey, calm down. Congratulations! I''m so proud, and I guarantee your father will be too when he hears the news tonight." After a few moments, the newest student of the College took a deep breath before looking in the envelope again. As promised, a shopping list was included in the acceptance letter.  One 10 carat amethyst, one foot-long willow wood wand core, two mythril wand caps... this stuff ain''t cheap...


    Avedara passed the sheet to her mother. Lady Orghae skimmed the list quickly before handing it back to her daughter. "That''s quite expensive..." Nodding her head, Avedara folded the sheet and put it in the pocket on her left breast. "We can afford it, right mom?"


    Lady Orghae smiled. "We''ll be just fine, sweetheart. Be glad your father makes as much as he does, otherwise we might not be so lucky." With a wide grin, Avedara dashed out of the room, up the stairs, and into her room, leaping onto her bed once again and screaming with happiness into the pillow. I don''t have to think of Chris anymore... I never have to see him again! Things are gonna turn out just fine!

 Chapter IV

    "Chris! Get your ass in here!"


    Chris groaned at his uncle''s commanding voice. Getting up from bed, he dragged himself into the storefront in his nightclothes. He had been up all night experimenting with enchantments and trying to create a new one. Despite his low mana capacity, Chris had always managed to be quite handy with enchantments, seemingly making them with no sacrifice to his stored mana. Fondling the quartz-studded orichalcum circlet on his right hand, he staggered through the doorway to the shop. Still half groggy, it took a little while for his eyes to adjust. In front of him were his uncle and a cloaked figure. At first glance, the hooded stranger seemed nothing more than a mysterious woman with her eyes covered.


    Shaking his head, Sebastian Taber made the loudest facepalm Chris had ever heard. He jolted at the sound of the slap, instantly curing his sleepiness. "This fine customer has asked that we create a special item for them, though I don''t know all the details..." Putting her left hand up as if to hush his uncle, the woman used her right to take off the brown hood. She was a beautiful woman, no older than 25 with small freckles dotting her face, emphasized by her long snow-white hair and pale skin. Two locks of her silky hair dropped onto her breast as the hood fell. However, that wasn''t the most obvious thing about her; that prize belonged to the xanthium crown that donned her head.


    Immediately dropping to their knees, Chris and his guardian bowed before the Enchanted Queen. Chuckling, she shook her head. "There''s no need for that. I''m simply here as a customer, nothing more." The pair rose, uneasy in the presence of Gilaria''s absolute monarch. Because of her policies as queen, Chris was subjected to prejudice every day just based on his disability to cast magic. He didn''t hate the Enchanted Queen, but he didn''t like her either.


    Obviously sensing his discomfort, she sighed. "You''re a Touchless, right? I have no hate for you or others like you. In fact, I came here because I received word from Lady Orghae that this shop has the finest enchantments she''s ever seen. Her husband is a Q-Class wizard, and you somehow have bested him in enchanting!" Taken aback, Chris stared at her with disbelief. Him? Besting a Q-Class Wizard? For a Touchless to even have the same skills as a wizard to begin with was unheard of, but this?


    The queen slowly walked toward him, studying him closely. "How is it even possible for you to be able to enchant in the first place?" Shrugging, he froze as she was within an inch of his face, staring into his eyes. "Something''s off about you... I just can''t put my finger on it..." Audibly gulping, Chris inched away from her. He knew exactly what she was referring to. For some unknown reason, he was able to enchant and fill crystals with mana seemingly out of thin air. Even if he had a maximum of 512 mana, he had filled an amethyst with four times that in one go. She was right; there was something off about him.


    "Umm, is there something you need to be enchanted?" Blinking rapidly as she anchored herself back to reality, the matriarch laughed nervously. "Sorry... yes, there is. I have a custom request for you, Chris Taber. How do you feel about creating a protection charm for me?" Cocking his head, he thought for a moment. "I thought that you already had plenty of charms, your Majesty?"Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Nodding, she sighed. "Please, Anya will do. With skills like yours, you can call me by name." Sebastian stared at Chris with a worried gaze. I better be careful not to call her that unless there''s no one else around... the Royal Court would have my head for saying her name! Taking off a ring from her left index finger, Anya handed it to Chris. "This was a ring that my father had made for me a few years before he died. I never got around to getting it enchanted, so I thought maybe I should see for myself how amazing your work is. Think of it like a test. I''ll pay you 10 platinum coins tax-free to enchant this with a spell that makes me immune to disease or poison. For some reason, I''ve never had one of those."


    Sebastian gasped. That was worth more than what he made in a month! Chris stared wide-eyed at the ring, inspecting it upon receiving it from its owner. It was a platinum ring about a quarter of an inch thick with a sapphire embedded on top. He rolled it around in his hand a few times before turning his back and walking back to his room. Once he had a task, Chris had a habit of focusing on it and ignoring his surroundings. Mr. Taber stammered at his insolence and turned to the queen, bowing in apology. Her Highness simply smiled kindly. "It''s all right, Mr. Taber. As long as he finishes it, I have no qualms about anything about that boy. He''s a very peculiar one, isn''t he?" Scratching his head, Sebastian stood up straight. "That, he is."


    Sitting at his desk, Chris snaps his fingers. The light-crystal lamp on the ceiling lit up the room with a flash. He stared at the ring for a long time, making intricate measurements. After about an hour, he reached over to his bookshelf and looked for the Common-to-Zakirzah dictionary. The ring only had room for about 20 or so characters to be etched into the band, so Chris had to keep his instructions short and simple.


    To enchant an item, Chris needed to etch a command in Zakirzah, the language of magic, into the ring and pour some mana into it. Since the gemstone worked as a capacitor and the metal of the ring as a conduit, the command worked as a program in order for the "circuit" to do its job correctly. Flipping through the pages, Chris worked for over 3 hours to find a combination to do what he wanted, eventually settling on a rather simple one. Grabbing the chisel, Chris began to work on inscribing the words.


    Kratch oft gru jhalo ¡ª Kill dangerous foreign entities. Chris sighed and wiped his brow. The hard part was done. With his right index finger touching the stone, he took a deep breath. Closing his eyes, he focused, channeling his mana into the stone. C''mon almost done...


    It took almost 15 minutes to properly fill up the stone. When he had finished, Chris wiped the sweat off his brow. Although he wasn''t doing any physical work, giving up a portion of your mana was still technically using up your energy. He was literally draining himself doing so.


    Chris stood up and walked over to his uncle, who was now standing alone in the shop. "Hey uncle, you got a ring box?" he asked. Sebastian turned to him with a jewelers loupe in his right hand. "Uhh, I think we have one in the back. Before you grab one though, take one of these amethysts and add a locking enchantment to it." Sebastien opened his left hand and revealed a dozen small amethyst crystals. "We don''t want anyone but Her Highness opening it, do we?"


    Chris snatched one from his uncle''s hand and ran to go grab a box. It''s gonna be a long night.