MagiStream

I've been meaning to write one for a long time, but never got around to it. I finally decided to write a prologue, though. Here goes...


--Prologue--
Autumn was coming.

It crept silently upon the Keep, leaving barely a trace of its arrival at first. Simply a slight sharpness to the air, which turned cooler in random, indecisive bursts. Then one morning the magi woke up to discover a few trees clad in red and yellow. Or perhaps they had been that way for several days. One could never be quite sure when exactly the trees had decided that it was time for their fall clothing. Soon enough, more and more trees followed the example of the first few, painting the world with blazes of color before decorating the ground with their relinquished glory.

In one of the small stone huts that sprouted up around the Keep's main building at a pace that rivaled spring shoots--such was the speed of the growth to the ranks of the magi--a student clad in purple robes watched the seasons change silently. Autumn was a beautiful season. All of them were beautiful--each had their own quiet and not so quiet charms, and how they gave way to each other in an endless circle was mysterious and lovely.

But this year, she couldn't quite bring herself to enjoy the transition as the days slowly turned cooler and the mornings and evenings turned chilly. She wrapped her cloak around herself more tightly and shivered a little as she finished watching the sunset and stepped inside. Appearances were deceiving; her hut was far larger than anyone looking at the outside would guess. Inside, several phoenixes chirped and chattered sleepily as they prepared to roost. Ashevors silently wrapped themselves around ceiling beams as they settled for the night. Her three quetzalcoatls fluttered noisily about as they bickered with each other and searched for a place to sleep before settling on her, bringing a smile to her lips. She had paid quite a sum for two of them, but they were worth every last gold piece. She had obtained the youngest by pouring magical ale into a Razan river.

After every creature that resided with her had been fed and pampered as far as its nature permitted, the tylluan, the tienko, and the lunar fox had been let out for the night, and her homework had been started, she crawled into bed. As she lay, not quite attempting to sleep yet, she thought about how far she had come since she had only been able to care for the least demanding of creatures--a handful of koi, some ibexes, a few phoenixes--and she worried. The arrival of autumn signaled that her time was running out. Soon she would have to pick an element to specialize in.

She hadn't the least idea which element she had an affinity for. What if she picked the wrong one? And what about her creatures--the ones which preferred an element different than her choice? Would they leave her?

There was a heavy flapping sound and then a light "thunk" as one of her crystalwings, the golden one, landed on her bed and curled up beside her. "You're supposed to be asleep already," she said to him.

He lifted his head and looked meaningfully at her. "Yes, I know I'm supposed to be too," she replied, reaching out and absently patting his head. If she didn't pick air or stone, would he abandon her and fly back to the Caves of Nareau? The crystalwing nipped her hand, and she winced. "Okay, okay, I'll try to sleep too," she muttered, rubbing her hand. The faint sound of a white elk's bells drifted into her room from outside, calming her. Her last thought before drifting off into sleep was to wonder why she could always tell what her crystalwings, quetzalcoatls, and birds were thinking, but not for any of her other creatures.




And...that was far longer than I thought it would be. Wow. Please comment whether you liked it or not. Any suggestions on how I can improve will be greatly appreciated!

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By Atalantra Note: Updates will definitely be pretty sporadic.

Chapter 1
Lachesis woke up with a start and sat up far too quickly, causing sparks to dance in front of her eyes as her body protested against her sudden change in posture. She cleared stray strands of black hair from her face and glanced out the window and swore. The sky was already red in the east, and she was supposed to be in class by sunrise. Normally her creatures would all have started waking up at least half an hour ago, and the clamor would have woken her up too, but today they were still sleeping. She jumped out of bed, worrying about her Lunar Fox, nearly spilling the Crystalwing off the bed in the process. He squawked indignantly and flapped heavily after her as she ran to the door.

No sooner than she had opened the door the fox bolted inside. Lachesis sighed in relief and closed the door, only to jump as something slammed against it. She opened the door again and her Tylluan fluttered inside, giving Lachesis a hurt look.

"Oh, don't look at me like that. You don't always come back every morning." The Tylluan hooted in response and glared at Lachesis. Lachesis glared back at her. "I was distracted by the Lunar Fox running in, okay?" She ignored the Tylluan's subsequent comments, focusing instead on making herself presentable for class. She hastily brushed her hair, wincing as she ripped knots out. She finally got it straight--at least she assumed so, since it came to about the right length, just past her chest. That done, she quickly cleaned her teeth, grabbed some food and put it out for the creatures, and dashed out the door, putting on her cloak as she ran.

It had snowed the night before, and Lachesis muttered a few more choice words as her shoes filled with the cold white stuff. At least the running kept the rest of her warm, even though she hadn't had time to button up her cloak. It didn't matter--she would have to take it off once she entered the Keep anyway. The purple garment (and any winter garment really) was made of a material far too thick to be comfortable for the magical warmth of any of the buildings.

She managed to burst into the classroom just as the sun rose above the horizon. The master lifted an eyebrow at her but said nothing and started to teach. She pretended to study as he lectured, but actually allowed her mind to wander. Had it only been a week ago when she'd picked fire as her element? The topic had plagued her mind constantly as the day approached, until even her White Elk's bells failed to send her to sleep immediately. It probably would have been slightly less worrying if it hadn't been for the fact that the only advice she'd gotten was to not worry about it. Apparently everyone simply knew what they had an affinity for. But Lachesis just simply hadn't a clue until the day of the ceremony.

All the new students had been gathered together in a room with four pillars, one for each element. The masters had chanted a strange incantation, and then each pillar glowed, intense white at first, then changing color. Fire turned the color of molten metal, coal, and flame. Water turned into blue and white ribbons, resembling an ocean ready to burst forth. Air became the color of the sky on a calm spring morning. Earth was the green of living things and the endless shades of brown and black of the ground from which they sprang.

The masters called each student forth one by one, blessed each one, and bade him or her choose well. Each student stepped towards a pillar without hesitation and placed his or her hands on it. And when it became Lachesis's turn, she suddenly understood which choice to make. Each element sang to her, their songs melding into music no human choir could sing. And of them, Fire sang the loudest, carrying the melody, the prima donna of the show. The song sounded like fire crackling and flames dancing. It sang with the strength of boundless energy and the exhilaration of playful destruction. She stepped forward and touched the pillar of Fire.

But as soon as her hand brushed the pillar, the song stopped. A feeling of emptiness opened a void within her, before a soft voice whispered within her, "Where does fire go when it runs out of fuel?" The energy of the song rushed into her again, violent and fierce and filling her until she felt like a cup ready to spill. The rush of energy subsided soon enough, but left images burned in her head, images of birds falling out of the sky. Of her creatures abandoning her. And through the miasma of pictures, something felt horribly wrong.

She had spent the next few days frantically researching the ceremony in the library. Several books described the exhilarating song and the rush of energy, but not a single one mentioned the images. Perhaps she had just imagined them? No birds had fallen out of the sky yet and her creatures were still with her so far.

But Lachesis couldn't shake them, couldn't shake off the horror she felt at the end of the memory, no matter how hard she tried.

Different from the others and well developed. It shows promise and I would like to see more. Well done!

TxCat wrote:Different from the others and well developed. It shows promise and I would like to see more. Well done!

Thank you! I hope you won't be disappointed. Though to be honest, I'm not quite sure where this story is going yet. I guess I'll just have to write more and see

Chapter 2
"Apprentice Lachesis, can you tell me the name of the active ingredient in Dragonbane's Tear, and what is its antidote?"

Alchemist Raden's question jolted Lachesis out of her thoughts. She was extremely glad that she'd studied for this lesson the night before, because she had heard almost none of his lecture. "Dragonbane's Tear is made potent by crushed dragon koi scales," Lachesis said slowly as she recalled the words from the textbook, "and the antidote is made from the tears of a gryphon."

The alchemist nodded. "Now tell me, why is the label of 'poison' and 'antidote' often highly arbitrary?"

Lachesis's mind scrambled for an answer. The textbook chapter hadn't addressed this, but she wasn't one to leave a professor's question unanswered without at least trying. She turned over the question in her head for a second, and suddenly a possible answer leaped into her mind. "Uh...because many potions labeled antidotes to another poison are poisonous themselves if not used to counteract something?" she ventured. "And maybe those require a different potion to cure than the one it cured?"

Alchemist Raden almost smiled. "Very good, Apprentice Lachesis. It is always refreshing when students reason instead of regurgitating information. Though it is also possible you simply read a few chapters ahead." He paused for a second, his eyes scanning the entire class.

"Potions is often disparaged as a subject that tests nothing more than the ability to follow instructions," he said, pointedly glaring at a student working on his mathematics homework. The student looked up and quickly shoved the papers into his bag. Raden continued, "It is said to require no intuition and very little reasoning. For those reasons, it is even said to be boring." This was followed by another quick glare at the student, a tall but skinny blond boy wearing glasses and a dark red tunic. "But how do you think new potions are invented? They don't simply fall out of a dragon's behind. No, they require thought. They require creativity. And for every new potion created, a potion to counter it soon follows. That requires reasoning and creativity as well. Not to mention a certain degree of bravery. Most failed potions do nothing more than a cup of water, but if you inadvertently create a functional concoction with a different effect, the results can be disastrous.

"Tonight's homework for every one of you is to write up your own recipe for a potion. Next class you will make them and we will test if they are effective. Class dismissed."

Lachesis grabbed her notebook and pushed it into her pack. She slung it over her shoulder, grabbed her cloak, and walked out of the classroom. As she stepped into the hallway, she glanced to the side and saw the boy glaring at her. She sighed and started towards her next class.

Of the apprentices she'd known well before the element-choosing ceremony, about half had also picked fire. They had promptly stopped spending much time with the other half. It wasn't that being aligned with different elements automatically made them enemies, but their differing studies tended to cause them to have different classes at different times, and their interests tended to start differing greatly too. Vash, the red-clad apprentice, had chosen Fire, but he and Lachesis had never gotten along very well despite having the same group of friends. Sometimes they avoided each other, sometimes they actually talked to each other. Most often they simply situated themselves as far from each other as possible.

Lachesis arrived at her next class and frowned. Most of the students who chose the same element took most of their classes together. Often two element groups took the same class at the same time, or sometimes a few students from each group took the class with another. It worked out nicely for seeing her friends often. But it also meant spending far too much time in the same room with Vash.

"Hey Lach, what's up?" Lachesis's best friend (and sometimes, she felt, only friend), Celli, greeted her. Her dark brown hair was unruly like always, Lachesis noted. "Why were you almost late this morning?"

Lachesis took the seat next to the blue-clad apprentice. "I'm fine. I overslept a bit, that's all."

"I'm surprised you haven't before. Creatures failed to wake you, hm?"

Lachesis nodded. "They were still sleeping too." She paused. "I wonder what we'll be doing today."

Celli pulled out a clean notebook and replied excitedly, "Yeah! Completely new subject. I've been looking forward to this ever since we picked our element!"

"Watch it just be a handing-out and reading of a course syllabus," Lachesis said pessimistically.

Celli groaned dramatically. "I hope not. But you're probably right." The Fire Studies teacher, a Master neither Celli nor Lachesis recognized, walked into the classroom. Slowly, the room grew quiet.

"Hey, Celli, can I ask you something after class?" Lachesis whispered.

"Of course," her friend replied. "By the way, great job on answering Raden's questions. I could totally tell you weren't paying attention." Then the teacher rapped on her table for attention, and both girls drew their gazes toward her as she began to teach.




Comments on anything so far will be greatly appreciated!

..I just realized that I never fit in a description of Lachesis' features. Any suggestions on how I should insert that?

I'm loving this so far. Not too detailed, flows well, interesting enough to keep me reading it.

As for fitting in descriptions, don't just describe all at once unless you can make it fit with the story well. Instead, slip in the occasional detail. I'm not sure how to explain, but, for example, instead of just flat-out saying something like "She has brown hair," kind of mold it into your sentences, like "She ran her fingers through her brown hair." You can fit it in in bits and pieces.

Drei Korvik wrote:I'm loving this so far. Not too detailed, flows well, interesting enough to keep me reading it.

As for fitting in descriptions, don't just describe all at once unless you can make it fit with the story well. Instead, slip in the occasional detail. I'm not sure how to explain, but, for example, instead of just flat-out saying something like "She has brown hair," kind of mold it into your sentences, like "She ran her fingers through her brown hair." You can fit it in in bits and pieces.

Thanks for the suggestion! That does sound a lot more effective than throwing in a huge chunk of description in the middle of a paragraph.

Descriptions...they just don't get along with me. Kind of like Vash and Lachesis

Chapter 3
"Welcome to Fire Studies," the professor said. "I am Master Kilandra." She smiled. It was a calm, kind expression that put everyone at ease, not exactly the type one would expect to see on a brand of magi infamous for their tempers. "Some of you may have seen me around the infirmary--I work as a healer there."

That explained why neither Celli nor Lachesis recognized her. Neither had harmed themselves seriously enough to be sent to the healing ward. Yet. Though Lachesis found it a little odd--

"I see some of you are a bit puzzled. What is a fire magi doing in the infirmary?" Kilandra took a breath and continued, "Most of you probably think that healing is a skill only water magi can master. But you would be mistaken. It is true that water magi are much more likely to have an affinity for healing. But any mage, of any element, can cast healing spells. That is also the case for most other spells, regardless of the element one chooses. Even a water magi can create a fireball, if he or she knows the spell for it.

"Why does a magi's element matter, then?" Kilandra asked. "Does anyone have a guess? Yes, you in the dark red robes. What is your name?"

"Vash," Vash replied. "You said a water magi could cast a fireball, if he or she knew the spell. But we can do it instinctively."

"Correct," Master Kilandra said. "Now, everyone put away your pens and notebooks, please. We won't be taking any notes in this class, ever." There was a large amount of movement as almost every student shoved books into their packs. "I have the results from your affinity tests, and I'm going to divide you into groups now based on your results. We are going to practice that instinctive reach for fire that all of you have as fire magi."

Lachesis groaned inwardly, remembering the affinity test. The Fire apprentices had all been gathered in front of a group of masters and asked to perform some tasks individually. Some apprentices had been tested for longer than others. Lachesis remembered wondering why they had to take the test in front of everyone else.

The tasks had been simple enough. The first few were to perform some basic spells, such as levitating a small object or conjuring a ball of light. Then the masters asked the student in question to produce a flame in their cupped palm without the use of spells. Vash had gone first, which Lachesis grudgingly admired him for. He had produced an impressively large fireball in his palm. He had then been asked to make some shapes out of the flames, a task he performed without difficulty by shaping the outline of a hellhound. The masters had smiled with approval, though Lachesis noticed that Vash was sweating and almost looked like he was in pain. When he finished and sat down, he looked much paler than usual.

When it had been her turn, Lachesis had been able to summon a medium-sized ball of flame. But she hadn't expected the images from the choosing ceremony to return, flooding her mind. Birds, ordinary and magical, fell from the sky like rain. Her phoenixes all spontaneously burst into flame, but the eggs they left behind were cracked and dead. She did her best to clear the pictures from her head, but her flame flickered dangerously. It took almost all her effort to keep it from going out altogether. The masters had also asked her to make a picture from the flames, and she had done her best to shape it into an arkai. Then suddenly the image of her arkais striking each other down bloomed before her eyes. Lachesis had lost her concentration and her fire had died altogether. She hadn't waited for the masters to dismiss her before sitting down. The exercise had left her feeling far more drained than she'd felt performing any other magic.

There were only twelve students in the Fire Studies class, so it took only a short amount of time for Master Kilandra to arrange everyone in three groups of four each. The he beginner group, which Celli was in, had three female apprentices; the advanced group containing Vash was completely male. Lachesis was in the intermediate group, which was evenly split. Lachesis watched nervously as Kilandra instructed the advanced group. They were to practice absorbing the energy of fire. Master Kilandra placed them in front of the fireplace. "Imagine the flame going into you," she said simply, before moving onto the group Lachesis was in. Lachesis took one more glance at the advanced group. Vash stood, his hands held before the fire, looking exceedingly pale.

Then Kilandra started instructing the intermediate group on fine control of flames, and Lachesis started working on the exercise at hand, doing her best to ignore the images materializing inside her mind.




Chapter 1 and 2 have also been edited to add some minor details.

I love it! Do more! Now, i am going to bounce continuosly for absolutely no reason at all

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Chapter 4
Lachesis was panting heavily and drenched in sweat by the time Fire Studies class let out. Luckily, there was a two-hour break for lunch and attending to personal matters, such as taking care of one's creatures, before her next class.

"Hey Lach, what was it you wanted to ask me about?" Celli looked very little worse for wear, despite an hour of making fireballs and directing them. Her control over fire might be less than most of the rest of the class, but there was no denying she had a fair amount of raw power at her command. Then again, Lachesis was fairly certain she had about the same amount, if a little less. They'd both always been among the top students at their level, though never actually the best. Yet right now Lachesis was feeling half dead.

"I was wondering..." Lachesis looked around--everyone else was rushing about to get food or attend to some personal business, so she continued--"I see things when I call fire," she blurted out. "And I saw them at the choosing ceremony too. And I'm fairly certain it's affecting my ability to control fire."

"Maybe you're a prophet! That would be really cool," Celli said brightly. She immediately fell silent, though, when she saw how pale Lachesis became at her suggestion. "It was just the first thing that came to mind," she said hastily. Quietly, she asked, "Are they really that bad?"

Lachesis deflected the question. "So you don't see images when you're calling fire?"

"Not unless sunspots from looking at the fire count," Celli joked. "Say, you look exhausted. Why don't you go clean yourself up and then stop by my place for lunch? I got the kitchens to give me some extra of their beef stew last night. And it was really good, don't you think?"

"I'd love to, but it's been a few days since I've checked on the creatures that don't live in my hut," Lachesis replied. "I was planning to just grab a sandwich or something from the kitchen, and maybe some offerings for the creatures, and then eat while I visited them."

"Hey, there's no need to rush around like that," Celli said. She pretended to pout, and Lachesis laughed. "You have two hours. That's plenty of time to wash up, eat, and visit your creatures."

"Well, fine then," Lachesis said. Together they trotted out of the Keep and towards a section of stone houses. It was fortunate they had come to study at the Keep only a few days apart from each other, as it meant they lived relatively close to each other. Lachesis sighed under her breath and looked forward very much to a nice warm bath.





Short chapter is short, but I decided this was the best place to end it.

Notes so far:
-The Keep doesn't officially rank its students, but that doesn't prevent friendly competitions when it comes to grades and such. And being more powerful makes it easier to get better grades, though at this level they're all at similar levels. And of course, different skills come more easily to different magi.
-In case you were wondering, Lachesis isn't me, exactly. I did base which creatures she has on my Keep, and I suppose you could say she's my MagiStream character.
-Lachesis does have friends other than Celli (and Vash, though he's not exactly a friend). I just suck at introducing characters.