MagiStream

Spoiler

Hi! My name is StickyPiston and this is my first MS related story. Please message any constructive crit to me, instead of posting it here; to keep it clean for the time being. Also, this story is going to be on the go, meaning I don't exactly have a set end to it but I will try to keep it short. Thanks!

.:: Chapter One ::.

Falling.

I was falling!!

I knew I shouldn't have touched that damn crystal ball in Grammy's attic!

Panicking, I tried to will myself to slow down, like those psychics do in those shows on TV. It didn't work. The pressure from falling pressed the air from my lungs, and as the ground flew to meet me, I knew I didn't have time to breathe, let alone scream. I could almost count the blades of grass as I fell onto the ground and blacked out; my last conscience thought being: "Gram's gonna be so mad."

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Waking up a few minutes later [hours, really], I groaned, but didn't move; I didn't know if I could. So I mentally brushed through my body, praying that nothing was broken.

Nothing was broken.

I was winded and grass-stained, but nothing was broken. What? How? I slowly pushed myself up onto my hands and knees, expecting everything in my torso to shatter from the belly flop onto the ground. Nope, nothing. I was fine, heck, I wasn't even winded anymore. I pushed myself onto my feet and glanced around, and soon realized I was no longer at my Gram's place.

I was ... somewhere. Not on Earth, that's for sure. As far as I knew, Earth definately didn't have lush green grass racing up the side of a mountain; Earth's mountainous regions were as far as I could remember from elementary school; barren. Grass struggled to grow along it's sides and it was more rock and boulders than lush green grass. So, with that in mind I began to start exploring.

When I turned around I didn't expect to run fact first into someone.

As I stumbled back I tried to take him in. First of all, he was a he. He was tall; blonde hair, green eyes, green cloak - wait, that was a flag. A cloak?! Before I could squawk my millions of questions at him, he flicked his eyes down to me and began to speak, cutting me off.

"Greetings, young Magi. You have entered the order of magic wielders and explorers. Many adventures lie before you, exotic lands and mystical beasts never encountered. Start your journey into the arcane with a unique egg, plucked from The Stream and ready to be nurtured into adulthood." He guestured to the massive stream behind him, the stream I apparently didn't hear or see upon falling from the sky. "These creatures, fierce and magically endowed, will be powerful companions as you set out to roam lands unknown. Be wary of the dangerous beasts that dwell outside the keep, and take care to remain watchful of the ever-shifting world around you." He pointed behind me, and I turned to see a castle-like building there. I frowned. What the heck was going on? Keep? Magi? Where the heck was I?!

"Hail and farewell on your travels." I turned around at his farewell's and gasped. He was gone. "Who are you?" I yelled at the spot where he stood. "What are you?" No answer. Awesome. Cloak wearing freak. I growled and stomped towards the Stream. Water had always had a calming effect on me, and I needed that now. I needed to be calm before I got really angry. I threw myself down on the bank of the stream and pressed my thumbs into the bridge of my nose. 'Count to ten.' I coached myself as I counted slowly to ten, then lowered my hands and looked at the stream. Cloak-dude had mentioned something about eggs. I frowned. What the heck was I doing? Humoring the guy with his old-age babble. Whatever. What did I have to lose? I took a breath, kneeled, and peered over into the water.

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.:: Chapter Two ::.

Eggs! There were eggs in the stream! The cloak-wearing freak was right!

I stumbled back from the beautiful floating eggs and looked around, hoping no one saw me by the eggs. Logically, I knew that I would have to leave them alone. They weren't mine and as a law-abiding person, I should leave them alone. With that in mind, I turned and headed towards the castle-like building on the mountain's side, spying a staircase leading up to it. Huh. Convenient. Better get to it before it gets dark. Did it have electricity? Or was I stuck in the Dark Ages? I pondered these questions as I approached the staircase and came to a halt; there was a sign on the staircase and it had my name on it. "Kendall's Keep."

What. The. Heck.

Was this some sort of joke? Who knew my name? I looked around, frowning. If it was, it wasn't very funny. I grumbled as I began to take the steps towards the castle - Keep - hoping that there would be someone there who could help me. Taking the stairs might have been a bad idea; I grew winded and my legs began to burn once I reached the top. Did I mention I'm terrified of heights? Once I reached the top I peeked over the side and almost fainted on the spot. I was so high up, over the face of the cliff and with one wrong move I could fall to my death. Great. Awesome. Stepping back I took a few deep breaths and turned, facing the huge, tall door of the Keep that apparently, was mine.

"Open sesame," I muttered half-heartedly, approaching the door with a hand outstretched. It didn't move. Okay, cool, no big deal. I pushed on it, gasping as how heavy it was. Yep, I would need muscles, muscles I didn't have. Okay we can do this. Ready? Push! I almost face planted into the door. It still didn't move. "Okay, think. If you can't push it, pull it." Oh no. Please don't tell me it's a pull door. Meekly, I gave it a pull. It budged. Great! Looking around with both my cheeks bright red in embarrassment, I pulled the door open and stepped in, willing myself to calm down and get the dumb blush off my cheeks.

I looked around. It was massive; bigger than my high school and elementary schools combined! Tall ceilings and massive rooms, I was looking at a personal castle. It didn't have electricity, which to be honest I was alright with. The candles kind of gave it a spooky-but-personal feel to it. I took a tour of my new place, touching the walls and the doors and the furniture. I liked it all; loved it, really. But it was so big. Who did I know here - other than the cloaked guy - that would want to stay with me? No one, that's who. I found what I think could be called a living room, or a living house, really with how big it was.

"Anyone here?" I called, not exactly expecting an answer. I didn't get on. Frowning, I approached the dark red/copper colored couch and sat on it. A massive fireplace stared at me. Wood. Did I have wood? A lighter, even? Did I have anything? "Some help would be nice," I called again, sighing. Who was I kidding? It was just me, myself and I in this big ol' Keep. Castle. Thing. I again pressed my thumbs against the bridge of my nose and closed my eyes, wondering how I was going to keep the spiders and bugs from taking over. That was when the fluttering of paper caught my attention.

I opened my eyes and lowered my hands to see a piece of yellowed paper - actually, three pieces of yellowed paper - stuck to the face of the fireplace. Okay, cool trick. I got up and approached the paper, peeling them from the fireplace and began to read.

Kendall,

Welcome to your Keep. Yes, this big majestic Keep is yours, and yours only. You'll find more rooms than you'll know what to do with, but that's alright. As a Magi you'll need these rooms for the creatures you'll soon be raising.

Excuse me? I'll be raising creatures? And what the heck is a Magi? I furrowed my eyebrows and stepped backwards until I fell back against the couch to continue reading.

You probably aren't sure what you're doing here or what a Magi is, but don't worry. It'll all be explained soon. You most likely fell through a portal, Kendall. There's only a handful of them around the world on Earth, and only talented Magi's can home them. They're extremely powerful things, but normally only work one way. If you're here, that means you'll need to stay here until you meet a Magi that can create a portal back to the one that sent you here.

Being a Magi isn't easy, Kendall. You need to be mature and responsible for the lives you'll soon be taking care of. But there's always a reason behind people becoming Magi's, and with the Magi blood in your veins, I'm sure you'll do just fine. You always do.

Take care.

Sincerely,
Elena, High Mage.

PS. Have you picked up a few eggs?

My eyes widened at the familiar hand writing and the name staring at me.

My grandmother wrote this?!

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Spoiler

Hey guys! Thanks for reading; let me know if you like it or not by posting<3

.:: Chapter Three ::.

I continued to stare at the piece of paper like it was about to burst into flames should I look away. My grandmother was a Magi? No, sorry… Is a Magi!? A High Mage, as she wrote. What the heck is a High Mage? Is that why when she went away on “trips” she was gone for months at a time? I put the one piece down and picked up the second, biting the inside of my lip. I was confused and I hated the feeling; I needed to know what was going on right now.

A Magi is a magic-wielding person, usually with a gift for controlling an element, and communicating to the creatures he or she raises. An element is one of the five elements of the world: Air, Water, Fire, Ground and Shadow. I am a Ground Magi, Kendall. I can manipulate earthquakes, cause them or stop minor ones, but that’s about the extent of my control. I don’t know what your element could be; all Magi’s have some control over one element, rarely ever two.

Try testing yourself. Go to the field outside of your Keep, and see if you can make the ground tremble. Go to your fireplace and see if you can start a fire. Go to the stream – and be extremely careful – and see if you can make the stream speed up or slow down. Make a soft or strong breeze. I would ask you to see if you can manipulate shadow, but that’s a tricky element as it is, and is generally rare for any Magi to have control over it.

Next stop, go to the Stream. This Stream almost runs through the entire world; every Magi’s Keep is close to the Stream, unless they were unfortunately dropped in Voltare, then that’s a big walk for a few eggs. There you’ll be able to pick up the eggs floating downstream. These eggs are for everyone, Kendall. You can take as many as four at a time (don’t ask me why you can’t take more than four; something to do with the balance of things as well as keeping the eggs you have alive), and take a variety. You do have the room for them.

I rubbed my eyes. There was more writing on the paper but it was dark and my eyes were hurting. So, instead I chewed over the things I now knew. Okay, so basically I was a wizard who could control one of the five elements, and talk to animals. This was too much for one day. What else could I possibly be? I was just Kendall! Picking up the paper I moved from the couch and started on the long trip to finding my bedroom. I must have one, considering that this Keep is mine. “Bedroom, come out come out where ever you are!” I called, my voice echoing down the hallway.

No one answered. Okay great. I kept walking down the hallway, frowning. I would need a map of this place. I held Gram’s letters in my hands as I poked my head into each and every room on my way down. I finally found it after looking in five rooms, and gasped at the sheer size. It had a four-poster bed, a small couch, and a fireplace… without a fire. I rolled my eyes. Of course there wouldn’t be a fire! An idea sparked in my head, as I looked down at the letter Gram had written me. Maybe now would be a great idea to test myself. I went to the fireplace and knelt at it, and stared.

How does one go about making a fire without tools? How was I supposed to make it appear? I sat back on my calves and sighed, rubbing my eyes. I was too tired for this. I stood and stretched, shaking my head. I would play with my magi skills in the morning. I moved to the bed and crawled in, shivering as I checked under the bed and under the sheets for anything creepy crawly. Good, I was safe. I tucked in and rested my head on the chilly pillow.

I had so many questions running through my head it was a surprise to myself that I fell asleep so quickly.

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I woke up to a pounding on the Keep door. It wasn’t like a nice ‘hide-ho, neighbourino can I borrow some sugar?’ knock. No. This was a ‘good very early morning to you let us in right now and we might not knock your door down’ knock. Grumbling, I get out of bed and head down to the door. My Keep looked very empty in the daylight, and I was suddenly very aware of how massive it really is. I rolled my eyes and approached my door, opening it to reveal a tall, slightly round man with brown hair held back in a ponytail. On his shoulder was a bird – larger than a robin but no bigger than an Eagle – with a robin’s red chest yet the build of a sparrow. Across his chest was a strap that lead to a bag that was filled – for the most part – with eggs.

“Greetings,” he started. “I am Master Belmos. I live a few miles south of you, by the desert.” He rumbled with a slight accent. His bird chirped on his shoulder… followed by a screech that didn’t belong here. I must have balked at the sound because this Master Belmos guy chuckled, turned slightly, and allowed me to peek silently over his shoulder at the massive … thing there. It was black and orange, with the front of an eagle and the end of a horse. My mouth must have dropped because before I knew it, Master Belmos pushed my jaw back up. “Zirus doesn’t appreciate people who stare. May I come in?” I blinked, turned my gaze and looked back at the man. What the heck!?

“Are… are you a Magi?” I asked meekly, stepping back to let him in. He raised a hand at the massive … thing and stepped in, glancing around. Was he appraising my Keep? Why do I care? I closed the door behind him and ushered him into the sitting room. “Yes, I’m a Magi. I specialize in caring for the creatures that roam the world.” Oh. Okay. “Do... you have any special element powers?” I ask, hoping to prod a tip or trick from him. He shook his hesd. “Sadly, I wasn’t gifted with an elemental power. I was given enough of one gift though, so I don’t necessarily need the second.” I nodded. He glanced around, gingerly setting the eggs in his bag on the couch.

“You must be new.” He stated rather matter-of-factly. That sort of annoyed me. How did he know?! “You don’t have any creatures running around.” Oh. Well, excuse me. “I… I fell through a portal, and landed here… I only just woke up and -” He raised his hand at me to silence me, and I huffed. He raised his eyebrow much like my Grandmother would, and began to speak. “You should go to the Stream and fish some out. Beyond your Keep is the Koi Pond, where you can drop some gold in and fish for different Koi. You do have a separate pond, don’t you?”

I shrugged; I hadn’t done much exploring and with this Master Belmos in my Keep, it wasn’t helping that fact either. He nodded, pulled a small sack of whatever out from his bag and handed it to me. “Gold to help you start up. You’ll earn more by helping others raise their creatures, and if you have the right gift, you can also breed and sell the offspring of your creatures to new Magi or Magi’s looking for the creatures they can’t get in their area.” I took the gold and held it, the weight of it noticeable in my hand. Maybe this will help me get things for my Keep, like more candles and stuff.

He smiled and turned back to his bag, which had toppled over. He scooped it up and headed for the door, as I followed him slowly. “If you ever find yourself with too many eggs at one time, set up a trade with me and I’ll take any extras you can’t sell or no longer want.” He suddenly reminded me of my Grandfather; always looking after the pets he found injured on his property regardless of if they were dangerous or not. I nodded as I put the gold bag on the table and walked him to the door.

“Good luck, young Magi. I suggest you go to the Stream and pick your first companion, as it’ll be the creature you bond with the most. All other creatures will bond with you, but not as powerfully as your first creature.” I nodded; this seemed like a spiel he had said many times before. “Thank you, Master Belmos.” I replied as he walked out the door. He turned back and smiled at me, his sparrow-eagle thing chirping happily. “You’re welcome. Farewell,” He waved and headed down towards the big half-eagle half-lion thing, taking the stairs easily.

I closed the door once he was down a few steps and sighed. What the heck was I going to do. I walked back towards the table where the gold was and made the assumption that this was the currency. Trading, bonding, creatures… All of this new information was giving me a headache, and I still had another page to read from my dear ol’ Grams. What was I going to do? I was on my way back to the bedroom to grab a few more hours of sleep when I heard something in my living room.

Was it a massive bug? Was it a creature of some sort? Heck. I took a breath and turned around, heading for the living room as quietly and as carefully as I could.

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.:: Chapter Four ::.

I approached the couch and took a deep breath, steadying my racing heart. I’m a big horror movie junkie; Gram hates the fact that I can only watch them at her house, because she doesn’t have the heart to tell me ‘no’. So, I had a million and one scenarios running through my head even though I knew I was as far from a horror movie set as I could be. I had glanced around the room and didn’t see any other … things, so it had to be by the couch, right? ‘Calm down Kendall.’ I coached, as I looked at the couch. Nothing. Alright, then it was on the floor. Even better. I released the breath I had been holding and kneeled down, gasping when I saw it.

It was an egg.

Brown with silver/white bands going around the top and bottom of it, I was surprised to feel like really wanted to hold it. I suddenly felt really stupid for feeling that way. Anxious over an egg? Who was I kidding? I chuckled, grabbed my head for a second, then shook it. Wow I needed to sleep better. Master Belmos must have dropped it… I reached over and grabbed it, and gasped again as a small shock was sent pleasantly through my entire body. If shocks could be pleasant than this was it; was this the bond my grandmother was talking about? “Woo, buster.” I laughed nervously, biting my lip as I held the egg close to me. I still had reading to do, and what better to start building this bond than to read to my new egg? "C'mon, buddy. Let's see what else Grams has planned for us." I told the small egg, smiling as I headed back up for my room.

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Gram’s last letter in the pile of three had basically explained that as a Magi, I would need to help people – other Magi’s, non-Magi’s – with whatever they needed. I was like a superhero in a world of superhero’s, and sometimes I would be needed more than some other superhero. I had been reading for a better part of an hour now, and my stomach was rumbling. The egg Master Belmos had dropped was sitting in on a soft pillow between my legs, with my hand over it protectively. “Thanks for all the help, Grams. Now how the heck do I hatch this thing?” She had almost mentioned that all Keeps had a Bestiary that wasn’t always updated, which brought more questions into my mind.

How long has this Keep been standing? How many Magi’s before me had used the bed? What happened to them? Why do I have the Keep now?

Uneasy now, I put the letters down and rubbed my eyes, groaning. Why did Gram do this to me? I didn’t see my egg twitch, nor feel it twitch as I sighed and tried to come up with logical answers for the questions in my head. That was who I was – logical, practical thinking Kendall who was somehow teleported through a crystal ball into a world where magic and mythical and strange creatures roam. Yep, I will totally fit in here. I glanced down at the egg in my legs after internally panicking, and almost screamed as I saw cracks emerge along it’s tough shell. It was hatching?! “No! No, don’t hatch yet I’m not ready!” I pleaded with the now madly twitching egg. It flipped and flopped, dropping from my legs and rolling around. I sat where I was as I watched it finally come to a stop by the dresser.

I didn’t even know what was inside of it! What if it was something I didn’t like? What if the thing inside didn’t like me? Maybe that bolt of electricity was a warning not to touch it! It wasn’t my egg anyways, it was Master Belmos’! I bit my lip and waited for it to hatch more, but at the moment it seemed content only being a big cracked along the edges. I sighed, pleased that my creature wasn’t going to pop out at me – “Aaaah!” I screamed and fell backwards as the egg shattered into a million pieces. I ducked behind the chair and whimpered – yes I whimpered – as I waited for whatever it was to come and eat me. The slap slap slap of movement made me shiver, and when I peeked through my fingers at the thing nudging my toes, and became wordless at it.

It was a baby seal! “Awwwww!” I cooed at it, as it barked happily at me and launched itself at my chest. It was tiny! Smaller than any seal pup I had seen at the zoo, but it was grey with light grey stripes along it’s neck and tail. “Hello little one, you’re so cute!” I crowed, petting it and letting it lick and nibble playfully on my fingers. “So… Uhm. I’m your Magi!” I told it, smiling. I couldn’t yet tell if it was male or female, but we would have to see one day. It barked again and hopped off me, and headed out of the door. Panicked, I scrambled to follow after it. “Wait!” I called, following it as it waddled extremely adorably towards the front door. Where the heck was it trying to go? “You… need to go out?” I asked it, as if expecting an answer. It turned it’s head and barked once, as if saying ‘yes’. “Alright…” I went to the door and opened it.

The seal pup bounded out and towards the Stream. My eyes widened in slight horror; it had only just hatched, would it be able to swim? “No! Come back! You’ll drown!” Again, logical thinking Kendall, right? Wrong. I was too slow for the fast moving baby and without a glance back it hopped right into the stream. Crap! Where was it going? Had I hurt it? I saw it’s grey body swimming skillfully against the current, heading towards what looked like a rock. Huh? I ran to the side of the Stream and tried to catch the seal pup, but it evaded me like I was the plague. “Well… fine. Stay in there, then.” I grouched, not feeling so superior since I was completely and totally out of my element. I moved to stand, when the seal pup popped from the water, balancing an egg on it’s nose.

Oh no. Not another one.

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I was hungry by the time we – my seal and I – were finished our fishing expedition. I had a white egg with white wings spurting out the side, one more seal egg, (I don’t have a clue what to call them) a blue and red speckled egg, and a pale brown egg. My seal pup rode on my shoulders as we travelled back to the Keep. The sun was beginning to set, and I was starving. I didn’t even know where to start looking for food. I reached the top of the staircase when I realized I didn’t even know if I had food in this big keep. I had gold but … would I be able to find someone willing to sell me some supplies? “What have I gotten myself into?” I whispered as I shifted the four eggs into one arm and pushed my Keep door open.

I almost dropped them when I saw someone standing there.

“Uhm. Excuse me!” I spluttered, my seal hopping to attention with a short little husky bark. The figure turned and I raised an eyebrow, trying very hard not to sound or look frightened. It wasn't going to work; my mind was working double-time against me. “What are you doing in my Keep?” My voice wavered but my seal pup growled, his or her tail pressing hard against my back. The person approached me and pulled back the hood. My eyes widened and I took a step back, feeling like I was about to throw up.

“You!?"

I demand MOAR