Author's Note
Hey there! So here I am again with a new story. But this time, it's a bit different—it's a fantasy story, so please bear with me. It's actually my first time writing in this genre, so I hope you'll stick with it until the very end.
If you find this story cringe and cliche then this is not for you. I'm just a normal person with twisted imagination. I write what I imagined.
Let the magic begins!
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REIYA'S POV
"Seriously!? Stay away from Clark—are you some kind of parasite?" Kim snapped at me, arms akimbo and brows raised, her two friends flanking her, crossing their arms and glaring at me like I was disgusting.
We were at Jaica, and luckily the place was empty.
I rolled my eyes, as if I couldn't care less about what they were saying.
"Are you listening!?" She shoved me—not hard, but firm enough. Her face was flushed red with anger, which stood out even more against her fair skin.
"Okay," I replied, which seemed to confuse her.
"What?" she said, frowning deeper. I wanted to laugh at her expression but I kept a straight face.
"You said not to go near Clark," I explained. I thought that would be enough—if I just stayed away from her boyfriend, she'd calm down. But it only made her angrier.
"So now you're saying Clark's the one coming after you?!" she yelled.
Jesus, her brain must have a leak.
I just picked up my bag, which they had tossed on the ground. "We're not finished here," Kim said, reaching for my arm—but I dodged her. "You heard what you wanted to hear, right? What else do you want from me?" She looked shocked by my bluntness.
Unbelievable.
I left them standing there, dumbfounded. When I glanced back, Kim was grinning smugly at me. I just rolled my eyes and looked away.
A sudden gust of wind blew by and I had to smooth the hair that fell over my shoulder.
I glanced back to where Kim and her group had been, but they were gone. I shrugged and kept walking.
It was odd—at this hour there should have been lots of students walking with me, but today there was no one.
I was startled when a man suddenly appeared in front of me. He wasn't tall—about my height—and looked like he was in his thirties.
But did he really just appear out of nowhere?
"Ms. Reiya." I glanced behind him, half-expecting to see some portal he stepped out of—but there was nothing. Maybe I'm just gassy?
He handed me a blue envelope. On the front it said "Starfall Academy." There was a star-and-moon emblem stamped on it. He just watched me silently, as if waiting for me to open it.
I took out a light blue letter inside.
Starfall Academy
Where Stars Whisper and Magic Awakens
By royal decree of the Starfalls
Date: 3rd Crescent of Light, Year 2020
To the Esteemed Ms. Noxshade,
By stars and ancient sigil, the Fates have spoken your name.
It is with great honor and solemn joy that we hereby extend to you formal acceptance into the hallowed halls of Starfall Academy.
My eyebrow shot up as I read it. Formal acceptance? For what? Wait, I never even applied to this Academy.
The man coughed as if prompting me to continue reading.
Your term begins on the first dawn of the Starfall. You are instructed to bring no more than what you can carry in heart and hand—our vaults and libraries will supply the rest.
Enclosed are the following:
— Your sigil-marked Starpass, to be presented at the Gates of Starfall
— A list of required artifacts and attire for first-year initiates
— The official Oath of the Stars, to be memorized and recited beneath the Academy's Celestar
Take heed: within these sacred walls you will learn to shape the elements, speak to stars, walk with shadows, and write your will into the very threads of reality. But such power is bound by wisdom, and wisdom by discipline.
Welcome, Seeker. The stars have been waiting for you.
In starlit trust,
Archmagister Nyx Lightvale
Supreme Magus of Starfall Academy
Keeper of the Stars and Magic
After reading, I looked up at the man.
"What does this mean?" I asked politely; he was older than me after all.
"My dear, it isn't my place to explain." I glanced at the letter again. None of this made sense. I wanted to ask more questions but when I looked up again, he was gone—and suddenly everything around me was noisy and bustling with students again.
I haven't been drinking, have I?
I was still holding the envelope as I stood there in confusion. Eventually I just walked toward the school gate.
I kept thinking about what that man said—who was supposed to explain all this to me?
Suddenly I thought of Dad. I rushed home so I could ask him about it.
When I arrived home, as usual Dad was drinking again.
"I'm home." I started clearing away the empty bottles on the table. Dad took a swig from his bottle of beer.
I gave him a bittersweet smile. I didn't know why he drank so much these days. Was he like this even when Mom was alive?
"Oh, you're home," he said with a slight slur. The good thing about Dad is that even drunk he could still talk sensibly.
I placed the letter from earlier on the table and watched his reaction. From how serious he suddenly looked, I knew he knew something.
"Where did that come from?" he asked, suddenly speaking much more clearly than before. His tone was serious now.
"A man gave it to me," I replied. He read the letter and rubbed his forehead.
"Is there something you know that I don't?" I asked carefully. He looked at me as if he might cry. His reaction confused me even more.
He left for his room. My head dropped—I thought he didn't want to talk about it—but then he came back carrying an album I didn't recognize.
He handed it to me and sat back down in his seat. "You'll learn about your mom's story in there," he said softly. Sadness filled his eyes. Why storytime now? Still, I opened the album.
"There aren't many photos," Dad said quietly. Flipping through it, I saw happy pictures of Mom and Dad together—Dad's arm around her shoulder.
"Your mother was a special woman even before I met her," he began. Special?
"She was a Healer." My brow furrowed at that. Was he losing it?
"A Healer?" I asked uncertainly; he nodded.
"I met her at that school—Starfall Academy. Just like you, one day I received a letter saying I'd been accepted." My gaze shifted back to the letter on the table.
"Starfall Academy—the school of magic." My jaw dropped. Maybe this was all just a dream—but Dad seemed deadly serious now. Wasn't he joking? So… what I read in the letter was real?
"That's where your mother and I met—and that's where our love began." He smiled fondly as if it all happened yesterday—but there was sadness in his eyes too.
"If Mom was a healer… what were you?" I asked; he glanced at me.
"I'm a Fire User." His answer left me wide-eyed in amazement.
Suddenly memories came back—those times we had no gas yet still managed to cook food… Turns out Dad really did have powers!
Now it all made sense—even if part of me still couldn't believe it.
"When you were born… your mom died." That brought my daydreaming to an abrupt halt.
"It's not your fault," Dad continued gently. "Your mother had a weak heart—and she gave everything she had left to you: her power… because she knew she wouldn't make it. She wanted you to inherit it."
Did that mean…? Was I a healer too? But—I didn't feel any powers at all.
"Magic is something you study, Reiya. You'll need to go there," Dad said—not that it surprised me anymore at this point.
"I know your life will be better if you study there," he added quietly. But I didn't say anything in response.
"But what about you? Can't you come with me?" I asked—but he only shook his head and smiled sadly.
"Just like in any normal school—parents can't go with their kids." His answer made me sadder than before. He took my hand and smiled at me reassuringly.
"Don't worry about me—I can take care of myself." He hugged me tight. There was a kind of sadness wrapped up in that hug too… so I hugged him back just as tightly.
"Tomorrow we'll go get whatever you'll need," he said as he pulled away from our embrace; my brow furrowed in confusion.
"How?" I asked—but he just smiled and went back to his drinking.
THE NEXT DAY
Dad woke me up before dawn; we had to leave early, apparently—to buy my supplies as he'd promised yesterday morning. He was already sipping coffee and eating bread when I came out.
"Eat something first," he offered, handing over a cup for me too. Dad seemed to be in a good mood today.
"So… where are we buying all this stuff?" I asked after breakfast. He put down his mug and looked at me seriously: "Raven's Quill." The name puzzled me—I wasn't even sure if such a place existed!
After breakfast Dad handed me a big bag. "What's this for?" I asked—but he only grinned mysteriously back at me. Is this really my father?
We stepped outside our house—Dad paused for a moment as if figuring out which way to go.
"This way," he pointed toward our yard. "You sure about this?" I asked skeptically; he nodded so I followed him anyway… still half in disbelief over everything happening lately.
Suddenly something clicked under my foot—I heard Dad press something but couldn't see what it was exactly.
"Step back," he instructed; as soon as I did, stairs appeared leading downward beneath our yard! "We have stairs down here?" He nodded again: "All mages have secret passages like these—to get to Raven's Quill." Still hard for me to believe…
"You just going to stand there gawking?" Dad called out; sheepishly, I hurried after him. So… maybe my attitude really does come from him!
As we descended, curiosity built up inside—I wanted to ask him something but felt too shy at first until finally:
"Why'd we stop?"
"We're here," Dad announced—but all I saw was a dead end wall ahead. Was he joking?
"Where exactly?"
He didn't answer—instead he did something with his hand and uttered a word: "Aperta." Before I could say anything else—a door appeared right before us!
"Holy crap!"
Dad shot me a look when he heard my reaction: "Let's go inside—it's best to shop early before the crowds hit." Nodding dumbly, I followed him inside…
The place stunned me—all clouds everywhere!
"So… where do we actually shop?"
Dad pointed straight into the clouds: "There."
I stared upward skeptically—was he serious?
We found an elevator nearby—Dad stepped inside first so naturally I followed. An elevator here?!
"Press seven," Dad instructed—I did as told and suddenly we shot upwards so fast that all I could do was lean against the wall for balance!
A moment later—the doors opened again: "We're here," Dad announced casually as if high-speed magical elevators were totally normal. Maybe they are for him…
Stepping out—I realized what felt solid underfoot wasn't cloud after all—it was concrete! "The clouds are just there for looks; they keep everything floating up here," Dad explained when he caught my stare.
He led the way through this magical marketplace until finally:
"Got your supply list?"
I handed it over; Dad scanned through it quickly: "You'll need attire—let's go to Pixie Dust; they have nice clothes there."
I just nodded—what else could I do? Soon enough we arrived at Pixie Dust where an old woman worked behind the counter:
"What a pleasant surprise! Chris—is that really you?" she greeted Dad warmly.
"Yes Professor," Dad answered respectfully.
"Oh stop calling me Professor—I'm retired! Is this your daughter?" she asked with a smile.
"Yes ma'am—this is Reiya," Dad introduced us; all I could do was nod back shyly.
"She looks just like her mother… but with your personality!" she joked at Dad. Why does everyone say that?!.
"So what are you looking for today?"
Dad handed over my list: "Here—we know Pixie Dust has everything we need." Suddenly a tiny flying creature snatched up our list—
No way—is that Tinkerbell?!
The old woman chuckled at my reaction: "Dear—that's a fairy! They help find things for customers here—I couldn't manage alone."
I nodded mutely—sidled up next to Dad and whispered: "Do we even have enough money? Everything looks expensive…" pulling out a humble hundred peso bill as if it'd help.
Dad laughed—and so did the old woman.
"Don't worry about money—I already withdrew from Solace Banks while you were asleep." He flashed a card showing AD 500,000,000 imprinted on it.
"AD 500 million?!"
"That's Ancestral Dime—the currency here; worth about as much as pesos in our world."
My jaw dropped—we were that rich?!
"Here are your supplies!" The old woman handed over an enormous box—which thankfully wasn't too heavy.
"That'll be 50,000 AD."
I nearly fainted at that price—it made me want to haggle!
Dad handed over his card—the same way we'd swipe at any cashier.
"Come again soon!" she called after us.
No way—I'm not coming back unless things get cheaper!
Outside again, following Dad:
"I thought supplies would be cheap—why'd this box cost 50k?"
"That is cheap—for other stores you'd pay half a million!"
What?! Who could afford that?!
We headed back down via elevator—Dad pressed '1' this time; soon enough we were back home. Strangely enough—we exited inside our house rather than out in the yard.
"We can't let people see us coming out of nowhere—it's safer appearing inside." Made sense—I set down my box of supplies as Dad watched me closely.
"I'm happy for you kiddo," he said softly—almost tearing up again.
From now on your life will change forever," Dad said with a smile.
"I never told you sooner… because I wasn't ready."
I just waited quietly for him to finish.
"Reiya—you're a mage."
That didn't really shock me anymore—but what exactly was my power?
"You'll discover that yourself," Dad assured me gently.
Before I could say anything else—two masked figures in black robes suddenly appeared out of nowhere!
Dad shoved me behind him.
"Who are you?!" Dad shouted—clearly startled.
"Come with us," one commanded.
They didn't sound friendly.
"No—you're not taking him!"
I threw my hands up instinctively—as if that would stop them from getting Dad.
"Come quietly—or Melinda dies," one hissed; at that name Dad froze in terror—Mom?!
Dad squeezed my hand and smiled sadly—as if telling me everything would be okay if he left with them.
Tears clouded my vision as the two strangers grabbed hold of him—and vanished instantly into thin air!
What just happened?
I dropped to my knees—helpless and lost.
Just moments ago Dad had been right beside me…
What is happening?
Who were they?