23rd febuary 1992
[I am Alfius Krylin This is my record as a spellcaster and potioneer. Born as the second son of the Krylin clan of Europe. My earliest memories are from me meditating to attune my body to accommodate and channel magic. There was no love, only results in the clan and I learned that early on from my bitch of a mother when she locked me in my room with no food or water just because apperently arguing with my brother is bad because we have "different paths"to follow. Speaking of my brother, Yarek Krylin was the heir while I was expected to not dissapoint the clan and help Yarek in his problems. My talents laid in spellcraft and potion making while he was okay(ish?) in enchanting and curses . We were taught the basics and additionally I was taught the properties of herbs and sigils for potion making until we approached 18 years of age, because that is when magical maturity is reached in humans and that can be deadly. This forsaken world has been losing it's magic since the 15th century according to the records I could access and due to this the barrier surrounding Earth and the other worlds weakened which allowed grotesque creatures known as dread beast to slip past the barrier, terrible creatures, resourceful yet oh so terrible but how I wished they could feast on my brother, yeah I am that petty. Magic is not just a source of energy but it also acts as a protective barrier for the planet. Before the age of crimson, children used to get access to their magic by the age of 7 or lower, but after these dread beasts arrived, children started awakening their magic at and older age. The ancient families and the magic confederation researched on this and it seems that the magic of Earth was slowly dissapating which weakened the natural barrier protecting the Earth. This resulted in magicallly attuned species slowly dying out forcing them to rely on outer influence to survive. That wasn't all, any children awakening magic quicker then their peers got targeted by the dread beast no matter the distance, this resulted in the mass destruction and hopelessness. The Archmages desperate, slowly withdrew the knowledge of magic and supernatural. Without magic, the world advanced at an unprecedented rate with science and technology which scared the ancient families. So the families influenced people in power with longevity and magic to gain control again. Now people become a second ranked apprentice only after 18 and magic became parlour tricks for entertainment. At 18, me and my brother got admission to Ethionos university of magic only cause we did not get into Salem. Over the years of scalping enough dough from brewing basic potions made me save enough Arcana to nab myself a nifty brewing station which will work wonders for my plans and to form connections with the children of the ancestral seats of power.]
"Holy shit" The words escaped my mouth.
I learned more about magic in these few minutes than I did for the entirety of my teenage life. I crashed into my bed to just think the information through. 'Magic is actually real, there are shadow families controlling knowledge and power for it, there are these monsters which hunt magical babies and there are magical academies'. But along with the answers came more questions, 'Can I unlock my magic? What are Arcana? some currency? How do I learn magic? Will they let me learn magic?'. I needed to keep reading.
I kicked up from my bed and went into my table again and turned over the page.
[ In this Era, the families of the Archmages are known as the royals and the prominent families are known as nobles while practitioners of magic without any backing are called solidary mages. Nobles and royals have academies and their families to teach them knowledge but solidary mages trade knowledge and resources in the black markets. This will be my entry into the potion industry, these mages are desperate and can pay in magic crystals and arcana. I would need to open a second account away from the eyes of my family. The London market will be a perfect place to start]
"Jackpot" I whispered.
I will need to visit this market soon because as per this journal magical maturity properly develops after 18 and I am just two months away from this milestone. I flipped over to the next page and tried to read what's written.
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BAM!
I abruptly closed the journal only to find the table below the journal consisting of drops of scarlet blood dripping from my nose with a splitting headache. Wobbling to the bathroom I looked myself into the mirror. Unkept raven black hair and scarlet streaked aquamarine eyes, nose dripping with blood and my lips dried to a burn.
Quickly washing off the blood and hoping for no internal damages I sat on my bed trying to make myself comfortable.
'Fucking failsafes! Should had known. But at least the path is clear now'. 2 months left before my magical maturity. I need info and the London market will be perfect but where to find the entrance? And I am going to need money, magical money, 'what is even their euro to Arcana exchange rate? do they even do that?' Proping myself up on my bed I looked over my room as if waiting for it to give me a clue only to find myself staring at an evergrowing pile of clothes on the beanbag along with posters on the wall. Eyes wandering again to the right side of my room to find a small garden of greens I have maintained and am proud of and also the shelf of books which maybe a bit unhinged for some.
'Wait, I just need to ask Robert where he sourced these books this time around' A plan started forming in my head even if it was full of cracks and holes to mend but a plan nonetheless.
DING DONG
The call bell announced the arrival of someone and looking over at the time to see it past 6 I am pretty sure those are my parents 'or maybe its the owner of the journal finally realising they sold the wrongshit' I chortled but took out a pocket knife just to be safe.
Looking through the peephole to find familiar faces relaxed my nerves I didn't realise I had. I opened the door to let my folks in which sneakily pocketing the knife.
"What's good kiddo?" asked my dad while removing his shoes and mom already into the house.
"All good dad, how was work today?"
"Tiring, the markets are flipping like pancakes and we are suffering for it"
We kept on making small talk on random things with both of them. "Order the dinner tonight Ryan, I am way too tired to cook today". My mom made her statement and I was all for it cause I mean its at least better than leftover spaghetti. They settled themselves on the sofa while I browsed over my phone on what I fancy tonight and settled over fish and chips cause why not along with chocolate mud cake.
W had dinner in an quiet affair. and then my parents went to their room to prepare for tomorrow, dad with his analysis on the stock market and mom on a personal project she has been working on for a while and me holed up inside my room distracted with today's events trying to sleep on my bed yet failing to do so. 'Damn insomnia is a bitch and a half'. Looking over to the side to find the alarm showing 3:21. I decided to ditch sleep and have some snack.
Going down the stairs to find the fridge in the dark room was easy enough if you had experience. Opting for an energy bar and the crisps I bought earlier today I slithered back to my back quietly so as to not disturb their sleep and my peace. locking the door to my room and settling on my bed I started munching on my loot while getting comfortable. 'School is closed tomorrow so that's a plus'
Crunch! Criss!
'So these families influence the world and hoard most of the knowledge from the populace with apprently a feudal system dividing their standing among themselves? Charming' I scoffed. 'Is the roayl family in on it? Are they even the royal family or just a front? Maybe the queen is a sorceress? Is the theory about the immortal tea true?' "Crunch!" 'Damn no wonder? And what of the religion are they true? false?"Crunch!" 'And these mythical creatures, they somehow siphoned energy from the outside but wasn't it dangerous?' "Crunch!" I let my thoughts wander while munching on these increasingly addicting snacks.
"Ugh! What do they even put on this shit?" Trying to grab another piece only to find the pack empty, fuck. 'to do list- nicely ask the location of the books from Robert and not get into more deep shit than I already am on, complete my homework due for monday and buy this snack again' Mentally deciding I sat up from my bed to drink the energy drink while looking over the horizon for the feel cause trust me it feels amazing. Walking over to my window, with the drink in hand and looking over the horizon only to freeze by the sight before me.
The sky had a deep crimson hue to it instead of the essence of the night with deep cracks upon it which seem to be pulsing bluish black substance through the sky. Numerous grotesque black eyes looking over the city blinking occasionally with various emotions as if observing our struggles with tendrils of crimson dangling on some spots in the city with crimson increasing under my vision too much compelling me to back away from the window to realise my eyes dripping blood along with my nostrils and me going increasingly pale.