Prologue
My blue slippers slapped against the sidewalk and the rain had drenched me to the bone. I glanced behind my shoulder with terror in my eyes, searching for the beast.
Just an hour earlier I had awoken to a dark shadow hovering over me in my dorm. The beast had long horns butting from its skull and a large hairy face that I couldn't quite make out.
I immediately screamed and as the monster lunged at me, I rolled out of bed and scrambled towards the door. In a frenzy I completely forgot my wand and burst from my dorm room. I ran for the tunnel out of Ravenwood, my school, but my eyes widened as I saw the great beast standing in front of the gate with a sinister grin on his face, I could now see that the face looked like a bull's.
As soon as I saw the monster I turned on the spot and sprinted towards my teacher, Dalia Falmea's, classroom. I banged on her door with no answer. It was late, no teacher would be in their classroom now.
I felt the ground rumble as the bull man raced towards me, giant axe in hand. Suddenly, I had an idea! The bull was very slow and me, being known for my speed could sprint at the bull man and then slide under his legs and make a break for it!
I prepared for the sprint and as soon as I saw the beast round the corner I sprinted at him. The bull was confused to see me running towards him instead of away and was to late to react when I dropped to my knees and slid right beneath his furry bull legs.
I quickly stood and sprinted off into the tunnel to The Conmons of my city, Wizard City. Once through the door I wiped off my knees and ran to the headmaster's house.
"Master Ambrose! Please help, there is a beast in Ravenwood near the dorms! It's Tatiana, Master Ambrose! Please!" I slammed my fists on the door but with no answer.
Suddenly I heard a great huffing of air streaming from a large animals nostrils. The air caught in my throat and I tensed up. Glancing over towards the tunnel I had come from, I saw the great beast searching for me. I tip toed along the wall towards the road I could take to the Shopping District in the city. As soon as I was out of his area of sight I was sprinting again. It had begun to rain and as I ran between the shops my clothes became soaked. I no longer heard or felt the foot steps of the beast but as I ran along the damp side walk in my blue slippers I figured that I should hide in case the monster came back.
I crept my way between two of the shops and into the back where a lone tree stood. I sat down, feeling the soaking wet ground seeping into the seat of my pajamas. I hugged my knees and sobbed. This was only my first night here at my new school and it was already becoming a scary and dreadful experience.
Just an hour earlier I had awoken to a dark shadow hovering over me in my dorm. The beast had long horns butting from its skull and a large hairy face that I couldn't quite make out.
I immediately screamed and as the monster lunged at me, I rolled out of bed and scrambled towards the door. In a frenzy I completely forgot my wand and burst from my dorm room. I ran for the tunnel out of Ravenwood, my school, but my eyes widened as I saw the great beast standing in front of the gate with a sinister grin on his face, I could now see that the face looked like a bull's.
As soon as I saw the monster I turned on the spot and sprinted towards my teacher, Dalia Falmea's, classroom. I banged on her door with no answer. It was late, no teacher would be in their classroom now.
I felt the ground rumble as the bull man raced towards me, giant axe in hand. Suddenly, I had an idea! The bull was very slow and me, being known for my speed could sprint at the bull man and then slide under his legs and make a break for it!
I prepared for the sprint and as soon as I saw the beast round the corner I sprinted at him. The bull was confused to see me running towards him instead of away and was to late to react when I dropped to my knees and slid right beneath his furry bull legs.
I quickly stood and sprinted off into the tunnel to The Conmons of my city, Wizard City. Once through the door I wiped off my knees and ran to the headmaster's house.
"Master Ambrose! Please help, there is a beast in Ravenwood near the dorms! It's Tatiana, Master Ambrose! Please!" I slammed my fists on the door but with no answer.
Suddenly I heard a great huffing of air streaming from a large animals nostrils. The air caught in my throat and I tensed up. Glancing over towards the tunnel I had come from, I saw the great beast searching for me. I tip toed along the wall towards the road I could take to the Shopping District in the city. As soon as I was out of his area of sight I was sprinting again. It had begun to rain and as I ran between the shops my clothes became soaked. I no longer heard or felt the foot steps of the beast but as I ran along the damp side walk in my blue slippers I figured that I should hide in case the monster came back.
I crept my way between two of the shops and into the back where a lone tree stood. I sat down, feeling the soaking wet ground seeping into the seat of my pajamas. I hugged my knees and sobbed. This was only my first night here at my new school and it was already becoming a scary and dreadful experience.
Chapter 1: Wizarding Lesson One
I lifted my head off of my knees and squinted into the bright morining sun. I felt the bright beams dance across my skin and warm my damp clothes. I rubbed my hands across my grimy face and tried to brush some of the dirt out of my hair and off of my pajamas. Last night was a nightmare and I hoped that I would never have to experience anything like it again.
I stood from my small patch of grass and stretched, letting the warm sun rays cheer me up. This was a new day, I was going to make this day great. As I walked through the empty morning streets and back to my dorm, I thought about my first day yesterday.
My parents had taken me to Ravenwood at about noon. We rode into town on our Chestnut Ponies named Georgia, Clark, and mine being Lilly. I come from a family of non wizards so I had been given no tips on how this school worked.
As we walked into town I was surprised by the great number of wizards walking about in the streets. I felt very out of place in my shorts and a t-shirt. Almost all of the students were wearing fantastic looking armor or clothes they had received from far away lands. There was a range of students from the novice wizards wearing the standard Ravenwood uniform to the Prometheans and Warlords who were given permission long ago to switch up their look. Soon I would be among them and it made me excited.
When my parents and I got to Headmaster Ambrose's office they signed a few papers and then we said our goodbyes. As they left they took Lilly with them because at Ravenwood there was a rule that you had to work for everything you own on school grounds. This included wizards armor, wands, pets, mounts, and even things to decorate your dorm. Of course I was permitted to bring some decorations and casual wear but the rest was to be earned through my study's and going on jobs around town and later, the spiral.
After the headmaster had shown me around the school he handed me a small packet of simple questions to answer.
What's your favorite season? Summer
What's your favorite animal? Dragons
What is your favorite gem? Ruby
There were other questions as well. I handed the papers back to the headmaster and he started to read through them intently.
Headmaster Ambrose looked up from the papers and said, "I can see that you are a caring and happy wizard. You enjoy competition and have plenty of energy. This is a clear decision, your primary class while at Ravenwood will be the study of pyromancy."
I smiled and said, "Thank you Headmaster!" I was very excited to have been placed in this class, that was the class that I had wanted to study. I could now learn to control the beasts of flame and summon them to protect me.
Headmaster Ambrose handed me a small envelope with the seal of fire on the front. He gave me the directions to my classroom an my first wand which was small and wooden. At the tip it had a few red gems and spikes coming out which gave it the look of a flame.
I skipped out of the office and through the streets of The Commons. When I reached the entrance to Ravenwood I walked down the road to the right to the place that the fire school was located. Next to the fire school there was a gaping hole. I stared at the hole wondering what could of happened.
A student wearing a long black robe stepped up to me and said, " You look new and I saw you looking at the Ravenwood hole so I figured I would tell you about it." I nodded my thanks and he continued, "Many years ago there was a teacher named Malistare who had a change to the dark side after his wife died. He was kicked out of the school and his school building, the death school, fell from the rest of the school. I was one of Malistare's students when he worked here and it is still hard for me to believe. The death school has since been found by one of our best students so if you want to study death you can do so but you just have to ask the headmaster about it."
"Okay, thank you!" I replied.
"No problem," he held out his hand to me, "My name is Dakota Deathfountain. What's yours?"
I shook his hand and replied, "Tatiana Shadowflame." I smiled at him then we parted ways and I walked into the fire school.
As I walked in the room the students studying inside turned their heads toward me and gave me a strange look. Their faces showed that they thought they were superior and I should back off. I suddenly got very nervous and subconscious as I walked up to my new teacher.
My new teacher, Dalia Flamea, wa unlike any person I had ever seen before. Here actual body seemed to be made up of flames. Her hair stood straight up and it quivered with the slightest breeze. Her dress was slick like silk but also seemed to posses the same qualities as her hair, the bottom of her dress wavered and moved with the draft.
"Hello Professor Flamea," I said as my voice trembled, the looks I was getting from the other students were making me very nervous. "My name is Tatiana Shadowflame and I'm a new fire student."
"Welcome, Tatiana, to my classroom," she said with a voice full of confidence. She held out a hand and I gave her the envelope. She quickly looked it over and set it in her file cabinet. "Alright Tatiana, why don't you take a seat and listen in on this lesson. Afterwards I will give you your first assignment."
I nodded and sat close to the middle of the room but not near any of the glaring students.
I listened as Professor Falmea lectured on the history of fire dragons and the long lost drakes of Dragonspire. She even spoke of the great dragon titian which a few years earlier had been disturbed by Malistare, the evil wizards that Dakota spoke of. Fortunately on of the best students of the school was sent with a team to defeat Malistare and save the spiral.
The lesson was very interesting and as the other students filed out at the end I stepped up to the podium where Professor Falmea stood.
"Thank you for the lesson," I said as I walked up.
"Your welcome Tatiana. Now about your first assignment...
I stood from my small patch of grass and stretched, letting the warm sun rays cheer me up. This was a new day, I was going to make this day great. As I walked through the empty morning streets and back to my dorm, I thought about my first day yesterday.
My parents had taken me to Ravenwood at about noon. We rode into town on our Chestnut Ponies named Georgia, Clark, and mine being Lilly. I come from a family of non wizards so I had been given no tips on how this school worked.
As we walked into town I was surprised by the great number of wizards walking about in the streets. I felt very out of place in my shorts and a t-shirt. Almost all of the students were wearing fantastic looking armor or clothes they had received from far away lands. There was a range of students from the novice wizards wearing the standard Ravenwood uniform to the Prometheans and Warlords who were given permission long ago to switch up their look. Soon I would be among them and it made me excited.
When my parents and I got to Headmaster Ambrose's office they signed a few papers and then we said our goodbyes. As they left they took Lilly with them because at Ravenwood there was a rule that you had to work for everything you own on school grounds. This included wizards armor, wands, pets, mounts, and even things to decorate your dorm. Of course I was permitted to bring some decorations and casual wear but the rest was to be earned through my study's and going on jobs around town and later, the spiral.
After the headmaster had shown me around the school he handed me a small packet of simple questions to answer.
What's your favorite season? Summer
What's your favorite animal? Dragons
What is your favorite gem? Ruby
There were other questions as well. I handed the papers back to the headmaster and he started to read through them intently.
Headmaster Ambrose looked up from the papers and said, "I can see that you are a caring and happy wizard. You enjoy competition and have plenty of energy. This is a clear decision, your primary class while at Ravenwood will be the study of pyromancy."
I smiled and said, "Thank you Headmaster!" I was very excited to have been placed in this class, that was the class that I had wanted to study. I could now learn to control the beasts of flame and summon them to protect me.
Headmaster Ambrose handed me a small envelope with the seal of fire on the front. He gave me the directions to my classroom an my first wand which was small and wooden. At the tip it had a few red gems and spikes coming out which gave it the look of a flame.
I skipped out of the office and through the streets of The Commons. When I reached the entrance to Ravenwood I walked down the road to the right to the place that the fire school was located. Next to the fire school there was a gaping hole. I stared at the hole wondering what could of happened.
A student wearing a long black robe stepped up to me and said, " You look new and I saw you looking at the Ravenwood hole so I figured I would tell you about it." I nodded my thanks and he continued, "Many years ago there was a teacher named Malistare who had a change to the dark side after his wife died. He was kicked out of the school and his school building, the death school, fell from the rest of the school. I was one of Malistare's students when he worked here and it is still hard for me to believe. The death school has since been found by one of our best students so if you want to study death you can do so but you just have to ask the headmaster about it."
"Okay, thank you!" I replied.
"No problem," he held out his hand to me, "My name is Dakota Deathfountain. What's yours?"
I shook his hand and replied, "Tatiana Shadowflame." I smiled at him then we parted ways and I walked into the fire school.
As I walked in the room the students studying inside turned their heads toward me and gave me a strange look. Their faces showed that they thought they were superior and I should back off. I suddenly got very nervous and subconscious as I walked up to my new teacher.
My new teacher, Dalia Flamea, wa unlike any person I had ever seen before. Here actual body seemed to be made up of flames. Her hair stood straight up and it quivered with the slightest breeze. Her dress was slick like silk but also seemed to posses the same qualities as her hair, the bottom of her dress wavered and moved with the draft.
"Hello Professor Flamea," I said as my voice trembled, the looks I was getting from the other students were making me very nervous. "My name is Tatiana Shadowflame and I'm a new fire student."
"Welcome, Tatiana, to my classroom," she said with a voice full of confidence. She held out a hand and I gave her the envelope. She quickly looked it over and set it in her file cabinet. "Alright Tatiana, why don't you take a seat and listen in on this lesson. Afterwards I will give you your first assignment."
I nodded and sat close to the middle of the room but not near any of the glaring students.
I listened as Professor Falmea lectured on the history of fire dragons and the long lost drakes of Dragonspire. She even spoke of the great dragon titian which a few years earlier had been disturbed by Malistare, the evil wizards that Dakota spoke of. Fortunately on of the best students of the school was sent with a team to defeat Malistare and save the spiral.
The lesson was very interesting and as the other students filed out at the end I stepped up to the podium where Professor Falmea stood.
"Thank you for the lesson," I said as I walked up.
"Your welcome Tatiana. Now about your first assignment...
Chapter 2: The First Quest
After taking a long hot shower. I grabbed my uniform and tugged it over my head. It was comfortable but defiantly out of style. I had chosen a red outfit with white trim and the same for my hat and boots.
I grabbed my wand and the small sheet of paper that I had received yesterday from my teacher, Professor Flamea. The paper contained my instructions for my very first assignment as a student of Ravenwood.
I stepped down the steps of the girls dormitory and glanced at the directions of where to go.
1. Go to the main circle in The Commons
2. Walk down the path to the left an over the rainbow bridge
3. Turn down the path to the left and you will now be entering Unicorn Way.
4. Ask the guard stationed by the first pathway about today's wizard mission.
I followed the directions to where the guard stood and asked what I was told to ask.
"Well," he replied, "today one of the new death students accidentally let a few Rotting Fodders loose into the street. If you could track them down and defeat them then I will reward you."
I nodded and said my thanks as I ran down the path towards where the street began.
I glanced both ways down the street looking for the Rotting Fodders which looked similar to a human in a way but also like a zombie.
Immediately I noticed one walking down the middle of the road. I ran towards it holding out my wand. When I came close I sent a small blast of energy from the tip of my wand towards the monster causing it minor damage and attracting its attention.
Immediately it came at me with the shovel it was holding and hit me with the end. I grabbed the end of the shovel as it came in contact with my skin and stopped it from causing more damage.
I shoved the shovel off of myself and took a shiny red card out of a small box inside of my pocket. As I held out the card it jumped from my palm and levitated in the air above my fingers. With the fingers of my other hand I drew the symbol of power that symbolized fire in the air. Flames appeared where my fingers had traced and the symbol flew towards the card when completed.
The card vanished in a flash of flames and suddenly a orange tiger like cat fell from the open air. It knew exactly who the enemy was and sprang at the Rotting Fodder, sending it back to the realm from which it came.
After giving me my assignment, Professor Falmea had shown me how to use that spell. It was called Fire Cat. Once used it would disappear from my small box of cards until the next fight but no sooner. Using this card used up some of my mana she had called it, also known as magical energy. With just one spell cast I could already feel just a tiny change in my power.
The professor said that I needn't worry to much about mana unless I was in a very long battle or many in a row but she told me I would be able to cast about twenty small spells in a row without depleting my mana.
After my first victory I continued to wander through the street searching for the Fodders. After defeating three more of them I figured that I had completed the job.
Suddenly out of the corner of my eye I saw a Rotting Fodder enter a small tower to my left. I sprinted after the Fodder, wanting to complete the job. I entered the tower but what I found there was not only a Rotting Fodder but also the same monster that had attacked me on my first night at Ravenwood.
I grabbed my wand and the small sheet of paper that I had received yesterday from my teacher, Professor Flamea. The paper contained my instructions for my very first assignment as a student of Ravenwood.
I stepped down the steps of the girls dormitory and glanced at the directions of where to go.
1. Go to the main circle in The Commons
2. Walk down the path to the left an over the rainbow bridge
3. Turn down the path to the left and you will now be entering Unicorn Way.
4. Ask the guard stationed by the first pathway about today's wizard mission.
I followed the directions to where the guard stood and asked what I was told to ask.
"Well," he replied, "today one of the new death students accidentally let a few Rotting Fodders loose into the street. If you could track them down and defeat them then I will reward you."
I nodded and said my thanks as I ran down the path towards where the street began.
I glanced both ways down the street looking for the Rotting Fodders which looked similar to a human in a way but also like a zombie.
Immediately I noticed one walking down the middle of the road. I ran towards it holding out my wand. When I came close I sent a small blast of energy from the tip of my wand towards the monster causing it minor damage and attracting its attention.
Immediately it came at me with the shovel it was holding and hit me with the end. I grabbed the end of the shovel as it came in contact with my skin and stopped it from causing more damage.
I shoved the shovel off of myself and took a shiny red card out of a small box inside of my pocket. As I held out the card it jumped from my palm and levitated in the air above my fingers. With the fingers of my other hand I drew the symbol of power that symbolized fire in the air. Flames appeared where my fingers had traced and the symbol flew towards the card when completed.
The card vanished in a flash of flames and suddenly a orange tiger like cat fell from the open air. It knew exactly who the enemy was and sprang at the Rotting Fodder, sending it back to the realm from which it came.
After giving me my assignment, Professor Falmea had shown me how to use that spell. It was called Fire Cat. Once used it would disappear from my small box of cards until the next fight but no sooner. Using this card used up some of my mana she had called it, also known as magical energy. With just one spell cast I could already feel just a tiny change in my power.
The professor said that I needn't worry to much about mana unless I was in a very long battle or many in a row but she told me I would be able to cast about twenty small spells in a row without depleting my mana.
After my first victory I continued to wander through the street searching for the Fodders. After defeating three more of them I figured that I had completed the job.
Suddenly out of the corner of my eye I saw a Rotting Fodder enter a small tower to my left. I sprinted after the Fodder, wanting to complete the job. I entered the tower but what I found there was not only a Rotting Fodder but also the same monster that had attacked me on my first night at Ravenwood.