"I'm just a spectator who stumbled backwards into your tent. I'm sorry and I'll pay for any damages." It was my opinion that the back was the worst place to have a dagger against, but I didn't dare move. "You don't fool me, sorcerer. Did another seer hire you to sabotage me?" It was a harsh, angry, female voice. "No, honestly, I don't even know who you are." If only I could reach my staf. I contemplated trying to make a grab for it, and thought better of it. It didn't matter how great or terrible I was in magic when she had a dagger to my back and I didn't have any magical weapons. While I could technically do lesser magic without any tools, I never had much practice. hat was more of a wizard thing. As if it knew my plight, the staff started trembling like it was trying to muster up enough power to rise up. Come on. You can do it. Please come me. The dagger dug harder into my back and my staff went still as panic set in. "Please don't hurt me. I just want to walk out of here alive." The dagger moved away slightly. "I have never heard a sorcerer beg before." There was a tense silence for a moment before the dagger disappeared altogether. "Ayden?" I turned and gaped. "Dessa?" The seer was as tall as my mother, but pretty much the opposite of her in every other way. She had long white hair and kind blue eyes. Her face, while symmetrical and pleasant, was soft and pale. Even her lips were unpainted. She wore a simple, white dress with see-through sleeves and silver slippers. "I thought I told you to stop coming to these events," she said, trying and failing to sound harsh. I easily heard the concern in her warm voice. Dessa was one of the rare seers who took on apprentices and that was the only reason she went to tournaments. She was a true master of the art, but she didn't fit into the stereotypes. When her eyes turned solid white, I picked up my staff. "Ayden," she said softly, with even more concern.
I didn't bother speaking back to her because she wasn't actually talking to me. While her sight was active, she was blind and deaf to the mortal realm. She could see my soul, my past and future, but not what I was doing at the time. This was what made her so unique; she could go far deeper into her magic than probably any other seer in the world, but it was dangerous. When she was a child, she had gone into a vision and couldn't close her sight for three years. Unfortunately, although she saw her parents' deaths and knew how to stop them, she couldn't bring herself out in time to warn them. I took the time to look around. Her tent was very dark, as always, but I didn't see any indication that her apprentice was with her. Where is he? Dessa was never supposed to be alone. A lot of people wanted her dead and during her visions was the perfect time to strike. "You have quite the adventure ahead of you," Dessa said, finally coming out of it. "Im going to defeat Magnus, the great wizard, and prove to my famil that I'm a real sorcerer." "Your plans have never gone as you expected." "But I've never been so willing to work hard before. Mother will kill me if I don't prove myself. There is more than one way to skin a cat," she said. "She's going to skin me?!" She sighed. "I knew the first time I met you that you were something special. Unfortunately, if I tell you outright what your fate is, you will make the wrong choices. Even my powers are limited. I can see what you are meant to do and the consequences of your choices, but not which choice you will make, because you still have time to change your future. All I can tell you to be true to your heart and let Merlin guide you. He already knows what you must do and he may be the only one who can help you achieve your potential." That was actually the clearest information I had ever gotten from Dessa. "And one of these choices leads to Mother skinning me?" "One of the paths you face will lead to your mother killing you, yes. Trust Merlin and follow your heart." "Sorcerers don't follow their hearts. We have to be conniving and ambitious at all times." "Why?"
"Because... reasons. I'll try to listen to Merlin, but I still don't want to hurt anyone. I know I can be ruthless and dangerous like my family without killing people or stealing from people who don't have anything to begin with." "You give your family too much credit. There is one more thing I can tell you, however. What you seek is in the Island of Light." That's where Magnus is? Where is the Island of Light?" "Find a traveler who knows." I rolled my eyes. "Seriously? I'm in a hurry. Can't you just use your seer magic and tell me? If my brothers get there first--" "Magnus's castle is not easy to find. It goes wherever it wants to go. You can walk endlessly in every direction and never find hi. Thiák of it as a journey instead of a destination." I sensed something approaching me. It was powerful, ancient even, and definitely not my brothers. Being able to sense someone was new to me, yet before I could figure out how I developed this ability, Merlin appeared through the flap. It was him I had sensed, so I figured it was related to hearing his words in my mind. "I think I have found a way to disguise your hair temporarily without the use of a magician, which will be unaffected by your magic." There was a white cloth sack tied around his neck. "How temporarily?" I could feel his disapproving frown in my mind. "Did you run into trouble already?" he asked, looking pointedly at Dessa. Yes, I did. My brothers are out there. This is Dessa. I met her at a seers' tournament a few years back. She's a friend. Dessa, as you know, this is Merlin. He's a wizard, but he's from a world where wizards aren't just good and he's training me to be a sorcerer." "You have seer friends?" Merlin asked, unimpressed. "Of course. Just because we don't do the same kind of magic doesn't mean we can't help each other. My mother says it's not right, but she might be a little behind the times. Merlin sighed, which he seemed to be doing more and more as he got to know me. "I have my work cut out for me." He didn't say anything more when he saw Dessa's eyes, as she had gone back into her visions. was extremely unsettling, but I felt like it was a little rude to stare. Before I could say anything, it was over. "I know who cursed you and how," Dessa said to Merlin. The wolf's face became even more serious. "Ayden, please leave the room." "Why?" "This is a private matter and I would rather hear it alone if she has anything of value to tell me." "But she can't hear you speak." "Unlike you, young sorcerer, I am able to listen without speaking." "What about my brothers?" "Ayden," he groaned tiredly. "Alright, I'm going. It was good to see you again, Dessa." I left, but I didn't stray far. With no idea where my brothers had run off to or if my mother was near as well, I sat down and leaned against a suppop beanof another tent. To my horror, I heard another couple of familiar voices an instant befre the tent flap opened. My youngest two brothers exited, right next to me. Although Mikron and Thaddeus were not my cruelest siblings, neither of them would hesitate to turn me in. They were slender, more like our mother than our father, but that was no disadvantage to them. Whereas Thaddeus preferred to fight with magic, Mikron was more similar to Bevras in that he wanted to fight with his hands. Mikron had grown his hair long and braided it like our eldest brothers, but when he angered our mother by messing up a batch of potions, she burned his hair off. It was still pretty short no matter how many hair growth tonics he made. Thaddeus kept his hair short like our father. I clutched my staff tightly, knowing for sure that if they spotted me before I could curse them, I wouldn't have a chance. Neither of them had a wand out, though. My brain rushed to come up with a curse as magical energy tingled under my skin. Thaddeus looked right at me... and turned away. I gaped as they both walked off. After a moment, I looked down at myself, wondering if I had somehow become unrecognizable. I didn't shriek when I saw myself, but only because I didn't see myself. My hands, arms, feet, legs... everything about me including my staff and clothes, was completely invisible. I didn't shriek. I might have squeaked a little.
Merlin emerged soon after, easily following his nose right to me. He tilted his head slightly. "I take it you saw your brothers again." "It was different brothers. I saw them and wanted to hide or something, but instead... I think my staff turned me invisible, and now I don't know how to turn back.'" "Alright. Because your siblings are near and you are not ready to face them, we will leave the tournament before I help you return to normal." "You can fix this?" "Of course. What kind of wizard do you take me for?" Maybe it was just his confidence, but his words went a long way in making me feel better. It was more difficult getting through the crowd like this, since people didn't move out of my way. By the time we made it out, people were starting to talk about someone being invisible in the crowd. They assumed I was stealing stuff, because why else would someone become invisible in a seer tournament? We stopped as soon as we were out of sight of the village. "How does it feel?" Merlin asked. "Scary," I answered. He sighed, so I thought hard to come up with a different answer. Well, it's cold. My whole body is a little cold and tingly, but numb at the same time. I don't like it." "Put your staff down and sit in a comfortable position," he said. I leaned it against a boulder. As soon as I let go of it, the staff appered. "Now, close your eyes and--" "My eyelids are invisible!" I whined too loudly before closing them anyway. "Okay, they're closed." Imagine you are bathing in a lake. Imagine the water is frigid and that is why your body is so cold." He paused for me to imagine it. Instead of helping, however, it just made me shiver. It was easy to see it in my mind since I took many such baths in the winter. "Good. Now, imagine the sun shining into the water. It does not matter how cold the water or air is, because sunlight can easily warm it. The water warms slowly, almost imperceptibly, but your blood starts warming faster than the water."
As he said this, I felt the sunlight on me, warming me faster than the water I was imagining. "That's weird." The reason your body is warming so quickly is because the energy inside you is starting to move. It is becoming active. The energy that filled you from the staff, making you invisible, is being forced out and into the cold water. You no longer need it. Do you feel the water warming?" "Yes." "That is the foreign energy being dispersed. The sun is not important, because your energy is taking over. It knows you are safe and no longer needs to be invisible." I directed my focus away from the sunlight as I started feeling too warm. Then, suddenly, I realized I couldn't see through my eyelids. In shock, I opened my eyes and looked down at myself. "It worked!" Merlin's eyes narrowed. "Of course it worked. I told you it would. The power inside you is stronger than you know. Understand that most spells and curses are easier to break by gently working them off from their weakest points." "So, did you find out how to break your curse?"I asked. "No." Instead of explaining, he turned and walked away.
On the way back to the mansion, I told him about what the seer said to me. "Do you know where the Island of Light is?" "I am not that knowledgeable of Caldaca s geography. If I had my magic, I could find the place, but magic-users here are limited in what they can do. As a wizard of a different world, I can do scrying as well as any seer here can, but I understand why power is limited here." "What is scrying?" "Crystal gazing. "So wizards can be seers where you're from?" "It is more that wizards are all magic users in one where I come from. We can specialize in something, like necromancy or soothsaying, but the possibilities succeed that of wizards here. Instead of having sorcerers, we have wizards that are capable of being just as conniving and malevolent as Sorcerers.
I spent the rest of the trip in deep thought. On Merlin's world, I wouldn't be judged for being too nice or for my blond hair. Although my magic would still be the same, people would assume I could do more. Right before we reached the gates of the mansion, I opened my mouth to ask him if we could go to his world. "of course, they also kill wizards where I live." "What?!" "Well it is complicated. I have been alone and away from society for so long that I cannot be sure what the laws are anymore." That was the moment I realized world-travel was potentially very dangerous. Inside, there was a plate of fish, com, and potato slices ready at the table for me. I sat down while Merlin went rabbit hunting. "Who cooked this?" I asked Vactarus. Just like the night before, he and Kisha sat at the table with nothing to eat. This was obviously an important tradition for them. "Our housekeeper, of course." I studied the dust all over the table. "Housekeeper?" "Yes. We want to make sure the mansion stays in a creepy enough state that it scares away bandits without actually falling apart. Since my hat was taken by Magnus, the illusion over the mansion is ever so slowly disintegrating. Soon, there will be nothing left and anyone can find us." I figured he wasn't trying to pressure mne to hurry up and battl Magnus, but I felt guilty for going to see the tournament anyway. "When are you going to battle Magnus already?" Okay, my guilt was completely gone. "When I'm ready. Do you knov where the Island of Light is?" "Not on this world. I know where the tunnel of light is, and I'm never going there. I'm afraid I have never seen anything of Caldaca outside of Akadema." "I need to find someone who knows. I need a way to get there, too. I need a plan." «You need a minion." I thought about it. It was definitely something a sorcerer would want, althoughI didn't think turning Vactarus back into a bat was a good idea. My mother saw her children as her minions. "You're right. Do you think I can buy one somewhere?" I certainly wasn't going to grow my own.
Vactarus gave me an annoyed stare. "Summon one," he said, as if I should have thought of that on my own. I definitely should have thought of that on my own. Merlin returned then with a dead rabbit in his jaws. Well, I thought it was dead, until it tried to sCratch at Merlin's throat with its razor-sharp claws. Merlin shook his head until his prey fell still, and then he hopped up on the chair and set it on the table. The food in my stomach rebelled. "Merlin, will you teach me to summona beast to help fight Magnus?" I asked. "Do you think you have the mental strength and inner peace to control a beast?" "Inner peace? That's a wizard thing," Once again, I could feel his iritation. "That is a control thing. You cannot control another creature if you cannot control yourself. How easily you picked up my guidance today showed me that you have the skill; you need only to use it." "Then let's go do it." "Patience, young sorcerer; the only thing worse than n angr wolf is a hungry one." With that, he started eating his rabbit. "I think Il just wait outside." I narrowly escaped whounsing my dinner. I also learned that I would rather conjure something than nt my own food. For a while, I studied the designs on my wand and staff. My wand was as elegant and wizard-like as always. My staff, however, seemed to be a little different than before. The wood was a little smoother, as if it had been polished. The crystal at the top was also slightly lighter than the deep red it had been before. Of course, it was sunset, so my light was starting to fade. I thought about what I could do to Magnus with my staff. The three times I had used it, it didn't go as planned. Although my wand only did white magic, it was reliable. Magnus was the most powerful wizard known, so I knew I couldn't just defeat him with magic. What made my family so famous was my mother's skill in coming up with diabolical plans. I was smarter than my brothers, which only angered my mother more because I was the least ambitious. I didn't want to take over Akadema any more than I wanted to curse people and sell them the anti-curse at a ridiculous price. It wasn't even that I didn't know what I was doing. The first potion I ever had to make was supp0sed to make someone's hair fall out. However, I thought the ingredients were gross, and I was very young at the time, so I used different ingredients to make an uncontrollable laughing potion instead. Defeating Magnus would not be a matter of who had the stronger magic. To prove I was a masterful sorcerer, I would have to set an ingenious trap.