*I do not own Wizard101, its schools, or Camp Thousand Pines!
This is my first story, so I'm just posting the first chapter and wait for reviews to see if I should post the rest.
Chapter One
The Finding
I trotted towards the beach, eager to get in the foamy waves. I dipped my toes in and gave a whoop; it was as cold as ice. I waded around for a bit, splashing my little brother with the water.
Suddenly something white caught my eye. It looked like a piece of paper floating in the water. I turned it over and saw the strangest symbol drawn on it in purple ink. It looked like a whirlpool with a lightning bolt jetting out of the side. Beneath it, in hastily scribbled handwriting, was the word School of Storm. I looked at it, my brow furrowed. I held the paper closer to my face and realized that there was more handwriting, smaller, and more smudged. "Ice is next; top of Mount Baldy."
I waded out of the water, still frowning at the piece of paper.
Ice is next; on top of Mount Baldy? I wondered. I spotted my mom reclining on a towel on the beach.
"Mommy," I said, running towards her. "Look at this piece of paper."
She read it with an interested smile on her face.
"Well, it looks like you've got an adventure on your hands," she said handing the piece of paper back to me.
"What d'you mean?"
"Well, normally, when someone finds a piece of paper with a weird symbol and some nonsensical writing on it, it means they're going to have an adventure. Either that or you've found some piece of Chinese homework that someone threw in the ocean."
I laughed. She smiled at me and turned a page of her upside-down magazine. As she re-buried herself, I skipped back to my house on the boardwalk and packed my things. I looked down on the piece of paper, which was slowly drying.
I was a rather unusual girl with a rather unusual family. For one thing, my hair was practically white. My eyes were an icy blue color, and I loved the snow. I always wore jeans and a T-Shirt, no matter how cold it was. People would sometimes call me the Snow Princess.
My mother was a writer. She hated non-fiction, and loved writing fantasy. If I told her there was a Unicorn outside, she would smile, say, "That's nice," and tell me exactly how to approach it.
My brother was…mostly like every other little brother on Earth. He played video games, went to school, ate junk food, and slept. He complained, shoved, wore smelly clothes, and tried to be cool, even though he was six years old. I hated him.
I glanced back at the paper in my hand.
"Storm," I said to myself. Suddenly I heard a crack of thunder outside. I rushed to the window and looked out. Dark clouds had gathered over the ocean, and the waves were getting increasingly wilder.
"What is going on?" my little brother complained as he came inside. My mother followed, smiling in an abstract sort of way.
"Oh, Janie's just having an adventure," she said as she put the magazine away. He shrugged and plopped down to play his video games.
I zipped up my bag and walked out the door, grabbing an umbrella on the way.
"Well, Mommy," I said, opening my umbrella dramatically. "I'm going to go have my adventure."
"You do that," she said.
I strode out the door, tightening the straps of my backpack. The rain hammered on the top of my umbrella as I walked past the swollen sea. I felt the spray on my cheeks as I strolled along the beach.
"Where are you going, Janie?" Mrs. Smith was fighting the wind with her umbrella.
"On an adventure!" I yelled, stretching my arm out in front of me heroically.
"You're only fourteen!"
"I don't care!" I streaked past her as her umbrella turned inside out with a loud fwoomp!
~X~X~X~
I made my way to Mount Baldy, taking the bus and some taxis. Finally, a large bus full of arguing French people deposited me at the base of Mount Baldy. The bus had taken me away from the storm at sea, and the sun was shining. I hiked up the mountain, using the stick I had wrenched from a bush at the base. Finally, at the top, I looked around. I checked the piece of paper in my hand.
Ice next; top of Mount Baldy. I looked around again. There was snow on the ground, and it was layered on the trees. I smiled, picked up a handful of snow, and kissed it. Suddenly I saw something white fluttering in the breeze. I dropped the snow, ran over to it, and wrenched it out of the log it had been stuck in. I saw another symbol, in light blue ink this time. It was a circle, with a swirly cross in it and an X in the middle. Beneath it, in different handwriting, was "School of Ice. Fire next; Camp Thousand Pines."
I grinned, tucked the paper into my backpack, and said, "Ice." Immediately, snowflakes whirled around me and wind blew my hair off my face. I laughed and twirled around in delight, and set off again. I soon found out that Camp Thousand Pines was on a mountain nearby. So I took a taxi, hiked up to the camp again, and walked boldly in.
I quickly found the piece of paper. It was stuck on a burnt tree, with little singed spaces on it. I picked it up, and saw the symbol. It looked like a tongue of flame. Beneath it was, "School of Fire. Death next; Calico Graveyard."
A shiver ran up my spine as I read the last words. I dropped the piece of paper in my backpack and said tentatively, "Fire?"
Flames erupted from the tree, and I leaped back with a cry of shock. I ran away, feeling the heat on my back. I immediately hitched a ride to the Calico Graveyard. It was misty and dark there. I found a piece of paper on a tombstone, weighed down by a small stone. I picked it up, and saw a symbol, drawn in black ink. It looked like a skull, yet more subtle. I read the words beneath it.
"School of Death. Next Myth; Library, Fiction Section."
I chose not to say the word, but instead, put the paper in my backpack, and went to the library. I found a piece of paper stuck in the highest bookshelf of the fiction section. I managed to reach it, and found a symbol in dark blue ink. It looked like a triangular eye. I read the words.
"School of Myth. Next, Life; California State University Fullerton Arboretum."
"I like the sound of that," I said, and put the paper in my backpack. I said, "Myth." Out loud, waiting for something. A book near me started to shake. Curious, I pulled it out, and flipped it open. Immediately, a troll leaped out, brandished its club at me, and snorted. Then it decided it didn't like the real world, and went inside the book once more.
I walked out of the library, shaken. I took a bus to the college, and found my way to the arboretum. I found a slip of paper folded neatly and placed in the crook of a branch and the trunk of a tree. I reached up, pulled it down, and unfolded it. In spring green ink, there was an oak leaf drawn on the paper. I read, "School of Life. Wait for Balance."
Puzzled, I sat down on the grass. Wait for Balance? What does that mean? I thought for a moment, and then suddenly, something glowed in front of me. A piece of paper floated down from the unusual light. I picked it up and read it. The symbol was drawn in brown, and it looked like some scales. I read beneath it, "School of Balance. Welcome to Ravenwood."
I searched for the next school on the paper, but there was none. I took the rest of the papers out of my backpack and started to lay them in a circle.
Storm…Ice…Fire…Death…Myth…Life. I hesitated with Balance. Then I placed it in the middle. The papers started to glow, and the world around me started to swirl.