(Author's Note) Some of the islands in this fanfic and the main story will be named after lands and places from other media and mythology.

Caroline the Mage

In the endless void that is the skies of Elysia, with scattered islands dotting the air, a large island floated calmly. Upon the island looked like a village with a large castle in the center that shined like a diamond. At the top of it was something that gave a glowing blue aura, with several others seen all around the village and along the edge of the island. There were also floating green crystals of different sizes scattered around it, as well as metal-looking rocks. the only seen plant life were small bushes carrying purple berries.

This land was known as Thylisia, which is a kingdom found in the crystal lands of Elysia. It is governed by a council of six powerful mages, each one representing one of the six elemental forms of magic in the realm. Most of the people spend the day going about their daily lives with the help of their magic.

While many of the houses looked simple by regular standards, there were six that were considered unique. They were found in six different corners of the village and resembled small castles. But what made them unique was that they were each mostly made with a different kind of crystal block. These were the homes of the six members of the council that governed the village.

In the castle made of golden crystal, A little girl was sneaking around. She had light blue eyes and dark blue, shoulder-length hair. She was also seen in plain old blue mage robes. This is Caroline, a young mage in training.

She soon came to a door in the hall and quietly opened it to enter a small room that housed a small alter, upon which sat a small book. Looking around to see no one was here, Caroline tip-toed over to the alter and opened the book to see the contents contained instructions on how to cast spells, as well as recipes for different kinds of potions and elixirs. It was a spell book.

Suddenly, the sound of a loud hoot made her jump in fright. She turned around to see it came from a white owl that sat on one of the shelves.

"You scared me, Harry." she sighed with relief before taking a look at the book, stopping on a page that looked like a recipe for a potion she's never heard before. the top of it had a picture of a witch flying on her broomstick and the name of the potion. "The Sky Potion. A potion that makes people fly."

"Caroline? Where are you?" called a voice from outside the room.

"Uh-oh, it's Grandma." Caroline whispered in fright and quickly closed the book. Coming over to Harry and taking him on her shoulder, she then silently made her way to the door and opened it just a crack to see if the coast was clear. Unfortunately, the person was standing just outside the door, giving a calm glare at the girl. She had yellow eyes, fair skin and short silver hair, Her attire consisted of a robe in a mix of white and gold and she held a staff with a yellow crystal in her hand. This is Elora, the council mage representing the element of light, and Caroline's grandmother.

"Uh... Hi, Grandma." Caroline greeted with a nervous tone in her voice, knowing full well she was in trouble for going into her private study without permission.

"Caroline, I've told you many times before." Elora said pulling her granddaughter and her owl out and shutting the door behind them. "My private study and my spellbook are off limits."

"I don't understand you, Granny." Caroline pouted, "Sometimes you get mad because I don't feel like learning magic. And other times you tell me not to look at your book when I do feel like learning."

"The problem is that you're trying to learn too much in a short time. And I prefer your studies be done under my supervision." Elora lectured before taking a calming breath so she could talk to her granddaughter in a more soft tone. "Caroline, I know you want to be a great mage, but no one manages to achieve that in one week. You just need to be patient, and your time will eventually come."

Her grandmother's words were able to get to her, as Caroline turned her face away and faced the ground with a regretful look. "You're right. I'm sorry, Grandma." she apologized. "I guess it was mostly because I let my curiosity of what you had in those pages get the best of me."

"Oh, it's alright, my dear." Elora said embracing her granddaughter in a hug. "I remember what that's like."

"I'm wondering if people see this in everyone that's apprentice to members of this kingdom's Mage Council." Caroline said, causing them both to chuckle before mention of the council made Elora remember something.

"Oh, that reminds me." she said getting up. "I was calling you because I received a letter in the mail." She reached into her robe and pulled out a letter to show it. "My fellow council members request my presence at the Crystal Tower."

Caroline rolled her eyes with a smile, knowing full well that she's still too young for her grandma to trust her to be left alone in the castle and not get into mischief. With that, the two mages and their pet owl immediately headed to the front door and out of the castle.

While out on their way to the tower, the two took a look at some serious stuff going on with the village. Everyone seemed to be well calm with themselves, much to Caroline's joy. There were people buying goods from the marketplace and other kids playing in the fields, either by magic of by normal means. Caroline even noticed an airship coming into port. Ever since the world was shattered by the Fracture, most kingdoms have relied on the use of newly developed airships.

Caroline soon noticed a small number of mages and warriors boarding the airship, and her heart felt full of worry. "Are they going off to fight the Hollow King?" she asked her grandma.

"With the crates full of weapons and cannons loaded on the ship, it seems likely." Elora answered, her voice sounding worried also. Many of their mages and their armies have gone off many times than she could count to try and fight off the Hollow King, with most of them not returning.

Caroline hung her head in sorrow. "It's times like this I wish the Portal Knights were still with us." she whined. She had been told stories about the Portal Knights, powerful heroes who defended the portals that were found all around Elysia, like the one in the small shrine that stood on a small rock split off from the main island, being only connected by a wooden bridge.

"I know, dear. But the reality is they're not here anymore." Elora said to her. "So we have to handle this ourselves."

They soon came upon the Crystal Palace which, true to its name, was made of all six crystal types. This was meant to represent the union between the six elements.

Caroline and her grandmother entered the front gates and navigated the halls until they found the Council Chambers, where the other five members of the council were already there. There was Ignius, the High Mage of Fire, an elderly man dressed in a robe as red as fire rubies with a helmet styled to look like fire. Gaia, the High Mage of Nature, a little girl with brown skin and forest green hair, dressed in a leaf-like robe. Stormos, the High Mage of Lightning, a man with tan skin and white hair and a beard, as well as a god-like physique. He was dressed in a dark blue toga with a thunderbolt on the front and black sandals. Glacia, the High Mage of Ice, a woman with ice blue hair dressed in a robe with a high collar shaped like a snowflake. And Travis, the High Mage of Dark, a young man with dark hair and a goatee wearing a black sorcerer outfit.

"Elora, so glad you could make it." Ignius greeted warmly, with all but Travis nodding in agreement.

"Sorry for the delay." Elora apologized. "But I couldn't leave my granddaughter alone. You understand." The rest of the council muttered in understanding, except Travis, who only felt annoyed by it.

"Of course, we were all kept waiting because of your little pet of an apprentice." he spat, with Elora flashing annoyed looks for his insult about her granddaughter, and Caroline for calling her a pet. Fortunately, the dark mage got his comeuppance for it, thanks to Glacia using her ice staff to hit him with a chunk of ice.

"Travis, respect!" she ordered, while Elora smiled at her for standing up to him, and Caroline subtly sticking her tongue out at him.

Elora then walked over to her yellow crystal throne to take her seat. "So, what was it you wanted to show me?" she asked her fellow mages.

Ignius turned to Gaia and gave a gentle nod. The Mage of Nature then pulled out a small box and placed it on the table's spinning platform, turning it so the box would face the Mage of Light. Elora then took a peek and gasped in awe. Inside were six cubic stones that glowed in pure white.

"Are these what I think they are?" she asked in awe.

"Yes. They are Portal Stones." Stormos answered. "With these, we'll be able to activate one of the portals and be able to join up with others willing to help us in the war against the Hollow King."

"And maybe have a fighting chance against the Hollow King and his knights." Caroline said joyfully, everyone nodding in agreement, though Travis didn't look all that excited. A thought suddenly came into Caroline's mind. "But wait. If we activate the portals, won't that also allow those Hollow Knights and other monsters to invade our homeland?" she asked, only to receive a slap to the cheek from Travis for no reason.

"Children shouldn't ask stupid questions, especially when they're not spoken to!" Travis scolded, only to receive a slap to the face from Elora for striking her granddaughter.

"And one shouldn't hit a child, especially when they ask a question that makes sense!" she growled before calmly turning to her granddaughter. "No, Caroline, we don't have to worry. After all, we have the Wards of Protection keeping the dark forces from setting foot on our lands. They couldn't use the portals to bypass them even if they tried."

Caroline smiled at this as he grandma turned to talk to her fellow mages. "Thank you for sharing this with me." she said to them. "Call me when the time comes to use them." With that, she and her granddaughter and owl turned and left the chamber. All the others gave approving nods, except Travis, who only sneered.

As they walked out the front gates, Caroline rubbed her cheek, still feeling pain from being slapped by Travis.

"Don't worry, my child. I'll make an ointment to help dull the pain." Elora told her, while Harry perched on Caroline's shoulder and nuzzled her face to help cheer her up.

"That Travis is such a jerk." Caroline mumbled. "What the last Mage of Dark saw in him, I'll never know."

"We all don't know why she picked him to be next in line for the spot. But we try to put up with him because we outnumber him and can easily subdue him if her ever steps out of line." Elora told her.

Caroline then decided to ask about the council's plan. "Do you really think joining up with other kingdoms will really make a difference in our fight with the Hollow King?"

"I don't really know, Caroline." Elora expressed her own doubt. "In all our repeated attacks on the leader of the Hollow Legion, we haven't been able to make a dent in his armor. But we have to at least try." This made Caroline feel worried about the future of Elysia should they fail to find the Dark Lord's weakness. Harry felt this and nuzzled her face more to make her happy.

Elora smiled at her granddaughter and tried to reassure her. "Don't worry, my child. I know one day we'll triumph over that monster, just like the Portal Knights of legend. After all, no creature is invincible, I'm sure the Hollow King has a weakness we'll eventually find and strike at."

Caroline let out a smile in response to her grandmother's comforting words, Elora giving one back. "Come on. Let's go home for dinner."