Chapter 1 Welcome to Ravenwood
Blake's family had always been deeply interested in magic. His family had already decided that he should go to the Ravenwood School of Magic when he was three. Ever since their decision, he had never experienced what a normal life would be like at a non-magical school.
His parents were both storm wizards. They both liked the immense power that the storm school brought, regardless of the low accuracy or low health. His sister Morgan was a life wizard. She chose the school because she was always trying to help someone. Blake was a balance wizard. He figured that all the schools were equally good, so he wanted to incorporate a little bit of each school.
His first day at Ravenwood came as soon as he turned thirteen, the minimum age for students to enroll at Ravenwood. His sister had already been there for two years, and she was now fifteen.
He marveled at the school as soon as he teleported there for the first time. Young wizards just like himself were all around. Some were sitting under the shade of a tree while a fire wizard was cooking their food. Others were practicing their dueling skills, casting monsters of all shapes and sizes.
"Wow!" he exclaimed, "this place is amazing!"
"Headmaster Ambrose is waiting for you inside his house," his mom said. She kissed him on the cheek and sent him off.
Blake rushed inside the Headmaster's house to meet him.
"Hello young wizard," Ambrose said, "welcome to the Ravenwood School of Magic!"
Blake shook his hand firmly.
"While you are here you will learn much about magic and its proper uses. Here at Ravenwood we teach seven different types of magic. We teach fire, ice, and storm magic, these schools can trace their origins back to the Titan War. We also teach myth, life, and death magic, these schools come from the power of the mind, body, and spirit. Our newest teacher, Arthur Wethersfield, teaches balance magic. balance magic combines all of the other schools."
Ambrose smiled warmly.
"If I may ask, what type of wizard are you?"
"I'm a balance wizard," Blake replied.
"I see, so what made you choose the school of balance?" Ambrose inquired.
"Well my parents are both storm wizards, and my sister Morgan is a life wizard, so I decided I wanted a little bit of their schools and all the others," Blake replied.
Ambrose nodded approvingly.
"You will like your teacher, I'm sure of it," Ambrose said, "his name is Arthur Wethersfield as I mentioned before. Speaking of which, you should go meet all the teachers in Ravenwood. Take this compass and this map to guide you. Report back to me after you speak with them."
Blake was eager to meet his new teachers, so he ran to find the Ravenwood tunnel without realizing he had dropped his map and compass. It was close nearby so it didn't take him long to find it even without his compass or map.
When he stepped through the tunnel, the first thing that caught his eye was a giant willow tree with only one eye. He saw wizards talking to the tree and walking through it, but when he tried to walk through it, he smacked his face on the bark.
"Woah there, young wizard!" the tree shouted, "watch where you're going!"
Blake screamed and turned to run, but he bumped into someone who looked like they had just come from a fancy tea party.
"Why hello there, I am Arthur Wethersfield, the balance teacher here in Ravenwood. I'm not sure I've met you before."
"I'm Blake, the newest balance student," he said.
"Jolly good to meet you," Arthur replied, "balance magic is also known as Sorcery. I originally grew up in Marleybone, but I have moved here to teach new wizards of the fantastic uses of Sorcery. If you wish to learn more balance spells I'd be happy to oblidge. I'll see you later!"
Blake walked away from the professor and towards the next school. After walking for just a few moments, he found himself standing in front of the storm school. The air around it crackled and rain was pouring down. He went inside quickly to avoid being drenched in the storm.
The inside of the school was colored a deep purple and a bright yellow. He wondered to himself why the balance wizards didn't have a school building.
"Hello young wizard!" a voice said.
Blake turned to the front of the classroom and saw a short frog dressed in a nicely tailored purple and yellow suit with a top hat to match.
"I am Halston Balestrom, professor of storm magic. Storm magicians are also known as Diviners. Now, what might your name be?" he inquired.
"My name is Blake, I'm the newest wizard," he replied.
"What school of magic have you chosen?" the professor asked.
"I chose the school of balance, but after seeing this school I can see why my parents chose storm," he said.
"What were your parents' names?" the professor asked, "I might remember them."
"Benjamin and Charlotte," he replied.
"Ah yes!" he shouted, "they were brilliant students! Goodness, would you look at the time! I must get going. Good luck Blake, you're going to need it!"
He ran out the door leaving a flurry of papers behind him. "I hope he didn't need those," Blake muttered to himself.
He walked out the door and went to the school next door, the ice school. As he neared the school the temperature dropped and he felt like a popsicle. The school had freshly fallen snow around it, and icicles as long as people were hanging from the building. He went inside and saw cool blue lanterns hanging from the walls, giving off an eerie glow.
"Hello student!" a cheerful voice said, "I am Lydia Greyrose, professor of ice."
Blake turned towards the lady and saw that she was only two feet tall and she was flying. She wore a light blue dress laced with white and a hat to match.
"I'm Blake, the new student," he said.
"I'm pleased to meet you, Blake," she said, "I'm sure you have many other teachers to meet, so I'll make this quick. Ice magicians, also known as Thaumaturges, are the most powerful in my opinion. You would make a great student. Stop by soon if you wish to learn more. Toodles!"
He exited the ice school and went to the next one, the fire school. As he approached it he felt his temperature rising, which was a nice contrast to the bitter cold of the ice school. The school was surrounded by glowing fire, and the roof had hot coals laying on it. He carefully entered the school, making sure not to touch the flames.
When he entered he noticed that the room seemed to be glowing, but soon realized that it was just the torches hanging on the walls. The teacher was wearing a bright orange and red dress that complimented her red hair. He approached the teacher who appeared to be snoozing.
"Hello m'am?" he whispered.
She awoke with a startled look on her face and knocked over a book.
"Goodness!" she said, "I just put my head down for a few moments and I must've fallen asleep. Us fire wizards, also known as Pyromancers, tend to tire quickly due to the large amount of energy needed to sustain a fire. Now, I'm Dalia Falmea, the fire professor. Who might you be?" she asked.
"I'm Blake, the new student," he replied.
"Ah yes! Ambrose told me of your arrival. New students tend to excel in Pyromancy, so I think you'll do fine. Come back anytime if you wish to learn some fire spells!" Oh, and watch out for the chasm by the death school!"
Before he could ask what she meant, she disappeared behind a flaming bookcase.
Blake left the school and walked toward the next school, the death school as Dalia had mentioned. She had said something about a chasm, but he couldn't quite remember the details. He took one more step and immediately plunged a few feet before landing on a small ledge that overlooked a wide chasm. He gulped in fear.
"Grab this rope!" a voice shouted from above.
He craned his neck to see who was speaking, but he couldn't see anything besides the rope that was being lowered to him. After it was lowered far enough, he grabbed it and started to climb until he reached the top of the chasm.
"Thank goodness you're safe!" shouted a boy.
Blake looked at him and saw that he was wearing a black cape and held a staff with a skull on it.
"Thanks for the help," Blake said, "but who exactly are you?"
"I am Malorn Ashthorn," he replied, "I've been teaching death magic, or Necromancy ever since Malistaire and the death school have disappeared. Death spells are the only spells that can actually heal you while attacking! I may be young, but I still know a lot of Necromancy spells! Come back whenever you can to learn a few."
Blake carefully made his way around the chasm, carefully staying as far away as possible. When he crossed it, he saw a golden school ahead of him. It was decorated with yellow and blue accents everywhere. When he entered, the full majesty of the school was revealed. The whole room was gilded with gold and painted with pictures of mighty battles. After he finished marveling at the room, he realized that the teacher was staring at him with an angry expression.
"Are you another new student?" he asked.
"Yes, my name is Blake," he said.
"I am the myth professor and I teach myth wizards, also known as Conjurers," he said, "You seem rather dull to me, so get out of my school!"
He pushed him out the door without a single word.
"Well, that was rude!" Blake said louder than he had meant to.
"Don't worry about it," said a student dressed in red, "he's mean to everyone."
Blake proceeded towards the next school, the life school. It had vines, flowers, and grass growing over and around it. It was cheerful and pixies and fairies were tending to the outdoor garden. He walked inside, thankful that his tour of the schools was almost over.
When he entered he saw that the room had many plants hanging from the walls, grass all over the floor, and flowers growing from the desks.
"Hello young wizard!" the professor said."
"Hello, my name is Blake, and who are you?" he questioned.
"I am Moolinda Wu, I teach the life students, also known as Theurgists," she said. "Life magic is all about helping each other and healing. I would be very happy to teach you some healing spells. You wouldn't happen to have a sister, would you?" she asked. "I have a student named Morgan who looks just like you.
"Yup, that's my sister," he said in a cheerful tone.
"I'm glad to see that you both are here!" she exclaimed, "I'll be seeing you later."
Blake had to contain himself from sprinting out of the school to avoid being rude. He was excited that his tour had finally ended, now he could learn some real magic! He raced towards the tunnel that lead to the Commons, but as he entered the tunnel, a large group of ice wizards were returning from an event of some sort. He was trampled and soon became lost in the group. He kept walking until he reached the end of the tunnel, but soon realized he wasn't where he had entered.
He had become lost! He began to panic and reached for his compass and map, but he couldn't find them anywhere. He franticly ran around trying to find the Headmaster's house, but everyone he asked ignored him. Just as he was about to give up, a boy named Brandon helped him out.
Brandon was dressed in the same colors as the storm teacher, Halston Balestrom. Brandon had brown hair that was neatly cut a half inch above his head.
"I can show you where the Headmaster's house is," he said, "it will only take a few minutes."
Blake followed him and realized that he was a storm wizard as he had expected. They talked while the walked towards the Headmaster's house, and after a few minutes they were there.
"Thank you so much!" Blake exclaimed.
"Anytime," Brandon replied.
Blake walked into the Headmaster's house and quickly ran towards Ambrose.
"Did you visit all the schools as I had asked you?" Ambrose inquired.
"Yes! I learned much about all of them."
"Good, I was hoping you would learn something," he said, "I have a special assignment for you."
"What is it?" Blake said, hardly containing his excitement.
"You'll see in a minute," he replied, "but first, take your map and your compass, you will be needing them very soon."