Chapter 1: Disaster Strikes
Matthew Dragonblade walked in to school at Ravenwood one day. It was the day after final exams at the end of the school year in May, so there was not much to do. The schools all sat in a ring around Bartleby, the great grandfather oak tree that held Wizard City, center of the Spiral network of worlds, together with all the other worlds. Late spring sunlight filtered through Bartleby's branches, allowing the verdant campus to be shaded on a hot day. Not that a fire wizard like Matthew would mind heat, however. A warm summer's day is nothing compared to the breath of a dragon or a molten eruption from a volcano, which are common spells for pyromancers to cast.
Matthew walked in to the fire class, just as the bell rang. He was top of the class, and often was requested to help the younger students who were struggling at learning lower leveled spells.
"Mr. Dragonblade, please come see me," Professor Falmea requested. Dalia Falmea was the fire class's teacher at the Ravenwood Academy of Magical Arts. Her hair was, quite literally, a fiery orange and she wore a red, long-sleeved dress that outlined her tall, narrow, hourglass figure.
The eighteen-year-old boy stood up from his desk in the front of the classroom, ignoring all the younger students who were casting fireballs across the room behind him.
"Yes?" Matthew asked his teacher.
"Hello, my prodigy. You actually have been invited to graduation with the rest of the graduating class today."
"Wait, I thought I couldn't graduate because I failed Ice class?" Matthew asked, confused.
"Well, it turns out you barely passed the ice class with a 75% average. Professor Greyrose deducted 10 points off your exam. Ambrose had her correct it when he discovered she had unfairly graded it."
"Oh, that's great," Matthew laughed. "I can't wait to see Greyrose's face when she sees I graduated.
"What did you do that causes Greyrose to despise you? I'm the fire teacher, but she's friendly to everyone, even me."
"Well, a couple years ago, one of my fire projects went out of control and melted her priceless ice sculpture of herself."
"Oh, so you're that delinquent wizard she mentioned? But, you're one of the best students here, even Professor Drake is friendly to you; obviously it wasn't purposeful, right?"
"No, it was an accident."
Just then, Professor Lydia Greyrose entered the fire classroom. Greyrose was the smallest of the Ravenwood staff, as she is an ice fairy. Her hair was grey and she wore a tiny, fairy-sized robe in an icy blue color. She dodged a couple of fireballs from the younger students. She rolled her eyes at them, as if irritated.
"Hello, Miss Falmea. Hello, Matthew." Greyrose scoffed when she uttered Matt's name. "Shall we be off to the graduation ceremony?" Greyrose asked her spellcasting colleague.
"Of course, Lydia," Miss Falmea replied. "Class! We need to go to Bartleby to watch the graduation ceremony. Our esteemed fire class valedictorian will be receiving his diploma today."
"Wait, you don't mean?" Greyrose asked, shocked to hear that Matthew was graduating. "YOU? Graduate?! But, you're just a pyro-delinquent. You deserved to fail my class!"
"Lydia! It was a mistake. And Ice doesn't come naturally to pyromancers. Remember that time when I was in your class twenty years ago?" Falmea tried to calm down Ms. Greyrose.
"Yes, dear, I do. You never could understand anything. But, this young man…." Greyrose paused.
"Matthew, you'd better go see Mr. Lincoln in his office. He has your cap and gown for you," Falmea said.
Professor Greyrose rolled her eyes as Matthew walked out. He rushed to Mr. Lincoln's office which was next to Merle Ambrose's office. Mr. Lincoln was Ravenwood's Registrar, so he was in charge of graduation things. "Oh, there you are, young wizard!" The crane said, glancing up from his paperwork. He was quite tall, with most of his height in his long, thin legs. His voice cracked a little as it came out of his long pointy beak.
"Sir, I have a name," Matthew said, taking off his hat and setting it on the table.
"Sorry, Mr. DragonBlade," Mr. Lincoln adjusted his glasses. "I am so excited I can hardly keep my reading glasses perched on my bill!" Mr. Lincoln laughed while checking a few things off his long to-do list.
"Need any help?" Matthew asked, looking around the cluttered office. The one desk was covered in report cards and the diplomas of the graduating class.
"No thank you," Mr. Lincoln's wing suddenly knocked over a bowl of ink used for writing. The ink stained Mr. Lincoln's silky white feathers and spilled all over the stack of diplomas. "Oh no, Ambrose will fire me!" Mr. Lincoln panicked, flailing his inky wings.
"Don't worry," Matthew laughed. He waved his wand at the diplomas, and the ink dried up and evaporated before it could stain the Krokotopian papyrus paper. Matthew was careful not to add too much heat; else the diplomas would catch on fire.
"Thanks, Matthew. The ceremony is going to start soon! Your cap and gown are over there on the rack. Once you have them on, just step through the tapestry to the ceremony grounds!"
Matthew placed the graduation cap over his copper-colored hair and then wrapped the gown over his casual robes. He stepped into the tapestry into a richly decorated Ravenwood courtyard in front of Bartleby. A large crowd had gathered to watch the ceremony. Colorful banners with Ravenwood emblems lined the courtyard and a wooden stage was placed in front of Bartleby's "mouth" that led to the Spiral Door that allows quick travel between worlds. Matt wished his parents were there, but they were on a trip to their Dragonspyre homeland to restore the city after the destruction brought by the Dragon Titan. He was to join them for the summer after graduation.
Merle Ambrose handed Matthew his diploma after the ceremony began. "I remember when you first came here years ago, a novice brimming with potential. Now look at you, you're a highly esteemed wizard across the Spiral!" The headmaster shook Matt's hand before he stepped off to the side to shake Miss Falmea's hand.
When the other graduates were congratulated, confetti cannons went off, littering the area with colorful paper. The crowd clapped and cheered before the graduates tossed their tasseled hats into the air. Just then, a quick cold blast of wind rushed through, and a few flurries of snow fell. The crowd gasped at the sudden odd weather. Bartleby's leaves turned yellow, as if it was a chilly October day. Life Professor Moolinda Wu ran inside Bartleby to see if he was ok. Miss Wu was an anthropomorphic cow from the mystical land of Mooshu. She wore a traditional kimono and had a bun in her black hair. Bartleby sniffled a little bit, but the rest of the staff didn't seem overly concerned with it. Everyone supposed it was an ice wizard's prank or such. Matthew, concerned, ran inside the grandfather tree after Ms. Wu.
Moolinda Wu was examining Bartleby's trunk and roots from inside the tree's heart (aka the world door chamber). Matthew was no life wizard but he could tell Bartleby was dying and the wood was beginning to wilt, something Matthew had never seen in his five years at Ravenwood Academy.
"You are concerned too?" Moolinda Wu asked in a Mooshuese accent, glancing over at Matthew while still examining Bartleby's dying wood
"Yea, it seems that Bartleby has been cursed," Matthew said, concerned.
"Exactly," Moolinda nodded. "It must be a very strong one, as Bartleby is an ancient tree. It would take a lot of damage to make him sick. Whoever would do such a thing? We must ask Bartleby. Maybe he knows where this frosty curse has come from."
"Good idea. I'll ask him," Matthew left the chamber and walked outside.