Wizard City's afternoon sun hung high above the towering school buildings and offices of Ravenwood in its clear skies. The blue heavens forecasted good fortune for its residents and guests and a cool breeze blew by Emma, one of its newest citizens, as she waited to complete her enrollment into the wizard school. Her pink kimono draped across her feet as she sat on the steps outside the headmaster's office watching students come and go, racing past a large, blue pond sitting outside his gated off space in the Commons of Wizard City. A tree stood tall before it with a curious eagle resting on one of its branches. The bird stared in Emma's direction almost as if it was watching her with its striking golden eyes.
That's silly, Emma told herself. It's just an eagle. But the longer she sat the more she felt the eagle's eyes stare deep into her unnerved soul. Why is the headmaster taking so long? What if this is the wrong place? She began to wonder anxiously, trying to get her mind off the eagle and out of her paranoid imagination. What if this is the wrong day?
Her worries subsided as the door behind her creaked open and startled her. Emma turned to see an elderly wizard with a long white beard dressed in a purple robe dappled with golden stars and moons appeared from behind the door. His blue eyes landed on Emma as he fiddled with the monocle sitting on his right eye.
"Excuse me, I apologize for startling you," He spoke in a gravelly voice with a slight accent. He paused and eyed her thoughtfully. "Do you happen to be Miss Emma Feathersong?"
"Yes," Emma nodded eagerly. The wizard smiled.
"Good, good. Come on in." He nodded inside and opened the door wide for Emma as she stood and entered. The room was cluttered with dozens of books lining the red walls in tall stacks and his desk, standing in the center of the room, was piled high with mountains of papers and documents just the same.
The old wizard took a seat behind his cluttered desk and motioned for Emma to sit before him. She complied and sat comfortably in the soft chair in front of him. He cleared a space so that they could see each other through the mess. "My name is Merle Ambrose and I am the headmaster here at Ravenwood," He introduced himself. "But I'm sure you already knew that."
"Yeah," Emma chuckled. The headmaster opened a drawer, pulled out a file, and placed it on his desk, opening and studying it carefully. Then he looked up and met Emma's eyes.
"It's good to have you here, Miss Feathersong. How have you been enjoying Wizard City?" He started.
"It's nice," She shrugged.
"Not uncomfortably different from Mooshu I hope?"
"Well, I'm not used to the blue sky."
"I suppose not," He chuckled then cleared his throat. "Now, Emma, the path to becoming a wizard isn't easy. With great power comes great responsibility. You'll be faced with difficult tasks and choices during this journey and you may even face death. It will take lots of hard work and effort for you to master magic. Are you prepared for that? Why do you want to become a wizard?"
Emma opened her mouth to reply, but then closed it, taken aback. Well, I'm doing this for Lyn. All of this was to make amends for her death. It's a second chance for me. I guess I'm here to make things right.
"Hmm?" Ambrose pulled her out of her thoughts. Emma straightened up.
"Well, I came to become a wizard because I want to help people," She said. "I don't want to sit back idly while someone is in pain and not be able to do anything about it. I just want to help people and magic appears to be the only way of doing that."
"Excellent answer," Ambrose said, sincerely. "But my other question remains. Are you prepared to carry such responsibility on your shoulders?" He met her eyes again.
"Yes," Emma answered confidentally. Ambrose smiled.
"Very well. Wizard City needs brave warriors to stand up and defend it. We were attacked recently and everyone has been on edge. We just want to make sure everyone's hearts are in the right places."
"O-ok," Emma said. An attack? What does that mean for me? She thought, a little worried.
"Would you like to take the magic test?" He went on. "It will tell you which wizard school you properly belong to, but you are given a choice. However, I find that the best wizards are the ones who take the test."
"No, thank you," Emma said.
"You've already chosen a class?"
"Yes sir, Life."
"Ahh, Theurgists are quite important. Without their life-saving spells I'm sure many wizards would have fallen in battle." He said. "Are you a good singer?"
"I hope," She shrugged.
"Alright," Ambrose chuckled and jotted something down in the file he'd pulled out. Then he turned and called, "Krystal!"
A girl emerged from behind a door to Emma's right. She was shockingly tall and wore a green robe with a hood that resembled a raven's head and her eyes were a cool blue. Her shoulder-length hair was blond and her prescence studious, even commanding.
"Yes sir?" She approached Ambrose's desk and the old wizard turned to her.
"This is Miss Emma Feathersong. She's a novice just arriving from Mooshu. I was wondering if you could show her around Ravenwood and help her get settled in?"
"Of course, Headmaster Ambrose," She turned to meet Emma's brown gaze. She smiled welcomingly. "Come on." She turned and walked to the door to leave and Emma followed close behind, silently.
"You have the coolest hair I've ever seen," Krystal said as they left the office. "Pink highlights and a purple feather? That's awesome! And complements the brown so beautifully."
"Thank you," Emma smiled. They left the gated area and walked along a paved path in Wizard City's Commons. Tiny shops and homes lined the streets of the Commons and surrounded the pond. At some ends were tunnels that led to different streets and parts of Wizard City, connecting everything together.
"No problem," She pointed at a building across the pond decorated with columns. "That's the library, by the way. And the tunnel behind us leads to the Shopping District and Olde Town, which you probably won't be going to until you're at least an Apprentice."
Emma glanced back to see the dark tunnel labeled "Shopping District" in rusty letters.
"So what school are you? Storm? No, Myth, right?" Krystal asked. Emma looked up at her.
"Uh, no. I'm a Life student." She answered.
"Oh, I'm a Theurgist as well!" She said. "I've been attending Ravenwood for a while now and I'm actually a Grandmaster Theurgist."
"Wow!" Emma said, amazed.
"Heh, heh, yep. I want to be headmaster someday," Krystal went on as the two entered a dark tunnel opposite the Shopping District. "Whenever I'm not taking advanced classes with the Life professor, Ambrose teaches me as a sort of apprentice." The two emerged on the other side of the tunnel.
Before them was a hollow in which a larger-than-life tree stood in the center and was surrounded by smaller trees and buildings. The giant tree had a kind, old face with bright blue eyes and healthy green leaves. He looked out on all of Wizard City from where he was rooted in the earth. Light fell from above creating an almost divine atmosphere with the shadows of the great tree's branches.
Emma gasped. "Pretty amazing, isn't it?" Krystal smiled. She pointed at the giant tree in the center. "That's Bartleby, he's the center of all magic in the Spiral."
"Really?" Emma asked, mesmerized by his sight.
"Yep," Krystal continued walking and went towards the left. Emma followed her to one of the buildings. It was decorated in green vines and plants and the door held a plaque with a green leaf symbol on it. "And this is the Life school- your classroom."
The blond opened the brown door and let Emma inside. Heavenly light streamed through the school building's windows and bounced off green walls entangled in vines and flowers. At the very back of the room, the professor stood behind a pedastal, looking down at its base and waving her arms around as if she were conducting. She wore a green robe and her hair was pinned up in a black bun.
Krystal walked right up to the podium and Emma went with her. The professor looked up to see the tall blond. "Oh hello, Krystal!" She greeted the girl in a sing-songy voice and stopped moving her arms.
"Good afternoon, Professor Wu!" Krystal said in reply. The professor's gaze turned to Emma.
"Who is this? Do we have a new wizard?" She asked.
"Yes ma'am!" Krystal cooed. "This is Emma Feathersong."
"Emma Feathersong, it's wonderful to meet you!" The professor said politely, smiling radiantly. "I'm professor Moolinda Wu, I'll be your teacher while you attend Ravenwood."
"It's nice to meet you," Emma said.
"That's a beautiful kimono," The professor complemented. "Where are you from?"
"Subata in Mooshu." Emma answered.
"Splendid, have things improved there with the Ninja Pigs and Horse Clans?" She asked.
"Not really," Emma said, sadly.
"I'm sorry to hear that," Moolinda said. "But I really am glad you're here, Emma Feathersong. When will you be joining us?"
"Tomorrow," Krystal answered for her. "Her first day is tomorrow."
"Wonderful, I can't wait to see you!" She smiled again.
"Alright, we need to head to the dorms," Krystal turned to Emma. "We need to get you settled in."
"Ok," Emma turned to Professor Wu. "It was nice meeting you." She bowed slightly.
"It was nice meeting you as well," Professor Wu bowed in return.
Emma trailed behind Krystal as she turned and left the building. They passed by a beautiful tree with pink and orange leaves which Krystal informed Emma was the life tree whose name was Blossom. But what interested Emma more was the eagle sitting among the tree's branches, staring at her. Could it be the same eagle? Emma shook the thought away and kept moving. It was more than likely just a coincidence.
Krystal brought her to a tall tower. It rose up about as high as Bartleby stood and it was the closest thing to the Life school. "This is the girls' dorm tower, where we all live," Krystal stated. "It's boy-proof, literally. Ambrose set a magic barrier that keeps boys out and he also created a magic door system that allows you to get to your room automatically just by touching the doorknob."
"For real?" Emma turned to her tour guide.
"Give it a try," Krystal encouraged. Emma complied, reaching for the doorknob and touching it. She turned and opened the door to reveal an almost empty room. Half was made up and decorated, showing that it was occupied while the otherside bare and empty.
"You're going to like your roommate," Krystal said. "She's a good friend of mine and also happens to be a Theurgist."
"Cool," Emma entered the room.
"Well, I'm off to the library. Do you want to come with me?" Krystal asked.
"N-no thank you, I think I want to get settled in." Emma answered.
"Ok, see ya later." Krystal said and left, closing the door behind her. Emma sighed and peered around the room. There was a small kitchen area in the back and a bookshelf on the right, the occupied side of the room. She walked to the left side and took a seat on her bed. It wasn't even her first day and she was already exhausted.
The door opened a second later and a girl walked in. She gave Emma a questioning look. Her eyes were emerald green and her skin pale white. Her hair was woven into a long, red braid and she wore a cute green and silver dress.
"Who are you?" She asked.
"E-Emma Feathersong," Emma answered. "I'm new here."
"Oh!" Her eyes lit up. "You're my new roommate then."
"Yeah," Emma nodded.
"I'm Madeline Greenhaven," She smiled. "I'm an adept Sorceress and an initiate Theurgist. What's your class?"
"I'm Life," Emma said. "You have two classes?"
"Yep," Madeline nodded. "It's because I'm a Balance student. We get to choose two."
"Oh."
"Where are you from?" Madeline asked. "I noticed you're wearing a kimono."
"Oh, I'm from Mooshu," Emma told her.
"Really? That's so cool! I've never met anyone from Mooshu before!" Madeline said. "I'm from Grizzleheim."
"I've never met anyone from Grizzleheim."
The Sorceress chuckled. "Say, can I buy you a robe?" She asked.
"What?"
"Can I buy you a robe? Just as a welcome gift?" She repeated. "Come on, it'll be fun!"
"Uh, sure." Emma agreed with uncertainty.
"Great, let's go!"
Hello there! I am currently working on bettering and completely re-writing this story, but keeping all the major things such as the main plot line and such, but it'll be 10 times better. I really hope you'll read and enjoy this, but if you decide not to read this version, I won't blame you. Thank you!