Disclaimer: Everything in the first chapter, especially Vona, is mine. Anything Avatar belongs to the creators of the show.
"Long ago, longer than memory's reach, there lived a powerful wizard. Like all powerful wizards, this man had devoted many years to the study of magic. Unlike other wizards, though, he had been chosen for an honor that few then could claim and none have since: apprenticeship to a god.
"The god of death chose to teach this wizard, and when the god was finished the powerful wizard became a great leader. The name of his kingdom has been lost to time, but all the surviving records agree that it was a time of unprecedented peace.
"Eventually, the great leader took for himself a wife, one who loved him very much; and he loved her more than life itself. His wife wasn't a strong woman though, and within two years of their marriage she was dead.
"The great leader called upon the magics he had learned from the god of death and, in his grief, brought her back. The human soul is not meant to return to the material plane once it has passed, however, and what the great leader brought back was not his wife. Rather, it was a slavering beast, with no desire but to feast on human flesh.
"It ate the great leader then went on a rampage, killing a few and injuring many before it was brought down. The people of the kingdom believed that they were safe and so turned their attention to finding a new ruler.
"The great leader's spell had been too powerful though, and everyone that had died after his wife also returned. Every person who had been scratched or bitten by the great leader's wife sickened, died, and came back.
"Mankind was nearly decimated before a solution, of sorts, was found. Those who had been afflicted with any variation of lycanthropy didn't die when injured by the dead; their healing abilities prevented it. And so we rebuilt ourselves, not as humans, but as shifters. The increased speed, stamina, and strength also gave us an advantage over the dead, who lost all abilities granted to them when they returned.
"By then, the gods had abandoned us because we were too busy relearning how to survive to bother paying homage.
"And so we search for a better world, one where we can live free from the curse on our dead."
The voice of the wizard droned on and on, as Vona knelt on the cold stone floor of the ceremonial hall. Despite the roaring fire behind the master wizard, the winter chill had seeped into the floor, and it wouldn't be driven out until midsummer, when the ceremony for the next king was to take place.
Vona hoped she would be back by then. Her sister, Vela, who was older than her by twelve years, was running for the throne, and she wanted to help with her sister's campaign. Vona had no desire to hold the crown herself, but every king has had a wizard to protect and advise them, and she was about to take her final step into becoming an apprentice. If only Master Preedan could get to the end of his speech. Everyone had learned the origin as a child; there was no need for him to repeat it.
Vona tuned the master wizard out as she mentally went over the four spells she had learned. Everyone was taught the basic elemental spells, but they were also taught that the only limit to a wizard's magic was their imagination.
She had just begun to go over the various uses for her fire spell when the master asked "Are you ready?" breaking her concentration.
She nodded silently. Until the translation spell was fully in place, Vona was forbidden to speak. Swirling lines of ink already covered her ears, allowing her to instantly understand any language the spell had already come into contact with and pick up any new languages within a day. Master Preedan had given her the tattoos yesterday, and they had finally healed enough to apply the second part: the tattoo around her throat.
Once the part of the spell in her ears had picked up the language then she would be able to say anything and it would sound like she was speaking the native tongue. It was a convenient spell for traveling to other enclaves, but it was necessary for any journeys to other worlds.
Master Preedan turned to the side table and picked up the ink and brush that had been sitting there since yesterday. He dipped the brush into the ink and then began to carefully paint the spell onto the skin of her neck, chanting under his breath. The ink dried as soon as it touched her skin, so the master wizard had to be very careful. The gentle touch of the brush against her neck tickled, and Vona had to resist the urge to scratch at the ink left behind.
With a final flourish of the brush, Master Preedan finished the tattoo, and the ink areas heated up as the magic permanently attached to her skin. The tattoos on her ears also grew warm, although not enough to burn as they had yesterday, signalling that the spell had linked both parts together and was now in effect. The black ink faded until it was the same color as her skin.
Vona was ready to begin her journey.
Instead of opening up the portal though, Master Preedan grabbed her left wrist and began drawing another tattoo, a simple triangle.
At her questioning look, he explained "When you are ready to come home you simply press this tattoo, especially if you are in danger. If you die, it will return your body to us."
Vona smiled, suddenly afraid but unwilling to show it. It had been many years since a potential apprentice had died on their journey, but she could still remember the scent of burning meat that had suddenly permeated the enclave when the poor boy's body had been returned. His head had already been separated from the rest of the body, so there had been no need to sound the alarm.
Master Preedan pulled a notebook and a charcoal pencil out of one of his pockets and handed them to her. "Take these and go with the blessing of the enclave, Vona of the Bear."
Vona smiled as she stood up and took the only things beyond the clothes on her back that she was allowed to bring to the new world.
"Thank you," she said.
Master Preedan smiled back at her before he turned and, with a wave of his hands, opened a portal.
Vona stared at the swirling colors of the portal, nervous butterflies fluttering in her stomach. she was about to enter a strange world, with rules completely foreign to her. She would have no backup. Why did the entrance exam for wizards have to be travel to another world? Why didn't they just travel to another enclave like the other fields did?
She had been the one to chose magic and learning over anything else though; no one had forced her.
With a final nod to Master Preedan, Vona drew in a fortifying breath and stepped through the portal and into another world.
AN: This is a writing exercise to help me develop Vona's character because I intend to use her in an original story hopefully soon. Also, I have no plot planned out for this fic at all. I'm writing by the seat of my pants, which will be a change. Feedback is appreciated.