Chapter 1

The New Wizard in Town

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! The alarm clock blared. The blankets on the bed lurched and then a boy launched out of the bed. Papers and wide opened books fell to the ground.

"Aw snap! I fell asleep while I was studying!" The boy shouted. It seemed like an old man and an owl were watching the boy through a crystal ball.

"A-ha! The spell is working!" Said the old man. "Look, Gamma! Finally, we have found one!"

"Whoooo?" The talking owl asked.

"A young Wizard! A student with amazing potential…enough, perhaps, to save Wizard City!" The man answered.

"Oh really?" The owl hooted. "Where?"

"A very, very distant realm…My goodness! On a world that does not even believe in magic! I wonder what manner of Wizard they might become. Perhaps we should consult the Book of Secrets." The man turns toward the crystal ball to look at the boy. "Hmmm…it seems he has a test today. Well we'll just give him a test of our own.

"Valon, hurry! You'll miss the bus!" The boy's mom called. Valon grabbed his brown bagged lunch and raced out the door. The bus passed by his house as soon as he left.

"Aw snap!" Valon shouted as he followed the bus. He took a book out of his backpack and continued to run to school while memorizing facts for his test.

Once he finally got to school he rushed to his homeroom, 301.

"How nice of you to join us, Mr. Hawk. Are you ready for your test?" His teacher, Mr. Grey said. He snatched the textbook away from Valon, and gave him the test. Unbeknownst to Valon, as soon as he touched the test, it transformed into the old man's test.

He sat at his desk and took out his pen. The old man's test was full of personality questions.

1. Would I rather spend time alone or with friends? Valon thought. Definitely with friends.

2. Which is the most powerful?

Plague

Tornado

Hurricane

Volcano

Sandstorm

Earthquake

Blizzard

I'm gonna go with plague.

3. My favorite activity is…

Competitive sports

Reading, playing games

I can't decide

Playing with my pets

Leaning something new

Camping or fishing

Competitive sports all the way!

4. What is your favorite time of day?

Night

Morning

Afternoon

I think night.

5. What is more important to you?

Competing with others

Cooperating with others

Cooperating.

6. Which is your favorite?

Dragon

Serpent

Polar Bear

Bat

Unicorn

Crab

Shark

Hm…Shark.

7. Which is your favorite Gemstone?

Peridot

Citrine

Jade

Ruby

Sapphire

Amethyst

Onyx

I'd have to pick…onyx.

That was the end of the test. Once Valon put down his pen and picked up his paper. He was extremely confused as to why all of the questions Mr. Grey and it instantly transformed into an A+ test.

Once I finally got home, Valon crawled into bed. Suddenly he felt a warping sensation. His clothes were replaced with a black robe with white trims. A pointy black and white hat appeared on his head.

In an instant he opened his eyes, and found himself staring at a long white scraggly beard.

"Well, hello! If it isn't our newest student!" Valon looked up. He backed up and saw the voice was coming from an old man in wizard clothing and a monocle.

"Whaaaat?" Valon says. "Student?"

"My name is Merle Ambrose. I am the headmaster of the Ravenwood School of Magical Arts."

"Raven-what? Wait, did you just say magic?"

"We're expecting great things from you. But first thing's first. My owl friend would like to speak with you." Ambrose pointed at the owl perched atop a stand.

"You want me to talk to the bird?" Valon walked over to the owl. "Am I being punk'd?"

"Hellooo! My name is Gamma the Owl, and I'm quite pleased to meet yooou!"

Valon screamed and fell backwards to the ground.

"Aw snap! The bird is talking to me!"

"Wizards test their skills by summoning fantastic creatures and dueling!" the owl said.

"Okay, Valon, calm down. This is a dream. It has to be a dream. It's impossible to—Did you just say summon fantastic creatures and dueling."

"To become a Master Wizard, you must learn every spell in your class."

"Master Wizard…spells…class? I'm not following any of this."

"Wizards love to duel. The more spells you learn, the better a duelist you will become."

"Duel? How am I supposed to summon anything? I don't have magical powers, or creatures to fight with. Now I know I'm dream-" Out of nowhere, the ground began to shake. The sky turned from blue to the deepest shade of grey Valon had ever seen. Rain fell from the sky rapidly. A bolt of lightning struck the tower behind Ambrose and a figure appeared in the window.

"Whoooo?" Gamma hooted.

"How odd! Come along, young Wizard. Let's investigate the matter. Meet me in the tower!" Ambrose said as he walked toward the tower. Valon followed Ambrose into the tower. "Who's there?" Ambrose said as he opened the door. He gasped as soon as he saw who it was. "Malistaire!" There was a large amount of hatred in Ambrose's voice.

"Ambrose…" Malistaire sneers.

"You are no longer welcome here! Why have you returned?" Ambrose said.

"I'm here to resolve our unfinished business!" Malistaire looked in Valon's direction. "Is this your latest student? My henchmen will see to your little friend!" Suddenly, a circle enclosed around Valon's feet. He tried to step out of the glowing ring, but there was some kind of invisible force field kept him inside.

"Headmaster, help!" Valon screamed as the circle he was in moved toward the battle field. The battle field was a large ring with a spiral in the middle.

"Young Wizard!" Ambrose dug into his robes and pulled out a bunch of cards. "Take this deck of Spell Cards and confront them! Be brave and I will guide you!" Valon turned to face them. There were two hideous dragon creatures. The deck Ambrose gave to Valon began glowing. It jumped right out of his hand and landed in midair right in front of him. Suddenly, two cards jumped in front of him with their backs facing the beasts. One read 'Troll', while the other read 'Fire Cat'.

"What do I do?" Valon said to Ambrose.

"Tap one of the cards!" Ambrose said. Valon tapped the card, 'Troll'. The Fire Cat card turned face down and moved next to the deck while the Troll card went into Valon's hand.

"What now?" Valon said.

"Wait, young Wizard." The first Dragon creature moved his hands about and said,

"Elteeb Eci!" A light blue symbol resembling a snowflake appeared in front of it, and then disappeared. The entire battle field turned into ice. The ice on the field turned into an ice sculpture of a beetle. The beetle came to life. It then breathed a freezing blast of wind. Some hale flew out of the beast's mouth too and punted Valon in the face. Valon groaned in pain, but he was able to shake it off.

The next beast proclaimed, "Noiprocs!" A portal appeared out of nowhere and a scorpion jumped out of it. The creature sprayed it's venom at me. It stung horribly.

"It is your turn, now, young Wizard! Summon the beast in your hand!" Ambrose said.

"But I'm not a Wizard! I don't have magical powers! I can't summon a Troll!"

"Concentrate, young Wizard! Focus, toss the card in the air, and say the name of the spell backwards!" Valon concentrated and threw the card in the air.

"Llort!" A glowing silhouette of a Troll appeared in the middle of the battle field. Then the Troll, itself appeared. It spun around to gain momentum, and then tossed its club at one of the dragons.

"Aw snap! Did you just see that? I…Am I really a Wizard?"

"You're a hurt Wizard!" Said Ambrose.

"Huh?" Valon said.

"Look at your wrist, young Wizard. Valon raised his left wrist to his face. He was wearing some kind of watch. There were two glass circles on the watch. One big one with red liquid inside, one small one with blue liquid. The big circle was only about three quarters of the way full, and a hologram projected the number 350. The small one was just a little less than full. It read thirteen. "You'll need to pay attention to your health. The red dome shows your health. If it completely empties, you'll be defeated. The blue one shows your current amount of Mana. Mana is the magical energy that allows us to cast spells. If you run out of that…you'll be at the mercy of your opponents."

"Headmaster!" Valon interrupted, "We're under attack!" They both turn to face the dragons. Valon taps the Fire Cat card. The first dragon creature summoned another Scorpion and it gashed Valon with one of its claws.

"Etarip Lateleks!" the second one screeched. The battlefield filled ankle-high with water. A small island bearing a palm tree protruded from the water. On the island was a skeleton dressed as a pirate.

"What's that gonna-" The Skeleton jumped to life and drew a sword. It slashed Valon with the sword. Valon looked at his watch. It read 155. Valon felt weak. The dome was only about a quarter of the way filled with the red liquid. But he summoned his might and threw the Fire Cat card in the air.

"Tac Erif!" The Fire Cat fell from the sky while landing on its paws. It tackled one of the dragons and burst into flames as soon as it made contact. The dragon was hurt, but it still stood strong, whereas Valon was ready to pass out. Malistaire laughed.

"Ambrose, you doddering fool! Your student is no match for my forces!" A card was drawn from Valon's deck. It read Unicorn.

"Young Wizard, you're in trouble! Cast that Unicorn spell on yourself!" Valon tapped the card and it went into his hand.

"Krahs Mrots!" the dragon growled. The field, once again filled ankle-high with water. A cloud formed above the water and lightning struck. A shark jumped out, sunk its teeth into Valon, and then disappeared. The pain Valon felt was immense. His health had gone down to eighty. With the sparse amount of energy left, he dropped the card onto the field.

"Nrocinu…" He felt his body about to give in when the battlefield turned grassy and radiant. A Unicorn appeared, and pointed its horn at Valon. The horn glowed. Valon felt his cuts and gashes heal. He looked at his watch and it completely refilled with the red liquid. Valon's maximum amount of health is 450 because that's what the watch read. Malistaire turned red with rage.

"Foolish creatures! You've let the young whelp heal! Defeat the whelp or you'll suffer for it! Use your spells to weaken the young Wizard's spells!"

"Wait! They can weaken my spells?" Valon exclaimed

"Young Wizard, look at the ring around your feet." Ambrose said. There was a small white glowing orb on the ring. "That's a Pip. Pips are magical energies. The more Pips you have, the stronger spells you can cast. Take some more." Two more Pips appeared. A card came from the deck. Since it was Valon's only choice, he tapped it. The first dragon passed so that he could gain more Pips. The second, however, took Malistaire's advice.

"Ssenkaew." A grey shield appeared and began to rotate around Valon.

"Htarw S'erutan!" The battlefield turned to a fall scene. Leaves were scattered everywhere and giant rocks were spread around. A small sprout rose out of the ground. It rapidly grew into a large tree. The tree came to life.

"Young Wizard, the spell that creature cast reduces the power of your own spell." Ambrose said. The tree picked up the rock. The rotating shield burst open releasing its power to weaken the spell. The tree threw the rock at one of the dragons. The deck drew another card.

"Cast that on yourself, young Wizard. It will increase the power of your next spell." Valon tapped the card.

"Xineohp." The ground shook. A small flame formed. A gigantic flaming bird shot out of the ground. It breathed a stream of fire at Valon. It was, now the second dragon's turn.

"Ruatnec!" The battlefield, once again, turned into a fall scene. A Centaur came out of thin air. He wore a quiver and held a bow. He pulled an arrow out of the quiver and shot Valon with it. Valon's health was heading south again. It now read 260.

"Edalbecnalab!" Another shield began to circle around Valon. Another card is drawn from the deck. Valon read it to himself. "395 damage to all enemies…That's not enough. And I don't have the Pips."

"Wait a moment, young Wizard. The Balanceblade spell you cast should make that spell strong enough to defeat them both. I'll take care of the Pips." Ambrose said. The Pips needed to cast the spell appeared at Valon's feet. He tapped the card.

"Ruatonim." the first dragon casted. The battle field turned into a meadow with stone pillars. An enormous Minotaur with an ax stepped out of thin air. It slashed Valon's arm, and then disappeared. "Gip Ajnin." The second one said. Three pigs with ninja clothing and swords jumped out of the ground. They did a bunch of flips and tricks, but in the end, they attacked Valon all the same. Valon didn't bother looking at his health because the duel was about to end.

"This is about to end!" he said.

"WHAT?" Malistaire shouted.

"Ekirts Roetem!" Valon threw the card into the air and a portal appeared. The Balanceblade released its power and made the meteors hurling towards the dragons stronger. They were hit and immediately defeated.

"Excellent work, young Wizard! Now let me see to Malistaire…I'll show him…threatening a new student before orientation, no less!" Ambrose said.

"Another time, old man…I have what I came for. And now, I'll take my leave of this wretched place." Malistaire sneered. He disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"He's gone, and none too soon! What sinister goal brought him here? Hmm…" Ambrose was so lost in thought, he forgot about Valon. "Oh my! You look a bit worse for wear. Here, let me restore you to your full health and Mana." Valon looked at his watch. His health and Mana were completely restored. "On the bright side, congratulations! Defeating Malistaire's henchmen has earned you some experience." Valon saw that his watch did, indeed have a bar on it that was, now almost filled with a green liquid. "You gain experience by practicing your Wizard training. When the bar fills up, you'll gain a level and be able to learn new spells. You'll also need a Spellbook and a wand." Ambrose handed him a miniscule book. "That book will grow to normal size telepathically. Meaning, when you want it to grow, it will. Now, according to that test you took earlier today, you would best be qualified as a Necromancer. So you get this." Ambrose handed Valon a wand. "The Wand of Repose. It will give you access to three Dark Sprites, plus beginner cards from each of the schools. Now I'll be on my way."

"Wait, Headmaster, what am I supposed to do?" Valon asked.

"Stay here. I'll summon you to my office one your enrollment is ready."

"But wait!" Ambrose disappeared, leaving Valon in the tower alone. "Aw snap…"