Welcome to the long, probably unneeded, rewrite of my first story on fanfiction, "Shadows In Light." Surprised, me too. But I did promise to complete the story, even though it has been a while, okay, more than a while, the important thing is I got to it. For anyone who wants to read the original (I wouldn't) you can, I will be changing a few things in this version, to make them flow and make more sense. "Shadows In Light" was the first real 'story' I had ever tried to write that was long, and I was trying not to make everything perfect, so I didn't edit as much as I probably should have. *Cough* needed *cough*. So now let's begin.

Disclaimer: I do not own Wizard101.

Shadows In Light (Rewrite)

Chapter One: Cards, Trees and Other Things

The birds sang a song from outside my window. Beautiful it was not. They reminded me of an out of tune chorus, but Mother insisted their sound was the greatest way to start out the day. I got up and put on a shirt. It was black and short sleeved and said, "Don't Mess With Me" in bold white letters. I also wore simple blue jeans. I didn't care much, as long as they weren't the clothes Mother wanted me dressed in.

I walked over to the bathroom and opened the drawer that held my lipstick. I had many colors, but that day, I decided I wanted a blood red. I painted it on and put on dark eyeshadow, it was in a different drawer. Now was the time for mascara, the most daunting task, as Mother wouldn't let me out of the house without looking good. I'd been learning how to put on makeup for years because I couldn't look bad, ever. I was lucky that day Mother didn't plan anything. Then again, she didn't need to.

I got out of the bathroom after I put everything away. I didn't bother with the bed as someone would just make it for me anyway. Perks of having a lot of money, apparently. I walked out the door and was greeted with a hallway, with many rooms. Like most of the house, it was a sterile white, very much like a hospital. The only difference was that there were paintings and other furnishings on the walls. It made it a little less cold. The house still felt colder than a frozen arctic tundra though, but also very much like Mother. The only places that didn't feel like her were in my siblings or my rooms. Places I rarely ever visited.

I walked down the hallway and down the stairs. I could not move too quickly or else I'd be scolded. It was like magic, how she knew, and when I was little, I thought it was. (However, I would soon find out maybe it wasn't quite as false as I would've liked to believe).

The room I entered was called many things, but Mother preferred to be old-fashioned and call it a parlor, and among guests, that was exactly what it was called. The room was exquisite, as guests like to call it. It showed my Mothers taste a bit too much. There was gold, white, frosted blues, art pieces, and, of course, furniture. None of it inexpensive, and in truth I kind of resented the room. It probably had more attention than I had ever had in my entire life. Mother was never very affectionate, and Father, or Dad, as he'd want us to call him, was rarely around.

There was something very out of place, in the room. An old man dressed as some sort of. . . Merlin. I might not have believed in magic, but I didn't deprive myself of some movies. Movies, after all, were fake, and books never interested me much. I was worried that somehow the man broke in, but Mother was talking to him. I didn't notice her in my first glance. I only saw what was out of place. Never would I suspect Mother to ever talk to a man, who was clearly insane. After all, who wears starred robes and bed cap, pointed shoes, a long white beard, unimaginably rough eyebrows with short hair? I stealthily walk down the staircase and try my hardest to blend in. It didn't work, it never did with Mother. She turned her head and inspected me, then gave a slight look of distaste.

"Jessica, how wonderful it is to see you," she said, emphasizing words. I never liked it when she did that. It never worked in my favor.

"Yes Mother, it's nice to see you too," I replied, making sure I sounded cordial. I could not use sarcasm in front of a guest. I was to be a good heiress, even if I didn't want to be.

"I need to go get something, would you be a dear and stay here." With those words something odd happened, my mother disappeared. I did my best to seem not. . . startled. But inside, I was completely and totally shaken. How could my mother just vanish in two seconds, maybe less? There wasn't even a beam of light that appeared. At this second, I questioned my sanity.

"Hello Ms. ShadowSword, it's been a long time since I've seen you. You were just a baby, but I must not get carried away," he told me. I was confused at that second. First of all, my last name was not ShadowSword, and second, the man knew me as a baby. That meant Mother knew him. "We must hurry, your mother bought us some time. I need to get you out of here, it's not safe. Your siblings will be safe, it's you they're after." After those words, I was confused. Why wasn't it safe in my house? What was going to get me and not my siblings? What did he mean by my mother buying us time? There was so much going through my brain, and it stopped at a single thing. The Red Room. I could barely remember it, all I remember was the terror. After I was found, I was sent to get "help." All I remember was being curious and opening a door, and then two years later, being saved by someone, that Mother told me was Dad.

The man then grabbed my hand. Everything around me just changed. No longer was I in the classy Foyer, but in a room full of books, and I could tell it wasn't a library. There were no shelves and very little, if any, organization. That was before I watched a book fly off of a pile and into the man's hands. It was ancient looking and I could tell that it was very well used. Its cover was no longer legible and its pages were uneven, the spine was barely still sturdy. That was when I noticed there were a small chair and a table, both wooden, and not in a new style. It looked like they came from the 1800's.

The man gestured for me to sit. I figured that I had gotten this far, I could go farther. This was probably some weird dream, even weirder than the ones I was used to. I never dreamed of magic, I dreamed of dad bringing in souls. About how he would use a. . . scythe to rip the souls from their body. They always stopped when he was home. Which was usually around the holidays. Or when Mother wasn't the happiest. For some reason, he loved her.

He put the book on the table and, without help, it had turned to an open page. I wasn't sure if I should have stared in awe or terror. So I stared in both. The old man chuckled.

"I forgot, your mother moved to Earth after you were born. You wouldn't know about magical books, or who I am. I am Merle Ambrose, the Headmaster of Ravenwood School of the Magical Arts, and the book in front of you is 'The Book of Secrets.' The book will determine what type of magic you should practice. Your mother decided that you should start now that she is weakening, and could not protect you if something happened outside of your safehouse. I have to admit her wards are quite admirable. . . Maybe you'll be an Ice wizard like her, or will you take after your father, no one will know until you take the test," the old man told me.

I wasn't sure what to do. I stared at the book page. It was like a test, a personality test of would you rather, except instead of two answers, four to six.

"How do I answer the questions?" I asked out of curiosity. There was no way to circle the answer, as there were no pens or pencils around me. Merle Ambrose sighed.

"You know very little about our world, don't you?" I wasn't very sure what he meant at the time. I wasn't even sure why he kept saying Earth was a different place. Science has not discovered any other planets with Earth's gasses, or a biosphere. Which this place had, no questions asked. So I nodded my head. There was no shame in not knowing, at the moment, especially if this was a dream, like I thought it was at the time.

"I am assuming you don't know your wizard name. Which is why you looked surprised, Your wizard name is chosen from 'The Book of Elders' when a wizard is born. Your wizard name is, 'Katy ShadowSword.' It is chosen from a drop of a wizardlings blood. A wizardling is a wizard when they are born to about twelve-years-old. You are apart of the ShadowSword's, a very rare wizarding last name, and the reason why this has all happened, but I'm getting ahead of myself. . . To answer the questions, put a finger on the answer and concentrate your energy. Don't worry, it isn't as difficult as casting a spell." I did as he said, and after a few minutes of trial, I answered the first question. The rest were very quick to answer, until the end. I looked at my answers which were highlighted in a blue glow and watched the pages start turning until it hit one of the last.

Merle looked over the page and smiled slightly. He reminded me of a grandfather at that second. I never had a grandfather, so I went by what I heard others say about theirs. I kind of at that moment felt longing.

I looked at the page and the letters started to change into something readable before my very eyes. There were approximately five letters and they spelled, "DEATH." I was worried that it meant my own and that the man was going to kill me.

"I almost forgot, your linkmate should be here shortly, follow me to my office." With those words, I figured that I probably wouldn't die, yet. But there was still the question of, what the hell is a linkmate? But I figured that I'd find out soon. I followed the man out of the dark, book littered room, taking heed of the books that flew in front of me, beside me and behind me. When Merle opened the door to his office, I was surprised by how light it was. I did not allow it to get in my way of getting out of the dark room, even if I had to blink a few times.

The office was large, and like the other room, cluttered. But it wasn't cluttered by only books. It was cluttered by paperwork. I saw a white owl wearing a graduation cap near a desk, where I assumed Merle sat when he needed to get work done. But by the look of the paperwork, I figured that didn't happen much. Mother wouldn't have been approving of how it looked. But none of that mattered at that moment. Just when I stopped analyzing the room, a boy opened one of the three doors.

The boy had light, almost dirty blond hair and almost the same color of brown eyes (they were slightly darker). His clothes were robes, much like the headmasters were, except they were a light golden color. He wore a hood and his shoes were unseen. I looked at my own clothes, and they were replaced. They were a different type of robe and in the color silver. I wondered how exactly this happened without me knowing, but I decided not to ask, but be thankful, I could blend in.

"Headmaster, you sent for me?" the boy asked. He cocked his head to the side and looked at Merle in curiosity. I figured that he was typically called "Headmaster" so I put it in a mental note that I should call him that.

"Yes, I have Mr. GrimBlade, I would like you to meet your new linkmate, Katy ShadowSword," the Headmaster told him. Now the boy, GrimBlade, looked at me with curiosity.

"Now, I must talk to Ms. ShadowSword's professor." And the Headmaster disappeared; leaving me in the room with whoever I was stuck with. It took a few minutes of awkward silence for one of us to say a word.

"So. . . you're my new linkee, or will be after the ritual? I guess you should know my name, Cass. The Headmaster rarely ever calls me by my first name," Cass told me. The Headmaster, I figured after this, must be proper.

"Yeah. . . as you already know. . . I'm Katy. And. . . um. . ." I wasn't sure what else to say as I knew next to nothing about the world around me. I never liked making a fool of myself, so I would wait until I knew more.

"It's okay, I get it, you look new to this. I'm guessing you come from a world that knows very little if any magic. Believe it or not, it happens a lot. Some people aren't happy about it, but they are few and far between. Just avoid Nolan StormGate and Duncan GrimWater, and you're good," Cass told me.

"Thanks."

"No problem, what magic did the book put you in?"

"Death."

"Oh, so no avoiding Duncan, but I'm pretty sure he won't notice you, your still low enough in rank that he shouldn't care. If he bothers you, I might ask a favor from a friend who doesn't like him, at all."

I knew I should have probably been horrified, but, I wasn't. If it meant not being harmed, I could see a point to it. I never liked violence myself as I usually pranked whoever tried to make fun of or any of that.

"I have no. . . qualms about that," I told him.

"I figured as much," he said with a playful smirk.

The Headmaster appeared next to his desk and startled me. I did not jump, but I tensed. I never liked surprise movements. Especially after the Red Room.

"Mr. GrimBlade, Ms. ShadowSword, come here." The Headmaster stated as he beckoned us over. When we got close the Headmaster put Cass' hands over mine. They were warm, much warmer than my own.

The Headmaster started a chant that I could not understand but made me feel slightly dizzy. I did not collapse due to whatever the Headmaster was doing, though through determination. I watched as there was a light that started to tie between Cass and I's hands. Then it stopped. I almost didn't realize that he stopped chanting. And then everything sped up and became hyper. I didn't think that things had actually slowed down.

After a few minutes, he was waiting for something to settle. The Headmaster then looked at Cass.

"I suspect you can show, Katy around?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Excellent!"

With those words, I followed Cass outside the Office. I was not prepared for the sun. Even though it was light in the office, it was much brighter outside.

"I take it you were in the dark for a while. . ." The sound echoed in my mind. Then I saw Cass smile a little. "I take it no one told you about telepathy? Linkmates, or Linkee's, like most people call them, are mind linked to a certain extent. We can feel each other's emotions, communicate telepathically and know when the other linkee is in danger. Pretty cool, isn't it?"

I wasn't exactly sure how to communicate. But I supposed it was like the book was.

"I guess," I told him.

"You got that pretty quickly, though it could have been slightly louder."

"You try doing it without any experience or guidance!"

"Yeah. . ."

I gave him a slight glare and he shut up. I then looked at the place below me. I was still standing on the steps of the Headmasters office. There was grass, a large pond that wizards seemed to be frolicking in (freezing and unfreezing sculptures of water and creating waves to splash at others), trees, a large grey brick building, and a wall with a tunnel guarded by tall guardsmen. The guardsmen held weapons like axes and swords, but they looked somewhat friendly.

Cass grabbed my sleeve and pulled me forward. Soon I was rushed past the pond and through the guarded tunnel. The guards did not stop us, or hold us up in any way, which I found odd. It didn't bring much thought at the time, especially when I walked out of the short tunnel. There was a tree, I could not describe how large it was. Then it had a face. I saw the branches move and brought a single broad branch down to the ground next to me.

Cass was in shock but quickly recovered.

"Bartleby. . . he wants to talk to you. Grip onto the branch. Dignity does not matter. He-he wants to talk to you," he quickly said.

"Okay. . ."

I was then pushed onto the branch, I was not happy about it at the time, but I was also trying to figure out why a tree was so important. Instead of the semi-slow movements of the branch coming down. Bartleby was swift. He brought the branch near his face.

"The last ShadowSword. . . The one who will. . . Save the spiral. . ." Bartleby said after some inspection. It was spoken in hallowed tones. I was not prepared for speaking of any kind from a tree. "One more thing, choose. . . Fire. . . it will guide you well. . ."

I was confused, but I didn't get the chance to ask a question. The branch put me down on the ground near Cass. He was concerned, but he was still kind of in awe. After a few seconds, he muttered, "Why does this happen to those I am linked with. . . why. . ."

"What do you mean by that?" I asked after I was sure he was through. Cass sighed slightly and looked a little defeated.

"The last person Bartleby had invited to talk to was. . . my last linkee. He became. . ." It was very noticeable that he was still hurt by whatever happened.

"You don't have to say anything. I was just curious," I told him.

"I know, but as I noticed you don't know much. You saw the guards, they are there to make sure that he doesn't come back to. . . to destroy Ravenwood. Or to control someone important." He looked down in shame.

"Did you do anything for him to do that?"

"No. I don't think. . ."

"Then why blame yourself?"

"Because I should've done something! Anything!"

"I. . . understand," I told him. I did, sort of. I would probably blame myself if my siblings were to do that. I was concerned though with the words control. He could control others? How? Then I decided that I probably didn't want to know. Cass was bothered enough by it.

He then decided to start the tour. We started on the school to the left. There was an almost electric feel to it, Cass then opened the door. I noticed he was being very quiet. There were many rows of desks. The interior was purple and yellow. There was a small, frog-like man, wearing a purple striped suit. There were no students in the room.

"Ah, a new student. Death by the looks of it. Welcome to the school of Storm! A place where creativity holds no bounds, and to RELEASE THE INNER THUNDER!" the professor boomed. I decided that it was a good thing that I was not a Storm wizard.

"Thanks, professor. . ."

Cass then ushered me out the door. Apparently, he was not overly fond of this professor. I decided not to spend any more time than I had to with the loud professor. Back outside the school, I saw a room with a cloud with a lightning bolt protruding out. It looked very familiar to the inside of the classroom.

"Come on, I don't have the time to hang out here all day."

"Okay, sorry, it's not as if I have ever seen a place like this before."

"Fin and I kind of have a time where we. . . well, play, um, a specific card game, once a week. And it would look very odd for me to be late. Even with a new linkee."

"So basically you play poker or something."

"Not exactly, we don't gamble. It's more of a who will win. It is a game that is played with what is called Treasure Cards, or TC for short. These cards are replicas of spells, and are played on a table." He told me while continuing the tour. I wasn't paying attention much to the tour, besides where the areas were, who looked interesting to study from. Bartleby was right that Fire seemed awesome. Unfortunately, Cass never told me the entire game. Just the short excerpt. It did seem interesting. The last thing on the tour was the dorm room apparently we shared. I wasn't exactly the most trusting, and I think Cass could sense that.

"Don't worry," he told me. "We have different rooms. I will show you after my friend comes. Just a warning, he can be a. . . well, there's not really a nice way to put it. . . he can be a bit of an ass. Until he decides he either likes you, or well, doesn't. May the gods be merciful, and have him like you."

"Okay." I wasn't sure what to say. I guess it's better than dealing with my sister. I don't think I could handle that. My brother was pretty cool, but my sister, she was just too happy, positive and absolute shopaholic for my tastes. My brother was very much like me, and oddly enough born approximately a year after I was born, we shared the same birthday.

There was a knock on the door, and Cass walked over to answer the door. The door opened to reveal a tall boy. His hair was a dark brown, eyes were a crystal blue, very similar to Cyrus Drakes. (Cyrus Drake was the Myth professor. From what I could tell from the meeting, he was very strict and not someone I would even attempt pranking). Malistaire Drake also had a similar eye color, except his eyes were surrounded by black. The boy walked in with confidence.

"Who is that? Some pathetic, worthless girlfriend," he said looking at me.

"I am no one's girlfriend. Nor do I plan to be." I was not going to just sit back and be called that! Fin turned his head to Cass.

"Is this a new linkee?"

"She has a name Fin."

"I know. And why didn't you tell me you got a new one?"

"Just found out today, about two hours ago, and you aren't exactly the most reachable person."

Fin didn't look too impressed, in fact, that was an understatement.

"I guess I might as well meet newbe."

With those words, I wanted to cringe, or hide. I didn't want this guy near me. But I decided to give him another chance. I figured I'd have to put up with him a lot. And since Cass didn't seem like he'd completely throw me to the wolves unless I did something. I figured I was somewhat safe. Besides, I still thought this was an extremely messed up dream. Oh, how I wished it was.

"So who are you?" Fin asked as he made it to the other side of the dorm. It was small, so it wasn't that far of a walk. Ironically I was standing next to a large bookcase.

"Katy," I replied. It was weird saying the name, but I knew that I'd have to. No one would address me by my old name, the one I was familiar with.

I felt tiny next to him, and I could tell that he was making sure that I felt uncomfortable. I was not going to just be meek. I didn't allow anyone to do that.

"So, who are you?" I asked him.

"Fin, I'd think you'd figure that out."

"Just wanted to make sure. You never know. . ." I replied with a smirk.

"That's true, you never know. . . I suppose you're new here. It's very rare that someone actually talks back. Don't ever lose that." And with those words they headed to the coffee table, Fin brought out a folded up board. With the flick of a hand, it unfolded and revealed a very strange circle. There were for spots on each side, and symbols on each spot. Cass and Fin took different sides of the board. They both brought out a figure from their bags. Once their figures were put on the board, the figures took a defensive stance. The boys then brought out cards from a deck. I noticed that there was a spot on the side that told Heath and then something strange, mana. I only knew this because I wandered closer. Both boys said a word I didn't understand. There was suddenly a timer, and strange white and yellow balls next to the playing pieces feet. Fin had a yellow ball and a white, while Cass had two yellow balls. I didn't know at that time, but the balls were called pips.

Both boys chose their cards and put the other cards down. When the timer ended, Fin said a word, that yet again, I couldn't understand. The card disintegrated in mid-air, and suddenly a yellow flat, circular, piece appeared over Fin's character on the game board. Now it was apparently Cass's turn. Cass tried his card, and after he said the word, it did nothing.

"Fizzled, didn't it?" Fin said.

"Yep."

After that, they went back to their game. Which was primarily the same process, until Fin cast something that wasn't a blade. The card still disintegrated, and suddenly the game board seemed to be torn apart, and the spell struck Cass's character. All of the flat, circular pieces on the character disappeared, and health points diminished.

"Did you have to cast Earthquake, Fin. I hate spells that remove blades."

"It's fun to remove them, just like all your precious shields."

Cass gave Fin a death glare, and the other boy just shook it off. They continued until Cass won. It was very close in the final rounds. Cass just happened to land a hit before Fin. I wouldn't find out until later, that the card he cast, was called Hydra.

I was tired by this point, and I looked at the clock on the bookshelf, it read 1 A.M. I didn't realize the game went on for who knows how many hours. After they cleaned up (Cass was a bit of a neat freak) Fin vanished.

"So what did you think of 'Wizarding Cards?'" Cass asked.

"I'm still trying to figure out how it works, but it seemed cool," I told him.

"Yeah. It would seem strange to you, as you have never actually seen or heard of the game. I don't think I need to get into game mechanics yet, but it is a very common game. There is even a yearly tournament for it. Fin and I are training for that, but I should probably show you your room." He then looked slightly sad. "It was my last linkee's room. It is fully decorated, but I should warn you, it is quite shocking. My last linkee didn't undo his decorations, before. . . the incident. So. . . what do you want the password to be?"

After a few seconds, I thought of the most perfect password.

"Chaos," I told him. And with those words, he put his hands on the bookshelf. Suddenly in the dark of the room, there was light. His hands seemed to fall through, and he said a word in some other language, then something that sounded a lot like "reset," and finally the word I told him.

There was no longer a bookshelf, but instead, a door the size of one. Cass beckoned me forward. I took a second of bravery; I walked forward and opened the door.

The first chapter has been rewritten, as you can tell, if you read the original, otherwise, just enjoy the ride. There will be a point in time that it will diverge into the plot I originally wanted for this story to have, but the original I pretty much disregarded the thing entirely. So this time, I will try my best to keep to the plot. Either way, be prepared for a long story.