Weak Ice
As Liam and Ingrid Eriksson headed home across the frozen river from syrup tapping in the forest, Liam heard a monstrous cracking sound.
Oh no…
Liam's eight year old sister Ingrid had fallen though the ice on the frozen river.
"AAAAAHHHHH! Help!"
Shit!
"I'm coming, Ingrid!"
But he knew he couldn't. There was no one else around. No one to help them. No rope to pull his little sister out from the hole in the ice.
Ingrid was going to die unless he did something.
"What am I going to do? I don't want to drown too," Liam said to himself softly.
If he went close to the hole, he could fall in too. He was a good swimmer, but he knew full well how quickly his strength would be sapped by the freezing water; the cold around him was already making him tired, especially as he stood there, watching his sister drown, unsure of what to do…
There was magic. But at his stage of physical development it was extremely unreliable. Plus he was a boy; boys weren't as good at magic` as girls. Or maybe they weren't supposed to be. It was worth a shot, especially as eight-year-old Ingrid was too young to have developed Magic.
"Hold on, Ingrid."
"I'm gonna drown! I'm gonna drown! I'm gonna drown!"
Liam breathed in, trying to force calm. He focused on the falling snow around him. He thought of how the falling ice turned the blue sky of Garuda into a dull silvery-grey. He thought of how the change from summer to winter turned the sun from a bright flame into the distant white circle, gazing detachedly at the drowning child below.
Magic was worth a shot: His only shot.
Liam exhaled. Focus. Focus your spirit.
He felt something tingling… around his legs, up through his chest and to his arms. Yes. This was what he needed… He just had to—
Ingrid lost her hold on the ice. As the young girl began to tread water, tears filled her eyes.
"Liam! I don't wanna die!"
Hearing his sister's anguished screams, something snapped into place in Liam's being. In this blazing instant, ripples of energy, icy, cold energy whirled around his arms legs, and torso… He looked forward, and all the ice below his feet, all the snow in the air, and all the ice crystals in the clouds above glowed. They glowed as if they recognized him… an old friend, a kindred spirit among them.
Liam now knew he had ice magic… the ice and snow were his to command.
He looked down at his sister. She was turning blue, her strength failing her…
Extending his hands, Liam concentrated on an area below Ingrid. He imagined the water coming together, compacting, and freezing, then becoming more buoyant than the liquid surrounding it.
Just as it seemed Ingrid was sinking below the waves, a white mass formed under her—and lifted her right out of the water. A miniature iceberg floated up with Liam's stunned, shivering, soaked sister atop it.
"L-l—l-l-Liam… I… Thank you… Y-y-y-y-you saved m-m-m-me..." Still, they weren't out of danger yet. Ingrid may not be in peril of drowning anymore, but with her soaking clothes, the threat of hypothermia was now the biggest problem. Ingrid seemed too deep in shock to move on her on, but as Liam moved to pull her down, the iceberg he had created began to drift away with the current. Liam couldn't reach the top of the iceberg, which poked at least four meters above the surface of the water. Also, as the iceberg had risen, it had further split the weak ice. Liam was now in danger of falling into the icy water, which surrounded the iceberg after it had cracked the ice around it as it rose.
Without so much as pausing to consider this new danger he leaped towards his sister. He didn't expect to make it more than a meter up in the air—but he kept rising through the snowy air and closer to his sister.
Liam looked around in disbelief. He was hovering in midair, amidst the blowing snow. On the back of his neck, he felt a strange blowing, like a breeze. He looked behind him—and beheld white and tan moth-like wings. His clothing had also changed, from his simple down coat and fur hat, to something tighter, more streamlined and dynamic.
Liam Eriksson, aged fifteen, was a Fairy.
What the fuck…? How in Obsidian? How am I a Fairy?
Liam shook his head. This was not the time to be complaining. Snapping out of this, Alright… Let's see what these Fairy wings can do. He swooped down and grabbed his sister by the back of her soaked jacket collar. And lifted her up with him. Carefully, he shifted her weight so he could hold her in both of his hands, balanced against his chest like he'd seen his father do, as he carried himself and them further aloft.
It didn't take Liam long to get his bearings. He was a kilometer or so away from his town. With haste, Liam made for it.
What are they going to think? Liam… A Fairy?
With little time to waste, Liam flew into town, the main street guiding him in like an airstrip. People turned their heads in shock, seeing this young man flying into their town.
"A He-Fairy… Well I'll be…" one middle aged man chuckled.
As carefully as he could, Liam landed in front of his house. Liam burst in his front door to see his father Sven, a doctor, startled.
"Father! Ingrid! She fell through the ice, and I saved her but she's half-frozen!" Once his father had taken Ingrid from him, Liam fell to his knees in exhaustion.
Sven quickly took Ingrid someplace warm. Liam's shocked mother Gerda ran in from the kitchen, and hugged her son tightly. "Can you tell me what happened?" she asked.
It was some hours later, as Ingrid lay asleep, bundled up tightly in her parents' warm bed, that Liam explained what happened. With each detail, his parents nodded.
"And so I guess that means I'm a Fairy," concluded Liam.
"Well either way, you're still a hero for what you did, son," his father said, pride in his eyes.
"We can't stress enough how proud you've just made us. That took such bravery and skill," said Liam's mother.
Sven paused. "And this has absolutely never happened to you? You've never transformed before?"
"No," said Liam. "It just… happened… I focused, and suddenly I could just do all that. I would do anything to save Ingrid."
Gerda smiled. "A Fairy. Very few men ever become Fairies, but yet you seem so confident as one…"
"So, could he receive training? He's about mature enough to begin training as an adult…" said Sven.
Gerda cast her gaze downwards "But there are so few schools that would specialize… All of the specialized Fairy academies are girls-only. There never have been that many male Fairies, after all."
Liam looked up. "I could just try and train myself. It would certainly cost less. And then I could prove my skill and become an adult that way."
Sven looked at his son. "But then what will you do after your Majority Exam? I mean… there's lots of things Fairies can do, but for a man it would be kind of an oddity…"
Gerda shot her husband a look. "Don't you dare discourage him! I'm sure he'll succeed in whatever he puts his mind and magic to! Like saving his baby sister!"
Liam looked around. "Well, maybe I could join the Healers Guild, or perhaps I could go into search and rescue. And there's always the military forces… things are heating up in the Galaxy. They definitely could use skilled magic users in the military."
Sven took poured himself a glass of vodka, and took a swig. "This is rather a lot to take in… you have plenty of time to train on your own. Then you can decide once your normal schooling is done next year.
And so it was, over his final year at school, Liam began to push himself farther and farther with his magical abilities. Though there were a few girls in his class that also decided to become Fairies, Liam was the only boy. That did not faze him though, and Liam began to stand out amongst his peers. The initial teasing soon melted away as Liam became the object of admiration and respect among even his academic rivals, as well as the other Fairies. Across Garuda, Liam became famous, as the "He-Fairy of Garuda," a name he wore with pride.
At the end of his schooling, he had no problem passing the Universal Majority Exam, which granted him the rights and privileges of adult. The magic control segment of the UME was particularly effortless for Liam.
As he was celebrating with his friends after passing the UME with flying colors, and having his first legal drink in the local public house, Liam received a message from his father on his communicator telling him to return home immediately.
"Aw, what is it? Can't you see I'm trying to celebrate here? I just became an adult!"
His father laughed, obviously very excited. "Just come home. I promise you, what you're going to find is better than any drink!"
I haven't heard my father that excited since we learned I was a Fairy, thought Liam. "Denebrious!" He cast a self-healing spell that dispelled his mild drunkenness. Last thing I want to do is fly home drunk.
Arriving home a few minutes later, Liam entered, and was greeted by his parents, who had set down a holographic message on the kitchen table. "Sit down, son," said Gerda with a wide smile.
Wordlessly, Sven pressed the button on the holographic communicator. "We got this right after we received word that you passed the UME," explained Gerda.
The holographic message flickered to life. The image focused on an elderly but still beautiful olive-skinned woman in a formal dress. Liam thought she looked familiar.
"Greetings, Mister Liam Eriksson," the woman began. "I am Professor Flora Suarez, Headmistress of the Alfea College for Fairies."
"Alfea? That's the most prestigious Fairy school in the Galaxy! And Flora Suarez! She was one of the founders of the Winx!"
"It has come to my attention that you are a skilled young Fairy, who has many dreams of furthering his talent," Flora continued. "Even more impressive is that you have managed to stand out as one of the few males who is naturally skilled in this discipline."
Liam nodded, intently.
"At the Alfea College for Fairies, we are committed to furthering the talents of young Fairies such as yourself, preparing them for leadership roles throughout the Galaxy."
"This is the best part coming up," said Sven excitedly.
"Yet since its founding, Alfea has admitted only female students, owing to hidebound traditionalism and a general lack of male Fairies. However, during these changing times, I have increasingly found this female-only admission policy to be discriminatory and ultimately limiting," said Flora. "In addition, our two sister schools on Magix, the Cloudtower School of Witchcraft and the Redfountain Military Specialist Academy, have opened their doors to both sexes within the past decades, with good results."
The Erikssons took this in, confidence rising in them.
"It is for this reason that I, as Headmistress of Alfea, have decided to allow at least one male student to be admitted to Alfea as an experimental basis. Liam Eriksson, it is my privilege to invite you to study starting next term at Alfea College for Fairies, with a full scholarship grant. As a note of warning, especially with traditionalists among the Fairy community, I believe it would be in everyone's best interests if you did not make this invitation public."
"I suppose that's a smart decision," Gerda remarked.
"In any event, I await your response to this invitation as soon as possible."
For a moment, Liam sat there, stunned. Then he smiled.
"Before you ask, yes. You absolutely can go to Alfea," his mother said.
"…Thank you… Yes. I'd be honored to go…" Liam said, staring off, to no one in particular.
The next months were a whirlwind of preparation, nervousness, and excitement. Liam kept true to Flora's word and didn't tell anyone about his acceptance to Alfea except his close friends and family.
Then at last, the time came to go.
"Go get 'em," said his mother with a smile, as the family approached the gate to the transport ship heading to Magix.
"Thanks," replied Liam with a tear in his eye.
"I knew you'd make us proud," his father said, on the verge of tears himself.
"You have what it takes. I knew it when you saved me from drowning under the ice all those years ago," said Ingrid.
"All those years? It was only like one year ago, Ingrid," said Liam.
All of them shared a laugh, as Liam turned towards the ship.
"All aboard to Magix!" a crewmember shouted.
Liam shrugged. "Time to go… here goes nothing…"
And so, Liam Eriksson, He-Fairy of Garuda, set off to find his future.