Hello! It's been a while since I last posted something. This was a Christmas present for my sister VC103221 because she really likes DeNor. This takes place in the setting of an original story I wrote. I hope you guys like it!
I do not own Hetalia.
"How did I get here? Don't tell me the black magic club's spell actually worked?" Mathias wondered as he looked around.
He had just been at Hetalia Academy, but the school was nowhere in sight. He was in a large barren field, full of dead grass and a tree that fell over without anyone to hear it make a sound. The sky was a bleak grey without a single cloud occupying it. Mathias began to wander through the wasteland. "What's that…?" Before the Dane, was a hole in the earth, a giant crater? He subconsciously took a step back.
"Is this what the world will be like in the future?"
Mathias had been bored not too long ago, or should I say years ago?- and decided to poke around the black magic club's room.
"Hey Arthur, Vlad, you don't mind if I drop in do you?" Mathias asked as he barged into the clubroom. There were no bushy browed Brits in sight, nor was there a red eyed Romanian. "I guess I have this place to myself." Mathias grinned and thought, "If I mess around with some of their spells, maybe something interesting will happen."
He walked past the pentagram design on the floor, and went straight to the spell bookshelf. The Dane grabbed a random book and began to flip through the pages aimlessly. "Bountiful Harvest Spell, Protection Spell, Harry Potter Cosplay Spell? Isn't there anything interesting in here?" Mathias flipped the page. When he saw the spell occupying the page, a grin grew on his face. "A time travel spell. That sounds fun."
In the description it said, "For the user to travel forward in time, they must read the spell from beginning to end over a pentagram. To go backward in time, they must recite the spell from end to beginning over a reversed pentagram."
So naturally, Mathias dashed over to the pentagram he had passed. "I'll go the future," he thought, "that'll be way more interesting than the stuff we learn in history class."
He began to recite the spell. "Tag det sorte paa det blaa, tag det blaa paa de hvide, tag dethvide paa en jordfast sten. I navnet Thor, Odin og Frigga"
The pentagram began to glow with an eerie purple, then the whole room faded out into white light. When the white light had finally faded to the grey of the future's sky, Mathias found that he no longer had the spell book, nor was he still at school.
Mathias stood in front of the crater. Is this what happens to the school? The crater looked to be about were the teacher's room would be. And the tree he had passed by earlier looked similar to the oak near Hetalia Academy. "I guess I'll never know what those teachers kept in there." Mathias joked, not letting the destruction keep him down.
But then a thought dawned on him. What would he do now that he was here? There wasn't much he could do around a nonexistent school, and there wasn't a single soul in sight. The field he was in was pretty drabby, and if he had brought beer it would have been a buzz kill.
"Maybe I'll go look for some beer." Mathias decided. "That is, if they still have beer in the future." He continued exploring, leaving the destroyed school behind. His mind was wandering elsewhere. "If there's no beer in the future, that'd be a sad future. How would humanity survive without beer? Though I guess if they still have coffee they might stand a chance."
Suddenly, the cold metal of a knife touch the Dane's neck. "Don't move," his assailant said in a soft, yet commanding voice.
Thoughts flooded Mathias's head, but at the same time he was drawing a blank on what to do. So he just rambled and said the first thing that came to mind. "You have a Norwegian accent! Are you from Norway?" Mathias asked his attacker, trying to ignore the knife that could easily slit his throat.
"What?" The Norwegian asked, with none of the edge his voice had previously held. He slightly lowered the dagger from disbelief. Did this guy seriously just ask that?
"I go to a school where there're people from many countries, but there's no one from Norway. So I haven't met many people with Norwegian accents." Mathias explained. He wondered what his attacker looked like, but his assailant was behind him so Mathias couldn't even catch a glimpse of him.
His attacker was so dumbfounded that he didn't even notice that he dropped his dagger. But he didn't let his bewilderment show on his face. Actually, his face had a blank expression. The Dane turned around and was surprised by what he saw. He couldn't read the Norwegian's saphire eyes. The Norwegian had a cross in his golden-blond hair. He looked cute, for a mugger. Mathias had to force himself not to stare.
Instead, he broke the spell by picking up the Norwegian's knife and breaking their eye contact. "You dropped this!" He held it out to the mysterious mugger, with a smile warm enough to melt an iceberg. The Dane's attacker snatched it out of his hand, ignoring the kind gesture.
"Annoying," he mumbled as he began to walk away from the Dane that he regretted trying to mug.
"I'm not annoying Norge!" Mathias said with hurt in his voice as he ran to catch up with the Norwegian. He walked fast!
"Why are you following me?" The Norwegian asked, a slight scowl appeared on his face. "And what's with Norge?!" He didn't get this guy at all! Most people wouldn't try to strike up a conversation with the person trying to steal from them, let alone follow them. Why was he acting so close, like they were old friends?! He even gave him a stupid nickname to match!
"Well I'm lost, I guess you could say. So I might as well tag along with you!" Mathias said. A goofy grin was eminent on his face. This guy knew more about this place than him, that's for sure. No one could possibly know less!
"Norge" sighed, "Just don't call me 'Norge' again."
"Whatever you say Norge!" Mathias replied. "My name's Mathias!" He stuck his hand out for "Norge" to shake. The mugger didn't look at his hand, let alone shake it.
"Lukas." The thief muttered.
"What?" Mathias asked as he put his hand back to his side. It was clear the Norwegian wouldn't shake it.
The thief rolled his eyes, "That's my name, Lukas. Call me that instead of Norge, that's a girl's name." He continued walking in the opposite direction from the boisterous Dane, but Mathias followed right after him.
"Lukas? I like that name!" The Dane smiled, dreamily thinking about it. Lukas seemed like a strong name, but it wasn't showy and arrogant. It was mysterious, like the person it belonged to. It was a good name.
"So where exactly are we?" Mathias asked Lukas. "And what year is this?" Questions flowed through his mind like maple syrup on a pancake. He could've continued asking things, but those were the two questions that weighed most on his mind.
Lukas raised an eyebrow. "You don't know?" If the questions surprised him, he didn't let it show in his voice. Mathias shook his head. "2053. And as for where we are, it doesn't exactly have a name. We're somewhere in the remains of what used to be Denmark. After WWIII, when most of the planet was destroyed, people stopped keeping track of the wastelands."
"WWIII?! Most of the world destroyed?! What?!" Mathias exclaimed. He'd never expected this. The land here didn't look well managed to say the least, but a wasteland? Made by World War III? Impossible!
"You're joking right? What kind of rock were you raised under?" Lukas asked in disbelief. He studied Mathias's face, and ignorance was written all over it. He seriously didn't know…. "I don't know much about it since it happened before I was born. From what I know, the middle-eastern countries and the UN (whatever that is) got into a war over something. Nukes got involved; most of the planet was destroyed before it ended. Most of the world is made up of wastelands, so it's hard to keep track of them all." The thief explained. "Wait. Why am I telling you this? Goodbye." The Norwegian quickened his pace.
"Where are you going?" Mathias asked.
"None of your business." Lukas answered, not even looking back at the Dane as he spoke. As if he'd tell some random idiot that. If he told Mathias where he was going, the Dane would ask why, and Lukas did not need or desire the pity.
"Well I'll come with you since I have no idea where I'm going anyways, Norge!" Mathias said as he caught up with Lukas.
"Don't call me Norge!"
Eventually as the two trudged across the wasteland, they came across a building. When Mathias got a good look at it, he noticed it was a rundown café. Part of its sign was gone, and the wood looked like an army of termites had invaded. Some people were outside of it. There were three of them; an albino with a chick in his hair, a blond wearing flashy blue clothes, and a goofy looking Spaniard.
"Get down." Lukas pulled Mathias behind a boulder. "If they saw you, it'd blow my cover." The Norwegian's eyes were locked on the café. He looked like he was concentrating on something. But what? Mathias could practically see the gears and cogs turning in his head! It wasn't a bad view though.
"What're we doing here?" Mathias asked, "And why do we have to stay out of sight?"
The Norwegian ignored his question and continued to ponder tactics. They wouldn't notice if he came in from the back door, but could he get to the back of the building unnoticed? All three of them were standing at the front, so they'd see him walking around the café. Maybe if he had some kind of diversion to distract them. He looked at Mathias. That guy seemed loud and distracting; maybe if he sent Mathias, he could sneak past them and enter through the back.
"Are you checking me out?" Mathias asked, practically grinning from ear to ear. Lukas's cheeks flushed, and became redder than the sun at dawn, and just as warm. He looked away.
"Could you help me steal something?" Lukas asked. He still didn't dare look Mathias in the eye.
"Help you steal something?" Mathias asked. "What for?"
Growl. A sound came from Lukas's stomach. "Society's collapse doesn't help fill anyone's stomach," was his elusive answer for Mathias's question. "So will you help me?"
Mathias thought about it for a moment. Stealing was illegal, but so was under- aged drinking, and he did that all the time. And Lukas did seem like he had his reasons…. Then Mathias realized something, Lukas had said society collapsed. That meant nothing was technically illegal. "Sure I'll help you out!" Mathias replied.
"Thanks, so here's the plan." Lukas explained what Mathias's role in the theft would be. "It's very important," he said, "that you keep them distracted until I give the signal." Then Lukas added what to do in case something went wrong. The thief had much experience in these kinds of things, so he always had a backup plan. It had saved him he didn't know how many times.
Mathias got out from behind the rock and headed over to the café. "Hey guys," he said, "what're you doing?" He wasn't the best of actors, but he was confident he could succeed in keeping those three busy.
"Drinking some awesome German beer! Are you unawesomely jealous?" The albino asked. He held up a mug, showing it off to the stranger.
"You guys have beer?" Mathias asked in amazement. He thought he'd never see beer again after he got to this time! He immediately dismissed the idea he had about switching to coffee.
"The awesome me will give you some because I'm awesome." The albino offered, holding out another mug. "You have no idea how hard this stuff was to get. We found some here in this abandoned café cause of my awesome luck."
"It's not abandoned Gilbert," the Spaniard said. "I think I'll open this place up. Maybe I'll call it Café España ."
"I would be more than happy to entertain all of the customers~" The blond said. Mathias thought he heard a French accent.
"I don't think they'd want the kind of entertainment you'd offer, kesesesese." Gilbert joked.
"You're so cruel!" The Frenchman said, "I'd be a great waiter!"
Denmark took the beer from Gilbert's hand, and stole a sip. Ah, nothing was better than a cold beer. "You guys seem like a fun bunch." He laughed.
"The awesome me wouldn't waste time with unawesome people." Gilbert said. "So what brings the less awesome then me you here? Not many people mix with us. I guess they can't handle our awesomeness. Kesesesese."
"Well…" Mathias started. What would he say?! If he was good at anything, it was not lying. He couldn't say that he was helping someone steal from them. He had to come up with something quick! "I'm here because… I… wanted a bit of an adventure. I thought it'd be fun to travel, and this happens to be my first stop." It wasn't a complete lie, but it wasn't the complete truth either. He did travel through time. That should count. If they started asking questions further, he'd be screwed.
"Traveling? That sounds like an awesome time!" Gilbert said. "If I wasn't awesomely helping my friend with his café I probably would have done the same! Have you seen the ruins in what used to be Prussia? They're awesome! Some day I'm gonna go there. It'll be awesome! Who knows, maybe I'll find someone as awesome as me on my travels. If that's even possible."
"Maybe I can go there with Lukas." Mathias said without even thinking. The second he let the name Lukas pass through his lips, he immediately regretted it.
"Who is this Lukas?" The Spaniard asked. "Is he you're partner?"
Mathias swallowed. What would he say? The truth was better than nothing. "We're not like that… yet." A grin grew on his face just from thinking about him. "Just between us, I hope we get like that. He's a real cutey. I met him a little while ago. He's a thief, and I'm traveling with him."
"Traveling with him?" The Frenchman raised an eyebrow. "Where is that cutey then?" Mathias unconsciously looked towards the café. That didn't go unnoticed.
"Scheiße!" Gilbert said. He was awesome enough to put two and two together. He took the beer back from Mathias and ran into the café. The Frenchman followed him, leaving the Spaniard wondering what they were doing. He hadn't gotten the clue.
The Dane quickly ran to the back of the café; Lukas couldn't have gotten too far from the back door in that short amount of time. He opened the back door and quickly ran in. He had to find him before those other three did. But the first thing he saw in the building surprised him.
Lukas was standing right there with an armful of food. He had grabbed a few bags of instant coffee and some other food items. The Norwegian had grabbed as much as he could carry. There was even some things sticking out of his pants pocket, and there were bulges under his shirt, it kind of reminded Mathias of a bear getting ready for winter. "That's what you wanted to steal?" Mathias asked. "Food?"
Lukas didn't bother to answer the question, but simply asked. "Aren't you supposed to be keeping the other three busy?"
"Um about that…" Mathias started. "I kind of…" The door to the kitchen flew open. "Blew your cover."
Lukas could hear the loud footsteps of whoever was entering the room. "Hey unawesome thief! Give the awesome me the food back!" Gilbert shouted. "Or I will make you submit to my awesomeness!" He ran towards Lukas to take the food.
Lukas scowled, not seeming at all surprised or worried about their cover being so easily blown. "Then let's get going!" He simply said and ran out the door Mathias had come in from before Gilbert got to them. Mathias followed the thief, and didn't look back at the albino or the café.
Once the café was no longer in sight, Mathias asked. "Why did you their steal food?"He wanted to know why Lukas was stealing from what looked like a good bunch of people, minus the fact Gilbert took the beer back.
"Because we need it far more than they do." Lukas said. "Besides, if I could steal it so easily from them, do they really deserve it?" The two slowed down to a walk. It was finally safe to catch their breath.
"We?" Mathias asked. "Who's the other person?" He knew Lukas wasn't referring to Mathias since they had just met. So who was it? A friend or a family member or a scruffy little dog with an odd name?
The Norwegian paused for a moment, as if pondering whether or not the Dane was worthy of this information. "My little brother." Lukas finally said. "He's too young to steal, and I don't want that kind of life for him anyways."
"I see." Mathias said smiling. Lukas has a little brother! It would be cute if that kid called Lukas "big brother.""Does he look like you?" The idea of a miniature Lukas seemed really out there, but it was worth asking.
Lukas didn't answer Mathias's question and just continued walking. Eventually the two made their way to church. It looked abandoned, but something told Mathias that it wasn't all that meets the eye. There was a bell tower with a clock below it that wasn't ticking. Stained glass windows adorned the walls. The door was large and had carvings in it. But there were no lights coming from the building, not even the faintest glow. Lukas opened the door and walked right in. Was he going to pray? That would make sense considering the cross in his hair.
Mathias walked in as well. The building looked more magnificent on the inside. A few candles were lit so he could make out some things in the almost darkness. There was an alter and rows of seats. They were probably where many people prayed, or used to pray. A little boy sat at one of the seats and Lukas stood next to him, his expression was warm. "He must really care for his little brother." Mathias thought. It looked like they were talking about something. When there were a few hand gestures towards the Dane, and he could've sworn he heard the words "idiot" and "stalker".
From where he was standing he could get a good look at the boy. He kind of did look like a miniature Lukas. He had a similar face, (and expression), and had just slightly lighter hair. There was some sort of bird sitting on his head. Mathias walked up to him and held out his hand. "I'm Mathias! You're Lukas's little brother right?"
The boy didn't shake his hand and introduced himself. "I'm Emil." Did that run in the family? Mathias wondered as he thought back to when he first ran into Lukas. It seemed like forever ago, but it was only a few hours ago.
"Nice to meet you Emil!" Mathias said with a grin. "I'm Lukas's best friend!" He put his arm around the Norwegian as if to prove it.
Lukas pulled himself from under his arm. "I don't recall saying you were my friend. Nor did I say you could come into our home." The thief said. A new scowl appeared on his face. Mathias was a little disappointed. He looked so much better with an almost smile!
There was a crash. It sounded like one of the stain glass windows had shattered. Mathias turned around and saw a figure standing over the glass shards. He looked familiar, but Mathias couldn't place where he'd seen him from. He had white hair, not unlike Gilbert's, and violent- violet colored eyes. "You're Mathias, da?" He asked. The intruder had a Russian accent. His voice was just as familiar as his looks but Mathias still couldn't figure out where he knew this guy from.
"Yeah I'm Mathias." The Dane said. "What are you here for? I don't suppose I know you…?"
"That's cold Mathias. We even went to the same school together." The Russian said, his voice had a weird combination of menacing and innocence. It was kind of creepy, like Mathias's friend Tino might say.
That's when it hit Mathias like a drunk driver's car would hit a pedestrian. His eyes widened. He couldn't be! How was that even possible?! "You're Ivan Braginski!" He had been bullying his friend Tino last year! But then he suddenly went missing…. No one knew where he went. Not even his sisters. Tino had been glad that the Russian was off his back, but he felt guilty thinking that he had wanted Ivan to disappear just before he vanished. "You went missing last year! Everyone thought (hoped) you were dead! So you were here this whole time?"
"Yes I was. I sat in Arthur's chair and for some reason he lost his temper and sent me here. Now you're here too, da?" The Russian took a step closer. "I don't suppose you know how to get us home, da?" He took another step closer, which was then followed by another, and another.
"What's this all about?" Lukas asked. He didn't understand what was going on, but he did get one thing, one of Mathias's friends broke his window! If he was this destructive, it wouldn't be safe for Emil! He grabbed one of the shards of glass from the ground. "You need to leave now."
"And just why would I do that?" The Russian asked in a lilting yet terrifying voice.
"Because you don't belong here." Lukas said with a commanding edge to his voice. His eyes narrowed at Ivan.
"Neither does he." Ivan pointed to Mathias. He took a few steps closer to Lukas, similar to a white tiger closing in on its prey. "But that's not any of your business, da?" Lukas didn't bother to back down, and he continued glaring at the Russian. He knew he couldn't beat the intruder in a fight, but he could at least try to defend his little brother. Ivan glanced over at Emil. "Is that your little brother? He looks like you." He changed his direction and approached Emil. Ivan put his hand on his head. "You wouldn't want anything bad to happen to him would you?"
"Your business is with me Ivan." Mathias said. "What do you want from me?"
Ivan smiled and answered, "I want you to send me back home." He didn't take his hand off of Emil's head.
"And if I didn't know how to get back?" Mathias asked.
"Then that would be too bad for this little one." Ivan said. He moved his hand down from the boy's head to his throat. "He was so young too."
That's when Lukas snapped. He tightened his grip on the glass shard and charged at Ivan. He was about to drive it into Ivan's heart, but the Russian quickly grabbed Lukas's wrist with his free hand. "You wouldn't want to make me angry would you?" He asked with his voice showing more of his violent side. He took the glass from Lukas's hand and pushed the Norwegian aside. Ivan looked back at Mathias. "I'll give you ten minutes to send me home, or this little boy here might not make it."
Ten minutes. That wasn't very much time, and Mathias didn't know how to get home anyways. What would he do? There wasn't any spell to travel back in time. Or was there? There was a way to go back in time! You just recite the spell backwards over a reversed pentagram! But Mathias couldn't remember the spell. "Lukas, I don't suppose you have any magic books lying around here?"
Much to Mathias's surprise, Lukas nodded. "Just one. It was in this church when Emil and me first moved in. I've used a few spells in it, but there was nothing that would help me with getting food and water so I put it away somewhere."
Mathias's eyes widened. They had a chance! It was a long shot, but if it was the same book the magic club had, they could send Ivan home and save Emil! He smiled. There was hope! "Do you know where you put the book by any chance?" He asked Lukas. The blond shook his head.
"It was years ago. How would I remember?" Lukas asked. For once he actually showed a facial expression. It looked like confusion spiked with worry. "Why do you need a spell book anyways?"
"I'll explain later!" Mathias said. "Help me look for it!" Lukas nodded. So the two got to work. Mathias and Lukas left no stone or broken window unturned. Eventually seven minutes had passed. They were running out of time, and they still hadn't found the book. Lukas was getting desperate. Mathias could see it on his face. That meant that he was probably ten times more worried than he looked.
"Is there anywhere we haven't checked?" Mathias asked Lukas.
"We didn't check the cabinet where people used to keep all of the scriptures and bibles." Lukas answered.
"Why would a spell book be with a church's scriptures?" Mathias asked. They probably weren't there. I mean who would put a magic book with books that disapproved of most things in life? Some religions banned Harry Potter! Mathias still couldn't believe that! It was worse than saying that people can't be gay or they'll go to hell! But they were running out of paces to look…. "Alright we'll look there," though Mathias was almost positive that the spell book wouldn't be there.
Lukas showed him to the cabinet where bibles were kept. As expected, there were lots of bibles. But there was another book thrown into the mix. Mathias pulled it out, and face palmed at what he saw. It was the spell book, and it had been put in with the bibles.
Mathias recognized the cover. It was the same spell book from the magic club! Maybe even the same copy. The book looked really old, with yellow pages and a spine that looked like it was falling apart. He flipped through the pages for the time travel spell, but another one caught his eye.
A Protection Spell. Mathias showed it to Lukas. The Norwegian's face went from worried to blank, so hopefully that was a good sign. "We could cast this spell on Emil." Lukas suggested, "Then he would be safe from Ivan and we'd have more time to think of a way to get rid of that friend of your's."
"I like the plan and all, but he's not my friend, trust me on that." Mathias said.
He read out loud the spell's description. "For the user to protect themselves, they must recite this spell and say their name. To protect others with this spell recite it and say the desired person's name."
"I'll recite it. I have more experience with Norwegian than you, and this is a spell from Norway." Lukas said. "Loke, stell dette såret og send dine drømmer til dets offer. Emil Steilsson."
The room did not fill with white light like when Mathias had cast the first spell, and there was no pentagram to glow purple. However, the spell did have a light show just as spectacular as the last. The book began to glow a kindly green, similar to the color of emeralds. The lights filled the whole room for a brief moment, and it was breathtaking. Then the light left the room, most likely to go where Emil was.
Mathias grabbed a piece of chalk from the cabinets. He had a plan of what to do next and he would need it. "Lukas, do you want to go to a place where you won't have to steal to make a living? Where both you and Emil are safe?" Mathias asked.
"Does a place like that even exist?" Lukas asked.
Mathias smiled. "Of course it does. But if you go, you'd never be able to get rid of me."
Lukas thought about it for a second. It would be good for Emil because he'd never have to grow up to be a thief. The safety seemed nice, but Mathias would be there. Was that really such a good idea? The Norwegian sighed. He would have to take that risk, for nothing else than his brother's sake. "Alright." He said. There wasn't any emotion in his monotone voice, but Mathias knew that he was reluctant. Maybe he was actually starting to be able to sense the mood! Like that Japanese kid Kiku!
"Great!" Mathias grinned, despite the fact that it was reluctant. He still wanted to go! That was good enough for him. "Then follow me!" He said and ran in the direction the green light went. Lukas followed him, wondering just what the heck that nut had up his sleeves.
When the two were back in the room that Ivan and Emil were, they noticed something. The green light filled most of the room, except where Ivan was. The spell must have had a pretty big range. Thanks to it, Emil was out of the Russian's grasp, and Ivan was trapped by the green light. He touched it and electricity shot up his hand, but it wasn't enough to kill him.
Mathias went to work and drew a reverse pentagram on the ground with the chalk. When he was done, he stood on it. "Lukas, get Emil and get on the pentagram." Luckily, Lukas didn't need to do anything, because Emil went on it without having to be asked.
"Do you have any idea how long the protection spell lasts?" Lukas asked.
"It didn't say in the description, so I don't know." Mathias admitted. "Hopefully a while."
The green light began to fade. It was slow, and hardly noticeable, but the color was slowly disappearing. "You just had to jinx it." Emil said monotonely.
Ivan began to notice the protection fading. He took one step closer to the three.
Mathias opened the spell book.
Ivan took another step closer as the light continued to fade.
Mathias flipped through the pages to the time travel spell.
The light was getting weak. It was now nothing but a faint glow.
Ivan was almost with them, and he was getting closer by the second.
Mathias recited the spell. "Tag det sorte paa det blaa, tag det blaa paa de hvide, tag dethvide paa en jordfast sten. I navnet Thor, Odin og Frigga." Nothing happened.
"What happened?" Mathias asked. "This should have sent us home!"
Lukas looked in the book. "You didn't follow the instructions. You were supposed to read it backwards!"
Ivan was only a few steps away from the pentagram.
Lukas grabbed the book from Mathias. "Frigga og Odin, Thor navnet I .sten jordfast en paa dethvide tag, hvide de paa blaa det tag, blaa det paa sorte det Tag" The pentagram began to glow purple, and Mathias had never been so relieved in his life. The room filled with a familiar white light.
When the light faded, the three were in the year 2013. "Yeah! I did it!" Mathias said.
"You mean I did it." Lukas said.
"It doesn't matter who did it Norge." Mathias said. "I'm home! I'll let you guys stay in my dorm until further notice. I'm sure my roommate Tino wouldn't mind."
"And so Mathias never used magic again," is probably what you'd expect me to say. But actually the only thing Mathias learned from this story is that magic is awesome, and he'll probably use a random spell again. But I'll leave that for another story.