Hello! If you're reading this, then, hopefully, you've read through the first chapter of From the Spiral. From here on out, things will get much more tense, as we travel across Krokotopia, Marleybone, Mooshu, and Dragonspyre!

I've really been wanting to get involved with the Wizard101 Fanfiction community, so, for this interlude, I'm going to introduce myself and explain a few things about this story and the characters.

First of all, my username is Tails-is-Pwnage, but most people call me 'Tip'. One of my first original characters is Tip Apprentice; and, despite his name, he is not a self-insert. He's a completely different person compared to me, in fact.

I'm writing this story not only for my own personal benefit (This is currently what I'm calling my 'passion project'), but also so that I can try to make a few friends who are at least somewhat active in the W101 community. So please, if you do want to talk, PM me! I don't bite. And I'd love to talk about stories and such with you.

Speaking of, I'd like to thank the Diamond Writer in particular for reviewing; you are the only person I didn't know before making this story. I'm happy you're enjoying what you're reading, and I hope we can become good friends in the future!

Onto the story itself, From the Spiral is inspired by my roleplay, the Spiral Chronicles. In the Wizard101 Forums, the Spiral Chronicles is the top forum, with over 30k posts, made in mid-February. I'm very, very proud of it; my friends and I had such fun, and it was a wonderful story that ended on a great note.

I'd like to thank Nicole Peach/Undyne for making a wonderful recap thread (Called "Salvus's Knowledge Crystal"), which summarizes the events of what happened in SC. If you're interested, please read through it! It was a fun adventure!

After hosting that, it took me around six months to decide I wasn't going to get anywhere in the community by simply sitting on top of a forum. If I wanted to make some new friends in this community, I decided I was going to write a story of my own. Ta-da! From the Spiral was born.

From the Spiral deals with the creation of wizards, an idea extended from the Spiral Chronicles. This idea is called 'Project101', and is always referred to as that in both SC and FtS. Despite this strange idea, I'm glad that this has still become a popular story; I figure that starting off with the creation of new life may put quite a few people off, but it seems that wasn't the case!

From the Spiral contains nine main characters, all OCs of mine. Tip Apprentice, as mentioned earlier, is a very early character of mine. In all AUs and universes that I've come up with, he is always the 'creation', or the odd one out. His strengths include his incredible support magic alongside his kindness and goodwill towards others, though his weaknesses, such as his under-confidence and his constant worrying, pull him down tremendously. In battle, his Balance magic can be utilized to turn a battle around, but without the ability to attack, he's paying a high price.

Brooke Summersong was made about two years ago; she is my take on the Fire School. Confident and friendly, Brooke's strengths are her tricky spells and happy nature. On the other hand, she's terrible with romance, is over-protective, and can snap at people easily. In battle, her aptitude for Fire will leave most enemies on their knees if she has the right support.

Neil Frost is one of the older characters as well. As you may be able to guess by now, each character is reflected by their school; Brooke is strong and confident (Fire), Neil is silent and calculating (Ice), and Samantha is rude but courageous (Death). Neil is the most obvious example of this. Silent to the point of never talking unless needed, he's the most antisocial person in the group, but his intelligence is unmatched. In battle, his shields block most of the heavy damage, and he tends to almost always take the defensive support role, making sure his friends can survive any upcoming attacks.

Grace Stormraven was made at around the same time Brooke was. She's a skeptical girl whose loyalty and sense of honor drives her character. However, her inability to trust some people and her short-sightedness makes her one of the more lonely people in the group; she's really only close to Brooke. Despite having a casual and happy personality, there's a lot more to her than just that.

Calem Lifearrow was made shortly after Neil Frost. He's a powerful healer who looks like he should be on the front lines, but the centaur is happier healing his friends rather than attacking his enemies. He's incredibly strong, is a quick thinker, and has a charming, outgoing personality. Unfortunately, he's also not the brightest, and he's far too optimistic for his own good. In battle, he usually sticks to healing, but, especially as of late, he can switch to a fighter's role quickly and on very short notice.

Ivan Mythblade was made after all of the others, but he's still been around for a while. Simply put, he's a man with a lot of talent. So much, in fact, that, if he actually utilized it, I imagine he'd be a Gary Stu; too much power, not enough weakness. However, his primary character flaw is his laziness, which is amped up to massive extremes. Ivan is hardly ever found doing anything for anyone, and he tends to find most things 'boring' or uninteresting. He almost never battles; instead, he has Talos do all of the heavy lifting for him. But who knows what aces he might be hiding…? Being someone with such limitless potential, Ivan tends to only put his powers to use when a great deal of conditions are met. Just because the Spiral's burning doesn't mean he's going to do anything about it…

Samantha Nightspear is probably the most normal Death student ever. Well, for a Death student's standards. She's cold and calculating, like Neil, but she tends to talk more, having a rash, crude attitude that can sometimes either help the group or send them out the door. Despite her rude behavior, she's a valuable asset to the team, able to fill in any role at a moment's notice.

Garrett Apprentice was originally named Garrett Mythblade, but he had no relation to Ivan Mythblade. Instead, he was used in a couple of roleplays before I transferred him to this story, and he has a unique history, just like Gizmo. However, in all AUs and universes, Garrett and Gizmo are always brothers. Garrett is the more mischievous brother; he tends to be a thief and a rogue, always side-stepping the law and causing trouble. He has a sly, feline-like nature and is one of the more laid-back characters.

Gizmo Apprentice was originally named Gizmo Mythblade, but he, too, had no relation to Ivan Mythblade. He was used in a roleplay called the Sacred Treasures, which was an awesome experience. He's a holy knight to the core, always trying to do the right thing and please the gods of whichever world he's in. He fights for what he believes is right and keeps a steady sword hand.

Throughout the story, I hope you all get to know these characters more! They're all close to my heart.

Anyway. Thank you all for reading! Feel free to visit the Spiral Chronicles chat thread if you wanna talk!

I hope you'll stay with the story and enjoy what you read! Tell me through reviews and PMs if there's anything you like, dislike, or etc.!

~Tip

P.S.: Chapter 2-1 will hopefully be published on Friday, but due to life troubles, I may not be able to post it until Sunday.