There was a single point of red light floating in the center of his vision. Everything was black. Infinite in size, but so dark its vastness was smothering. There was absolute nothingness in the abyss, just him floating freely through space and time without any hinderence. There was only that one light, floating about in the middle of the air like a careless firefly in the night. It was something he had never seen before. A rune, he did not recognize. It closely resembled an open four, except for a huge curve in the left line, similar to a two. The two-four symbol continued to float there, like a needle in his mind. The more he thought about it, the more it shrunk until it was merely a small orb of light in the dark. Then, as if it were never there, it disappeared before his eyes, and was replaced by wide circular arcs of curving writing and symbols. Some he recognized, some he did not.
The language was Elvish, that much he was sure, but then, in between sentences, there were long math equations with tons of symbols he did not recognize. Without the math, the notes were just gibberish to him, since they refered only to the equations. They, too, began to shrink until they were thin lines that traced through the sky. He studied them as they came into view. They intersected each other at seemingly random spots, but their paths were amazingly precise. They were forming something too immense for David to clearly make out from his perspective, so he struggled to pull meaning from what little he could see.
As if a spark ignited in his brain, he recognized what it was and it shrunk down instantly to something he could easily comprehend. It was a spell circle in orb form. He folded his body and sat down mid-air as he examined the orb closely. He touched a finger to an axis and pulled it from the orb, expanding that part of the magic to inspect it closely. Each node, one at a time until he realized finally that he had absolutely no clue as to what it did. He pushed it flat between his hands and tried to make sense of it that way, flipping it and rotating it around, hoping something would come to him. Slowly, he recalled everything he and Professor Merlin had discussed about Runes.
Odin Allfather, one of the first recorded wizards in history. His story about the discovery of the Runes has been one of the most debated tellings of all time, and whenever the story is told, one must never take every event seriously, and imagine for themselves what it could mean.
The story always starts when he rode a Sleipnir to the edge of the World Tree, Yggdrasil, and came across the Nornes, three elderly woman who are said to weave Fate itself. They told him many great secrets of the past and foretold the far distant future.
Eager to learn more, Odin asked the Nornes what they knew about the World, but they denied his questions, refering him to the giant Mimir, who dwelled and protected the Sping of Wisdom, which feed the World Tree. Mimir agreed to tell Odin what he knew, but at the price of Odin's left eye, which he gladly paid, filling him with knowledge of the mysteries of the World.
Still, Odin was not fully satisfied in his quest for wisdom. On the way back through the desolate wastelands, he came upon a leafless tree. It was the Fogmoon and the frosty twilight permeated the landscape. The tree called to him, and without hesitation, he tied a rope around his neck. Odin hung between heaven and earth. His ravens "Hugin" and "Munin"-thought and memory- flew around him agitatedly and brought the world's thoughts to his lifeless body.
Nine nights he hung on the windswept tree, his eyes wide open to the world. His inner being gradually grew clearer and more luminous. The branches of the trees cast a shadow before him, the branches crossing each other and forming the Futharks, the basic of Runes. It is said that Odin pulled something from behind the curtain of death, knowledge beyond the limits of normal man. As he came back to life, Odin pulled this information with him. Groaning with extreme exertion, he reached out his arm and cut the Runes into the trunk of the tree with his sword. Runes, he called these sacred glyphs, because they whisper wisdom to the initiated. Now, Odin was possessed by the mighty ability to free himself from the tree. He cut himself free and took with him the knowledge he gained. Odin proceeded to train his students in the lore of the Runes. He also gave this gift to any Wizards who were willing to learn, and thus the Runes began.
There were twenty Runes orginally. Over time, more were added to the system, but eventually the use of Runes all but died. For centuries, they were forgotten by the Wizarding World, until they were rediscovered by four young wizards.
According to Professor Merlin, each founder brought with them a set of 13 runes, David realized, but Gawain brought 20 runes. David reexamined the Spell Circle closely, and kept recalling the strange rune, which he had seen before.
"Rediscovered." David said, even though he was not even conscious of the action. All of his Professors in Trinity Academy, every book he had every read about the founding members in class, always said that Gawain had rediscovered the Runes in 1407. Rediscovered how?
"Is there a way I can retrace his steps?" David asked himself. The Spell Circle evaporated into small beads of light, and made a perfect circle around David. Every Rune that David knew surrounded him in a cage of light.
It felt like days. He just sat there staring at them. He did not know anything of hunger, or thirst, or exhaustion. His eyes never left the Runes, which slowly rotated around him. His mind raced constantly down millions of strings of thoughts, which interconnected and wove together into a large net of theories. Before he knew it, more Runes appeared in the circle. Astrological Runes for the Stars, like Capricorn and Aries.
The legend stated that Odin hung in the sky between the heavens and the earth, David realized. What were the signs for the planets? One by one, they appeared as they had before. Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Pluto. David looked at them for a second before adding more. Before 1811, everyone thought there were more planets, and even minor planets had to be counted. Ceres, Juno, Pallas, Chiron, and Vesta added themselves to the list. Then, there was the North Node and the South Node, two points from Astrology in reference to the Moon.
Slowly, he reached up and pried his thumb underneath his left eye. He was not even conscious of the action until his eye popped out of its socket. There was no pain in this world, but he still keenly felt the steady flow of blood from the now empty socket. His eye, its yellow shining brightly, floated away from him. And with that, he stopped breathing. It was unusual. It was not something he did, but something that had happened to him automatically. Slowly, David slipped into a state of nothingness and even though he was still aware of his surroundings, he felt the life lift itself from his body, then time meant nothing to him. Then, slowly, his thoughts quieted, and he simply stared before him.
Thirst. His first thoughts were only of how unbelieveably thirsty he was. His eyes peeled open and were quickly assaulted by a blurry view of a dimly lit room. It took several moments for his eyes to properly process what he was seeing so that David could understand. It appeared as if he was laying in the hospital ward of the school. He sat up and his hair fell in his face. It was longer than it was before, he noted. The fatigue and weakness were also signs of prolonged bed rest.
"1-2-3-5-7-11-13-17-19-23." He said hoarsely. He blinked in confusion. What on earth was that? The first ten Prime Numbers? What a time for that to pop out of his mouth. He tried to ignore it, but now the numbers were in the back of his mind, like a festering wound.
"Up now, are we, young man?" A nearby nurse asked him. He stared at her in confusion, even tilted his face to the side. He knew her, her name even, but it would not come to him. For the first time that he could remember, he was unable to remember something.
"Yes." David replied dryly, licking his dry tongue across his cracking lips. The nurse waved her wand and a pitcher of water poured him a glass of water. He happily accepted it and began drinking mightily. When he left like he could manage a few words without drowning himself, he laid back and asked, "How long have I been out?"
"I would say about 1 month." The nurse replied. "You took a nasty fall during the game. Hit your head. Thought we lost you more than once, but you pulled through alright."
"Lost...as in, died? I died?"
"Yes, I am afraid. A few times, in fact." She smiled and nodded. "But, we knew you would be alright when you woke up and spoke to the Professor."
"Wait...what? I spoke with who?"
"Professor Merlin. Your right eye snapped open and you pulled him close. Spoke real quietly in his ear for a few moments before he was forced to make you sleep, so we could move you safely." David took a few more sips on his water as he let the news swim around him his head.
"Any...lasting damage?" David wondered aloud.
"Well, there might be a few things, but besides the physical, there is not much that I can see." She admitted. David quickly checked for new scars or missing apendages, but everything seemed in order. The Nurse conjured a mirror and carefully handed it to him. The face in the mirror startled him so much that he nearly dropped it. He was thinner, due to his bedrest, so his face was leaner. His skin was paler than he had ever seen it. But, the biggest changes were his hair and eyes. His hair was darker now, a dark brown that was nearly black. While it felt the same, it was longer and much darker than he had ever seen it. He could like with the hair, the eyes is what scared him. David had always been fond of his eyes. He always thought it was his only good physical feature. They were pretty, he thought. Plus, the color made him different. But now, they were almost inhuman. Red, like roses, and glowing slightly in the failing light.
"How?" was all that David managed to say.
"Honestly, we have no idea." The nurse replied sadly. "Professor Merlin said it might have something to do with your accident. That it might have possibly triggered the change, but they show no signs of returning to their original color. There was a knock at the door. The nurse excused herself politely, drew his curtain, and left to answer it. David could hear them quietly talking, but he was unable to tell precisely what it was about. Footsteps approached his curtain slowly and slid the curtain aside.
"Hello, David." Professor Merlin said kindly, pulling a chair beside the bed. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm okay." said David, sitting up more in his hospital bed.
"Good. You had us worried. I actually have a few things I need to ask you." Professor Merlin announced.
"Uh, okay Professor." David agreed. "Shoot."
"Do you know the fundamental difference between a wizard and a sorcerer?"
"A wizard has studied magic and practices it after many years of learning. A sorcerer is acquire their powers through supernatural or abnormal means. Sorcerer's describe magic with relative means using definitions, postulates, theorems and mathematical formulas."
"Perfect answer, as always, David." Professor Merlin nodded. "Now, how do they differ from a mage?"
"I did not know there was a difference, to be honest."
"Yes, and most people would, David. A Mage is a Wizard or Sorcerer, who has focused on a single objective, and followed it to its end. Stay Alabasta Viernay, a brilliant wizard in 1582, who wished to learn more about Fire. It seemed to call to him, and all of his knowledge was funneled into a form of magic he called Pyromancy. The ability to weild and control flames as he saw fit, at all times, with or without a wand. Eventually, he delved to deeply, and suffered greatly for it."
"Why would you tell this to me, Professor?" David wondered.
"Moderation, David." Professor warned, tilting his head forward. "Moderation in all things. Push too far, and nothing good can come of it."
"Something happened. Didn't it." David said, his eyes narrowing in realization.
"Yes." he replied, smiling slightly with a tilt of his head. "Yes, it did. And I believe the change in your appearance may be connected. A bond far beyond my understanding."
"What? What happened?" David pressed, more seriously. Professor Merlin reached into his pocket and drew a pair of ancient glasses, along with a bit of parchment.
"Terra. Ignis. Aqua. Aero. Fulgoris. Ferrum. Cuprum. Stannum. Argentum. Sol. Lunas. Mercury. Venus. Gaia. Mars. Ceres. Jupiter. Saturn. Uranus. Pluto." Professor Merlin read. "Do you know what all these words have in common?" The Professor have David a few moments to respond before folding up the paper and continuing.
"They all have a symbol or a rune attached to their name. It took a great deal of time and research to decipher your words, David. Each one I named, you whispered to me, in a language I cannot even describe. Gaelic and Norse provided a lot of the pieces of the puzzle, but the language isn't what bothered me. How many did you count, David?"
"Twenty, Professor." David replied instantly.
"Correct. Twenty." He said. David waited for him to continue, but the expression on Professor Merlin's face said that he was missing something.
"I don't understand Professor. We do not use those Runes in any class. They do not belong within the Futhark class that names all the Runes as True Runes. The only ones I can remember off the top of my head would be from Astrology." David explained. "I honestly do not see the bigger problem."
"When you find the answer, come find me." Professor Merlin sighed, seeming disappointed. "Let me pose to you another question now, David. Why do you think that the Arabic numbering system appears within the Spell Circles?"
"Isn't it because whoever created it used that numbering system? It has grown so that everyone on the planet uses it as their primary number system."
"Then, why did they write all the rest of it Futhark Runes, alchemical symbols and equations, and Elven, if they wished?" David frowned.
"Because that is what is required for the magic to work in the first place." David said, not quite sure of his answer. Professor Merlin's head tilted to the side, almost laying on his shoulder. His eyes never left Davids.
"Arabic numbers," Professor Merlin began, "are a symbol, like any other. You could say that they are yet another type of Rune. While they may not be based on, or as old as the Elvish language or the Futhark runes, do you really think wizards of old used spell circles for magic back then?"
"No. That would be unlikely. Wandlore was not fully established during those ages." David said quickly, listening intently.
"Yes. Magic was far more powerful back then, and wizards did not require any words, nor wands, nor any waving of anything to perform their magic. Do you know why we use wands now?"
"No, sir." David admitted. It had not been a question that had occured to him.
"Four reasons. One: Convienence. Wizards were only able to teach one or two apprentices at a time before the establishment of wandlore. Wands made it easier for young witches and wizards to learn from one master."
"Two: Ease of use. Wizards can cast magic easier, sometimes a bit faster, than without, at the loss of power. It also made it simple to disarm another wizard, as they had only learned magic through use of a wand. This made magical enforcement a bit easier, while at the same time vastly increaseing the available amount of spells to one wizard."
"Three: Time. Before, an apprentice would have to study magic for nearly twenty years of their lives in order to be called Witch or wizard. Also, it was hard for a wizard to teach a witch, as their powers work slightly different, just as a man is different than a woman. Rogue wizards, unable to control their powers, or abusing them, were common place."
"Four: Risk. Truly powerful spells, require a wizard's will to be put into the spell. The greater the will, the more effective the spell was. However, that being said, they could always backfire, through not enough will, or improper execution. Death was the gamble with every spell. What happens when Mr. Gabranth attempts Transfiguration?"
"It normally changes into something else entire, actually." David smiled.
"Yes, amusing now. But, what if, instead of the cup being disfigured, your arm was instead?" Professor Merlin asked. His demeanor had become extremely dark and David had slid a little bit down under the growing pressure. Professor Merlin looked nothing like the young thirty somthing man that he was. In David's eyes, he saw a powerful wizard, ancient and older than his time staring at him, as if the man before him had lived through far more than David ever could manage in his entire lifetime. Professor Merlin drew a cardboard square from his robes and handed it to David. It was covered in hundreds of small, centimeter wide, tiles that had been adhered to the surface. There were several different colors, three or four at first glance, and they had been arranged at random.
"I am assigning you a project, David." Professor Merlin said, taking his eyes from David. "You will come into my office everyday, and you will count. Each day. Then, when you are done, I want you tell me the number of tiles, and how many of each color. If you get it wrong, then the next day, they will be rearranged, and you will start again. Understood?"
"Y-yes, Professor." David acknowledged, feeling intimidated. He dared ask, "What for?" Professor Merlin drew his wand and pointed it at the side of David's bed.
"Levitus Inphorsi." He said gently. The air shimmered and a thick wall of shimmering air appeared next to David's bed. "Feel that, tell me what it feels like." David reached out and touched it. It was suprisingly pliant for air. Almost like trying to put his hand through jello, light and fluffy, while not allowing his hand to pass through.
"Like pudding?" Professor asked, nodding when David agreed. Then, with his empty left hand angled toward the otherside of David's bed, he cast another spell, inaudible, but it looked about the same. David noticed that the shimmer was more violent, almost harsh, and it made his inner ear hum as if he was nearby large powerlines. When the Professor indicated that he wanted him to test it, David was met with the feeling of a brick wall covered in sharp grass and barbed wire, causing him to cry out.
"Tomorrow, you will begin your lessons. When you are done with your schooling here at Trinity Academy, I do not see any reason why you would be unable to do that same spell."
David was at a loss for words, but the Professor smiled and he knew that he was understood. David watched his mentor leave, but something else caught his eye. Professor Merlin's left hand was different. It was thin, frail, old, and extremely weathered. Even after the nurse came back in and told him to sleep, David lay there in silence, thinking about that hand. At the same time, just before drifting off to sleep, two things appeared in David's mind. The first was all the Runes that the Professor had mentioned, each with a different color, floating nicely in a circle. The second was something entire foreign. An idea, if it could be called that. It was a wand, he thought, but that was the last conscious thought. His dreams were filled with designs and ideas, that he would barely remember come morning.