The first sense that returns to Jericho was his hearing. While everything was still black as night, he can hear noises, voices, distant to him. His eyelids felt heavy as he tried to open them. He stirs and blinks repeatedly until his vision stops being blurred. He's in a dark place but a singular blinding light stands in the distance, narrow and tall. He realizes he's lying prone on the ground. Cobblestone, to be exact. Cold and slightly damp.
A puddle lies not far from where his head rests. He was glad no part of him, not even a single strand of his black hair or a piece of fabric from his clothes touch that dirty water.
The slightly damp concrete he's lying on felt cold on his hands as he uses them to shakily support himself up. There was little energy in him. His legs buckle immediately as he tried to stand, forcing him to lean his body to the building's brick wall for support.
He's in a secluded alleyway sandwiched between two tall buildings, shielding the alley from the sun, and that light was coming from an exit that leads to some well-lit place. If it wasn't for that light, he'd mistaken it to be night time.
His senses have mostly returned to him. At least he's in control of his body. His mind, however, is a different story. It's… fuzzy. That's the only word he felt fitting. He can't seem to think straight. And there's a constant buzzing noise at the back of his head, muffling any internal thoughts he's trying to make. It's like his mind is a TV that's gone static, erratically buzzing and refusing to clear itself.
There are voices coming from that light in the distance. But there's another… somewhere else, like a whisper, soft like a lullaby.
His bleary eyes caught sight of a second light, green and ethereal, reaching from the edge of his vision. That's where that second voice came from. He turns quickly, finding himself staring back at the same dirty puddle.
He could swear he saw something in there… like tiny ribbons of light, green and ethereal reaching out from the puddle. But when rubs his eyes, and they disappear. There was only an empty puddle. The whispers also stopped.
It looked like the Ghost's light. But… just a trick of the light? It was likely. His eyes are immensely blurry. But the voices…
Jericho glanced back at the first light, yellow and warm. Sunlight. A way out of this dark place?
There were more voices there in the light.
Without thinking, he moves forward towards the light. Instincts told him to do so, drawing him into the light. He occasionally tries to depart from the wall but he keeps falling back to it. After a few more attempts and after long struggling steps supported by the wall, he could finally walk on his own two feet.
Jericho's eyes have yet to adjust to the light, and the closer he gets the more blinding it becomes. He shields his eyes more and more, squinting at first but resorting to his hands as he comes closer and closer. He could feel the warmth of the sunlight on his skin and make out the noises from outside. It was the voice of chatter, people talking, walking, and just the noise of everyday things. He took the last step that takes him out of the darkness and he had to close his eyes and open them to a place of complete contrast to his last.
He found himself in a busy street filled with vendors on both sides of the sidewalk. The main road between them had no cars but is filled with pedestrians, sellers and buyers, or mere passerby, all walking about, the latter hawking their wares and services and the former falling for it.
But weren't I in the Abyss moments ago with the Ghost?
Jericho blinks repeatedly, trying to grasp the new things assaulting all his senses. They're loud and too heavy on all his senses. He stops and froze. For a good minute, he stands still, the only still body in an endless sea of moving people.
The fog in his head-that irritating buzzing-begins to lift up. He begins to be able to pick up the details of his surroundings. From the loud voice of the sellers and the general theme of the colourful decorations in the market, he slowly recognized this place.
It's a bazaar of some sort. He'd heard of it but can't recall the name. The people of the town would hold it only on some occasions of the year. Jericho had seen this bazaar once but recalled no memory of ever visited them. He remembered it was timed the same day as when his first semester started in Luna Nova. Was there a meaning behind these bazaars? Some tradition or custom behind the day the people picked it? Or is it just some opportunistic people trying to attract the newcomers of the town?
Even after recognizing this place, there's still something odd about it. Its colours seemed a tad off. Everything-from the rich carpets being sold to the recognizable colourful banners of the festive-are a bit faded and grey. In fact, Jericho soon found that everything around him suffers the same fate.
This… Am I vision-dreaming again? Jericho suddenly ponders.
The world around him seems so distant and grey, nearly black and white at times. If Jericho were to describe it, its like how in some old movies they have those black bars sandwiching the picture into a narrow, cinematic widescreen look, with rough grains and grey fogginess that can't seem to go away. Jericho thinks he's dreaming again because this is exactly how all his vision-like dreams had looked in his eyes.
It would also explain why I'm here when I was with the Ghost moments ago in the Abyss, he thought. But soon Jericho frowns and shakes his head. No, it can't be one of those dreams.
He looks up to the sky, grey despite sunny blue, as a cold wind sweeps past the street, tingling his skin.
Because I feel everything here.
From the damp and cold floor he was lying on, to the shoulder of people brushing past and the wind that he just felt, he can feel them all vividly. More importantly, the person who just brushed shoulders with him muttered a quiet apology to him. None of his dreams had ever conjured such vividness nor intractability.
While the odd look of this world is a strong persuader, the vividness and interactability of everything around him is a much stronger argument. The latter is a much sure-fire way to differentiate between his dreams and his waking world.
Then I'm awake. I'm probably just… tired or something. After all, she did torture me at one point. He keeps blinking, thinking it'll banish the grey tone.
But it doesn't.
That made him frown.
His eyes search around. He grows wary.
Something is not right about this look of the world, about this place, this world… about this unnerving feeling deep in his chest.
And suddenly, he realized why.
He searched around anxiously until he found a banner hanging from two tall wooden poles at the beginning of the bazaar. He'd seen it earlier but dismissed it, only noting the weird name this bazaar goes by as the only worthwhile information it had.
Now he takes a second closer look.
The people of the town would hold it on some occasions of the year. They held it when his semester started. and he remembered hearing that it's a bi-annual thing, parallel to the school's semester starts.
Jericho had seen this bazaar before, and none would come till some more months.
Tied between two tall poles, a large banner hangs for all to see.
His breath caught on his throat. His stomach does a funny flip.
It says 'welcome to Wigland's Bazaar, 2005'.
...
The alleyway felt like the only right place for Jericho now; dark and hidden. He felt like he would stand out too much just by exposing himself in that crowded street.
His shock brought focus back to him, and he remembers everything now. He remembers everything the ghost told him, and what she'd done to him. He'd been sent through time to a specific time, and he's not to be idle; he's a very specific mission to follow.
Find the Champion of the Claiomh Solais. The words boom in his head. The ghost's strong voice and expression imprinted on his mind. How could he forget?
But he's underprepared for this and he knows it. Just a few hours ago…
Hours?
Time might not be a concrete concept to him anymore, but the point still stands. To Jericho, it was mere hours ago that his biggest concern was solving a puzzle. It was mere hours ago that he's hounded by the school's patrol, on the edge of getting caught alongside Amanda. It was mere hours ago that he nearly shattered under the vicious judgement of a timeless ghost. And it was mere minutes ago that she'd ordained to him a perilous test, to which if he succeeded, a marvellous reward he'll receive.
But there's one tiny detail the ghost failed to mention.
The wizard presses his fingertips on the brick wall. He drags them down, feeling the thin layer of moss tickling his fingers, wet and smooth. But pressing deeper he could feel, very sharply, the coarse and sharp surface of the bricks underneath. Pressing any harder would surely make his fingertips bleed.
I thought it would be like any of my other dreams… He took his hand off the wall and inspects it, finding little flakes of the moss left on his fingers. This is very real. I'm actually—physically—in the past.
When he accepted her mission, the wizard thought it would be similar to his other dreams. Where he only sees the past, and later, as she told him, learn from it. But this is entirely a different matter.
Nearly 10 years to the past, no less, he thought morosely. He stumbles backwards till his back meets another wall. This one doesn't have moss to wet his outfit. When I asked for an alternative, and she told me of it, I did NOT expect this.
Jericho's eyes caught the main street, where the light shines and people continue their day uninterrupted as if a phenomenon that breaks all rules of science and magic had not just occurred. Only the wizard knew what happened. Perhaps in this entire world, only he knew what happened. And only he knows of his mission, and he can never tell that to anyone both here and in his own time.
The realization came like the first drops of rain on an unprepared man: he's alone in this world, the only one not belonging in this world.
It felt odd, wrong even, to be this isolated. It's as if man was never made to feel this isolated. It might just be true since what he went through broke the laws of science and magic, and shouldn't have happened to any man.
The wizard shakes his head suddenly. No. Don't think like that.
Jericho feels as if he has to move away from this dark alley. His body yearns for the light. As if staying here-in this lonely alley-would leave him with so little distraction, and would make him think.
Jericho rubs his eyes with the back of his hand as if he's wiping away tears. He had to do something. He needs to do something, anything, to distract him from the dark thoughts.
I have to do something. I have to start.
Light assaulted his vision the moment he leaves the dark alleyway, forcing him to cover his eyes with his hand. The sound of the hustle and bustle of the crowd enters his ear just as his vision slowly returns to him. He blinks, and his vision clears as well as the sound around him, becoming crisp.
Disorientating, Jericho noted when he studies the striking similarity of the details of the area as the one in his time, and the small but noticeable changes that make it different.
Real, he noted as once again someone bumps into him and even said sorry to him. His hand instinctively reaches and brushes his bumped shoulder.
Jericho feels he needed that retreat into the alleyway. That retreat gave him a much-needed breather. He's very nervous still, but he's fine enough to think and perceive his surroundings as sharply as he usually does. It was like waking up from much-needed sleep.
His eyes are nowhere to his front, rather darting from every detail around him to the next. Things are too unsettling for him to not be that perceptive.
He's not purposeless here. He's here in this alien world with a mission, and he forces himself to set his mind on that. As he walked, his mind scrambles to everything the ghost had told him of his mission.
'Find the Champion, learn from her, until you reach Lyonne-the sixth Word-which will save you'. Jericho repeats the Ghost's words, fearing he'll forget if but a second his mind lies in idle.
Jericho's lucky the ghost was straightforward with her words. The first part was to find, and he quickly realizes its more than just a matter of finding a correct place; the ghost never revealed to him who the Champion is. She wanted him to find who the Champion is.
As Jericho thinks, he moves his way through the busy street and has to make more than a few excuses and sorry. Slipping through crowds isn't recommended when one's so overburdened with thoughts.
Jericho can't understand what good would that do other than making his climb to the sixth Word longer, but he has no ability to argue then and even more now, not that there's no sign of the ghost anywhere.
He's alone here. The Ghost not even here. That thought crossed his mind again, so abruptly. Even in this centre of people and life, he felt awkward, out of place, not belonging.
Jericho shakes his head again. He slaps his cheeks with both hands just to be sure. Don't think about that. This is simply not my home. I still have my own home, where I have friends.
Focus. What little hint did she left me with? I believe she hinted that the champion was a student in Luna Nova. That narrows things down quite helpfully. And now he knows where to go.
The wizard turns and looks up, trying to tell exactly where he is and where's the closest way to the Ley Line terminal. He didn't visit this part of the town often, so he needs to go to at least some places he knew, a landmark to mark himself on a mental map. He saw a bell tower's roof sticking out of one of the buildings. Jericho knows of that place, Akko-at those rare moments they ran into one another in town-had shown it to him once in the past. Or is it the future? He couldn't be bothered to put much thought to that.
I have to be quick. Focus. Things won't be easy. I have to go to the Champion. She won't come to me on a silver platter.
Jericho makes the route to that tower, looking up as he slips through the crowd, the tower acting as his only guide.
Is that expression viable? Despite himself, the idle thought crosses his mind. 'On a silver platter'? Can it work on a person? Sounds cannibalistic. Shouldn't use it aloud before I'm sure.
Distracted by his own conundrum and by looking up, Jericho runs into a fellow pedestrian. He cursed himself internally and says his sorry, mentally noting not to ever have a linguistic conundrum in the middle of a crowd. As equally important: stop looking up to the tower and put his eyes to the front.
Jericho didn't do it in time, unfortunately, and another fellow pedestrian walked right into him and nearly pushing themself off balance. He only looked to the person in surprise, not by the impact but by its suddenness. Jericho was about to say sorry when he feels a sudden sharp pain on his toes. He curses and looks down to find luggage pinning his foot to the ground. He bites his lip to quench the scream.
"Oh my gosh! So sorry!" the person that ran into him cried. It was a girl's voice. Her voice was shrill with panic as she worked to take the luggage off his foot. She looks up at him, their height difference forcing her so, with a guilt-stricken face and dusts her luggage as she tries to round past him.
"I'm really, really sorry but I'm super late for school. I'm sorry!"
And just like that, the girl hurries to the opposite direction he was going. It was so sudden and quick he didn't get to say a word nor even see her face clearly.
Yet despite that, Jericho turns around, following the red hair that's hidden under the witch hat the girl wears. For some reason, his eyes are drawn to her.
Jericho quickly realized it's because something was wrong: her direction was away from the school. He was beginning to doubt his own sense of direction-wondering if he's the wrong one and she right-until the girl stops on her tracks. Even with her back turned to him, body language was enough to tell she's hesitant.
Oh, she doesn't seem to know the way. Looks like I'm the right one, the wizard thought in relief.
She turns around, their eyes meet once again. Jericho immediately got a bad feeling. She hurries back to his direction, trying to hide the urgency from showing in her gait.
"You're a witch, right?" she asks, politely but impatiently, as soon as she returned.
The wizard blinks, hesitant and confused, but he answered quickly. "Yes, yes. I am".
"I can tell from the hat", the girl says, pointing a finger to her own witch hat. A small, nervous smile makes to the edge of her lips, but he could tell it was more for politeness than her finding genuine joy at the moment. "Are you from around?" she asks hastily.
"Yes", he answered simply, not wanting to complicate things with the first person he talks to.
"If you're a witch, then you must know of witch places around", she says. He tries to argue against that, but the girl quickly follows up. "I'm a student at Luna Nova. I need to go there but I'm completely lost!"
If you're a student then how are you lost? he thought. The girl, as if having mastered mind-reading spell, answered that question.
"Look I've been away for too long and I forgot the way to my own school from this part of town. So do you know?"
Jericho looks surprised but he understood. "I was just going there myself. You're lucky".
The girl was equally surprised. "Really? Lucky! But what are you doing there?"
"Oh, I'm actually a student there".
The girl's expression turns to a frown. She instantly looks upset. "Oh very funny, making fun of the dumb, forgetful girl! I'm in a hurry so if you don't know the place then stop wasting my time!"
Her outburst startled him. But more importantly, he was greatly confused by her words.
And it hit him in the head just then. The year's 2005—nearly 10 years before any wizard ever enrolled in Luna Nova.
The idea that Jericho's a student there is absurd. It would've been a good joke if the person he's talking to isn't in a dire urgency.
He's managed to bury his own grave in the first few seconds here. Outstanding move.
"Ah, right. Wrong timing" he says guiltily. The wizard cleverly judged it's better to just go with what she thought he was doing. But still, a twist is needed. "I meant to say my sister's there. And that I've been there visiting".
Deep down he cursed. An avenue has been closed to him; he won't be allowed into the school, not for 10 more years. He has to find another way inside.
The girl's face lightens up. It was almost literally, with the way her eyes shine with hope. "Really? Then you know the way?"
And he just found the way.
Jericho nods. "I do, and I can take you there". The girl might've mistaken his smile for politeness, but for him, it's the satisfaction of figuring out a problem.
He wouldn't want to miss this opportunity. What a stroke of luck that this random girl came to him! Surely she doesn't realize she's doing a great service to him than the opposite.
Without further question, Jericho turns and walks to the direction of his school. "You're late, are you? Terribly or just normal late?" he asks.
The girl flashed a quick, grateful smile before she follows behind him. "It could turn to 'terribly' any minute now. It's an important event I can't miss". She grimaces, but she definitely seems more relaxed now that he's on her side.
Jericho had to suppress a feeling of guilt for taking advantage of her.
But why, he asks himself, did I feel guilt in the first place? I'm actually helping her and do no harm in substracting from it my boon.
And second, but perhaps most importantly, this is a random stranger girl in a random point in time.
Slowly, surely, that second fact infects Jericho's way of thinking. But before it could take hold further, he's interrupted when he noticed the girl moving her luggage from her hand and to the one already occupied by her broom. She uses her newly freed hand to offer him a handshake. "I'm Chariot, by the way".
Jericho glances at the girl and the offered hand, and he seemed to pause for a second, thoughtful. "Pleasure to meet you", he says and briefly shakes her hand. "But now's not the time to be exchanging that. We're late!"He stops the shaking and reaches to the luggage carried haphazardly with her broom. "I can't leave you carrying all this alone".
The girl notices his unusual reaction but hands him the luggage without hesitance anyway. She must've agreed with him. It surprised the boy at how easy she does so, having expected her to at least show some resistance or suspicion.
"The terminal's this way", he says as he turns to focus on the road and crowd again. If he could, he'd rather not waste his energy thinking about the unnecessary details of a stranger he just met.
Remember. You're just a visitor here, a traveller, Jericho tells himself. No need to invest myself too much to these people.
He somewhat felt a bit guilty when he realizes he already forgot the girl's name.
More important than that, I need to think about my name if I want to sound convincing. I didn't think of that earlier. And I should be cautious with my own details. I need to be someone else here, not Jericho the wizard student of Luna Nova.
Jericho's thankful he remembered this part of town quickly. Soon the tip of the Glastonbury Tor appears in the top of the maze of rooftops around them.
"Good!" He hears the girl say. Jericho turns around caught the girl in the process of mounting her broom.
"You're that late, huh?" The wizard says, hanging her luggage to the front of her broom.
"Okay", the girl says. "Let's see if this…"
The girl kicks off the ground. She doesn't float for more than two seconds, much to his confusion.
A look of horror takes her face as she lands on the ground for the third time. "Agh, I can't fly!" She cries. "There's too little magic this far away from the Ley Line!"
Jericho watches her distress in amusement. He places a hand on the broom, thoughtfully looking at it.
"I can help", he says.
The girl scooches back as the wizard mounts the broom in front of her. Following him, she kicks off the ground at the same time. Without apparent difficulty, Jericho manages to keep the broom afloat.
The girl seems shocked. "Wha— how? There's no Ley Line branch anywhere near these streets!"
"I'm accustomed to working with small amounts of magic", Jericho says matter of factly. That's my only saving grace, he thought but not dare say. "I'll help you keep this thing afloat till the Ley Line and maybe even through since you probably forgot where to exit inside the Ley Line as well". Jericho received no response for that jest. He's no idea if it's because it was ill timed or he accidentally guessed right.
In any case, the truth is Jericho only has enough magic to reach the Ley Line terminal. He's confident enough to fly her now only because he'll be alright once he arrives there, as the abundance of magic a Line provides will take care of his shortcomings. And thankfully, after the exit and till the entrance the Line is still strong. Even running out of magic by then would be fine.
The wizard begins their ascent, earning a few surprised and curious looks from passersby. He carefully steers the broom over the rooftops until they're well above any buildings around. Silently, he draws a deep breath.
He'd kept a confident face in front of the girl, but now facing away, he shows what he truly feels: nervousness.
Concentrate, he keeps telling himself. You can do this. You have to do this. To Jericho, the silent prayer meant more than just for his broom riding.
He makes sure to reaffirm his grip occasionally, a habit Amanda told him very useful for a broom rider. It made sure the grip isn't too tight that the palms start to sweat; a sweaty palm creates an uncomfortable grip, and an uncomfortable grip is a weak and treacherous grip.
The wooden handle of the broom felt nice with its recent polish. Despite its unremarkable build, this is a well-kept broom, indicating—at the least of it—a caring owner.
The two traverses the Ley Line in surprising quiet. Without having control of the broom, the girl named Chariot could do nothing but stare tensely at the Ley Line's green landscape in silence. Her nervous energy from before seemed to have run out. Jericho can't imagine how anxious the girl might feel. He thinks its childish and silly, but he's still scared of being late to school.
Jericho could say something to her, make her less tense. His eyes dart around the green landscape as if he'll find a clue of what to say to the girl alongside the Line's exit. But he stops himself almost immediately. He shakes his head and forces his eyes ahead.
Don't bother, you idiot. You have your own problems to be depressed about.
Instead of using his energy to think about others, Jericho uses it to remind himself, repeatedly and intensely, of the Ghost's words to him, trying his hardest to recall any forgotten details or hints. He feared an idle mind might forget.
The silence is lifted the moment they exit the Ley Line. The bright sun baths their vision before revealing the grand structures of Luna Nova. Up here from the sky, the impressive tall white walls and sharp blue roofs look even more majestic.
He can never be tired of this scenery, he can tell from the in-extinguishable smile growing on his face and the sense of pride in his chest. And it felt more rewarding now that he's up here using his own magic.
He can tell that the girl shares the awe with him. It washed away the anxiety from her heart for a good few seconds, but he knew she won't feel relaxed until she arrives in the building.
Much to the girl's confusion, the wizard steers the broom away from the front door's direction. He felt a question coming, so he answers before it even comes. "I need to bring you to the side entrance. The front would already be locked at this hour".
"Y-yes! That's true" The girl says. Then she grows quiet with uncertainty. The wizard once again senses another question coming. True enough, she says, "You know a lot about the school I'm going to".
"Yeah. What's the matter?" Jericho keeps facing ahead because he knows he's beginning to blush.
"How?"
Jericho's eyes search the surrounding as if he'll find the answer floating around in the wind. "I… uh, I just like history in general, and this place is one of the oldest schools for witches in the world".
"Wow, I didn't know that either!"
"Yes".
'Yes'?
"But for a second I thought you're going to say it's because your sister is here and you visited her before".
Oh, crumbs I forgot about that lie already.
"Well, that also".
I really need to be smarter with my lies if I want to survive.
The girl smiles. She leans forward closer to the wizard. "Hey, maybe I'll be friends with her".
"I doubt that", the wizard answers. He paused momentarily. "That you'll be friends with her, I mean".
A cold wind sweeps past them. Jericho felt the broom sway to the wind. It made him tighten his grip.
"She's… unsociable". Jericho paused, distracted. He pulls and steers the broom to find strong resistance, the wooden handle indignant against his hands. "And… a bit difficult".
Strong wind. I didn't realize it'll be strong enough to waver my steering.
Jericho reaffirms his grip repeatedly as sweat begins to build up under his grip. He breathes in deeply and begins the downward descent with the broom. The weight of the broom is unusually strong, stronger than he remembered. So he judged he should partially glide the broom instead of float it.
The red haired girl had continued talking, but he lost her long ago. All he could tell was she's unaware of the difficulty going on.
Jericho doesn't let fear take over him. Fear would only weigh him down. Amanda reminded him of that every time. Is that why she always seemed so fleet and courageous every time she held the broom?
The wizard focuses on the broom and the broom only. In, out, in out. He breathes with tempo. In, out, in, out—
Something shook in Jericho.
Literally, he felt something shake in him. Like a chill or a tremor running from the length of his spine and so far it goes into the broom as well. It made him shudder, and that itself is like an aftershock to that tremor.
Jericho recognized that feeling. He felt it once or twice when he practised the broom. But what was it, exactly?
He turns his head around, staring at the exit of the Ley Line hanging in the sky. More specifically, he's studying their distance from it.
No, it can't be the Ley Line being too far. It connects from its exit to the….
His gaze drifts away from the Ley Line exit.
To the front gate...
Jericho's eyes land to the front gate of the academy, which lies a fair distance away from where they are: the route to the eastern gate-the gate with the weakest Ley Line among all of Luna Nova gates.
His breath caught in his chest.
This is the reason for that tremor inside him. It's like having his controller plugged off from the game system. In fact, it's a perfect comparison, as he can no longer feel his magic on the broom, and felt zero control on the vehicle.
He'd used all his magic to ride from the town to the wizard's face goes white. He miscalculated.
"Oh… oh no", he mutters quietly. The thought of bringing this up to the sweet girl and seeing her horrified reaction terrifies him at first, but the idea of falling to their death terrifies him even more.
He recognizes a bad situation when he sees one.
"Oh God. H-hey", he says, making himself loud and heard. "We have to land—".
Jericho's controlled glide turns to a plummet for a fraction of a second, but it's enough to make the two loose balance.
The girl tightened her hold and yelped. "Whoa! What are you doing?"
Jericho found himself struggling for the words. "I… this is too far from the Ley Line somehow! Even further than in—" he didn't get to finish as they dip again. He violently tries to keep the broom stable, but the sudden change of motion made Chariot's luggage-which was hanging on his front-churn and slide off the broom.
Driven purely on reflex, Jericho reaches out with his hand to catch the luggage as it falls. He caught it in a good grip. It won't slip off his fingers.
"Got it!", the wizard exclaimed in relief. "That was-"
Jericho is suddenly and violently yanked down as the luggage falls and he has to bear the entire weight. He's outstretched when he caught it, leaving him in terrible balance. The wizard instantly lost grip on the broom and was pulled off the broom by the luggage's weight.
Jericho plummets towards the treetops and every instinct in him screamed, shocking his whole body awake.
Jericho twists in air and looks back up and found the broom and the girl no longer above him. His mind was screaming with questions and searching for solutions when he hears something fast approaching from his side.
It was the girl, Chariot, riding the broom with deft precision and swift speed, intending to break his fall. She catches him with the back end of the broom.
Jericho lands on the broom, stomach hitting the wooden handle hard, breaking his fall while his hands and legs dangle to the side. The impact burnt his stomach and sent air out of his lungs.
Her excessive speed was to blame in the pain but had she gone slower, she would've missed him completely.
This one is skilled with the broom.
"That was incredible!" He exclaimed, gaping, pain and shock forgotten. "You're amazing!".
But the girl doesn't reply with the same look of relief. She remains panicked, eyes full of fear and transfixed ahead.
"We're not safe yet!" she yells.
The wizard realizes their descend hasn't stopped. The girl had no more luck than him; the lack of magic around made her unable to raise the broom, her own reserve already spent for that quick burst of speed. She had to be quick to save him, but now her speed might doom them both.
Author's Greetings:
Finally delivered! This chapter existing in front of your eyes should be prove that my matters have been settled, and a mildly lengthy weeks of relaxation follows. And I plan to fill those days with writing the next chapters. They excite me, because I've been having so much fun with the ideas I have for them, and the entire story, lately. Influencing this excitement is the wealth of new writing techniques I'm starting to learn that I want to implement.
I've been reading a lot lately on novels. People always say that the best way to learn how to write, aside from practicing writing, is reading other people's good works. And so I did just that, buying myself a copy of the Way of Kings and binge reading it for nights.
I'm starting to find the truth to that advice, and find myself more and more influenced by Brandon's (the writer, if you're wondering) way of writing. The one thing I try to imitate from him, that I think is a marvellous way of writing character, is how his character bleeds his own views and personalities into the narrative.
Imitated in this chapter is how Amanda comes to the narrative numerous times when Jericho starts to ride the broom. If it was any character other than him, Amanda won't have such influence in the narration on those parts.
Mine doesn't hold a candle to Brandon's work, but I'm working hard to imitate his fluidity. This way of writing excites me, and you'll see me trying to keep learning from Brandon and implement it in my writing, perfecting it.
Back to the chapter.
So there were a lot of challenges writing this chapter and the many next because of the lack of canon information I can gather about this time in the show. The years I show are at best guesses and assumptions; the Terio Teri comics stated Akko enrolled in 2014 but I doubt its canon-ness, and I also have vague memory of how far of a gap Chariot and Croix's school years with Akko's, or their respective ages in general. So do take the years and such with leniency and don't flame me if I get something wrong lol.
Also a stupid challenge is me trying to imitate Erased's (boku dake ga inai machi) visual effect where the anime would go cinematic wide-screen mode when the character is in the past. Yes, that lengthy internal pondering in the early parts of the chapter where Jericho kept on and on about how grey the world is is me trying my best to establish that. Let me repeat: I want you, when Jericho is in this past, to imagine as if you're watching a movie or an anime in a narrow, black-barred widescreen mode. Cinematic! I know! Silly for me to have a hard time sending this message across! Writing skills 10000.
Anyway, I wanna mention and celebrate the fact that my buddy RomanViking had decided to update his Little Wizard Academia again, after so long of hiatus! Hurrah! The prodigal son returns with the OG non-ripoff version of Wizard in Time. I deeply recommend giving his fanfic a read because its no exageration that I started writing at all because I read his fanfic and got so much idea and hype and inspiration from it and him. Cool dude. Read his work.
Ahem, lastly, this is a short one because it was originally a 10,000 word one that I decided to divide, and I found a cliche cliffhanger like one you just witnessed to be, sadly, the safest part to cut the chapter in half.
But because of that, more will follow soon! So stay tuned nerds.