Chapter 2- I Find out That I'm a Mythical Being

The dream started out normal, I saw myself, walking my usual route to school. Once I had passed the coffee shop though, I took a strange detour down a little alley. The walls were covered in colorful swirling graffiti, so I didn't notice the portal until the owl on the other side said, "Whhoooooo?" Of course, I thought to myself, this is just a dream. No need to panic over the fluffy grey owl wearing a scarf and glasses. An old man with a long white beard and a robe with stars on it came into view. The man looked like a wizard out of a storybook, pointy hat, wand and all.

He peered closer at me, leaning towards the portal. "My vision seems to be failing me," he rasped, "Are you a boy or a girl?"

"Um, a girl…" I scoffed, a little offended. He nodded once and continued.

"All right then! What's your name?"

"Um, Grace…" I replied, partially wondering why he needed to know my name. He was an all- knowing wizard, wasn't he?

"Good, good. Now you must come to Ravenwood at once, so that we may consult the book of secrets and find out what school of magic is right for you." The portal started closing, and the image got blurrier.

"But wait," I shouted, "How do I even get there?"

He didn't wait for my reply, the portal snapped shut and I awoke, drenched in sweat, to the monotonous beeping of my alarm clock.

I got ready for school particularly quickly that morning, eager to investigate the alley from my dream. I already knew that I would find nothing, but I was anxious none the less.

When I walked to school, I followed my dream route to the alley. The same graffiti was there, and the same swirling portal. I just stared at it for long while, too shocked to do anything. I must have been dreaming still. So if the portal was a dream, it was harmless. I relaxed a little. And if it was a dream, what were the consequences of stepping into said dream portal anyways? I stuck a hand into the swirling vortex cautiously, and the matter tickled my fingertips. This wasn't so bad… I closed my eyes and lunged through the portal, it was just a dream after all, wasn't it?

I opened my eyes to a new world. I appeared to be in some sort of an office. Books were stacked willy-nilly all over the floor, the desk, and the book cases. Brightly colored furniture decorated the room. A sudden "Whhoooooo!" broke me from my trance. I turned to see the old man and the owl standing beside a desk, both staring intently at me.

"Who are you? Where am I?" I managed to stutter. The old man grinned at me.

"My name is Merle Ambrose, and this is my owl, Gamma. I am headmaster, here, at the Ravenwood Academy of the Magical Arts."

"Oh…" was all I could say. Magical Arts? Yes, this was definitely a dream, so I just nodded and smiled, as if everything was perfectly normal.

"Come with me, we must consult the Book of Secrets" Ambrose said ominously. I followed him into a backroom, and felt my breath escape me. In the center of the room was a large glowing spiral, shifting and casting colorful lights across the walls. When I looked more closely at it, I noticed tiny chunks of land with buildings on them drifting through the spiral. It was breathtaking.

Ambrose walked over to a book podium and started flipping pages. He started asking me random questions, like my favorite season (winter, duh…), my favorite animal (polar bear, so fluffy…), what I thought was the most powerful force (I chose blizzard, obviously), and what I liked to do and how I spent my time, etc. He finally closed the book and smiled down at me.

"You have chosen the school of Ice," Ambrose said grandly. I just nodded and tried to look like I knew exactly what he was talking about.

"The school of Ice?" I said, grinning, "Aww that's great."

He frowned a little.

"Here, take these," Ambrose said, handing me a small brown book with a spiral on the cover, a shiny stick with a crystal on the top, and what appeared to be a deck of cards. "That is your spell book, deck, and wand. You will need them on your adventures." I just stared at the items for a moment.

"Um…" I tried to think of something to say. "Why do I need a wand?"

"To cast spells with, of course!" Ambrose exclaimed, as if my question was pure ludicrous. I nodded, trying to look less stupid than I felt. I gulped and asked the one question that had been burning at the back of my mind.

"So… Does this mean… I'm…" I gulped. "A wizard?" I wasn't entirely sure why there was a giant knot in my stomach, this was a dream wasn't it? Why would it matter at all if I dreamt I was a wizard? But what if it wasn't a dream… I pushed the thought from my mind.

"Most certainly," Ambrose stated casually, "I thought you knew."

I gulped several times. I set the items that he had given me on the soft rug, and raised a hand to pinch myself. I was finding this dream to be increasingly annoying. I pinched my arm, several times, but nothing appeared to be happening. Ambrose looked at me strangely. "What are you doing?" he said cautiously.

I sighed. "This isn't a dream is it?" I muttered, the knot in my stomach growing. Ambrose shook his head, his beard swaying slightly. I shut my eyes, wanting to crawl under a rock.

I was a wizard. A real wizard. This wasn't a dream. I wasn't imagining this. There was a talking owl eyeing me. I wanted to pass out. But maybe this wasn't so bad. Maybe these people would understand me; I couldn't be the only one, right? Anyways, doesn't everybody dream about having some magical earth- shattering experience happen to them? For the sake of my sanity, please answer yes to both of these questions.

Ambrose smiled awkwardly. "I'll have someone show you around." And with that, he left. Poof, presto, abracadabra, gone. Out of thin air. I had to learn that trick…

A while later (I couldn't tell if it was minutes or hours), someone poofed into the room.