The Magicians' Realm Chapter 14: Blood and Water, a yu-gi-oh fanfic

Chapter 14, everybody! In which we get ready to meet some new people….The Gypsians are partially based on the Gyptians from His Dark Materials, by the way, although I wouldn't recommend the series (good start, slow middle, and entirely distasteful end, in my opinion). They're also based on the river gypsies from the movie Chocolat, which I do recommend.

Angiembabe, thanks for the review! Haha, I was wondering if anyone would recognize what they were climbing—not entirely sure, since they do use telephones and the like, but it's mostly wired like you see in older neighborhoods. And for an extra dose of irony: after writing that scene, I looked high and low for poles that resembled what I wrote—they seem to only exist in fiction, weirdly enough. It was—and don't worry, they get back down without a hitch. I bet—I got maybe five feet off the ground on one of those rock walls, and my mind said nope. I can't even imagine twenty-five feet, so kudos to you! ^^ And maybe, maybe not. :)

Fromtheashtrees, thanks for the review! Yeah….The good news is, this chapter is only half-mushy (we're developing, it seems!). I think all countries have those places that are weird to pronounce—around here, we start with Hoboken and then develop into some weirdo ones that you can't pronounce unless you're from the area (they're part of the inspiration for some of the town names in this story). Some of those places sound like they'd fit in well in Middle Earth, actually….And bleh—uncooperative weather. :P

References:

Original characters + setting © Kineil D. Wicks (myself, not the girl in the story)

"So what's your hometown like?"

Yami, whom Teana had posed the question to, tossed his head back and laughed. "What makes you think I'm not a native of Delvaire?" he asked.

Teana and he were walking down the streets of Delvaire, their eventual destination somewhere near the river—he was being purposefully vague on the destination, prompting her change of subject. "Everyone I know that's lived here all their lives has a certain mentality to them: Commoners are not to be taught magic, it's only for the Magicians. You come sweeping in teaching anyone who'll listen magic, so I know you didn't grow up around here, or in the Capitol—you would have been an extremist in the other direction, if that were the case."

"I have an extremely open mind," he told her.

"That explains it."

"It does?"

"Certainly—it's so open that your brain fell out."

"Ah."

They walked on in silence for a few minutes.

"I come from a little vale-village farther up the Ridge Mountains," he told her. "It's called Hallowven, after the first Head Mage Hallowen, who also came from there." He smiled down at her. "My sister, Emily Van Dort, nee Skellington, researched our family tree once; we're related to him, apparently."

"That must be thrilling."

Yami shrugged. "I don't find it all that fascinating—it doesn't matter where you came from, it matters what you do with yourself."

"That's a nice little pearl of wisdom."

"I have my moments." He tilted his head down towards her. "So what about you?"

"Born and raised here," Teana said shortly. "Had a very average life and worked a bunch of jobs until I met you."

"Is that a good thing?"

She tilted her head so it rested against his chest; his heartbeat was steady and comforting. "I'll let you know."

*/*\*

Yami had come home at noon, having blown through every single test the Administration had thrown at him. He had exceeded expectations in every possible way, showing that he was ready for the highest sort of magic they could teach.

Needless to say, he was walking on air. Literally, as another demonstration of his skills.

"Yami," his mother, Jenna, said, upon walking into the living room and seeing her eldest son walking around on the ceiling. "Get down from there. I don't want to be listening to the teleradio and wondering how footprints got on my ceiling."

"Sorry mom," Yami said, performing a mid-air flip and landing softly on his grandfather Skelton's recliner, popping it out into a sitting position and kicking back upon it. "I just can't wait to see what I'll be learning next—this'll be fun."

Jenna Montgau kept her thoughts to herself—she knew Yami was excited, but she also knew that the chances of the Administration teaching him something he didn't already know was slim to none.

She remembered when he was born, how she was absolutely certain that he would exceed everyone's expectations. After all, she knew that everyone thought Gregor Montgau had married into mud. But Yami had done so much more than what even she had hoped—too much, in fact.

Secretly, she feared that the Administration felt so too.

"Mom! I'm home!"

Jenna saw her younger son run into the living room, then float up to the ceiling, as though held there by static cling.

"Yami, let your little brother down," Jenna chided. "Gently."

Yuki landed on the couch with a bounce. "Cool!" he exclaimed. "Will you teach me that?"

"Maybe," Yami said, still basking in his own excellence. "I did tell you I would need a challenge."

"Yami, be nice to your brother," Jenna said, rolling her eyes as she brought two pails over. "Here—go down to the river and see if you can't catch some fish for dinner. And don't drown each other, please."

"Right mom!" they chimed—and then they were off, ready for a miniature adventure.

Jenna went to the front door—still open; the boys hadn't shut the door behind them—and sighed. Her sons….The most powerful Magicians in a millennium.

She sincerely hoped not.

*\*/*

"I hear banjo music," Teana announced.

"So do I; we're close," Yami said, steering her down a gently sloping brick road and through a small copse of trees.

The road opened up into a brick circle by the river, revealing a well-cared for dock loaded with rafts. Around the circle were various little camps with people garbed in sensible clothes with bits and bobs attached, milling about….

Yami was chuckling. "Easy, Miss Gardenier—what's gotten into you?"

Teana was clutching Yami's arm hard. "Gypsians," she breathed. "What are we doing here?"

Yami gently peeled her hands away, smiling all the while. "You're going to have to unlearn a few things Delvaire has taught you over the years—trust me: these people are just as nice and just as entertaining as the Masked Ones."

Teana glanced at them, then back at Yami, who was still smiling. It wasn't a cruel smile or a pleasant smile—she was surprised to recognize the emotion behind it though: gentle affection mixed with actual caring.

She slowly returned the smile. "So are you going to introduce me to your friends?"