The Usurper From the Wilds (Fanmade Rewrite)

Chapter 1 (Prologue)

There were seven chairs around the mirror chamber, seemingly thrones in the darkness of the room, with the exception of the light that the dark mirror provided. Why the headmage always wished to have meetings in here, the housewardens didn't know. One of them, a boy with silver hair and blue eyes behind silver-rimmed glasses, was tapping his finger against the arm rest of his chair. In his hands were multiple papers, his quill scribbling madly away at them as they waited for the headmage to make his appearance. The boy next to him was rather short, his hands folded in his lap around a pen and his face written with the expression that told that he was thinking very hard about something. The small boy's thumb rubbed against the red gem on the pen that he was clutching in his hands. A gold crown rested atop his head. None of his classmates were aware of the horror that he and his housemates had dealt with mere weeks ago. It was old news in Heartslaybul, and the boy would prefer to keep it that way. Nothing else of his demeanor gave the illusion that anything was wrong. Just the face of concern that went away as soon as the headmage came through the door.

Another boy's ears lifted in curiosity when the headmage arrived. He was taller, with dark skin and bright green eyes. Two brown lion ears poked from his long tufts of dark brown hair, and a tail poked from the back of his school uniform. He watched with intrigue as the headmage walked to the center of the room, looking around at all seven of the chairs as if it were an interrogation. The headmage then clasped his hands together with a big smile, changing his whole demeanor.

"Welcome, all of you! I am so honored to have each of you here for our dorm meeting and-" He paused, his lips pursing. "Wait a moment...one...two...three..." He frowned. "Goodness, where's Draconia?"

"Did someone forget to invite him again?" A dark-skinned boy with red eyes and white fluffy hair asked in concern.

"I thought it was your job to inform Lilia, Kalim." The boy with the glasses pointed out. "You let Lilia know through the Pop Music Club, and then Lilia tells Malleus."

"Lilia wasn't at our last practice. He had some former general stuff to do." 

"What about you, headmage?" A soft voice came from a tablet in one of the chairs. "You're the leader of the school. Why don't you ever let Malleus know about these meetings? You tell each of us. Tbh, sounds like poor communication on your part."

"Now, I've gone to great lengths with my generosity in letting you all run these meetings, practically. I'm giving you a shot at independence in running these meetings so that you'll be ready for the real world after leaving the gates of our esteemed institution for the final time!" The man in the crow mask said in defense, yellow-green eyes glowing in the holes of the mask. 

"Sounds like a lazy excuse to me." The voice came again from the tablet. "F in the chat for Malleus..."

"Who cares if the dragon's here?" The tall boy with the lion ears asked. "Down to important business. Spelldrive's comin' up."

"I wish we didn't have to participate in such a ruffian sport..." Another tall boy with fair skin and purple eyes sighed. "Pomefiore would be perfectly fine with just running a stand, but no, every dorm is required to participate for PE credit..."

"News flash, drama queen. That frosh in Pomefiore is one of the best new recruits in the club." The lion man snapped back, leaning back in his chair. "You're lucky to have him on your team this time. Stop wallowing about breaking a nail." He then turned back to the headmage. "This time, we're gonna win. Savanaclaw's got this in the bag. I assume we already have all the sponsors for the teams, and have been permitted the colosseum as our training grounds? We've got a bunch of new maneuvers we need to try out, and I'll show no mercy to-"

"About that, Kingscholar..." The headmage interrupted. "I've actually had a talk with Mr. Draconia about Spelldrive this year..."

The other man froze, finally sitting up in his chair. "Yeah? What do you mean by 'had a talk'?"

"Well, as we know, Malleus is a very talented mage, one of the top five in the world. And coincidentally, Diasomnia has been a powerhouse of a team for all the years he's been here. I didn't want a lost cause for the rest of our teams, so I asked him if, with his permission, I could just put him in the hall of fame and he could sit out of the competition to give the other dorms a chance, you know? And well, he seemed fine with the idea."

"'Scuse me?" Kingscholar's eyes narrowed. "Lost cause? What, you're just gonna tuck your tail between your legs and run? I ain't takin' a forfeit from him. I am going to play against Malleus, and I'm gonna win."

"Well the thing is, Kingscholar, there's a very good chance that things will just turn out as they did last year. And the year before. And the year before..." The headmage pointed out. "And, well...we don't want our students to be discouraged-"

"So you're holding their hand while they learn to walk?" Kingscholar scoffed. "Yeah, no. Crowley, in the Sunset Savannah, we don't hold the kid's hand. We get 'em to their feet, and they have to figure the rest out on their own. I don't want to win this competition because a stupid Dragon Prince had to forfeit to spare some babies' feelings. I'm going to compete against Malleus. And I am going to win."

Crowley sighed, looking around the room. "Anyone opposed to Kingscholar's proposition?" The other five boys shook their heads or didn't say anything. "Very well, then. I'll inform Draconia of the change of plans."

Kingscholar seemed to be satisfied with that, slouching in his chair again as the meeting continued to discuss other matters. There was no doubt in Leona's mind this year, his mouth going into a small, sly smile, showing a bit of his fangs as he imagined the sweet sound of Malleus's defeat.

He would be king of Spelldrive this year.

Malleus had no chance.

And no choice.