Story of Reality: Chaos (Book 1)

Sorcery

Welcome to Sylva, a world of magic teeming with mysterious creatures and ancient sorcery. Though now a realm of wonder, it hasn't always been this way. Once, it was a land torn by war between mortals and the Six Mages of Magic, each wielding dominion over one of the elemental forces: Reality, Chaos, Element, Darkness, Cosmic, and Draconic. These forces are the very foundation of Sylva, and they shape the lives of every being born into it. The balance of power shifted when Reality, the first mage, used her extraordinary abilities to absorb the six magical forces, unleashing them upon the world. But the magic was too vast to be contained, so Reality split it into fragments-granting only a small percentage of the population access to the raw elemental powers. Around 0.006% of people can tap into one of the twelve known elements, with Fire, Water, and Nature being the most common. However, magic is not limited to just the few. Most mortals possess access to weaker forms of magic. Cosmic magic is universal, though its power is modest, while Chaos and Darkness are harder to control, making them challenging for the average person to master. Some species, like mermaids and golems, can only wield elemental magic tied to their nature-water for mermaids and stone for golems. But enough of the world's history-this is the story of Luka Tadori, the second Mage of Magic, and the friends who helped end the devastating war that nearly tore Sylva apart.

Light filtered through the cracks in the hut, landing on a sleeping blond boy. He scrunched his face and rolled over, trying to escape the morning light.
"L-Luka?" A voice called hesitantly from beside him.
Luka blinked, rubbing his eyes as he turned slowly. "What...?" he mumbled through a yawn.
The boy standing by the bed took a step back, his gaze dropping to the floor. "It's, um... well... it's time to... go," he stammered, his face flushing red with embarrassment.
Luka sat up, his tired eyes softening as he looked at the nervous boy. A grin spread across his face. "Hey, c'mon, don't be shy. You're way too cool to be nervous around me." He stretched and yawned again. "We've lived together for years, you know. Just give me a minute to wake up, alright?"
The boy-Quinn-looked up, relieved but still flustered. "Oh, yeah, sure. I wasn't nervous talking to you... I was just worried you'd be mad for waking you up, y'know..."
Luka chuckled, tossing the covers off and standing up. "Why would I be mad? You're good, Quinn. Now, let me just get ready."
Downstairs, Quinn sat at the table, absently tapping his fingers as he stared at the wall. His mind raced. Did I mess up? I mean, I did just wake him up... maybe I should apologise again...
His eyes flickered down to the book in front of him, but the words blurred as his hand trembled. But what if he only said it was okay because he didn't want to yell at me while he was half-asleep?

Lost in his thoughts, he barely registered the footsteps behind him until a hand landed on his shoulder. He jumped, startled, and spun around to see Luka sitting beside him, smiling warmly.
"Hey, I'm sorry for scaring you," Luka said, patting his shoulder.
Quinn's face went red again. "No! It's... it's okay!" he stammered, looking everywhere but Luka's eyes.
Luka chuckled, clearly amused. "No need to apologise. But seriously, you don't have to worry about waking me up, alright? It's all good."
Quinn shifted uncomfortably, still avoiding Luka's gaze. "I... I didn't mean to make things weird. I just... I didn't want to bother you..."
Luka leaned in slightly, noticing Quinn's obvious discomfort. "Are you okay? Did I do something to offend you?"
Quinn panicked. "No! Wait-no, I'm fine! I'm not mad!" He flailed his arms in a desperate attempt to explain, accidentally knocking Luka in the stomach.
"Ah! Sorry!" Quinn blurted, his hands quickly hovering over Luka's chest in concern.
Luka laughed softly, putting a hand on Quinn's. "Stop apologising. Seriously, it's fine." He smiled, shaking his head. "No harm done, alright? Just breathe, okay?"

Today was the day Luka and Quinn had been waiting for: the day they would meet a Master Titan, one of the legendary sorcerers who had lived for centuries. Over two hundred years ago, sorcerers were known as Titans, some of whom had unlocked the secret to eternal youth. Today, one of those Titans would determine if they possessed the magic to attend an academy for training. Only the Titans, or the highest-ranked sorcerers, had the power to admit new students.
The boys were both nervous and excited, yet, for all their anticipation, they still found themselves sitting on the beanbags in Quinn's room, side by side.
"You know you're still not dressed, right?" Quinn glanced over at Luka, who was sitting shirtless, still a little lost in his own thoughts.
Luka looked down, blinking as he realised. "Oh, yeah." He shrugged, unconcerned.
Quinn pulled his hand away from his chest. "Sorry, I wasn't thinking."
"Nah, it's cool," Luka huffed, brushing it off with a grin.