Wizard World: Tales from Mystic Academy

Ancient Magic and the Constellations

Chapter 3:

Ancient Magic and the Constellations

Isadore nearly beat Julika to the doors of the giant Mystic Academy building. It was a two-story structure, towering above most of the houses and shops in Evensby. The doors were painted a bright yellow color, and had swirling blue patterns painted on them, which represented the idea of mysticism that founded the association.

Wizards and mages at the Academy were of all ages, though most were between twelve and thirty. Chief Garzov was by far the oldest, and no one knew exactly how old he was. Many guesses had been made – most averaging around three or four hundred years, but no one dared to ask the impressive wizard.

Chief Garzov was waiting at a bar stool in the middle of the Great Hall. This main room was set up like a cafeteria might be, though in most respects, it was similar to a bar. Chief Garzov did not approve of drinking in the teachable setting, so he banned alcoholic beverages in the Academy. Many other leagues had allowed such unruly practices in their main buildings, but Garzov was unimpressed by the bad habits and negligent behavior often caused by such wayward activities.

"Girls!" The chief called out, smiling at Julika and Isadore as they raced in, out of breath. He was a cheerful man, shorter than Isadore, and quite protective of his children despite his strict habits. He was graying, though he had a lot of hair on top, and he had a thick mustache over his upper lip that was also a light shade of gray. "You're just in time to help me proof my match list for the magical tournament. It starts in a few short hours of course, but I wanted to have my best readers make sure there were no errors." The chief's graying mustache stretched across his face with his grin.

Julika nodded. "We wouldn't miss out on the opportunity to help you, teacher," she replied, with a slight bow of respect.

Isadore stood grinning at the chief, until she realized that she should show such reverence for their league master as well.

Chief Garzov shook his head, laughing. "You know you don't have to put on a show for me," he chuckled. "I practically raised you, and half of the people in this hall!" Having been the league's chief as long as he had, Garzov had taken in most of the magic users from a young age, especially those who had lost their parents, like Julika and Isadore. He instructed them in the ways of magic and helped them connect to the magical sources and powers that suited them and their personalities.

"Of course, chief," Isadore commented, "and you did a fine job with most of us." She smiled, feeling her normal sense of cheerfulness return.

The chief suddenly took on a faraway look, gazing away from the girls and out of focus. "Thank you, my dear. That means a lot to hear." Garzov shook his head suddenly, the girls exchanging a look of confusion. "Right, right." The chief handed them two different pieces of paper and gave them a very serious look. "These are the match sets for the higher class magical users," he said, indicating Julika's paper, "and for the lower class magic users," he added, nodding towards Isadore's paper with a fond smile. "I figured I would give you your best chance to prepare for potential challengers," the chief remarked with a sly wink. "Besides, everyone will see the lists soon enough, provided there are no errors."

Isadore took her sheet with grace, feeling a slight sting and being termed a 'lower class' magic user. It hardly mattered, as she could grow in power and become a great wizard someday, but she didn't have to be at top level that day. She just had to win her first match and maybe make improvement with the second match. That was all people really expected from overly-cheerful light mages. That said, Isadore was really eager to see if she could break the stereotypes. Especially after that stupid Henshi boy had to poke at her abilities and her pride. Maybe he was participating in the tournament and she would have chance to beat him up!

Julika pulled back a bar stool for herself and one for her sister. "I guess we should keep these two a secret from the others, though. Make them wait a little longer," she took on a mischevious expression. "Maybe I could bribe a few for favors if I agree to show the drafts," she added with a wink at her little sister.

Isadore rolled her eyes. "You are so wicked, Jules," she teased. "Maybe you should just join a band of Renegades."

The Renegades were magical users who had forsaken any league and were often trained or were training in dark arts, performing actions that the Magical Congress had deemed illegal. They enjoyed messing with towns and wizarding leagues and some of them would even kill for power. Freelance wizards and mages were similar; however, these magic users were considered legal, just merely ambivalent. Many of them joined magical associations as they grew older – sometimes they would form alliances with members of a guild and team up to save villages from monsters or other forms of havoc.

Julika snorted at her sister's teasing. "Oh, please. You know I don't fancy the dark arts that much." She chuckled in her low voice at the very suggestion.

"I don't fancy them at all," Isadore remarked with a shiver. "It's all nastiness and killing and the Renegades are usually a bunch of deranged magical users seeking pointless power. In the end, it will earn them nothing worth value."

Julika raised an eyebrow at her sister's profound words. "Well, my sister, luckily we do not have to deal with such problematic wizards right now." Noting Isadore turned towards her, she playfully turned her younger sister's head back towards her paper. "Instead, you have to tackle proofreading the match sets for the younger wizards and mages. I thought you'd be excited, given that you're often working on translating ancient magical texts," she commented, her eyes smiling.

Isadore did have fondness for reading ancient texts that dealt with light magic and lost arts. She was interested in discovering the old ways of using magic, which many had abandoned. Due to her love of reading, she had developing a love of writing too, and would often put pen to paper and create short stories to entertain younger members of the league.

So, she smiled placidly and turned back towards her inspection of the listing of matches between the members of all the different leagues across Giovanna. There was mention of many other magical users' associations: Enchanter's League, Magical Mayhem, Witches and Wizards World, Guild of Mages, Stellar Spirits United, Association of Enchantment, Miraculous Spells, Fairy-tale Foundation, Stars of Magic, and more. Isadore found a list of budding wizards and mages pitted against one and other on the field of magical battle.

The key was to win fights with your own magic talents without actually fatally wounding your opponent. For instance, Isadore would have used a disabling light blast, one that would knock out an enemy, but would not actually kill them.

The first opponent Isadore was set to face was another mage, this girl from Stellar Spirits United, which meant she would use Constellation Magic. Stellar mages summoned the forces of each constellation and called upon the unique powers behind each one. Mystic Academy's stellar mage, Lilliana Felski, had special items that retained the spirits of a few constellations, notably one zodiac figure, Scorpio. The item that represented Scorpio, a ring with the shape of a scorpion, was used to call on the spirit of the constellation, who could then fight for the wizard or mage the spirit was bound to. Often these constellation spirits would consider themselves servants of mages and wizards, but many magic users considered them good friends. All in all, most stellar magic users wore a lot of jewelry or carried around bags that contained the talismans that represented spirits of the heavens.

Due to her experience with reading, Isadore had learned about many magical users. Constellation Magic was not a type unfamiliar to her, and she was sure she could defeat this stellar mage if she played her cards right. Even if a zodiac spirit was employed by the mage Isa was facing, she could beat the spirit. Many of them were less terrifying than other members of the constellation family, including Hydra, one of Isa's personal favorite celestial spirits.

After scanning the list, Isadore was satisfied. There were no spelling errors, and based on what she could determine, the matches seemed balanced. More than satisfied, Isa was confident. There was way she could beat the stellar mage, and maybe move into a higher level of wizarding. There was always hope.

And nothing could beat hope.

Copyright BlackShadowDC, 2017.