Maginearia's Magic: Book Two Of The Cursed Series

Chapter 2: A Wand ✔️

I stand in the center of the room surrounded by the elders, I take one last deep breath and shed the white robe, leaving me completely bare for the world to see, I can almost feel my markings writhing in excitement and I'm too nervous to try to stop them. One by one the elders step forward and lay a hand on my body, leaving their blessing for the trip I'm about to go on. Their hands were covered in an unknown black substance that only the elders know how to make, so when they remove their hand, a black hand print remains. Slowly I have sixteen black hand prints coating my being, I step on the single large square of white marble on the floor of the ceremony room.

It glows as it registers my magic and my blood as that of a Magineara, I turn for a final glance at Agnes and Magnolia as the marble square lowers me into the relic room. Which was empty save for a beautiful wand that was so simple looking, when you think of the amount of power it holds, it was a simple medium sized cherry blossom branch that always had flowers blooming out of it, though the flowers were gold and released magic at the lightest touch. It was perched at the top of an altar fountain, where its golden sparkles of magic flowed constantly powering the magic in the mountain.

One would have to step into the flow of golden magic and climb the fountain to reach the wand, the reason why weaker witches couldn't do this, was to step into the flow of magic and not be able to handle it would overwhelm them and take their lives and magic to add to the power of the flow. I step into the magic flow and it parts like water for me, it is calm and I feel no intense magic which confuses me, but I continue on.

I climb the fountain with ease and reach the wand, I stare at in awe before I reach out to touch it, but before I can one of the golden flowers leaking magic, turns viscous and black. It chomps onto my hand and I let out a scream as I feel invisible fangs penetrate my skin, I feel the intense magic flow over me as the fanged black flower pumps it into me relentlessly. The magic is no longer a beautiful charming gold, but a shining metallic silver, it invades my veins like liquid fire and causes me to clench my teeth harshly against the pain. I know this shouldn't but somehow it feels familiar, like I've done something similar before but how could that be possible, this is my first time getting a wand, you can't do it more then once.

I feel the liquid silver magic flood my veins and burn its way through my body, I close my eyes as my body begins to glow a harsh blinding silver, and then I'm falling into the giant pit of magic that has all turned silver without my notice, I squeeze my eyes tightly as I wait for the harsh crunch of my body hitting the stone bottom of the fountain but gasp as my body is engulfed in cold liquid, I inhale water on my gasp of surprise and begin to choke on it and drown. I force my eyes to open and see my markings are glowing brightly, helping me see in the immense darkness I am now surrounded by. I start swimming up but flinch as a brilliant gold light shines from below me.

I look at it with confusion, when you're in water to get air you swim up, not down. I close my eyes and listen to my gut like Agnes taught me, and groan as it tells me to swim down towards the light, I'm running out of air and my lungs are gasping for fresh air as they fill with carbon dioxide. I blow out some bubbles of precious air in irritation before turning upside down and swimming deeper, towards the light. I see my eyesight dimming as I suffocate underwater, I reach towards the light but fall unconscious as the need for air is too great.

I inhale water in my strive for oxygen but it just wakes me up and I put my last reserved of energy into swimming deeper into the water, and then when I know I'm about to die, I break the surface and cough up water as I try to inhale air at the same time, I swim to shore and crawl onto it before sprawling flat on my back and just inhaling the precious air surrounding me until I've had my fill, and my heart has calmed, after I finish coughing up the water in my lungs.

I look around in awe, all the trees are different sizes and colors, I stand up and wander around in awe, strangely fine with my nudity. I wander for who knows how long, not really aware of the time. I wander around until I hear the most curious sound.

"Cawww!" It sounds similar to a crow but it sounds more musical, more delicate. I follow the sound and come across the most unique sight I've probably ever seen, there in the clearing was a phoenix, except this phoenix was covered in silver flames, its feathers the purest white I've ever seen and its eyes a piercing silver. Its head stuck inside a bramble of twigs, I approach it cautiously and though it tries to back away, its head is too stuck to move very far.

I approach it and as I near it, I hiss as my veins turn a burning silver, I push through the pain and free its head from the twig bramble, it makes a soft "Caw" Sound that was less distressed and more beautiful. I fall to my knees as the burning kicks up a notch and I end up sprawled on my back panting in pain as it escalates to feeling worse then I think getting burned alive would.

I scream out loud as my will breaks completely, then I feel a soft head nudge my hand, its head covered in soft small silver feathers, the pain completely stops as I feel it sheds tears onto my clenched fist. I sit up and stare at it, it stares back unblinking, I raise a hand and pet it softly on the head and it closes its eyes and pushes against my hand, making a purring noise in the back of its throat.

It makes a soft tweeting sound and I look at it curiously as it takes flight, I follow after it as it keeps on making that same tweeting sound. I follow it for who knows how long, not noticing how much darker it was where I was going, ignoring the immense feeling of foreboding that seemed to emanate from the part of forest I was entering. I was too focused on the silver phoenix to note any of my surroundings and finally the phoenix circled the area in front of a wall of fallen boulders.

Growing inside of the fallen boulder wall, was a small silver tree that glowed and sparkled before my eyes, I walked to it and climbed the boulder wall, until I reached the small silver sapling tree. I slowly touched its only branch and it shined brightly and then using both hands I broke it away from the small sapling with a loud 'SNAP!' that seemed to ricochet everywhere. A loud screech was heard and then the phoenix dived straight at me from the air and I flinched back ready to feel the sting of its sharp talons but instead watch it be absorbed into the wand and make it glow brightly, little crystals sprouting from the knots in the branch, inside the crystals, silver flames danced and twirled to their own breeze.

The very ground I was on trembled, the wall of boulders shook and fell apart leaving an opening, a cave, but as I fell, I expected to hit the ground, instead I went through the ground and into darkness. Suddenly I was flying backwards out of the golden magic fountain, I crashed into the wall harshly leaving a indent in the wall, the size and shape of my body. Somehow I landed perfectly on the marble slab and it rose up with my body broken and panting on its cold surface.

I was back in the ceremonial room and someone threw the white robe over my naked body. I looked to my hand and was shocked to see my new wand still clutched tightly in its grasp, I smiled at the small silver flames that were encased in crystals, then I promptly passed out with someone whispering sweet nothings into my ear.