Red Mountain Chronicles: The Illusionist

Chapter 5

We eventually found my luggage which was surprisingly right outside the bathroom I had my mental break down in. At first I thought it was strange, but then realized it only made sense since there were other guides who would show the freshman (or whatever they call them) where they will be staying. Luggage was also starting to gather on both the outside and inside of the building.
The dining hall wasn't very busy but since it was lunch time, the kitchens were serving. The dining hall was a huge building that stood by itself north of the main building (aka the Commons). It was flooded with light from the windows which were on all sides of the building. What made it feel even bigger was the fact that, like the rest of the campus, it was covered with a 30-40 foot tall ceiling.
The food wasn't that extravagant, since school technically hasn't started yet. The main menu today mostly consisted of sandwiches. I couldn't complain, they looked appetizing. After we received our lunch we chose an isolated place to sit so we could talk.
We sat down and ate the first few bites in complete silence. Then I decided to break the ice. "So," I started. "What exactly do they teach here? I heard that there was something about sparring and knights, and I don't exactly understand it."
I waited for her to swallow, then she said, "Well, before we get into that I would like to ask you a question."
"Alright."
"So you seemed really confused and overwhelmed. I was just wondering how new this was to you," she said sincerely, with a look of curiosity.
"Well..." I hesitated.
"Yeah? I'm listening."
My face started to burn. I didn't know why I was so embarrassed. I finally said, "I never knew magic existed..."
Mary's jaw dropped, revealing the food in her mouth before she covered her face. She then shook her head and, with her other hand held up her index finger, ordering me to wait. She swallowed and said, "you've never done magic before?"
I shook my head.
"Like ever?"
"Nope."
"So you don't even know the first thing about magic?" She asked in disbelief.
"Am I supposed to?"
"Wow." Her eyes were dazed on me in awe. "Now I understand why you freaked out so badly. You don't know anything."
I started to feel myself blush. Now I understand why I was so embarrassed to tell her. I was afraid of this.
"So wait. Where are you from?"
"Rio Rancho."
"The other world..." she mumbled. She started to laugh then caught herself. "Sorry, I've never heard of a mage who lives in the human world. I mean, I know it's possible, but it's very rare." She started to speak to herself, pondering. "Well, that explains a lot actually because mages who decide to live here have to swear to never use magic as long as they are there. That way they don't get caught."
"Mary," I clapped my hands twice to stop her from digressing too much. I needed answers. "Human world? Is there more than one?"
"Well, I guess we can start there." She cleared her throat. "Yes, there are two worlds: one is occupied by us, and the other one is occupied by the humans. There used to be one, but us Mages decided to escape to certain parts of the world that lead to a different one, or we would create pockets of space leading here."
"Wait. Humans? Are you saying that I'm not human?"
    "Well, yeah." She looked at me like it was obvious.
    "So what am I?"
    She tried to talk around the food in her mouth. "I mean, I don't know you very well but you look like a regular witch to me."
    My heart stopped. What does she mean I wasn't human? I've been one all of my life. At least I thought I was one.
    She must have noticed my reaction to this information because as soon as she swallowed she said, "Don't worry. There's not that big of a difference between wizards and humans. Just your evolution and your scientific name."
    "Scientific name," I blurted out. "So I'm a different species?"
    "You're still part of the human family. You're just not classified as a homo sapien. Humans and wizards can still interbreed. Just like a dog and a wolf can still interbreed." It was only when she looked at me that she was just making it worse. She sighed. "Listen, you're not that different."
    "I'm different enough to be given a different scientific name!" I shouted.
      "Elaine," Mary started. She looked around, then back at me. "I know this is new to you, but you're going to need to calm down or else you're going to make a scene."
     I looked around. She was right. Some were looking toward our general direction. It was fortunate for us that the hall wasn't more full. I took a few deep breaths. "Okay. If I'm not a homo sapien then what am I?"
    "Again, I don't know you very well, but if you are a witch, then you're a homo donatus. It means gifted man."
     "Alright." Calm or not it still felt like a stab to be remembered that you weren't exactly human. I decided to move to a slightly different subject. "You mentioned that I'm a mage. What exactly is a mage?"
"It's any type of person or humanoid creature who has the ability to wield magic. Meaning you don't need to be a wizard or witch to possess it. Which is why someone like me can be classified as a mage."
"Oh..." I forgot she had a tail. "So, I don't mean to come off as rude, but what exactly are you?"
She looked down at the table and sighed. "It's ok. I get asked this question a lot. People think I'm a werefox but I'm actually a werewolf." She then took off her beanie to reveal a pair of orange, pointy ears which matched nicely with her red hair. I could understand the confusion. She did look like a fox.
"So you don't turn into a wolf on a full moon?" I asked, half kidding.
"No, we have this form, and we can turn into a wolf at will."
"Oh." Then realizing I was digressing, I cleared my throat and asked, "so, any witch, wizard, and humanoid creature is a mage by definition. What about me? How do they know I'm a witch, or a mage in general? I've never done magic in my life."
"Well, a mage doesn't need to possess magic, they simply need to have the capability of wielding magic."
"What's the difference?"
"Anyone can do simple magic, but not everyone's body can deal with the toll it has on them. If a human tries to practice magic, it can really harm them health-wise."
     "How does it affect them?"
     She squinted, as if trying to remember. "Umm.. I don't really remember the exact side affects, but I do know that even the simplest spell can harm them. Some can experience internal bleeding, heart attack, or even if it's prolonged they can suffer from extreme mental illnesses such as multiple personality disorder, and in extreme cases, death."
     I could feel the blood draining from my face. I didn't know magic could be so harmful to the body. And this school is going to make me practice it? What if I experienced these side affects? Or worse, what if I died from doing this? For the first time in my entire life, I hoped I wasn't human.
"So," I started, "how do they know my body can deal with magic?"
"They don't. However, a lot of it has to deal with genetics. If your parents are a mage, you're guaranteed to be one too. Do your mom or dad wield magic?"
"I've never met my father. My parents divorced when I was a baby. And my mom has never done it."
"Well, you must be one if you got admitted into this school. How did you apply by the way? It doesn't seem like you knew about this place before."
"I don't know..." then it hit me. Just this morning, my mom was talking on the phone about school. She must have been helping me apply. Which must mean she has some sort of connection. Just who is my mom really? I thought she was just a single mother who works as a speech language pathologist and went to Santa Fe High. But was she really what she is? Or was it all a lie? And for what?
"You okay?"
"Yeah." Why would she keep this hidden from me? Whatever it was, I couldn't worry about it now. "So, what is it exactly we do here?"
"Well, there are many professions. You can be an alchemist, a seer, etc. But one of the most dangerous jobs is to become a Knight. They take missions and cases from the Council of Mages that deal with protecting both worlds. It requires a lot of investigating and experience in combat to solve them as well."
"So like the FBI of the magic world?"
She looked dumbfounded. But then nodded. "Sure. I don't know what that is, but sure." The hall was starting to fill up with people. I guess he tours were finished for the day. "So, what is is like? In the human world?"
I was stunned at the sudden shift in conversation. I didn't know how to respond. "Um... it's kinda hard to explain. What do you want to know about it?"
"Well, how do they live their lives without magic? I can't imagine doing everything the hard way."
"They have tools and technology for a lot of it."
"Like?"
"Well, cars, trains, cranes, power tools-"
"Power tools? How do those run?"
"Electricity."
"Well that's obvious, but how do they work?" She was trying to make hand gestures toward me like I would get it. I shook my head in confusion. To mask her frustration, Mary smiled and looked down at the table awkwardly as she tried to figure out how to explain her question. "How does the electricity get into the tool without magic?"
"Ohhh.." She was asking how electricity works. It felt strange. I never needed to explain something that everyone seemed to know, but I did my best. She seemed fascinated by the human world and kept asking questions which I answered, and then vice versa. Eventually we got away from curious questions and talked about our lives. We talked and hung out the rest of the day. When the dinner bell rang, we both miraculously decided we weren't hungry. We got our schedules and found out our routes (we had a few classes together), and signed up for dorms and found out we were not too far away from each other. We walked up together, which would have been agonizing, but we were too deep in conversation for us to notice. I couldn't help but realize how crazy this day has been. I got transferred to a school, found out magic exists, and acquainted with someone who lives a completely different life than me (and she was a werewolf).
"So, I was thinking," Mary started. I snapped out of my daze. "Since you don't know the first thing about magic, and class doesn't start for a while, I could try to teach you a few spells. Just so you have at least something under your belt. They're not going to be anything over the top, but they could help you."
My stomach dropped a little. I had almost forgotten my fear of magic. I couldn't help but be scared, but then realized that she was doing me a huge service.
"Yes," I caught myself saying.
She smiled. "Alright. I guess meet me in my dorm since I won't be expecting anyone for a few more days."
"Okay. And your dorm number is..."
"369"
"Okay. And at what time?"
"Hmm..." She pursed her her lips and looked at the floor to her right, then looked up. "What about 9? Does that sound good?"
"Yeah, that sounds fine. We'll see you in the morning."
"Have a good night!"
And with that being said, I closed the door to my dorm, unpacked a pair of pajamas, and got ready for bed. Once I climbed into the bed I chose, and tried to fall asleep. I wasn't really scared anymore about what tomorrow would bring, but more apprehensive. It was exciting to think about all the spells I could possibly learn. It was also scary to think of all of the things that could go wrong. I brushed off the thought and attempted to fall asleep again. But there was still one thing that was bothering me: why did my mom decide to make me transfer now? I sighed. I guess we'll have to find out when I ask her. And just like that, I was out.