Red Mountain Chronicles: The Illusionist

Chapter 19

       I was silent. I didn't know what it all meant. But  by the look on Mary's face, it could not be good.    
      After a minute of silence, I asked, "What's an Illusionist?"
      Mary stood up and began pacing the room. "An Illusionist can manipulate light."
      So I guess this was my wield. I had to admit, it was a bit... underwhelming.
  "What's so bad about that?" I asked. "I mean, the worst I could do is shoot light at someone and possibly blind them. How is that any worse than any other wield?"
       She looked at me. "I don't think you understand. Manipulating light is a very big deal. Do you know how your eyes work?"
      As a matter of fact I did know how my eyes worked. "Yeah they pick up—"
     "Light," she interrupted. "If you can control that,"
     "Then I can control what people see." It made sense. As much as magic could make sense. However, I still did not understand.
"But why did they put these on me?" I asked, glancing at my wrists. "Is it really that dangerous or something?"
     Mary stopped pacing. "Don't you get it, Elaine?" She yelled, passionately. "You have the ability to control what people see! You can essentially change how people perceive the world around them. And if you can control that, then you can essentially control people. And that alone makes you very powerful. And dangerous."
        Wow. That is a lot to take in. But it couldn't be that dangerous. Could it?
Mary must have sensed my doubt, because she answered my thoughts. "Elaine. This is serious. That's how some of the most corrupt rulers controlled their people. And many mages with this wield have committed serious crimes with it. Murderers. Things like this have happened so frequently that society has labeled light wielders as dangerous."
       I was silent. I did not know what to say. Having such a scary power. One that has harmed and controlled people... what do you even say to that?
       Noticing her extremely exasperated tone, she calmed down, bringing down her voice. "That's why they put those on you. They were scared of what you could do."
       I did not speak for a long time. It was a hard pill to swallow. This power... it went against everything I believed in. But thinking about it too much hurt my head. So I decided to change the subject to something a little different. "What do they do? The bands."
      "They're restriction cuffs. They're supposed to prevent you from using magic. And you can't take them off either."
      I let out a chuckle. A poor attempt to make light of the situation. "Is that why I feel like a truck hit me?"
      Mary grinned. She picked up the hint of humor I slipped in. Unfortunately, it extinguished quickly. "It's a side affect," she responded. "They work by draining your energy. Without energy, you can't perform magic."
      "Are they supposed to make you feel like this though? I can't even lift my arms, or stand." It honestly felt pretty pathetic.
       "No, I don't think so. They're probably just really big for you. Those were probably the only ones they had access to."
       "How long do I have to wear these?"
        She sighed. Sitting next to me, she said, "that I don't know. But I bet they're discussing it now. How they're going to handle this."
I nodded. If someone had the potential to commit all these awful things, I would be extremely concerned. But having a wield like this could not possibly mean I was guaranteed to do these terrible things, could it? But if this was true, how could I possibly prove people that they could trust me? As far as I knew, I had no proof. As far as I knew, the only way they could trust me was if I was wearing these cuffs.
"Do you trust me?" I asked.
Mary was quiet. Then she's responded. "I trust that you have good intentions. I can tell by your energy."
       I nodded. It did not really answer my question, but I did not expect her to either. Then we heard a knock on the door.
       "I'll get it," Mary assured me. She walked towards the door. She opened it, and on the other side was a tall girl with dark brown hair. She was my dorm mate, who just moved in a few days prior.
        "I'm here to grab my stuff," she muttered indifferently.
        "Okay. What do you need?"
"I'm taking everything. I'm moving dorms." Was it just me, or did she always look mildly annoyed?
"Oh," she exclaimed. "Why are you moving dorms?"
She glanced toward me tiredly. "Faculty informed me about you and I feel uncomfortable staying here. I asked for permission to move."
I felt a twinge heartbroken. I thought I believed Mary before, but those words just made this situation feel more real.
"Okay." Mary responded hesitantly. She looked like she wanted to say something to her but was biting her tongue. "Sure come in." She opened the door wider. She walked into the room, taking small and tentative steps, her arms hanging straight down her sides... but that's how she always walked.
"Why's it so dark in here?" She asked, barely conveying any emotion. She walked towards the torch nearest to her, causing a yellow flame to erupt from it before immediately settling down.
"No reason," Mary responded.
Sighing, my former dorm mate, whom I never talked to, walked by her trunk causing it to open, along with the closet, allowing all of her clothes to fly into the trunk. While this happened, she walked into the bathroom to grab her toiletries. When she was all packed, the trunk shut with a loud thud.
        "No hard feelings," she said. She then grabbed her trunk as the luggage cart rolled into the room, stopping by her feet. Putting the trunk on the cart, she walked out, her luggage following close, like a puppy followed its owner. Mary closed the door behind her.
"Well that was rude. She never even gave it a shot."
"Mary, please. It's okay." I was more concerned about changing the subject. I did not want to think about my wield anymore.
"No one deserves to be treated like this." Mary shook her head. A moment later, there was another knock on the door. Once again, Mary opened the door. This time, an older girl with blonde hair was on the other side.
       "Hello, I'm looking for Elena de la Vega," the girl answered, peering over Mary's shoulder.
       Mary scooted to block her view. "What do you want?" Mary asked, in a harsh tone.
       "I just heard word from school faculty. They keep us updated on everyone here at the school on their eligibility for certain guilds."
        Mary began to close the door on her, but the girl outstretched her hand to keep the door open. "I'll make it quick," she uttered. "It's good news."
         I could not see Mary's reaction, but I could swear she was glaring at her. Reluctantly, she opened the door wider. The girl let her hand fall, where it met the other hand. She clasped them in front of her. "As I was saying, we keep track on everyone at the school to choose who we invite to compete in the Opening Recruitment Tournament. You can only try out if you were invited by a guild. So, as co representative of the Thunderbird Guild, we would like to invite Miss Vega to participate as a contestant."
        Mary turned toward me. I nodded, and got up to talk to the girl at the door. I tried to ignore my head pounding as I did so, and caught myself by holding onto the door frame for support.
       "What do you guys do?" I asked. I was not necessarily interested, since I was not one for sports or extracurricular activities. At my old school I never participated in anything. However she has been the only person so far who has treated me with respect since the incident besides Mary. So I thought it was only fair to hear her out.
"Are you Elena?"
"That's my name," I answered.
She smiled. "Well, Miss Vega, to answer your question, we compete with other guilds by completing missions. These missions resemble what you will have to learn to become a Knight. Think of it as a crash course."
"What's in it for me?"
Her eyes widened. She seemed like she was taken by surprise. She must have never been asked this question before. "It helps you get admitted into Knighthood more easily."
"That's not what I meant." I honestly could not care less about becoming a Knight.
"Well, when guilds complete missions, they are openly announced. You could gain a reputation."
"And why would I want a reputation?"
She was silent for a while. "In tight situations wouldn't anyone want a reputation to fall back on?"
What was that supposed to mean? She couldn't be referring to my situation. However, now that I thought about it, she did have a point. As much as I hated to admit it.
I exchanged looks with Mary. Her eyes were squinted in skepticism. "And what do you plan to do with her?" Mary asked. "Use her so you can win some game?"
The recruiter faced her. "I can't deny that her assets could prove useful. The guilds, especially ours, are very safe and friendly environments that encourage mages to use their strengths and improve on their weaknesses. We do not promote prejudice or exploitation of guild members."
Mary took a step back, now carrying a look of disbelief.
"I understand your concern for your friend. Unfortunately it's against policy to automatically add you to a guild. However, we could invite you to try out as well. It's the best I can offer." She handed one to each of us. "Please think about it. We would look foreword to seeing you at the Tournament." She then glanced at me before walking away.
Mary closed the door. "Can you believe the nerve on her?" I did not answer her, since I was concentrated on the forms. It read:

Opening Recruitment Tournament

Congratulations! A guild has shown some deep interest in you. Because of this, you have been invited to participate in the Opening Recruitment Tournament, where you can demonstrate your skills to all the guilds. At this event, guilds can have a second look at what you have to offer, and you will have the freedom to choose out of the interested guilds, which one you want to join. The choice is yours!

August 25th
Red Peak: 10-8

You are responsible for your own Armor and Weapons. You are not expected to wear them the entire time. Be prepared.

Please fill out your information
Name:
Age:
Height:
Weight:
Wield:
Guild invitation from: the Thunder Bird Guild

Fight, to make them fight for you.

"You don't want to try out, do you?" Mary asked. I looked up. I could already tell by the look on her face that she had no intention to try out.
"I don't know," I said. She glared at me.
"You do know that they'll use you. They're only out to win."
"Win what?"
"The guilds are on a point system. That point system gives them special opportunities that help them grow their guild."
"Like what?"
"Heck if I know! What does it matter?"
I glanced at the paper.
"What's going through your mind?"
"It's just, she treated me like a human being. She offered me a spot." I looked up. Mary's face did not change.
"They do that with everybody. They're just trying to get you so they can use you. Forget what she told you. It's a lie."
I glanced at the paper again. She was probably right. Maybe they were hoping to use me. After all, with how people have treated me so far, what other reason would someone want me to join a guild?
"Okay."
"Besides, who needs them? You can gain respect on your own."
I nodded. Maybe.
"Would you like me to stay with you in case, you know." Mary glanced at my wrists. I knew what she meant.
In case I need help since my energy level isn't very peachy at the moment. I had to admit I felt pretty ridiculous needing someone to help me get up and walk around. But as much as I hated to admit it, I probably would need help. So, I nodded.
After all, tomorrow would be Tuesday.
Man. What a crappy way to start off a week. I had to step back and laugh to myself. I would have never imagined it would ever come down to this. A few weeks ago, I was normal. Now, not only have I discovered I am a witch, but one that people could not trust. And let me just mention this: so far it sucked.
And as much as I wanted to dwell on this, I knew my body was way too tired. I managed to get ready on my own, and climbed into bed.
If my wield caused this much of a ruckus today, I could only imagine what tomorrow was going to be like.