When Magic Was Discovered

Chapter Ten

Graham opened his eyes to see the large Spellbinder standing before him. The man was covered in white magic energy. To his surprise, the area around them was an empty space of darkness.

"Where are we? Why are you doing this?" Graham demanded.

"I do this because it is what magic asks of us. Convert those who see the false magic, and let them see the true purpose."

"I know what magic's purpose is. It is to bring the world back to a peaceful place, where there is no extremes, even for the magicless!" Graham stated.

The Spellbinder chuckled. His belly jiggly wildly. "Only our magic can bring peace. Everyone must convert."

Graham gritted his teeth. He wasn't sure where he was or why it was happening. A flash of light interrupted his thought process. Suddenly, Acetto appeared next to Graham.

"Acetto? How and why are you here?"

"I came because I felt Verae's mental conversion magic being used again. It's been quiet sometime eh, Verae? You've gotten so rusty, Graham and I are able to use magic manifestation too."

Graham blinked a few times. Mental conversion magic must have been what converting was.

"Bah! The mysterious prophet graces me. Are you still thinking like the grays?" Verae muttered.

"You took what I presented to Spellbinders and turned it into something it isn't. Magic...it's so different now than it was back then."

Graham wasn't sure how Acetto could have been around during the times when magic was still new. He wasn't sure if it was figurative or if Acetto had figured a way to use magic to never age. There were so many levels to magic that were still unknown to everyone.

"The council respects what you did in the past, but we have no forgotten your attacks. You and that dark haired one."

Acetto smirked and looked to Graham. "It is true, I used to try and correct my mistakes with violence, but I can tell you I have not killed anyone of them."

Graham felt the same level of comfort he did before with Acetto. "I believe you. I...felt betrayed when I learned you had your hands in the White Magic Spellbinders upbringing."

"I mistake I hope you and other grays can correct. I've done what I can."

Graham stood up. The darkness below his feet felt as solid as any ground or flooring he had ever stepped on. "So this is...in my mind?"

"Sort of. It's the magical representation of what Verae is doing to your mind. Don't mind the endless darkness around. That isn't empty head space or anything."

"Hmm...so what do I do?" Graham asked as he observed around him. The endless abyss didn't bother him. At this point, he knew anything was possible with magic. His threat was the obvious one: Verae.

"We fight his magic with our own."

Graham looked to his hands. They were already coated in the gray blue energy. Acetto continued, "Remember the basics. That should be well enough to fend this guy from turning you into a brainwashed shell."

Acetto's words explained why the people that had no magic looked so miserable, but continued to stick around. They were just shells of their former selves. They had no willpower to be able to leave.

The farmer boy readied himself. His body felt light. He could tell that it wasn't actually him there, but his consciousness controlling magic to appear there. "This is strange, but I will do whatever it takes to stop him from converting me."

Acetto nodded and readied himself next to Graham. Magic erupted from Acetto's hands.

Verae chuckled. "You both are fools." White magic began to flow from the large Spellbinder's body. The energy particles began to creep towards Graham and Acetto.

"Why am I seeing his magic as white? Wasn't it a viewpoint on how you see magic?" Graham asked Acetto.

"This is his attack on your mind. It'll appear as he wants it, because he is in control right now. But as you can tell, our own is still the ordinary gray."

Graham looked to his own magic and Acetto's. It stayed gray with streams of blue through it. "I am glad I can have that at least," he replied.

"Enough!" Verae shouted. The creeping white magic lunged towards the two. Graham brought a shield around him. This time, the shield completely surrounded him.

Verae frowned. "Didn't expect to see you fight back so easily."

Graham was surprised himself. Projecting his magic to fend off Verae sounded like a task that only well-trained Spellbinders could do. "I won't let you take me that easy," Graham replied.

"Well, we can't stay on the defensive, or we'll break eventually," Acetto stated as he easily smacked the oncoming white magic tendrils away. His hands were coated in bright energy.

The farmer boy stood up. He watched the strange white magic sink back towards Verae, and then begin to crawl back towards him. It reminded Graham of snakes slithering through the crops of his father's farm. 

The white magic lunged once again at Graham. The shield he had up stayed strong. Verae grunted once again. White magic began to build up more and more around the large Spellbinder.

"We can't delay, Graham," Acetto shouted.

Graham looked to Verae. He wasn't much of a fighter, but he couldn't just give in. He charged the White Magic Spellbinder. The tendril magic struck his shield with each step he took. The magic shield withstood each strike.

"Impossible!" Verae exclaimed. "No amateur Spellbinder has ever lasted this long!"

"Now's your chance Graham!" Acetto caught up to Graham. He waved his hands, causing massive magic waves to hold the tendrils away from them.

Graham reached the large Spellbinder. He felt energy building up into his hands. In one swift motion, Graham raised his hands. He was unable to contain the energy. Magic shot from his hands and cleared away Verae.

Acetto stepped in front of Graham. A smile was spread across his face. "I knew you had an untapped potential."

"I thought I was suppose to be more of a defensive, reading, feeling kind of Spellbinder."

"You might be. But in a manifestation of magic, you seem to be so much more. You're the kind of person I've been looking for all these years. Graham, you have the power to change what the world thinks of magic."

Graham looked up to Acetto. "You think so?"

Acetto nodded. He looked around to the nothingness around them. "Looks like our time is running out now. You've dealt with the problem, so your mind is ready to wake up from the attack. But trust me Graham. There may be a lot of unknowns to magic, but I think you might be the a stepping stone in the right direction. You could be a key role into getting the Dispersion to stop fighting Spellbinders, and vice versa."

"That's my hope. I maybe new to magic, but I'd hate for innocent people to get hurt. My father needs to see it's not all bad out here...even if there are some extremes, like Verae."

"There will always be people like that, but let's hope we can continue to work towards a unified magic."

Before Graham could reply, Acetto vanished from the blackness. It was time to wake up. Graham only hoped things were well on the other side.