Nothing Of Note

Chapter One: Staff of Dreams

"The Staff of Dreams is the most defining symbol of humanity. It is a representation of humanity's potential for the greater good, or for unspeakable evils. Our greatest triumphs, our horrendous tragedies, every pivotal moment in human history can be traced back to the staff's chosen prodigy. Any and every person chosen by the staff is given the power to change the course of humankind. This fate is inevitable; no matter the actions of the individual, the world as we know it will change forever."

And there it was, sitting in a food cabinet, in the kitchen of an unnecessarily large mansion, with a teenage girl staring silently. Her eyes as wide as the moon, mouth slack jawed in awe. Finally, the silence is broken with a weak scream. "Elina!"

"Elliot, what's going on...", Elina's voice trailed off as she observed the weapon of mass destruction laying in her cupboard. Click! "Elina-what-no do NOT post that picture!" Elliot panicked as she spotted the photo tome in her best friend's hands, logging onto the MagiNet(internet, but magic). "Why not? RuneBook is gonna flip, just imagine when everyone at school finds out you're the prodigy!" Elliot smacked the tome out of her hands. "I can, and it's horrifying! And who said I'm the prodigy? You could've been chosen. It's your house." Her theory was met with silence that let Elliot know that wasn't the case. Sighing in defeat, Elliot walked towards the cabinet and eyed the legendary staff. It was surprisingly simple, with a straight cylindrical shaft and green cubic zirconia placed snugly on top. Were it not made of ancient arcane wood, the true staff would be indistinguishable from one made by your average craftsman. Bracing herself, Elliot reached out and grabbed the staff. The instant her hand touched it, flashing lights appeared in her vision. "Welcome to the Staff of Dreams user interface. Your current power level is 1." Three boxes appeared below this text box. "Spells, Techniques, Logs." Currently only logs were available to select, so Elliot reached out and pressed the box. "Elliot, what are you doing?" Elina asked, clearly concerned as her friend reached out into thin air. " There's a heads up display in my vision. It's probably projected into my eyes so I'm the only one that can see it."

The logs section had just one entry from October 23, 2108, exactly 100 years ago. Clicking the entry, Elliot was greeted by a hologram of a familiar, disheveled man: "For whomever finds this, I am sorry for the plight you have inherited from me. You may recognize me as Xanavier Quintiverius, the 78th Staff of Dreams prodigy. There is no doubt that my legacy is one of continental destruction, as I slaughtered the majority of the population and ripped entire land masses apart." "Well I can see that Elliot." "Shut up, this is important." "The Calamity was not my intention, and I have only myself to blame. I was too naive, thinking I could be the hero everyone needed. The hero Eria..." There was a long pause before he continued. "This log is a warning to my successor. Your life as you know it is over. When the staff chose me, Landon Mijlo was gone, replaced by the monster that stands before you. Don't try to fight that transformation. Embrace it. Maybe then, the staff will have a prodigy worth its power."

Squeak! "OH FUCK!" Smack! " I think you need a new extermination spell," Elliot stated, staring in disgust at the crushed rat on the center table. Suddenly, multiple alerts appeared in front of her. "You have reached power level 2." "Oh great, I gain power from killing things. What is this an RPG?" "Spell Acquired: Fire." "I just learned a fire spell. Yup, this is an RPG." "Technique learned: Bash." "The Staff actually had to learn that I can bludgeon things. Impeccable." After closing all the alerts, a sudden realization popped into Elliot's mind. "We have to go to school!" Frantically, she went to Elina's room and stuffed the staff into her closet. "Hey, I don't want that in my closet." Turning towards Elina, Elliot stared directly into her eyes. "No one can know about this, got it?" Elina reluctantly nodded her head. Grabbing her bag, Elliot continued. "I'll come back this evening and pick it up. Make sure your father doesn't see it either."