| | | | I woke with a sudden burst of energy. I sat up right away, realizing that I was in the midst of darkness. I struggled to stand, but I could not. I couldn't remember where I just was, what I had been doing. I only knew that I had been sleeping, and that I defiantly wasn't dreaming. I had a feeling that I was moving, or being moved. Every time I got to my feet, I was knocked down again by some unknown force. I tried to cry out, but my voice was lost.
After a few long moments of this, I saw a light. It was dim, but it was better than nothing. I reached out a trembling hand to the brightness, and suddenly I was in a room.
“Why, hello there, young wizard,” a caring voice said. I could finally stand up, and when I did, I opened my eyes. There was a kindly-looking, elderly man there, wearing a purple hat and cloak, with an owl. “Who... where... why...” I said, but I failed to speak in complete sentences. The man put a hand on my shoulder. “I will explain, young wizard,” he said. “First off, Welcome to Wizard City! You did not know this, but you are a wizard. And not just any wizard either. You are a chosen one- we don't know why, but you are special, somehow. You have a destiny to save us all.” I slowly took in all of this information. “So... I'm magical?” I asked, regaining my voice. “Yes,” the man said, “Oh, where are my manners! I am Merle Ambrose, Headmaster. This is my owl, Gamma, and we are in a magical world called the Spiral. You are not from here; you are from a distant place where people do not even believe in magic!” I saw that my surroundings were a small room, but it was obviously full of magic. There were things moving with no one moving them, and there was a sort of odd smell in the air. It was a smell that I had never smelled before. It was the wonderful smell of magic.
“What is your name?” Merle Ambrose asked. “I'm Sarah. Sarah StormDreamer,” I said, not knowing where the words came from. I had known my first name, but I had forgotten my last. “Well, Sarah,” Merle Ambrose said, “You ought to be getting to classes, and getting settled in. Your belongings are already in your dorm room. I am sure that other wizards will show you around.” I started to go, but Gamma stopped me. “Ambrose, isn't there anything else young Sarah should know?” it said. “Oh, yes!” Merle Ambrose said, “Here is your spellbook, and this is your wand. Wizards duel each other, and enemies. Normally, wizards won't have to worry about enemies. But as the chosen one, you'd expect to, so be prepared.”
“And, oh yes, I need to describe dueling to you. It's simple, really. Your health is here,” he said, pointing to a spot on my hand, “And your mana is here. When you run out of mana, you won't be able to cast any more spells! If you run out of health, you will automatically teleport to the commons area. There are wisps, floating around. Blue ones are mana, and red ones are health. Collect them while you can! Anyway, to attack an enemy, just march up to him. You will be in a battle! There will be white things around you- those are pips. The more pips you have, the more powerful spells you can use! There are also power pips, which are yellow. Those count as two pips, but only for spells in your school. By the way, there are 7 different schools in all, even though there are only 5 school buildings; Storm, Ice, Fire, Myth, Life, Death, and Balance. Pick a school wisely; each one has advantages, and, of course, disadvantages as well.”
“Well you better be getting off now. But, one last thing- many wizards and others may need help. Listen to them, and the rewards will be worthwhile!” I smiled and thanked Merle Ambrose for the help.
I walked out of the tower, and gasped in awe. All around me, everything was wonderful. Green grass, blue skies, and many, many wizards. I started to head toward a place called Ravenwood, where Merle Ambrose said that classes would be. I walked there, and gasped again. There were 5 schools there, one for Storm, Ice, Fire, Myth, and Life. In the back, there was only an empty hole. Before I headed to a school, I went there first. “What happened here?” I asked a wizard standing nearby. “Haven't you heard?” she asked, “This is where the Death school used to be. The teacher, Malistaire, was a great death teacher. His wife, Sylvia, was the Life teacher.” The girl shook her head sadly. “But then, Sylvia got sick and passed away. Malistaire was furious and depressed. He made the entire Death school disappear!” I was shocked. “Wow,” I said. “By the way, my name is Elizabeth. Elizabeth GriffonBlood.” the girl said. I smiled. “I'm Sarah StormDreamer. It's nice to meet you,” I said.
I started toward a school that interested me- the storm school. While I walked, I thought about Malistaire. Maybe he was the enemy that I'm supposed to fight, I thought. I've been hearing people talking about it. I reached the purple and yellow building, and walked in. A frog wearing a purple top hat spoke. “Hello, there, young wizard! I'm Halestrom Balestrom, the storm teacher of Wizard City! Are you interested in learning storm magic?” He taught me the ways of a Diviner, and showed me some spells. “Remember to use a strategy wisely! And you can use Training Points to get spells from other schools, too!” he said. I thanked him and headed out. I decided that my two substitute schools would be Ice and Death. Ice, because it seemed “cool” (ha, ha), and Death because it had such a history! With the school disappearing and all, I couldn't resist.
I started with an area called Unicorn Way. I fought many enemies that others could not, and did many things for Wizard City. I helped anyone that needed it, and became stronger and more powerful along the way. I knew that it would be a while before I was a brave and bold Grandmaster, but I could dream, couldn't I? Eventually, I completed Unicorn Way, saving the corrupted fairies, and went on to more things. Olde Town, Triton Avenue, Cyclops Lane, Firecat Alley, Golem Court.... and so many more! There was always trouble everywhere, and I always did what seemed like the optional things first. I don't know why, but I felt that these people actually needed these things the most. Along the way of my adventures, I met many new friends who sometimes helped me out. But although I met many people, most of the time I went solo. I don't know why, but I got more done when I did it alone. At least, most of the time.
One example of a random friend is when I was walking along Firecat Alley one day. A wizard asked me for help, and I helped him out. He looked at me a second time, and then said, “I think you are my sister.” I was confused. “Your sister? But I don't even know you! And we don't even have the last name,” I said, concluding that his guess was wrong. “I know, but I have this feeling...” he said, then he shook his head. “Well, I'm Benjamin DragonFist, and I gotta go.” Then he went off. I eventually met some of his other friends too, but I won't get into that right now.
Soon, I got an assignment that looked tougher than anything I had done so far. I had to defeat Lord Nightshade, who would be the final enemy in Wizard City! I was not afraid, but I knew that it would be hard. I went to Nightshade's tower, and started to go inside. But I hesitated. I could ask some friends for help, but Elizabeth, who was my new best friend, was busy at the moment. The wizard that had said that I was his sister, and some of his friends, were also attending to business. I had no choice but to face him alone.
I walked into the tower, and marched right up to him, demanding a battle. “Of course, puny wizard,” he said, “But prepare to meet your doom!”
And we began. I traced the Storm Symbol, and a Storm blade circled around my head. Lord Nightshade traced the death symbol and a death trap circled around him. The next round, I traced the same symbol and a storm trap circled around me. Lord Nightshade simply passed. I had no idea of what to expect. I passed the next round to save up pips, and he used a deathblade. I passed the next round, too, hoping for something good. But, alas, Lord Nightshade showed no mercy. He cackled, traced the death symbol, and a coffin rose out of the ground. The top opened, showing a pale face with black hair and sharp fangs. The entire coffin opened, and the face was on top of a bat's body. It struck me and bit my arm. I screamed in pain. It had nearly wiped out my entire health, with the death trap and blade adding some extra damage. I was afraid. I was almost out of health, and I hadn't even scratched my enemy. A normal, smart wizard would have fled and come back another time. But I suppose I'm not a normal wizard.
Well, duh, of course I'm not normal. But does this mean I'm not smart? Maybe its a different kind of smart; a kind of smart that not only shows intelligence, but extreme bravery as well. Perhaps its a trait that only the chosen one gets. Either way, I was completely determined to take Lord Nightshade down right now. I wasn't fleeing. The next round, I found the perfect attack. I traced the storm symbol. Water appeared and the top fin of a shark moved around in the water. When it got close to Lord Nightshade, the entire shark jumped out of the water and opened his mouth. He fell on Lord Nightshade! After giving him a few horrible bites, he disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke. Nightshade was damaged quite a bit, considering that the stormblade and storm trap added to the total. But it wasn't over yet. Next round, Lord Nightshade did something.... well..... non-smart. He traced the death symbol, and a little corrupted fairy popped up out of the ground. Using the little magic it had, it made a purple light circle of pain form around me. It hardly did anything. All it did was bring me down to exactly one hundred health. I had a regular pip, but the next round I had another. I had the perfect spell to finish him off! I waved my wand, and.... FIZZLE! “NO!” I exclaimed. Lord Nightshade cackled again, as he started to make the move that would finish me off..... fizzle. Wow. I couldn't help but laugh. I tried again, and this time, no fizzle. A dark, swirling cloud appeared and three purple and yellow bats came down. Using their magic, they formed together and created a column of painful light to Lord Nightshade. He fell down, defeated. I won! “YES!” I yelled happily. I finally had defeated Lord Nightshade!
I quickly wrote letters to all of my friends, telling them that I had “saved wizard city.” They were all so happy for me, they threw a party at my dorm room! All of my friends were there, even though it made my dorm very crowded. There was my best friend, Elizabeth GriffonBlood, and the wizard who was supposedly my brother, Benjamin DragonFist, and then there were some of his friends who were now my friends: Wolf Darkshard, Nicholas Nightbrand, Trevor TrollTamer, Joseph IceHunter, and so many more! I was so happy!
Everywhere I went, people said, “Hey, look! It's the Savior of Wizard City!” I was a hero! But, of course, that was all. I wasn't destined for anything. I was just a normal wizard, helping to save the day. The “chosen one” business was just a joke. It had to be.
Boy, was I wrong.
I received a letter from Merle Ambrose, ordering me to come at once. I hurried to his office. “Ah, how is my favorite student?” he asked, smiling. But his smile faded. “I'm afraid I have drastic news,” he said, “There is trouble in another world of the Spiral; Krokotopia.” I cocked my head, confused. Why did I care about trouble in another world? “I need you to travel there and see what is the problem,” Ambrose continued, “For I believe Malistaire has something to do with it.” I was afraid. Another world? Without my friends? “I'm sorry, Sarah, but it is what you must do,” he said gravely. I walked off to my dorm room. It was simple; it had a purple and yellow bed, and a purple carpet. I had Storm banners hanging around everywhere, and my desk was filled with books. I knew I would return. I had to. I packed my books, and my secret diary in which I wrote everything in. Once I was finished, I returned to Merle Ambrose. “Go to Barteleby,” Ambrose said, “A door will open. Inside, you will see the Spiral Gate. Go to Krokotopia from there.” I nodded. “And, good luck, young wizard,” he said, “Don't take this offensively, but.... you are going to need it.”
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