Chapter 1
charclone
Well-known member
Sla-Mori the one known only by Him
To august realms, the sorcery within
If you hear the call of arcane lore
Your world shall rest on Earth no more
– Wishmaster, Nightwish
To august realms, the sorcery within
If you hear the call of arcane lore
Your world shall rest on Earth no more
– Wishmaster, Nightwish
Philip tried to ignore the screaming from outside his room.
The eight-year-old boy sat on the edge of his bed, a book in his hands. It had been a Christmas gift from Santa, along with several other books, and a bag too keep them in.
He focused on the words on the page, as the screaming continued. His parents didn't get along. He sought refuge in the words on the page. They were an escape, they were safety.
To Philip, his parents outright screaming at each other was not uncommon, though this volume was. The topic this time was money, based on what words Philip heard creep past his attempts to ignore the noise. His father had bought booze, and his mother had bought makeup. Both without consulting each other, something that they hated. They also hated that the other wanted them to consult with them over their purchases.
He sighed as the volume increased.
He closed the leather-bound book closed, and returned it to the small velvet bag that held the rest of the books he got from Santa. Its external appearance was too small to contain the many books it contained, yet it held them safely, nonetheless.
Philip passed back and forth.
He paused when the shouting stopped.
His bedroom door swung open.
"Philip. Get your backpack, you're going to spend some time at your friend's house." His father said, his voice slightly slurred and a beer can in his hand.
He waited while Philip threw some clothes in his backpack. His vision slid over the velvet bag as it went into the backpack. The fact that Philip didn't pack any stuffed animals, or toys, might have been strange to some parents, but Philip's often didn't care what he did.
Philip remained silent, as he slung the backpack over his shoulder and walked past his father.
His mother ignored him to glare at his father, as he put on his winter gear.
Moments later, he was outside in the snow.
Philip walked alone down the sidewalk, snow crunching under his boots. Despite it being the day after Christmas, the sidewalks had yet to be cleared by the city, leaving him to make slow progress.
The Kato residence was only four houses down from him, but he made slow progress in the deep snow. Deep to an eight-year-old anyway.
He knew that it was not that deep, and that there were many places elsewhere in Canada where the snow was much deeper.
He paused at a sudden noise from a snow-covered bush. A fox stuck its head out of the snow to look at him. Philip blinked at it, before it darted back underneath the snow and bush.
He shook his head.
'Den was probably destroyed or disturbed in late construction work. Lot of that being done in the area recently.' Such a thought was perhaps more advanced and aged then what might be expected from an eight-year-old.
After what felt like an hour, but was probably only maybe fifteen minutes, he reached his destination.
The door swung open before he could touch the doorbell.
"C'monc'monc'monc'mon! Its coooold." The dark-haired child literally bounced as she held the door open. Aya Kato was slightly shorted than Philip, and his only friend in school. "Miracle Levia-tan is starting soon!"
Philip hesitated briefly at the name, only for a half second. Internally he winced at having missed something so obvious. Aya had been obsessed with the show, ever since it came out. Even now she was wearing a t-shirt with the main character printed on it.
He let her drag him in.
She bounced over to the couch, and sat, practically vibrating, as she waited from the commercials to end, before the title sequence would start.
She was also waiting for Philip to finish taking off his coat.
"So, what did you get for Christmas?" She asked him, still bouncing in her seat, as he hung the red and black coat up. "Mom got me the Levia-tan doll, and some new posters!"
"Giftcards from my parents, and books from Santa."
Aya had a strange look on her face at the mention of Santa.
"Books? He got you books?" She made a face. "But toooooys. Books aren't fun."
"You enjoyed Animorphs." Philip pointed out as he sat down. "Besides, I'm pretty sure you also read the Levia-tan books."
Aya poked him as he sat next to her.
"Not fair. Most books are boring. Like my mom wanting me to meditate." She pouted. Then she brightened. "Oh, right, giftcards! You can get toys with those!"
"Nope. Bookstore, and only twenty dollars total."
She slumped.
"Your parents suck."
Philip certainly agreed with that sentiment.
"I'll take you down to the bookstore later today." Aya's mother, Minori, said.
Philip flashed her a smile.
The Japanese-Canadian chuckled from where she sat at the table, drinking a cup of coffee.
Philip was certain she was addicted to caffeine.
"Ooh, ooh, its starting!" Aya cheered as Miracle Levia-tan's intro sequence started.
It was not to Philip's taste's, the theme song that was, being too to hip hop. The show itself was alright, if a bit pinker than he would prefer.
Philip paused.
'What was the last show I actually enjoyed watching?'
Aya groaned.
"I thought there was a Christmas special on today! This is just episode thirteen again."
Philip got up.
"Minori, can I check on your computer?"
"Sure, just don't touch my files." Minori said behind her mug as she drained it. "I'm getting another cup."
"Ooh! Philip was just out in the cold! We should make hot chocolate!" Aya bounced up out of the couch.
Her mother shrugged.
"Fine by me. We don't have marshmallows though, that alright Philip?"
"Its fine!" He called as he walked into Minori's office.
It was dominated by a large 'L' shaped desk. A pair of bookshelves held several law texts. Philip ignored them, he had already read their titles.
The computer was already on, and he simple moved the mouse to wake it up.
A few keystrokes later, and he had the information desired.
"Its not till four in the afternoon." He called as he walked out. He paused as something on the back of the office door caught his eye. "Hey, Minori, this fox mask is new."
"Hmm?" She glanced away from her coffee as she stirred it. "Oh, right, that was a gift for my birthday from my parents, back in Japan. They're upset that I'm too busy to visit, so they have started sending random knickknacks. Mostly to annoy me."
"You don't like foxes?"
"I like foxes fine, hence why I hung it up, rather than stick it in a box. But if I displayed everything they sent me, I'd get odd looks for my house being covered in tourist stuff from Japan."
Philip snickered.
"It's funny now but wait till I show you how many boxes I have to go through."
"They send me cool stuff!" Aya grinned as she waited for the kettle to finish boiling. "I got this cool wooden sword… what was the word for it?"
"Bokken." Her mother informed her.
"Right, Bokken, and a bunch of cute plushies!"
"That now have taken over half your room." Her mother snarked.
"Nuh-uh. Just the top of my dresser." Aya huffed.
Philip laughed.
"C'mon!" Aya started bouncing again. "Get your hot chocolate, and let's play something!"
"No running with hot things in your hands!"
"I know, mom." Aya pouted at her mother. "And I won't bounce. I'll be careful. And Philip will be too!"
"I'm not worried about him. He has more sense than three of you. Though, you do have more energy."
"Moooooom!"
That night, Philip sat in the guestroom bed of the Kato house.
Using a flashlight and the blankets over his head to hide the light, he carefully copied a diagram from the book he had been reading with a pen.
Once that was finished, he took several breaths.
Carefully, he followed the book's instructions, pushing a power down his arms. It felt strange, a tingling and cold sensation.
The spell circle glowed.
It was a simple spell. Used only to test if someone had magical power.
The spell followed Philip's will and formed a small collection of letters. They were blurry, and pale, but he could read them, nevertheless.
"I, Magus."
Philip's smile was wide enough to split his face as he read the words, and he felt a euphoric laugh escape him.
He could cast magic.
This world was not safe, but he could cast magic.
He stifled the laugh before it woke anyone, but could do nothing to hide the face splitting grin.
Something landed on the covers, and he nearly screamed in surprise.
"Philip!" Came Aya's faux wisper. "Whatcha' laughing about?"
Philip took his head out from under the covers.
Anya grinned at him in the dark.
The door swung open.
"Anya! Bed. Its late!" Minori stepped into the room and placed her hands on her hips, glaring at her daughter. "Let Philip sleep."
The euphoric feeling had not faded completely, despite the scare, so Philip felt a measure of mischief creep into his mind.
As Aya was led from the room, he grinned at her.
"Night Ayacado."
She gave him a look of betrayal at the pun.
Her mother snickered.
"Oh, that's a good one."
"Mooom! No, not puns! They aren't funny!"
"I should tell your grandparents about that one, they love puns."
"Mooooom!"