I do not know who will read this. Hells, I don’t even know if this text will survive the fractures. I just hope that if someone does find this, it will be of use to them. The universe changed, became something new. We were alone before the Shattering, a fact we’d been able to confirm using a very extensive piece of spellwork. We had theorized about other universes but it had only been that, theories. We’d never expected one of our own to attempt to travel to one of them, especially not the Prime Calculator. His title will probably change after what happened, but to me, he will always hold that name. A title granted only to those with a mind that far exceeds the average, someone with the ability to change the Paradigm. He was never talented at the actual application of his work, but he was the most respected mind of our world. What he did, Concepts damn him, was probably the most genius spell ever created. It was also our downfall.
Excerpt from the journal of the Traveller, written about a year after the Shattering
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Melody had never been very patient, but having to sit through an entire day of school before she could begin learning magic had to be some form of torture. She had barely been able to focus on her biology test, though she was sure that even without her trying, she’d get a B. A bit disappointing when she could have had an A+ if she’d actually tried, but how was she supposed to focus on a silly test when she was going to learn to manipulate the very forces of the universe?
It was a small blessing that she didn’t have any friends, no one to brush off, no one she’d have to explain to that even with her stellar grades she absolutely had to visit Mr. Pendragon’s office after hours. She hadn’t expected to find what, or rather who, she’d find waiting in front of his office.
Echo looked far more casual without her Hunter attire. When she’d been in uniform, she’d somehow screamed danger while still being the nicest person in the room. Now, wearing a worn-out AC/DC T-shirt, loose jeans, and black sneakers, she looked strangely … normal. Curly blonde hair, striking green eyes and curves in all the right places made her look like a shoo-in for the cheer-captain, especially when you noticed the surprising amount of muscle she had.
“Hiya Melody, I’m Hailey, nice to properly meet you.” She extended her hand and Melody shook hers with confusion. Hailey pulled her closer, “I’m a Sophomore here, and Echo’s a name I’m only allowed to use while conducting Hunter business. Please slip up, my sister really doesn’t like that.”
Melody was just confused at the moment, “Why are you here? Don’t get me wrong, I like you and all that but it’s not like we bonded deeply or anything.”
Hailey gave that same grin that Melody had seen numerous times when she’d been ‘taken into custody’. “Well, I’m here because I know that jumping into this world without people to talk to is … bad. Also ‘cause I think we could be great friends. I mean, I’m only a year above you and to be honest, none of the people here are as fun and interesting as I think you’ll be.”
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Some part of Melody filled with relief. She hadn’t wanted to admit it but it had bugged her that she hadn’t made a single friend yet and she hadn’t lied when she said she liked Hailey, in more ways than one.
Melody shook her head at that last thought, not the time or place. “I would like that.” She simply said. Hailey smiled and motioned for her to enter. “Nice!” She mumbled. “Good, now after you’re done with your lesson, make sure to call me, I already put my number on your phone.” And then Hailey was gone.
“How did she …?” It only took a second for Melody to find her number and she couldn’t help but laugh when she saw the number had been named ‘Hailey (awesome friend)’. Without further ado, she entered Uther’s office.
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Uther was surprised, Hunters had never liked him or most who reached the level of power a Magus could wield. To them, Magi were no different from the monsters they fought every day. Had it not been for the Pact, they would have probably stopped interacting with the magical community years ago. For a Hunter, young as she may be, to befriend the student of a Magus whose methods were frowned upon even when those in power committed genocide on a regular basis was beyond his expectations. A lot of things were beyond his expectations lately, the world was changing in ways he was too old to adapt to.
Until that change caught up though, he was still at the top. And his newest apprentice would take his place in the new era. As Echo left, Uther couldn’t help but smile though. That little Hunter was a blessing, far more than she realized.
Melody entered and sat down on one of the desks whilst looking at Uther expectantly. “Well, teach’, how are we going to start? Are we going to harness the elements? Bleed out our enemies to use said blood in our unholy rituals? Contact creatures far older than this world?”
Uther smiled at her as he took out a small booklet followed by two large tomes. The booklet had ‘Melody’s beginner guide to Magic’ written on it, and seemed to be made from only paper and rope. The tomes, on the other hand, were far more intricately made. The first one was bound in thick green leather with delicate silver letters on the front. The second was bound into something that felt similar to human skin with its pinkish color. Blood-red letters adorned its front. The green tome’s title read ‘Basic Magical Terminology’. The other one read ‘Festum in infirmi, in tenebris magicae novitius magus est scriptor dux’ which, if Melody’s knowledge of Latin wasn’t too rusty, roughly translated too ‘Feasting on the weak, a novice mage's guide to dark magic’. That … Melody frowned a bit. “Why this book?” she asked.
Uther seemed impressed, “I was expecting you to have a difficult time actually translating the title. Well I gave you a book on ‘dark magic’ because the method towards unlocking magic the book contains is the most efficient I have ever come across that does not require any aid from the master. And before you ask, I don’t want to help you unlock your magic because it tends to cause a weakened sensitivity to magic. It’s all in the booklet. Read that before you do anything else, it’ll answer most of the questions I expected you to have.” With that, Uther simply vanished. “Should’ve looked at the other teacher options, this one seems a bit annoying” Melody muttered to herself as she stowed away her new reading material and made her way home.