It was a starting to get to me...

Even though I was way ahead of any of my classmates as far as magian knowledge and discipline was concerned, I had yet to harness my element. My morning dragged on as I took the sample of spectile that my parents got me for my birthday and tried to channel whatever magis my body could muster into it. Depending on the nature of my affinity, it would begin to glow a corresponding color once I poured enough of my energy into it. I couldn't handle the strain for more than a few seconds, and just when I thought a teensie bit of magis would begin to flow from me, my hands would lock up and I couldn’t focus anymore. I decided to catch my breath before trying again, that’s all I could do. I put my head down and shut my eyes, the cool surface of the tabletop was soothing. I felt myself drifting off, maybe after some rest I-

SLAM

"Wyatt you up yet?! I'm starving did you make breakfast? Let's get breakfast lil dude!"

I jolted up as Tyson stormed the living room like an ill-trained mutt, desperate for something to do. Just like he did every morning. "I was studying and you just barge in loud as you can be, dripping sweat all over the floor. If I had any appetite before you just got rid of it. Why aren't you at school anyway you bum?"

He ignored me as he started rummaging through the fridge for, whatever he could find I guess. "You're not the only braniac in the house, junior. I'm not allowed to evoke and I had already studied all the material for this year by the midterm. Outside of making some very choice potions, it’s not particularly useful for me to continue studying. I'd rather work out and help the resident prodigy." He smiled at me with that goofy grin of his, right before he gnashed a raw egg in his mouth and proceeded to wash it down with some cranberry juice.

"Gross. There's always some sort of useful knowledge in the library, you just have to know what particular knowledge you seek. Maybe you can figure out what's locking you up before Mom and Dad do?"

"OR," He interrupted. "I could figure out how much work my body can do with all this trapped magis in it! I don't think it's a bad thing that I can't cast, it's usually just some elemental stuff and that's after careful incantations and somatic drills if you don't have enough practice. Even if I could do it, I don't wanna put in the work to get to the point where I could do one measly spell with the flick of a wrist, too much of a time sink."

I scoffed at that. My parents found Tyson when they were travelling and I was still in elementary school. That was over five years ago, while he has become a part of the family since we met him, Tyson hasn't changed at all. My parents took him in because he had nowhere to go and nothing to do, but they had never come across someone with a condition like his, and ultimately wanted to study him. They showed him a basic firebolt quickspell, after seeing it two or three times he tried to emulate it, and his execution was perfect. However instead of a bolt of fire shooting from his palm, his entire hand became emblazoned before exploding shortly after. Naturally they were freaked out, but they were even more freaked when his hand came back to normal after violently exploding. Tyson showed me that once, it made me gravely ill and I was glad that at least I didn't have that side effect. While I might have had a deficiency in available magis in my body, Tyson seemed to have so much that it made his body reject change for some reason.

"At the end of the day, I'd rather spend my time helping my little bro, we're gonna find a way to get you to evoke. Today's the day that your old buddy and mentor, possibly personal hero, Tyson helps you get your first cast. I've already got a plan in fact!" He stopped when he saw that I was glaring at him unamused.

"As if you could help me with anything outside of a gory firework show. I'll hang out with you if you're that desperate but I won’t expect any results." I was actually excited to spend the day with Tyson and get my mind off things, despite him being an obnoxious blowhard he really was like a big brother to me. If this was his way of helping me out, I didn't see the harm in tagging along, as long as he didn't get too ridiculous with his methods.

"I'm gonna ignore that because I know you'll be eating your words before sundown." He frisbeed a piece of toast and it landed jelly-side down on my spectile. "Eat up, we're going for a ride!"

I wiped the mess off the spectile as I went to get my shoes, and licked the jelly off my fingers once I was sure no one could see. "You can't drive Tyson"

 *  *  *

"How do I slow down?!" I shouted as my skateboard started barreling down the hill, beginning to wobble uncontrollably with speed.

Tyson chuckled he rode alongside me, " I didn't cough up any extra cash for handling enchantments, I just built the boards from scratch and put some runes on them for decor. Just wave your arms or something and the wind resistance should take care of it!"

He then crashed painfully into a sending tablet at the next curb, only after losing his balance at the sight of me flapping my arms like a crazed chicken. I swore I'd get him back for that as I realized the bottom of the hill was coming and I had nowhere to turn without crashing. My heart was beating out of my chest when my board inevitably hit the curbside and sent me flying over the sidewalk towards a nearby water reservoir. I braced for impact and closed my eyes, then I heard an a boom in the distance right before I made impact.

I landed, completely dry in Tyson's arms. It took me a few seconds before I realized I was safe and then I scrambled to get out like a cat that needs its personal space.

" How did you? What did you?!" My eyes widened as his pant legs were incinerated from the knees down, and a bluish smoke rose from his freshly reconstituted feet and calves.

" It's a new trick I picked up for when I need a little boost. I wasn’t gonna let you crash, you might decide not to keep the board I made you!" He scratched his head as he chuckled about the situation. "I blew up my shoes though, so now I really look like a bum." He grabbed both of our skateboards and carried them at the hip, " Lets grab a snack or something and head back to the house."

Of course, the day didn't go that simply, wherever we went Tyson had to butt his nose in other people’s business. We helped some younger kids get their ball out of a tree. There was this guy who was trying to one-trip his groceries that Tyson knew from school, so we helped him out and chatted for a while. Tyson wanted to give him our skateboards so that he can put some actual functioning runes onto the decks, but I protested saying I'd do it once he taught me how to evoke. It felt like every few blocks Tyson knew somebody or found some reason to say hello. People he met always seemed happier for it too. Then we went to the comic store like we do every week I had to go in and buy everything though since Tyson was barefoot. He snagged some candy from a stand nearby while I was busy and we just walked and snacked for most of the way home.

The day was over before I even realized it.

"I know you said I'd be eating my words by sundown, but I guess the candy is fine too." I sneered as I popped another sour candy in my mouth. "It was a pretty good day all in all."

Tyson smiled, " It's not over yet, I got some stuff to do tonight but I had one last arrangement before I drop you off home." He reached in his pocket and pulled out this crude L-shaped piece of wood. In his other hand, he had a vial cerulean leaves, I had never seen them before.

"Catch" He tossed the hunk of wood my way, upon further inspection it had some notches on two of the ends, one side had two prongs and the opposite end had only one prong that lined up between the other two ones angled properly. "Good day overall?"

I blinked, "One of the best, I really don't know what I was so worried about this morning. I'm embarrassed to admit it but, not being able to cast like my other friends my age made me feel like something had to be wrong with me. Mom and Dad are both geniuses with patented spells and artifact recipes under their belts. If their only son couldn't even emit enough magis to show his affinity, something most people do without even trying. I would probably be the biggest disappointment in their career."

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For the first time, all day, Tyson frowned. "You're too young to be thinking like that. When I work with your parents, all they talk about is how excited they are for your future. All of the work they do is to ensure that you'll have a better life when you're older, knowing you I really don't know what in the world they could be worried about. I'm sure if you actually had the same condition as me you'd be way more creative and useful about it."

He pointed towards a tree in front of our apartment complex, "That being said, it doesn't mean I don't have any ideas of my own." He poured some of the leaflets into his hand and crushed them, half casting a firebolt just enough to make an ember in his palm and cause the leaves to burn. " You're gonna have to trust me, take a whiff of this."

I hesitantly leaned over an inhaled, they smelled minty and as I inhaled more deeply I felt waves of tension I didn't know I had release throughout my body. I was totally relaxed. Tyson then grabbed my arm holding the wooden fixture, and guided my hand pointing at the tree. "You ready? Don't strain, don't think about putting everything you’ve got into an object, just think about what you want to happen. What you want is to reach that tree with your magis, and only your magis."

I looked up at him with bewilderment, "What're you on about bro?"

"I don't spend my time at school studying for myself anymore remember? I've read that some people don't have an affinity, but they can still evoke. It just wouldn't be picked up by a spectile. Now line up these sights and focus on that knot in the tree. You've got it buddy I know it."

As I concentrated on the knot in front of me, the world outside of my target and I disappeared. I imagined myself but much bigger, darting towards the tree to tag it. That image grew clearer and clearer before my eyes, I reached out again and again, feeling my extension of self grow faster and sharper each time.

Tyson jostled me back to reality, "Hey! hey you did it buddy! I knew you had it in you, now settle down before you blow a hole into that thing." I hadn't realized it but each repetition of me envisioning my inner self jab into the knot was actually me firing bolts of neutral force with near pinpoint accuracy! I had finally casted! Tyson was beaming with what seemed like pride, fanning away residual smoke from my blasting the tree. "Hold on to that stuff and keep practicing Wyatt, you're different from the other kids studying the arts. You're like me with how you work different, but you're a braniac with so much potential and it's obvious that you'll go as far as you want in life. Just don't quit when things get tough."

Something tugged at me the way he was talking, it felt like he was scared he wouldn't get another chance or something. But I knew better, Tyson's never been scared of anything, and I know if I ever need him he'll be there for me. I took a deep breath as I took these last few moments in, what a great day.

Tyson tousled my hair because I was spacing out again, " Looks like you're ready to call it a day. I gotta go meet with your parents soon at the lab anyway. We should all be home in a few hours with great news from what they've told me." He started walking off to meet them as soon as he finished talking.

I walked up the stairway to the front of our complex, and I felt compelled to say something before he left. I could never explain what it was, it just felt important to do before he was gone.

"Hey Tyson, thanks for today! What you did for me... and those things you said, it all meant a lot to me!"

He didn't turn around but he perked up a bit with his stride, "It's what big brothers do, I'll see you at dinner buddy."

That's the last I saw of that Tyson.

*  *  *

I couldn't get myself to sleep, it was getting late and I had already eaten dinner on my own. There was no sign of any of my family coming home that night and I was starting to stress about it. Mom and Dad were always punctual, and if they were ever going to pull and all-nighter they would always at least send to let me know, it’s not like I had could properly send before this evening so that's the only reason I even owned my switch. After tossing and turning for a while I decided it's time I try to head to the office, and maybe convince everyone to take a break.

I grabbed my new tool I got from Tyson just in case, maybe I could show off a bit for my parents while I'm there. After a few blocks I noticed the streets up ahead had no lights activated, none of the buildings were lit either. Strange as that was I didn't see any reason to turn back, I decided to get a little more creative with my new tool. I tried to imagine my inner self again, an avatar of my magis, and channeled it into the tool, but then as I tried to think of ways this could help me see, I simply couldn't think of a way to emit even a simple light forth from my hands. I wandered further into the dark as I mulled over a solution, ingenuity is a mage's pride. I came to a solution after a while, maybe I could channel magis into my own eyes. I took a deep breath and went for it, while I didn't receive some sort of instant night vision, I could see traces of stray magis far ahead of me. It was wispy and blue, and looked like it was greatly concentrated further ahead. I marched towards the somewhat familiar feeling, but still intimidating aura as my stomach twisted into knots.

That's coming from my parent's office...

The air got heavy as the realization set in, I'm not turning back until I see what's going on though. If something happened with my family, there was gonna be hell to pay for whoever caused it! I got to the front of the building and tried to channel some of my magis into the front door, it should be able to identify me and let me in, but whatever was going on with the atmosphere made it feel even harder to evoke my energy. What's more, I think it was interfering with the arcane lock in general. I wasn't getting in this way, but I had to get to the bottom of all of this, "What would big bro do?" I thought.

I walked back out towards the corner of the office building, on the third floor the light and source of magical distortion was the most prominent, I knew exactly what Tyson would do, but I don't have regenerating super legs. No, what I've got is subtler... I took aim and imagined my inner self one more time, and reached for the ceiling through the blown-out windows of the third floor. It was the longest shot I've taken so far, but I come from greatness, so I'm going for it. Definitely gonna try to learn feather fall at some point though, this could end bad if I screw up. I braced myself as I made my inner avatar grip the ceiling and pull up with all my willpower and concentration. A beam of neutral magical force hit the ceiling and zipped me upwards into the building, pretty much the desired effect! I stuck the landing and smirked to myself, "Getting better all the time!"

Celebration was cut short, I surveyed the room and saw that source of light was some glowing blue humanoid with magical energy crackling about it. The office was destroyed, shattered glass and lab equipment thrown throughout the halls, and what's worse is people littered the floor. Assistants and interns in ragdoll poses, slumped over counters and desks. There wasn't any sign of life, where's my family?!

A green door appeared and then burst into splinters as suddenly as it had arrived, a tower of muscle charged forth as the wood showered the center of the magical mass. A blue silhouette not entirely unlike the inner self I kept imagining, stood unfazed by the assault as a distressed Mr. Travers made swing after swing at the body, none of them registering. He jumped back to catch his breath with inhuman speed. I couldn't completely fathom what was happening before my eyes. Green smoke seeped out of Mr. Travers’ skin each time he connected with the anomaly, it didn't look like he had a chance in the world. I had to do something to help, maybe if Tyson or my parents popped up they could-

That's when the creature locked "eyes" with me, its shape was starting to become more definitive, it looked scarily familiar. It began to walk towards me, the aura it emitted obscured my vision towards the immediate area around him. I was stunned with anxiety, but then I saw as it got closer, this thing that destroyed the office and had Mr. Travers fighting so desperately, it was probably my brother and I didn't know if there was anything I could do about it. The next thought I had as it began to reach for me was that my parents were probably among the bodies that were here... and I was going to join them if I didn't leave. I fought back tears as I pointed it with my brother's gift, praying for a solution.

"GET AWAY!!!"

*  *  *

I remember waking up in the hospital a few days later with a sore throat, my parents were gone, but Tyson was back to normal. Except he wasn't, he looked the same as he used to, magic still worked around him, and it wasn't hard to breathe. But he was completely wiped of any memory that had happened before he woke up in the hospital. I went to face him and he had no clue who I was, looking visibly puzzled when I called him big bro, or tried to dig and find out what happened. It’s like some sick joke! Travers stopped me from contacting him after my first visit, saying it wouldn't do me any good to keep prying. The only person left alive who knew the truth of that night was Hank Travers.

Still... I couldn't just get over the fact that I lost everything in a single night, and the one person I could try to figure things out with and hold on to had no idea who I was anymore. I hated him, and I miss the old him sometimes too. The way he looks around completely clueless about why people avoid him, it’s cathartic and frustrating at the same time. But lately he’s been involved with a new innocent person, and I feel like it’s my responsibility to wedge them apart before he destroys her life too.

All the same, I don't think I would've felt any better if I blew his brains out like I thought I could. In fact, as he crushed my casting focus after all these years, rattling my ribcage and choking me out on the floor. I still couldn't hold back the tears over the ones I lost. As I gasped for air, I mourned over the future I missed out on with my parents and my world faded to black as I lamented the loss to this stranger with my brother's face.