I leaned my head against the window of the train. The smoothness of the ride amazed me－I’d never been on a train before. I grinned while looking at my ticket.

I’m finally out of that hell hole, I thought to myself. Only a day ago, I accidentally burnt down the house where thirteen minors and I lived with a woman who wanted nothing to do with us.

On my way home from the park, I encountered a stag with electricity flowing through its antlers. The deer charged at me; I ran. Before I knew it, the power-filled antlers struck me. I remember the pain that coursed through my muscles, and how I couldn’t walk for a moment. I stumbled the rest of the way home. When I got back, Ms. Bonnie, the woman who ran the orphanage, welcomed me home with a slap to the face for coming home late. My emotions got the best of me, and I sent bolts of electricity throughout the house, electrifying my guardian to death and setting the house on fire. I was able to help everyone out of the house without any significant injuries. I had to jump out of the second-story window.

The others were sent to another orphanage, whereas I was sent to a sit in a jail cell for a night until a wizard representative could be brought to take me to wherever wizards sent their criminals. A man with a young husky that had a coat of icicles instead of fur came to pick me up. He told me they were heading to a town called Clinton－so here we are. The wizard sat directly across from me.

“Don’t lose your ticket, Jason,” A man in a grey fedora and a burgundy suit told me, his husky laying at his feet.

“You never told me your name,” I told him. We’ve been on this train for about an hour and hadn’t talked much until now.

“Oh, I supposed I haven’t. I’m Uriah.” He held out his hand to shake mine. I grasped his hand and shook it. His sparkling blue eyes shined in the lamplight.

I sat up and gazed outside the window. The stars twinkled in the clear night sky. My legs felt strange since I’ve been stuck inside for the past twenty-four hours. When I stood up, Uriah’s husky lifted its head.

“What’s your dog’s name?” I asked. Uriah raised an eyebrow.

“She might look like a dog, but I assure you, she isn’t a dog. Maria is my Familiar. You have one too, but you don’t know how to summon it yet. I can imbue her back into me whenever I want, but she doesn’t like that.”

“Someone told me one time that the monsters that invaded the world aren’t the animals they resemble. The only thing is, I don’t have any experience with those creatures.” I told the man.

“First thing you should know, don’t call them monsters. Call them either Familiar if they are bonded to a witch or wizard or Unbonded if the monster isn’t bonded to someone. When you get to Davis Academy, calling them either monster or creature will get you hexed.” Uriah told me. I nodded my acknowledgment—if that’s what I need to do to fit in, I’ll do it.

I lowered my hand near the ground and got the Familiar’s attention. Maria strolled over to me. I scratched behind her ear, then felt her fur. I ran my fingers through her icy hair and felt the coldness against my hand. I withdrew my hand when I saw the ice begin to spread from the Familiar’s coat to my hand. Uriah chuckled.

“I was going to warn you about that. My Familiar’s ice likes to travel. Makes her tough to cuddle with.” The wizard said to me. “What type did you bond with again?” I thought back to when the Unbonded attacked me, and I remembered.

“I bonded with a stag with electricity running through its antlers,” I responded. Uriah squinted his eyes.

“Really?” He asked. “You know, Headmaster Davis’s Familiar is an electro-stag? Yeah, they’re one of the rarest Familiars to find—tier five Familiar.”

“Tier five?” I asked. “I didn’t know they had tiers.”

“Do your schools not teach anything about Familiars and Unbonded?” Uriah asked without responding to my question. “Familiars and Unbonded have five tiers; tier one is the weakest, and tier five is the strongest. Don’t get caught up in the tier system, though. When I was a student, I saw a tier two defeat a tier four.”

“I didn’t get to go to school. The orphanage couldn’t afford any of that. I didn’t even know what you call Unbonded could bond with people. I did know about wizards, though, but not how they became wizards. When do I get a wand?” I asked the last part while looking at the stick attached to his hip.

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I saw a witch one time when she was in town to visit her family. She put on a show of her powers in the town square. Her floating jellyfish also created bubbles then she used some kind of heating spell to make the bubbles have steam inside of them. Although most citizens of the town never saw a magician before, not too many people attended the show. Many of Taylor’s inhabitants are wary of magicians, especially after the last one caused a massacre almost one hundred years ago.

“We’re on our way to Clinton, Indiana. It’s a small town populated solely by magicians. Their shopping center is a great place to get your beginner’s gear. You’ll get your wand when we get there.”

“You said an electro-stag is Headmaster Davis’s Familiar. Didn’t that guy start the academy over five hundred years ago?” I asked. Uriah smiled.

“You’re right, he’s five hundred and thirty-two years old,” Uriah told me. I gave him a look of astonishment. “I asked him about it one time. He drank an experimental elixir when he was younger; it caused him to stop aging. The geezer is stuck looking like he’s in his forties now. Don’t bother asking about the elixir. Headmaster Davis could never replicate it.”

“That’s unusual. So I’m as strong as the headmaster? Cool! Also, how am I going to pay for my supplies for school? I’m a poor orphan.”

“The school pays for non-legacy magicians, so don’t worry. We receive special promotions; others won’t.” Uriah leaned his head back and pulled a bag of chips from his backpack.

“Non-legacy?” I asked.

“Legacies are magicians whose parents are also magicians. Some legacy families span five hundred years of magical offspring. When two magic-filled people have a baby, that baby is more susceptible to being bonded with. Legacies receive training in wizardry at a young age, so non-legacies are at a significant disadvantage. I would recommend taking your studies seriously.” I nodded as Uriah ended his explanation.

“Clinton train station will be the next stop,” A man called in the intercoms.

Uriah sat up and shouldered his backpack.

“Put your ticket away; you’ll need it once we’re done. Once we’re done shopping, you’ll be heading to school. The semester doesn’t start for another two weeks, but that’ll give you time to explore and study.” The wizard removed his hat and ran his fingers through his long, brown, messy hair. I pocketed the slip of paper and sat up.

As the train began to slow down, Uriah and I stood up and made our way to the exits. I thought this town would be bustling and full of life, except I was wrong. Ancient vehicles that the blue pulse rendered useless lined the sides of the streets; rust ate away the metal. The train station was just a ledge with a ticket booth.

I followed Uriah as he took the stairs that lead to the road and Main Street. To the right, dozens of shops lined Main Street, and to the left sat a hut with a window. I smelled a savory aroma from the direction of the building.

“This first shop here to the right is where we get your wand,” Uriah informed me. “All of these shops are connected so that we can go from one to the other.” The wizard put a hand on my back and led me to the first store.

A bell chimed as I entered the room. A bald man with dark skin emerged from a door against the back wall. His shop was meager and had no wand displays, art, or furniture. Uriah gave the shopkeeper a complicated handshake.

“Hey, Brad, I have another non-legacy needing a wand. I’m going to sit outside for a moment. Take care of my guy here.” The two hit their knuckles against each other before Uriah walked out of the shop.

“Hey there, kid, my name is Brad,” He waved a glove-covered hand. “I need to take a few measurements; then you’ll set your hand on my tablet. That should tell us your results. Please stand here and extend your dominant arm.” Brad pointed to a spot in front of him that had a mark on the floor. He measured my right arm a few times and wrote down the results. After the measurements, the bald man set a black slab of stone in front of me—I placed my hand on it. The tablet glowed twice, then Brad instructed me to pull my hand away, and words appeared on the screen.

Juniper | Ten three quarter Inches | Sapphire Tip

“I’ll be back in a moment. Wait here please.” Uriah turned around and left through the door he entered from. I heard strange noises from the back room and after a few minutes of awkward silence, Brad re-entered the showroom. The bald man handed me my wand—an almost eleven inch piece of wood with a small, blue jewel that blended in at the tip. The wand fits perfectly in my hand, and a warmness enveloped my body.

“How do I get something like what Uriah uses to store his wand?” I asked.

“Those are only for soldiers, so if you want one, you’ll have to pass that test. For now, I would recommend keeping it in your pocket.” Brad’s words made my shoulders droop. “Don’t worry about paying, Uriah will take care of things later. Head through the door to your left. You’ll get fitted for a school uniform.”

I have my wand, now I am ready to become a wizard.