The autumn air at Aethermoor carried a crisp bite that cut through the fading warmth of summer. Leaves from the enchanted trees lining the Academy grounds shifted colors not just to amber and crimson but occasionally flickered with hues of deep purples and shimmering golds. It was beautiful, almost otherworldly, but the cooling weather also brought a new intensity to the students’ routines. Liam wrapped his cloak tighter around him as he hurried toward the library, the wind tugging at his hair.
The last few months had flown by. Between classes, practice sessions, and adjusting to life at the Academy, Liam had barely had a moment to himself. He still struggled with some of the more complex magical subjects, but he’d improved—his shields during Abjuration were stronger now, and he could even manage to summon a respectable flame in Evocation, though it often sputtered out faster than he liked.
His friendship with Ethan had grown steadily, with Ethan always ready with a joke or a story to lift the mood. Marcus, on the other hand, had grown more distant. Liam had noticed that Marcus spent a lot of time alone, especially after the encounter with his mother. He didn’t talk about it, and Liam didn’t push, but the distance between them was unmistakable.
Despite the challenges, there was one part of his life that had remained consistent—his connection to Oliver. The small golem homunculus, no taller than a foot, would clamber through Liam’s window every few days, delivering letters from his younger brother. It had an uncanny way of tapping at the glass just after sunset, always cheerful despite its mechanical, clay body.
Oliver’s letters were filled with questions about the magical creatures Liam was working with in Magical Zoology. He was especially fascinated by the flarewings, the tiny, glowing lizards Liam had described in vivid detail. In return, Liam would write back late at night, describing the creatures he encountered in class and the peculiarities of life at Aethermoor. The homunculus would wait patiently, occasionally pacing or tidying up the corner of Liam’s desk as he finished his responses.
Oliver’s fascination with magical creatures grew with every letter. He had even begun sketching them based on Liam’s descriptions, and some of his drawings were surprisingly accurate for someone who had never seen the creatures in person. Liam smiled whenever he received one of Oliver’s illustrations—he could see the joy in his brother’s lines, and it reminded him of home.
In the common areas, whispers had started to spread. News from home trickled in and passed from student to student in hushed tones. It was said that a new magical criminal organization had emerged, though no one seemed to know much about it yet. Liam overheard snippets of conversation whenever he was near groups of older students. They spoke of strange attacks on small magical outposts and mysterious figures who wielded forbidden magic.
“It’s probably nothing,” one student had said confidently, her tone dismissive. “The Arcane Wardens will handle it. They always do.”
Another student chimed in, “Yeah, they took down the Crimson Crescent a few years ago. This’ll be just like that.”
Despite the murmurs, no one seemed overly concerned. The consensus was clear—if there was any real threat, the Arcane Wardens, the magical world’s elite law enforcement, would surely keep things under control. But Liam couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling that something darker was brewing beneath the surface. It was a quiet hum, not unlike the one he had felt that night near the West Tower.
The weekend brought with it a rare stretch of free time. Liam was sitting in the common area at the end of their dormitory hall, flipping through one of his Magical Zoology textbooks, when Ethan bounded in, full of energy as usual. He flopped down into the chair across from Liam and grinned.
“You’ve been here for months, mate, and you still haven’t been to the village. What’s wrong with you?” Ethan teased, half-joking, but with genuine disbelief.
Liam blinked, closing the book. “I just haven’t gotten around to it, I guess. I’ve had a lot going on.”
“Unacceptable!” Ethan declared dramatically. “We’re going. Right now.”
Liam chuckled but hesitated. “I don’t know, I was planning to—”
“Nope! No excuses! You need to see the village, and besides, I’ve got some things I want to buy. You’ll love it, trust me.”
At that moment, Marcus entered the room, looking more tired and withdrawn than usual. Ethan perked up, flashing him a grin. “Hey, Marcus, we’re going to the village! You in?”
Marcus didn’t look up from the book he was holding. “No, I’ve got better things to do.” His tone was colder than usual, more clipped. Liam exchanged a quick glance with Ethan, who raised an eyebrow but didn’t push.
“Suit yourself,” Ethan said lightly, but his cheerful tone didn’t fully mask the disappointment.
Just as they were about to leave, they spotted Sarah Aldridge across the room, practicing a small transmutation spell on a desk. Ethan nudged Liam. “Why don’t we ask Sarah? She’s always in here working. Maybe she needs a break.”
Liam hesitated for a moment, but Ethan didn’t wait. “Hey, Sarah!” he called out, making her look up from her work. “We’re heading to the village. Want to come with us?”
Sarah looked surprised at first, but after a moment, a small smile tugged at the corner of her lips. “Sure, why not? I could use a break.”
And just like that, the three of them headed out toward the village, leaving Marcus behind. The air between them was light and casual as they walked, though Liam couldn’t help but feel that Marcus’s absence was heavier than any of them wanted to admit.
The magical village near Aethermoor bustled with life as the trio wandered through its cobblestone streets. Enchanted market stalls lined the way, selling everything from spellbooks to potions, each with a faint glow of magic. The air smelled of roasted nuts, herbs, and something sweet Liam couldn’t quite place.
Ethan was in his element. “Over there, they sell the best-candied fireberries you’ll ever taste,” he said, pointing to a small stand. “They tingle on your tongue and then warm you from the inside. And you see that shop with the glowing bottles? They’ve got potions that can make you temporarily levitate. It’s brilliant for pranks.”
The conversation between Liam, Ethan, and Sarah continued as they meandered through the bustling streets of the magical village. The sun hung low in the autumn sky, casting a warm, golden hue over the cobblestone paths. Vendors called out, their stalls laden with enchanted trinkets, potions, and wares from far-off lands. The village hummed with life, the air thick with the scent of spices, herbs, and baked goods.
Ethan was practically vibrating with excitement as he showed Liam the various shops. “How have you not been here yet? Look at this place! You can get everything here.”
Liam smiled, taking it all in. The village had a charm that made him feel at ease, though a small part of him felt overwhelmed by the sheer amount of magic surrounding him. “I guess I’ve been too focused on trying to keep up with everything at school.”
Sarah, walking quietly beside them, chuckled softly. “It’s easy to get caught up in everything at Aethermoor. But you have to come down here sometimes. It helps to clear your head.”
Ethan pointed to a nearby shop window displaying an assortment of floating candles. “Or just spend your money on cool stuff,” he added with a grin, before bounding ahead to examine the stall.
Sarah slowed, walking alongside Liam. “Sometimes I wonder what it’s like to have that kind of energy all the time,” she said with a soft smile. “But it’s nice to just walk and talk sometimes, you know?”
As they continued walking, Liam turned to Sarah. “You said earlier you keep to yourself a lot. Why’s that? I mean, you’re great at magic—one of the best I’ve seen.”
Sarah hesitated, her fingers brushing against the edge of her cloak. She seemed thoughtful for a moment before answering. “It’s just… different for me. My family’s magical, obviously, but we’ve had to work for everything we have. We’re not rich, and I’ve always felt like I had to work twice as hard to be noticed. I don’t have the fancy connections or the prestige that some of the others do.”
Liam nodded. “I get that. I feel like I don’t really belong here, either.”
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Sarah gave him a curious look. “You’re the first person in history from a non-magical family. That must’ve been intense. Not knowing you had magic and then suddenly being thrown into all of this.”
Liam shrugged, feeling a bit of the weight lift from his shoulders. “Yeah, it’s been a lot. But honestly, it’s been amazing too. I just… don’t want to mess it up.”
Sarah smiled softly. “You won’t. You just have to keep going.”
Ethan, sensing the serious tone, nudged Liam playfully. “Besides, you’ve got us to help you through it. No messing up on our watch.”
Before Liam could respond, a sudden, sharp crack echoed through the village, cutting through the noise. The ground beneath them rumbled slightly, causing the cobblestones to tremble. People in the village froze, their conversations dropping to murmurs of confusion.
“What was that?” Ethan muttered, glancing around.
The air shifted, growing colder as if all the warmth of the autumn afternoon had been drained away in an instant. The magical lanterns lining the streets flickered, and a strange, dark mist began creeping into the edges of the village, swirling unnaturally around the buildings.
Liam’s heart started racing. He looked around, searching for the source of the disturbance. “This doesn’t feel right.”
Suddenly, from the shadows of an alleyway, a dark figure appeared—its form twisted and indistinct, as though it were made of shadow and smoke. More figures followed, their shapes shifting unnaturally as they slithered closer. Villagers began to panic, some rushing indoors, while others hurried to find safety.
Sarah’s hands flared with a soft, shimmering light as she instinctively summoned a protective barrier in front of them, drawing on her Abjuration lessons. A translucent wall of blue energy appeared in front of them, its surface humming with protective magic. “Shade-wraiths. They shouldn’t be here.”
“What are they doing in the village?” Liam asked, his voice tense.
“They’re hunting something—or someone,” Sarah said, her voice tight as she reinforced the barrier. “But I don’t know why they’d be in broad daylight.”
Ethan’s hands crackled with energy as he conjured a flame in his palms, pulling from his lessons in Evocation. The heat radiated outward, the flames swirling between his fingers. “What do we do? Burn them?”
“We fight,” Sarah said, her voice steady but tense. “But carefully.”
The wraiths slithered closer, their hollow, glowing eyes fixed on the group. Liam’s heart pounded in his chest as he tried to remember his Abjuration spells. He could feel the magic within him, but the fear gnawed at him, making it hard to focus.
“Liam, remember what Murrow taught us!” Sarah shouted over the noise, her hands glowing brighter as she strengthened the barrier. “You need control, not force!”
Liam took a deep breath, calming his thoughts. He felt the magic stir inside him, and with slow, deliberate movements, he channeled the energy forward. A faint blue shimmer appeared before him—a smaller, weaker version of Sarah’s barrier—but it held.
Ethan’s flame flared, and he hurled a searing fireball at one of the wraiths. The creature shrieked, its form dissolving slightly as the flames licked at its shadowy body. But it didn’t disappear; instead, it twisted and recoiled, reforming itself a few paces back.
“They’re resistant to fire,” Ethan muttered, frustrated. “Not great.”
Liam’s focus wavered as the wraiths pressed in closer, their shadowy forms looming like a storm on the horizon. The mist thickened, wrapping around them like icy fingers, each breath colder than the last. The barrier shuddered under the weight of their attack, Sarah’s hands trembling from the strain.
“There’s too many!” Liam gasped, feeling his strength wane.
Suddenly, one of the wraiths spoke in a hollow, rasping voice that sent a chill down Liam’s spine. “‘Where is the Hawthorne boy? The ward… must be broken. He is the key…’”
Liam froze, his heart skipping a beat. The wraiths were here for him.
“They’re looking for me,” Liam whispered, horror dawning on his face.
“We can’t let them get to you!” Sarah said, her voice urgent as she expanded her barrier to cover all of them. Her hands trembled slightly from the effort, but the shield held.
Ethan’s eyes widened as realization hit him. “Why are they after you?”
“There’s no time!” Sarah shouted. “Liam, focus! We need to push them back!”
Liam swallowed his fear and closed his eyes, trying to tap into the same calm focus he’d practiced in class. He could feel the wraiths closing in, their dark energy pressing against his mind. Slowly, he summoned his magic, his hands glowing faintly as he poured his energy into strengthening the barrier.
But the wraiths were relentless, their twisted forms pressing against the shield, trying to find a way through. Their hollow voices echoed in the mist, repeating the same chilling phrase: “The Hawthorne boy… we must find him.”
Liam’s focus wavered as the weight of their words sank in. Why were they after him? What did they want? He struggled to keep his thoughts steady, but the fear clawed at him, making it harder to hold onto his magic.
Sarah’s barrier flickered under the strain, cracks forming as the wraiths pressed against it. ‘Liam, we can’t hold them for long!’ she shouted, her voice strained. Ethan’s flames sputtered, unable to fully repel the creatures as they slithered closer, their hollow eyes locked on Liam.
Suddenly, a blinding flash of light tore through the street. Liam shielded his eyes as the air filled with a high-pitched hum, followed by a deafening crack. When the light faded, the wraiths were gone, their dark forms dissolving into nothing.
Liam blinked in confusion, trying to make sense of what had just happened. His heart pounded in his chest, and his body felt heavy from the effort of holding the barrier. But the wraiths were gone.
Standing at the far end of the street was a tall, robed figure. Arcane symbols glowed along the edges of their cloak, and their hands radiated with magical energy—an Arcane Warden.
The Warden stepped forward, their gaze calm but stern. “The area is secure. Return to your homes.”
One of the villagers approached the Warden, their voice shaky. “Is everything under control?”
The Warden nodded, their voice sharp and authoritative. “For now. But this wasn’t random. These wraiths were summoned—and they were hunting someone.”
Liam exchanged a look with Sarah and Ethan. The weight of the Warden’s words settled heavily over them, like a shadow that refused to lift.
As they approached the gates of Aethermoor, the glow of the Academy’s magical wards cast a faint blue light over the path, contrasting the darkness of the evening. The hum of magic was comforting, but the tension in the group hung heavy, unspoken but palpable.
Ethan was the first to break the silence, his voice strained with disbelief. “Wraiths? That can’t be normal, right? I mean, we’ve got magical creatures and all, but wraiths hunting people in broad daylight? That’s… insane.” He glanced at Liam, his usual light-hearted demeanor replaced with genuine concern.
Liam didn’t reply at first, his mind racing. Why were they after him? The words echoed in his head—“The Hawthorne boy.” But why? What could he possibly have that wraiths, or anyone else, would want? His thoughts kept drifting back to the West Tower, the hum, the pull—it felt like all the strange occurrences were somehow connected, but the pieces weren’t fitting together.
Sarah’s voice was calm, but there was an edge of thoughtfulness to it. “There’s something about this place… something they’re not telling us. I’ve heard whispers from the older students, rumors about magic going wrong, and that wraiths don’t just show up out of nowhere.” She glanced at Liam, her eyes narrowing. “Especially not looking for someone specifically.”
Liam felt his stomach twist. He didn’t want to admit it, but he knew Sarah was right. Something was happening, something tied to him. “I don’t understand why they’d be after me. I’m nobody special,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper.
Ethan scoffed. “Mate, wraiths don’t just show up like that. Someone sent them after you, but why? You’ve only been here a few months.”
Liam shook his head, trying to clear the fog of confusion. “I don’t know. But I felt… something when they got close. Like they knew me. Maybe I’m not supposed to be here at all, maybe the magic in me is wrong somehow. The West Tower, the wraiths—they were pulling me, and I don’t even know why.”
Sarah gave him a long, searching look. “There’s more to your magic than you realize, Liam. We’ve all felt it. You’re stronger than you think, but whatever this is, it’s not going to stop until you figure out what’s going on.”
Liam was silent for a moment, the weight of her words pressing down on him. He hadn’t asked for any of this—magic, Aethermoor, the secrets lurking behind every corner. He just wanted to understand why he was different, why he had magic when no one in his family did. But now it was becoming clear that there was more at stake than he could have ever imagined.
As they neared the courtyard, the glow of the Academy’s wards bathed the campus in soft light. But something else caught Liam’s eye—a figure, robed and still, standing just beyond the gates. The figure’s face was obscured by a hood, but there was something about the way they stood, the way their head tilted slightly toward the group, that made Liam’s skin crawl.
“Do you see that?” he asked, his voice low, but urgent.
Ethan and Sarah both turned to look, but by the time their eyes landed on the spot, the figure was gone, melting into the shadows as if they had never been there.
As the figure disappeared into the shadows, a cold, sharp scent filled the air—like iron or damp stone. It sent a shiver down Liam’s spine, and for a brief moment, he swore he heard a whisper carried on the wind. But when he strained to listen, there was only silence.
“What was it?” Sarah asked, her voice tense.
Liam shook his head, his pulse quickening. “I don’t know. But someone’s watching us.”
Before they could speculate further, the heavy gates of the Academy swung open, and Master Murrow strode out, his expression grim. He stopped in front of them, his eyes sharp as they flicked over the group. “I heard there was trouble in the village,” he said, his voice tight. “You’re all alright?”
Liam opened his mouth to answer, but something held him back. The wraiths had been hunting him, but if he told Murrow… would it make things worse? Would it confirm what he had been fearing—that there was something wrong with him, something dangerous?
“We’re fine,” Sarah said, stepping in before Liam could speak. “We dealt with it.”
Master Murrow’s eyes lingered on Liam for a moment longer, as if sensing there was more to the story, but he nodded. “Good. Stay vigilant. There have been reports of disturbances recently, and not just from our village. The Arcane Wardens are investigating, but until we know more, I expect you all to be careful. Understood?”
“Yes, Master Murrow,” they all murmured in unison.
Master Murrow’s eyes lingered on each of them for a moment, his gaze sharp. ‘Wraiths don’t appear without reason, especially not here.’ His words hung heavy in the air, but he didn’t press further. Yet Liam couldn’t shake the feeling that Murrow wasn’t entirely convinced by their explanation. His silence was almost worse than questioning.
As Murrow turned and disappeared back through the gates, Liam let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. He exchanged a glance with Ethan and Sarah, the weight of unspoken questions hanging between them.
“I need to figure this out,” Liam said quietly. “I can’t keep ignoring it.”
“We’ll help,” Sarah said, her voice steady. “Whatever this is, you’re not facing it alone.”