A young man, no older than 19, sat fidgeting nervously at a desk, the low hum from a nearby air conditioner breaking the silence. Across from him a woman lazily slid papers into a folder. “Thank you for your interest in joining our team, we will take your application under consideration.”

Rising to his feet Clayton Diamont turned back to the woman “what are my chances of actually getting in?” The woman didn’t even look up as she answered “Candidates with magic potential are in high demand, but you shouldn’t let that discourage you, there are plenty of officers who don’t have magical talent that perform as well as anyone else.” “Oh.” Was that even an answer to his question?

Clay smiled as he left the office. Picking up a stride he began his walk home. Interviews were always a struggle for him, it was something that broke his otherwise carefree attitude. This had been something he stressed about for weeks, but now it was finally done.

Strolling through the front door Clay was greeted by Zoey. She barked excitedly as he scratched behind her ears. Entering the kitchen he heard his parents talking excitedly. “What's going on?” he asked nonchalantly while grabbing a bottle of water. “Your sister’s Academy evaluations have come in”.

Uriana, his 6-year-old sister, ran into the room. “They made me touch this clear crystal thingy and it made a bright light, just like the sun” Her smile beamed as she told her story.

“...Magic?” Clay looked quizzically at his parents. Everyone in their family had always had below-average magic capabilities before now.

“I don’t really get it, but they said it shining bright like that was a good thing. Daddy says I’m going to be a powerful magician someday. I’ll even be stronger than you, hehe.” Uriana stuck her tongue out at him and giggled.

“No one will ever believe that while you’re so short though” Clay patted her head dismissively. Still, he couldn’t help but be a bit envious of his sister's good fortune.

“She’s going to make it big as a magician someday” their Dad announced, “which is more than I can say for you” waving at Clay.

“Shove it old man, I just got back from the interview” Clay retorted before taking a long sip of water. He always enjoyed bantering with his father and had a good relationship with him despite what it may look like from the outside.

“Still trying to become an officer? You know they are only looking for magically talented people, you should find something more realistic.”

“What, something like being a laborer like you? No thanks.” Clay said in a mocking tone. His dad just shook his head.

“A gun is enough to make any person competitive with the near limitless magic of an Elf or the monsterlike strength of a Troll. People with real magical talent are rare, they have to hire normal people too. I still have a shot.” While this was true, Clay wasn’t sure if he was trying to convince his father or himself. Getting hired to be an officer for the National Department of Supernatural Affairs was extremely competitive. But it had been a dream since he was a child to work with and investigate the extraordinary and unknown.

Clay finished his water before turning to his sister, who was happily eating an apple. “Hey, master magician, you coming with me again?” Uriana perked her head up, “To the park?”

“Let's go,” Clay said, smiling.

Clay had always enjoyed working out, his best friend back in school got him into it, and ever since it had become part of his routine. Recently his parents had been pushing his sister to join him, trying to get her out of the house more.

Uriana looked up at her parents, waiting for an ok. “It’s fine, go on ahead” her mother nodded. Uriana ran to get changed as their mother turned to Clay “Clay Honey, on your way could you stop by the Clinic? They called earlier and said Uriana’s mana crystal was ready to be picked up.”

“Sure” Clay muttered as he went to get changed himself. He met up with his sister outside to do some stretches before beginning their walk to the clinic. “I think I’m going to put my crystal into a pretty ring like mommy wears,” Uriana said with excitement. “It would probably fall off your fingers and you’d lose it” Clay teased. “Nuh-uh, I would take good care of it” Uriana pouted.

Nearing the clinic, Uriana’s excitement began to grow as she raced off ahead of him. “Hey, don’t go too far ahead” Clay shouted, but she had already run through the front door. Clay sighed and hurried after her. “Where did she run off to” Clay grumbled after walking in the front door and not immediately seeing Uriana. “Hey, are you an Elf?” As if on cue, he heard Uriana’s voice from around the corner. “I’ve never seen an Elf before.” Clay rounded the corner to see Uriana looking up at a tall man. The man said nothing as he looked back down at her. “Hey, Uriana, that's rude.” Clay grabbed her hand while turning to the Elf “I’m very sorry for that.”

“It’s quite alright. Uriana was it?” The Elf said, his indifference changing to mild interest. “I’m actually here with her mana crystal.” Uriana beamed with excitement, but Clay was taken by surprise. “I didn’t know the Clinic employed Elves.” Their country wasn’t a human supremacist one, like many on the old continent, but Elves, in particular, were very isolationist and rarely interacted with the other races.

“Well they don’t, but the mana crystals in stock here aren’t powerful enough to handle the, from what I have been told, exceptional mana this young girl produces.” The Elf explained. “I have created a special one more suited for her needs. If you would follow me into an examination room then.” The Elf turned and began leading them down the hall.

Clay felt that same jealousy towards his younger sister again. While famous and powerful human magicians did exist, they were rare in the human race. Most Humans produced just a trickle of mana. With mana crystals, that trickle could be stored up, like a battery, over their lifetime. For the average human, this crystal was useless, as they would never bother to learn magic, given how infrequently they would be able to use it. However, selling it to magicians or the military after many years of letting it charge provided a means of wealth and social mobility. Clay’s parents sold their first crystals shortly after his older sister was born, to buy their home. Someday Clay would do the same with his mana crystal.

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The three of them entered an examination room, the Elf closing the door behind them. “Have a seat while I get the crystal out.” Uriana hopped up onto the exam table, while Clay took a seat nearby. The Elf produced a necklace with a dark red crystal in the middle. It was definitely different from mana crystals Clay had seen, which had always been a light blue color.

“Aww, I wanted a ring” Uriana pouted. The Elf smiled, “The crystal can be removed and put into whatever jewelry you want. Here, please take the crystal into the palm of your hand.” Uriana took the necklace and did as instructed. “I need you to pour your mana into the crystal, similar to how you did before during the mana test.” Uriana squeezed her hand around the crystal and clenched her eyes as she focused. Being an untrained magician, she had little control over her mana, and forcing it out was difficult.

“Umm… It’s getting really hot” Uriana said as she opened her hand. The crystal was glowing a bright red. “Is that supposed to happen?” The Elf grabbed it from her hand “No” was all he said. The gem grew brighter and brighter as all three looked on in confusion. Suddenly there was a loud pop, as the crystal cracked and shattered. The Elf stared at the crystal in disbelief “This has never happened before…” the Elf looked up, first at Clay, then at Uriana, his face going from disbelief to concern.

“Ah well, maybe there was something wrong with the crystal,” Clay said, unsure of what he had just witnessed. The Elf continued to stare at Uriana, making both her and Clay uncomfortable. “I think we should go, the Clinic can order another crystal.” The Elf snapped back to attention, “Yes… Yes, I’m sorry this didn’t go smoothly, I will uh… do some investigating… and we will try this again.” The Elf still seemed unsettled by what had just happened.

Leaving the clinic, Clay and Uriana continued on to complete their daily routine at the park. When they arrived, she would run over to play with her friends as Clay waved her off, before he would begin his workout.

Clay wasn’t sure how long it had been, he was slightly sweaty and out of breath from his workout. He noticed that the sky had gotten very dark, and sighed as he felt the first drops of rain, knowing he would have to cut his workout short.

It was then he noticed someone a short distance away. An Elf? His long red hair made it hard to tell but Clay was sure he could see the ears poking out. It looked like he was watching someone in the park, but there didn’t seem to be any elf children around. It was weird, seeing two Elves on the same day when they were normally so rare.

Shrugging it off Clay called out to Uriana “hey, let's go it's starting to rain.” Uriana turned and waved at Clay when suddenly a lightning bolt struck a nearby tree. There was the loud boom of thunder, and then the sound of wood splintering as the tree leaned forward, falling into the park. Children began to scream as Uriana looked back at the falling tree.

Clay called out to her, sprinting as fast as he could in her direction. Somehow, he made it to her side before the tree fell, and that’s when he noticed the tree had stopped falling altogether. Inexplicably it was just levitating there above them. Coming to his senses he grabbed up Uriana and pulled her out of harm's way. Seconds later the tree crashed into where they had just stood.

“How?” That was all he could say. Uriana looked up at him “I think I did that.”

“What do you mean you did that, you just found out you had magic today.” Uriana seemed confused. “I don’t know, I just wished no one would get hurt, and then the tree stopped.”

Clay smiled at Uriana, but inside he was doubtful. The rain intensified as he set her down. Looking around, most of the people at the park were quickly leaving, seeking shelter from the storm. “Well, try wishing for something else,” Clay told her.

Uriana closed her eyes, holding her breath and making a serious face as she tried to force something to happen. After a minute she suddenly gasped for air. “Guess not. What did you wish for this time?” “Ice cream” she answered with a pout.

Clay picked Uriana up onto his back and started to jog home in the rain, along the way stopping at a small diner to get some burgers and ice cream. Leaving the diner the storm had already passed and gleams of sunshine were coming through the clouds, though dusk was quickly approaching.

Uriana was finishing off her ice cream cone as they turned onto their street, the sun had almost gone completely and the long shadows of trees darkened the road. As they walked down the street someone shouted out “Hey!” Clay turned towards the voice when he suddenly felt himself being grabbed and tripped, slamming into the ground. Struggling to catch his breath he looked up to find himself and Uriana surrounded by several unknown figures. One lunged forward and grabbed her, who he immediately recognized as another elf.

Uriana’s scream echoed around them, sending Clay roaring to his feet, shaking with adrenaline. “Get your hands off her!'' The Elf grabbing Uriana turned to him but was surprised by Clay's aggressiveness. He had done casual MMA in school, which had paid off as he tackled the elf, dropping him to the ground. Clay grabbed his sister and sprinted down the street towards their house.

The splashing of puddles behind him confirmed his attackers were in pursuit. Clay saw his front door and sprinted as hard as he could toward it. As he got closer he heard the footsteps slow down. Did they give up?

Clay didn’t get much time to think before he noticed someone standing at his door. He was prepared to push his way through and braced himself to tackle the figure standing in his way. Suddenly he stopped in his tracks, as if he had slammed into a brick wall, and fell to the ground with his sister in his arms.

“Wha” Clay sat on the ground shocked. That had to be some sort of spell. Maybe a forcefield of some kind? As he stood there was an immense pain in his right arm forcing him to put Uriana down. The arm had slammed full speed into the invisible wall and now he could barely move it. It had to be broken.

“Just let her go” A deep, commanding voice broke the silence as the unknown figure stepped forward, revealing himself to be the elf from earlier. “I don’t want any more trouble, but she needs to come with us. Now.”

Clay stood in front of Uriana as she squeezed his hand, he could feel her trembling. “Who are you, how do you know her?”

The Elf glared down at them “To think such extraordinary power would come from such underwhelming beings, it’s almost ironic.”

“What are you talking” Clay was cut off by something grabbing him from behind. Turning around a fist slammed into his stomach. At the same time, he felt Uirana’s hand tug on his, as someone grabbed and tried to pull her away.

“Clay!” She cried out. Clay attempted to pull her back to him, pushing through the pain, but he felt his legs sweep out from underneath him as he fell to the ground. He looked up to see another elf carrying Uriana away, who still reached for him. “Clay, please help!” The words again pushed Clay to act, strength welling up inside him seemingly out of nowhere. He felt different somehow, his sister's cries urging him forward in a way he couldn’t understand. With speed and strength that surprised both himself and his attackers he again got to his feet and pushed forward, reaching to grab his sister.

The red-haired elf from earlier cut him off, his hand glowing red with a fire-type spell. Clay charged forward without fear, he didn’t know why, but the thought of death never crossed his mind. The only thought in his head was that he needed to get his sister. But as the Elf unleashed the spell on him he knew he wouldn’t make it. The last thing he could do was cry out Uriana's name as everything went to red, then black.