Leo and Heidi

Black Forest, Germany

“That is a nice thought, boy,” Leo was interrupted by Seb, who had just come up from the downstairs basement.

“What is?” he asked.

“To change the status quo, as you put it. To stand up to the big guys,” Sebastian said and sat down at the dining table, facing Leo and Heidi. “You think you are the only one who came up with that idea?”

“No?” he answered with a question but was interrupted.

“Exactly, boy. You are not the first and not the last. Many bigger men have thought that the world is against them and is unfair. The smallest managed to gather some backing and pull the masses together. And look at what happened. Millions died at the false idea that there is this notion that something is wrong in the world and you are the right person to change it.”

“What are you talking about?” Leo asked, baffled.

“Hitler,” Heidi butted in. “Sebastian has a thing against our shared history of German nationalists.”

“God damn, right I do!” he said. “Look what happened. He also was a boy back then. Thought that he had some bright ideas about how he would change the world. The same people who were always in power played him like a fiddle. But the damage he did, that is not something I will forget.”

“You mean the holocaust?” Leo asked.

“Exactly. All caused because certain Church members decided to level the playing field in the number of commoners,” Seb spat. Then a cell phone rang.

Heidi shuffled around and found her phone that she had put the SIM card back in after her talk with Seb when they arrived at the cabin. She looked at the caller and did not recognize the number. Putting it on the loudspeaker, she answered, “Yes?”

“Hey there! Leo, you still alive?” asked a voice on the phone.

“Hi, Evan. Yes, I am good. We managed to meet up with Heidi’s uncle. Where are you?” Leo asked.

“I am in Speyer. Just arrived. You have ruffled some feathers, my friend. Official and unofficial channels are littered with photos of you and your girlfriend. Looking fine together, by the way, in the mugshots, I mean,” Evan commented and laughed.

“I am not his girlfriend!” Heidi shouted.

“What mugshots?” Leo asked.

“Oh, right. We checked the police database with grandfather and found some reports for the authorities to look out for the two of you. They made some photos from your passports, I guess, that looked like mugshots. The official story is that you are some terrorists wreaking havoc in Berlin. Blew up a house or something,” Evan said.

“Dammit,” Leo reclined back in his chair. “Means we just have to hide in the hole, for now, right?”

“Damn right, man. That is why I am here. Let’s sort out this situation. What do you need? I would like to sit down and draw out a plan and understand better what we are dealing with. Can someone pick me up? I have no idea where you are,” Evan asked and loudly sipped on something over the speaker.

“A friend of yours, boy?” Seb asked.

“Yes, someone I trust. Can you pick him up, please? He will be of help to plan what to do next,” Leo asked Seb.

“Sure, boy. What is another mud in our ranks? Understand that if he raises a fuss… ” Seb said, not finishing his sentence and glaring at Leo.

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“I understand,” Leo nodded, understanding.

“So, who was that old man? Will he pick me up?” Evan asked, still on the phone, chewing.

“Yes, Evan. That was Seb, the uncle. He will come and get you. Go to the local church and wait there. Try to make yourself less suspicious,” Leo urged.

“No problem, man. I will blend right in with the local farmers. The town seems lovely in the evening, by the way. Will wait for you at the church, old man,” Evan said and cut the call.

Sebastian looked at the phone and then at Heidi, who said, “Do not even start, uncle. From what Leo told me, he is much better in person.”

“I hope so, for his sake,” Seb said and got up, dressed in his jacket. Before he went to the door, Leo asked, “Find anything interesting down there?”

“Yes. I will explain when I get back with this friend of yours,” Seb answered and went outside to his old pickup.

“So he and the Germans?” Leo asked pointedly.

“Not only the Germans. Others as well. You know that Inpes own most of the arms trade in the world?” Heidi asked Leo.

“How very fitting. They are fire mages, right?

“Not fire mages. Their clan is more inclined toward the fire affinity. Others hold different affinities, but the Inpes main family deals with fire, yes,” she answered.

“And what about the others?” Leo asked.

“Jord clan deals in coal and oil. Also fitting in a way, given that the affinity their clan's main branch of the family is inclined toward is earth. Their branch family is someone you might recognize, by the way. Heard of the Rockefellers?” Heidi asked.

“You are kidding. Really? Old John was a mage?” Leo asked, wide-eyed.

“Not a mage. Just a member of the branch family. Their exploits were funded by the Jord clan. As you understand, they hold a key stake in the world energy market now,” Heidi answered.

“Amane is the last of the large clans,” Heidi continued.

“And those are the ones with the water affinity, right?” Leo interrupted.

“Correct. They deal in various brands and tech. Heard of Nestle?” Heidi asked.

“Of course. Bottled water fiasco? That water is not a human right?” Leo confirmed with a question of his own.

“That is them. It is fitting, though, that with time the majority of clans did not deviate from their established affinities. You deal with what you know best, I guess. Sure some enterprises are jointly owned by various clans and sometimes even the Church, such as agriculture, production, and big pharma.”

“Well, I do not know what to say,” Leo began and frowned. “All I have believed up to this point is turning upside down. Sure, I thought one does not get rich like Bezos or Musk working nine to five. But that hundred-year-old organizations are working behind the scenes? That is straight out of some of the conspiracy theories floating around. What is next? Area 51 is real, and we were visited by aliens?”

Heidi laughed and ignored his last question. “Well, that is our reality. And understand that those organizations are going to be looking for you. And me as well, as the hand of the Church guides them,” she said.

Leo seemingly lost his enthusiasm and slumped down in the chair, “Then what can I do? I have not cast a single spell and was completely useless in the short fight back at the mansion.”

“Not true,” Heidi said. “You kept on your toes and did the right thing. It would do no one good if you decided to play the hero, jump at Adele, act like a kid, and start crying in the corner. After all, how many days have passed for you in our world? Three?”

“True,” Leo said, recognizing that he did not know even half what to expect in the new world that opened before him, filled with magic, mysteries, and players he did not know.

“As such, you will get there. The plan has not changed. We will finish forming your core and understand how you can learn to cast magic, as restricting it to the spell forms would be the dumbest thing we could do,” Heidi said.

“You think there will be useful information down there?” Leo pointed to the basement.

“Yes, I think so. Seb would not be so serious unless he found something,” Heidi answered.

On cue, both of them heard the truck approach the cabin from the road with its signature shooting sound and screeching brakes. In a short moment, they heard Seb shouting something unintelligent. Then loud steps ran up to the front door, and it burst open to reveal a young man in his twenties with dark hazel eyes, brown hair, and a clean-shaven face. He was dressed in army boots, comfortable black pants, and a biker jacket, carrying a military green backpack on his back and another in his hand, packed to bursting.

Dropping the items on the floor with a loud metallic clunk, he said, “What up, a brother from another mother? What have I missed?”

Leo got up from his chair, headed towards Evan, and wrapped him in a hug, recognizing a familiar face among the chaos he had faced over the last few days, and calmed down a bit to have his oldest friend there for him.

Meanwhile, Heidi clutched her face in her palms and groaned, “My god, he is even worse in person.”