It took them more than two weeks to get to the capital from Simula, but they were finally standing before the gates of Everdale Academy of Magic. Velvet glanced up at the giant walls. She didn't imagine it quite like this. Honestly, it seemed more like a fortress or a castle than an academy. Around the walls, a canal filled with water was running and the only way to cross was over a small stone bridge, leading up to the gate.

Her father carried two large leather suitcases of her belongings while they crossed it. An antique brass doorknocker in the shape of a lion was staring back at them from the entrance and he used it to alert the ones inside of their arrival. There was a long silence, so he knocked again. This time, the gate slowly creaked open, a young man with an expression of a wise old scholar appearing before them. He was dressed in a light-grey uniform similar to Velvet's and was standing stiffly with his hands behind his back.

"Hello. How can I help you?" he asked sternly, almost making the guests feel unwanted.

"Uhm, I brought my daughter to study here," the father said. "This is the right place, right?"

The man looked down at the girl who was already wearing her academy uniform. "I see you've already gotten our letter of acceptance. Very well. Come inside." He waved his hand, gesturing them to go ahead as he led them across an empty courtyard.

"I apologize if this place seems a little abandoned right now," their guide said as if he had read their minds. "This year's classes have concluded just over a few weeks ago and most students went home to their families. We didn't expect new students to arrive this early."

"I understand. My daughter was just very eager to come here. And your letter did say that we can come whenever we wanted, so I thought why not?"

"It's no problem. I think it will be good to give her some more time to adjust herself. But it's not nearly as lively as it usually is around here."

He guided them up a small flight of stony stairs, leading up to a large, sturdy wooden door. Velvet observed the lion statues on each side, expecting them to blink their eyes or turn towards her and greet her. But nothing happened. The stony beasts remained sitting on their pillars quiet and unmoving.

They went inside what looked like a redecorated castle, and found themselves before a pretty wide staircase covered with a red carpet. There were a few sofas to the left and right of it and a small wooden table on each side.

"Please, take a seat," their guide instructed. "We need to go over some formalities. After that, we will show your daughter to her room."

The two of them sat on a sofa each and the man pulled one out so he was facing them.

"Apologies for not introducing myself," he said, bowing his head a little. "My name is Ralph Gutfield. I am the headmaster's assistant. May I ask you what your name is, young lady?"

"Velvet," the girl responded. "Velvet Crow."

"Ah, I remember filling out your form!" The man smiled. "It's very rare that we get a cash payment for all five years in advance. Your father must be a very wealthy man."

"It was actually someone else that paid for her courses," Mister Crow quickly corrected him, the modest man he was, not wanting to take credit for other people's charity.

"Really?" Ralph turned to the girl. "Well, you must have a pretty generous benefactor then."

He picked up a paper and pen from the table before him and started writing something down.

"Miss Velvet Crow, how old are you?" he asked after a brief silence.

"I will be nine years old in a week. My birthday is on the 23rd of Jukayn." He gave off such a formal vibe that she felt like she had to try and match his professionalism, so she kept her answers short and on point.

"So it's true." He raised his eyebrow. "Barely nine years old. I thought it might have been a mistake. That is an incredibly young age to develop magic."

"They told me this is very unusual," her father chimed in. "Is it really this rare?"

"Frankly, I haven't seen anyone develop magic before at the very least twelve years old in all my years. And believe me, we've had a lot of students here at the academy. So, yes, this is highly unusual."

"I see..." He didn't seem to be satisfied with the scholar's answer. It worried him.

"But there was that other girl..." Ralph muttered more to himself than anyone else.

Velvet quickly picked up on it and got excited, however. "What other girl?!"

"It doesn't matter," he waved his hand dismissively. "You will meet her soon enough."

"Awh." The girl sat down, disappointed.

"Do you already have a staff? Or do we need to provide you one here?" he asked, turning back to the girl.

"I do! Can you take it out from the case, Dad?"

Mister Crow opened one of the two cases and pulled out the display case, placing it on the table before her. Velvet opened it eagerly and took her prized possession out. "Here it is!"

The assistant immediately recognized its unconventional nature. "Where did you get that staff, if I may ask?" He was curious.

"Oh, we just went to a local staff shop and the shopkeeper gave it to us," her father answered in her stead. "He said he wanted it in the hands of a great sorcerer and Velvet could be it."

"Whoever that man was, he is a wise one." Ralph adjusted himself in his seat. "What he gave you is one of only seventeen known adaptive staffs in existence. Our headmaster has one of them in his possession and the rest are scattered throughout Rumerra. Many of them belong to the wizards of the Council. This is one of the finest staffs out there."

The girl was looking over the item, liking it more and more each second. One of seventeen. She knew it was a great staff but had no idea it was so rare. Suddenly, the assistant stood up.

"Excuse me, but could you two wait here for a little while? I am going to see if the headmaster would care to come see you," he said, making his way towards the staircase.

"Of course," the parent answered. "We would love to meet him if he has the time."

Ascending up the stairs and to the highest floor, Ralph strode down a hallway to the very end, where a large door made of majestic oak led to the principal's office. He knocked three times and waited for a response. Nothing. He knocked three times again. Silence. Slowly he turned the knob and let himself in.

Argus Finkleshore was sleeping, laid back on his chair, his mouth agape. His long and thin goat-like beard swirled around in a spiral on the table before him. Upon the assistant's entrance, he snored himself awake. "Huh...gah...Ralph! Can't you knock, damn it?!" the old man yelled, annoyed that someone dared to disturb his afternoon nap.

"But I did knock, Sir. Several times even," he said in retort.

"If I didn't hear it, then it doesn't count as knocking!" Argus argued.

"Sir, that doesn't make any sense." Ralph was fighting a losing battle and he knew it. So he simply continued. "There is a new student here which I thought you'd want to meet."

The headmaster picked up an empty glass and a bottle from the table and poured himself a brown liquid into it, then dipped his hand into a jar and pulled out a few brown cubes, popping them into his mouth. "Do you think I have time to see every student that comes here?" he said lazily, lifting the glass up to his lips. "That is why I have you."

His assistant cleared his throat. "Sir, she's nine years old. And she carries an adaptive staff."

The old man coughed, spitting out his drink, and set the glass back on the table. He stood up immediately. "Well, why didn't you say so? Let's go see her right now. Bring me to her!"

They made their way back through the hallway and down the stairs where the father and daughter were still patiently waiting for them. The girl was polishing her staff with her sleeve.

"Why, hello there!" the headmaster said upon walking down the stairs, his voice warm and welcoming.

She looked at the old man. "Argus Finkleshore!" she exclaimed, jumping up from her seat. "It's really you!"

She has read a lot about this very man. He was the wizard of the Ardor kingdom. One of only two tier-four mages alive at present and a member of the Council of Mages. Meeting him was like meeting an idol of some sort to her.

"That would be me." He laughed, grooming his beard. "And what's your name, little girl?"

"I'm Velvet. Velvet Crow," she said walking up to the man and shaking his hand, beaming as she did so. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mister Argus!"

"The pleasure is mine," the aged sorcerer replied. He turned to his assistant. "Well mannered, this one! You should learn something from her Ralph." The young man only sighed at his remark. "I didn't only come down here to chat with you though, Velvet." He looked back at the girl. "I want to have a little friendly duel with you, what do you say?"

"What?!" Her father jumped from his seat.

"What?!" Ralph exclaimed in shock.

"YES! I'd love to!" The girl got excited.

"With all due respect, Sir," his assistant said, "but have you lost your mind? She's nine!"

"Ah, don't worry! It's not going to be what you think it is. Just a little test," he explained, not quelling his concerns one bit.

Leading them outside into the enormous courtyard, both men walked hesitantly behind him, Ralph doubting still if this was a good idea and the father concerned about his daughter's safety. Velvet skipped happily next to Argus, holding her staff in both hands.

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"That's a really nice staff you got there!" he commented. "Do you like it?"

"I love it!" she said gleefully and hugged it. Glancing at him, she noticed he had no staff on him. "Where is your staff?"

"I have one in my office, but I'm past using it. Frankly, I don't like the feel of them. Think I might give it as a gift to Ralph for his birthday. He will have more use of it." Saying that he placed his index finger over his mouth. "But let's keep this between us. I want it to be a surprise."

"I won't." The girl giggled. "So how are we going to do this? I've never been in a magic duel before."

"You cast a spell and I will counter it. That's all you need to know at this point. What spells can you use by the way? Have you learned many yet?"

"Uhm, I know Light Nova, Illuminus, Light Binding, Light Barrier, Piercing Ray..." She counted them on her fingers.

"That's very good!" he interrupted her. "And you learned them all yourself?"

"I learned them from books. Mostly from Thoracc!" Her eyes lit up, remembering her hero.

"Ah, the tales of Thoracc the light wizard." The headmaster knew those books of course. "So you want to be like him, I reckon? He is a good role model."

"Thoracc is the best!" Velvet exclaimed. "But you're pretty awesome too," she added, glancing up at the man walking beside her.

"You flatter me." Argus smiled. "But I am no hero. Merely an old man with a passion for magic." His smile faded. "Although I think I've lost some of it over the years."

"You lost your passion for magic?" The girl was surprised. "But you are one of the greatest wizards that ever lived!"

"Being great at magic and having a passion for it is not the same thing, unfortunately." He sighed. "You remind me a lot of myself when I was young. I had drive. I had ambition. I wanted to become the fifth one to achieve tier five and write my name in history." He looked at his old wrinkled hand, where the marks of darkness, air, fire, and earth sat intertwined. "However, no matter what I did, I could not get the fifth one to appear. I guess it kind of discouraged me after years of trying. I got old and ended up having to give up on my dream."

"Why did you give up on it? You can still do it!" She tried to encourage him. He chuckled slightly.

"Magic doesn't grow anymore after a certain age," he explained with a bittersweet tone in his voice. "It only starts waning. You never lose it completely, but it weakens over the years, especially if you don't nurture it with regular training. You peak around age forty to fifty and it's only downhill from there. And I am way past my prime."

"Oh..." Her head slumped down. She didn't know that. "But that doesn't mean you have to lose your passion for it!" she said, looking back up at him. "As long as you can still do magic you should keep practicing it and helping other people with it. Just like Thoracc!"

"You have a point." Argus groomed his beard. "I guess I got kind of complacent."

He looked down at the girl staring at him with hopeful eyes. "I'll tell you what. Let's make a deal. You work hard at becoming better at magic and I will work just as hard on finding my passion for it again."

"Yes! I am going to work as hard as I can every day!" Velvet exclaimed with determination.

"I guess I have no choice but to do the same then. Looks like we both have a lot of work ahead of us."

"Do you think I can become a great wizard like you one day?" she asked him excitedly.

"We don't use the term 'witch' and 'wizard' here," he corrected her. "The appropriate term is sorcerer and sorceress. Regarding your question though, we will see. If you truly give it your all every day and apply yourself, then I don't doubt it. Oh, we're here!"

They came to the very edge of the courtyard, behind the large building where they came from, and found themselves on a big tiled area shaped like a circle.

"These are the dueling grounds," the old man said. "Go stand on the other side of the circle," he instructed her.

"Are you sure this is safe?" her father, standing on the edge of it, asked, worry in his voice.

"Are you implying I don't know how to control my magic?" Argus said, sounding a bit annoyed. "I assure you, no harm will come to her. You have my word."

"Is this far enough?" Velvet yelled from the other side.

"Perfect! Now, you said you know how to cast Piercing Ray, right? This is how we will do it. On my mark, cast it and I will counter it with my darkness magic. Try to hold it as long as possible. When you can't do it anymore, simply stop. Don't worry, I will stop my spell as well when you let go. Did you understand?"

"Keep casting and don't stop," the girl summed up. "I think that's simple enough."

"Ralph! Measure the time!" The headmaster turned to his assistant, who was standing outside the circle next to the girl's dad. "Whenever you are ready, Velvet!" he yelled to the girl.

She braced herself and stepped forward with one foot, holding the staff in her right hand. Throwing her hand back and extending it forward again, she pointed its tip at her opponent and spoke the words, »Piercing Ray!«

The mark of light on her hand lit up and she felt the familiar warmth travel down the length of her arm. The emerald crystal on the staff lit up as a beam of light shot from it. Argus lifted up his hand and pointed his index finger towards the incoming spell. A black beam shot from the tip of it without him speaking a word.

Both their spells met in the middle of the circle and collided, black and white sparks flying to all sides. One of them landed on her father's sleeve and he jumped back, tapping it frantically like he wants to put out a fire. Everything about this thing called magic made him feel uneasy, but this was Velvet's dream and he would stand by her side regardless of his own feelings.

"Excellent! Now hold it steady!" the old man shouted.

Meanwhile, Ralph began counting. "1...2...3...4...5..."

Velvet started wincing and pursed her lips together.

"Hold it!" Argus repeated. "I know you can do more!"

She squinted her eyes and started breathing faster, sucking in quick breaths through her nose.

"...9...10...11..." the assistant continued to count.

All of a sudden, she grabbed the staff with her other hand as well, clutching it tightly and gritting her teeth. The staff responded by elongating itself and the beam grew in size, starting to push the black one back at its caster.

"...16...17...18..."

"Interesting." the headmaster furrowed his brow. When the white beam had almost reached his finger, he added another one. Instantly, the black beam doubled in size and pushed the white one back to the middle.

"...23...24..." Velvet clenched her teeth, beads of sweat forming on her forehead.

"...27...28...29...30..." She growled, pushing the last bit of strength from herself before falling down on her knees, her spell dissipating and the opponent's one shooting directly at her.

Argus waved his fingers and his black beam veered upwards towards the sky before reaching the girl, disappearing into nothingness. He walked over to the panting girl sitting on the floor. She looked up at him with tired eyes. "Did I...haaah...did I do good?"

The old man took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat off her forehead, patting her head in the process. "You did amazing."

"Tha-thank you!" she smiled a fatigued smile. His minty breath filled her nostrils as he spoke, the girl not knowing that the candies he was constantly chewing on were the culprit for it.

"What's the time, Ralph?"

"It's thirty-three seconds, Sir," the young man answered.

"Good. Take them back inside and let the girl rest up. Give her water and something to eat," the headmaster instructed him. "I will be joining you shortly. Then we need to discuss her accommodation and assign her a room."

"Are you alright, sweetie?" her father hurriedly ran up to the exhausted girl.

"She's fine," the scholar reassured him, but the father once again was not fully convinced. He kept looking at her from all sides as if making sure that all of her is still there and hasn't dissipated along with her magic.

"I'm fine, Dad," she said after catching her breath a bit. When she tried to get back to her feet, she found out that they refused to carry her and fell on her back, helpless.

This startled the parent. "See? You're not fine! Here, I'll carry you." He picked the girl up just like he used to when she was smaller and followed Ralph back inside.

Argus was left alone in the middle of the tiled circle. He looked down at his right hand, his middle and index finger in the outstretched position he used them in to cast his spell. A subtle smile painted itself across his face. She's forced me to use two, hmm?

Thank you for following Velvet's story! She appreciates it!

Thank you for following Velvet's story! She appreciates it! [https://img.wattpad.com/0b93a772b4822c4f05c206154ad1d8b941984524/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f722d75307a422d7756674d5750513d3d2d313235353133333036372e313730643639356461663439366536333638353339383037383039392e6a7067?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]