Calum

(Society Academy, Student Council Room)

Calum was having lunch after working his butt off getting the preparations in order.

Three days until the Academy changes forever, and I can finally kiss my 'title' goodbye.

Welcoming the new 'Chosen' would be some of the most distinguished Livari Professors from across the Commonwealth. They'd really shaken things up at the Society. The three 'Greater Families' had been rather unceremoniously stripped of any lofty titles and privileges. A great deal of reprimanding by the Greatly Esteemed La'ar Vitae had ensued once it had been revealed that they had organized themselves into Greater and Lesser families, all based upon the 'power' to govern. It seemed the last 220 years of favorable treatment had gone to the current Elder's heads.

La'ar was now the interim Headmaster of the Academy until the post could be filled by a 'more suitable individual', being understood as, someone not of the Society, or Human for that matter. It delighted Calum no end to see his family and their associates fall so low.

Ever since I read the Founder's Treatise I knew what we were doing was off. We were simply being like every other nation, like every other people. Denigrating, debasing, and filling our heads with lies and nonsense. What a travesty! Calum clenched his fist around his apple.

No, not 'we', they. We are no longer represented by our elders. Ours is a new destiny.

Calum didn't hate magic or all his family members as people, per se. Instead, he hated how backward and archaic their attitudes towards others 'not as special' as they were. It was classism of the most obvious kind. He had been raised as 'Neo Nobility', a young Prince who would one day lead at the head of his magic-endowed family, the Erlesen. Thus, he'd received the very best education, magical and otherwise, one could hope for.

Call me foolish, but I don't believe people are 'less' than me just because they were born with different gifts or none at all. I never asked to be a noble, and now, soon, I get to be just like everyone else! A true Chosen. I don't care what my father has to say about it.

Just then, a thought communique pinged his mind.

Yes? He thought irritably.

"Calum, you were supposed to meet with us after your Academy duties were complete! How is it that you despise us so much that even punctuality escapes you? Your presence is required at my side at the Meeting of Heads at once! Do you understand me?"

Screw you, old man. He thought privately.

I was delayed by the sheer scale of my duties, father. I will make my way to you as soon as my schedule permits. La'ar Vitae is insistent that...

He was interrupted in his response by the other end.

"Do the Sun, Moon, and Stars exist thanks to La'ar as well? Perhaps we ought to prostrate ourselves before his sheer magnificence!? The way you speak as though he watches over your every movement, I would expect you to be suckling on his teats by now. There are more important matters underway, and I will not tolerate further delays. I expect you here. Now."

The connection ceased.

If only, just once, the world could hear how that man speaks to his family, perhaps...

Calum shook his head. There would be time later for profanities. He didn't want his sisters to become the targets of his father's wrath, as they were prone to becoming, should Calum take things just a step too far.

Calum got up from his food and made a beeline for the Governance Chambers. One day, he would be free from his father's clutches. One day, he would free Rora and Milay from him too. He would become so powerful that not even his father's magic could touch or hurt him anymore. He didn't know if he could take much more though, all he knew was...

I have to try. For Mom's sake. I will free us!

One day...

Mike

(Joe's House)

"Mike, Joe, Dinner's ready!" Mary called from the kitchen.

"Coming Mom!" Joe called back. The heavenly smell of chicken and potato stew was wafting throughout the house. The boys, just after discovering Mike's power, made their way over to the table and sat with the family. After saying grace, they all dug in. In typical fashion, the boys inhaled their food, though whilst the chatter was at its usual fervor, Mike was uncharacteristically quiet. Mary couldn't help but notice.

"Mike, you feeling okay?" she asked quietly under the chatter. Nathan, Joe's dad, turned to check on Mike at her query.

The Frake's were basically Mike's second family, so it wasn't all that strange to have them worry over him. Especially now that he was literally a one-in-a-billion candidate for the 'Magic Academy'.

"Well, if I'm being honest, I've accepted the Agreement." Mike said tentatively.

"Hey! Mike, that's great! If what we've heard is true, your life is gonna change forever now huh? Mike, Hero of Earth!" Nathan said laughing heartily.

"That's wonderful Mike, I'm so proud of you!" Mary said earnestly. "This is a big step! Very responsible. And Mike, hero of Earth has a nice ring to it, doesn't it Joe!"

Joe was lost in his delectable potatoes. "Huh? Oh yeah! Hero of Earth, Mike. Totally, can definitely see that."

Mike rolled his eyes at Joe, yet it wasn't lost on him that Joe's attitude was the one he enjoyed the most at this point.

Why is that?...

"So what will you be doing?" Emma asked. She was usually very quiet around Mike, so this was a first.

"Well, I'm supposed to go to the Magic Academy somewhere really far away, and learn all about magic and my powers." Mike said with a lopsided grin.

"Powers?" Emma said with starry eyes. "Can you fly?"

Joe nearly choked on his last potato as it attempted to invent a new rollercoaster through his nose.

Asshole! Mike basically shouted in his head towards Joe whilst fixing him with a mock glare that could kill.

Joe's eyes went wide. He rescued his potato from its nasal adventure, and after washing it down with some cola gave Mike a sideways look he seldom ever saw.

It was one that said 'We need to talk'.

"So do you know where you'll be going, Mike?" Mary asked while glaring at Joe for his starch-filled escapades.

Mike distractedly answered, "Not really, it's supposed to remain a secret, at least till all the world's governments have calmed down or something like that."

"Well, that makes sense!" Nathan exclaimed, "If I were in charge of a nation that felt like I'd been screwed over by the Livari, and I knew where every single magical human on Earth was, that would put me in a pretty powerful position."

"Do you know anything else about what you'll be doing over there?" Mary asked curiously.

Mike and Joe were eyeing one another rather impatiently in order to resume their discovery into the Link. "Honestly, I don't actually know. I haven't read anything about what I'll be doing. Once a Chosen accepts the Agreement, they never return to the Chosen website and report on what happens, other than to say they've done it, and 'See you all there.'"

"It must be an NDA Mike, be careful with those, you don't wanna go blindly into some crazy thing you're not ready for, who knows what could happen! I know you're supposed to practically become a magic soldier, but keep your head on straight, alright? Those aliens got into every single person's head and there was nothing we could do about it! Just imagine what they could do to you if..." Nathan was interrupted as Joe came to Mike's rescue.

"Actually, since Mike's accepted the Agreement, we've been going over it together, but haven't gotten very far, so if you don't mind, could we excuse ourselves please?" Joe looked pleadingly at his mother. She got the memo after seeing Mike blanch ever so slightly after Nathan started speaking.

"Of course, you two go on, just don't be irresponsible, alright?" Mary said quickly before Nathan could interrupt.

"Thanks, Mom!" Joe grabbed his plate, as did Mike, before they rushed off to the kitchen, and subsequently the living room.

Mary fixed Nathan with an unimpressed look. "'I know you're supposed to practically become a magic soldier?' I doubt you could have done much worse if you'd said 'Be careful not to get killed out there Mike'."

Nathan was unperturbed. "Come now honey, if Mike wants to do dangerous things, he's going to have to be prepared. I know I couldn't get it over my conscience if I didn't at least warn him and something happened because he didn't have the advice he needed."

Mary finished her food and stood up to head to the kitchen. "I would agree with you, but telling a teenager whose life is about to be turned upside down through literal magic school 'don't do anything dangerous' doesn't exactly constitute great advice. All you did was scare him more than he already is." she chided before walking away.

It was only Emma and Nathan left at the table, and Emma was completely perplexed.

"Emma, sweetie, don't mind all of them." Nathan said to her calmly, then under his breath, "If they want to keep pampering him he's in for a rude awakening when he gets to the real world, poor snowflake."

"Why do you say Mike is a snowflake daddy?" Emma asked innocently.

"Well, a snowflake is a person that... Has a really soft heart and can get scared or sad quite quickly if something bad happens. Mike has been really...sensitive to bad things happening in his life." Nathan tried to answer as delicately as possible.

"Like how Mike doesn't have a mommy or daddy so it makes him scared of more bad things happening like that?" Emma asked as Mary returned with dessert.

"Something like that sweetie. Ooooh, look at this, thanks, honey!" Nathan said, distracting from the topic as Mary eyed the both of them suspiciously.

Meanwhile, Mike and Joe had plonked down on the couch. Joe had whipped out his tablet to sketch on, whilst Mike gave him directions.

"No, it's more angular. Like I said, less fantasy magic, more sci-fi magic vibes." Mike corrected Joe's drawing.

"Hmmm, like this?" Joe had created a pale neon aqua-coloured 'heads-up display' so he could 'see' what Mike was seeing. At first, he'd made something with flowing lines and graceful curves in the display. Mike corrected it to look more technical.

"Yeah, that's better! Nice how you got the color right too! Okay, now type Gift at the top, and I'll tell you what to put in next." Mike instructed.

Once Joe had everything laid out, he stopped and looked at Mike seriously.

Mike had been waiting for Joe to tell him what the 'look' at dinner had been about. Instead of launching right into it as was the norm, Joe remained quiet. He looked at Mike as if he was trying to find something.

"Joe, I know I'm quite a looker, but this is getting..." Mike started before Joe interrupted.

"I heard you." Joe said it with such finality that Mike was taken aback.

"What do you mea..." Mike began again

"At dinner. I heard you. You shouted 'Asshole' at me. Except the last time I 'heard' anything like that, was when Earth was told to chill out, Aliens are taking over..." Joe fixed him with a calculating look.

Mike had the dawning realization right as Joe said it. "...in my head."

Mike was horrified at first, and began apologizing, except Joe's serious demeanor completely fell away and he beamed at Mike instead.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"Dude!!! What the hell!? Since when could you use telepathy? How long have you been able to? Is it hard? What's it like? You definitely need to do it again!" Joe's flurry of questions caught Mike off guard somewhat.

"Wait, you're really not mad?..." Mike asked uncertainly.

"Why would I be mad dude? You're doing stuff I could only dream of, it's freaking awesome! Not to mention useful! I wonder what else you'll be able to do with it! It's kinda weird your power is listed as 'unknown' when clearly telepathy is kinda well-known..." Joe trailed off, seeing Mike eyeing him warily. "...am I going too fast?" He grinned sheepishly.

Mike's mind was a whirlwind right now. What was going on? Why was everyone so excited about all this but him? Now he was a mind invader? An alien had singled him out, and he had now turned into some one-in-a-billion freak show. He missed his parents so much, and he couldn't run to them for help and advice, he was scared, and there were so many unknowns, he was going to magic school, he was going to lose everyone he loved all over again, he might even die, all he had was...

"... Miiiiike, you there?" Joe snapped him out of his reverie, waving his hand in front of his face. "There we go, look who's back! What's up man, you're freezing up way more often than usual. You okay?" Joe asked lightly.

Mike was beginning to panic and feel completely overwhelmed. He looked down as one thought flooded his mind

Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't cry.

Joe had watched this unfold a hundred times over the years. Mike could be the most charming, happy-go-lucky guy without a care in the world. Then over the span of a month or so, he'd progressively get quieter and more withdrawn, second-guess himself way too much, and ultimately come to a complete standstill. Then almost immediately after, some form of breakdown would happen.

It kind of came around like clockwork at first, though as the years went by, it became less and less frequent. One of the worst episodes was when they just started high school. He was so glad he and Mike had gone to the same one, it made life so much easier, and they could rely on each other like so many other kids couldn't. That one had sucked, because there wasn't wailing, or massive sobbing. Just Mike, usually a radiant spirit, with a thin voice, and a sad smile stained with a single tear.

'You know Joe, at graduation, Aunty Lauren and Uncle Ray were there, and they were so proud of me for graduating, saying things like, "Well done Mike" and "Your parents would be proud." But all I wanted was my mom's hug, my dad's smile, and for them to say, 'Attaboy, that's my son.' And you know what? I'll never get that."

Joe had always been there for Mike, but that day he vowed he'd be there for him no matter what. Until the day he didn't need that support anymore, and even beyond that.

Mike's head was downcast, and tears were dripping down onto the carpet. Joe swung one of his arms over Mike's shoulders, and let Mike have the moment.

Joe didn't usually have anything to say, but this time...

"Mike?"

Mike stiffened slightly, clearly, Joe had his attention.

"I know we don't usually talk when you get like this, but I need to tell you something, and I don't think you're gonna like it." Joe said seriously.

Mike didn't respond.

"You know that I'm not going with you, and you know that you're going away somewhere too, probably far from us and your family. I get that's scary and it makes you sad, hell, I know I'm sad you're going, and a little scared for you too, but here's what I need you to do."

Mike was quiet, and the tears weren't flowing anymore.

"You need to stop, Mike." Joe said with finality. "It's a little early for this pep talk, in my opinion, and it's a little bit of tough love, but you need to stop. You're the bro I never had, and I care, so I'm trying to tell you that this attitude of yours is gonna get you nowhere." Joe was struggling to find the words to hit home.

"You rely on me and Aunty Lauren a lot, even though you pretend not to. I could be wrong, but think the idea of you losing us is eating you up inside, you're scared of the future, scared of magic, scared of powers? I mean, who does that Mike?" Joe started getting momentum now.

"You know that if I were in your shoes I'd be absolutely freaking out 24/7 about this, but you're dragging your feet! You're one in a billion!..." Joe continued.

"I never asked to be." Mike muttered.

Joe scoffed, "Hah, well look at you then, soooo humble that you admit it! Too bad bro, it's who you are. If I were you, I'd stop fighting it, because otherwise you'll just be miserable and lose all the people around you, and when you get to the other side, you won't make any friends there either."

Mike was shocked. Joe had never given him a pep talk like this before.

Joe sighed, "Mike, I'm not trying to be an asshole, but I'm not great with serious stuff. You're...amazing! You're a great guy and an amazing friend, and even though you may not think it, you're really great with people. You're usually fun, funny, and epic to be around, but ever since the Livari landed, you've been..." Joe struggled to find the words.

"Boring?" Mike offered.

"A baby, actually. Mike, ever since you got this opportunity you've been running from it. Most people, including myself, would be beyond grateful for it, a chance to start over, to have literal magical powers, to matter, dude! How many people in this world get to say what they do actually matters? At 15? I don't know how else to say this bro, but grow up! You're not some fragile little kid anymore. You're Mike, a 15-year-old badass, one-in-a-billion magic user who's going to probably go and represent Humanity on the Galactic stage and become a hero for the rest of your life, adored by all, rich beyond compare, and also someone who cares so much about people he'd try help them in a heartbeat, even if he got hurt in the process. That's who you are Mike! Not some sad, whiny, cry-baby scared of the adventure of a lifetime!" Joe jabbed at him.

"You're special, whether you like it or not. Also, don't give me the crap about 'you're scared you'll lose us' when you know you won't! We're all gonna be right here, waiting for you. The choice is yours, Mike. Are you gonna man up and take a stand? Are you gonna become a Champion, just like your Attribute card says? Or are you gonna whimper and cry like a little kid?" Joe was searching Mike's eyes now, as he'd perked up at being called a baby.

"I'm saying this to you, Mike, 'cause I care. I'm not gonna be there to kick you in the ass like this, you'll be on your own, at least till you find a new friend or two. So I'm doing it now. You need to get off your ass, dust yourself off, and get a grip. Your whole life is in front of you, so what are you waiting for?"

Mike's eyes were glimmering with fresh tears, but his chest was warm and filled with purpose. He felt like...he could breathe again. There was just one more thing...

"Joe?" Mike asked

"Yeah?" Joe answered almost nervously.

"Can I hug you, bro?" Mike asked sheepishly.

Joe didn't show it, but he was relieved. "Sure man."

Joe's wind was crushed out of him by Mike's lanky yet surprisingly strong arms. It was a bear hug by all accounts.

"Thanks, Joe." he said letting go and beaming back to his friend.

Joe grimaced, "Any time bro, geez, you think you could leave my ribs intact next time?"

Mike burst out laughing. It wasn't all that funny in hindsight, but getting a talking-to and his ass kicked into gear was...actually just what he needed. He felt...freer. Not like the weight of the world was on his shoulders anymore.

"Sorry I've been so down about all this Joe, I've just been seeing the worst happen in my head over and over again. So many what-ifs and dangers...mostly I've just been scared of losing my family." Mike said thoughtfully.

"Not your friends huh?" Joe jabbed with a grin.

Mike looked at him openly. "My family."

Joe smiled at that, Mike had always been like a brother to him. "Same." he responded.

Mike jumped up. "Alright then! We have powers to look at bro!" He said with a grin, "First though, gotta blow my nose, I'm a mess." he said laughing as he walked towards the bathroom.

Joe watched him leave and was relieved.

He'll be okay. I'm sure of it.

Joe sighed.

How the hell am I supposed to keep it up myself though? It's so dumb, why am I always the one perking him up? Who's gonna do that for me when he's gone? Ah well, I'll figure that out myself. For now though...

Mike returned and flopped onto the couch. "Alright my dude, let's get this stuff figured out. Gift page open!" he said aloud as the Link reappeared in his vision with Joe scrambling to pick up his tablet and sketch what Mike said he saw.

• Gift - Will o' Wisp •

• Type - Unknown •

• Effect - Unknown •

• Sub-effects - Unknown •

• Level - 1 •

• Proficiency - None •

• Advancement potential - Error •

• Would you like to activate your Gift? •

• Y/N? •

"Activate?" Mike glanced at Joe.

Joe nodded. "Hell yeah!"

Mike mentally pressed 'Yes', and braced. A buzz flowed throughout his body. He knew this feeling.

This is my magic!

Mike felt exhilarated and then...

...

Nothing happened. No pretty colors or swirls, nothing.

"Mike, wait, let's go to the pool!" Joe said excitedly.

"It's night, dude." Mike said warily.

Joe stood up with his tablet and made a beeline for the gate heading outside.

Mike rolled his eyes and followed.

Once they reached the pool Mike asked, "Why are we out here Joe? Nothing happened when my Gift activated."

"Mike, do you really wanna blow up our living room? What are the chances your power could be activated inside and something happens? It's much safer to aim blasts at a pool, don't you think?" Joe said grinning.

"Wait, what do you think I'm gonna be doing?" Mike asked intruiged.

"I don't know, but we're sure as hell gonna find out! Come on, try to blast the water with something!" Joe said almost frantically.

Mike concentrated. He raised his hand to the water, picturing a fireball shooting out.

...

"Nothing." Mike reported

"Hmmm, what did you try?" Joe mused.

"A fireball." Mike said blankly.

"Try ice maybe?" Joe prompted.

Mike raised both arms this time, and pictured ice shooting out his hand.

...

"Nothing." Mike reported once more.

"Dude, you're barely giving it a few seconds! What did it feel like to talk to Eris? Feel similar at all?" Joe queried.

"Well, when my Gift..." Mike began.

"Will o' Wisp." Joe interrupted, raising his eyebrows pointedly at Mike. "Respect your Gift's name!"

"Oookay..." Mike said haltingly, "When Will o'Wisp activated, I felt the same buzz of energy flowing inside me. It's still there."

"Okay, that's good! Try 'shaping' it, as in, try moving your magic around your body."

Mike had watched plenty of anime before, so he had a vague idea of what to try. He closed his eyes and tried to picture the magic in his body. The image was vague, but after a few moments, Mike had the picture. He stretched out a hand in front of him, picturing his magic moving towards his hands...

The buzzing in his hands intensified. He imagined a bolt of electricity flowing through his veins and out of his hands.

...

Mike let out a shaky breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. "Nothing."

Joe pursed his lips. "Couldn't change anything huh?"

"It felt like I managed to move a bit of my magic into my hands, they buzzed more! But, then nothing else happened, and holding the magic there was actually kinda hard." Mike admitted.

"That's progress though dude! Okay, well, we didn't get any physical magic to fly out, so why not try speaking to me again with your mind? That you have some experience with right?" Joe said excitedly.

Mike was hesitant only for a second. "Okay, here goes." Mike said shaking out his hands as he closed his eyes and envisioned his mind as he had with Eris. Before he knew it, he was there. While there, he could see a few things. The faintest wisps of the colorful trails of magic he saw everywhere in his room. He could...

"Joe, I can...'see' you. My eyes are closed though, but I can almost see your presence!" Mike exclaimed.

"No way! How many fingers?" Joe said holding up both hands excitedly.

"Not like that, dumbass, it's like I can see your...soul? You look like a small light. I'm guessing this is magic sense then?" Mike surmised.

"Must be! Try talking to my mind, and see if you can see me moving around!" Joe said as he quietly walked around the pool.

Mike watched in his mind's eye, seeing only the 'light' that was Joe, as it moved away somewhat and to his left. "I can see you're on my left, but I can't see actual objects." Mike remarked.

"Sweet! I did actually move to your left, so that magic sense should come in handy! Alright, now try thinking to me." Joe said from further away than Mike remembered.

Mike didn't know how to 'make' a magic stream of thought, he just remembered how to block one or hold it. He focused in on the 'light' that was Joe and decided to just try and 'think' at him.

I See You, Joe. Mike thought towards the light with all the intent he could muster as a wave of color shot out from him at the thought.

"Yahhh!" Joe exclaimed. Mike's eyes shot open and he saw Joe's shoulders coming down from a hunch.

"You scared the hell out of me dude!" Joe said laughing.

"Wait, so it worked!?" Mike exclaimed, closing his eyes and looking for the stream in his mind's eye. It wasn't there.

"Yeah it worked, it felt like you were shouting in my head though! Maybe tone it down a little?" Joe said scratching his head.

"Sorry man! Lemme try again." Mike focused on the light that was Joe, and this time, gently pushed his intent toward him. As he thought out, light followed, in a weird and misshapen shape, but a stream nonetheless.

Hello Joe.

"Wow, that one was like a whisper, almost creepy!" Joe exclaimed.

Mike wanted to open his eyes, but something...familiar appeared.

"Hello, Mike."

Mike nearly jumped out of his skin.

"Waaah! What!?" Mike jerked around, looking for the voice who had spoken to him.

"Mike, you alright?" Joe ran to him.

"So this is Joe, we finally meet! Tell him I say hi." Eris thought to Mike.

Mike clutched his heart as he came down from his fright. He realized he could sense her presence in his mind, he just hadn't noticed it.

"Joe, Eris is saying hi." Mike told him.

"Whoa! Your girlfriend is calling you up already! Tell her to wait a few days, you'll be there soon." Joe grinned.

"No dumbass, she said hi to you!" Mike laughed.

Joe deadpanned.

"Oh. Hi Mrs. Eris! Please take care of Mike for me when he's gone, I don't think I could take it if something happened and I couldn't be there. Thanks!" Joe shouted at Mike as though he was on the phone.

"Tell Joe I will, though no Mrs. Please, I'm not married."

Mike couldn't believe what was going on. "Joe, she says she will, just don't call her Mrs. since she isn't married."

Also...

Eris, it's... good to hear from you, but why are you here exactly, talking to me?

"Simple Mike, you just accepted the Agreement, and you've already started practicing too! I'm so impressed. We'll work on your control so you can speak a little clearer too, so don't worry about it." she said sweetly.

"Hey, I notice she didn't deny the girlfriend thing dude, see? Told you she was into you!" Joe ribbed Mike a little.

Eris giggled as she heard Joe through Mike's mind,

Mike was starting to get flushed but then had an epiphany.

"Alright, both of you, hold up! Eris, since you're here, could you please explain to me why my power has like, no information on it, and what is it exactly?" Mike asked.

"Nice, good thinking! She should know something!" Joe whispered as he whipped out the tablet and Mike got ready to speak whatever Eris was saying for Joe's benefit.

"Hmmm, should I tell you though?... You're not being very nice to your girlfriend." Eris said with what sounded like a wicked grin.

"...not being very nice to your girlf..." Mike halted speaking right in the middle of the world.

Oh no. Mike thought.

Joe's eyes snapped up at the abrupt halt in speech, and an equally wicked grin appeared on his face. "Well well well Mike, looks like you've got some explaining to do. Turns out you weren't being very honest about Eris, were you? She's very clearly pouting Mike, something only a girlfriend would oooof..." Joe doubled over but couldn't help laughing as Mike elbowed him.

You're infuriating, both of you! Mike thought at them both.

Joe's eyes shot up, a grin plastered on his face. "Hey, that one was good! Maybe I should bring up your girlfriend more often." Joe poked at Mike, keeping a careful distance from him to avoid any extra elbowing.

"He's right Mike, that was nicely done for one of your first trials." Eris said warmly.

Eris, could you please clue Joe in with us? It's...kinda hard to speak, think, and hear all at the same time. Mike asked wearily.

"Sorry, no can do. Unless you want Joe's head to explode." Eris said seriously.

Ah, never mind then. I'll just try the speaking thing then.

"Would you please help me out? I have questions, and..." Mike was interrupted

"My apologies Mike, but you'll need to wait a little longer for that, I've only come to give you a little gift. A welcoming present that will aid you as you begin your new journey in life! It's also part of your Gift after all." Eris said playfully.

Joe was wide-eyed at this point as Mike relayed her message out loud.

"That's...alright I guess. Thank you for the gift as well, I appreciate it, whatever it may be." Mike said somewhat disappointedly.

"Chin up sweetie, it won't be long till you know, I'm rather busy after all, that being said, here." She said as though giving Mike something.

A pale blue flame winked into existence next to Mike's head.

"Whoa! Mike, there's a fire next to you!" Joe exclaimed.

"This is your Wisp. If you research your power's name, it will make perfect sense to you. See it as a guide, and a link back to me as well. It will always follow you, though you can hide it so others can't see it, or let it be seen as you desire. If you speak to it, I'll know, though I won't always be able to respond." she said cryptically.

"One day, it will become beyond useful to you, so treat it well!"

Mike was puzzled, yet intrigued by the little blue ball of flame hanging in front of him. Joe was absolutely freaking out about it.

"Magic! It's actual magic! It's one thing to hear you in my head Mike, but this, this is..."

"Amazing!" Mike finished for him.

"I'll be seeing you soon Mike. I await your arrival with bated breath." she said mischievously, and her presence was gone.

A pale blue light glowed from the flame. Joe was the first to pipe up.

"Well, she's nice!" he said staring at the flame.

"Yeah, she's cool, just eccentric, as you can see. But hey, you got to meet her, so that's also pretty cool!" Mike said.

"And she gave you a magic flame dude! The applications for that thing are crazy! We definitely need to practice with it!"

Mike looked at the flame. It felt...alive.

He smiled despite himself.

Yeah, this. I can do this. He thought as he reached out to the flame and it responded by floating into his hand. It was cool to the touch.

"Joe, I think I'm gonna enjoy this."