Olly Briggs

As the night draped its mysterious cloak over the world, I stood in the heart of a dense stand of trees in the woods. The forest, though familiar, felt different tonight. The air was thick with an unseen presence and yet I was totally and utterly alone.

“Olly…” A disembodied voice whispered through the darkness.

As if beckoned by the voice, my body was called to follow the path that twisted and turned through the trees.

“I’ve been here before,” I thought to myself as my legs moved forward of their own accord.

In the distance, a shimmering mirage stood atop a hill amidst a clearing, and the need to go investigate it overpowered my senses. As I drew closer, the mirage slowly dissolved into a cascade of shimmering dust, revealing a plain-looking door sitting at the top of a hill.

The wind rustling through the trees seemed to scream at me “Go, go forth!”

I hesitated, hand outstretched towards the knob.

“Olly, come find me…” That voice again. I couldn’t tell who its owner was but there was an urgency behind it. They needed my help.

I gathered my resolve and placed my hand on the knob. As soon as I did the door melted away to reveal a dark, gaping tunnel. There was no light, just a black hole before me. I stumbled back but several hands connected to shadowy arms burst forward. They grabbed me roughly by the shoulder, the collar, and the neck and dragged me into the nothingness.

"You belong with us Olly," a cacophony of several voices cackled around me from all directions.

I tried to scream but no sound came out. The last thing I saw was the way my fingernails left deep grooves in the dirt before all light was removed from my world. Spiraling away from me until it was a mere pinprick in the distance before finally fizzling out.

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Olly awoke the next morning with a jolt to his alarm blaring beside him. He looked sleepily around the room, not immediately recognizing his surroundings.

“Oh right,” he thought to himself, remembering the whirlwind day that was yesterday.

He got to his feet with a groan. It was finally his first day at the Academy. It still didn’t feel real that he was here. After getting dressed in his uniform he grabbed his schedule.

In the first year, there were four core courses that every student was expected to take. These were Geography, Magical Science, Emergency Response, and World History. There was also a magical practicum that took place once per week in a laboratory. On top of that, Conductors and Labourers took a mandatory course, Tunnel Structure, together.

Finally, Olly was expected to select three electives. He had more or less decided to join Sarah in taking Mythology but was torn on a few others. Atmospheric Forces seemed like an interesting choice because it spoke to weather patterns and day-night cycles. His uncle’s previous comment on the night sky had jogged his memory and piqued his interest when he read the description. He was entirely stuck on the last course but he would have to fill his schedule somehow.

He had until the end of the first week to officially pick out his electives so there was time at least.

For his first day, he had World History at 8:30 sharp, followed by his first practicum. Then Geography and Magical Sciences took place in the afternoon. After cleaning up, he exited his room. He was about to knock on Sarah’s door when Odette burst out of her room.

“Olly! Hi!” she cheerfully called to him.

He raised an eyebrow. “Hi?”

“I wanted to ask, how did you get to know the Grandmaster so well?” she inquired innocently.

Ah, right. He remembered the attention he received last night.

“You mean she’s not like that with everyone?” he asked, faking a certain naivety, “I’m quite literally a nobody.”

“There’s no way you’re a nobody, not with her support. She practically flaunted you in front of Grandmaster Franklin!”

That was technically true and it had been unexpected even to him.

Sarah exited her room, looking between them quizzically. “Ready to go to breakfast?” she asked.

He nodded, before turning to Odette. She looked expectant and he realized her previous gaggle of friends was nowhere to be found. He made eye contact with Sarah who seemed to read his mind.

“Do you want to join us?” Sarah asked politely.

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Odette brightened up. “Of course!”

They walked in relative silence. They still didn’t quite know their way around so they took a couple of wrong turns before finding their way to the common hall for breakfast. Unlike last night’s feast the food was served buffet-style along the far wall and while the selection was still leagues beyond what Olly was used to it didn’t have quite as much fanfare.

Bowen met up with them in the buffet line. “Hey guys! Mind if I join you?”

They happily greeted him and allowed him to cut in front as they served themselves. Olly looked around the room and could see that the table at the front had been elongated and various faculty members were seated up there, with Franklin’s vacant headmaster chair in the middle.

“So what’s your connection to this place?” Olly asked Odette once they were sitting down at one of the long tables.

“My father is a Conductor and my Grandfather before him was a Conductor. I’m the third generation in my family,” she explained proudly.

“Is there a genetic component to magic? It seems like a lot of people here had family members who also attended the Academy and work for the Guilds,” he asked quizzically, digging into his eggs.

Bowen spoke up, “My preparatory school suggested there could be. But it doesn’t really explain how some people come out of nowhere with crazy magical powers.” He looked pointedly at Olly.

Olly felt his face burning. “Not sure what you’re talking about,” he grumbled.

“Oh that’s right, the Grandmaster mentioned that. I wasn’t close enough to see it happen but you were the one who figured out the test and blasted your way through the door, weren’t you?” Odette asked.

“I mean, yeah, that was me. I’m still not sure what it means though,” he admitted.

“Have you always wielded magic like that?” Bowen asked curiously.

“No, it wasn’t even until recently that I experienced it. I couldn’t understand it when it first happened so my uncle took me to a Reader who, I don’t know, got into my head a bit to try and understand it,” he explained.

“A Reader! They’re just a bunch of fakes though, aren’t they?” Odette asked, frowning.

“She seemed real enough and she had her own type of magic. It was strange,” Olly said with a shrug.

“I’ve never been to a Reader but the main Guilds tend to denounce them,” Bowen said thoughtfully, “I’ve heard it’s because, as far as the Guilds are concerned, even though we wield magic and they claim to wield magic, ours is rooted in validated truths and processes.”

“But that’s a bit silly, isn’t it?” Sarah asked, “Apart from the very few people who seem to wield magic, it’s still just nonsense to the general population. Who's to say our brand of magic is more or less real than a Reader's magic?”

“It’s a good point, but nobody can deny the tangible evidence of the work that our Guilds do; we've built tunnels between vastly different locations. Readers just claim to be able to see things normal people can't. They do have their own Guild but it doesn’t get a seat at the same table as ours because their work is just a lot less verifiable,” Bowen explained.

“Fine, so we’re not agreeing on Readers today, but I think it’s safe to say that the way Olly wields magic could teach us a lot about the way magic works," Sarah suggested.

He could agree to that. He didn’t want to tell them all openly, perhaps he’d talk to Sarah alone later, but he had a theory. He just wasn’t sure who could help him with it in the meantime. Just then he noticed that Grandmaster Abigail had entered the hall with Grandmaster Franklin. They seemed to be having an intense conversation as they walked to the front of the room. While Franklin reached his seat he sat down, but she did not appear to be staying. She exited the room immediately after their conversation.

“Hey, does anyone know if the Grandmasters stay here year round?” he asked.

Odette shook her head. “Only whoever is acting as Headmaster will remain living onsite full time. The rest have other Guild business and live closer to their Guild headquarters. They only come here for special occasions. Why?”

He avoided the question, looking in the direction that Abigail had exited. “I’ll see you guys in class. Save me a seat, would you?”

He left before they could respond and he walked away briskly. The main hallway from the common hall contained offshoots to smaller hallways that led to areas he wasn’t familiar with, so he avoided those, hoping she hadn’t ducked down one of them. It eventually connected with the atrium which was when he saw her again.

He picked up his pace as she walked towards the front entrance. “Excuse me, Grandmaster!” he called after her. She stopped and looked behind her, looking slightly annoyed at first. However, her face broke out into a grin as she saw him.

“Ah, Olly, don’t you have to run along to your first class soon?”

He looked at his watch; he only had fifteen minutes so he’d have to make this quick and hope that he could find his way to class on time.

“Yes, but I wanted to ask you something. If you have time of course.”

“I do, what can I help you with?” she asked curiously.

“My magic, it’s different than everybody else’s, isn’t it?”

She cocked her head. “It’s certainly unlike what we normally see here. Whether it’s entirely unique remains to be seen, but I am curious about it. No doubt you are as well.”

“I am, and I want to learn more about it. However, the last time we spoke, when you came to give me my offer in person, I told you I didn’t know how to control it. However, before I arrived at the school there was a, uh, small incident when I felt I could control it. I didn’t call it, it came to me, but I was able to direct it where I wanted it to go,” he explained. He felt like he could trust her, she seemed to want to actually help him.

She brightened up in excitement. “You did? That’s incredible. What do you think changed?”

“I don’t know if anything has changed really. Or rather, everything has been changing so it’s hard to pinpoint exactly. I’ve changed in the process of going through the aptitude test and getting accepted. The world seems to be changing in the wake of these collapses. My life was always consistent and now it just… isn’t,” he concluded, feeling slightly glum in saying it out loud.

“Olly that is perfectly understandable and I appreciate your honesty and worldview. Have you noticed your magic comes to you at specific times?” she inquired further.

He hesitated but she looked so invested that he couldn’t help but open up to her. “Yes. It’s inconsistent but it does seem to come when someone I care about is threatened. Or if I’m worried that they’re in danger.”

“Very interesting, I wondered if there was an emotional component here but that is a very helpful piece of insight. I did say that we perform significant research here, and I think we can work together to help you better understand it and eventually control it. You met Brandon on Orientation Day, correct? He’s always been one of our brightest researchers so I’m going to have him get in contact with you so that he can do a more in-depth assessment.”

He immediately felt a sense of relief wash over him. “Thank you so much,” he said happily.

“Now you should no doubt run off to class now. Until next time Olly!” She bid him farewell and turned to leave once more.

He dashed off to his lecture hall with a renewed sense of excitement for the day.