Soaring through the skies, I lived out my childhood dreams as my grandpa and I took to the backyard space on our dragon bikes, shredding through the air as I honed my aerial abilities. My grandpa pushed me to new heights as he coached me through intense drills, which included smashing targets with my blazing fire bolts.

"Way to go, Rollie! I'm really impressed with you so far. For someone who just started playing this year, you fly better than a lot of other people. They would kill to have your progress so far,” my grandpa said one day.

The entire time we practiced, I had a giant smile. When we returned to the house, my grandpa prepared lunch, and I helped him make the gravy for the dumplings. After lunch, my grandpa checked the mail and brought me two letters.

"Mr. Popular." My grandpa smiled.

One letter was from Attleton, and the other was from Farrah. I was most excited to read Farrah's letter, so I saved it for last and opened the Attleton envelope. It was a work of art in itself, crafted from rich, cream-colored paper and featuring a subtle yet elegant design. The surface was embossed with a cursive A, giving it a three-dimensional appearance.

Rollie,

Congrats on successfully finishing your first semester at Attleton. I couldn't be happier for you, and I hope you still feel like Attleton is your home. Even with everything that has happened, I hope you can continue your studies at our fine institution and keep growing. I have no doubt one day, you will be a successful mage that inspires everyone around you. Do not worry, there is nothing negative with this letter, only positive news. I will see you Sunday morning, the first weekend in January. Please have your materials ready to go by then.

Head Counselor Jonathan.

"What's the matter, Rollie? You seem bothered by that letter?" my grandpa said.

“Nothing's wrong. Just Attleton telling me I passed my classes and I'm welcome back. Basically, everything that Principal Pine said. But I don't know, I feel weird sometimes when anyone compliments me like this." I handed my grandpa the letter. "You know, it's like, what if I don't have this vision of doing all of these great things? Feels like a lot of pressure, sometimes."

"Unfortunately, I can't relate. I thrived off of being a great Dragonstryke player. But I guess I understand. After all, your mother never had any elemental powers or magic. I was disappointed for a while, but, she knew I still cared about her. I think.” My grandpa grimaced. “I wish I could do a lot of things differently."

"Yeah," I said. I wanted to say more, but I was at a loss of words.

Focusing on a happier subject that would undoubtedly fill me with excitement, I opened up Farrah's letter. With each word I read, I could hear her gentle voice in my head, clear as day.

Rollie,

Now that I've figured out my holiday plans, I will be with my parents from December 20th until December 27th. I know Winterium begins December 20th, but I think it's best we spend it with our respective families.

Although it's extremely unfortunate, my brother Elijah said he won't be able to attend my family's Winterium dinner, which he always does. This will be the first year he ever misses it. But I'm really worried about him. I think it has something to do with that meeting we saw him in. Something happened at the bank he works at. There was a robbery! A bunch of people were knocked out by this wicked man in a lion-faced mask. No one knows where the masked man went, but a few people had to go to the hospital. I just hope Elijah had nothing to do with it. We hadn't heard much from Elijah, but he said he was okay but couldn't talk about what was happening. It's very strange, though, and it makes me uncomfortable.

Anyways, I will see you on December 27th. I'm so excited to give you your gift! You'll love it.

xoxoxo

Farrah

My heart fluttered at the idea of seeing Farrah again. I reread the letter. Even with all of the drama going on at school, it was nice to know that I always had her in my corner and had her in my life.

"Oh wait, Grandpa, I have a weird question for you."

"I have a weird answer for you." My grandpa smiled.

"So, this is the first time I've ever had a girlfriend, and I've never got any presents for anyone. Not even friends or family. And, apparently, Farrah is getting me a gift. I have no idea what to get her."

"Well, what sorts of things does she like? Tell me about her."

"I think she likes jewelry. I usually see her wearing a necklace and some rings. I think she also likes music, but she doesn't have a record player like me. She also loves her dog Sparky, so she likes dogs." It felt weird trying to think of things Farrah liked. I didn't like the answers I gave, but it was better than nothing.

"Okay, that sounds good. I think that's enough to go off of. We could go to a downtown market this afternoon and grab a bite to eat somewhere. It's very crowded around this time of year, as you can imagine, but we can certainly find something I think she'll like."

I was relieved my grandpa had an inkling of something to do because I felt lost. "But Grandpa, I don't have any money to buy anything."

My grandpa chuckled. "Not to worry, I'll take care of that, no problem."

We got on a dragon bike in my grandpa's backyard and flew to a train station nearby. The train station was a sight to behold. It was a massive brick structure with tall arched entryways and sprawling windows, filled with people rushing to different platforms. As we approached, I couldn't help but marvel at its grandeur. Upon entering the first floor, we were greeted with a row of lockers, each with its own unique number. Grandpa went to locker number 400, unlocked it, and stored our dragon bike for the day. Then we stepped inside the train station, where multiple tracks branched off in different directions, each leading to a unique destination. My grandpa made his way to the circular ticket kiosk and procured our tickets. As we made our way to the track, a sign caught my eye: "Englaria Mage Markets."

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

We waited for a few minutes for the train to arrive, we got on, and it was quite spacious. A maroon and gold carpet with a copper-colored wood interior. Green plush cushioned booths everywhere.

"No matter where I go in Lementum, it always feels like I'm time traveling, I swear," I said.

"Really? I've never been to your world, but I can imagine things not being nearly as convenient," my grandpa said.

"Actually, you'd be surprised. There are a ton of amazing technological advancements, and I might be willing to bet that a bullet train from my homeworld would beat a train here. We learned about those in school, but I've never been on one. But yeah, things don't look like this. If you get on a bus, the seats aren't comfortable and they don't look so nice."

"Ah, that doesn't sound very pleasant."

"It's not. Trust me, this is unbelievably better."

We had to search for a booth for a while though since the whole train was packed.

"Logan! Logan Magpie! Is that really you?" a random stranger said to my grandpa.

"Yes, it is I." My grandpa beamed.

"Can I shake your hand? Please? Please!"

"Sure thing, sir."

My grandpa shook a stranger's hand.

"I've always been such a big fan of yours! Thank you for bringing us a championship back in the day."

"The pleasure is all mine."

"Having trouble finding a seat?"

"Uh, yeah, a little more trouble than I had anticipated, but I should have known better. What with it being this time of year and all."

"You can take my seat, Mr. Magpie. Come on, son." The stranger got out of his booth, and so did his son next to him.

"While that's extremely kind of you, you really don't have to do that, sir."

"I insist. You’re a legend that deserves respect from all the hard work you poured into our team."

"Please, it was a dream come true. I'm very fortunate to have the life I have."

"I'm not taking no for an answer. My son and I can find a spot further up."

“Thank you, kind sir.” My grandpa shrugged and we took his spot, which felt a little weird, but at the same time, I felt like I was with someone who was VIP, a feeling I had never had. It was strange to think of my grandpa as a sports celebrity. Those people always seemed like they never existed in the world, but there we were, on the train, just like everyone else.

I watched the open fields and farm homes zipping by during the ride.

Slowly the cart came to a stop and we reached a place that seemed like a city that appeared out of nowhere. There was wide open farmland, and then the station. When we walked out, there was a large concrete square with a statue of a mage on a dragon in the center. In front of us were massive red brick sheds that housed numerous vendors and goods. My grandpa led the way through the wide-open path between two sheds. I was memorized by all the people walking in and out of the different sheds. There were even street performers, a singer and guitarist, someone juggling, and another person who was a Fyron that kept changing the color of the flame floating in front of his hand. It went from purple to red, to yellow, then green. It was fascinating to watch, but not many people paid attention to him as they did the others.

My grandpa took us deeper into the market, and we went inside a shed labeled with a massive number 6 at the entrance.

A wooden sign hung below the 6: Clothing, Accessories, and Jewelry.

Numerous vendors had their shops on tables, hangers, and display cases. It was packed inside, but we could move through the crowd without any issues. I was having a blast people-watching. Everyone had a different colored cloak, and some people had beautiful line art painted on their faces or large piercings that gave me an imaginary pain in my ears, nose, and eyebrow. But not everyone wore a cloak. Some people had fitted armor plates and various other rags or outfits.

We went towards the back of the vendor setups and saw an old woman working behind a counter. No one was browsing her little shop, but she was also near the end, and many people had gathered around there.

"Hello," my grandpa said to the old woman.

"Hello. How can I help you, young lads?"

My grandpa snickered. "I'm certainly not a young lad, but thank you. My grandson here is looking for a nice little gift for his girlfriend for Winterium. She likes dogs and jewelry."

"Oh! How marvelous, I've got just what you need." The old woman reached into a glass case and pulled out a silver necklace, which had a pendant of a tiny dog that looked similar to Sparky. She placed it on the counter.

"That looks perfect!" I shouted.

"That settles that. We'll take one of those," my grandpa said.

"This is an excellent choice; they no longer make jewelry like this. This is an antique. Nowadays, smiths and jewelers have to use a different metal since I guess this alloy isn't as good. I don't know, I can't remember why, but it's still perfectly wearable."

"An antique? Even better.” My grandpa winked at me.

My grandpa paid for the gift, and we walked to another shed with food vendors. It was getting close to dinner time, so we decided to have an earlier dinner. Going through the path, I smelled a variety of spices and recipes. It was like they had food from all over the world. Some of it smelled familiar, but most of it looked new to me. We got some special spicy dumplings and then went towards the center area with tables and a glass atrium ceiling. It was filled with the hum of people chatting.

My grandpa stopped and glared at something as we chowed our meal. I had not seen him look disgusted like that before.

"What's the matter, Grandpa?"

"Do you see these young people over here? They are wearing white cloaks with a golden insignia."

I turned to see what he was looking at; a few tables away from us, a group of people sat at a table wearing what my grandpa described. They all had a mischievous grins, cracking up about something. I realized that many boisterous conversations came from their area as my grandpa and I ate. I saw them smack the table, make weird groans, and throw pieces of food at each other. The golden insignia on the back of their cloak was three upside-down triangles inside each other.

"Yeah, I see them."

"I shouldn't let this bother me like it does, but I can't help but get upset whenever I see that symbol."

"Why?"

My grandpa sighed. ”I suppose it's a bit of a long story. But long ago, there was a dangerous faction in all of Lementum. When I say it was long ago, I mean it was almost ancient. In history classes, it's a symbol associated with an evil group of mages. Sometimes I think people just wear it for attention, but it's still worrisome when you see a group of people doing it."

"I don't know, Grandpa, I wouldn't worry about it too much. They seem close to my age but probably a few years older. Some people just like to rebel for the sake of rebelling. They probably like annoying others." I focused on my food.

"I don't think they realize the danger of that symbol, though. It's not something harmless that you can just laugh about or dismiss without much thought. I'm sure you can think of symbols from your home world that causes controversy?"

I thought about my history classes back in Ohio and it made sense. "I see your point."

"You enjoy the punk outfit, and I'm sure you probably got a kick out of defying your parents, but you wouldn't wear anything offensive in your home world."

"Never."

My grandpa continued eying their table until they got up and left. "There's part of me that wants to follow them."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know. But I just don't trust them."

There were four. They all trudged off together, snickering while staring at people around them. They didn't do anything horrible or anything out of the ordinary, but they definitely stalked people around them like a vulture.

"You ready to go back home, Rollie?"

"Yeah, sure thing."

I took a few more bites of my dinner, and my grandpa finished his meal. The two of us stood up and left the food area.