Spellcasting

Stranger, welcome.

Come, join me. Lend me your mind as I share my story with you, and in return, I will teach you how to cast powerful spells.

Once upon a time, the great luna wolf threatened to wipe out all life in my universe. The wolves had suffered extinction from warring invaders who sought to exploit their magical essence. The luna wolf hoped the Lightkeepers would intervene, but they passively observed until it was too late. The she-wolf's sorrow turned to anguish as she consumed her dying offspring, seeking the power to exact her revenge. But the violence corrupted her, and she began killing indiscriminately.

Hateful and baleful, she towered over the last two remaining Lightkeepers who stood in her way, a teenage girl and her younger brother. The girl lay behind the she-wolf, struggling to stay conscious after receiving a strong blow to the head. The boy stood frozen in fear, looking up at the wolf's growling mouth that could fit a dozen grown men. He clutched at his sword, trembling as his father's disgruntled voice echoed in his mind.

"You're too weak, boy, too emotional. You'll never be a Lightkeeper as long as I live."

And indeed, the boy became a Lightkeeper only after his father died at the jaws of the she-wolf.

"Wolf!" the girl roared. "I'm not done with you." She stood on one leg, arm broken, her sword used as a crutch, and blood dripped from her head.

"You cannot stop me, girl," the she-wolf jumped to devour her.

The boy saw his sister was smiling, despite her pain. It reminded him of his mother.

"Smile", she used to tell them, "Even when they say you cannot, smile and nod. And keep trying until you prove them wrong."

He tightened his grip around the sword in anticipation.

"Now," the girl yelled.

The she-wolf landed on all fours and turned, witnessing the boy screaming and fumbling through the air, failing to strike her and falling to the ground face first.

She sniggered. "Is this the best the Light--" something got stuck in her throat. When the she-wolf turned to face the boy, she missed the girl sliding underneath her legs and slicing her across the neck.

"No, I'm the best the Lightkeepers have to offer," the girl replied, pulling hard against her sword and cutting the she-wolf's throat wide open.

The she-wolf's deformed corpse slammed to the ground, and out of her neck poured black blood and the radiant body she once had. The luna wolf rose, panicked and fear-stricken, searching her surroundings. She saw the boy weeping over his sister. She approached silently, head bowed in shame, and watched as the boy held his sister and sobbed.

"Father was right. You're not a Lightkeeper," the girl said with a proud smile. "You're a Lightbringer. And you must restore the light. And you," she turned towards the she-wolf, "This is your chance to atone for all you've done. Protect my brother. You can both learn a lot from each other," she said with her dying breath.

The boy cried, and the she-wolf released a chilling howl, announcing to the universe the death of Hope, the last Lightkeeper. It was through her sacrifice that my inner world survived. It is thanks to her that I am alive today. And to this day, with help from the luna wolf, the Lightbringer traverses the cosmos. They jump from person to person, from mind to mind, battling all kinds of monsters and restoring the light.

Now that the Lightbringer's spell is cast and the ritual is complete, they have entered your world. All thanks to you. Yes, you, reading this fairy tale and bringing it to life. This is the hidden power of all stories. Their spells exist forever, dormant and waiting. And all it takes to activate the magic held within is a willing mind.

Yours, friend.

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This was a short story I wrote for a university assignment based on one of the many stories I have on the back burner. The original version is longer and was meant for a comic that hasn't seen the light of day. I might revisit the story and write the whole thing at a later stage.