The Time Mage

Chapter 3: Magic!

"Where do we go now?" Kason asked, looking towards Ashton, who had turned to glare at the trees again.

"Well, we need to get you a ring and a place to stay, so I suppose I should take you to the Registry office." Ashton gave a last fierce glare at the trees and stomped off down the only path leading away from the monument's plaza.

"What do you think's got him so worked up?" Harper whispered to Kason as they followed behind Ashton.

"No Idea." Kason replied, equally confused.

They traipsed along, smelling the pungent smell of sap in the air and exclaiming at the myriad different colours of trees that they passed. When they broke out of the forested area that surrounded the monument's plaza, Ashton began to point out buildings as they passed them, even though most of them could only be partially seen, being illuminated by moon crystals.

"That's the senior's Coliseum, that pathway there leads to the Medicine Garden, that's out of bounds for everyone most of the time. That's an old building no one uses anymore, that's the senior's dining area, over that hill is the senior's practice field, don't go there until you know how to either run away really fast or create a really powerful shield." The names continued to spew from his mouth and Kason, at least, couldn't remember even half of them.

They eventually arrived at a cross-road with a signpost illuminated by moon crystals which indicated that the senior's dorm area was to the left and main college buildings were in front. There was a right-hand path but there was no sign saying where it went and when Kason tried to see what was down there, he was only greeted with a long path bathed in light by moon crystals and another forest, this one more normal looking.

"I live in the senior dorms over there," Ashton said, gesturing with his hand towards the building on the left. Kason peered through the darkness at it, trying to get a better look, but all he could see was the area around the doors which was illuminated by a different kind of moon crystal that emitted a warmer, golden light than the usual ones. The walls looked to be made from a grey stone and the double doors that stood in the entryway were made of some wood that glimmered very slightly in the light. There were also steps that led up to the doors, made of the same materials as the walls that, combined with the hulking mass of darkness the building looked to be in the night, gave Kason the feeling that he was looking at a grand manor instead of a dorm for students.

"The Registry office is down with the main buildings, so that's where we'll be going next," Ashton said and began to walk down the front facing pathway. He had only gone a couple of paces though before a muffled boom rang out from in the direction of the senior dorms. Following this, fire began to pour out of some of the windows on the third floor which had been broken by whatever had made the noise. The scarlet inferno lit up the whole eastern face of the building, spilling out in great columns which rose a couple of meters in the air before petering out.

Following this intimidating display of power, the stone that made up the building's walls began to ripple and develop a bluish sheen that Kason assumed was some kind of defence mechanism. Even this defence mechanism couldn't stop what happened next, however. Within moments of the fire being extinguished, another boom, this one clearer to hear, echoed out. The wall, which had just been coated in blazing flames, began to bulge outwards slightly. Not even a few seconds later, the wall gave way under the strain and exploded outwards violently sending chunks of stone flying into the night.

Out of the newly created hole in the side of the building, emerging like some beast from its cave, a canopy of electric blue leaves sprouted, illuminated by an unlucky tree next to the building that had been set ablaze earlier. They grew from within the hole on an enormous branch that extended from inside the third floor of the building, it seemed that it was that which had made the booming noises, presumably as it forced its way through any obstructions.