-"Saying Goodbye is often the hardest thing to do. But sometimes it must be done."
*Alto*
[Eight Days prior to the test]
"Morning, Mom!" I said as I pulled up a seat at the dining table.
A chocolate-brown-skinned woman with long, wavy cyan hair placed a bowl of oatmeal in front of me. "Morning kiddo. Ready for another day of tutoring?" she asked, smiling.
I stared at the oatmeal, eyes solemn.
Mom sat down next to me and leaned in closely. "What's with that reaction? You're acting as if someone died."
I flashed her a smile. "It's nothing. I'm just tired. That's all." I moved my thick, gooey oatmeal around the bowl with the spoon.
Mom stood up. Her cyan eyes looked me up and down. "Is that so? Then how about I tutor the kiddos today? You can go ahead and take the day off."
"No!" I yelled, my eyes on her. I bit his lip and glanced back at my warm meal. "I-I'll do it."
She took a deep breath and put her arms on her hips. "Son. You're thinking of going to Kyuu Seishin. Aren't you? It's fine if you want to go. Your father and I won't hold you back. And you know that I enjoy having the kiddos around."
I smiled at her. She did always love having kids around. I would've had more siblings if it weren't difficult for my parents. And I certainly wouldn't have minded having several younger siblings to take care of, or even several more older siblings to look up to and want to outdo. Sadly, they only managed to have Zy and me.
"You know me well, Mom," I said, taking a bite of the oatmeal, allowing its soft, warm, gooey texture to fill my taste buds. "It's delicious. Like always."
His mother chuckled. "Thanks. Glad that you like it. Hopefully it has relieved your troubles at least a little."
I nodded. "Thanks, Mama." I hugged her tightly. "You're the best."
Her long, slender fingers combed my hair back as her motherly warmth wrapped around me. "I'll miss you, kiddo."
I looked up at her eyes. "I'm not leaving yet. I haven't even decided if I'll be going or not," I said, letting go of her. "So don't say goodbye just yet."
She snickered and patted my head. "Alright."
I returned to gulping down my oatmeal.
"Slow down or you're going to choke," a stern voice called out. Lowering my bowl, I turned toward the entrance of the kitchen. A handsome dark-skinned man with medium long crimson hair rolled his wheelchair in. He had a couple of scars on his face and on his hands.
I punched my chest, trying to get the food to go down. "Got... got ya."
The man snickered. "So what's the rush? Got a date with a pretty girl or something?"
I grabbed my bowl and stood up to place it into the empty sink. "I'm going to go give what might just be my last lesson to the kids. At least until my next vacation."
Father crossed his arms over his chest and smiled proudly. "You sure took after your mother. You're nothing like your heartless old man."
I rolled my eyes. "Dad. You're not heartless. If you were then brother and I would likely have daddy issues."
My father let out a belly laugh. "True. True. Though, you do wish to defeat me, right?"
I gave him a smug smile. "Of course. I hope that one day my legacy can surpass that of the 'Crimson Soldier'."
My father winced upon hearing that name. The look on his eyes changed. It was as if the man was being taken into a bygone era. "I just hope that your legacy isn't one filled with as much blood and death as mine was."
I stared at my father's pained eyes. They were wise looking despite his appearance, and not only because my dad was actually in his fifties. Dad would've wished it was age that gave his red eyes their worn appearance.
"I'll aim for one like my older brother's," I said, grinning. I placed a hand on my father's shoulder. My smile gave way to a frown. "Sorry. I didn't mean to churn old memories from their slumber."
My father shook his head. "Apologize not, child." He placed a hand over his tired eyes. It was as if all of the dark parts of his life were suddenly flashing before his eyes. "These memories are ever present. Whether you or anyone else stirs them, or not. They will forever follow. That's why you mustn't be so quick to rush into conflict, son."
I let go of my father. "I'll... try." I really needed to take that to heart. If not for Sonata, I really would've killed my former friend.
My father tried his best to give me an assuring smile. I avoided looking at him, not wanting to be reminded of the pain I caused him, even if he claimed that it wasn't my fault.
"Though I wish for you to live a life without regrets. Fight to protect those you hold dear," he said, rolling his chair closer to Mom.
"I will," I said, rushing out of the kitchen. 'Or at least I'll try to.'
"Wait, Alto," my father called out.
I spun on my heels and saw my father toss me an empty milk jug from the table. "Could you toss that into the recycling bin? The garbage collector will be coming later this morning."
Raising the jug, I smiled as I turned it upside down. The indents of the plastic gallon along with the opening reminded me of a gas mask. "I got a better idea. Bye!"
My parents snickered. "Bye, son!"
***
"Hey!" Ulissis said, waving at me as he stepped out of the apartment complex. He was wearing his usual white hoodie despite the blistering heat. Though perhaps it was for the best, given how susceptible pale skin was to sunburn.
"Hey," I said, avoiding looking at him directly. "Say, are you still considering going to Kyuu Seishin for high school?"
He slipped his pale hands into the pockets of his coat. "Don't worry," he said calmly. "I won't pressure you to come." His red eyes shifted toward the weed covered sidewalk. "I might stay here too. So if you wish to go then do so. I can take over the tutoring."
I stared at him in awe. I wanted to tell him that I had changed my mind... "I thought that you were excited at the chance to finally awaken your powers."
He gazed at the clear azure sky. "True. But perhaps I have no powers to awaken. It would be a waste for me to venture all the way to Wahkan, only to discover that I am like my father. A non-mage." His hands were curled into fists. "I..."
I crossed my arms and stared at my friend with a stern expression. "Waiting to know the truth and holding onto that hope may be more painful down the line. Don't you hate not knowing?"
Ulissis glared at me, sending shivers down my spine. "You too. Huh?"
I shook my head at him. "What did you want me to say? That you for sure have magic? Come on. You know me. I can't lie to you. Nor can Arima. Try to be honest with yourself."
He grunted. "What do you know? You've had magic all your freaking life! Your entire family is made up of mages! You don't know how my life has been, having no magic at all!" he screamed in my face.
I turned my head away. "Most of this town is made up of non-mages. Magic in Sefa is slowly dying. There's nothing to be ashamed of. You're the one who claimed from a young age that you were a mage. Every time you tried to prove it, you failed. Yet, despite the many warnings from Arima and I gave you, you still continued. That's what resulted in people bullying you."
A fist knocked me into the street. I glanced up at the furious Ulissis as tears ran down the redhead's face. "So..."
I jumped to my feet and punched my friend back.
Ulissis blocked my punch with his left forearm and hit me in the stomach with a reverse. I crumpled to the floor, spitting out saliva. "Sorry. I..."
I glanced up and smiled. "You. Really. Do. Love to play. The role. Of the wimp." My feet shook as I tried to stand up.
"Here," Ulissis said, holding out. I accepted the hand and stood up. "Sorry, Al. I didn't mean to hit you. It was just instinct."
I chuckled light-heartedly. "I know, Uli. And my punch was meant to knock you out of your self-pitying."
"You guys sure love to communicate through your fists, huh?" Behind the two of us stood Arima, wearing a white tank top and skirt. "Ready to greet the kiddos one last time?"
Ulissis and I both glanced at once another. Unsure about what we should do. Go with Arima and try to fulfill our dreams of becoming stronger mages. Well, become a mage in the case of Ulissis. Or to stay home.
I let out a deep sigh. "I'm still thinking." I kept my eyes on the dull gray street ahead. Nearly every building in my part of town was boring to look at. If only there were more color to it. Sadly, the few colors on the architecture came from graffiti plastered on walls by notorious gangs. Alban's gang wasn't even one of those so-called dangerous gangs. Compared to those gangs, the members of his gang were like children playing pretend...
Luckily, my older brother and I had managed to keep our part relatively safe over the past decade or so. Only morons like Alban's gang dared to enter nowadays.
"Hey, what's with that milk jug?" Arima asked. "Shouldn't you recycle that?"
I smiled at it. "This? I am thinking of making a little something for the kids. All I need is some string, scissors, and a couple of decorations."
"I have some string," Ulissis said, pulling some out of his white jacket.
Did he have an activity of his own planned ahead of time?
"There should be decorations like feathers and stuff at the school," Arima said. She stopped and squatted down to pick up a shard of green glass. "Hmm, we could also use these. We'll just need to wash them and polish the edges to make them like beads."
"Ohh, I remember we used to make necklaces like that!" Ulissis said as his worries seemed to dissolve into the wind. "Aban used to... polish them for us..." He lowered his head. "That guy sure changed, didn't he?"
I nodded solemnly, walking on ahead as if someone close to me had died.
"Alto!" several high-pitched voices echoed at once.
I glanced up. Several children around the ages of four and five were waiting by a row of heavily fenced houses with plywood where windows should be. Even the plywood itself had plywood over it as if something had broken through it at one point.
"Alto!" one of the children yelled once more, waving at them. He had hair as black as jet.
"Hey, kiddo," I said, walking over to him and ruffling his hair. "Ready for your lesson, kiddos?"
"Yeah!" all of the kids yelled with smiles on their faces.
"Today we'll be having class at the shuttered magic school!" Arima yelled.
"Which one?" one of the kids asked. She had bright blue hair and a face like Mom's. The similarity wasn't a coincidence. She was Zy's kid after all. Though I still hadn't had the chance to meet the girl's mother. It seemed that she had an important position of some kind. If I remembered correctly, she worked abroad.
"We're going to the closest one of course," Arima said in her most upbeat voice. "Follow me everyone!" The children followed her as if they were part of a marching band.
"Arima sure has a way with kids," Ulissis said, chuckling.
"She sure does," I said as I joined the kids and my friend. I'll miss her.
"Uncle?" the blue-head girl asked, staring back at me. "Are you feeling well?"
I ran over and ruffled her hair. "I'm perfectly fine, Melo! Filled with energy as always."
She sighed. "Uncle's a bad liar. That's what Papa told me. Not that I needed him too. It's as obvious as daylight."
I feigned an indignant gasp. "How dare he... I'm a... Alright, I'm bad at lying. Though, perhaps that's for the best." I let go of her head and watched Arima continue to lead the kids toward the old school. It was one of several in the area that were closed due to the lack of magic.
Even private magic schools had small enrollment numbers these days. All of them required one to pay vast sums of money. The chances of a kid like any of us getting into one was near zero. The well off preferred to just hire tutors for their children anyway.
Unlike Nine Petal Academy, they lacked meritocratic ways of entering. So even if I were the best mage, without money they wouldn't allow me in. That's why there existed in Sefa a saying that went, 'Those with money have the strongest kind of magic.'
I sighed just thinking about it. If only there were a way to have it both ways. To stay in my country and study magic. Alas, even my more talented older brother had to seek opportunity elsewhere. Imagine, outsourcing the magical future of this nation to foreign lands. The politicians were as dumb as they come.
***
"We're here," Arima said, taking out a key to open the door. The superintendent of our local school district had given us permission to use the now defunct magic schools. I did wonder why they didn't just renovate them instead of trying to get funding from Congress to build expensive new schools. It certainly would've helped with the overcrowding in the mundane schools.
"Hey, Alto, since we're in a magic school, can you show us magic?" said Jet, the boy with hair as dark as the namesake stone.
I rubbed the back of my neck. "I'm not sure if I'm the best one to do that." My control still needed work. What if a spark flew out and hit one of the kids? It wasn't like they had a prana veil to protect them. Although, perhaps Arima could've kept them safe.
Arima smiled. "I'll do it then!"
"Yeah! I wanna see some spooky magic!" Jet said.
Ulissis lowered his head. He probably wished he could've done the demonstration.
"Let's go by the old tennis court," Arima said, pointing to the left of the building. We went around the building until we arrived at a wide tennis court. This place must've been amazing in its heyday. I pictured mages flying overhead, some with the help of brooms, others using only their magic.
Arima entered the tennis court while the rest of us stayed on the other side of the fence which once protected spectators from rouge balls.
"Hmm, which spell should I use," Arima mumbled as she looked down.
"How about the one you've been working on, the 'angel of darkness' spell," I said, smiling.
She laughed. "I haven't perfected that one yet. Oh, but how about Alma Draconis?"
I shrugged. "That works. As long as the kids get their spectacle."
Arima took a deep breath. "Great, now I'm nervous."
I snickered. "You'll be fine!"
She nodded. "Wait, before I continue, who here knows what prana is?"
"Oh, oh, I do!" Melody said, stretching her little arm up. "It's magical energy, right?"
I covered my mouth. How cute. She wasn't wrong, but Melo was merely hitting the top of the iceberg.
"Yes, it's the energy we mages use for our spells. Its primary form comes in the shape of elements and supernatural phenomena, such as your uncle's electrical sparks, or my summoning of spirits."
"The latter sounds kind of creepy," a kid mumbled.
Arima frowned a little. The comment must've dug up old memories of when we were elementary kids ourselves. Her magic scared off most people, especially girls. So making friends was tough for her.
"She calls forth spirits that are willing to help and helps them move on to the other side should they want to," I said, crossing my arms. "Most often, those of animals."
Ari tilted her head and smiled slightly at me. She didn't want me defending her, but she was still thankful for it.
"So, how does spirit prana work?" Melody asked.
"Similar to other kinds," Arima said, holding out her hand. A grayish-purple spirit blade extended out of her hand. "This one is made using my own spirit. Prana itself is the essence or radiance of the soul. We Xelerians have a special organ in our bodies which allows us to capture and make use of this essence."
"An organ?" Jet asked, blinking.
"Your big brother didn't explain it to you?" Ulissis asked.
Jet shook his head. "Aban sucks at explaining stuff! He just says 'prana blah, blah, blah' while moving his hand as if it were a sock puppet and the like."
Aban always lacked patience for technical stuff. Guess he hadn't learned to appreciate such things.
"So, why can't all mages use spirit magic?" the girl whose comment had made Arima sad asked.
"Because of the differences in the magicum organum. Although, that might be a subject for another day," Arima said.
"Zy compared it to a prism of light," I said. "Not everything reflects the same white light. Some things only reflect yellow."
"So it's like a filter?" one of the older kids in the group asked.
I nodded. "Yeah." I scratched my head. "Well, at least that's how my brother described it. But it is possible to adapt and learn different kinds of magic as one grows up." Not that I was the best case study for it. I was still a pure lightning mage.
"From the magicum organum, the energy runs up our arteries and into our hands, feet, mouth, eyes, you name it," Arima said.
"Wait, does that mean someone can bleed magic?" the big kid asked.
Hmm, I'd never thought of that before. Was that possible?
"What about non-mages?" Melody asked, glancing at Uli.
Uli looked down and frowned. "Non-mages were born with a faulty M.O., or develop an issue later in life which takes one's ability to use magic away."
"Does that mean we Sefans are faulty?" a little girl with curly blond hair asked.
Arima shook her head. "No, but some might see us like that."
True. I'd heard there were radicals who hated non-mages, just like how Ulissis's dad hated mages.
Arima cleared her throat. "Anyway, as one develops as a mage, they can move the energy outside the reaches of the body. Alma Draconis!" The energy in her hand sprung out and took on the shape of a dragon. It flew high and higher, until it blocked out the sun, casting a purplish-gray light over us.
"Woah! I didn't know ghosts cast a shadow," Jet said.
Arima giggled. "Some say ghosts can emerge from the shadows."
The kids looked at their shadows and gulped.
I snickered. "Great, now you scared them!"
"It's okay. I'll keep the spirits away!" Arima said, flexing her right arm.
The kids sighed in relief.
"We should probably start our activities for the day," Uli said.
"Alright," Arima and I said in unison.
"Aww!" the kids said, lowering their heads.
"Don't worry, we got fun stuff planned," I said, ruffling Jet and Melody's hair.
The kids' faces brightened a little.
Before I knew it, the day had quickly gone by. I stared at rays of the setting run as they poured in through the clear mosaic windows, long devoid of their vibrant and diverse colors by the effects of time. The only reason that the place still stood was because its builders had used sturdy materials that aged well.
I raised the plastic mask which the children and I had put together. We had used the green glass as a gem for the 'feather crown'. The children had made it in the fashion of the masks of Wahkan... they must've been inspired by the various stories that Arima had shared with them about the place. A place which Arima herself hadn't had the chance to visit, yet.
"Gather around, everyone," Arima said, commanding the attention of our young students. "There's something that I haven't told you. This might be the last day that we're together like this for a while. You will all be beginning kindergarten in a few days, and we will be going off to high school-"
"We can still meet up the day after," said Jet, grinning.
Arima gave him a sad look. "In Kyuu Seishin, most likely," she finished.
"Where's that?" several of the kids asked, glancing at one another.
We really should have taught them more geography. "It's to the southwest of here, beyond Miha," I responded for Ari.
"Kyuu Seishin," my niece said, tapping her small head. "Ah! That's where my mommy and daddy went to school!"
I nodded. "Yes. And that's...." I remembered the white-haired woman's words. About how going there will allow me to control my magic better; so that I wouldn't nearly kill someone by accident. "Where the three of us are going."
Arima and Ulissis exchanged surprised glances.
"You're leaving us?" Jet said. His eyes and those of the other kids grew teary. Some of them already had tears rolling down their faces.
"No!" several of the kids cried.
"Yeah," Ulissis responded, his red eyes watery. "We will be back during the holidays, though. I hope that all of you can show us what you've learned when we return."
"My mother will be teaching you after school instead of us. So you'll be learning a lot more than you are now with only us tutoring you," I said.
The kiddos nodded.
"We'll learn a ton!" Jet yelled, grinning through tears. "Oh yeah, you can keep that mask." He turned to look at the other kids. "Right, guys?"
"Yeah!" they all said as if part of a choir.
My heart ached as the eyes of the kids started to water. I brought my newly made mask up against my face as my emotions overflowed as well. "And we'll show you everything that we learn too!" I responded, closing my eyes. "Hopefully by then some of you will have awakened the ability to use magic."
"Yeah!" Jet said, raising a tiny fist to the air. "I'll awaken my powers and become even stronger than you!"
I could only chuckle at such a remark. Lowering my mask slightly, I said, "You sure got the guts. Look forward to seeing if you got the skills or not."
Jet snickered. "Same goes for you, teach!"
**Solar Note: Thanks for reading, don't forget to vote and perhaps even comment if you enjoyed it :). Next Episode signals the start of the journey to Wahkan! Look forward to it ^_^**