By Franklin Torres
An Introduction
At first, it may appear that there are a lot of random bits and pieces of information thrown into the story and never brought up again. This is what is called a plot hole. As an avid enjoyer of non-fiction, I hate plot holes. To the reader, I ask you to be patient as the story unfolds, for all questions will be answered by the end of the story. The story will all make sense to you as it will to Magenta, our main character and heroine, as you, the reader reach the end of this journey. Thank you and enjoy.
Chapter 1: A Challenge Arises
*The Opening Act begins with an overlooking of a lush green forest below a light blue sky, with some trees having begun changing color for the fall, and a nice cool breeze blowing on an otherwise quiet and warm day. The sound of an explosion and the screams of a young girl breaks the calm silence of the forest. *
M: UGHHHH! Daaaaad! I am literally never going to get this spell. It’s not fair! Amyna didn’t master this spell until he was 17, I’m only 12!
A: Yes, but this is a combat fire spell, you know very well Amyna's affinity is with water and ice spells, and defense magic, your magic on the other hand is fire and electricity, and we both know that with that temper of yours you’re also a combat mage. With those two factors combined, you should be able to master this much sooner than he did.
M: But he’s a prodigy! He’s always learned things quickly so the fact that it took him so long means there is no way I'll master it before he did!
A: You are also a prodigy. All of my children are, just because it is taking you a little while doesn’t mean you can’t do it.
M: Bu-
A: No buts. You know very well that nine months ago this is exactly what you wanted, you very clearly stated you wanted to learn this spell by your thirteenth birthday in honor of your mother. You’ve already been able to use your flames to create the shape of the phoenix spirit. With some more practice, you’ll be able to bring it to life, and maybe one day summon a living phoenix!
M: Fine. But I’m done for today, that was the third explosion in my face, and I think that’s enough.
A: Fair enough my little salamander, go to your room and rest, I know it is a very draining spell to even attempt to cast, and today alone you got close enough to achieving not one, but 3 explosions. Although it may not feel like it, you are making incredible progress considering only a few months ago you couldn’t even harness all the energy that you needed to even begin casting this spell. Now it is only midday, so take the rest of the day off because you know we have to be up very early tomorrow.
As Magenta, begrudgingly walks back to her room, running across the grounds of her family’s villa, flooded with vibrant and lively plants of all different colors, she plans for the conversation she will be having with her mother’s spirit crystal as soon as she returns to her room. Her room is really more of a miniature house, due to her large collections of magic books in her library, plants she grows in a personal greenhouse, and an assortment of souvenirs from her many adventures as a young magician, and of course, her own bathroom. From an early age, Minerva’s father has taken her and her brother on his easy missions so that they can gain experience and develop their magical abilities. When they were each ten years old, they were allowed to take quests of their own, to which Minerva made it her mission to keep something as a memory from each of these quests. Anything from wanted posters, coins, crystals, articles of clothing, or special commodities of the towns she has saved or stayed at during travels, leaving too many shelves in her room and her library. In her bedroom, there is a large terrarium where her two pet lizards live, Borax and Barium. She had found their unhatched eggs during one of her missions and decided to keep them since they had just lost their home due to a deranged lumberjack, the reason she had been there to begin with. And lastly, a special room made to honor her mother, with pictures and memorabilia of hers which Magenta grew attached to over the years she grew up. One of the walls of this room is made of glass, overlooking the garden her mother and father grew before Magenta’s birth. And in the center of this little room is a small circular wooden table upholding a large light blue crystal, which Magenta uses to summon the ghost of her mother on a regular basis to speak with her.
*We cut back to her summoning her mother to tell her of the day’s training session. Legs crossed on the floor, her eyes from which she got her namesake, begin to glow, her pink hair begins to rise, and she begins to hover over the ground, and she chants the summoning spell*
“Come forth spirit taken too soon, may this crystal be the bridge between worlds and reconnect me with whom I have lost, understanding the cost, at this moment may our paths be crossed.”
Mi: Good day dear! So how did today’s training session go? Oh, wait I see, it looks like it was eventful, wasn’t it?
Ma: That’s one way to put it. I really don’t think I’m gonna master this spell mom, I’m 3 months away from my birthday and I don’t think I’m gonna get that bird to move any time soon.
Mi: Oh, don’t be discouraged my dear, you’re doing much better than you think you are, and I am sure you’ll get it. If your father has faith in you then you should too, and even if you don’t get it, we will still love you with all our hearts!
Ma: But I feel like if I don’t get this, I won’t be able to stay on track to be as strong as you and dad want me to be, and I’m already so far behind big brother Amyna that I’ll never catch up to him or be even half the wizards you and dad are.
Mi: Magenta my dear, you are already such a promising and powerful wizard, but you cannot compare yourself to the rest of the family, you are your own person, and everyone’s magic blooms at different times, my little flower. Plus, I was lucky that I was trained by a plethora of powerful beings from birth basically, your brother is 5 years older than you are, and your father’s
spell to instantly know everything within a book is probably the biggest shortcut ever next to teleportation.
Ma: I guess when you put it that way, I am being too hard on my se-
D: Excuse me! Miss Magenta, I apologize for interrupting you but your father requests you in the
meeting room urgently!
*Minerva’s spirit disappears, the crystal’s light dims, and Magenta’s eyes return to their normal state
M: Donald! I know you’re just doing your job, but can you please not interrupt me when I’m speaking with mom? You know how much focus and energy it takes to be able to summon her. And I am sure you already know how today went for me!
D: I am sorry madam, but your father said it is of the utmost urgency.
M: What could possibly be so urgent that I have to be bothered during the most important part of my day?
D: It is about your brother; he is in danger.
M: *Gasps* Ok I’ll be over in a minute
*Donald, the head butler, exits the room*
M: Well mom, I guess we’ll have to finish talking some other time, I guess it’s a good thing dad can summon her faster and more easily than me, so I won’t have to explain much.
*We Cut to the family meeting room, where the members of the family, including all those who reside in the villa, meet when there is either really good news, or really bad news*
A: Magenta, I’ll cut to the chase, your brother was kidnapped, I do not know by who, but there was a note with the description of a home, and a warning:
“Sir Veritas, we have your son Amyna Veritas, if you can find the house we have described below, you will be able to find him. Know that spells have been cast on the house in question so you will not be able to use your magic this time, you will have to come search for it on your own if you are brave enough. If you can find the home within the next week, you will find your son unharmed. If a week passes, we will use him to take down the corrupt politicians of Merlin City, including you, for daring to try and help them save themselves from the wrath of the people they have wronged.
M: Dad that is clearly a trap, they are using Amyna to lure you out, they know how smart you are, and they want to use your brain and undo everything you’ve done for the city.
A: I know, the city is still very divided, and many believe I have chosen the side of the city over the people. Although that is not the case, I recognize that for now, many people will not understand the long-term plans I have to bring the city back to its glory.
D: Sir, may I suggest a solution to our problem?
A: By all means Donald
D: Let us send in Magenta, she is more than capable of rescuing her brother in terms of strength. We both know master Amyna is a textbook genius but tends to get caught up in his studies, becoming unaware of his surroundings, I find it hard to believe he was overpowered. It is much more likely he was ambushed and kidnapped, but lady Magenta is very keen, and I believe it will be a great test of her strengths and her weakness. I also believe it will be a good change of pace from the monotony of constant magic training here at the villa that she has been doing for the last 3 months. How does that sound my lady?
M: Father, please let me go, I want to find Amyna, and I’ll make anyone pay for messing with our family.
A: Very well then, Magenta, this is your mission. Locate your brother, once you do, contact the villa so that I know where to send your backup. I am not letting you go in there alone; this mission is already risky enough as it is. From there you and your aid will go in and rescue Amyna, and detain the rebels until I arrive, and decide how to handle them.
M: Thanks dad, I promise I won’t fail.
A: I know you won’t. Oh, and one last thing, judging by the looks of the architecture, the house is in the Orange District, so be careful, that area is filled with an assortment of...characters. *Magenta exits the meeting room*
D: Excuse my rudeness Master Apollo, but do you believe it is safe for your daughter to enter the big city on her own as she is? She is still struggling with controlling her power.
A: Oh, I am sure by the end of this she will have all the control she will need.
Chapter 2: The Quest Begins
*The next morning, Magenta set out for her adventure, and about halfway into her trek across the forest, she finds a young boy in need of help*
M: I can’t believe Amyna really let himself get kidnapped; he knows invisibility magic so how do you manage that? He’s too smart for this, or he’s at least supposed to be.
*a scream from a young boy is heard in the distance, Magenta flies over to aid the boy*
D: AAAAHH Somebody help me!
M: Hey kid, what happened here? How’d you get all the way out here?
D: Well, I was with my friends playing hide and seek when a bear started chasing me!
M: Did you just say a-
*A loud roar from behind her cuts her off, and a large shadow envelopes the children*
D: Aaaaand there’s the bear.
M: That isn’t just any bear... that's a crystal bear! We’ve got to run!
*As she says this Magenta activates her magic, levitating both her and the boy, and flies away*
M: You could’ve told me it wasn’t just a normal bear you know that thing could’ve killed us both, and my powers wouldn’t have helped us at all.
D: Well, when you don’t have magic, it’s really just a bear with crystals to me, what's the big deal?
M: Oh...well when you put it that way, I’m sorry. My dad explained to me when I was little that crystal bears are very dangerous for magic users because their crystals absorb pretty much anything that you throw at them unless it's solid, but neither of my magic elements create solids so I don’t stand much of a chance.
D: Why not just use your magic to make yourself stronger and punch him? That’s what my big sister does!
M: I- I hadn’t thought of that, thanks, kid. Anyway, what’s your name? And where do you live? So I can help you get home?
D: My name is Dux! And my family lives in the orange district!
M: Oh, I’m going there too, do you know how to get there from here? Or at least once we get to the city again?
D: Kind of!
M: Ugh...well since I barely know the city I guess you’re my best option, let’s try and get you home.
Now, after having made a new friend, Magenta continued her journey into the big city of Dorus, the capital of the country of Dumble Dorus. As she walks with Dux, she learns more about him and how he ended up in the middle of the forest, as they go back in forth asking each other questions and getting to know each other.
Magenta soon learns that Dux is ten years old, an avid reader like her, and has very little magic power which he makes up for by learning how to cook with his mother. When the conversation shifts to her, Dux asks Magenta about her family, to which she hesitates to respond, uncertain of how much information to tell him, not wanting to scare him away or have him change his opinion, the same way most adults and kids her age have reacted after hearing about her lineage.
Her mother, Minerva Scarlet, The Phoenix Queen, also known as The Burning Force of Nature, was one of the greatest wizards the world had ever seen, having been raised by all sorts of magical creatures, from dragons, phoenixes, elves, and even unicorns. A relatively tall woman, she had bright and deep red hair that would light up in flames, and yellowish-orange ringed eyes as bright as her flames, with an athletic frame from years and years of combat and training in the wilderness. She had been abandoned in a forest and found by Demeter, known as Mother Nature, a wizard who lived in the forest, having been accepted by all creatures as a defender of all forms of natural life, with a strong dislike for most humans. Minerva was raised to protect nature but also chose to protect humans, and in most cases, tried to protect both. Having grown to be a global-scale hero, she died during childbirth due to unforeseen circumstances. And in the wake of her death, she left behind a daughter and son both capable of becoming even more powerful than her by the time they reach the age she died at, of thirty-six.
Her father, Apollo Veritas, is also a great sorcerer in his own right. Short, with a small and lightly built frame, Apollo is a rather small man with a very large brain, covered by a head of modest light brown hair and green eyes. He dedicated his magical abilities to rescuing those in need with his healing magic and knowledge magic to lead a charge for magical education reform so that those with destructive magical abilities can learn how to use them before they get into trouble. He is known for being a brilliant and calm mind with a vision that will propel the world into a new golden age of prosperity, unfortunately ever since the loss of his wife he has had to work from the shadows and be very careful with where he goes as he is always being hunted for his mind. The whole world knows that for the last ten-plus years he has been without his greatest protector, his wife.
Lastly, her brother Amyna, born five years before she was, is almost the complete opposite of his sister. Tall with blonde hair reaching his broad shoulders, amber-yellow eyes, and a very athletic frame, like his mother. He is very passive and calm, interested in helping develop new screening spells so that children do not go through what his family went through with the loss of his mother. He tries to be kind to his sister. Still, since he spends most of his time studying under doctors and other medical professionals in the city, they have begun to drift, leaving Magenta to feel abandoned by her brother. Alongside growing his medicinal magic, he is also constantly trying to improve his defensive spells. His sister can practice her offensive spells on him and get stronger but is usually unable to do this with her because of his studies. It is these distant studies that kick off the events of this story.
So, when you are born to one of the strongest and smartest wizards on the planet, it tends to draw attention and make others feel uncomfortable. Compounding the issue is the fact that she has so much power she has to conceal it to not attract unsavory guests. This led to Magenta learning to be quiet regarding her personal life and often wearing a large cloak to conceal the bright hair of her namesake, to draw less attention still and avoid people recognizing her from her family missions, which have often ended up on the news.