A short story I wrote for English class.
It was a bittersweet day at the MacAtoll family farm. Today was the last day their eldest son, Henry, would see this farm. Henry was going to the Wizard Academy in Haldeshire, where he would learn the magic arts. Henry was, of course, nervous. He was pacing around the front of the little farmhouse. The carriage driver that had been waiting suddenly exclaimed, “ ‘Ay, boy, ye bett’r come on ‘n’ get in or i’ll leave ya.” The driver’s voice had startled Henry, bringing him from his daydream. “Oh, yes sir, I’ll get my things and we’ll go.” Henry sprinted inside, got his things, and jumped in the cart that would take him to Haldeshire.
A few hours after he embarked, the carriage stopped and another student boarded. “Hey, I’m Dale,” the new passenger eagerly proclaimed. Henry replied, “The name’s Henry.” Dave had a small chuckle at this. “Well, nice to meet you, Henry. So, where do you come from?” Henry answered, “Oh, just a little farm not too far from here. So, um, magic. Yeah. what’s it like and all, I guess.” Dale replied, “Well I dunno, I’ll be finding it out with you, I guess.” The two continued talking until a third passenger boarded. She told them her name was Alison. She joined in on their conversation, but unlike them, she had been raised in a wizard family and knew a great deal about magic. Though she knew much about magic, she was not forthcoming with the information. She wasn’t eager to answer their questions about magic, and the conversation soon drifted elsewhere.
The day went on like this until the early afternoon. Then, they stopped at a city, the city of Mesopolis. The three passengers were led by the driver to a cafe, where the four hungry travelers had a plain lunch of cheese, bread, and sausage. After this meal, they went to the mage’s guildhall. At the guildhall, the driver dropped his passengers off and left. The guildsmen led the new arrivals into an amphitheater, where a few dozen others were seated. A few minutes after being seated, one of the senior mages went onstage and quieted everybody down. He began telling them about how they would travel across Vespia to Haldeshire, and accommodations would be provided along the way. The old man blathered on about how the Wizard Academy was a fine institution and its staff should be respected but was cut short by his assistant telling him that he was out of time.
The students were then herded into a carriage that looked as if it could only hold a few people, but no one ever said it was too full. Henry, Dale, and Alison, who were in the back, saw why as soon as they entered. The carriage which had looked so small from the outside had an enormous interior. There were enough seats for 500 people, it seemed, all arranged in groups of four with a table in the middle, and the back was chock full of beds. The three who had become friends almost as soon as they met sat together, of course. They talked for hours on end, about all sorts of topics. Finally, a dinner bell was rung. Servants came out with silver platters and served each group with a fine meal of pork chops, baked potatoes, fine cheese, tea to drink and raisin bread for dessert. Henry and Dale had never seen such a fine meal and pigged out on this rich food, but Alison ate more finely. After they finished, their dishes were taken away and they were told to go to bed. The sleeping arrangements were separated by gender, so Alison couldn’t stay with her new friends. They slept soundly on soft pillows.
Suddenly, a trumpet rang out and everyone was awake. They were told to get out of bed and were herded out of the carriage and right in front of the gates of Haldeshire. The massive oaken structure parted to reveal a grand view straight down the main street to the gigantic Wizard Academy. The entourage of students were led straight to the academy with no delay. The doors of the academy were opened by ten servants in bright cardinal uniforms. The servants saluted while the new students passed by, then closed the door behind them. The headmaster, Septius Fallow, was a wizened old man with wild hair and an unkempt beard. He greeted them with a kind smile and began, “Welcome to the Wizard Academy in Haldeshire. I’m sure you all have questions, but first let’s get you fed. To the dining hall!” And so the headmaster led them to the dining hall. There they were given a breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast, and sausage. During this breakfast, many questions were asked about the academy. After the meal, the students were brought to the dormitories to unpack.The dorms were separated by gender and again Alison was unable to stay with her friends.
The dormitory beds were nice, and there was a chest at the end to hold all of the possessions of the bed’s owner. After unpacking, Henry and the others were taken to a waiting room. Henry sat with Dave and Alison. Alison told them that this was where they would be sorted into their classes and their magic type. After an hour or so, Henry was brought in to be sorted. He answered many questions and was told that since he didn’t know what type of magic he could do he would be put in a variety of classes. Finally, he was given his schedule. Wake Up and breakfast first, of course, but the classes are the interesting part. First, he had Elements of Circle Magic, then a free period, then Magical Animals and Their Uses, then lunch, and after that Dance Magic: History and Evolution of the Magic of Dance. After that, he had Magical Tattoos: Energy Flows and Synergy, and then dinner and bedtime. An exhausting schedule, to be sure, and a diverse one as well. Dave and Alison both by pure luck also had their free period second, though no other classes were shared. Each period was two and two-thirds hours long, with enough time in between to get to other classes
On the first day, Henry thought he would be overwhelmed, but it was actually pretty easy to navigate. Each student was given a map of the school, and there were a fair amount of signs. Each class had about fifty students, and there was enough room for everybody to sit, so it wasn’t too awkward. In their free period, Henry, Dave, and Alison met in the common room and chatted about their classes. They had planned to play a few card games, but time flew by quickly. After each class was over, a huge bell rung three times. In his last class, Henry was pulled aside after class and was told that there was something they needed to talk about. His teacher, Gregory Mustovich, said, “Henry, I know you have something of a secret. Your skin naturally grows a tattoo. You haven’t told anyone out of fear you would be ridiculed, but I assure you, you are perfectly normal. I have a natural tattoo on my back that allows energies to flow more easily. We’ll just have to wait and see what yours is. You better go on and eat now, I think you’re hungry.” Henry replied astoundedly, “How did you know about the tattoo? I’ve never told anyone about it, not even my own family.” The professor mysteriously answered, “Synergy is a powerful thing. You will learn to use it some day.” After that, Henry went to the dining hall and ate with his friends. He still didn’t reveal his secret to them, more out of habit than anything else.
As the week progressed, the classes went on as normal, except that Professor Mustovich checked on his tattoo every day after class. On the 5th day, the professor noted that it appeared to be a synergy tattoo. The tattoo had only appeared a few weeks before leaving for the academy, so it wasn’t very developed. After that, the professor stopped checking the tattoo. Like this, one month went by. Then a second month passed.
Then, on the first day of the third month, the Magical Animals and their Uses class announced that they would be bringing in a dragon. The whole class fell silent as the magnificent jet black beast was brought in, with shimmering scales and muscles that looked more powerful than a thousand horses. And yet it was completely docile. Until it saw Henry. Then, it broke free from its chains and ran straight towards Henry and … stopped? Despite just a moment before looking like a rampaging beast, the dragon had stopped and begun nuzzling Henry’s hand. Henry placed his hand on top of the dragon’s snout and suddenly felt like he was one with the dragon. Hello, human. You seem to be a dragon-synergizer. Your tattoo is powerful. You are powerful. You are afraid. Do not be afraid. I will not harm you. I have been searching for you. Get on my back. I will take you to the place we need to go. Henry mounted the dragon and the beast sprinted out of the classroom, through the halls, and out of the doors of the academy. The dragon then burst into the air and began quickly flying towards some unknown destination.
While on the dragon’s back, Henry felt all of the dragon’s thoughts. You want to know where we are going. We are going to the dragon-roosting-place. You want to know my name. It is The-one-who-will-find-the-one-who-will-be-the-dragon-king. You want to know who the dragon king is. I think you are the dragon-king. These thoughts continued in a constant stream until they reached a coastline. Henry, who had never seen the sea, was scared. The dragon reassured him that they would not cross the ocean, but would travel beside it until they found the dragon-roosting-place. It took hours of travel, but finally they made it.
The dragon-roosting-place was a cliffside with lots of ledges jutting out of it, many caves, and even a few spires rising out of the blue ocean. Then, suddenly, a draconic voice bellowed out, “Dath’mani kr’patu rimaan taak Tip’aaktimaan’iibu mak’piti” of course, Henry had the benefit of a real-time translation to thought-speak. The dragon had actually said “Why did you come back when you know I told you not to, the-one-who-will-find-the-one-who-will-be-the-dragon-king.” Henry’s dragon, whom he had decided to call Midnight, responded, “Show yourself, coward. If you will not, then I must go in after you.”
The other dragon lurched out of the cave and into Midnight. She, somehow Henry knew it was a she, was forest green, and fearsome. She was large, and she was the dragon matriarch. She was tyrannical, evil, despotic. She had stolen power from the previous matriarch through murder. Henry was overcome with fear and reached for a weapon, anything he could use to defend himself. Suddenly, a greatsword appeared in his hands, and it felt perfectly balanced. As soon as this occurred, he and Midnight merged into one being, thinking not as two but as one. Henry-Midnight fought the matriarch. She was powerful, full of muscle, much stronger than Midnight-Henry, but Midnight-Henry was smarter than her. They fought her tooth, nail, and greatsword, trading blows but never giving up. Henry ended up with only a gash on his cheek when finally the evil queen was vanquished. At this moment, he became the dragon-king.
After the battle, Henry restored the line of the original matriarch as ruler when he was gone. He went back to the Wizard Academy and was propelled into fame. He would eventually become the new teacher of Magical Tattoos: Energy Flows and Synergy.
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