Lucas jolted awake with a start, flailing and gasping for air as his heart thundered in his ears. The soft blankets that had been covering him were strewn across the bed and the floor. A pressure on his foot drew the teen’s attention towards the end of the bed, where a concerned looking Dusk was gently pawing at his foot. The quiet whine coming from the little fox tugged at Lucas’ heart and he leaned in to scratch behind the fox’s ears.
“I’m ok, Dusk. Just another nightmare.”
He really wasn’t alright and the little familiar could tell. She nuzzled up against his hand in a clear attempt to comfort Lucas. It helped, but only a bit.
Another night, another nightmare. Those same paws, claws, and fangs. The same horrible, hateful green eyes. Lucas hated it, hated how powerless he felt back then and how powerless he still felt.
But he could change that. He had a month to learn magic, to figure out how to protect himself so that he’d never have to fear a Direwolf ever again.
He sighed and wiped the sweat from his brow, trying to calm his racing heartbeat. He tugged at the soft, silk shirt that he’d been given to sleep in. He’d been wearing it for a few hours and already it was soaked with his sweat. He felt terrible knowing that he’d be giving the family that had hosted him even more work.
The jeans and T-shirt that he’d been wearing for the last three days were all a mess. And the less said about his torn and ripped hoodie that was now missing a sleeve, the better. Lissa had been rather insistent that she take his clothes and wash them for him. And by the time that he’d finished taking a shower, there were already clean, fresh clothes waiting for him.
They didn’t fit him perfectly, though Lucas hadn’t really expected that they would in the first place. They were baggy and loose, but the material was incredibly comfortable. It hadn’t been until he’d put on a fresh change of clothes that he’d realized how uncomfortable he’d been after wearing the same clothes for three straight days.
And the bed. The bed had been all that he could have hoped for. Just like when he was younger, sleeping in a real bed after having been out camping always felt the best. It might have been the bias from having slept on the ground for two days straight, but the spare bed that Fay’s family had let him use felt better than his own.
As much as he wanted to stay in that comfy bed, Lucas had things to do. A glance at the small desk in the room revealed the note that he’d written last night before he’d gone to sleep. It was hard to fit everything that he wanted to say to his parents on a single page, but he’d done it.
When Magnus had brought him to his room the prior night he’d also dropped off some paper for Lucas to use to write a letter to his family. Though, the man had suggested that he keep the truth of magic existing out of the letter.
“If they didn’t know about magic, then it was better for them not to know,” Magnus had suggested.
He also pointed out how claiming magic was real would make his letter much less believable to most people and would just make his parents ask even more questions.
Of course, coming up with a believable story that wasn’t the absurd, hard to believe truth was harder than Lucas had thought it would be. In the end, the only real option that he’d been able to think of still wasn’t as good, or gentle, as he would have liked.
As Dusk fell back asleep in the bed, Lucas dragged himself out of bed. He grabbed the letter again, rereading it for what felt like the tenth time.
Dear Mom and Dad,
I know you guys are probably freaking out about me leaving so suddenly. I’m sorry, I just had to get some space for a little while. I heard you two talking about me. About college, and the camping trip. I just can’t deal with it right now and I needed some space. So, I made some plans to meet up with a friend from out of town.
Going camping was a good idea, so she and I are going to be camping out in the woods for a few weeks. I just need some time and space to clear my head, and being out in the middle of the woods gives me all the time I need to figure things out. Maybe when I get back, I can go on that camping trip with you, dad.
You don’t have to worry about me; my friend knows tons about camping and we’ll both be careful and safe. We’re going to set up camp not too far away from a nearby town, so we’ll be able to get supplies easily while we’re roughing it. But it’s far enough outside of town that there’s not really a phone signal. I figured this letter was the best way to get this to you. I’m really sorry for not leaving this behind when I left, I wasn’t thinking, and I was in a rush.
Hopefully, this letter will reach you a day or two after I left, since I dropped it off once we got to the town my friend lives in. But if it’s been longer than I’m sorry it took so long.
I swear that I didn’t want to make you guys panic or worry, but I just need the space. I promise that I’ll be home soon enough, a month at worst. I love you both and just because I’m doing this doesn’t mean that I’m mad at you or that this is your fault. I just need time to figure out what I want to do with my life.
Love,
Lucas
There were so many lies that he wrote that it hurt to read it again. He felt terrible for lying to his parents, but there were some things that he’d been honest about. He was safe with Fay and her family, and he really did need to figure out what he was going to do with his life. But college was the last thing on Lucas’ mind at that point.
Magic existed, and there was a whole world full of it. And Lucas had to make the hard choice of whether he wanted to be a part of it or not in thirty days. He also had to find a way to explain how he’d ended up with a pet fox by the time he got back.
He took a deep breath, holding it for a second to try and calm down. And before he could read the letter again, Lucas stuffed it into the envelope that Magnus had given him, sealing it and finalizing the words he’d written.
It was only when Lucas went to leave the room that he noticed a bundle of clothes left just inside the door, with a small note left atop the pile. His own curiosity got the better of him, and Lucas checked the letter.
I figured that you’d be more comfortable in clothes that fit you. They’ve been thoroughly cleaned and I fixed a few rips in your pants. Though your hoodie isn’t wearable right now.
-Lissa
Looking down at the pile of clothes again, Lucas was surprised to find that it was, in fact, the same black shirt and blue jeans that he’d been wearing when he left home. And as the note claimed, the rips and tears in his jeans had been patched up. Even a small rip that had been there before he’d come through the portal.
Lucas couldn’t help but smile at the kind gesture. He was still a stranger to them, even Fay, but her family had been so kind to him when he’d needed it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Back in his own clothes, Lucas made his way towards the kitchen. He could smell food in the air and eagerly picked up his pace just a bit more.
“Good morning. You’re up early.”
Lissa was the only one in the kitchen, and she smiled when she saw Lucas walking into the room.
“And I see you found your clothes, too.”
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“Thank you for that, Mrs. Lissa. And yeah, I just couldn’t sleep any longer,” Lucas replied.
“Just Lissa is fine, Lucas. And since you're already awake, would you like some breakfast?”
Looking past the woman, Lucas could see her working at a pair of pans, one filled with scrambled eggs and the other full of potatoes, vegetables, and bacon. It looked, and smelled, delicious.
He was quick to take the woman up on her offer. “I'd love some. It smells great.”
As Lissa began to assemble a plate for Lucas, he noted one little detail that had been bugging him.
“Is that a stove? I thought that electric appliances didn't work here,” He pointed out.
It was, in fact, a modern-looking stove that Fay's mother was working at, one that also had an oven built in. And Lucas was pretty sure that he also saw a toaster sitting on the kitchen counter. Those, along with the small lanterns hung all over the town were making him question what Fay had told him.
“Ah, I guess that Fay didn't have time to explain everything during your trip. Did Fay ever tell you anything about enchantments or runes?” Lissa questioned.
“All I know about them is that you made Fay's map and compass, and I think those are enchantments,” Lucas replied.
Lissa smiled as she brought a plate full of eggs, potatoes, and bacon over to the kitchen table, setting it down and sitting beside Lucas as he took a seat.
“You'd be correct. My affinity is Enchantment magic, and it's a rather broad type of magic. Runic magic is similar, but different. When they're used together, they can make some incredible things, but they can also be used separately.”
“So, you're saying that the appliances and lights I've seen are all because of enchantments and runes?” Lucas asked.
“Yes, or a mix of both. Enchantment magic is more focused upon applying a magical effect upon any object that we choose to apply it to. Runic magic is more focused upon inscribing physical runes upon an object to create a similar effect.”
Lucas couldn't help but notice something. “But they sound like the same thing, pretty much.”
“They can do similar things, but they have their limits and benefits. For example, enchantments can be applied to an object much faster than runes can, and they can be applied to anything. Runes, though, can be stronger than enchantments but take longer to inscribe. A single object can also be inscribed with multiple runes while only a single enchantment can be placed upon an object at a time. The object also needs to be strong enough to endure the runes without breaking and large enough to hold the runic script,” Lissa explained.
She stood and tapped the small lantern that hung above the kitchen table as an example. Thanks to the sunlight streaming in the open windows, there wasn't any need for the lights to be on, and Lucas could get a good look within the small lantern. Inside was a quartz-like crystal roughly the size of Lucas' thumb.
“The lights are a perfect example. We use enchantments to make them glow like your light bulbs, and use a single, tiny rune to link them all to a ‘switch’. The crystals are so small that there isn't much room for more runes than that without risking breaking the crystal.”
“That's incredible,” Lucas gushed, looking between the crystal light and the switch on the wall that he would have thought to be a normal light switch.
“A lot of modern innovations have been recreated here using magic. We can't replicate everything perfectly, and some things are still being worked on, but we've figured out enough to make life far more comfortable. Without magic, Ordinaries have created quite a lot of useful things. But since almost all of them rely on technology that won't work on our side of the Mirrors, we had to adapt and learn.”
“So, the shower?” Lucas prodded.
“That one is all because of runes. One generates fresh water, and another makes the water hot or cold. Same thing with any sink you find. The oven works similarly with a rune to generate and contain the heat to whatever level we want. They're also enchanted to stay cool on the outside so that nobody will get burned.”
“One of the biggest differences between enchantments and runes is their cost,” Lissa continued. “Enchantments are fully powered by the caster. An enchantment applied to an item can be permanent or temporary. Temporary enchantments don’t cost as much mana, but don’t last as long. Permanent enchantments, on the other hand, cost a lot of mana, but once they’re made, they last forever. Runes, though, require constant power when in use. Small ones, like the lights or faucets, can draw from the mana that’s in the air. But larger effects require the person using the rune to feed them a constant flow of mana.”
“So what about cell phones?” Lucas asked. “Or some way to communicate over long distances?”
“That’s a tough one,” Lissa replied with a thoughtful expression. “Those phones that Ordinaries have come up with are hard to replicate. We have ways to create small connections to allow a person to talk to another person across pretty much any distance with runes and enchantments, but it’s extremely limited to the point most don’t even bother.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, for example, you could use runes and enchant two stones that would allow a person holding one to send messages to the other. But it would only work between those two people and the delivery wouldn’t be very good. We’ve yet to crack how to link multiple sources together using only magic. Though I know that it’s quite a big project,” Lissa explained.
Lucas had almost entirely forgotten about his breakfast by that point, eagerly listening to Lissa's explanation and fully focused on their conversation. So, it took him a few moments to realize that some of his bacon had suddenly vanished from his plate.
The answer to where his food went came when a black and white furred paw appeared from under the table, pawing blindly at the table before finding his plate and snagging another piece of bacon.
Lucas couldn't help but chuckle, and he could hear Lissa's quiet laughter as he bent down to look under the table. As expected, he found Dusk happily munching on a thick slice of bacon.
“Well hello sleepy head.” He joked, getting the fox's attention. She had the gall to give him an innocent look with a half strip of bacon hanging from her maw.
That finally broke Lucas, his laughter joining Lissa's before he grabbed the fox out from under the table and sat her in his lap.
Dusk squirmed for a few seconds but settled down when Lissa put a plate of bacon in front of her. At that point, the fox settled down and eagerly devoured her own breakfast rather than stealing Lucas’.
“It's nice to see that the two of you have a good relationship already. A familiar will be one of your most trusted companions if you treat them well,” Lissa said as she set out another small plate of the meat.
Lucas was about to ask why she'd done so when a large black cat hopped up onto the table and dug into the bacon.
“This is Lucky. She's my familiar,” The woman explained, cutting off Lucas' question.
Calling a black cat ‘Lucky', was certainly an amusing name choice, Lucas had to admit.
With both familiars eating their food and Lissa joining Lucas at the table with a plate of her own, the young man resumed eating, before his greedy little fox could get her paws on his food again.
“I smell breakfast. Oh! Morning Lucas!”
Fay's cheerful voice put a smile on Lucas’ face as he twisted around to see the younger blonde come into the room. Her hair was a mess, free from its normal braid and falling down her back in a messy curtain.
“Morning, Fay,” Lucas and Lissa chimed at the same time, drawing a giggle from Fay.
“Food is ready, grab a plate, hun,” Lissa chimed.
It didn't take more than that to get Fay to quickly load a plate full of food and join the others at the table. Her familiar, Dove, flew in at that point and perched on her shoulder, where Fay would occasionally feed the bird bites of her meal.
Just as Lucas was wondering where Fay's father was, he heard a door closing, followed by the man in question walking into the kitchen.
“I'm surprised everyone is awake,” He said as he grabbed some food for himself. Joining the rest at the table, he leaned over and pressed a kiss to his wife's cheek. “Thanks for breakfast, Lis.”
“Finished giving Flint his breakfast?” She asked.
“Yup. We’ll have to get more of those oranges. Think he's found a new favorite.”
Flint. It was a name he'd heard the previous night.
“Who exactly is Flint?” Lucas asked.
“Flint is my familiar. Looks like you've already met Lucky,” Magnus replied, running a hand down the spine of the large black cat. “You'll probably meet Flint at some point. He mostly stays out by the forge. He likes how much warmer it is in there.”
With that, breakfast continued in full, with everyone eating their fill. When everyone had finished, Lucas went to go and wash his plate in the sink, only to be stopped by Lissa.
“Don't worry about this, I'll clean up. You have something to do.”
“What do you mean?” He asked.
“Did you already forget?” A heavy hand landed on Lucas’ shoulder, and he looked back to see Magnus standing behind him. “We're going to go and find out what your affinities are.”
Breakfast and the impromptu magic lesson from Lissa had genuinely made Lucas forget about that.
Magnus chuckled as he saw the realization dawn on Lucas’ face.
“Go get washed up and ready. Grab your letter too, we'll stop and send it off on the way to the Hunter's Guild. Fay is in the bathroom already, so you'll have to wait for her.”
He hadn't even noticed Fay leave. But at the older man's prodding, Lucas did make his way back towards the guest bedroom to grab his letter, picking up Dusk along the way and letting her take her favorite spot draped across his shoulders.
He was going to finally figure out what kind of magic he could do. Saying that he was excited was like saying that the ocean was deep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
