Phasma

PHASMA PHASE 1: In which We Embark on a Wondrous Journey Preface: The Rebel   ̶D̶̶e̶̶a̶̶r̶̶ ̶ scratch that...   Mother.   ̶I̶̶ ̶̶h̶̶a̶̶v̶̶e̶̶ ̶̶b̶̶e̶̶e̶̶n̶̶ ̶̶a̶̶ ̶̶g̶̶o̶̶o̶̶d̶̶ ̶̶k̶̶i̶̶d̶̶ ̶̶a̶̶l̶̶l̶̶ ̶̶m̶̶y̶̶ ̶̶l̶̶i̶̶f̶̶e̶̶.̶̶ ̶ hmm... let's try that again...   In all my thirteen years, I have never asked much from you. I have always done what you ask of me. I never argued when you forbade me to go to the settlements – which are too far from our home anyway. You are usually away and we hardly have a handful of human neighbors, but I have never troubled you with my loneliness. I have read all the books you've given me, studied all the materials and dissertations, put up with all the mentors. I even finished the last batch of experiments you told me to work on for the whole summer. After finding a flyer from

- 3 -   Both Mr. Bayer and Agate stared at the pile, their eyes wide open, then at the scruffy-looking boy in his homespun clothes and flour sack bag. The ice cream vendor was the first to speak. "Where did you get these coins?" "My mother said I can use them for emergencies, aren't they enough?" his smile was gone, now. He's got the feeling that he might have to give the ice cream back. "This is a 12th century Queen Josephina gold coin... and King Romanov silver shillings... the rest are all silver... and is that a gold Benjamine?! There are only about 10 known pieces left in the entire Empire!" she poked through the pile, "And there are 2 pieces here!" "Is that good or bad?" asked Dorin, licking on his drippy cone. "Let me pay for your ice cream." Agate pulled out a piece of colored paper from her purse and handed it to Mr. Bayer who was still staring at the coins with wide-open eyes. "But..."

Chapter 5 - registration   Dorin closed his eyes as the lilac smoke engulfed him. He could feel the spell working around him while Seb held his arm firmly. "A translocation spell..." he thought to himself, "for short distance travel." When the smoke dissipated, they were standing in front of a small white tent. Several other tents stood on both side of it, all of which had a table in front and one or two people sitting inside. The People inside this particular tent were both staring at Seb and Dorin. The girl in front of the table was holding a bunch of papers, while inside, a guy knelt in front of a box. "Seb!" said the girl at the front desk, "You know well that you're not supposed to use spells indiscriminately on campus!" [Is registration still open?] asked Seb, ignoring the girl’s warning. "Weren't you here earlier?" said the guy inside the tent. He straightened up and dusted his pan

  A man ran up a flight of stairs. In the darkness, you would expect him to stumble, but he never missed a step. When he reached the top, he held out his arms and pushed at a wall, revealing a secret path that led to a dimly lit room. In the middle of the room was a red gem, and staring in it is a cloaked figure of a person, a pair of bony hands the only thing visible in the gem's glow. "Did you find him?" asked the man, trying to catch his breath. "I'm afraid we have been blocked once again." Replied the cloaked one in a hoarse voice. "We have merely narrowed his location to the kingdom of Beronia, the capital of the Alcione Empire... it seems he's in the Royal University..." "Aubrianne..." the man says. "I was able to scry the location, but the University's charms blocked me, and the connection was broken before I could get past them." The cloaked figure bowed low. "I am truly sorry for my incompetence, my liege." "No. That info

- Chapter 9 -   Agate's spell had sent Dorin back in his room with Seb. Seb took out his slate and has been writing vigorously since they arrived. He's been asking him so many questions when all Dorin wanted was to have some breakfast. [How did you see the spell?] he asked, [my locking spell is a 1st class charm! you can't just unravel it by cutting a 'thaum'!] "But, that's just what I did, I can't explain it further..." Dorin said for the nth time, yet the other can't seem to accept his explanation. [then teach me!] Seb finally wrote. Dorin sighed. "Well, I guess that's the best way to show you..." He went to the door which was recently locked by his roommate and closed his eyes to concentrate. "Just feel the spell and look for the beginning, then trace the threads that make it up, thus you find out what the spell is all about, then you follow the pattern to find the end and look for the part that loops it togeth