I Believe in Magic: a fan-fiction story

[Sinrus]

POP-POP-POP-POP-POP-POP-POP

He stood second on the left in a line of seven. His heart beat once, twice. He breathed, in and out. He blinked, then again. He twiddled his fingers and toes. He rolled his eyes. Everything was functioning normally. Now that his body was deemed functional, his mind activated. Knowledge poured in from an unknown source; his name was Geber.

Two people walked down the line, starting at the right. I suppose that I am really sixth then, and not second, Geber thought. He was quietly delighted with himself for figuring this out.

One of the two was short and fat, with a double chin and wearing an odd purple and red coat with two rows of buttons. The other was taller, although not exceptionally tall, and had a wispy mustache and goatee. He was dressed in an elegant combination between a suit and a cloaked colored dark blue and deep purple, and carrying a scepter of solid gold.

The odd pair stopped in front of every individual in the line and spoke with them so quietly that Geber couldn't hear what was said. After talking with the new unit for a few moments, the pair moved back and spoke with each other, usually only for a few seconds. The tall man would then point in a certain direction, either left or right. Most went left, past Geber, while only one went right. She was a girl slightly shorter than the fat man. She had long brown hair tucked beneath a wide-brimmed yellow hat.

When the odd couple reached Geber, the short man said in a high pitched voice, "What is your name?"

"Geber O'Pseud, sir."

"Describe yourself." This came from the taller man. "Mentally and physically."

Geber scratched his head. "Well, sir, I feel rather bored. I think something exciting ought to happen in the first few minutes of life. That's all I think I can say for mentally."

"And physically?"

"Well... I don't know, really. I mean, how is it possible to describe myself when I can do this?" Geber screwed up his face in a look of pain, and his sandy blond hair turned a vivid red. "You see my problem?"

The duo looked at each other. The tall man said, "I believe its obvious."

"I agree, twice over."

"Very well then," announced the man, pointing his scepter to the right. "Off you go, Geber."

Geber walked off after the hat wearing girl. He passed through a plain looking door and entered into a square room with a circular staircase in the back. In front of this were eight different podiums marked with odd symbols, each with a person standing behind. The first was marked with an infinity symbol, the second with an hourglass, the third with the Roman numeral II (this was the only absent one), the fourth with an eye, the fifth with a flower, the sixth with lightning bolt, the seventh with a jumble of random letters, and the eighth with a heart. In front of these, right in the middle of the room, was another podium emblazoned with a crown. It was empty. The girl with the hat was standing in front of the center podium, facing the people behind their desks.

The door that Geber had entered through reopened and the two men from the popping hall entered. The short man took his place in the third podium at the back, and the tall man took the empty one in the front. He began to speak. "Geber, Berkeley, welcome to the Magic Kingdom. I am King Walt. The two of you are the newest casters of this island, and we welcome you with open arms. The heads of the different classes of magic stand behind me. They are Archy, mathamancer and leader of the Hocus Pocists; Chip, turnamancer and leader of the Spookists; Chester, dittomancer and leader of the stuffamancers; Gail, lookamancer and leader of the eyemancers; Woody, florist and leader of the hippiemancers; Nicole, shockmancer and leader of the naughtymancers; Franky, rhyme-a-mancer and leader of the stagemancers; and Clara, healomancer and leader of the clevermancers.

"Newly popped casters, prepare yourselves, for we are about to test for your discipline." Walt produced from nowhere a small grey sphere of some putty-like material. A faceless Doll was summoned from the wall where it had been serving as a statue and it brought the putty to Geber.

"What do I do with- whoa!" Geber had taken the putty from the Doll, and the moment it touched his hands it transformed from a grey sphere to a red square, then a blue triangle, then back.

"A changemancer," Walt said. "Give the ball to Berkeley."

When the girl took the ball from him it changed back to a nondescript grey orb, then it quivered and popped a top hat. Berkeley didn't say anything, but she looked pleased with herself.

"And a hat magician," the King announced. "Now Berkeley, could you please go with Franky and Geber go with Chester, and they'll help you settle in."

As King Reginus and the other six casters filed up the stairs, Franky the rhyme-a-mancer pranced forth and grabbed Berkeley by the hand, shaking it profusely and saying, "It's an honor to get a chance to meet you, now please give me a chance to teach you!" He practically dragged the poor girl up the stairs, talking in inestimably annoying rhymes all the while.

Chester, the fat man from the popping hall, moved more slowly. "So, Geber," he said, "I'm glad to have another member of my class, if not my discipline. It's been a two whiles since we popped a changemancer." The two of them began to walk up the stairs. "If you've forgotten, my name is Chester Charles, and I'm a dittomancer. That's Matter aligned with numbers, as opposed to you, a changemancer, who is matter aligned with fate. Do you have any questions for me? About anything?"

"Well sir... what happened to those others?"

"Hmmm? Who? Oh yes, the warlords. They were sent through those doors right into a maximum stack of Dolls led by a Master Class Dollamancer. Croaked them all. This is the Magic Kingdom, there is no place for warlords."

[Sinrus]

Chester pushed open a door and the two Stuffamancers entered into the bright daylight of Portal Park. They headed south while Geber gazed around in amazement at the incredible world around him. Hundreds of casters stood around, talking about Titans knew what. Foreign casters went on their errands, hiring mercenaries for various odd jobs. Moneymancer vendors called out their wares, selling anything from scrolls to raiment to food.

As they walked past, one of the vendors jumped from behind his cart and grabbed Geber. "Here you go, good man, I see you just popped from the way you look at things, and the clothes that you're wearing! You're going to need some new raiment if you want to impress the customers enough for them to hire you! Look at this here, a nice subtle boost to Luckamancy, only twenty rands. Not a Luckamancer? Doesn't matter, it'll give a natural boost anyways, make you more likely to do anything you want! Or these shoes, they are excellent for combat, a bit of Shockmancy makes you resistant to fire and energy, plus quick as lighting, eighteen rands! And this here hat, this hat is so amazing-"

Chester stepped between the salesman and a confused Geber. "Not now, we're off to see Kimia and you know how she'll be if we're late."

"Ah yes, I understand perfectly Master Charles! And you, young Changemancer, make sure you stop back when you have a chance! You're going to need as much magical amplification as you can get to impress old Kimia!"

"Who's Kimia?" Geber asked after a minute or two.

"Kimia is the head of the Changemancers, making her your immediate superior. You will serve as her apprentice for thirty turns, learning the nuances of your unique discipline. During this time you will be Apprentice Class. At the time of your graduation, you will become a Mage Class, then Wizard Class, then Adept Class, then Master Class."

"How does one become head of the Changemancers? Or any other discipline?"

"The head of a discipline is elected once every ten years out of all the Master Class of that caster type currently on the island. Every five years, one of the discipline heads is elected to be lord of the class that those disciplines make up. For example, seven years ago I was elected to be Head Dittomancer of the Kingdom. Two years ago, I was elected to be Lord of the Stuffamancers. I will hold that position for another three years, at which time I will step down from both of my positions, head and lord. Then, a new Head Dittomancer will be elected, as well as new heads of Dirtamancy and Changemancy. When the heads have been chosen, one will be selected as Lord of the Stuffamancers."

Geber and Chester walked through a huge rectangular arch, entering The Pack. "Then why were you in the Popping Hall, if you are only in charge of Stuffamancy?"

"Every time new Lordly elections roll around, King Walt takes one lord as his Minister of Magic. It goes around the island clockwise from north to south, so that the next Minister will be a the Lord of Hippiemancy, and a Stuffamancer will not be Minister again until all other classes have had a chance. The Minister of Magic's primary duty is to help the King determine which of the new units are casters, as he is the only unit in the Kingdom who isn't magical himself. I also technically advise him on politics and economy, although neither of those are ever a problem."

"Speaking of economy, what are Rands?"

"They are a credit that are used for transactions here in the Magic Kingdom. In order to prevent Moneymancers from having all the power, they are not based on a monetary system. Instead, giving one of those street vendors a Rand basically means 'If you give me your goods, then I'll do you a favor.' It's a sort of barter system, where Rands represent the favors that people owe you. You popped with fifty Rands, and you can make more by doing odd jobs for other casters. If you are hired by an Erfworld side, you will be payed in Schmuckers. These are no good for anything here, and all of 'em must be given to the treasury."

Their path through a forest of brown-leafed trees ended suddenly, as a town appeared before them. Chester smiled. "Welcome to The Heap, young Geber. This is going to be your home for the duration of your Apprenticeship."

[Sinrus]

They found Kimia in an old ramshackle house on the outskirts of the Heap. She was medium height but stooped with age and with long white hair. She still carried a fierce dignity and strength in her solid black eyes and her razor sharp wrinkles. She was the only person who could make old age look powerful. When Chester knocked on her door, she deliberately made him wait before she stood and opened it. When she saw him, she groaned openly. "Another new brat for me to teach, Minister! I just finished with the last one!"

"Mistress Kimia, Yolen graduated from your care over 800 turns ago. It is about time that you take a new apprentice."

"Nonsense, Minister. An old woman like me can't be expected to work so hard! If only this job as Head of the Changemancers wasn't the only way I could make my upkeep, I would never run again."

"Kimia, you are an excellent head. Nobody would think of replacing you."

"I would think of replacing myself, it wasn't for my need for rations."

"Well, you could hire yourself out. Changemancy is in high demand these days, and you are quite skilled."

"Again, nonsense. I can't be expected to work so hard! I'm thousands of turns past my prime. But ah well, I am stuck in this life and this body. Even Changemancy can't make me young again. Who is the new caster?"

"My name is Geber O'Pseud, ma'am."

"Call me by my proper title boy! You will refer to me as Mistress until you graduate from my school of knowledge. At that point, you will begin to call me Mistress Kimia. You will have earned the right to refer to me by name."

"Yes, Mistress."

"Better. And now, Minister, don't you have a King to advise?"

"Indeed I do, Mistress Kimia. Have a good day, and good luck Mr. O'Pseud!" With this, Chester dashed off through the forest of brown-leaved trees.

Geber and Kimia entered the first of the three rooms in her house, which was a lounge/dining room. The other two were a closet for use of the chamber pot and a bedroom. The two changemancers sat at opposite ends of the table, and Kimia began the education.

"So. Changemancy. Matter element aligned with Fate. Versatile and useful, not as combat oriented as Shockmancy or as physical as Dirtamancy, or even as handy as the Clevermancies, but somewhere in between. At first you can only do simple things, like change colors. A permanent minor veil, of a sort. But when you become a Master, you will have powers beyond reckoning. Witness this." Kimia produced a ball of lead from within her cloak and placed it on the table. "Alchemy," she muttered. The dark ball transformed into a brilliant golden orb, shining with residual power.

Geber was stunned. "Wow" was all he could get out.

Kimia cackled. "You should see the look on your face, boy. This is no great spell. It's a simple color change, the kind of thing you could have done. But Alchemy is one of the greatest and most unobtainable goals of our discipline." She leaned over the table toward him, smiling creepily. "And before I finally croak, I intend to discover it."

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That night, Kimia brought Geber out to see what she called "a surprise." Standing before her tiny old shack, the two gazed into the sky. Just as Geber began to bore, music started to play. Bum-budda-dum-budda-dum-budda-dudda-dudda-dum Crash! A massive image of King Walt appeared above the forest.

"Foolamancy," Kimia whispered. "Two masters linked together. It takes four Master Thinkamancers to unravel them every night."

Above them, the image of the King began to speak. "Today, the Magic Kingdom popped two new casters, a rare occurrence." A picture of the girl from the popping hall appeared, although it was obviously not live feed, as she didn't move. "This is Berkeley Tereb, our new Hat Magician." Walt paused for applause and some came from the Heap, although it was dim from the distance. "She is now studying under Master Harrison Fedor, Head of Hat Magic." Now a picture of Geber appeared. "This young man is Geber O'Pseud." More applause, but this time much louder. Geber felt sure that if he were in the town, it would have swept him off his feet. Stuffamancers obviously supported their own. "He is a Changemancer, and is studying under Mistress Kimia McGonagall, Head of Stuffamancy."

King Walt went on, but not for much longer. When he was finished, Kimia turned to go inside. When Geber followed her, she pushed him back out. "Oh no you don't, boy. This is a part of your education. Sleep outside for tonight."

With that, she left him for a hard, uncomfortable night's sleep.

[Sinrus]

Langley Zarolatt felt very much alone. He wasn't alone, really, in the usual sense of the word. In fact, there were quite a few people with him at the moment. Nevertheless, he felt very very alone. It may have had something to do with the fact that everybody around hated him.

Well, not exactly hated him, per say. More like resented his existence deeply and with just about every fiber of their beings. He figured that he should probably be used to it by now, but he wasn't. The others certainly were. Yeah sure, he was the youngest, but Hanson had only been popped 37 turns before him. Whatever. He was going to have to deal with it. Nobody liked a Weirdomancer.

What was it about them? Quite a bit, he supposed. First off was appearance. All Weirdomancers looked kinda, well, weird. Langley himself was a bit more on the normal side; tall and sickly pale, with long limbs and fingers and curly black hair that cast his face into a perpetual shadow. His lips were bloodless, more gray than red, his nose was barely a bump, and his eyes seemed to sink several inches into his head.

Second was Weirdomancers' lack of any particular specialty. Because of this, it seemed as if they were always stealing spells from other disciplines. Flight, prophecy, you name it. It seemed as if the only things that Weirdomancers alone could cast was dark, disturbing magic that nobody else would WANT to cast. Even Croakamancers were too weak-hearted for some Weirdomancy.

Third was history. The death of King Walt's father Duncan was usually attributed to the Weirdomancers, more specifically three of the oldest masters. They considered themselves sisters, having been popped on the same same turn. Three Weirdomancers in one turn! A truly weird occurrence. Anyways, they called themselves Flo, Vi, and Ru and although they were widely accused, mostly by Predictamancers, there was never any proof.

These three things combined created a huge amount of prejudice towards all things Weird. And now Langley was feeling it crash around him as he sat on the bench in Portal Park, beneath the shadow of Allerednic Castle, named after a legendary royal. Finally, Langley couldn't take it any more. He stood, flipped off the people watching him disdainfully, and teleported away. Heh. He thought angrily. That'll show them. An Apprentice Class Weirdomancer is nothing weak.

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Harrison Fedor was adventurous, kind, and oldish. At least, that was how Berkeley would describe him. He seemed to be in his mid-forties, wearing a leather jacket and fedora, with a bullwhip tied around his belt. It was time for Berkeley to begin her education. Harrison wanted his apprentice to meet people, to feel comfortable with any caster type. Since he was very popular around the Kingdom, he didn't foresee this being a problem.

Their first location to visit was the Eyemancers' section of the island: Tommorowland. From Portal Park, the two Hatmagicians went east and passed through huge white gates, which hissed and pulled apart by their own power when people approached, spewing steam onto the ground between them. They were met there by Gail, the leader of the Lookamancers.

She was young, in her early thirties perhaps, and pretty. She ran up and hugged Harrison, squealing "Indy!" while Berkeley looked on awkwardly. Finally, Harrison managed to pull away from her.

"Why do you call me Indy, again?"

Gail giggled. Berkeley rolled her eyes. "I don't know. You just look like an Indy. I think it's starting to catch on, too."

Now it was Harrison's turn to roll his eyes. "Great, that's just what I need. Thanks a ton, Gail."

Finally, they were able to keep moving and Gail handed them off to a Thinkamancer, Ensten Eddysson. He explained to them that a lot of what the Thinkamancers did in their free time was R&D into new forms of magic; there were a lot of them, so they had several working on each of their projects, the exact number varying depending on importance.

Berkeley's interest was piqued. "Projects?" she asked, "What kind of projects?"

Ensten smiled though his beard and said, "You'll see soon enough."

She did see, in fact. The three of them reached Space Mountain, a huge, conical white landform with more white flanges running up the sides and into the air. They entered the tunnels through another sliding gate and were immersed in a different world. The tunnels were dark and metallic, dimly lit by glowing blue wall fixtures. Ensten led them to a docking bay for strange vehicles, sleek, shiny rockets painted blue and gray. He announced that they would take the trains to see some of the more notable features of the development projects.

The first room they stopped at was nondescript. A few Thinkamancers tended to linked casters, explained by Ensten to be "A Thinkamancer, Lookamancer, and Foolamancer. They are producing Eyebooks, a new magic item that provides an easier way to communicate than thinkagrams. King Walt plans on selling the idea to the highest bidder."

They saw a few more projects, mostly concerned with the creation of magic items. Only one that they stopped at was off-limits; Ensten refused to go in because "there's too much raw energy in there. They're experimenting, trying to form a 4 caster link. They usually can survive the failure thanks to the crack squad of Thinkamancers and Healomancers we have in there, but it's far too dangerous nonetheless."

Finally, they reached the final exhibit. A massive room, with Thinkamancers of various skill levels running around and dozens of links. "This," Ensten whispered conspiratorially, "is the most important project being undertaken in the Magic Kingdom. If we succeed, it will change Erfworld forever. Thinkamancers, Findamancers, Lookamancers, Predictamancers! All working together to develop this one spell, create this one scroll! The spell they are trying to forge, it will summon the perfect warlord."