Fantasy The Owl House - Statice and Oak [Lore, Vignettes and Shorts]

[Skyrte]

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An Audrey Story - The Baker Queen [1 Ch/1630 words]

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[Edric Blight]

WORK IN PROGRESS:

 

[Skyrte]

The Baker-Queen
Optional Music


Audrey, ~10 years old ​

She ran, she'd been running for what felt like hours, but it must have been only minutes. She darted through the alleys and streets of Latissa, glancing up to gauge where the sunlight was between the stone buildings. It was already getting dark, even though it was the afternoon. The Shoulder was higher up, and Latissa was settled at the base of the mountain. The vines and bulbs overgrown on the streets and walls began to glow, as the sunlight faded. Audrey felt more fear, creeping up on her. The lights around the buildings meant less shadows, and less shadows meant less places to hide. She hastily looked around the alley she was in, behind the dumpsters, over the boxes, nowhere was dark enough to hide under, then she heard the giggling of boys and girls. They were the ones chasing her, between taunts, laughter, footsteps, Audrey whimpered. Nowhere to hide, she could only run. She started, but tripped over herself and scraped her hands on the rough stone floor. She winced and hissed, closing her hands into fists and blinked back tears. The little girl quickly scrambled onto her feet and darted down the alley.

She emerged onto a main street, the yellow light from the light-bulbs bathing everything in a light glow. Demons and witches walked around, moving crates full of fish, dining at tables, drinking from mugs. Good. They wouldn't be able to push her around here, at least not while all the adults were around, but if they spotted her, they would be able to follow her. Audrey pinched the ends of her shirt and chewed on her lip while she tried to think, but no ideas came to mind, there was only the need to get away, so she got onto the street, hugging herself, keeping her head down. Maybe they wouldn't turn this corner, maybe they would lose her in the loose crowd and just go right past her. But she was wearing her uniform... if they didn't look too closely then...

"Ethy!"
Audrey flinched, the voice was behind her. Did they find her? Were they coming for her right this moment?
"Ethy, face full of dready! Haha!"
She grit her teeth and breathed through her nose quickly, eyes wide open, staring at the floor. She tried to hug herself tighter, as if to make herself smaller.
"We still have your book! When are you going to come and get it!"
The voices were closer, and Audrey trembled. Terror gripped her mind, she had to escape, to anywhere, anyhow. Looking up, she found a wooden door with a glass panel. She immediately jumped to open the door and shut it behind her, with a loud smack. She put her back to the door and slid to the floor, hugging her knees tightly.

"The bakery's clo-..." Audrey heard a woman say, and she looked up and met her eyes, holding her breath. There was an older witch in front of her, holding a towel with her two hands. There were grey streaks through her black hair, and the witch wore a small pair of glasses. Audrey saw the witch glance up towards the windows of the bakery, and she heard the irregular footsteps of half a dozen witches skipping and running behind the door. Audrey shut her eyes and buried her face in her knees. The bakery was silent for a minute, and then the woman spoke up again. Gently, with compassion. "Oh girl... they're gone now. They've run past my bakery. Come here."

Audrey peeked out from behind her knees, noticing that the woman had gotten closer, she was still a few steps away, and she had crouched down. Audrey didn't move. "I'm not going to hurt you. I want to help you." The woman said. Audrey remained. The baker sighed and thought for a moment, "I am a Queen you know?" The baker said, suddenly. Audrey blinked. "I am a Queen and my bakery is now my Queendom. All who enter it, have my protection, and my care, because all who enter are my subjects, and I wish only the best for them. Now come, I want to help you."
The little student let go of her grip on her knees, looking down, and inched her way towards the Baker-Queen. The older witch stepped forward and gave Audrey a gentle hug. "You are safe here. My Queendom is the safest place in Latissa, and you are in it now."
Audrey felt a tingle in her nose and the tears blurred her sight, and she felt the woman rub her back, and Audrey let out a sniffle and a whimper, tears now falling freely and her breath shaky. The Baker-Queen picked her up and Audrey didn't resist, instead burying her face into the witches shoulder.

The Baker-Queen set Audrey down at a table close to the register, "Stay here, I'll be right back." She said, and Audrey nodded, wiping away her tears on her sleeves and blowing her nose with the napkins on the table. She sat there, not thinking of anything, only feeling relief. Not a moment too soon the Baker-Queen was back, holding a plate, with two cups of a deep red liquid, and a pastry Audrey had never seen before. It was round, and resting in a thin metal cup. The edges of the pastry was made with dough, and it was golden brown, and the center was golden in color, and shiny. The pastry glinting from the lights from the ceiling.
"Here, it's just about tea time, it would be nice if I had company." The Baker-Queen said, and Audrey nodded, enamored by the golden pastry. "Here, these are for you." And the older witch put a cup of red liquid in front of her, and the plate with the pastry, only taking the second cup for herself.

Audrey took the pastry, feeling it's crisp shell with a finger. A shell piece flaked off, remaining on her finger, and she put it on her tongue, chewing it with her front teeth while she brought it closer, she sniffed it. It smelled sweet, and eggy. The pastry lifted off of the thin metal cup easily, and Audrey took a bite. The edges of the shell were flakey, buttery, and crispy, while the golden yellow center was like pudding. Soft enough to break apart with her tongue, and sweet, she tasted a hint of the egg. It was good, Audrey thought to herself. A nice, gentle, light pastry. She took another bite, and finished it in three, licking her lips to catch any errant flakes of shell. The Baker-Queen had a gentle smile on her face, and Audrey took the cup. The cup was cold, and there was a tea bag resting just below the magenta colored tea. The tea was vibrant, and as she looked deeper into the cup, the tea got darker and darker, making the cup seem endless. She took a sip and welcomed the chilled drink. The tea was tart, reminding her of berries, and Audrey shut her eyes for a second, before taking a second, deeper sip.

She put the cup down, the Baker-Queen didn't say anything, and then Audrey took off her backpack and pulled out a sheet of paper and a pencil. She drew a symbol, a scorpion, surrounded by flowers and leaves, and gave it to the Baker-Queen.
"What's this?" She asked,
"My coat of arms, if you hang it somewhere, it means I will come if this place ever needs help." Audrey explained, "I read it in my book."
"Oh," The Baker-Queen replied, smiling, "Then I'll display this high on my wall, for all to witness. Can I see this book?" She asked.
"No... because they have it." Audrey replied bitterly, "And I can't get it back because I'm a Healer. They're stronger than me, and there's more of them than me, and they're always together, an-"
The Baker-Queen put her hands on Audrey's clenched fists, and Audrey relaxed. The Baker-Queen slowly opened Audrey's hands, revealing the scrapes. Audrey looked away.
"I know a spell to heal myself." Audrey said simply.
"No, that won't do, you are in my Queendom, I will help, you aren't alone here." The Baker-Queen replied back sternly, and Audrey just nodded. The older witch took out a clean towel from her apron and poured some of her tea on it, and she used the wet towel to clean Audrey's scrapes. "So they have your book."
"Yeah and I want it back, but it's impossible." Audrey complained.
"Nothing is impossible, a mountain might seem impossible to climb, but witches have climbed even The Knee to its peak." The Baker-Queen replied, "What you need is steps."
Audrey looked at the Baker-Queen, not understanding.
"To climb a mountain, you first take steps, and steps is how you reach the top of the mountain. What do you need in order to get your book back?"
"I don't know, I need... to get stronger I guess."
"Mhm."
"And I need friends of my own, so I'm not alone."
"Mhm."
"I don't know what else." Audrey said,
"What you have is enough, if you need more, you will find more." The Baker Queen stated,
Audrey was quiet for a moment, while the Baker-Queen cleaned the scrapes on her hand. "I should go home. Thank you." She finally said.
"You're welcome, little one. And remember, my doors are always open to you, and you will always be safe here. Show me this book of yours, when it's back in your hands. You have a royal quest now, it may take many months, and you might not succeed in the way you think you will, but remember your steps." The Baker Queen instructed.
Audrey took a deep breath and nodded.

 

[Edric Blight]

The Bard and the Boy:​

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Spoiler: Chase Talpin Face Claim

Growing up, young Thomas Vlasic was raised by his two illusion coven witch parents in quite a nice neighborhood. It was a mid to upper middle class area on the outskirts of Bonesborough and most if not all of the witch families living in this neighborhood were loyal followers of the Emperor. To even think of questioning the great Emperor Belos was highly frowned up and not even a thought in anyone's mind it seemed. Thomas was always a shy kid growing up, making it quite troublesome to find and keep friends. But there was one particular boy who lived in Thomas' neighborhood when he was a little kid. The boy's name was Chase Talpin, a young witch who was set to be in the Bard coven and learn Bard magic when he became of age to attend Hexside's older student classes. The boy's father was also a Bard coven witch as well and his mother a potions coven witch.

The two hit it off from a young age. Both boys were shy, although admittedly, Chase was a bit more outgoing and talkative than the timid and quiet Thomas. Meeting at around the young tender age of three years old, little Chase and Thomas often hung out together and played witch games in the street. There weren't that many kids in their neighborhood, and the kids that there were often didn't really want to hang out with the shy and sometimes socially awkward two witches. So, Chase and Thomas found. their own fun, opting to play and hang out together. They didn't need a large friend group, because they had each other's company.

The two grew up together, and. it became obvious to the both of them from an early age, and. even clearer as they got older, that Thomas was to be an illusions coven witch and practice illusions magic and Chase was to be a Bard. Chase was quite musically talented, and would often entertain the young Thomas by playing him a song on whatever instrument he could get his hands on. Chase typically liked to play the guitar, but also didn't mind banging on a percussion instrument here and there. Thomas, who was shy and didn't have many friends, enjoyed Chase's company, Chase seemingly being the only boy or girl witch who wanted to talk to him and be his friend.

But that all changed one fateful day... While out playing one day, Chase decided he'd show something to Thomas that his parents had taught him. Chase had said he wanted to demonstrate a "cool trick his parents taught him" and brought Thomas over to his backyard. The two boys were about 12 or so, teetering on 13, at the time. Thomas, with an excited and eager grin, watched as Chase advised him to give him a little space to perform the "so-called" trick. But instead of being impressed with the seemingly simple little trick, or smiling and thinking it was the coolest, Thomas' eyes widened in horror as his jaw dropped to the floor in shock. The brown haired blue eyed witch boy, apart of the Bard coven, had just performed illusion coven magic, despite not being trained in that coven's magic.

The Talpin boy had produced a very simple illusion of a blue jay bird. It was a simple trick that wasn't too hard, but still a tiny little thing with some illusion magic. As Chase looked back with an eager smile at his friend, hoping he'd enjoy or at least be impressed with the trick, his grin soon faded into a frown as his eyes widened as he only saw Thomas looking at him in horror, almost seemingly like he was now scared of Chase. They had been friends for around 10 years, why had Thomas looked afraid of his best friend here? But to Thomas, he was terrified. Chase had just performed illusions coven magic despite being in the Bard coven, that was the first problem. The second problem was that Chase had said he had learned this little trick from his parents. Chase's mother was a potions coven witch and his father was in the Bard coven. How could they have taught Chase an illusions coven magic trick if neither of them were allowed to practice that type of magic due to their respective covens?

It was then when Thomas had come to the horrifying conclusion- Chase's parents, and now therefore Chase himself, were wild witches. This came as a huge shock and a terrifying revelation to Thomas. The boy was under the impression that everyone in the neighborhood were good law respecting and abiding citizens, people who would never think about practicing wild magic, as it was made illegal by the Emperor. Thomas had long been taught by his parents from a very young age to obey Emperor Belos and that he knew what was best for witch-kind. They had many times told him the stories of the Emperor and how Belos' family was killed by wild witches, and that he came into power and created the highly successful coven system to keep a control on magic and to protect everyone on the Boiling Isles. It was the coven system that was put in place to protect them, and that if wild magic was practiced, it could put people's lives and families at risk and in danger.

Of course being practically spoon fed all of the Emperor's propaganda from his loyalist parents, the young Thomas was molded to believe it all, word. for word. The Emperor warned everyone to be distrustful of wild witches, and if you saw wild magic being performed or knew of wild witch families to report them immediately to the Emperor's coven and his guards. Standing there in Chase's backyard, frozen for a bit and terrified, Thomas said nothing as his friend Chase frowned and repeatedly asked Tom what was wrong. But he received no response. Instead, after a minute of just being frozen in place there, Thomas ran away, out of Chase's backyard, back to his home and his parents, slowly coming to terms with the awful fact that his boyhood best friend was apart of a family of wild witches. Wild witches were dangerous and not to be trusted, so Thomas would most likely not be allowed to be friends with Chase. There was no way the Emperor would let something like this slide, and Thomas knew from his parents that he had to be a good boy and stay loyal to the Emperor and obey Belos, since he knew what was best.

Running home practically crying, Thomas found his parents who were wondering why there were tears coming out of the boy's eyes. They assumed he was just playing out back with his best friend Chase, so it was a confusion to them as to why their boy was crying. Before reluctantly ratting out his best friend, he hesitantly told his parents what he had seen from Chase, telling them what Chase's parents had taught the brown haired witch boy. It was immediately then when Thomas' parents' face went pale and changed as they said that Thomas was no longer allowed to see or hang out with Chase Talpin. It tore Thomas apart internally to learn that his now former best friend was a wild witch and part of a family of wild witches. Eventually, Thomas' parents spread the word about the Talpin's potentially practicing wild magic in their nice little neighborhood and the Talpin's were essentially driven out of the neighborhood and forced to move away to escape the suspicious glares and persecution.

Thomas never saw Chase Talpin after that day, as he was barred from seeing the boy and eventually, the Talpin family was driven out of the town and moved away. Shortly after the Talpin's had moved away, there were Emperor's coven guard posted around outside of their old house, many standing outside of the house and others digging around in there, looking for things. The house was eventually raided and emptied and soon put up for sale later, and eventually after a year or two, another family moved in to the house. The only remaining memory that Thomas has now of his old boyhood best friend, Chase Talpin, is very second of two posts on his Penstagram profile, tvlasic16. It was taken around when the two were 11 going on 12 years old, Thomas smiling brightly with his arm wrapped around Chase as Chase did the same thing, the blue eyed brown haired witch giving a happy toothy grin to the camera as he too had his arm around his best friend. Chase's Penstagram account was tagged in the photo as well and the photo had one like, a like from an account named chasey13, also the account that happened to be tagged in the photo. Thomas never got around to deleting the photo, but a part of him doesn't want to and can't bring himself to do it. He rarely thinks of his old Bard coven witch friend, and for good reason. To this day, of course, Thomas remains distrustful and fearful of wild witches.

 

[Skyrte]

Light and Mud​

The two men stood in a meadow of the Forearm Forest, this was a secret place, only known to woodswitches, adventurers, and explorers. Like them. The man who stood tall and proud was well dressed, seemingly ill suited for the forest, wearing well tailored clothes colored white and light brown. Neatly fitted dress pants, vest, and formal shirt, sleeves rolled up revealing strong arms. On his concerned face, he wore square metal glasses, his well groomed appearance not matching his built figure easily seen beneath his clothes. He swallowed.
"Luca, will you really not listen to me?" The well dressed man asked, "We gave decades of our lives for the Society already, it's time for us to rest. Let the nex-"

The other, hunched forward, wearing a large cloak dyed a dark red, barked a snort. He tilted his head up to look at his friend in the eyes from under his wide brimmed straw hat. His eyes held no friendliness in them.
"Maybe for you, but she's still out there and I still have to find her." Luca said with conviction. The hunched over mans eyes narrowed and his hand moved from his side to the pommel of his sword, resting it on his sheathed blade.
"Luca, you spent fifteen years looking! It was slim then, it's even slimmer now that you've combed the entire Titan searching! Where else could she possibly be?!" The friend pleaded, "Just stop, please, you must move on."
"And I'll spend another fifteen if that's what it takes. I will not stop. I must not."
"I don't want to have to duel you to make you listen." The well dressed man said.
"You can try, El. But we both know who can wield their sword better." Luca replied.
"Luca," El said, eyes finally hardening, he closed them for a moment and took a deep breath, "Those spars were for sport... but if you will only listen to violence, then so be it. I've watched you torment yourself for over a decade, I will not let you torment yourself more."

El rose a hand and drew a spell circle, and from out of thin air, a sword appeared, floating in mid air in front of him. It was a thin bladed rapier, with a large, elegant hand guard. Crafted beautifully, gleaming in the suns light. He opened his eyes and grabbed the hilt in front of him, and the blade glowed with a bright white color, tinged with blue hues. It was The Prism Sword, a blade crafted by El's own hands, and imbued with his own magic. And Luca knew exactly what it was. In a split second, El disappeared with a blinding flash of light and the crack of a whip. Luca immediately leaned back far, in an instant he saw the glint of steel and an eyeblink later a blade had appeared, inches away from his face and stabbed into his straw hat. Luca let his momentum carry him back, and he hugged El's arm with his, bringing his legs up and wrapping them around El's shoulder, planning to pull him into a grapple on the ground. But his limbs felt no purchase, and he saw his arms phase right through El's own arm. It was an illusion. Once Luca was on his back, he rolled back onto his shoulder, placing his hands by his head onto the ground. Swinging his legs towards him, he suddenly kicked up with his legs and pushed off the ground with his hands, explosively sending him off the floor and back upright. He took another step foward, settling into a wide stance, resting his hands on the hilt of the sword by his waist. Then he saw his friend El, and the birds of the forest looked on with alert on their minds.

Twenty of him, all surrounding Luca in a circle, all in the same stance. A salute with his rapier. Luca frowned, the lunge before was a feint, to force his eyes of El, so he could do this. All of the El's suddenly darted forward, all with their blades aimed at Luca. Luca, instead of drawing his own sword, drew a spell circle, then thrust his fist through it, punching the ground. Abomination clay formed in a circle around his feet, then shot out as spears towards the incoming attackers. All of the attackers deftly avoided the spears, weaving around them like cloth in the wind. Twenty blades surged towards Luca, none of them dissuaded by the Abomination spell. But he listened. The crunch of dirt, the gasp of exertion, and the swish of air. Luca drew his longsword and skipped forward, turning around in the air, and swinging his sword with the point towards the ground around his left.

The clang of steel resounded through the air, and birds were startled, suddenly flapping their wings and escaping the meadow. Luca fell into a high ox guard, pointing his blade at his friend, holding the sword up by his head. El, surprised that the red cloaked man had managed to parry his own sword, slowly entered a low guard with his own rapier. A moment of silence passed, compounded by the disappearance of the forest creatures. El then drew a spell circle with the tip of his sword, and brazenly, formed countless illusionary clones to his left and right, surrounding Luca once again in a circle. This time, they all rose their blades, and a ball of magic appeared at the tips of their swords, and all, simultaneously, with a simple flick to the right, drew a spell circle that encompassed the entire meadow.

Luca's sight of the meadow faded away into nothingness, a void of black, and all he saw were the blades of countless Prism Swords in a circle around him. Luca was stoic, unphased by this impressive display of illusionary magic. He took his left hand off the hilt of his sword and drew a spell circle, then he held his left arm out. On his left forearm, a hexagonal shield made of Abomination clay formed.
"I always said you could have become head of the Illusion Coven." Luca said softly, sadness in his voice, not doubting that El could hear him.

Then it began. The Prism Swords darted towards him and Luca danced. Deflecting, parrying, blocking, keeping his footwork light and mobile, effortlessly flowing guard into guard. There was no way for him to fight back, Luca didn't have the time to, nor did he have the sight to see El. Each sword, illusionary or real, was so real that it felt like Luca was parrying real metal. His red cloak no longer covered his body, it instead swayed behind him as he glided across the black void, revealing his black clothes. The arena was painted by countless steel swords, all moving in unison, painted by Luca's red cloak, flowing like a flag through the endless black, painted by Luca's purple Abomination shield, like an floating gemstone down a river.

Then finally, the sword found it's mark. Light came back to the meadow. Luca fell to his knees, pierced by three swords through his abdomen. El stood in front of him, failing to hold back the horror of what he had just done. He had his staff raised, his orange and white moth palisman glowing with power. To El's right, The Prism Sword floated, point down, and to his right, a blade that Luca didn't immediately recognize floated, the same as the Prism Sword, point down. It was a shorter size, much more like a dagger, it's guard much less elaborate, but still beautiful, and just like the Prism Sword, it's blade glowed with light. Luca then remembered what it was.
"Y..." He coughed, "You took my suggestion. You've created a Prism Dagger." Luca said.
El lowered his staff, "I, I can take you to the clinic. You can heal there, Luca."
Luca's breath was ragged, and he held up his hand, and El took it. "I'm not going to the clinic, Elwin." Luca said, and El's eyes grew wide as Luca's skin shifted colors to purple, the same color as his Abomination clay. His form disappeared and the three swords that pierced him fell to the ground, then flashed with light and disappeared, as Elwin's palisman ceased it's magic to fly away and escape. Luca yanked Elwin forward, causing him to stumble forwards, and a sphere of Abomination clay formed around him, trapping Elwin inside. Outside of the sphere, Luca walked out from the clay, forming his body once again. He picked up his cloak and straw hat, donning them once again. He walked to the prison.
"It'll last for half an hour Elwin. I'll be long gone by then." Luca said, not looking at the spherical prison, and then he left.
Once the prison had melted away, Elwin stood alone, his palisman sitting on the grass nearby. He stood there for the full half hour, silently. He then picked up the Prism Dagger, gripping onto it tightly, and his brow furrowed, a frown on his face. He threw the dagger as hard as he could away from him with a yell of anger, anguish, sadness, desperation, and fell to his knees, tears falling from his face. He had lost, not only the duel, but he had lost his childhood friend, and failed to save him from himself.

 

[Skyrte]

Silent Singer​

Evanora was always a quiet girl, beyond quiet. There was shy, and then there was her. She did not speak.
Her parents were always working, leaving her home to her devices, and Evanora simply didn't speak. She didn't like strangers, home was more comfortable. She always took a liking to wind chimes and birds, and enjoyed their company. Instead of paying attention to people, she paid attention to books, reading and listening to the rain. And she would have continued this peaceful life, but she had to start attending Glandus Academy.

Her first day at Glandus was difficult.
The day started as usual, waking up in the morning, but this time, she had to walk to Glandus. It was scary to her, she knew the reputation of the place, but the next academy was cities over. As she neared the school in the town of Latissa, she spotted more and more students as they all converged to the same place, they paid her little to no attention, and she was glad for it. She didn't know if they were friendly or not, and judging by the reputation of the school, they likely weren't. Evanora just hoped to get through the day, that was it, just get through the day. She entered the halls of Glandus silently, managing to avoid the attentions of all of the students coming in. The day would only get worse.

She entered the Bard Coven's classroom and sat in the back, to avoid attention. When attendance was called, and her name, Evanora Sephiran, was called. She rose her hand. The large mouthed demon professor didn't look up from her attendance sheet, and called for Evanora again. And Eva kept her hand raised. When the professor looked up, there was displease clearly seen on her face.
"Ah." The Bard Professor said, "The mute one." She said with disdain. Eva deflated, and saw the rest of the class turn to look at her. She shrunk into her seat. "We'll be starting with singing today, but since you're mute, I'll just write zeroes on your assignments." The Bard Professor said. Some of the other students laughed, others simply turned back around to face the board. And Eva just looked down, embarrassment turning her ears red, and hurt clutching at her chest. But she loved singing, even though she didn't sing herself, she knew the notes of the voice, how they flowed into each other to create song, she loved to hear birdsong and singing on the crystal ball, but now even though she was officially taking Bard Coven classes, she was excluded. Eva spent the entire day hiding behind her ash brown hair, silently, unable and unallowed to participate in the class. The professor already failed her before she even had a chance to try.

When Evanora went home that day, her parents were still gone, working. The refrigerator had her dinner, all she had to do was heat it up, but she had no appetite. Eva simply went into her room and laid in bed, wanting the day to be over already. The wind chimes outside her window were silent, and the girl watched the sun set from under her sheets, until day turned to night. And then she went to sleep.

The second day of school was even worse. Again, the Bard Professor had dismissed her, again some of the students laughed. She saw the gaze of some of the other students linger, with malicious smiles. It scared her, but she had to endure. Again, she was left out, as the other bards began to practice singing. She sat in silence, she did not speak, she did not make a noise, she stared out of the classroom window, longing for the day to be done, the day that seemed to go on for eternity. She thought back to her wind chimes, and how she missed their gentle music, how she missed birdsong, the patter of rain, and the rustling of trees in the wind.

When the bell-demon screamed, finally signifying the end of the day, she picked up her backpack and immediately left, not noticing the small band of boys following behind her. As soon as she left the doors of Glandus, someone pushed her, and she fell down the stairs. Eva didn't yelp or scream, she only gasped, and held up her arms to protect her as she tumbled down the short staircase. She looked up at her attackers, and found a band of four Bard Coven boys, sneers on their face.
"The teacher said you can't talk." One said with faux helpfulness, "Don't worry, we can help you with that."
They walked down the stairs, and Eva was frozen in terror. One grabbed her backpack and began to yank at it, and Eva tried to scream, but nothing came out.
"We can just try harder to make you scream!" Another boy shouted, and with one final yank, they ripped the backpack from off her back. They unzipped the bag and pulled out her belongings.
"Why do you have notebooks if you already failed the class?" The first boy asked, tossing them to the floor.
"Hey this is a Bard textbook... you can't even sing, let me throw this away for you." The fourth boy grinned, he threw the textbook at Eva, the corner hitting her in the brow, drawing blood. The boys laughed, and tossed loose papers on the ground, on her.
"Aw... don't cry. We're helping you. You don't need all these notebooks and textbooks. You're barely a bard as is, you're just carrying dead weight." A boy explained, staring right at her, "We don't need dead weight in the Coven Class Competition."
Eva didn't know what to do, tears welled up, blurring her vision, she felt powerless against them, and afraid. She couldn't even shout at them. Couldn't even whisper at them. She didn't speak.

But then one keeled over, shouting in pain. Then immediately another. Pillars made of purple goo shot out from the ground and tossed the third and fourth to the side, away from Evanora. Eva looked to the top of the stairs, seeing a witch, about her age, with long brown hair, and furious eyes. The newcomer was almost snarling, the image of an avenging demon. One of the boys reached to his back and felt abomination clay on his back, and he turned around, taking a deep breath to launch a magically enchanted shout at the newcomer. But she was quicker. She threw her messenger bag, nailing the boy right in the face, and she drew another spell circle, and from a bottle in her pocket, three more balls of clay swung out and launched themselves at the boy. They impacted him in the chest, sending him tumbling down into the ground.

The girl then leapt down, from the stairs, straight into the ground into a roll. Eva was dumbstruck, this girl was like an action hero. With both hands, the stranger drew a spell circle on the ground, and a pool of abomination clay began to form. Then from it, a short wall rose, just in time to intercept the magical shout of one of the Bard boys. The stranger drew more spell circles on the ground, forming more pools, watching the four boys from over her shoulder as her opponents wiped the clay off their uniforms and pulled out their instruments. A flute, a drum, a lute, and a violin.

The flute boy was the first to act. Playing a five note tune that sent five blasts of magic towards Eva and the action hero girl, and the girl matched his five notes with seven moves of her own. She broke off six balls from the abomination wall she had just created, and sent them to intercept the bards attacks. Five of the bullets destroyed the notes, but the sixth hit the flute boy in the face, immediately halting whatever next spell he was about to cast. The other three boys leapt into action, and the girl flowed into her next moves. Building walls, using the clay on the ground to trip the boys, pulling and pushing the clay already on them. Eva was stunned, this girl was incredible. Strong enough to match four opponents and hold her own. The way she moved, casting spell after spell, was like a model striking poses for a camera. There was a certain tempo to it...

And Eva realized what she was doing. Her attacks, counters, blocks, they were all according to a tempo. Her spells were like notes, her breathing setting the tempo, and her dueling was like her song. Evanora listened to it for a brief moment, and then did something that even surprised herself. She sat cross legged, closed her eyes, and drew a spell circle with her left hand, holding it straight up towards the sky. She patted her knee with her right hand, matching the beat of the strangers breathing. The discordant notes and shouts from the boys faded, and Eva focused on the strangers song. Her breathing. The sound of her spellcasting. Even her footsteps as she shifted into new stances. Her spellcircle began to pulse with the beat. She was a bard. She knew music. She knew song. And this stranger was unknowingly giving her a chance to show that she did.

Eva waited, and in the right moment, began to whistle. First two staccato notes at half time, then a crescendo. Matching the strangers combo of counters, then four attacks. Eva's magic empowered the strangers, her bullets flew faster, her abomination walls were stronger, the stranger herself felt quicker, stronger, and more capable. The two of them were a living song, the percussive beats of the strangers steps and breathing, and the melodic tune of Eva's whistle.

To Eva, it was the result of... everything. All that time spent listening to birdsong, the drumming sound of rain on her window, the chimes that the wind played for her. The rustling of the grass and trees. Now she could sing her own songs, and someone was listening to her. Someone was matching her. It was like the stranger understood her. The song they played intensified, as the stranger doubled her speed, no longer on the defensive against the four bard boys. Empowered by Eva's song, the stranger shifted to the offensive, and in an almost frighteningly short amount of time, the stranger neared the end of her song, and then ended it with a clap.

Eva opened her eyes, seeing the stranger standing straight, heels together, her hands still raised beside her head clasped together. She looked to the boys that tormented her, finding them in various states of immobility. They were stuck, bogged down by abomination clay, their instruments away from their hands. One was even stuck against the wall of the school. Eva was awestruck. She... she helped do that. The stranger slowly lowered her hands and turned around, rage now faded away, no longer snarling. She walked to Eva, who stopped her spell, and the stranger got on a knee in front of her. She reached out, and Eva stared at the stranger in the eyes. The stranger touched her cheek, and pulled out a handkerchief. She wiped Eva's bleeding brow.
"That was really cool." The Stranger said, as she wiped the blood away.
Eva didn't speak.
"It's no problem, they were already getting on my nerves. And I'd just learned some new spells over the break."
Eva didn't speak. But she was surprised.
"If you're hungry or thirsty, I know a safe place. We can wind down there."
Eva didn't speak. She stared at the Stranger instead. And the Stranger smiled, she drew a spell circle, and over her hand, a healing glow appeared. A short moment later, the cut on her brow disappeared, leaving a patch of through her eyebrow.
"Okay. Let's go then, I'll help you." The Stranger said, she stood up and held out a hand for Eva, and Eva took it. The Stranger lifted her up, and then got to gathering Eva's things, and her things. In a short moment, Eva had her backpack back on, with all of her books and notes and pencils inside, and the Stranger had her messenger bag back on, and the two of them walked away from Glandus into the city, leaving behind the crowd of students that had disappeared from Eva's attention. The crowd that now whispered to each other of The Salamander of Glandus's Halls, and how there was now a Little Salamander.

"My name's Audrea. Do you drink tea?" She said, looking at the silent bard.
Eva didn't speak, but instead her head tilted up and down, almost imperceptibly.
Audrey smiled, "Good, this bakery we're going to has good teas."

 

[Edric Blight]

(A little draft of a mini story I formed in my head from some ideas circling. Isn’t really written the best, apologies.)

The Injury
(Backstory)​

Andrew Vlasic was a proud graduate from the prestigious school of magic, St. Epiderm. The highly intelligent and athletically skilled young Andrew was dashingly handsome and had grown up in quite a wealthy family. Born to wealthy and well regarded members of the Emperor’s Coven, Andrew was destined for success on the Boiling Isles. His pretty dark brown eyes and soft yet full head of thick blonde hair made his handsome face easy on the eyes for sure. Andrew had studied illusions and was an illusion coven student in St. Epiderm. In his time at the prestigious and expensive St. Epiderm, Andrew had quite taken a liking to the highly physical and often times dangerous sport of grudgby- a popular athletic past time on the Boiling Isles.

The young boy quickly showed his skill and talented athletic ability as he practiced quite a bit and eventually made the grudgby team there. Andrew would play there from year one all the way up until he graduated, even earning the distinction of captain of the team in his later years of schooling there. While graduating pretty much at the top of his class and being a proficient illusionist, Andrew had also proved he was quite the star athlete. Out of St. Epiderm, Andrew Vlasic played grudgby on a semi-professional team. He juggled both playing for the team and his work in the illusions coven quite well. It seemed like everything was going smoothly with a nice healthy balance between grudgby and his work in the coven.

While working for the illusion coven as one of its most talented illusionists (while also juggling playing for a grudgby team), Andrew would meet and fall in love with another highly talented and proficient illusionist, a graduate from Hexside named Bella Rose. The two met and fell in love instantly at first sight. They eventually started dating and Andrew was playing grudgby semi-professionally and working for the illusions coven all while maintaining his romantic relationship with Bella. But still, despite all the busyness of Andrew’s life, everything was manageable for him and it was all going smoothly.

Eventually, after a while of dating and being madly in love, the two decided to start a family and settle down, get married and maybe have a child. That was just what the two decided to do. Andrew would later marry Bella and the two would buy a nice house in the suburbs of Bonesborough with the purpose of settling down and starting a family. It wasn’t too long after they got married and bought the house until Bella was finally pregnant with what would be her first and only child- a baby boy. Andrew would continue to play grudgby. That was until one fateful day when Bella was about 7 months pregnant with their child….

While playing a grudgby match for his team, Andrew suffered quite the extreme injury. It took him out of the game and he needed to be rushed to a healing coven hospital to be treated. The injury would leave him out of that season for the foreseeable future. Of course this worried the extremely pregnant Bella, his wife, especially considering Andrew wanted to get back to playing as soon as he was healed from his injury. But Bella wouldn’t let that fly- she wanted her husband never to play again, especially considering they had a baby very much on the way.

Bella was just 7 months pregnant with their baby boy when Andrew had suffered what was essentially a career ending injury. After a month or two of recovery and healing (sped up thanks to the healing coven’s magic), Andrew was feeling quite good and could walk normally once more. Unfortunately in that month’s time of healing and essential immobility for Andrew, a great friend and teammate of Andrew had passed away tragically. Andrew was saddened by the loss and pained that his last interaction with the teammate and good friend was a brief glance as he was carted away and taken to the hospital in his injured state. The teammate’s name was Thomas Anders.

(Flashback 15 or so years ago, Bella is 8 months pregnant with their child):​

It had been almost a month since Andrew’s severe injury while playing semi-professional grudgby. He was essentially home bound while the healing magic did its work to recover Andrew in the month that followed. His wife, Bella, was 8 months pregnant with their child. Then baby was almost here. The two soon-to-be new parents had recently found out that their little baby witchlet would be a boy. Despite the unexpected injury, the couple’s spirit was not broken as they eagerly awaited the birth and arrival of their pride and joy- their first son.

A much younger looking Andrew, a handsome blonde-haired illusions coven witch, sat in his home with his very pregnant wife. The man was slowly being able to walk again thanks to the healing coven magic which was hard at work, working on his body everyday to help him recover quickly. Andrew was instructed to lay low and keep physical activity minimal by the healing coven witches, so he was essentially bound to sit at home. And Andrew hated it- he longed to get back out there and do something physical- to play grudgby once again…. On this particular day, he sat lazily on the couch watching the crystal ball. The contents of the crystal ball showed footage of a live grudgby match that was being shown. Bella walked into the room, frowning as she noticed Andrew watching the grudgby game on the crystal ball, the man frowning and sighing, looking longingly at the ball, like he craved to be back out there.

Bella frowned and sighed, standing beside her new husband as she slowly walked into the room. “Hun… you’re watching the games again with that sad and longing look in your face…” she commented softly.

Andrew looked up and to his side where his pregnant wife was standing, a concerned look on her face. Andrew closed his eyes and took a deep exhale. “I miss it, babe, I really do…” he admitted softly to her with a frown.

Bella’s frown only grew and became more pronounced. “Andy baby- how could you possibly want to still play a game that practically killed you and left you injured like this?” she asked in disbelief, still trying to keep her tone and demeanor calm.

Andrew just frowned and shook his head, “Honey- I love the game- and it puts food on the table…” he replied.

“Our work in the illusions coven is more than enough to put food on the table!” Bella responded, slowly raising her voice. “We would still get by VERY well even if you weren’t in the grudgby scene,” she told him.

“I know but-“ Andrew went to say before he was cut off. “Honey! We have a baby on the way! I need you to stay home and help me take care of him! You can’t be going out there playing grudgby while I’m left alone to raise our son!” she said.

Andrew just remained silent to let it all sink in as Bella went on. “And Titan forbid you get injured again! Andrew- we have a little baby boy on the way that we need to take care of! You can’t be doing this- it’s reckless and dangerous!” she scolded him. “It’s time to grow up Andrew- you’re a father now. You’re not a kid anymore- you’re not as young and fit as you used to be. You can’t go around playing this game anymore. Please hun, for me… for the baby… settle down and stop playing for good… you’re not a kid at St. Epiderm anymore… you can’t handle this. You have a family to provide for…” she said with a frown.

Bella was practically pleading with her big sad eyes as she looked at her husband who was deep in thought. When he didn’t respond, still processing her words, she spoke again softly. “Please…” she whined quietly, “Retire for good honey…“ she begged. “For me… for the baby…” she whispered, frowning. Andrew closed his eyes and sighed. She was right- he was a man now, a family man. He had a family to provide for and a little son soon to be on the way that he had to help raise. Carrying on his grudgby career was ill-advised and reckless at his age. He knew what he must do- Bella was right.

“You’re right…” he replied softly finally, “You’re right Bella. I’ll retire. I’ll never play grudgby again….” he said with a frown quietly. “For you… for the baby….” he added quietly.

Bella went to his side and held his hand gently, rubbing it lovingly. “Thank you, Andy…” she whispered gratefully as she smiled softly. Andrew just simply nodded, turning off the crystal ball and putting a hand on his wife’s belly, gently patting where their baby was- his future son.

And from that day forward, Andrew would officially retire, never to touch a grudgby ball again. It was a move done out of love for his family, and his new baby son would be born around two months later….

(2 months later, the hospital room, the birth of Thomas Vlasic):
​

After many hours of labor after taking his 9 month pregnant wife to a healing coven hospital, the healing coven witches successfully delivered the Vlasic family’s new healthy little baby newborn boy. Now all completely healed up thanks to his healing coven magical treatment, Andrew Vlasic stood by his wife’s side at the hospital bed, newly a father.

He stared lovingly at his wife on the hospital bed as she tiredly mustered a smile back at him, exhausted from the child birth. Soon, the healing coven witches who had helped deliver their newborn baby boy emerged after cleaning up the little child. In their arms they held a tiny precious little newborn witch boy.

“Mr. and Mrs. Vlasic, your little boy is perfectly healthy,” said the beaming coven witch as she smiled and handed the little newborn all wrapped up in blankets to the tired new mother in bed. “I must say,” said the healing coven witch with a grin as she looked at Andrew, “He looks just like you, Mr. Vlasic,” she giggled before leaving the new parents in privacy to officially meet their newborn baby son.

Bella looked to be on the verge of proud tears as the exhausted witch smiled fondly and tiredly as she held their new son in her arms. The little newborn baby was all bundled up in warm blankets, its eyes closed. Andrew stared down fondly at his newborn son in his wife’s arms as he got his first real good look at the baby boy.

“Oh look hun,” said Bella softly, gently cradling the newborn, “He does look just like you!” she said lovingly, the tired new mother choking back tears of pride and joy. Andrew curiously peered down at his newborn son, crouching down next to his wife’s hospital bed. In her arms was a beautiful little baby boy with a head of blonde hair, just like his own.

Andrew couldn’t help but smile fondly down at his adorable little baby newborn son as he gently brought a hand to pet the baby’s head. “He does, doesn’t he?” Andrew whispered softly with a little chuckle as he smiled down at his new son, their pride and joy. The little blonde haired baby newborn remained sleeping as his mother held him and his father gently pet his head.

“So cute, isn’t he?” Bella asked tiredly, continuing to smile lovingly at their adorable new baby boy. Andrew nodded slowly, sighing and continuing to smile down upon their newborn son and petting his head gently. “He really is…” he replied quietly.

“I think we’ll call him Thomas…” said Andrew softly, smiling at his new son. “Oh Andy, that’s perfect!” replied Bella with a grin. Andrew looked down at his healthy little baby boy.

“Hello, Thomas…” he whispered softly to the baby as it slept and he continued to pet his head gently, smiling fondly the whole time.

And thus, Thomas Vlasic was born into the world, and Andrew his father swore never to play the game of grudgby again.