The Silver Chalice
Somewhere in London, a teenage boy lays asleep. A nightmare which plagues him every night has returned.
The rain falls on the earth as the teen lays asleep in his childhood bed as a 5-year-old child. A man stands over him.
“Everything I do, I do for you.”
Suddenly, the man holds out his hand and a short shotgun suddenly phases in, resting in the man's hand. He quickly conceals it in his jacket. The man begins to walk away and as he leaves, he becomes a fading silhouette.
The teen wakes up sweating. Now at the age of 15. He is plagued by the mystery of his father's disappearance 10 years ago. All that his father left were instructions on what should happen if he doesn’t return one day. As the boy lays in bed, he holds out his hand and sees a mark, akin to a coat of arms, resting on the back of his hand. It contains the name ‘Flintwood’ written within. The boy's eyes widen with wonder.
“It’s time.”
The boy hops out of bed and quickly opens a draw in his room. The boy rummages through the open wooden draw in his room and pulls out a book and begins to read it.
His eyes quickly jot through the first pages. It’s apparent that it is a guide for the first stages of his life.
‘Keep going to school…I left enough money…Don’t tell anybody that I'm not here or speak about me disappearing…If you need anything, the emergency contact is…’
Suddenly, the boy finds the part of the book that he’s looking for. A sentence which is written in large letters and takes up a whole page.
‘Don't read any further into this book until you’re 15 years old and a strange mark appears on the back of your hand.’
The boy then turns to the next page.
‘Mason, if you’re reading this then a mark with our family name has appeared on you. It means that you’re finally ready to learn the truth. I had hoped that maybe I could stop you from being involved in all this. But, if the family crest has passed down to you and I truly have disappeared, then this book will be my last chance to keep you safe. The truth is, I'm something called a ‘Magus’, and if you have the mark, then you are too. Follow everything that this book says carefully. If you do that, you will survive.’
Mason packs some things and leaves the house for good as he follows the instructions written in step one.
‘Step 1: Head to the location marked below. When you get there, you’ll see a door in a dark alley. It has no handle and looks like it doesn't lead anywhere. Recite the phrase ‘No path blocks a magus’ and a whole new world should appear before your eyes. Walk through the door and welcome to the world of magus. Find somewhere quiet without peeping eyes and then read step 2.’
Mason has walked through the door and as it shut behind him, he is embraced by a magical world. People are walking around in a town centre that does not exist in the world of normal humans. Mason is in awe. It is one thing to hear about a world that doesn't exist to normal eyes, it’s a different thing to see it for yourself.
Mason walks around slowly before spotting an empty bench and heads towards it. He glances around before opening the book. Suddenly, Mason feels someone push up against his side and quickly closes the book. He looks to see a grinning boy who is the same age as him.
“It’s nice to finally see someone my age.”
The boy holds his hand out towards Mason and Mason stares at it for a moment. Mason then grabs the other boy's hand and they shake hands.
“I’m Cole, Cole Barrows. What’s your name?”
Mason stays silent but Cole grips Mason’s hand tightly and turns it around so he can see the crest.
“Flintwood. What’s your first name?”
Mason hesitantly responds.
“Uhh, it’s Mason.”
Before they could continue their conversation, their attention is drawn to a woman screaming as a man takes something from her and pushes her to the ground. The thief begins to run away. Suddenly, a nearby member of the magus police is drawn to the woman’s scream and notices the situation.
“Stop right there!”
The thief continues to run and then turns around to face the magus police.
“You won’t catch me!”
The thief’s left hand suddenly glows as a flame surrounds it. The thief charges his attack and then launches the ball of fire towards the magus police in a similar manner to how one would throw a baseball.
The magus police officer holds his arm out and suddenly a 7-pointed star is quickly drawn and surrounded by runes in the shape of a circle. It appears as though it is a shield. The ball of fire comes at full speed towards the warding spell. It is hit by the ball of fire as the ball of fire explodes. Smoke surrounds the officer but quickly dissipates.
The criminal looks on in shock.
“Uh oh.”
Suddenly, before even a moment goes by, the officer lunges towards the criminal and casts a restraining spell. Out of nowhere, magical binds latch onto the criminal's arms and legs and throw him towards the ground.
As the commotion finishes, Cole comments on it.
“That's the magus police. Only the most powerful magus in the world are invited to join them.”
Cole looks at Mason and notices his backpack and is curious about why it isn’t bigger.
“Are you starting magus school in a few days? What school are you going to?”
Mason responds to Cole’s question with confusion as he has not read what his next step might be.
“I…uh…I don't know.”
Cole laughs as he thinks this is a joke.
“You don't know? Well, you better find out soon before the term starts.”
Cole stands up and grabs his things.
“I’m on a tight schedule to prepare for school. Maybe I'll see you around.”
As Cole leaves, Mason again sits on the bench alone. As Mason begins to read step two, a man with bandages on his face, red eyes and a strange hat hides in the shadows, looking at Mason.
‘Step 2: There’s an inn in the magus world, it's called ‘The Silver Chalice’ , if you can't find it, ask somebody for directions. It’s not too far from the portal that you went through. Once you get there, ask at the front desk for a man named Wallace. Provided the old man is still kicking, tell him you have a reservation for Flintwood. He’ll explain the rest.’
Mason begins to look around. Upon spotting the inn, Mason can’t help but notice how rugged it looks. As Mason enters, he notices many patrons drinking. He is caught off guard by the aura of the place. It almost looks like a medievil tavern. Mason walks over to the bar at the back of the inn. He is greeted by an old man with grey hair who bears a grump expression. He looks over at Mason with an unmoving expression and begins to speak with a raspy voice.
“Can I help you?”
Mason looks up at the old man.
“I'm looking for Wallace.”
The old man looks unamused as he responds.
“You’re looking at him.”
Mason stutters before he recalls the words that he must say next.
“I have a reservation for Flintwood.”
The old man looks on in surprise and gets closer to Mason before speaking in a quieter voice.
“What? Bridger’s here?”
Mason shakes his head.
“No. I’m his son.”
Wallace pulls Mason’s arm towards him and looks at the crest on the back of his hand.
“That's the Flintwood crest alright. I knew this day would come. Well, I owe him for saving my life, so I sorted everything out that he asked for, just in case.”
Mason is surprised.
“My father saved your life?”
Wallace pulls a keyring from his pocket as he responds to Mason’s query.
“Yeah. A long time ago. I’ll explain things further to you, seeming as your father isn't around to explain it himself. Come with me.”
Mason follows Wallace into an empty room of the inn. After entering the room, Wallace closes the door and begins to explain.
“You’re enrolled into a magus school. Your uniform is in the closet. Adania school. It’s a fancy one. One of the three great magic schools along with Draxon and Lockheath… or was it Eregost and Lockheath? Either way, the headmaster single-handedly saved the magus world about 60 or so years ago. Good teachers there. The schooling is three years long. I’ve sorted out everything for you that I can and the rest will be told to you while you're there.”
Despite being thrown into an insane situation, it’s apparent that Mason has not processed everything, all he can do is think about the fight that he witnessed earlier as he prepares a question to ask.
“Does being a magus mean that I can cast spells like those people wearing the black armour?”
Wallace slowly and sarcastically laughs at Mason’s question.
“You’ll be taught how to cast spells. But don't expect to ever be as good as they are. They’re the best of the best.”
Wallace pauses for a moment and thinks before retracting his previous comment.
“Well, actually, if you’re Bridger's son, then you definitely stand a good chance.”
Before Mason can question this comment about his father, Wallace speaks again.
“I will teach you one spell though. That crest on your hand. Your family's magical crest. You don't want to go showing it to everybody you meet. Bridger’s enemies are many.”
Wallace holds Mason’s arm up and speaks.
“Hide your legacy.”
Suddenly, Mason’s crest fades away and his hand is as it was before. Mason inspects his hand.
“What did you do?”
Wallace begins to explain as Mason continues to stare at his hand.
“Because you don’t have the ability to tap into your magic yet, I cast the spell to hide your crest for you. Once you’ve learnt how to tap into your magic at school, you can hide and reveal your crest by saying ‘Hide my legacy’ and ‘Reveal my legacy’ respectively. It's an unwritten rule amongst magus that you keep your crest hidden at all times if you have one.”
The room remains silent for a moment before Wallace speaks again.
“You can rest at the inn tonight. Tomorrow, I'll escort you to the school.”
Nightfall comes as Mason looks at his uniform in the room. He then grabs and opens his book to read the next step that his father left for him.
‘Step 3: This next step is a long one. By that, I mean you’re going to have to play the long game. You’ll learn a lot more from the academy than I can teach you through a book at this stage. Go to the fourth step when magic becomes a natural thing to you. However, there is one last thing I've prepared. Though the world is ever changing, I've compiled an index of the different magical groups and some people that you may hear about. If you’re unlucky enough to come across one, there should be some information on them. Step 4 will continue on page 179.’
Respecting the wishes of his father, he decides not to read step 4 until his journey has advanced far enough. Mason shuts his eyes and drifts into a deep sleep.
Time passes by and before Mason knows it, he stands at the school gates donning his new uniform and standing near Wallace. Other students are also entering the school, both new students and returning 2nd and 3rd year students. Wallace looks over at Mason.
“Well, if you need anything then come and find me. I’m always at my inn.”
Mason looks at Wallace.
“Thanks for all the help. I can tell you’re a good person.”
Wallace shrugs before Mason takes a deep breath and begins walking through the gate and towards the grand and ginormous school.
Wallace begins to speak to himself.
“Another Flintwood. Let’s hope he doesn't make the same mistakes as the last one…”
