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Book 1 Chapter 4

James stares blankly into nothing, slowly processing the head witch's bold declaration. James: I'm in... another world...? Diana (in surprise): Ho-hold on a minute! Another world!? That cannot be right! Diana frantically exclaims to the older adults in the room, pointing a finger back at a dreamy James. Diana: It is simply not possible that I summoned someone from a whole different world entirely! That should not be possible for ANY magician! James appears to only process part of what the young woman is saying, dully repeating: A whole different world entirely...? Drizella (a knowing look on her face, hand on her chin): Well, I certainly wouldn't go so far as 'impossible', but- Cornwallis (aloofly interrupting): But it is rather peculiar indeed. Drizella grumbles under her breath: Yes, you said that already, you senile old clod!

Cornwallis: Taking a closer look at young James Boves here, we could try to figure out where he comes from, or at the very least his social class. But unless these old eyes are finally failing me, I have nary a clue where to place you. Drizella: That's putting it mildly: All eyes turn to James' wardrobe, as the head witch breaks down the individual components of the oddities covering his body. Drizella: A shirt with a pitiful excuse for a collar, yet fine fabric. Trousers made from a rough, durable material that I cannot place what it is. And don't even get me started on whatever the Salem those shoes are supposed to be!

The professor ponders these observations further. Professor: Since you brought it up, I was taken aback by Mr. Boves' attire. It is foreign, even among foreign sensibilities. James (looking down at his outfit): Foreign... my clothes...? Cornwallis (leaning to his left towards his familiar): As for where you are from, based on what our familiars had heard, you hail from a nation called, eh, what was it again, Chauntecleer? The owl hoots a few times at his master, relaying James' previous claims. Cornwallis (in response): The United States of America? Drizella: And I thought 'Metropia Empire' sounded pretentious! Cornwallis: There is certainly no country with a name like that on Faegea. Not anywhere in fact. And neither the empire nor the sorcerers of old would leave any stone unturned to grow their territories. James (in the background): Not anywhere... in Faegea...?

Drizella: And a place with no magicians? No sorcerers? No MAGIC!?! (In a more erratic way) Where on this Merlin forsaken planet would you not find a single trace of magic? Cornwallis: A place completely untouched by fairies? I am sure anyone hearing that would believe this young man here has simply gone mad. Drizella (waving a hand): Pheh, mad you say. I'LL be the judge of that, Tobias! The head witch approaches James as he continues to process everyone's words. James (still lost in the sauce): Magic... magicians... sorcerers... fairies...? Drizella quickly grabs James by the head with both hands and turns him to her.

Agnes Drizella stares deeply into James' eyes. In turn, James is forced to stare back in horror at the visage of the manic witch running this academy. Matted, curly green hair and wrinkled, warted skin in full detail. Her haunting, gold--tinted eyes clouded by cataracts stare into the young Earthling's very essence, seeing everything his mental state has to show to those of keen eye. Drizella (turning away, uninterested) Nope. He's sane. Soul in his eyes is perfectly still and everything. How boring. James stands wide-eyed and mouth shut tight, shocked by the horror that was forced onto him, barely muttering the words: Way too close!

Diana (in surprise): So you mean... he really is from another world? Professor (equally surprised): You truly believe this, Head Magicians? Drizella (smiling warmly): Oh absolutely! Cornwallis: The boy speaks the truth. Professor (pondering further, eyes wide with dilated pupils): I... eh... this is... astounding! Diana (freaking out a little, dropping her hat): I summoned a human familiar... FROM A DIFFERENT WORLD!?! James (staring at the ground, processing resumed): This isn't Earth... I'm really in a different world...!

Drizella (passing a cheeky glance at Bedlam popping up on her shoulders): Seems the boy is catching on. Cornwallis: Now that we established this is not your world, James Boves, would you like to hear a bit about Faegea and the world around you? James does not respond right away, his eyes locked on the floor, his gaze becoming more brilliant and wonder filled as reality sets in finally. Cornwallis: ... Mr. Boves? James (snapping out of it, but overly excited): Oh, uh yes, please! And call me Jimmy! Cornwallis (pulling out a long pipe): Well Mr. Boves- James begrudgingly accepts the lack of use of his nickname with a: Or Mr. Boves, fine, whatever. Cornwallis continues: As you had surmised in your joke earlier, Faegea is indeed a continent of fairies.

The world around James seem to shift into a brilliant, yet simplistic tapestry, depicting the basic history of the continent of Faegea, the land shaped by magic. Cornwallis (narration): The fairies bless this land with magic, a way for people of all genders and races to manipulate nature, from simple levitation to commanding the very elements. The earliest and greatest spell casters were the sorcerers, capable of manipulating the world around them with a wave of a hand and a thought.

Cornwallis (narration): It was the sorcerers who banded together to forge a new civilization in the continent where magic is said to have originated. They drove the roaming monsters away into the lands uninhabitable by people, and cultivated what would become the villages and cities built up and protected by magic.

Cornwallis (narration): As the generations passed, the sorcerers attempted to learn more about magic and push the boundaries of what magic was capable of; however, their time was coming to an end. People capable of true sorcery were not born as often as they used to be. The closest were those requiring special conduits, magical tools, and even incantations to be able to cast spells: the modern day magicians, or wizards and witches to be more precise.

Cornwallis (narration): With magic becoming more difficult to cultivate, some of the remaining sorcerers worked with the royal family to establish a facility to train young magicians who became adults. To show them the roots of magic and help them grow into magicians that will keep the magic of Faegea flowing and growing to heights that the sorcerers could only hope to attain.

As the story winds down, the simplistic tapestries clear away. Reality returns as Head Wizard Cornwallis takes a toke from his pipe, a gentle ffffffffffffffffffff sounding out in the office. Cornwallis (exhaling from his pipe with a FAAAAAAA): That facility is this very school: the Galinda Magic Academy. James (positively excited, with Bedlam reaching out to the stars around him): IT'S REAL!!! MAGIC AND ALL THAT, IT'S REAL HERE!!! I'M IN AN HONEST TO GOD MAGIC SCHOOL!!! Drizella: Not a bad place to be dragged to from your comfortable home, ay boy? Professor (showing some excitement himself): Another world, and one without magic! Truly fascinating! I do not know how you managed this, Ms. Gilshire, but this is the discovery of the century! You may have stumbled onto a thesis in only your second week! Diana (taken aback): Bu- wait a minute!

Diana: Should we not try to find a way to reverse this!? James and the Professor (turning back to Diana with comedically exaggerated blank faces): Huh? Diana: I mean, I dragged this poor boy from his home in a faraway land, in a place so different from the place he knew! We should make getting him back home our top priority! Professor (still in a more cartoonish style, sheepishly): Oh well, yes, that is a good point... James (still in a more cartoonish style, not meeting anyones' gaze): Yeah, I guess... Cornwallis (putting his pipe away): And you know for sure you can recreate the spell to send him home, Ms. Gilshire? Diana (startled): I, uh, well I did it once, clearly...

Drizella (approaching the young girl): Oh ho, even if this weren't a run-of-the-mill human, sending back a familiar into the void is not possible! In a mystical visual, Chauntecleer and Bedlam stand, their familiar seals showing prominently, to illustrate the head witch's explanation. Drizella (narration): An animal or creature comprised of magic, drawn forth from the aether and molded by the magical energies of the master who summoned it, creating a bond that both ensures eternal companionship and proper nurturing of a magician's magic. Drizella (back in reality, staring down a blushing Diana): And you could hardly get this spell to work in the first place, or any other spell for that matter; yet you think you can send him back?

James (confused): Wait, but she DID summon me here, she's got magic, you ALL have magic, how could she just not? Drizella (grinning coyly): Gonna make us say it, are ya? Rather insensitive of you, boy! Cornwallis (clearing his throat to get attention): Well, for lack of a less delicate way to put it... Diana, blushing in embarrassment, crouches down slowly to pick up her hat, the buckle showing a little, lowly star in the place where other hats had a full pentagram, processing the retelling of her unique situation. Cornwallis: Diana Gilshire here has had a significant amount of struggles in the practical application of magic. Even during earlier magical testing that certain magician families have access to, the results were less than ideal. Being born in the winter season, Ms. Gilshire's natural aptitude for water magic should have revealed itself at the very least, but as you can see by her hat's mark, not even that was successful. The magical talents of her family as well as a scholarship managed to ensure her enrollment, but it was only a matter of for how long.

James (pointing at the moping Diana): Oh, jeez. So that's why you hesitated to show me magic back there. In a cartoonishly overexagerated scene, James begins bowing profusely at a confused Diana. James: I'm so sorry, I didn't know. Diana: Oh no, you do not need to apologize for that. Professor (a bit tense): Ah, yes, well, there certainly is hope at least. (A bit more sure of himself, with his dog familiar close by) Ms. Gilshire did summon you, Mr. Boves! Clearly she is capable of something greater than we realized!

Drizella (looming intimidatingly over a frightened Diana and James): Indeed! I propose some tests on these two, see just how deep their wells truly ar- Cornwallis (in the background): AGNES!!! (The old wizard pinches the bridge of his nose in exhaustion over his colleague's wickedness) They are not lab rats, we do not experiment on people! Drizella backs off with a pout and a: Oh boo! Cornwallis: No, I agree with Professor Philmor. We shall dedicate as much time and resources a possible to find a way to send Mr. Boves back to his world, and Ms. Gilshire can use that work to get a start on her thesis studies. Professor (confirmed to be named Philmor, hand under his chin in contemplation): It will most likely take time to figure out how to properly navigate to other worlds. If only we knew someone with a better understanding of spatial magic. Drizella (a bit annoyed): My dear Millie may be of some help, if she could quit running out on her teaching duties!

Diana: If that is set, may I take another attempt at summoning a familiar? Philmor: Well, it will be difficult to fit it into the schedule. Plus, we should also figure out Mr. Boves' living situation while he is here. In the middle of this conversation, James stands quietly, thinking intently about everyone's words. Diana (determined): I will help in any way I can, I owe him that much! Drizella (slinking up behind the student): I would still like to question just how likely it is that you will be able to recreate the spell, Little Missy! Diana (turning back frantically to the old witch, James still pondering behind her): Huh? But we just established that I- Drizella: After months of trying to do any sort of magic! This may very well have been a fluke!

Cornwallis: I am sure we will figure something out for your familiar, Ms. Gilshire. I believe the matter of Mr. Boves should take more priority at this point in time- James (raising a hand): Hey, uh, (Diana turns in curiosity to the rather silly looking young man with his hand up) Can I make a suggestion? (The now less silly looking young man lowers his hands, gesturing vaguely as he finds the right words) Why don't we just... y'know, roll with this? Philmor (confused): I do not understand, what do you mean 'roll with this'? James (happily pointing at himself): I mean, why don't I be her familiar?

In more cartoonish exaggeration, Head Wizard Cornwallis, Professor Philmor, Head Witch Drizella, and Diana Gilshire stare vacantly at James Boves as his words settle into their minds. Once the words finally set, Diana responded with an exclamation loud enough to ring well beyond the windows of the Galinda Magic Academy's highest tower: HUH!?!

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