Lucas awakens in a cold sweat, with a gasp of air, as if he’d seen ghost. He looks at his clock and leaps from his bed.

                “Yeah, I guess so, I hear my mom’s gonna be there.” Josh replied. The two men walked down Broad Street towards Drew’s apartment. The wind whistled in through the trees planted along the sidewalk and life seemed to hum around them. You could hear the music blaring from cars as the flew past, the call of the hotdog vendor down the road, birds chirped happily among the branches and a few stray dogs were chasing cats across the street.

                “I figured she would be; I mean, come on, she’s known Aaron for how long?”

                Josh chuckles, “His entire life, man, we grew up down the street from each other.”

                “See of course she would be at his wedding!”

                Drew unlocked his apartment door and tossed his jacket on the rack to the left. Josh followed in after and flopped down on the couch.

                “So, can you really believe that Aaron is getting married?”

                “Seriously, I’m surprised she didn’t run away screaming when he asked her. Hey, you want something to drink, man?”

                “Toss me one.” Drew lobbed an ice-cold can through the air. Josh had to get up from the couch to catch it before it hit the coffee table.

                “Man, Drew, if you break this furniture, your mom’s gonna take it out on you.”

                “Yeah, thanks, mom! I don’t need two moms, one is bad enough.”

                “I’m just saying, she bought all this for you.”

“Don’t be afraid, boy, I would not dare harm you. I never thought I’d see a green-eyed Magin in my lifetime. Yet here you are standing before me.”

The man looks the boy over, taking note that he is tall for a Magin and he has a pronounced jaw line, not common for Magin.

“But where are my manners. My name is Merric, I am the Minister over this district. You are under the care of Vampyrs, we will protect you with our lives.”

Merric gives a slight bow. Lucas is taken aback by this, a Minister bowing to a student, his classmates would laugh if he ever told them this.

“Boy, do you know who your parents are?”

“My mother died giving birth to me and my father died when I was merely 5 years old. I have been raised by my Uncle Kaden. What is so astonishing about me, if I may be so bold?”

Merric ignores Lucas’ question.

“Of what linage were they?”

“I assume they were both Magin, like my father. But I guess I do not truly know.”

Lucas begins to fidget, feeling like he is in an interrogation.

“Sir, would you please answer my question, what is so intriguing about me?”

Merric seems to snap out of a daze.

“I am sorry, I was somewhat lost in the moment. Have you never heard the legend of the True-Blood?”

“Of course, who hasn’t heard of that myth. ‘One from among them shall rise, with characteristics of all three races.’ Bah, who actually believes all that.”

“You are taller than your brethren, are you not?”

Lucas nods his head.

“Have you ever met a Magin with green eyes, like that of the Lupin?”

Lucas thinks for a few seconds and then shakes his head.

“And your face, is it not slender like mine, yet your jaw is more pronounced, like that of the Lupin.”

“Are you seriously suggesting that I am this ‘One,’ cause if you continue like this you’ll find very few Magin characteristics within me.”

“Ah, but you probably have the most innate Magin characteristic of all, mastery of the Magicks.”

Lucas bursts out in uncontrollable laughter.

“Are you serious?”

Lucas stumbles back against a bookshelf, tears form in his eyes.

“I barely have a grasp on the natural elements, and haven’t even begun the physical Magicks.”

Merric looks at the boy as he folds his arms. The pleased look on his face fades and the fire within his eyes flares.

“Who was your professor, boy?”

The laughter from Lucas dies as he looks up at the man towering over him. He stands up.

“Mr. Gareth Frost, but he prefers to just be called Gareth.”

Merric lets out a disappointed sigh.

“They would put you under the teaching of one of the Frost boys. I swear if they don’t learn how to run a district, the Hume’s will overrun it.”

He walks over to the table he was standing at when he was interrupted, takes off his glasses and sets them back down and picks up a cloak and wraps it around himself. The cloak is a deep violet and falls just shy of the wood floor. The edges of the robe are made of golden rope with tassels at the corners.

“Follow me.”

They file out of the study and make their way back to the stairs. Merric stops.

“You two should probably go and retrieve your cloaks.”

He motions toward the stairs leading down. Darrion awaits the two students at the bottom of the stairs and hands them their robes. They wrap their cloaks around them as they walk back up the stairs to Merric.

“Unfortunately I have never kept this room the warmest.”

Merric turns and heads up the next flight of stairs. At the third floor he turns to his right and heads down the hall. About half-way to the end he begins to feel along the wood panelling until finally his hand catches on something.

“I designed this whole house and after all these years I still have trouble finding this door.”

He pushes the door open and motions for Lucas and Aliya to go in. They climb the dusty stairs until they reach a dimly lit room. The light in the room seems to come for everywhere and nowhere at the same time. It was enough light to see what was there, but not to clearly identify it. They noticed a small pedestal in the middle of the room, with something covering it.

“Come.”

“How come I’ve never known of this room, father?”

“You’ve never needed to know of this room. Much can happen here, both for for the safety of all, and for the harm.”

Merric walks to the stand and removes the cloth from it, revealing a ball, so crystal clear that the edges were the only thing that give it away.  He places his hand upon it and whispers.

“Gareth Frost”

The orb begins to glow red. Once the red fills the ball, it begins to overflow, rolling down the pedestal and onto the floor. It forms a puddle on the floor and rises, slowly taking the shape of a person. The more that flows into it, the more it truly begins to take shape and once the features become clear, Lucas recognizes his teacher.

“Gareth?”

Merric turns to the boy.

“Yes, but it is only a shadow of him, for I do not possess the power to fully summon a person.”

Gareth’s shadow begins to wake up.

“Why did you call me?”

“Do you know who was placed under your teaching?”

“What are you talking about?”

“The green-eyed Magin, do you know him?”

“Yes, but he is not ready to be transferred to you yet.”

Merric crosses his arms.

“And why is that?”

“He still needs the training of a Magin. He is having troubles with the basic elements.”

“And is it not your job to make sure that is ready by his coming of age? So that he can be trained by us also. This is no simple matter, Frost, our structure of society could depend on whether or not you were capable of teaching him.”

“Do not talk down to me like that, I have done nothing to deserve your scorn. The boy simply cannot be transferred yet, he is not ready!”

Lucas steps forwards. Gareth’s shadow catches a glimpse of him.

“Luc, what are you doing here?”

“I was brought here by Aliya during the turmoil of the half-blood attack. I think I might be ready to move on…”

“Luc, I do not doubt you have the ability to perform astounding tricks but you lack the understand of when not do use them.”

Gareth turns back to Merric.

“You dare take him from us before he is ready? The council will hear of this.”

Lucas stamps his foot on the ground.

“Gareth!”

Suddenly the red glow around Gareth’s shadow fades and standing on the opposite of the table from Merric is Lucas’ teacher, speechless.

“You don’t really want to be there.”

“What’s going on?”

“It’s probably best if you don’t know.”

Lucas looks back as he hears growling and a few muffled screams.

“What’s back there?”

“Seriously, you don’t want to know.  But if you keep asking, I’ll gladly let you find out for yourself.”

Lucas looks down at his escort.

“That’s a little uncalled for, don’t you think?”

“You’re the one that keeps asking the questions, man.”

They run for what seems like miles, Lucas begins to tire as his companion drives on. As they are running Lucas begins to notice that he is being taken to an area of the city that he has never been before. He looks up to sees buildings more ornate and colors more vibrant than he has ever seen in his life.

“Where are you taking me?”

“Someplace safe, they would not dare enter this part of the city, if they value their life.”

“Shouldn’t I maybe, you know, go home, warn everyone there?”

She stops running. Lucas, winded from the run, leans up against building with red brick and an intricate gold leaf design that works it’s way up to the side of the tall structure. He lets himself slide down so that he sits down with his back up against the wall.

“You are more than welcome to head back to your Magin district and alert them, just be warned that letting your friends know could cost you your life.”

“Yes, but they are my friends, and surely we couldn’t be too far away from the academy.  And who exactly are you?”

“My name is Aliya, and yes we are quite some ways from your academy. We ran north, if I am correct your school is in the southern area of you district, right?”

“I guess”

Lucas looks around he notices that the people walking around him are taller than him, and the robes that they are wearing are bright shades of blue and red, not the greys and browns that he is used to seeing in the Magin district. Most of the people seem completely unaware of the commotion that is happening just mere miles away.

“Are you rested yet?”

“I think I have my wind back, you?”

“I was never tired to begin with, but I know that you body tires faster than mine, so I let you rest. Now we must get going again.”

Lucas stands up and dusts himself off.

“Why must I go with you? I don’t even know you.”

“Fine then, have it your way. Go save your friends, they probably need all the help they can get.”

“And you expect me to leave my friends there to die from God know what?”

Aliya begins to walk away, shrugging her shoulders.

“Hey, it’s your life, you can use it to possibly save them or you can come with me to a haven. The choice is yours.”

Flustered, Lucas follows after her.

“Hey, you know, you seem like you could possibly help out in this situation.”

“Who says I’m not?”

“What, by walking away, leaving them to die?”

“Or by finding someone who can kill it.”

They walk past a few shops that are closing up for the night, folding up their robes, and filing away their wares into their cases.

“I don’t even know what ‘it’ is. What the heck was that back there.”

“A half-blood.”

“A half-blood what?”

“I’m not sure on that one myself, I didn’t get a good look at it, all I know it that a pure-blood would never act that savage. And either way my father will know how to destroy it.”

They walk up to a magnificent iron gate about fifteen feet tall. The black iron bars stand sturdy against the delicate golden ivy that works its way up and around, the locks to the gate are formed by two glistening leaves. Aliya walks up to the gate and pulls out a key, and with a turn she opens the gate with a light push.

“Come on, my father will know what to do.”

Lucas cautiously follows his new acquaintance up the long pathway to a massive mansion. Two guard dogs come up to Aliya to welcome her home, giving a light growl to her companion.

“Their growls are worse than their bite. Pay them no mind.”

As they approach the porch, the enormous size of the house truly begins to take shape.  Aside from being made for man at least a foot taller than Lucas’ 6’3” stature, it looks as if it is at least 4 stories tall, with well over a dozen rooms. When they reach the doors, they open, and there is a tall, slender man standing in the doorway dressed in black slacks, a red long sleeve collared shirt and a black vest. He greets them with open arms.

“Welcome home, Miss Aliya, I trust you found the night air refreshing.”

“That’s one way of putting it, Darrion.”

Darrion reaches out to take the coat of Aliya and her guest. Lucas as bows slightly and hands him his cloak.

“Thank you, Sir”

Aliya hands her cloak over.

“Darrion, where is my father?”

“He is in the study on the second floor. But he has asked that he not be disturbed this evening.”

“I think he won’t mind being interrupted for this.”

Aliya grabs Lucas and runs up the stairs in the entryway. At the landing they turn left and enter the third door on the right.  They emerge into the study. There are books of every kind and size, some placed on the selves that line the wall, while others are simply stacked on tables. At one of the these there is a man, dressed in the most elegant outfit Lucas has ever seen.  He is leaning over a scroll reading it intently. His blonde hair is slicked back, revealing his pointed ears. He looks up as his daughter walks into the room.

“Didn’t Darrion tell you that I am not to be disturbed?”

“Yes, father, but there was an attack. A half-blood.”

“Yes, they happen all the time, dear. Who is this that you’ve brought into our–”

Aliya’s father picks up his glasses and begins to intently stare at Lucas.

“Could it be? I’ve heard the rumors, but I honestly didn’t believe them to be true.“

“Excuse me, pardon me”

Something catches his foot and he plummets to the ground, face first. His papers scatter across the concrete floor. Jaedin looks down at Lucas, with a grin.

“Oops! I guess my foot didn’t get out of the way in time.”

Jaedin and his friends walk away laughing, while Lucas scurries to gather his lessons from the floor. He continues on his path through the corridors of the school, turning this way and that as if he has travelled the path a hundred times, he rounds the last corner and reaches his destination. After fumbling with the doorknob, while trying to balance his books, Lucas finally gets the door open. The name etched on the door is Mr. Gareth Frost.

“Late again I see, Lucas, go on now, find your seat.”

Mr. Gareth Frost is a tall man, dressed in one of the finest suits you can find in Meridian. His well trimmed black beard and small framed glasses go well with his neatly styled hair.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Frost, I had that dream again.”

Lucas walks into the old classroom and finds his seat towards the front of the class, always eager to learn something new from Mr. Frost.

“How many times have I told you, Lucas, you can call me Gareth. I do not like formalities. Mr. Frost is my father. Now, were you at least able to finish your studies on the basics of fire manipulation?”

“Yes, I did, Sir.”

“Good. Did everyone else do the same?”

The class answers back with a resounding “Yes, Mr. Gareth.” Their voices echo off the old brick walls.

“Class please, do not call me Mr. anything. Just Gareth is fine.”

Gareth gets up from his desk and begins to write on the chalkboard. After writing the lesson plan for the day he turns and walks to the podium facing the students.

“So if everyone seems to be up to speed on the basics of fire manipulation, why don’t we have a demonstration? You, Raulin, why don’t you show us a simple conjure of flame?”

Raulin looks up from his drawing with blank stare.

“Me, Sir?”

“Yes, come on; show us what you’ve learned.”

Raulin slowly gets up from his seat and walks to the front of the class room. Once he reaches the small podium, he turns and faces the rest of the students. He clears his throat.

“Now, I’ve only done this like, once. So, uh, I may not get it just right the first time.”

A crumpled piece of paper comes flying from the back of the class.  Just before reaching it’s intended target it bursts into flames and falls to the floor.

“Good job, I’m very impressed at your progress. And Symond, don’t think I didn’t see that come from you.”

“But I didn’t do anything.” mumbled Raulin.

Raulin glares back at Symond and heads back to his seat, much happier to be seated than on display in front of the class.

“Alright class, so who was it that brought this flame into existence, does anyone care to confess to this act?”

Gareth looks across the small crowd of students sitting in their desks. Suddenly he sees a hand slowly rise up.

“I did it, Sir.”

“Now why would you do such a thing, Lucas?”

“Cause I didn’t want Raulin to get hit with it.”

“And what if it had not fallen to the floor, would the fire itself not hit Raulin?”

“I guess, I didn’t think about that, Gareth.”

“That is why we are here, Lucas. That is what this school for Magin is about. Studying about abilities, and learning when and when not to use them.”

“Yes, Sir”

“Now, I guess I’ll take that as an example of conjuring flame and be done with that. Let’s move on with our lessons then, shall we?”

Gareth heads to the tall bookcase behind his desk and produces a large scroll with ornate golden rollers from it.

“Now for a bit of a history lesson. How many of you know what the Bloodlines are?”

A scattered few within the class raise their hands. Most that do have a slightly confused look their face.

“Now, do you truly know what they are? Or do you simply know them because you’ve heard ghost stories here and there about Vampyrs and Lupin?”

Those that raised their hands put them back down now, unsure of what Gareth is truly referring to. Gareth walks to the podium with the scroll and unrolls it.

“I know you’ve all seen them, the tall, slender, pale men and women that walk around in the city. The ones with the pointed ears and red eyes. Those are Vampyrs, class.  And the hermits that come to town every so often to pick up supplies in their small groups. These are Lupin. These are two of the three Bloodlines here in Meridian. The third is us, the Magin.”

A loud ringing is heard throughout the building.

“Well I guess that’s all the time we’re going to have today class. I will continue teaching on the Bloodlines tomorrow. But tonight I want you all to do some practice on conjuring fire.”

The classmates gather their belongs and proceed to exit the class room.  A few grumbles are heard here and there about the practicing, some about the fact that the lesson was cut short. But nonetheless each student files out of the doorway and on their way home.