Chapter 1 A rude awakening

Light and heat, both blistering and blinding.

The temperature was unbearable, but there was nowhere to go.

There was no way to escape it, moving only made it worse.

His eyes were sore from the briliant rays.

What was that on the horizon? A cloud?

No, it couldn't be, it was moving to fast.

He was running now, and hard.

His fibers strained to go faster as the buffeting and scrapping began.

He stumbeled and fell choaking.

Then they stoped and there was only a screaming roar.

He looked up and was met by a crack as the world desolved into white.

Beap... Beap... Beap... Thud! Jake looked at the clock. He had hit the snooze button twice already, but he could close his eyes for just a little longer. He had almost slipped back into sleep when the door cracked open, ushering in a bright but inviting light.

"If you went to bed earlier, then you wouldn't have this problem," his sister scolded him. Jake pushed himself out of bed and groaped around for some cloaths.

To his dismay, the only jeans left in his closet were the ones his aunt sent him. Jake's aunt was a fasion designer and thought that he would like a contemperary style. Well now because of her, Jake was trying to fit in a size 38 waist, when he was a 30. He dug through a pile at the foot of his bed untill he found a belt. With his pants fixed securly above his butt, he continued to search for atire. He ended up in a brown t-shirt with a green plad dress shirt with the sleeved roled up over it. He laced his brown Convers and shuffeled into the bathroom.

Jake caught a glimpse of himself while he was brushing his teeth. This was his favorite outfit. The browns of the shirt and shoes accented his mousy mat of hair, and the shirt fit in perfictly with his dark, forest green eyes.

He took a look at his hair and then the clock. If he had gotten up when his alarm went off the first time, he would have had time to stick to his hair dressing ritual, but time was of the essence and he was a little short. So he had to suffice with running a brush through it a few times.

He hurried out into the kitchen and found his sister there.

"Beth can you make me some tost, I'm late?"

"Well if you had got up when I told you, we wouldn't be in this situation now would we. Maybe I should let you go hungary." But she was already getting the bread out. Beth held the bread in her hand and concintrated on it. In a flash of flame the bread was a dark piece of toast.

"Beth, you know your not to do that in front of your brother." Their mother scolded.

"Mom, its his first day, he's not going to try anything at school."

"Well, ok, you know your father and I don't know. Magic skips a generation."

"Yes mom, I know. I've taken magic theory."

"Did they ever find out why?"

"No."

By now Jake was exasperated by trying to get a word in edgewise.

"Beth can you drive me to school?"

"No, you can ride the bus like all the other freshies."

"But-

"And besides, I'm taking Mary, there won't be any room left in the Prelude."

Jake took and enormous bite of toast and slamed the door behind him. Thats what older sisters are for, driving you so that you don't have to deal with- Jake thought he heard his mother shout something about a coat. He was fine, he could see the other kids at the bus stop didn't have coats on yet. Even if they did, it wouldn't bother him. Jake had always been at terms with the cold. When others would retreat inside from the cold, Jake would continue to play untill the sun had gone down and there wasn't enough light left to see.

The bright yellow bus rounded the corner and stopped in front of the twittery group of kids. When he got on, Jake scanned the bus. There were a few people who looked familiar, but no one he know well. He picked the first open seat in the front. He knew that no one would bother him there and the bus driver would know that he wasn't involved in any mishaps that may occure.

When he arived at school, the building looked like a jail. It was three stories tall and made out of stone. The windows were high placed and skinny. There were no smooth edges, everthing was square and chunchy. As he filed off the bus, he noticed how tired everyone looked. He made a mental note to take his sisters advice.

***

Jake stepped through the doors. Inside a cold blast hit him. He stood in line for a card with his schedule and locker info on it. His locker and first class were on the second floor. "Right to the 32, left to the 12, pass the 32, right to the 8. Jake held his breath and pushed the lever up. There was a click and the door swung open. When the locker was full with the contents of his back pack, he closed the door to find a face staring at him. "So, you think this is your school?" "Well I…" Two more boys appeared behind him. "This is Mark-" He tilted his head toward the guy on his left. He was shorter and had sandy-tan stubble sticking out of his chin. Mark shifted his weight to show how much he possessed. "-and this is Omar." He tilted his head the other way. To his right was a tall Asian boy. He just tilted his head and starred. "We are in charge here. Got it?" A girl walked up and looked a the guy in the middle. "Francis, it’s the first day of school. Please don’t do this." Francis looked thoughtful for a minute, then turned and shoved Jake in his locker, slamming the door. "I TOLD YOU CALL ME GUY!" With that Jake could hear footsteps leaveing. He was about to start screaming when he heard a voice so soft that he almost didn’t hear it. "What’s your combo?" "What?" "What’s your locker combination?" "Oh, 32, 12, 8." There was some spinning, a click, and the door opened. There in front of him was Francis’ girl friend. "Hey, why do you stick around with that guy. It looks like an abusive relationship to me." "Hey kid, don’t worry. I’ll be fine." The rest of the day was uneventful. Jake was in classes with other freshman that seemed just as clueless as he was. But other than the encounter with Francis, nothing bad happened. He was able to open his locker, he still had his lunch money at lunch, and he wasn’t given a detention. His classes were rather boring. Like always, all hey did was get-to-know-each other games and activities. After school let out, he found Beth’s car and waited there for her. "Jake, you are not going to tell anyone you were ridding with us, ok? I’m only taking you because mom couldn’t find you another ride." "Some loving sister you are." He mumbled to himself "What?" "Nothing." The ride was spent in the back seat ducking whenever Beth claimed that someone she knew was looking. She pulled up to a vacant strip mall shop. Beth’s friend got out and went in. "Beth, what do I do?’ "Just go in with that confused look you have on right now and one of the Praeceptors will show you where to go." Jake looked skeptically at Beth as she drove the car around to park it in the back. He pushed the door open and walked in. The room was still as empty as seen from outside. The only thing he could see was a door in the back. Jake opened the door to find a staircase. He couldn’t see the end, but it was well lit. He heard the footsteps of Beth’s friends echoing from down below. Jake stepped down and down. How far does this go? When he got to the end there was another door, heavier than the first and lined with metal studs. Jake opened it and stepped into a very spacious open room. There were people milling around and Jake could see other doors like the one he came in through. Most of the older people knew where they were going. Though there were several other kids that looked like they had no idea what they were doing. Jake went over to a particularly small and frightened looking boy. "What’s your name?" "Michael." "I’m Jake, you look a little lost." "Well, I have no idea what I’m doing here. One day I was swimming and got stuck under, but somhow I didn’t drown. The next day some people showed up and told my mom to take me here when I started high school." "Well I’m no expert, because were not allowed to tell people before high school, but I think you’re an Aquaris sorcerer." "What?" "My sister is a Pyro. That’s a fire sorcerer." "And me?" "Well like a said I’m no expert, but I believe that Aquaris, or water sorcerers, can breath under water." "Oh well thank you Ja-" Michael didn’t get a chance to finish because a rich tenor voice rang out through the room. "Attention new students, I am Praeceptor Armadlior. I am a Fulgoris, or as you kids call them these days, Voltos. For those of you who don’t know what that is you will learn. If the freshman would line up at the copper door, you will be put into your dilapsus. Thank you." "What were all those things he was talking about?" "Well like all the other major fields, education, medicine, science, the Greeks were the first to master magic." "Oh." "So they use Latin, but from what my sister tells me, the kids are trying to get rid of that." "Ok, so what is a dilapsus?" "I think it means groups. Lets get in line." There were about five dozen students in line behind the copper door. Some of them Jake recognized from school but other he did not. He was eventually standing in frount of a table with a tough looking lady sitting behind it. "Name, are you registered?" "Jake Holman, and yes." The lady flipped through a box of cards. "Here we are. You are in dilapsus gamma with Praeceptor Armadlior. Step through the gamma door." After a breif scan Jake found the door that had the same gama symbol as the one on the top of his card. He walked through and looked around. There was a girl that looked much like himself. She had the same brown hair and green eyes, though she was much shorter than him. "Hi, I’m Jake." He smiled at her and ran his fingers through his hair. "My name is Alyssa, I’m a Flora, what are you?" "I… I’m not sure yet." Jake’s face lit up like a light bulb. "So do you know…" "Oh, yes. My sister’s a Pyro. I just haven’t done anything yet." "Oh, nice to meet you Jake." Michael pushed the door open and stepped in. "Hey Michael, you’re a gamma too." "Hi Jake." After Michael a tall black kid entered. He was though and muscular. "Hey, I’m Chas." He stuck his hand out. Alyssa took it. "I’m Alyssa, this is Jake and Michael." "Hey." "Nice to meet you Chas." The door opened again and a small slender girl came in. "Hello, my name is Silvia." She cooed softly. "There is one more, we’ll finish the introduction when the last one gets here." Alyssa announced. The group waited in a slightly uncomfortable silence for the sixth member. Finally the door opened again and Praeceptor Armadlior stepped in. "This is all of you for today. Maria will be here tomorrow, she’s sick today. Welcome to Apertum Magus, you are all here because you have a gift, or are expected to develop one. You may know this gift better as magic. You are here to learn how to control it, and maybe even master it. Some of you may not have the gift and some may have it very strongly. Alyssa here had her gift wake so soon that we already had to start her training. We’re second in line to get you scanned, until then, get to know each other."

Chapter 2 So this is how you play

"Next." The nurse poked her head out of the little enclosure. She and a thin face and her lips were pinched so that they looked like a prune. "Please step behind the curtain and lay down." Jake cautiously entered. "I am Altrix Swanson. I do have a medical degree from the nullmagus collage of medicine. This will be similar to other physical examinations you may have had. But first, what is your name?" "Jake Holman." Altrix Swanson flipped through the papers on her desk and pulled one out. She began to look in his ears and eyes, she checked his pulse, blood pressure, and temperature. "Strip please." "What?" "Strip please." Jake rather reluctantly and awkwardly removed his cloths. The Altrix started to scribble on the paper while she mumbled to herself. "Brown hair, green eyes, low muscle development... might be a flora... although fair skin... delayed, erm, physical development-" That last one got a few giggles from the crowd on waiting on the other side of the curtains. Jake flushed red all over. "-I could say that the red means Ardescere." She let herself an ephemeral smile. "Would you say you have a green thumb, or like to spend time enjoying plants?" "No and no... can I put my cloths back on?" "Oh, yes... well your ingenium may not have awoken yet, so it will be hard to tell what exemplum you are... your characteristics only give me weak clues." "I'm sorry for asking, what is exemplum, ingenium and Ardescere, and is Altrix your first name?" "No child, that is all Latin, exemplum refers to the differen classes of sorcerer, ingenium means ability, referring to magic, Ardescere would be the fire exemplum, and Altrix means nurse, its my title." Altrix Swanson allowed herself another small grin before she called out, "Next." Jake left and regrouped with Praeceptor Armadlior. Everyone already knew that Alyssa was an Garmen. Michael was an Aestuarium as was Silvia. Chas was a Fictilis. Praeceptor Armadlior began to speak. "If you are unfamiliar with the Magus and Latin words, I am about to enlighten you. Aestuarium, or Aquarias are water sorcerers. Garmen, or Flora are sorcerers of plants. Fictilis, or Terranians are earth sorcerers. Fulgoris, or Voltos are lightning sorcerers. Zephyrus, or Tempists are wind sorcerers. Ardescere, or Pyros are fire sorcerers." Everyone nodded in aproval, weather they had any idea what he was saying or not. "As today is monday it would normaly be history day, but seeing that we are almost done with todays time, we will not start a lesson. Tuesdays and thursdays are application training days, wednesdays are magic theory. Fridays are an elective, theres choises like appalied magic and magic art. For the remander of today you can talk." With that Praeceptor Armadlior left us in the Gamma room lounge. I was a small room, but is could hold seven people comfortably. That made sence because that is all that would ever need to be in there. There were six chair facing a desk. The back of the room had a sink and a counter. There were also a small table and file boxes around the walls. Posters of people doing magic and diagrams of techneques covered the walls. It was like a class room at school only nicer and it had an atmosphere of a cozy family room. Perhaps thats because it was for only six people. "Hey Alyssa, you've already started training... whats if like?" Everyone turned their full attention to Alyssa. Jake's sister was a Junior, but she wasn't alowed to talk about Apertum Magus. "Well its like this..."

Chapter 3 My everything hurts

Light and heat, both blistering and blinding. The temperature was unbearable, but there was nowhere to go. There was no way to escape it, moving only made it worse. His eyes were sore from the briliant rays. What was that on the horizon? A cloud? No, it couldn't be, it was moving to fast, and it was too dark. Fear overtook him and he was running now, and hard. His fibers strained to go faster as the buffeting and scrapping began. He stumbeled and fell choaking. Then they stoped and there was only a screaming roar. He looked up and was met by a crack as the world desolved into white.

Beap... Beap... Beap... Thud! Jake opened his eyes. That was the second time he had had that dream, and he still didn't understand it. He pulled himself out of bed and got ready, this time with enought time prepair compleatly.

~~~

"So here you are again. Still think you own this school?" Fransis had cornered Jake again.

"No, I never-" Francis smacked Jake in the stomach, not verry hard, but enough to knock the wind out of him. Francis and the gang left laughing. When Jake had recovered from the attack, he cautiously persued the three. Around the next hall he spotted them picking on Michael. If there had been someone to help him, Jake would have tried to stop it, but he only would have been hurt worse. Mike grabbed Michael by the collar and lifted him up, granted, that was not a hard thing to do. Jake got a glazed over look in his eyes as he glaired at them, with all his every fiber of his being wishing they would stop. A gust of cold air pushed its way down the hallway. He let Michael down and pulled a hoodie out of his backpack.

"Guy, they really need to turn the airconditioning off. How are we suposed to pick on kids if we're cold." Francis gave Michael a shove and the three of them struted off down the hall.

"Hey Michael, are you ok?"

"Yeah I'm fine."

"Don't worry, once we start to learn magic, things will be better."

"Your sure?"

"I hope so."

~~~

"Good day dilapsus gamma. I see that you are all here today."

"Good morning Praeceptor Armadlior."

"Now, today is a applied training day, but seeing as how most of you have no idea what is going on here we will spend half of the day discusing a little magic history and theory. As you have already noticed the classes here are more individualized than in high school. This is because magic acts differantly for everone and requires a lot of attention to teach. Likewise, I will be teaching all your classes for the next four years so that I can tailor my teaching to you indivindualy. I know that Alyssa has already stated taking some basic classes and Jake's older sister is a student here, so don't be afraid to add something to the lesson. Even those of you that don't have any experience may have a new way to look at something that we have never thought of befor." Everyone smiled and a murmer of aproval rolled through the room.

"With no objections I will begin. The knowledge of magic dates back as far is there is recorded history and probably further. Many ancient religions and mythologies were based on the existance of magic. The Greeks, however, were the first to master it, to harness its sectrets. Other culters, like the Egyptions, had become proficiant at some forms of magic, but the Greeks were the first to master them all and start a structered system of learning, teaching, and using magic. Only about a seventh of the worlds population has the ingenium and of those people the ratio of elements follows as such; Aquarias is the most common, next is Flora, then Terranian, Voltos, followed by Tempists, and finaly Pyros. The reason this is such is still a mystery, but it is consistant that individuals with stong magic liniages tend to be of the rarer elements."

Jake raised his hand and Praeceptor Armadlior noded to him. "In magic families, the ingenium skips a generation, correct?"

"Yes."

"Has there been any reasearch into whether there is any connection between genetics and magic? Because what you are describing sounds almost like a genetic trait."

"I believe that there has been, however the research has not found one as of yet. Perhaps we may find out in the next few years. See thats the new kind of view I was talking about. Now as I was saying. Magic is a mysterious art and is difficult to control and even more dificult to master. Most of you will learn the techniques nessesary to control your magic and use it for domestic perposes. There are some of you that will accel in this field and may even become a master. Now as society progressed into the begining of the dark ages people began to fear those of us that could use magic. As a result we formed a sort of underground society that blended with the rest of the world, but also came together to hone our skills. It has long been know that we would not be able to survive hideing from the rest of the world forever so there are branches in every contries government dedicated to helping facilitate our alternate society. All the major branches of puplic service, from inserance companies to the police to hospitals have magicly proficiant workers that help deal with and contain magical incidents. Hopefully one day in the future we will be able to show out true colors out in the open." Loud applause filled the room and then quickly died away.

"Now please, I give that speach every four years, its nothing special. Ok, time for a little magic theory. Magic is a kind of energy that is drawn from nature. Differant kinds of sorcerers draw magic different ways. Aestuarium draw magic from rain and natural springs. Garmen used to draw magic from wild plants like trees out in the wildernes, but with todays industrialisation, the only places left of earth that produce Garmen magic are the rainforests and parts up north in the wilds of Canada. The savana in Africa gives off some, but not a lot. Although their natural sorce is becoming incrasingly scarse, Garmen can absorb the magic from Aestuarium and Fictilis. Fictilis gain magic through contact with stones. Grannet and marble are the best. The amount of magic they can draw directly depends of the size of the stone and the amount of contact they have with it. Usualy keepin a small stone in their pocket will keep them charges. Fulgoris gain magic when they are stuck by lightning. The also gain large amounts of magic during solar flares, this is attributed to the fact that solar flares generate enormous electrical disterbances in the upper atmosphere. They can also gain a small amount from man made electrical sorces, such as your common wall reseptical. Zephyrus gain magic from wind. The stronger the wind the more magic they gain. And finaly Pyro's gain magic from and open flame. Its the strongest when what is burning is a plant in its natural form. So a campfire would provide more that a propane flame in a grill." The class was staring intently at him.

"Wow, you are all so atentive. Magic tends to awaken quicly after puberty, but in some cases, like Alyssa's it shows up early. Alyssa is a Garmen, Michael is a Aestuarium, and Chas is a Fictilis. Jake, Silvia, and Maria we are still unsure about. In a few minutes we will take a break and go to the training grounds to test your abilities. You are about to begin something that very few get to. It is a great ability, but it is also a great responsability. You can, under no circumstances, speak of this where anyone but other member can hear. It is even discuaraged to talk to your families to extensivly about it unless they already know about the magic community. And, like in the case of Jake here, you should not tell any younger siblings about this. If they get ideas and try to use any magic gifts they may have, it could lead to disaster." Everyone was staring at him, compleatly silent. "Well now that the serious part is over lets go have some fun."

They all got up and began to file out the Praeceptor leading the way. "Wow Michael," Jake wispered,"my brain hurts, that was a lot to think about." "After that and those bullies at school, my everything hurts," came his reply.