Witches & Wizards: Witches & Wizards, #1

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Copyright @ 2016 Matthew B. Deckman & Teresa Sheriff

All Rights Reserved.

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ISBNs:

ASIN: B074P5VTH2

B & N: 2940154736487

Draft2Digital: 9781386167075

Series Order

1 - Witches & Wizards

2 - Witches & Wizards: Book of Pyre and Jessie

Witches & Wizards

By Matthew Deckman

The clacking from the train wheels and railway could be heard from outside the cabin window. A gentle sway was felt as the train kept its cruising speed up.  The schedule was to be met; arrive at RavenRock before sundown, otherwise the passengers would be late for their admittance.

As Shingi stared out the window, watching the various aspects of the landscape whip by, he couldn’t help but notice that things were becoming more mountainous. That told him they were getting closer, closer to RavenRock.

He had achieved high enough marks on the entrance exam to be admitted, as it was a prestigious school and all new students had to be at least gifted in their elements. RavenRock was more than just prestigious, it was the most prestigious school in Nor-Mrica.  But to call RavenRock a school and just a school, was inaccurate.  It was a trading hub for all sorts of commerce, martial arts training and magic training. 

Where he was going was RavenRock Academy, as with all the students aboard the train.  Its where he would learn the finer aspects of his magic, more advance techniques, spells and other incantations. He also hoped that he could get a better gem. Or maybe make a better gem, as buying one of sufficient quality was expensive.

His gem was the size of a grape, had a dull finish, but you could see straight through it.  He wanted one of a high polished or shinny finish.  The difference between what he had and what he wanted, was magic thievery. The shinnier the gem, the less likely that magic could be stolen. What was good about his gem, was it had a very high magic capacity. One that wasn’t transparent, had a low capacity.

Shingi sighed, thinking of the possibilities that awaited him. He glanced out into the hallway momentarily, as movement had caught his eye. It was a long red haired girl, who seemed to be completely at peace with herself. He remembered that about an hour ago, she had walked in the other direction, but with a more tense look about her, but still dressed in her red and black, leather and thick cloth attire; one of a warrior’s attire, so it was obvious as to her field of study. The armor she had on, was also a give-away. She wanted to fight, and her magical element would help her greatly.

He could easily tell what type all the other Wizard’s and Witch’s elements were, merely by the color of their hair.  She had been a flaming red head, with long hair. So it matched her training type perfectly; a warrior who had fire based magic.

Shingi had the ability to match her, and her opposite element, water. He could also match air and earth witches and wizards too. He was one of the more uncommon types, known an ‘avatar’ wizard, one who could control all four natural elements. Even though he could control all four elements, his hair was grey white, the elemental colors as highlights. 

And as uncommon as he was, there were still other types who were even rarer.  However, they all would know that he wasn’t as strong as them. He knew she’d kick his butt in any arena, her hair was longer than his.

That’s how they were able to determine magical strength; length of the hair. You always kept a pinch of hair at full length so that instructors or employers could tell how powerful you were, along with your natural hair color.  The skills of the wizard or witch with their magic, the intelligence and knowledge they had acquired, and their magic regenerative rate all factored into how long their hair was. 

He looked back out the window, gazing with dazed eyes, going back to his original thoughts of what awaited him at RavenRock Academy.  He knew of the standards, from what was available in literature about RavenRock; a refresher course to test their knowledge and abilities, then get them all on the same page of excellence.  Afterwards, it was training to become an expert and acquiring the said foundation for that level.

Most students that entered RavenRock were 18 or 19 years old.  When they turned 22, they had the option of graduating or moving onward with their studies. He had read that some preferred to continue their education there, while maintaining a professional role somewhere else.  Most of the students graduated and moved on with their lives.

Shingi was pulled from his thoughts when someone knocked on his cabin door. He looked up and saw the red head.  The steam powered door slid open with a hiss as she stuck her head in, get your stuff together, we’re getting close. She pulled her head back out and went to the next cabin. The door slid closed as Shingi realized that had been the first time anyone had spoken to him during the entire train ride. He didn’t mind it, he was introverted as it was and rather enjoyed the time alone.

There was a hustle and bustle as the rest of the passengers went back to their cabins and grabbed their immediate belongings. The crew of the train and the staff of RavenRock Academy would see to it that the other luggage was brought to the appropriate dorms.  As soon as the train stopped, there was a flood of Grey, brown, blue and red haired witches and wizards, all walking towards RavenRock Academy.  There weren’t as many with blonde hair, as they were scarcer; they were more uncommon than avatar witch and wizards. Blonde hair witches and wizards had the ability to control light and everything associated with light itself, even its absent form of shadows.

As the students entered the main gate of the Academy to the court yard area, there were six important looking witches and wizards. Each had their own hair color; blonde, brown, blue, red, grey and the rarest of them all, black.  Shingi could see all six of them, as a sign instructed the students to fall into line in front of their appropriate hair colored wizard.

Red headed wizards had the ability to control fire, brown haired were associated with earth, blue was obviously for water, and grey was for air.  Black haired wizards had magic that could harness the energies of space, the cosmic universe, and if studied well enough, time itself.  Those wizards who could manipulate time itself were the rarest of all and they barely made it to adult hood from any number of things, most including kidnapping.

Shingi walked to the group that his fellow avatar wizards. He could see that all of them had longer hair than he did. He noted that there were fifteen of them in the group, four of which were women.  He gave a sigh, as it dawned on him that he may have been the ‘weakest’ wizard there.  A shred of hope zipped across his mind maybe I’m the smartest? But it didn’t last long as he listened into other conversations, the content of which held principles and formulas that he didn’t understand.

Nope.

The Wizard with the black hair raised his hand for silence.  Shingi’s attention snapped to him as he waited for the crowds to die down. As the man waited, Shingi looked at the man’s attire.  It was a leather jacket, a leather type of cape, two different belts and heavy boots.  He also appeared older than the other teachers there, proven by his greyed facial hair, which meant he had kept out of trouble. That told Shingi that he knew how to look beyond the present... All of which contradicted his hair length. It wasn’t any lower than mid back. Shingi chuckled to himself with that realization.

Welcome to RavenRock Academy.  I’m the headmaster, Cyrus. Over the next four years, you’ll be given the foundation for the rest of your magical career, be you a warrior, an academic, a healer or someone who is a general magic user.

However, to get an accurate assumption of your abilities, from magical knowledge to actual practice of magic, you all will be entering Magic 101. It’s a course that is designed to test all aspects of your knowledge and skills and give your instructors a better idea of where your weaknesses lie. Afterwards, you’ll be entering into specific classes designed to push your boundaries and limitations in your chosen field, while retaining the original Magic 101 course.

The reason for retaining this course is to practice your skills, exercise your brain and have a general time of study. How you use it is entirely up to you.

Everyone’s attention was on him, soaking up every word. Shingi glanced around with only his eyes and saw a few dedicated, focused individuals.  His attention returned to Cyrus as he continued to give another 30 second speech before dismissing the students to view their class list, then dorms before dinner. After dinner, they would return to their dorms and spend what time there or wondering around, to get acquainted with the academy before lights out. 

Shingi noticed the class lists appear.  As he ventured over, he saw that there were several classroom numbers, one on each list.  He tried to figure out how they were based, either by last or first name, but with no success, was he able to decipher it.  What he did manage to catch was the woman with long red hair, the warrior. She tapped her name, Sazahra Clide. He realized then that her name was in the same list as his.

It then dawned on him, the way they categorized it; the weak students with the strong ones, as her hair, as much as he could figure, was several inches longer than his own. He knew that her hair had been longer, just from the train ride here, but he noticed that her ponytail started in the center of the back of her head. Not the low end near her nape, but several inches higher up.

She disguises her true power. She’s stronger than people here realize, by a considerable bit he thought. He looked around and saw another student, one that had chip on his shoulder, just by the way he stood. With a single step, the student managed to clear a way for himself.  He walked up and did the same thing that the woman with red hair did.

Looks like we’re in the same class, sweets, he smirked.  Shingi dialed into where he had put his finger and saw that his name was Percyrus MacEntire.  He made note that Percyrus was cocky, but he had reason to back it up, his hair was just as long as Sazahra’s.  Shingi noticed that Percyrus, however, was shorter.  His stature didn’t compare to Sazahra’s, let alone to himself.

So while his magic can back his chip up, he’s still shorter than others. But that gives him a lower center of gravity, which would make him a better equipped warrior…  Shingi thought before dispersing with the rest of the crowed to the dorms.

Shingi made quick work of his things in the dorms; practically stuffing his clothes into the provided trunk and locker system he was given. Each student had their own bed and across from the bed, was a wooden board, which was the backing of the next bed in the line. He had three drawers and a tall cabinet of which to store a cloak or robes.

He glanced out and down the hallway, which lead to the common area after a hard left turn.  He could hear steam flowing through the pipes above and below the floors. What he thought was cool though, were the pulley and cog systems for the mirror and lights that were hanging from the ceiling.

Still in the era of steam. Don’t know why we have steam when we could just use magic, he muttered, louder than intended.

Because electricity is better than steam and magic! a voice said. He immediately knew who it was from the sound and egotistical tone. He looked up and saw Percyrus, who extended his hand.

Percyrus, Percyrus MacEntire! he smiled.  Shingi accepted his hand, electricity huh…what makes you say that?

Electricity doesn’t run out, can be transmitted over great distances! It can be used to heat things up, make the newest tech of Tesla coils run, which can rotate shafts, which have a whole ray of applications and it can be stored.

Steam can be transmitted over distances…and with blades, can rotate a fan powered turbine… Shingi tried as he stood up.

Well, you’re certainly a tall one. But can steam be separated into various other devices without losing pressure or volume? Electricity can! You just clip on more wires and the power flows to each one! Percyrus had to look up to look Shingi in the eyes.

You’re forgetting what Mr. Tesla stated about electricity and its formula. If you distribute it through various devices, you have to increase the amperage load in order to drive them. With steam, you just add more water and decrease the nozzle diameter. That increases the pressure and volume.

True, true. But if the pressure is too great! BOOM! Percyrus mocked an explosion with his hands, But now is not the time nor place to discuss power supplies. We need to report to ‘magic 101’. He turned and left Shingi there.

Shingi reached up and turned off the light, the light that was powered by a small generator, which was driven by steam.  It was true that electricity provided a great many things to them, but electricity was derived by steam powered engines still.  They also had gas to burn…but each power source had its ups and downs.

As Shingi made his way into the dining hall, he saw clusters of students group together, following stereotypes. He gazed around quickly, discerning the types of each group. He noticed that there groups for each element, fields of study and several for the avatar wizards. He wasn’t interested in any of the groups and found a vacant table for himself. 

Once he had a table, he looked around the room, taking in the grand cathedral like room. It had the feel of a place whose history was long forgotten, but used every day.  Shingi couldn’t help himself but take in the beauty of the place, even with the cleverly hidden pipes that he was finally able to distinguish from the rest.

What are you smirking at? a feminine voice asked, one of which yanked Shingi from his thoughts. He looked at the owner of the said voice and found it to be Sazahra. She pulled a chair out from the table he was sitting at and sat down. He looked at her for a moment and raised a brow, glancing at the other red head occupied tables or warrior attired tables, wondering why she had chosen to sit with him and not either group that she was clearly associated with.

Sazahra noticed this, I’m not a fan of people. Nor am I a fan of having to answer constant questions. 

And what questions would those be? Shingi asked, no longer focused on the ceiling. His marveling at it would have to wait, as well as any food procurement, his interest, though temporary; now lie in why Sazahra wasn’t at the other tables, besides the aforementioned statements.

Are you really as powerful as your hair indicates? she started, counting it on her finger, how much combat have you see as a warrior witch? she added another finger, and my favorite… he saw her eyes roll, are red heads really freaky in bed?

Shingi’s eyes narrowed at the last one, that last one seems a bit…personal? He knew it would have been personal for him if someone asked that of him.  Though he honestly didn’t know, even if he red highlights in his crop.

Yeah, a bit, she looked at him, as if saying ‘ya think’.  He looked down for a moment, sorry, not the best at social cues, or interactions for that matter.

Sazahra snorted, yeah, that’s obvious. Didn’t see you do much on the train. You stayed inside your cabin quite a bit. Did you even venture outside to use the bathroom?

No beverage consumption, no need to use it, he shrugged. She raised her brows for a moment, as if to say ‘that makes sense.’

After another minute, Shingi sniffed the air, seems as if though the evening meals have been brought out. I’m going to go and see what they have offered, Shingi stood.

Sazahra stood as well, you’re certainly a different type of fellow, aren’t you? More refined, higher intellect than the rest? Though, judging by the length of your hair, a little under powered? she looked at him and raised a brow. While his hair was just at neck length, his own strands of hair fell above his rib cage line.

Yes, correct. I favored intelligence and all but your element while training and learning in my hometown, he said as he began his way over towards the food counters.

So you’re a wuss in fire huh? Well that makes sense and probably why you’re not as powerful as the rest of us. You’re probably also the weakest in the class.  What’s your name anyways? she asked, basically following his lead to the food counter.

Shingi Jackson, he stated.  Sazahra narrowed her eyes, trying to remember if she had seen that name on the board.

She stopped dead in her tracks, So that’s how they laid out the boards… she stated. That caught Shingi’s attention, which made him stop and turn to her.  She wasn’t smiling, rather it was a frown.

They organized those boards according to strength and weakness, hoping the strongest would help the weakest.  Percyrus and I are the strongest on that board and you’re the weakest…

Shingi made a face, eh, Percyrus isn’t the strongest though. It’s you. Your ponytail… he was cut-off by the look on her face- a death glare. He could tell he was about to strike a nerve or say something wrong in front of her. He looked at her for a moment I was about to expose her true strength amongst the others, which would make the rest work extra hard. I’m guessing one the instructors have taken notice of…

I’m going to assume that the instructors have noticed my observation, he asked, of which case, yes. I too have figure that out. He indicated, which made her walk off. And I did it again… he shook his head and sighed, before continuing towards the food.

After Shingi had eaten and taken care of his tray, of which he had eaten alone, presuming that he irritated Sazahra beyond wanting to eat with him.  He made his way back to his dorm and looked through a few of the books that he had brought with him. 

It was only a few moments later when someone came and leaned on the door frame, three or so feet from the foot of his bed. The door was hinged on the side of the next bed. Shingi looked up and saw that it was Percyrus.

Mr. Electric, Shingi tried some humor.  He saw Percyrus give a quick amused huff.  Ha, I should have expected that.  But that’s not why I’m here. Seems to me you pissed off Sazahra…not the one to piss off only a few hours into your first of four years of college training. She’s quite powerful, even more so than you, considering who has longer hair.

Yes, I’m well aware of my misdeed, Shingi stated, not exactly looking for discussion on the matter. He didn’t mind that she was irritated at him, it would pass in time or through a thorough and utterly humiliating defeat in combat or magic practice of some sort.

Misdeed? he chuckled, you were about to say something that involved her ponytail. What was it?

Shingi remembered what her ponytail was doing and realized that it was true; only Sazahra, the instructors and Shingi himself knew of the ponytail’s true purpose. Not even Percyrus, the second strongest here, knew of its actual purpose. But he did not know how to proceed with the in-query, nor how to deflect it.

He leaned back in his chair, you mean, what I was going to say about it? He was hoping to lie and not expose her rouse.

You mentioned that the instructors noticed something you had as well, but the rest of us didn’t… Percyrus stood up straight, arms folded now. He was serious and he was going to use whatever he could to beat or supersede Sazahra in the ring.  Shingi had only one recourse.

I’m not at liberty to say, Shingi shrugged. It looked as though Percyrus was formulating a plan on exposing the ponytail.  Shingi knew he had to formulate a way to stop him from trying to figure it out, even if he had to spread rumors, you could ask around, to find out the secret or what I noticed. But if you do, others will want to know as well. And if you look like you don’t actually know and you’re digging, she’ll get upset at you, he was going to box in Percyrus from asking anything. That’s one of things that he was good at, being clever.

If you ask her or others about it, that will indicate to Sazahra that you’re using whatever means necessary to climb to the top as it could be seen as an underhanded way of beating your enemies, instead of straight up power and intelligence.  And if you’re not above underhanded means, that could indicate that you’re not averse to cheating. But since you clearly have more power than most of us here, why would you need to cheat? Insecurities? False pretense? Who knows, Shingi explained, "my recommendation; let the topic go, that way you don’t expose face or run the risk of having to save face later.  And if you do happen to notice whatever I noticed, then you would be of the very