Witches & Wizards - Book of Pyre and Jessie: Witches & Wizards, #2

Witches & Wizards: Pyre and Jessie

Table of Contents

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Copyright @ 2016 Matthew B. Deckman & Teresa Sheriff

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Series Order

1 - Witches & Wizards

2 - Witches & Wizards: Book of Pyre and Jessie

Witches & Wizards:

Pyre and Jessie

By Matthew Deckman & Teresa Sheriff

Looking around, the courtyard was in pristine condition; the statues clean and in repair, the grass that lined the walkway and stairs from the wall of the school to the large double doors of where the freshmen of the college entered, was neat and trimmed.

It was to be expected, after all, it was RavenRock Academy. It was the most prestigious witch and wizard, now mage, school in the nation. And now, it was his turn to attend the college and reap the benefits that it had to offer.

Jessie looked up to see the air mage on the pedestal in-front of his group. It was one of seven pedestals; fire, water, air, earth, light, cosmic and avatar.  He looked from one instructor to the next, seeing that four of the RavenRock five were there. Sazahra the fire mage; a master in the fire magic realm, she was close to becoming a legend in magic, but already so in name. She had performed ‘Super Nova’ and survived.

The second master he saw was Melony. She was every bit of a master that Sazahra was, and Sazahra’s main rival.  According to rumors, Melony had challenged Sazahra to a fight when she first came to RavenRock. It never took place until they both started working and teaching at RavenRock. Their fight ended in a draw.

The third of the RavenRock Five was Shadow.  She had surpassed both Melony and Sazahra and had become a literal ‘Legend’.  Her skills, magic and knowledge of her realm was second to only the Headmaster, Cyrus. Though Jessie believed that Shadow’s abilities even succeeded his.

The fourth was Shingi Jackson, husband to Sazahra.  He was both a Legend in status and magic. He kept up on all of his magic realms; earth, water, wind and fire. He was one of the Avatar mages, being able to control all four elements of nature.  He was also the only one who could create a flawless grape sized diamond in under an hour.

Percyrus was not there as he worked at Jessie’s father’s manufacturing plant, Hanner Manufacturing. Even though the business was big, well known and sold many different products through its various venders and retailers, it had become a bigger brand than before. It had stepped into the realm of electricity; with that, creating the components and equipment to generate and transmit it.

Hanner Manufacturing had a huge hit a few years ago when Percyrus and Shingi created, developed and tested the ‘refrigerator’. In the first year, hundreds of units had sold, the next year, thousands per month. And it was only getting easier to develop and build. Shingi’s calculations had been right on the nose with the details involved, so much so that the CEO wanted Shingi to work for him.

This is where Jessie also believed most of his ‘friends’ came from. They wanted to be associated with Jessie and his money.  They were good for company and laughs, but he knew they couldn’t be relied on.

Not entirely true for a select few though he thought. But in general, Jessie only knew the people he did because of his last name and everything that came with it.  But being his father’s son, it gave him the chance to work at the manufacturing plant. He loved to work in the Research and Development area, where he typically took scrap metal and played with it. 

As he had grown up and understood more and more about engineering, the materials he used, he began to make very sophisticated devices. He had been working on a ‘speaker’ system, a device that would take vibrations from an input of some sort and magnify them several times, to where you could hear the input a distance away.

Jessie’s thoughts were pulled from his mind when the headmaster spoke, probably the same thing he said to every new class. 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.

At that point, Jessie tuned out. He had other things on his mind. A minute later, the headmaster dismissed the students to view the class list, then to their dorms to unpack. Afterwards was dinner, then it was free time either in the common room dorms or exploring the accessible parts of RavenRock before lights out.

Jessie stopped for a moment to see that Shadow had to actually approach a student. Wait, Shadow has a student? That would make three Cosmic mages in one location… he watched where she went and saw the student.  It was a girl, with shoulder length red and black hair. He looked at her, almost studying her as she sat on one of the courtyard benches.  Motion caught his eye as a small bird sat on her shoulder.

It was curious to him, how she was; she dressed in a black skirt, boots similar to Melony’s, from what Jessie could tell and a long sleeve, shoulder-less top. That’s when the sun’s rays hit the bird and told him; it was a mechanical bird. How… Jessie pondered for a moment before he shook his head and went towards the class list, he had more important things to worry about at the moment.

Jessie followed the main crowds to the dorms, where he set up his dorm room, rather hastily, before going to the great hall and dining. He sat with several of his ‘friends’, listening to the conversations of what they were planning to do, what they hoped to accomplish. The first and foremost on his mind was to build the speaker and get it working, but he didn’t tell them this.

After dinner, Jessie visited the library to see if he could find anything on sound, engineering and the equivalent studies. It was the growing and developing engineer inside him, wanting to solve the problem. His parents told him to never shy away from his mind, even if he knew it wasn’t as powerful as Shingi’s.

As Jessie perused the shelves, he noticed the red and black haired mage there.  Her mechanical bird was resting upon her shoulder as her nose was stuck in a book. He would have gone over and asked her about it, however his parents indicated that if one were to disturb another in the midst of a good book, the reader wouldn’t be all to happy. With that in mind, Jessie retreated towards the common room, several books in hand.

Jessie rubbed his eyes and stood. He had been studying the books he brought from the library for hours and needed a break. As he glanced around the room, he again noticed the girl with the bird.  It was apparent that she had migrated back into the common room at one point and had several books around her in the chair she was occupying. He looked at the grandfather clock in the room, its hands indicating ten thirty at night.

Off to bed I go, he muttered before cleaning up his things and heading into the boys’ dorm.

* * * * *

Shingi tossed down the packet of papers and scratched his head in disappointment.  The headmaster of RavenRock, Cyrus, had brought him into his office to figure out and double check some numbers concerning the school’s finances. He was usually brought into the fold with sensitive matters like these, because of how fast he could process the information. These matters required vast amounts of quick, accurate mathematical calculations. A team of accountants would not suffice. In this case, he and the headmaster had hoped the math was wrong.

So, how long will RavenRock last? Cyrus asked. He had been there for a very long time and it was the first time he had to actually worry about the school’s future. But that only came about just recently when Shingi, Sazahra, Melony and Percyrus exposed the real reason to the war.  Because of that, enrollment for the Warrior aspect of magic wasn’t in such a high demand anymore.

Well, if you get no enrollment for the warrior segments, the first years who just entered yesterday, won’t be able to finish their higher education here. They’ll have to find another place to go for the remainder, as well the others. It’s not looking good. A way to attract enrollment is needed, unless you crank up the cost of tuition, Shingi stated.

And how much would tuition have to increase? Cyrus asked, not wanting to hear the number, but knew it needed to be said.

Well, with the warrior classes, you had a small surplus of money. Now that the enrollment is down, it’s pushed the revenue stream down below the breakeven point for expenses. It’s about seventy seven percent what it once was, so I’m guessing you’re going to need to increase tuition by about thirty three percent, if not more, Shingi guessed, that’s a rough estimate.

Thirty three percent, Cyrus stood from his office chair and shook his head, that’s a significant increase. I could see that over the course of a few years, but immediately, that just can’t happen. We need to figure out another way to increase revenue… he looked out his window. It oversaw the entrance court yard, from the top useable floor.

Do you have any suggestions? I only called upon you because you’ve been able to figure the most difficult problems. Your mind is certainly a gift, but that’s from an outsider’s perspective, Cyrus half turned and looked at Shingi, How have the headaches been? Have they become less frequent?

Yes. I had a healer scan my head and look inside it. Though I also used magic to…for the sake of a long explanation, protect myself. The solution was rather simple; lack of water. Now that I’m drinking enough, I’m fine.

Cyrus shook his head, Always the simplest solutions.

Yep, and the first thing that comes to mind for increasing revenue is some sort of festival. Charge venders for a booth and have them sell their wares. A competition for people to exhibit, display and fight? Something to draw in crowds, a place to entertain them, Shingi suggested.

Any suggestion on how long it will last?

Three days, maybe longer? Shingi shrugged, I’d get an opinion first from the vendors, to see if it would be worth their trouble.

Cyrus walked over to a shelf before pulling a tug string down from the ceiling. It pulled with it a canvas that held RavenRock Academy on it. Afterwards, he pulled another down that lead a canvas of the Academy itself. We need an area to host this. Rather large or in separate sections. Any ideas?

I’d say split it up between the different areas, someone stated. Both Cyrus and Shingi looked over to see Shadow there, leaning on the door frame of Cyrus’s office.

How long have you been there? Shingi asked.

Long enough to figure out the problem, Shadow pushed off the door way and walked over to the maps. Shingi stood and walked over as well.

If you try to keep it all in one location, the noise from the vendors is going to compete with the noise from the competitions. Keep them away from each other.  Also have a place where food can be done, so a three stage festival. This will give the greatest possible access to vendors.  Have signs as well to direct. And if things go well, you can always do another.  Possibly a fall and spring festival, Shadow indicated, laying out her thoughts on the matter.

Shingi smiled, damn, I’d say we have a plan.

That we do, Cyrus nodded in agreement.

Jessie sighed in frustration after his spell failed. It was a pop quiz by the air mage and Jessie hadn’t been paying attention nor too keen on keeping up with his studies. Other things were on his mind; the speaker he was trying to develop, along with a few girls- ones that he noticed and others that took notice of him.

The air mage shook his head, see me after class Jessie. Next.  Jessie knew that his teacher wasn’t pleased and really didn’t feel like talking to him after class.  As soon as the instructor was occupied with the next student, Jessie snuck off and walked back to the main part of the school.  They had been in one of the courtyards that was used for practicing.

As he passed one of the other courtyards, a fireball shot up into the sky and exploded, like a firework. Wow… Jessie stopped, staring up in the sky at the smoke. He followed the trail down to the person who shot it up.  Of course, he couldn’t get a good look at it because of the lattice fence, which forced him to go to the entrance of the court yard. From there, he could see the girl with black and red hair.

The fire mage clapped her hands; it was one of those who worked under Sazahra. Figures, the odd girl would be good at magic, Jessie huffed and continued onwards, back up to the castle.  It had been a few weeks since the beginning of the school year and they were now entering October.

So what excuse do I have? Jessie asked under his breath, no traumatic child hood like Shingi. Maybe I’m trying to do too much? he shook his head as he entered the castle. The grandfather clock in the hall indicated it was close to lunch time.

Guess I should get something to eat, he thought aloud. The moment he turned into the dining hall, he saw the headmaster putting up flyers.

Good Day Jessie, how are we doing today? he asked.

I wish I could say great, but I just had a spell blow up in my face… Jessie replied and looked over towards the self-serve.

Hmm, sounds like you need to study or practice a bit more, especially since it’s odd for ‘air’ to blow up in your face, the headmaster indicated.

But I’m also a bit ‘fire’, Jessie isolated a red strand of hair, so I can kind of see it.

Oh, so you are and so it is. Maybe you’re crossing your magic streams? the headmaster suggested.

And how do I fix that problem? Jessie asked, intrigued.

Well, the headmaster extended his hands, you use one hand to exert fire, the other to exert air and feel how each stream feels. You, of course, do this in an open area with no one around…you mix the two and you’ll really explode, the headmaster smirked, dropping his arms and excused himself.

Jessie rolled his eyes before going to get food.  It wasn’t long before others joined him, in a general sense, in the dining hall.  As time approached the half way point of the designated lunch period, the headmaster re-appeared and made an appearance as he stood upon the pedestal.

Students and teachers who are present, he began, I have posted flyers around the school, indicating a ‘festival’ which will include vendors, merchants and a competition. We will have three different areas planned; the arena for skill exhibition and competitions, a vendor location for merchandise, games and the sorts, and the, well, for lack of a better word, ‘dining area’ where cooks and others can sell and serve food.  It’s going to be a three day long festival, starting early morning on a Friday, the entire day of Saturday and go into late Sunday night.

He looked around for a moment, letting the information sink in, it’s going to be a large undertaking, so I’m going to be asking for volunteers and students are allowed to participate in the competitions, obviously. They will not count towards your grade or marks in any way, he paused, enjoy the remainder of your lunch, he stepped down and walked out of the dining hall.

Jessie was one of several who immediately stood up and walked over to the flyers. He could see sign-up sheets for the competition.  The dates were one month away.

Christ, I have one month to get the speakers ready, if I want to use them… he muttered and signed up for the competition; both an exhibition of strength and actual fighting. He wanted to use the system during his competition, to play sound, but he had been having trouble getting his theories to pan out. As he walked back to where he had his food, he tried to think of something special or unique for the competition, but his mind landed on doing a twister. While it was the normal thing for air mages to use to compare their power, he would have a sound system there.

Over the course of the next month, Jessie split his time three ways. He tried to concentrate on his studies, which had been falling behind, but with a conscious effort, he managed to raise them up. They weren’t perfect, but they weren’t horrible. 

He also concentrated on his air magic, mainly flying around at high speed, in tight circles, to increase his tornado speeds.  Most Air mages simply rotated the wind around themselves, either by spinning at high speed on a pivot, or waved their hands.  He found both of these in-efficient at the higher levels of wind speed. It required more magic than he was willing to exert.

With his plan, he was going start the tornado in the typical fashion, but once he achieved a certain numerical value of speed, he was going to switch to flying and try to achieve Mach one or two.  At that tight of a circle and high speed, his theory holding, would move the air speed up to seven hundred miles an hour, double that of an F5 tornado.  It would require a significant amount of magic, but less he figured, than simply spinning in spot. These calculations and intense practice helped him with his studies, a bit anyways.

The last area of his concentration was on getting the speaker system ready.  His theories were sound on paper, but applying the theories always ended up with him either shocking himself or not producing powerful enough vibrations to transmit the sound waves from the internals, thru the air. It frustrated him greatly, not knowing what was wrong.

* * * * *

Jessie eventually found himself relaxing in the men’s shower, tub and spa area, trying to calm his mind.  With a quick dunk, he soaked his hair and pulled it back, out of his face and behind his ears. He kept his hair at shoulder length, even if it was recommended to have a pinch of hairs at their total length. He felt that it just didn’t suit him.

Being an air mage, he was also thinner than most as sheer bulk and strength weren’t necessary to be powerful. Manipulation of the air currents made air mages strong.  He also didn’t need the mass to produce and move fire. He had found out, that least for himself, if he breathed enough and mixed air magic with fire magic, he was able to produce more powerful flames.  As he had an analytical mind, he actually calculated that he was five percent fire mage, ninety five percent air mage.

Though a combined feature, he had grey eyes with a slight tint of red in them.  But where he got his thick, dark eyebrows, he had no clue.

A deep voice pulled him from his thoughts, well, aren’t you a pretty boy!

Jessie’s eyes came back into focus as he found the source. It was a larger male, earth and fire mage by the looks of his hair. And it was obvious that he preferred strength over brains, judging by how muscular and sculpted his body was.

Looks don’t really concern me, Jessie replied as he leaned back against the wall.

Even if they don’t, they come naturally to someone like you. Big name, lots of money, looks. Though from what I can tell, your lack of stellar grades indicates a lack of brains, the man sat down in the large hot tub.

Not lack of brains, just lack of interest. I have other things on my mind, Jessie shrugged.

Let me guess, like father, like son, you’re into engineering. Percyrus MacEntire works for your father, so you’d probably know him.  Shingi also consults for your father. They made it big with that refrigerator invention of theirs. I can only assume that you’d want to make a splash as well, no pun intended with the water, the man stated.

Jessie looked at him and realized his prior assumption was wrong. The earth fire mage was brawn and brains.  It seemed they were of similar level intellect, just different areas. Yeah, I prefer engineering over studying.

The large mage smirked, the name’s Gideon.

Guess I don’t need to tell you my name, since you already know of my father and Percyrus.

No, and I don’t like you either.

Well that’s a rather rude thing to say, Jessie looked at the brute. Unfortunately for him, he couldn’t easily confuse Gideon.

Doesn’t matter. You have had everything handed to you by daddy, Gideon stood and walked over to Jessie, the towel tight around his waist, Money, schooling, everything. It’s given you the notion that you’re entitled. You’re not. Everyone has to work for what they want, no one gets anything for free. Consider this your warning; don’t turn into a pompous prick or I’ll drive you into the dirt, Gideon loomed over Jessie.

Too slow to react, Gideon grabbed Jessie’s hair and dragged him under the water.  Jessie fought only to find that Gideon had let go. By the time Jessie had cleared the hair out of his face, Gideon had already gotten out and walked to the changing area.

…jackass… Jessie hoped that he would meet Gideon in the competition so that he could drop kick him into the dirt.

The first day of the festival had arrived as Jessie prepared himself for his exhibition.  He was going to start the event off with a bang, or at least in his mind he would. Unfortunately, he had not gotten the speaker to work properly and couldn’t use it.  The solution to the balancing of vibrations vs electrical current still eluded him.

When Jessie was called to the ring, another student with more crowd charisma introduced him and called out his example.  But before Jessie began, he asked for the microphone cone.

"Ok, I’m not good with public speaking, so I’ll get to the point. What I’m going to demonstrate is not the typical tornado. It’s my own version that hopefully will achieve a significantly higher wind speed than most. Those with papers, please anchor