6

Jarrod found himself in a bright room, filled with a calming essence. It reminded him of the room where he first found out that he was magic sensitive, but this room made him feel a lot better than that room did. There were no toys this time, but there was a chair that seemed like it was meant for him, so he sat down and waited. The door to the room opened, and a man dressed entirely in yellow entered the room. He walked silently across the room, and sat down in the chair opposite him.

"Hello, Jarrod, my name is Vinfyr."

"Where am I?"

"This is where you come to be awarded your rune. Although these are unusual circumstances. Normally someone is invited here, but you seem to have invited yourself."

"So what happens now?"

"Well, I am simply the butler of the spirit world, I can't order any of the spirits around. Normally, a spirit would be waiting here to talk to you and give you your rune, but since you are uninvited, there is nobody here to greet you, I'm afraid."

"I can wait for one to be available."

"That's not how it works. A rune is more than a mark granting you the ability to use a certain type of magic. It's a contractual agreement between you and the spirit world. You see, every time someone performs magic in your world, they are not conjuring something out of thin air, they are borrowing the energy of the spirit world and turning it into something else. What that something else is depends on who the contract is made with."

"So why can't I just make a contract with someone?"

"Because nobody wants to make a contract with you."

"Why not?"

"Who knows?" Vinfyr shrugged. "You'd have to ask each of the spirits, but my guess would be it is because none of them like you."

"So how do I make them like me?"

"It's different for each spirit, but they seem to be particularly drawn to people who remind them of how they were when they were mortal."

Jarrod was reminded of Cromwell's list of personality traits. "So send me back, and I'll show them I can be different."

"You can't go back, not without a contract."

"Are you saying I'm stuck here?"

"Well, you could sign a contract now, with me, saying that you'll never use magic again."

"Is that what happens to kids who never get a rune?"

"No, they never come here and so no contract ever has to be signed. You, on the other hand, are already here, and you are not allowed to leave until you sign a contract."

"What will happen to the me in the other world? Will I die?"

"At the moment, your body is in a coma. How long your body lives depends entirely on the people taking care of it. But the moment your body dies, you will disappear from this world, too. So technically, you can stay in this world for as long as your body is alive, but there is a catch. Time passes a lot slower in here than it does out there, so it might only feel like you've been here for a few hours, but in your world, you will have been gone for a few days."

"So you're saying if I take too long to get a contract, I might die?"

"Well, eventually your body will wear out."

Jarrod took a moment to think about his choices. There was nothing for him to do here except wait for one of the spirits to grant him a contract, and if in the entire eighteen years of his life they never saw fit to choose him, then he figured it was unlikely that they would change their mind now. Still, he had come all the way here in order to get magic, and it would be a waste if he were to go home empty handed. If one hour in this world was one day in his world, then he would only have about two and a half years left in this world before his body wore out and he died. Plus, he didn't want to go back to an old, decrepit body even if he did manage to acquire magic somehow.

"OK, I'll sign the no-magic contract."

"Very well. Let me just get the papers, and get everything ready for your departure." Vinfyr left the room.

Jarrod felt as though his whole life up to now had all been for nothing. Almost eleven years at the magic school, and he was going to have to go back to being a nobody. What was he going to do with his life now? He didn't know how to do any of the things non-magical people did, like cook, clean, do something that involved going to an office five out of seven days a week. He would have to go back to living with his family, maybe look into finding some hard labour to help pay the bills.

"So you are the son of Tyrith Lightstorm." Jarrod looked up to see a being made of fire. It wore no clothes, and he couldn't see where it was speaking from, but somehow it was talking. It looked like it was going to set the entire room on fire just by standing there, but it singed nothing, and despite the large glow it gave off, Jarrod didn't feel it giving off any heat.

"Yes, I am. Who are you?"

"You would know me as the spirit of fire. Your father has done a great many deeds in my name. It is thanks to him that my worshippers have increased tenfold since he gained his fire rune."

"Oh... I didn't know."

"Yes, well, when you have eternity to live, these little things start to matter to you. Anyway, I'm here because I would like to make you an offer. Although this is unusual, as thanks to your father, I'd like to give you the chance to go back to your world, without taking your magic sensitivity away from you. You would remain there as one of those, what do you call them? Conduits. So you would be allowed to continue your magical study as you were before, but unfortunately, you will never be able to acquire a rune."

Though disappointed that he wasn't being offered a contract for a rune, Jarrod found this to be a much better alternative than going back without any magic at all. "So what's the catch?"

"The catch is, I need you to do something for me. We spirits have always been able to see down into the lives of humans for a very long time. For as long as your people remember having magic. But lately, there has been a bit of a disturbance, and for some reason, there is a small country that we are currently blocked from seeing. That's not to say anything bad is happening there, but we'd still like to know what's going on."

"And you want me to have a look?"

"Yes, and if possible, find the cause of the blockage."

"And at the end, if I find and remove it, would I be able to get a rune?"

"We will discuss this further once you've accomplished the task. Older bodies cannot handle runes, as it takes some getting used to, and once you're too old, you're too set in your ways to be able to properly control the rune. We have tried and failed too many times to want to risk it again, but if you show promise, young Jarrod, then perhaps we will see fit to try once more."

Jarrod's heart lifted at the thought of being able to get his own rune. It might be too late for him to become a great fire mage by the time it happened, but he would still be able to create his own magic rather than having to use borrowed magic from others, like at the academy.

"OK, fire spirit, you have a deal." As soon as the words were spoken, Jarrod felt himself spiraling down into darkness.

10922 / 50000 words. 22% done!