Installment No. 1
After ridding his face from an excess of sugary confection, Daniel Flint glanced covertly towards his small stack of birthday gifts. He had reached the age where he wasn’t overly excited for his presents, but the day when you turned fourteen was very special. The presents themselves were quite an unremarkable sight. One of them was short, squat, and very rectangular, another was wrapped in a small, brown paper parcel, about the size of a tennis ball, yet another was wrapped in brown paper but was the size of a golf ball, and the last was encased in a long, thin box that sported elegant swirls and patterns. He had a suspicion as to what was in that thin box, but didn’t dare to hope. As it turned out, Daniel’s father, Mark, noticed his quick glance and stated, “Okay, Danny. We’re done. You can open them now.”
Barely managing to contain his excitement, Daniel walked over to the boxes and started tearing open the packaging of the squat present, saving the thin one for last. Inside he found a wooden cube, with fancy metal insets. After observing it for a moment, Daniel exclaimed, “It’s a puzzle box! You know I’ve always wanted one. Thank you!”
His mother, Julia, just grinned. Daniel then grabbed the ball-sized gift and undid the paper, revealing a tight wad of black cloth. He unfurled it and it expanded into a large black cloak, large enough for someone even taller than his parents. Julia said, “It’s from our neighbor, Mrs. Weaver. It’s fabulous, don’t you think? She made it herself.”
She paused thoughtfully and then added, “You know, I invited her over for your birthday but she came down with something earlier today. She was quite disappointed that she couldn’t give you the gift herself. Why don’t you try it on?
Looking dubiously at its immense size, Daniel slid cloak over himself, swimming in the thick rolls of fabric. After a few seconds passed, in which Daniel felt quite silly, the cloak seemed to shrink. It continued to diminish in size until it was just the right size. He grinned and slipped it off. As Julia took the cloak from his hands and started to fold it up, something caught her eye and she inspected it closely, a look of surprise on her face. Daniel, in his haste to open the next present, didn’t notice. Quickly undoing the neat paper cover of the golf ball sized gift, he revealed a large gemstone. It was slightly translucent and was marbled brown, orange, and yellow. When Daniel held it up to the light, it came through muted as if through stained glass. It seemed familiar to him, and although he couldn’t quite remember what it was, a nagging feeling lingered in the recesses of his mind.
“What is this again? I can’t seem to remember.”
“I’m surprised you remember at all; the last time you saw one of these was when you were barely able to walk. Although I’m sure you have heard of them. It’s an Ionstone,” Mark stated. Daniel’s father’s words jogged his memory, and suddenly Daniel remembered why Ionstones were so special. They were able to summon Ionblades, weapons that could cut through anything but other Ionblades and bone. Each Elemental Faction had its own gemstone: garnet for Earth, sapphire for Water, diamond for Air, etc. The male children of any Speaking family would be given an Ionstone on their fourteenth birthday. And now, Daniel was receiving his garnet.
“Wow, I don’t know what to say. Except thank you, that is.”
Julia replied, “You’re welcome.”
Daniel then looked back towards the last gift. Mark carefully handed it to his son, a look of utmost seriousness upon his face. Daniel held it up reverently, as if performing a ceremony, and started to open it. Inside, cushioned with wads of cotton, was an elegant wand, with a deep blue gem set in the handle. It was coated with glossy black Neutrine paint, everywhere except for the bit at the tip and the handle, to direct the flow of magic. Where the paint didn’t cover, the natural wood shone through. It was a dark red, with lines of black streaking through it. It was beautiful. He’d expected as much. After all, his parents were the finest wandmakers in all of North America. After letting Daniel gaze at it for a few more minutes, Mark said, “Go on, give it a name. You know you can’t use it unless it has a name.”
Daniel thought for a moment and, in a sudden moment of inspiration, cried, “It shall be named … Monty!”
Mark asked, puzzled, “Why ‘Monty’?”
“Because of our bird, Monty. I named it after him.”
His parents chuckled. To make a wand, you needed a carved piece of wood, a small quartz, and essence. The best wandmakers either used dragon scales or feathers for their essence. Mark and Julia believed that it was their duty to raise the birds themselves. Monty, whom Daniel named the wand after, was their resident Greater Mountain Roc, whose feathers were used for the wands of Earthtwisters.
Mark handed a small carving tool to Daniel, which was very sharp and pointed. He carefully scratched at the wand, in the small indent above the handle, where your thumb would go. The letters ‘M’, ‘o’, ‘n’, ‘t’, and ‘y’ were carved slowly in Glyphs. As soon as he finished, Daniel hugged his mother and father.
“Thank you! It’s amazing!”
The wand meant everything. Every child who was to go to a Wordtwisting school was given a wand on their fourteenth birthday. The others weren’t. Daniel had been waiting for this moment for years.
“Wait a moment!” Mark said. “We still have to see if the wand will come to you.”
Daniel’s reverie was stopped in an instant. He solemnly let go of his parents and walked to the end of the room, laid the wand on the floor, and walked back. Then he thrust his hand to his side, straight down, and whispered, “Sumus, Monty!” He waited, counting, and, on the fourteenth heartbeat, the air at his hand shimmered and Monty appeared, forming as if from mist. Daniel shouted in joy and Twisted, “Illuminate!”
A ray of light burst from the end of the wand, flooding the room with pure brilliance. At a command from Daniel, the light vanished, leaving just as quickly as it had come. His parents clapped their hands and cheered. He bowed and then walked over to them. Mark handed him something black. It was a wand sheath. Julia helped Daniel strap it onto his right thigh. He slipped Monty into it. Although Monty was about fourteen inches long, and the sheath was only about six, the wand went all the way to the handle. Daniel puzzled over this but Julia explained, “You see, the sheath has a Space Manipulation Glyph stitched onto it, so you can stick the entire wand in.”
Daniel didn’t quite understand but he nodded anyway. He then let out a large yawn and his eyelids drooped, sleepiness threatening to drop him. Somehow, with what seemed to be a superhuman effort, he managed to walk to the bathroom, brush his teeth, and slip into bed. Then, after he made sure that his wand, box, Ionstone, and cloak were set safely on the nightstand next to him, Daniel fell into a deep slumber, where his dreams were anything but sweet.
