Online short story The Magic.

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William was a normal teenager, and one day he found a strange pamphlet in his room.

Come to Medinel's School of Magic.

We teach all forms of magic and we run the school on an absorbing spell, so the course is free. Learn primary element spells, secondary element spells, and mixers.

This pamphlet is enchanted with a sentience spell, so, if you are able to read it, you have the capability to use magic. Most people receiving this have very little knowledge of magic; here is a quick reference guide.

Please save this pamphlet until you decide on a class.

The recipient of this pamphlet is entitled to up to four courses and our basic introductory lesson. Our school can teach level 4 spell-casting and this will require the recipient to take only one class.

All primary and secondary spells have colors. A trained spell-caster can tell what type of spell is being cast based purely on sight. Here are the primary colors and their elements. Some of the basic properties of the elements are also listed:

Red is the color of fire. Fire spells can be used to summon and control fire. Fire spells can also increase temperature.

Dark blue is the color of water. Water spells can be used to summon and control water or ice. Water spells can also decrease temperature.

Brown is the color of earth. Earth spells can be used to summon and control earth.

Light blue is the color of air. Air spells can be used to summon and control air. Here is a list of the secondary spells, their elements, and their properties:

Off-white is the color of lightning. Lightning spells can be used to summon and control lightning and electricity.

White is the color of life. Life spells can be used to control life and death, to heal or to weaken.

Grey is the color of sentience. Sentience can be used to look into the minds of sentient beings. It can also be used to control minds. Only the most powerful of wizards can actually use spells of sentience to create intelligence.

Rainbow is the color of illusion. Illusion can be used to alter perceptions with all of the five senses. Students wishing to study illusion should know that illusion does not alter a person's perception directly; that is a sentience ability.

Black is the color of void. Void can be used to destroy. Void is highly complex and requires four classes to learn.

Here are some of the mixer elements. Mixer spells require the knowledge of multiple elements.

Dust is the combining of earth and air.

Mud is the combining of earth and water.

Mist is the combining of fire and water. Some mist spells also use illusion.

Alchemy is the combining of all the elements. Only the great wizard Baaz has ever mastered alchemy.

Creation is the combining of all elements. Only the great wizard Baaz has ever mastered creation.

When Billy had finished reading, he suddenly found himself in a small, white room. The room was completely empty, but for two chairs. When Billy sat, a man suddenly appeared in the other chair.

"Teleportation, an amazing spell which nobody has ever classified," said the strange man.

Closer inspection revealed that the man had black hair and red eyes. He had an ivory-colored face, wore a grey cloak and a strange glow surrounded him. The man began his lecture.

"Welcome to Medinel's School of Magic. I am your teacher and until you graduate, you will refer to me as 'Master'. This school requires no fees because of one of the basic postulates of magic. A simple way of putting it is this: any time a spell-caster is not casting a spell, they are slowly absorbing magic from the general Universe. For this reason, the Universe is constantly losing magic. When a person dies, their magic goes back into the Universe. However, magic is absorbed faster then people die. Each time a spell is cast, all energy in the spell is given back to the Universe.

Medinel's School of Magic is enchanted to absorb some of this energy. Each time you practice your spells, our school will become more powerful. The pamphlet, which you found, is enchanted with a sentience spell. This spell looks into you and detects your level of magic. All sentient beings possess magic, but most have too little to cast significant spells. You possess enough magic to master a number of spells. In addition, the enchanted pamphlet suggests that you possess one innate ability: you can shape-shift without sentience backlash. Most shape- shifters lose some of their mind and begin to think in the same manner as the creature they shift into. This can even result in permanent loss of the human mind, as well as loss of magical abilities. However, you are immune to this.

"Baaz was the most powerful wizard ever to exist. He mastered every element but many years ago he disappeared. There are many tales about him. Some people believe that he created the world; Baaz did have enough magic to create an Earth, but he is unlikely to have done so. Baaz had one main source of power. In mastering all of the elements, he gained the power of raw creation. He mastered the power of creation, and could create raw magic.

There are many theories about how magic can be created. Nobody knows if he created his magic using an alchemic spell, an absorption spell, or a true creation spell. Most believe that in the end, Baaz died. He was too powerful to die from murder or age, but some claim he died by suicide. His power was so great that there was nothing he could not do, and nothing he had not done, so he got bored. When Baaz died, the dozens of people who had previously had little magic suddenly gained some of the power Baaz had possessed, and those magi are the ancestors of this school. Over the years, their power has spread to many people, and has been diluted. What is left is our current school. We are still quite powerful.

Now, you may rest in this room. Tomorrow you must choose your classes. Think on it before you sleep. Good luck William."

The mysterious man and his chair disappeared, and a bed suddenly appeared in the room.