- Concept where there were multiple Prodigies besides the wizard (Gale, Mira, Winston, and Crios) but none of them want to get involved in the island's affairs...
- What if Prodigies are cursed?
Prologue[]
A wizard roamed the island, learning as much as they could.
In a tower, a blue-haired teenager gazed out a small window, watching the bursts of color in the night - invoked by a spell. She looked on in distaste, muttering about how pathetic "that wizard" was - yet she continued watching. A dragon loomed nearby, awaiting his master's command, knowing exactly what she would request at the next burst of light.
"Grandoff, take me to Crystal Caverns, there's something I need to attend to."
At the Arena, a red-haired wizard had a bag slung over his shoulder, dragons walking beside him. He was using a back entrance, not wanting anyone to see him. He had quit, he was free, he was-
The figure of a dragon passed overhead, causing a breeze strong enough to rustle his clothing - Grandoff. He watched as it turned towards a mountain range.
There goes my freedom.
He called upon one of his dragons and mounted, the others following as he tried to catch up with the father of dragons.
In the Academy, amber eyes watched the progression of dragons, making their way under the cover of the night. He wrinkled his nose in distaste, tail flicking back and forth. Gray fingers drummed on the windowsill as he willed himself not to get involved then-
"Oh forget it."
He moved his hand to touch an amulet around his next, closed his eyes, then faded from existence. He reappeared behind icy pillars in a mountain, where three figures had met in freezing snow.
The hooded male spoke first, "What are you two doing in the caverns?"
"Winston, this is about the new Prodigy."
The redhead sighed, "Should we really be getting involved?"
"No," snapped Winston, purple eyes shining with frustration, "Absolutely not."
Mira pinched the bridge of her nose, breathing out frustratedly, "Do you think I would want to get involved with that pathetic piece of Academy scum-"
"Say that again Mira, I dare you." A gray-skinned fairy walked out from behind the ice, amber eyes cold. "Why do you want to get involved in this? You know what happened when I tried that."
Winston rolled his eyes, "Here we go again - getting lectured by someone who's only four years older than us."
The fairy shot him a glare, tail lashing.
Mira put her hands on her hips, "That's exactly why we should get involved, Gale. Especially since I'm the most-"
"Yes, we know. And did you not learn anything of when you tried that with Winston?"
Winston looked at the ground, having suddenly fallen silent.
Mira, however, wasn't fazed, "So what? You tried with me and Crios and couldn't stop anything from happening. Why shouldn't I try twice?"
"Because it's pointless!" Gale snapped. "If it happened more than five times there's no point in trying to stop it."
"Wait, more than five times?" The red-headed wizard asked suddenly. "But there's only four of us..."
Now it was Gale's turn to fall silent.
Mira had a smug smile plastered across her face, "Well Gale, when was this fifth time?"
"It's none of your business."
"Oh, but it is," Winston said, ganging up with Mira, "since we're all prodigies..."
His amber gaze lacked any emotion, white hair falling over his eyes, "Don't. Say. That. Word."
"Or what?" Mira said, fingering the staff strapped across her back.
The instant she said it a Spearical Crush was cast at her, the blue-haired teen having to dodge the blade of ice. Forest Hurricane soon proceeded, along with Ion Cannon and Falling Star Smash.
She grinned at the challenge, readying a Royal Roar when-
Crios dashed between them, yelling "Stop!"
Gale glared at Mira before slowly lowering his hand, recalling the elemental energy of the spells.
The wizard exhaled, "Gale, we won't say it again if it makes you that uncomfortable, but can you please tell us what you meant?"
Silence.
The finally, "Fine... I'll tell you. Yet you'll want to sit down, it's a long story."
Winston snorts. "Yeah, no. I don't even want a short story."
Mira elbowed him, sneering at the others. "Boys. Just listen."
It took some convincing and arguing and stray spells, but Crios finally offered for them to go to his place.
After they arrived and seated down, the fairy began, "It all started when I first became a student at the Academy..."
Chapter One[]
An eight-year-old fairy ran past multiple wizards, late for class.
It was his first day at the Academy, but his father showed him around the day before, so he had no trouble locating his classes. Yet that didn't stop him from sleeping in that morning.
He had managed to navigate past the other students heading to class fine, being small for his age and being able to squeeze past most, however, it seemed that fate had its own plan, because he crashed right into another student - the Academy's current Prodigy.
The two of them crashed the ground with an "oof", spellbooks spilling onto the ground.
The fairy was the first to sit up, immediately saying "sorry" repetitively until the wizard interrupted him.
"It's fine-" The wizard stopped then looked him up and down, "What's your name?"
"Gale." The fairy responded tentatively.
"You're an Ivory, right?"
He blinked, "Yes?"
"So you can use multiple elements, right?"
"Can't you?"
The wizard laughed, "Yeah, I can. Otherwise, I wouldn't be a Prodigy, now wouldn't I?" He immediately grew serious again, something else on his mind. "Hey uh, this might sound weird, but if you notice anyone who's exceedingly good at magic in your class... do you mind telling me?"
The fairy looked confused at the request, but nodded, "I guess I can..."
"Thanks." The wizard grabbed his things from the floor and left - just as the bell rang announcing the two of them as late to class.
Chapter Two[]
Winston crossed his arms, looking bored, "How is this important?"
"I'm not finished!" Gale snapped, perplexed by his annoyance.
"You're just telling us your first day of school at this point. So what if you bumped into a Prodigy that day? We want to know what happened to him, not how you met him. I could be doing much more important things right now."
"As could I." Mira sighs, examining them all with a look of superiority.
The Ivory Fairy breathed out in frustration, "How am I supposed to tell you if you interrupt me?"
"You're the one going on and on about your life. News flash: we don't care!"
As the two argued, a certain red-haired buried his face in his hands, groaning in frustration. Mira however, seemed to be enjoying their fighting.
Finally, after a solid half-hour of arguing, Crios spoke up, "Can you two drop it? We asked to hear the story, not... whatever this is."
Winston and Gale both stopped and stared at him, before sighing.
Gale's tail quivered, "Only if he doesn't interrupt again."
"Only if he gets to the point." Winston retorted.
The fairy glared, "Why can't you be patient-"
"SHUT UP." Crios snapped, "Just get back to the story."
"Fine." The Academy Keeper grumbled but continued. "Once I got to class..."
Chapter Three[]
The teacher had called for a spar, testing the skill level of the individual students. None had shown any absurd magical ability, so the fairy began to pay less and less attention... until his name was called.
"Gale Lightcast?"
He looked up, confusing pooling in his gaze.
The teacher sighed, "Would you come to the front? It's your turn to spar..."
He gulped, nervously getting up from his seat. He had practiced with his dad the other day, but he was already running through everything that could go wrong, one thing dominating his thoughts. What if I'm not good enough?
Another student was already at the front, observing him skeptically. The teacher handed them both a Starter Wand, then instructed them to begin.
His opponent looked confident, starting off with Falling Star Smash and catching the fairy off-guard. He had expected them to start with Starbit Blast, maybe even Light Wave, but Falling Star Smash?
He had no choice but to dodge and use Leaf Swarm.
His peer smirked before using the same spell as before, casting it with utmost perfection - even the teacher looked impressed. The opposing student did it ever so casually, as if they weren't afraid of the possibility of losing, even going as far as inspecting their fingernails instead of taking the opportunity to cast another spell.
Well, if you're going to be like this...
The fairy cast Snowling Ball thrice in rapid succession, scrambling the wizard's bearings - causing them to cut with the slack and immediately casting Falling Star Smash again, hoping to counter his spells.
He used Shockwave, then switched back to casting Snowling Ball again, following in suit with Light Wave.
The other student dodged most of the spells, starting to cast Super Nova out of sheer annoyance - yet instead of waiting for doom, he had already planned how to strike.
Chill Out was cast.
And the Super Nova never grew past the size of a puffball.
The Chill Out faded from existence, and the teacher observed both students before saying, "I'll like you two to talk to me after class."
After the lesson was taught and the bell ringed for class dismissal, the teacher beckoned for the two students to come to their desk, a fourth person joining them as the classroom door creaked open - the Prodigy.
"Am I late?"
"No, in fact, you're just in time." The teacher responded, fiddling with a pencil.
The wizard looked at the students, eyes lighting up when he saw the fairy. "Hey, it's you again!"
The Ivory waved shyly, still not knowing what was going on here - yet his questions were soon answered.
The wizard then looked at the teacher, "So, Ms. Coldsnap, would you mind explaining things?"
She put down her pencil, nodding, "Linda, Gale, this is Anthony. I believe you both have already recognized him as the school's current Prodigy. I'm not sure if you're aware of it, but here at the Academy we're always looking for students with... exceptional ability, and help them progress further. Out of the whole class, you two were the only ones who used anything besides starter spells. So, I'm making you an offer - you get to spend a day with Anthony, testing to see if you do have the potential to be prodigies."
Linda, the student who had sparred the fairy earlier, was the first to speak, "What if we fail?"
"You'll continue with your current classes as any other student."
"And if we pass?" All of them turned to face Gale, who immediately looked at the ground.
Anthony answered this time, "Then things will get... interesting."
Suddenly, the fairy had a very bad feeling about this.
And he had the right to.
Chapter Four[]
"Isn't that... exactly what you told me when I was a student?" The red-haired wizard inquired.
"Yes, frankly, it is. I didn't bother with coming up with anything different."
"I wish you did." Mira muttered under her breath.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Said the fairy, hands on his hips and tail lashing.
"Have you never taken the time to consider why I left that sucky school?"
"Well... no." He admitted reluctantly.
Winton sighed exasperatedly, "We aren't getting anywhere with this."
"Oh shut up, you just want to get back to smuggling those crystals of yours," Crios said crossly, stroking the scales of his infernewt.
"It's not smuggling! It's-"
"Redistributing. Right. As if that changes the fact you're doing it illegally." The red-headed wizard interrupted sarcastically.
"Well, half the things you own were sold by-"
Gale sighed, "Are you going to let me continue or not?"
The two wizards glanced at each other with annoyance before muttering "yes".
"The very next day..."
Chapter Five[]
The fairy held a Powerful Water Relic, awaiting instruction.
Anthony's teacher had spectated the two first years in yet another spar - in which they tied, before asking them to each select a relic. Linda immediately had chosen the Ancient Fire Relic, not even waiting to hear the rest of the options, while Gale had quietly asked for a Water Relic, regardless of preferring the Ancient Ice Relic.
They were both given the Academy Standard Wand before being asked to spar again.
By now the fairy had discovered Linda was the flashy, showy type - really only using advanced spells to show off, instead of strategy. Whenever she did bother to attempt any strategy, it was by using Fire Spells to take advantage of him being an Ivory Fairy.
As expected, the first spell Linda cast was Molten Crash - done perfectly, if one may note - him having to cast Torrent in to counter it. He then used Shock Wave in the brief moment between spells, mentally going through the spells she knew and what he should cast.
She surprised him by casting Molten Crash again, having enough stored mana to cast it twice in succession. He was forced to dodge, casting Light Wave.
Linda switched to using Falling Star Smash, and he cast Snowling Ball repetitively, hoping to overwhelm her. Yet the opposing wizard had timed herself, casting Falling Star Smash to counter all occurrences of the ice spell.
Gale sighed, annoyed that he hadn't preserved his Mana like she had.
At last, he managed to land a solid hit by casting two Torrents, one after the other.
Linda got up and cast Supernova, forcing him to raise his hands in surrender.
Anthony looked on with disappointment, shaking his head as his teacher dismissed the fairy - Linda was the one who passed.
He had failed.
Chapter Six[]
Mira was bearing a smug grin, which had led to the fairy stopping.
"What?"
The blue-haired teen continued with her merriment as she said, "So you're not an actual Prodigy and we're actually better than you?"
"One, don't call me that. Two, I am a Prodigy." He responded, amber eyes cold.
"Then how come you failed?"
"It was a simple mistake!"
Mira rolled her violet eyes. "Keep telling yourself that."
The fairy flushed. "Can I please-"
"Can he get on with the story?" Crios finishes, shooting a glance at his not-so-friends.
"Go ahead. I was barely listening, but go ahead." Winston says loftily, examining the room. "Crios' house is cool."
"If you're trying to steal-"
"ENOUGH!" Gale yelled, causing the two boys to whirl around and stare at him with twin looks of shock. He looked at the ground, shuffling his feet, "Sorry, I- nevermind... let's just get back to the story." He breathed deeply before continuing, "After I left..."
Chapter Seven[]
The dismissal bell rang.
To the fairy's surprise, Anthony was waiting by the Academy doorway, looking for something. Finally, the wizard's gaze settled on him.
Gale tried not to draw attention to himself, but Anthony walked right up to the fairy, clearly determined to speak to him. "I wanted to talk to you about what happened earlier."
"Why? I failed, there's nothing else to talk about."
"Look, the test is set up so each student gets an equal advantage. However, that wasn't what happened in that spar, right?"
He kicked the ground, avoiding the wizard's gaze, "Well she did conserve more mana than me before the battle... not that I'm complaining or anything."
Anthony, however, looked way more enthusiastic, "Since she did have an unfair advantage, you can take the test again, but..."
Gale looked up at him, "But what?"
"Unlike last time... if you tie... you lose automatically." He informed the fairy reluctantly.
He sighed, at this point vexed, "Well that's just great. More pressure."
"If you want... I can help you practice."
"My dad would never agree to me inviting a human over."
He grimaced, "Must you say human in that tone?"
"Sorry... it's a bit of bad habit." The fairy looked at the ground, tail flicking back and forth.
The wizard shuffled awkwardly, "Well, uh, at least let me give you one piece of advice; a real Prodigy doesn't need to know how to do something, they just need to feel how to do something. As long as that's true, it doesn't matter what happens in the end."
The fairy blinked slowly, confused, but still muttered a thanks before leaving, a world of expectations before him.
Chapter Eight[]
"What is that supposed to mean?" Mira says. "He sounds like an idiot. I learned magic, and now I'm-"
"We know." The others chorus, shutting her up.
Winston frowns. "In all seriousness, what's the point of your story? Besides entertaining Crios here."
"Well, what, it's interesting!" The wizard protests, turning red as his hair.
Mira speaks up. "You're such an Academy nerd, Crios."
"Jealous that you got-"
"Shut up!" The teenager snaps, face flushing as well.
Winston observes the two, eyebrows raised. "Mira, you what?"
"Nothing!"
"Suuure." He drawls, twirling a blue staff in between his fingers. "Seriously, what hap-"
"Can you let me continue with my story?" Gale yells, frustrated beyond belief. When the group shuts up for the hundredth time, he mutters, "Finally."
Chapter Nine[]
The very next day he headed straight for the sparring hall, where Linda, Anthony, and his teacher were waiting.
Linda bore a smug expression, obviously already sure she was going to win. She continued with this confidence as the teacher handed them the same relics as before.
Unease churned his stomach as he waited for the signal to start. The instant they were told to begin, the opposing student began with a hostile barrage of Falling Star Smashes, as if the spar was personal. The fairy dodged and cast Shock Wave, aiming to stun her.
She leaped aside and cast Volcannon, which he doused with Torrent. An Overgrowth burst from the ground, entangling Linda. She jumped out from the mess of thorny vines and cast another set of Falling Star Smashes.
Gale was overwhelmed, but managed to cast a Torrent that knocked Linda to the ground - yet she didn't surrender. The wizard got up, instantly casting Molten Crash. He dodged the ball of fire and cast Supernova, having conserved his Mana long enough.
Linda was knocked back to the ground, but slowly got back up, determination burning in her gaze. She cast another set of Falling Star Smashes, him having to dodge.
The battle went on. Spell after spell after spell... they never ended, and never ceased.
At least, for a while.
Gale cast Chill Out, freezing her for a good ten seconds. Linda attempted to cast a spell, but the ice was much too strong. The spell faded, and the fairy tensed, unsure if she'll surrender or not.
The opposing wizard glared at him, and twisters of fire began to form in the air around him - Charclone. He panicked, and some primal instinct from a forgotten past screamed at him, the next few minutes being a blur.
A glowing yellow sphere appeared in before Linda, eyes widening exponentially before the spell ran it's course - the sphere exploded.
Both students were knocked to the ground, remains of magical fire fading.
Anthony was the first to speak.
"How did you do that?"
"I..."
The dismissal bell rang, saving him from a complicated explanation.
Chapter Ten[]
Mira rolled her eyes. "You barely had any competition, if they couldn't figure out what a Focus Spell was."
"Mira, it was much rarer at the time." Gale says patiently, but his teeth are gritted and jaw clenched as not to snap at her.
Crios crosses his arms. "Well, I agree with Mira. This Linda doesn't sound that good... more fire spells would suffice."
"Remind me why I tolerate you two?"
"Because we're both incredibly powerful wizards - and I'm certainly more-"
"No you're not." Crios snaps. "And let Gale get back to his story!"
Winston rolls his eyes. "Teacher's pet."
Gale looked at him sharply, "I beg your pardon-"
"Hey Crios, you don't care about this, do you?" The wizard taunts, waving a large golden trophy.
"Get over here, Winston, you're just jealous that-"
"That what? I don't care that I can't-"
"All of you, quiet!" Gale yells. "Oh my god..."
Crios looked at him, "Wait, aren't fairies atheists-"
"There's a difference between believing and worshipping, now do you want to here the story or not?" He snapped in response. The fairy sighed, "As I was saying..."
Chapter Eleven[]
The very next day Anthony was waiting for him at the door, fiddling with his wand nervously.
The fairy gripped the strap of his satchel, "Hi Anthony." Please don't ask about yesterday, please don't ask about yesterday, pleasedon'taskaboutyesterday-
He completely ignored the fairy's attempt to be polite, "Alright, how did you cast a Focus Spell?"
"A what now?"
"The thing you cast at the end of the spar yesterday! Most teachers can't cast that without fainting."
"I... I don't know-"
"You don't know?" Anthony said while staring at him blankly.
"No..."
"Look, I need to provide some explanation to the teacher or you're toast. If you had cast some normal spell things would've been fine, but this? For all anyone knows you cheated!"
Gale's tail lashed, "But I didn't!"
"Then how did you do it?" The wizard demanded, before noticing in the first time in days the manner the fairy was standing. "...what even are you? Besides an Ivory, I mean."
"That's... an incredibly personal question."
"Okay, I didn't mean to offend you but seriously, what are you?"
He looked at the ground, amber eyes avoiding brown, "Let's just say anything but a pure breed..."
Anthony exhaled deeply, "Alright, I can work with that."
"What do you mean-"
The fairy didn't get to finish before the Prodigy yanked him inside the classroom, the door closing just as the bell rang.
The classroom was empty besides the teacher - obviously not many people were given the privilege of studying as a Prodigy. That alone was enough to make the consider doubt if he actually belonged here...
Chapter Twelve[]
”Blah, blah, blah. You felt left out, you were sad, why should I care again?” Mira said, rolling her eyes for the hundredth time.
Crios elbowed her, making her push him back, making him shove her, making Winston laugh…
”ENOUGH! God, listen, is that so hard?” Gale snapped, on the edge of his patience now.
The albino quickly stopped, but Mira kept grumbling.
”This is in no way, shape, or form, important.”
”I could be doing a hundred other things right now,” Winston chimed in.
”Like steal crystals and trade them off in a black market?” Crios asked scornfully, wrinkling his nose.
”Exactly!” he responded, unfazed.
Gale took a deep breath. “Fine, if you don’t shut up, I’ll tell Crios about the time Mira-“
Winston snapped to attention. “Sorry. Sorry, sir. Very sorry.”
The red-haired wizard glanced in between the two. “Wait, what-“
Mira laughed. “I could tell him! So, we were on the caverns and he said he-“
”NO!” the boy screamed. “Don’t you dare.”
The Ivory smirked. “I seriously doubted if I even belonged…”
Chapter Thirteen[]
He didn't get much time to pounder this before Anthony walked up to the teacher and started this complex lie relating to how the fairy had cast the Focus Spell. Gale didn't catch most of it, but the explanation consisted of genetics, previous practice, and something about faen auras?
Even if he didn't understand it, it managed to persuade the teacher, and they gestured for the two to sit down. As the teacher droned on with that day's lesson, the fairy couldn't help but fall into a negative train of thought.
Am I fraud if Anthony had to lie for me? What if I don't get any better at this? Surely they'll notice... would I get in trouble for not being the Prodigy they think I am?
He absent mindedly wrote down his notebook, barely paying attention to the day. However, when the lunch bell rang, that quickly changed as he bumped into Linda.