The Magical Boy Casimir

Vision Quest One --- Losses

The monastery looked amazing on the side of the mountain clearly carved out by very skilled stone craftsmen. The air this high was thinner and cleaner even in this world. There was no smell of animals or fire smoke which he thought was odd since the interior was a perfect temperature. He could wear light clothing and not be uncomfortable. At the monastery, there were 7 monks, one for each of the Fae elements. Earth, Air, Water, Fire, Above, Below, Within/Spirit. These monks were all women, and they all wore a different colour of the robe-like each other, each embroidered with the sigil for their element among other spiritual symbols. Casimir nodded to them and they bowed deeply. A younger pupil about Casimir’s age walked forward.

“Hi, I am Ceri! I will show you to your room!”

Her bubbly persona was a stark contrast to the women in the elemental robes, inf fact she was so happy she was almost annoying. All along the walk, she asked Casimir questions. What was Earth-like? What was the King like? All these things. Casimir humoured her and answered the questions, but the truth was he wanted to sleep. He felt so sad right then in there. It must have read on his face because Ceri’s look softened, and she took his hands in her own.

“Look, I know what happened, and I know why you are here. Don’t worry, you are among friends, and we are here for you.”

Casimir nodded. He was not sure he really wanted her to be his friend. He shook off the thought. Here she was being exceedingly kind to a total stranger, and he was thinking like an ass. She led him to a room that was sparsely furnished but has a warm comfy bed and a nice fireplace in the perfect place from the bed. He sat on the bed when he noticed the initiate's robes on the bed like what she had been wearing. He put them on and went to meet the others in the main hall. About 20 students joined the masters on the floor in the lotus position meditating.

Ceri pointed him to a cushion on the floor. She handed him a pipe and poured some pink powder into it. She smiled and lit the powder which smoked fluorescent blue.

“Take a puff, it's Fae Smoke, it will help you relax.”

So, he did, and that was when he found himself suddenly in a forest. In the distance he could see the tower of the Monastery looming, but it was quite far, in the other direction was a mountain, and he was not sure if he were dreaming, had been teleported someplace, or what. What was in that stuff he smoked, and what had it done to him? That however was not going to be the most amazing thing he faced that day. He was about to have the most amazing experience of his life. A familiar voice spoke behind him. It was Abigail, only she was totally young, and she looked good for a dead lady.

“Abigail!”

The two embraced.

“I have missed you so much, you were not supposed to die!”

Casimir spoke through his tears. Abigail laughed as she held him back at arm's length.

“Casimir, we never truly die, we live on as energy in the universe, and sometimes we get reborn, but we are always here with you.”

She faded, and he began to cry again. Then he was met by his grandmother whom he had not seen since he was 9 and it caused him to cry even harder as they embraced. She just held him as one by one his deceased friends and family members slowly appeared before him. When he opened his eyes, they were all there gathered around him. It was his mother who spoke next.

“You can live Casimir, like anything you wish to be. You do not have to be a witch, or a Christian, or anything. You don’t have to fight this fight; you can do what needs to be done for you.”

Meanwhile…

The Dark Lord and Avery sat across from each other at a table, guards and War Wizards were all about. Every eye on the Dark Lord, if he even made the slightest move, they were going to fry him where he stood, well at least that was their intention, but what was his? What reason could he possibly have for entering the fae realm and wanting to strike a deal with the Fae king?

“Look, the fact is we both underestimated Zenduraka, she is going to kill us all, so I figured we could work together and possibly stop her first, then deal with any issues we might have with each other.”

“No, I think not. Place him in the magical holding cell, if he tries anything, run him through.”

The Dark Lord laughed at the threat. And then he vanished. Everyone looked around, hands on their sword hilts or spells ready, but he did not resurface. No, he had gotten his answer. His options were running out and he was not going to get any help from the fae on this matter.

Avery was disturbed by the whole thing. Was the Dark Lord himself so desperate that he would side with his enemies to save himself? Patrols were doubled so that nothing nefarious would happen while they were not looking.

Back at the monastery…

Casimir had no idea how much time had elapsed when he woke up to Ceri sitting next to him. She looked worried as did several of the other students. The sisters who were the masters had taken positions equidistantly around him in a circle and had their hands outstretched. He was experiencing his initiation in the Fae Arts, magical arts quite different from back on Earth. Part of his powers was now very much fae since Abigail had willed him her powers upon her death. He was an extremely complicated case with lots of power. His training would be a challenge for the sisters as much as for him.

“What happened! That was amazing!”

Ceri smiled.

“What did you see on your first journey?”

“My dead relatives! I got to see my grandma!”

Everyone smiled and exchanged nods. It seemed that what was holding him back was his life on Earth with his family. He would have to let it go if he intended to transform himself into the epitome of dark magic that he truly could be. With the Devil's Kiss he could be as powerful as any demon, and more so, because in humans magic changes and evolves as it is passed from generation to generation. The next step was going to be evaluating his key power, and what his greatest gift was. Ceri grabbed his hand and helped him to his feet.

“We will not go to the room of whispers where your powers will be activated. You will feel very odd for a long while after this, but we will be removing all blocks and seals on your psyche to allow you full access to your powers.”

Casimir swallowed hard. When his powers had gotten the better of him, they had been quite explosive, and he had not been in control. He was worried about what would happen when the powers were fully in his hands.

The room was large and very dim, the wall was concave and covered in what looked like masks. Each mask bore a different symbol and each mask looked like a different race of humanoid being. Humans among them. Casimir was fascinated by this. He walked forward where Ceri motioned.

“We will take one drop of your blood and place it on this crystal orb, it will activate your energies allowing you easier access to them. Are you ready?”

Casimir nodded. In truth, he was not ready, but there was no time like the moment to get this over with. She pricked his finger and he winced as a droplet of blood fell onto the crystal ball which then began to glow brightly. But then suddenly dark energy began to flow through it as well. Everyone gasped and stepped back. Casimir was included, but it was taken later. The energy reached out and slammed into his chest. He lifted off the ground as dark purple crackling energy flowed into and around his body. Wind picking up in the room they were in.