Monday finally arrived and the qualifiers lists were sent to our school bracelets.
I tapped the screen the moment I heard it chime. A holographic letter appeared.
And it read;
'The following groups will be participating in the qualifier matches for the 2030 Mage tournaments'
Group one
Ned Fiddlesticks (Captain)
Beatrix Terra ( Vice-Captain)
Terry Andrews
Nancy Danbury
Micheal Hayato
Group two
Mitch Kowalski ( Captain)
Celeste Crews ( Vice-Captain)
Rebekah Andrews
Ralph Tally
Tessa
'The matches will be one on one and will start tomorrow at 10:00 am. Failure to attend will lead to disqualification. Participants are authorized to bring magic weaponry.'
I sighed with disappointment. Seriously, a girl who has drinking issues, a team leader who is too dumb for life, and who the hell is Tessa?
We are so screwed. Because team one has three super-powerful magic users. And I don't want to forget the fact that Terry is also a child of a minister, he must be something.
I slammed my head on the table, wanting to scream out the fact that my team has no chance.
I was still in my agony when felt a soft slap on my back. "Are you ready pipsqueak?" Kowalski laughed,
I looked up and faced him. "Who the hell is Tessa?" I asked,
"She's a girl who wanted to be on our team and she's pretty powerful by the way."
"Did she at least show you how powerful she is?" I shrugged,
"Nope, but she is the topper of Class 1-A. So I have faith in her,"
I sighed with disapproval.
"Relax man…the oracle saw this was coming and thank god it's on our side..." he continued. He had said something that got my attention, The oracle.
My eyes got wide. "The oracle?"
"Yeah, pipsqueak…the oracle. You know, the spirit thing that sees the future. Mr. Klaus loves talking about it in his…"
"Mr. Klaus," I muttered silently. Then jumped from my seat. I had an idea. "I need to go meet with Mr. Klaus," I rushed to speak,
"Am not yet done telling you about the matches tomorrow…" Kowalski yelled, but I was already running out of the classroom and into the hallway on my way to the teachers' lounge.
I needed to know about the oracle. The one thing that could answer my questions and tell me why Sandra chose me out of the thousands of humans on this planet. I was hoping that maybe Mr. Klaus would have an idea about its appearance, or how it works so that I may have a clue. No one was ready to tell me about the oracle. It was time for me to put matters into my own hands.
I turned left off the hallway and then barged straight through the first door and into the teachers' lounge. All their eyes turned to me, but I didn't mind that. I was scanning the room for Mr. Klaus. I then spotted him standing next to a coffee machine, waiting for his coffee.
"Professor Klaus," I called using a polite tone. He must have heard me because the entire room was silent.
He turned and smiled the moment he saw me. He looked around and saw the entire mood in the room didn't go in line with his smile. They all looked annoyed at me and him with ugly frowns on their faces.
Mr. Klaus chuckled softly as he stopped the coffee machine and walked elegantly to the entrance where I was standing.
He grabbed my arm and pulled me out. "What were you thinking?" he whispered with anger then closed the door behind us."Barging in like that without a teacher's consent."
"I am sorry sir. But it's urgent," I said
"Your lucky your one of my favorite students,"
"I am?…. I mean thank you so much," I said,
"So, what is it?"
"I want to know about the Oracle,"
"The oracle huh," he mused. "It's a mythical spirit believed to be able to tell the future," he said. "The spirit was in form of an old lady in a wedding dress, I think.."
I narrowed my eyes trying to think. "Do you have a picture or a drawing of it?" I asked
He looked up then back to me. "I think I do," he said. Then waved his hand and a small gold-colored magic circle formed. He pushed in his hand and pulled out a thick brown covered book.
The circle disappeared.
"This is my guide for mythical creatures and beings," he said showing me the book. "It has what you are looking for, but I expect you to return it tomorrow."
"I will, thank you, sir," I put up both my hands for the book.
He gave me a suspicious look and asked, "What do you need this for?"
"History sir," I lied. It was the only way I could get him off my back.
Mr. Klaus was the one teacher in this school I adored. Not because of his terrible fashion but because he was jumpy, wise, and curious almost every time. I would find him spending most of his free time in the school library going through old texts that were connected to magic.
He believed in mystical and supernatural beings and he had a theory that if magic can exist in our world, why not magical beings?
He had no wife or any family, but I had become so attached to him during the past weeks that he made me think that he had one. I wouldn't say I was his favorite. But he's the one teacher I don't want to disappoint because he's the one teacher who believes I can make it.
He exhaled heavily. "Okay," he said then placed the big book in my hands.
…It was heavy (FYI elves don't have super strength, so things remain heavy)
I carried it with both my hands and he headed back to the teachers' lounge without saying anything.
"--that student of yours Klaus, his ill-mannered--how can he…"I heard the teacher speak before Mr. Klaus shut the door once he was in.
I didn't mind them. I was focused on the book, I looked at the cover, and judging the texture it must have been thousands of years old. The cover was hard, brown, and thick. The pages smelled like dust and just by looking on the sides, the papers had turned yellow.
I needed to know about the oracle and this. Was step one.
.
.
.
.
After school, I head back home early. I didn't even wait for a car to pick us up. I had to go through the book Mr. Klaus had shared with me. The book was a grimoire that belonged to a sorcerer thousands of years ago. His name was Lucas Elmore and was a wizard millennia ago. This thing was supposed to be in a museum but it was in the hands of a teacher maybe he had no clue and I was the only one who could read the cover.
I walked through the front door.
"Welcome back home master Ralph." a maid called my name,
I stopped my rush and faced her. I couldn't believe it, "Miss Harward... thank you,"
Miss Harward was the maid of our household. She was a sixty-year-old woman, who seemed to have served my father's family for centuries. She didn't look sixty though, her hair was still black and shiny. And her eyes were cold as they were light green and very attractive. She didn't have a single wrinkle on her face nor did she miss a single tooth. She never seemed to age and I have known her my entire life, even before magic. She had been away for four months after something occurred back at her home in England. It was so urgent that she had to leave immediately.
"How's everyone back home?" I asked trying to start a conversation.
"What is that my lord?" she asked, pointing at the big book in my hand.
My face turned red hot. I said, "This…this is for…um…school research."
"Good luck," she said, obviously not satisfied. I wonder if she knew that the family she serves are descendants of elves. "Do want me to make you something, a cup of coffee or your legendary Ralph sandwich…"
She winked then smiled. It was something she used to often do for reasons I didn't know. Anyway, she was the best of the best, from the time she came with my dad when I was three to now.
"I think I will have a sandwich," I answered,
"Very well." she then moved to the kitchen.
And I ran upstairs to my room.
I dropped my bag on the floor and the head to the reading table. I made sure Atreigon wasn't around and placed the book on the table.
-Thud-
A loud sound came from it as I placed it on the table. It was just evening and the sun was just setting, but I closed all the curtains and settled down on my chair, and prepared to look through the book.
The cover read; THE GRIMOIRE OF LUCAS ELMORE
I slowly opened the book and the room's atmosphere changed. My lights flickered for about three minutes before they stopped.
The first page was blank. But then words started to write themselves.
"Ralph Tally son of Christine and Adrian Tally. Descendant of the dark elves and wielder of the Fey progenitor's power. How may I be of assistance?"
I didn't know what to react to. A talking book or the book calling me a descendant of the dark elves.