Wednesday, May 11, 2005

   Chapter 3: The Three Walls (part 1)
-- I left out some explaining through here. You are probably more interested in the action. PM me if you want to know more--
The Three Walls were indeed walls. But the bricks were at least ten times bigger than normal. They looked most like a giant’s walls. Little stores were built right inside the red brick, so up close it resembled an alley.
“Let’s get you a wand first,” Blues said, heading to the shop nearest to them, marked with an old-fashioned sign. In the small window, there was a pillow with a sparkly wand that could have passed as jewelry.
“Good evening, Blues. Who do you have here?” said a very joyous voice from the corner of the shop as they entered. It did not take long for Fala to see that all the wands were sorted into sections. The water wands were mostly dark blue, but some were lighter in color. The fire wands ranged from a red that was almost pink, to a nearly brown color that closely resembled the earth-wands.
“Hello Mr. Lustte. This is Fala,” Blues announced, making his way further into the store. An elderly man strolled out from behind a shelf that had gray hair—probably black once.
“It’s actually Falamarana, but you can call me Fala. Nice to meet you,” Fala said politely, and shook Mr. Lustte’s hand.
“Your hands have the texture of ash, Fala. Fire may be the best choice for you.” He pulled a blood red wand from one of the many shelves. Unsure whether his statement had been a compliment or not, she took the wand and held it a few seconds. Mr. Lustte pulled it away. Anxiously, she considered that she didn’t have mage-blood at all.
“What’s in the wands?” she asked, attempting weakly to start a conversation. Mr. Lustte looked up at her, surprised.
“Why should there be anything inside them?” he commented, chuckling to himself. “The wood is the only part that would transmit magic, so as long as its grain is coherent enough, anything is fine.”
“Oh.”
One after another, Fala tried all the wands, starting with just one of every element, and then going to more individual ones. But none seemed to work. After a while, she was nearly positive that she was not a witch (or an apprentice, as Blues said). She wanted to blurt out that she wasn’t supposed to in this world at all, but something held her back.
“I don’t know,” said Mr. Lustte, scratching his head. Not one of the wands had worked for her. “This has never happened before.”
“Don’t you have others?” Blues asked nervously, watching the process patiently.
“I have one more, but I doubt that it will work. It hasn’t for anyone yet.”
“Just let me try it, please,” Fala said. Despite her doubts, she really wanted a wand. If Predicus said that she was a witch, then she had to try.
“Well... I suppose so,” Mr. Lustte said. He walked to the window, and lifted the wand off the pillow. As he carried it closer, Fala could really see the beauty of it.
It was all silver—polished smooth—but the handle had three violet-colored stones encrusted in it, and the rest of it was covered in tiny, multi-colored stones. A single thought crossed the redhead’s mind: it was like her anklet.
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