Chapter Text
Okay so here's what is essentially SpellSlinger 2.0, a completely revised and re-envisioned version of my previous 'SpellSlinger' Owl House fanfic.
Pretty much I looked over what I had written for that fic, and what I had planned to write, and decided that it was not what I wanted from that story or those characters. And thus, the reason for this 'rewrite'. So to say, that is. If you've already read the old Spellslinger, there will be some immediate 'differences'.
1: Will Paris still be called Paris?
From the get-go, she'll be using her real name, Piffintia or Pif for short . The only reason I named her Paris instead of Pif in the first place was that I had no plans for Paris to even be Pif, but since that changed, I saw no reason to keep calling her Paris.
2: Who is the story going to be focused on?
In SpellSlinger, I kind of had Pif float around in the background, and even when she was in the spotlight, it was either for a short time, to give exposition, or to make ominous/vague comments. So , in this story, Pif will be a much more prominent character in the story instead of a tack-on. Speaking of which…
3: Will the story be similar to SpellSlinger?
One of the biggest problems I had with my old fic was how it felt rather stale in its story. I didn't really feel like I was crafting a new and enjoyable narrative with characters you knew but instead felt like I was just littering the normal story with a few new things.
BOR-RING.
So instead of that, it's going to be following an entirely different story path, whilst still keeping events and characters from canon.
4: Why call it Dreams of Magic?
Well, dear reader, I called it that because I had originally planned to name the series that SpellSlinger and its theorized sequels were a part of, so I sped up the process and simply call its successor that instead. Well, that and... a certain other reason... ( ͡• ͜ʖ ͡• )
5: Do I need to read SpellSlinger?
Nope. This is starting fresh, so everyone is going to be reintroduced. However , if you have read SpellSlinger, you'll probably have a bit of foreknowledge concerning some aspects of the story. In summary; no you don't need to read SpellSlinger.
Also, damn. The latest episode was a thing. LUMITY 4 LYFE.
And now, without further ado, here's the first chapter of Dreams of Magic.
Entering Wonderland.
"Snakes! SNAKES! What were you thinking Luz?!" Camila Noceda asked her daughter, Luz Noceda, exasperatedly as she drove a car down a suburban street next to a forest. "What on Earth made you believe that taking snakes into school was a good idea?! Where did you even get them?!"
"From the forest," Luz replied with little energy from the back seat, her head against the window. "I made sure they weren't venomous."
"That's not the problem here!" Camila shouted. Taking a deep breath she calmed herself. "Luz, you are a very, very... passionate, girl. I think it's great that you put all your effort into everything you do. It's just..." Camila paused to sigh, "It's just that you tend to do things without thinking and act out your fantasies where they can affect other people.
"But you don't have to send me to reality check camp for that! I promise that I'll try and do better!" Luz protested.
"I'm sorry, Mija, but your principle insisted, and honestly, I have to agree with him," Camila admitted. "This camp will help remind you that there's still a real world down here, it'll help you moderate all the... you."
"Why should I have to moderate me?!" Luz huffed. "Okay, I admit I made some mistakes! But I shouldn't just change who I am because somebody else doesn't like it!"
"Luz. It's not just someone else. It's a lot of somebodies." Camila told her daughter. "I love you, and I think the things you make are great too, but some of the other student's parents have been telling the school you're disruptive, and also asking them to... make special arrangements for you."
"They WHAT?!" Luz raged.
"I know Luz, I don't like it either but-"
"But nothing!" Luz interrupted, now steaming with anger. "Why should they decide how I should live my life?! Why should anyone decided how I should live my life except me?!"
Camila pulled into the Noceda house's driveway, parking the car before leaning over the seat to look at Luz. "Luz, please. I only want what's best for you."
"What's best for me?! You're sending me to a camp, so you don't have to deal with who I am!" Luz shot back, now fully shouting at her mother.
"I'm only trying to help you fit in, Luz! You don't even have any friends that aren't imaginary, drawn, reptilian?"
"MintyCatt05 is not imaginary! Just because we chat online doesn't mean they aren't real!"
"Have you ever actually met them?" Camila gave Luz a flat look, who refused to meet her eyes. "That's what I thought." Camila sighed.
"Agh! Fine!" Luz shouted as she forcefully threw open the car door. "Send me to the camp! See if care! I'm going for a walk!"
"Luz, wait!" Camila tried to call after her daughter as they stormed off down the street at a brisk pace. With no obvious reaction, Camila simply sighed and shook her head before taking her purse and heading into the house.
(∩•̀ω•́)⊃-*⋆
Luz continued to walk down the street for the next fifteen minutes, grumbling and feeling angry all the way.
Angry at her mother.
Angry at the school.
Angry that nobody could just accept she was... different.
"Ughhhh. Why is this so hard?!" Luz complained aloud, turning around another corner, ignoring the lady in a brown coat who was walking her dog who gave her a look as they crossed the street. "Why can't they just let me do what I like doing? It's not like I ever hurt anybody. Except for the snakes. And the spiders. And the baking soda volcano…"
Luz sighed exasperatedly, her body slumping as she continued down the footpath, passing a girl in a navy blue hooded cloak and a boy with a massive sword strapped to his back.
"Why can't I just get things right for once and be able to do things I like doing. Fantasy is better than reality after all!" Luz continued to say aloud. "I mean, just look at Azura and her adventures! Those are soooooo much cooler than going to school every da- WAIT WHAT THE HECK?!"
Luz spun around to more closely inspect the two people who had just passed her.
Both sported almost obnoxiously red-pink hair, the girl's reaching her mid-back and being luxuriously thick, and the boy's styled into some kind of large spikey pompadour.
Peeking under the girl's cloak as she gestured was a kind of pale red tunic and sea blue pants. And what little she could see behind the massive sword on the boy was a scarlet, high-collared jacket with two yellow stripes near the cuffs.
And then there was the sword.
It was practically as tall as Luz was and certainly wider. It honestly looked something like Cloud's Buster Sword from FF7, except double the width with a zipper-like engraving down the middle.
These people were certainly interesting.
Luz had to follow them! It would at least take her mind off of going to reform camp.
Sneaking quietly as not to alert the pair, which honestly wasn't very hard since the two seemed to be squabbling with one another.
"...oh come on Alf! I even told you this wasn't the right place! It isn't even connected to the right place!" The girl chastised.
"I can find it on my own. I don't need help from my kid sister, Pif." The boy, presumably Alf, grumbled, sticking his hands in his pockets.
"Yeah, yeah, sure you could." The girl, Pif apparently, rolled her eyes. "Look, Nof asked me to at least show you the right way to Scyne, so can I please show it to you? I'll be late to mentoring."
'Alf' chuckled gravelly. "You know you won't be late. The chronodisassociaters give us hours."
"It's been hours Alf!" 'Pif' shouted at him. "Hours! Of me, telling you," she poked him in the chest, "That you were going the wrong way! I would have left three wrongs doors ago if it wasn't so amusing, in some satire kind of way."
'Alf' looked flatly at her, his expression not shifting from the resting bitch face he was wearing.
"Oh." He said simply.
"Oh? Oh?!" 'Pif' repeated to him in an infuriated manner. "Grah! Constants you're useless! I'm off, find your own way." The red-pink haired girl turned off the path and began heading towards the forest.
"Nof told you to help me, remember?" 'Alf' called after his sister mockingly.
"Nof can shove it!" 'Pif' called back. 'Alf' shrugged, before continuing to move down the street.
Well, this left Luz in a dilemma. Who did she follow now? The girl going into the forest to do who-knows-what, or the boy with the sword?
Hmmmmmm...
Girl.
Luz ducked out of her cover behind a rubbish bin and began following the girl further into the thick of the forest. Weaving between trees so that she wouldn't be seen, but still keeping an eye on the easily spottable hair the girl had, Luz was lead deeper and deeper until her eyes were drawn off the red-pink hair and onto a golden leafed tree she was approaching.
Luz had explored the forest for years (what else was a kid without friends supposed to do?) and she had never before seen this tree before, which was especially odd since it was in the middle of a grassy clearing, just down a short sloped from where Luz was.
Getting as close as she could without alerting the girl, Luz watched her take out a small set of pan flutes made of wood similar to the almost black bark of the golden-leafed tree. As the girl played it, the tune that came out seemed to sound closer to the soft tinkling of a wind chime, rather than the airy noise of a flute.
As if responding to the sound, the dark trunk of the tree shifted and groaned as it parted in the middle, as if creating a doorway. Leaning ever so closer out her cover to get a better look, Luz saw through the hole in the tree to a completely different forest, one with orange-leafed trees with spiral trunks, jagged rocks with completely straight edges and grass that mimicked the orange of the trees.
"Whoa..." Luz quietly remarked as she became enthralled by the scene before her. Someone, named Pif she recalled, had just created only what Luz could assume is a portal in a tree she had never seen before with play of a flute.
The only unfortunate thing about this whole thing was when the ground beneath Luz decided to give, sending her tumbling down the slope towards the girl and the portal-tree-thing.
"What th-" Was all the girl managed to get out before she was rammed by Luz's flailing body and through the tree-portal-thing, which quickly closed up behind the girls after they landed in the orange forest.
(∩•̀ω•́)⊃-*⋆
Luz pulled herself up from the dusty ground, rubbing her slightly throbbing head as she looked around and spotting the other girl doing similar whilst surrounded by objects that had come loose of her satchel.
"Uh, hey, are you okay?" Luz asked, shuffling closer to the red-pink haired girl. "Sorry I kind of fell into you there..."
"Nugh..." The girl groaned, scrunching up her face. "No, no, it's fine. Just... just what where you are walking next... time..." The girl's eyes slowly opened as she smoothly turned to look at Luz.
Luz refused to meet her eyes for a moment and when she did an awkward smile and wave accompanied it. "Heyyyyyyy..."
The other girl blinked a couple of times. "AHHH!" She shouted as she jumped back in surprise, falling over since she was still on her knees.
"Ah! Are you okay?!" Luz asked frantically, getting up and leaning over the older girl.
"You shouldn't be here!" The girl suddenly announced, springing up to her feet and pointing at Luz. "Ohhhh, the council are going to have my hide if they find out about this!"
"U-uh yeah... sorry about that. It's just, well, you were doing magic! Real magic!" Luz gushed hands clutching the strap of her bag.
"And you come from a non-magic world too..." The girl buried her face in her hands. "I am in so much trouble..." she whined, squatting down.
Luz, once again feeling awkward, leaned down next to the girl, patting her back as comfortingly as she could. "Uh, hey, it can't be that bad... can it?"
"...No," The girl admitted in muffled reluctance. "But by Constants are they bloody annoying!" She shouted at the sky, her head coming out of her hands.
"Well, I-I'm sorry about that then." Luz apologised. The girl looked at her and sighed.
"It's fine... no way you could have known." She straightened up once again. "Look, let's just get you home. Have you seen a small, black pan flute anywhere? I must've dropped it when you smashed into me."
"Yeah, again, I'm sorry about that." Luz apologised, moving forward. "I think they're still somewhere around-" Luz stopped short as she heard a crunching noise under her foot. Looking down along with the other girl who also heard the noise, they saw a familiar pan flute, now chipped and cracked.
"Nooooooo..." Luz whispered.
"AHHH!" The cloaked girl yelled in rage. "Why is this happening to me?! Is it even possible for this day to get even get worse at this point?!"
Such a question was answered when there was a shattering of glass and an explosion of black smoke which left both girls coughing.
"Ahhhhhhhh..." A raspy voice drawled. "I toooolllld you that you could not contain me foooooorrrrever, caster."
"Damn you *coughcough* Murphy!" The cloaked girl cursed aloud as she was coughing loudly. The smoke cleared enough to give Luz a good look at who owned the new voice. Something she immediately regretted.
The 'thing' had spindly black limbs that seemed too long, skin that appeared more like leather that dripped ink, fingers that were just like knives, and the only thing of their face was a mouth too wide that showed too much gum and a lot of sharp, jagged teeth. It stood hunched over but still managed to reach the middle of the surrounding trees with its height.
"Mmmm... this place smells... freeeeshhhh..." the thing continued, the disturbing noise burrowing into Luz's head. "Untainted by others of meeeeeee... Their minds riiiiiipe, faaaat from complacencyyyyyyy... A feeeeeast, I shall have..."
"That's what you think!" The red-pink girl cried as her hand was wreathed in golden fire and reared back to throw it. The thing, acting astonishingly quicker than its size portrayed, backhanded the girl and sent her crunching into a tree.
"Mmmmm... nooooo." The thing rasped. "Noooot interrupt agaaaaiiin... Ehghegheghegh..." the thing chuckled wetly. With no more interruptions, the thing began crawling through the forest and away from the girls.
Luz, unfreezing from her horror, quickly ran over to the cloaked girl who was on the ground under an imprint of herself on a tree.
"Ohmygosh! Ohmygosh! Ohmygosh! Are you okay?!" Luz asked as she ran worriedly on the spot.
"Not... really..." The girl wheezed as she got up. "That... hurt. A lot." Looking around and seeing no sign of the Thing that had flung her, tsking upon the realization that it had already made off. "And that is how my day could get worse." She spun around to face Luz. "What did you say your name was again?"
"Um, Luz. Luz Noceda." Luz answered.
"Pif. Piffintia Isabelle Fredrickson." Pif replied. "Now look, do you want to make this up to me?" Pif waved an arm across her strewn about belongings, cracked pan flute, and a trail of destruction left by the Thing.
Luz nodded eagerly.
"Then you're helping me catch big black and lanky. Here," Pif took a card packet out of her satchel and handed it to Luz. "These cards can be activated to cast magic, just check the back for what kind of magic is, tap the glyph to activate it, and then imagine how you want the spell to form. They use the local magic system, so they'll be easier for a beginner like you to use."
"Got it." Luz nodded, determined to make a good impression after her absolute goof-up. Inspecting the card packet, it had the picture of an intricate gold tree upon a black background, not unlike the tree she fell through to get here.
"Great. Now hop on, we'll be able to track it better in the air." Came Pif's voice. Whilst still looking at the card packet, Luz's eyes widened as she put two and two together of 'magic user' and 'in the air' and drew the conclusion she was about to ride on a witch's staff. When she looked up, however, she saw something very different.
"Is that... a hoverboard?" Luz asked, half-heartedly pointing to the ovular mechanical-looking board Pif was standing on that floated half a foot off of the ground.
"Yeah, my little sister built it for me," Pif answered. "It's honestly pretty handy, and conveniently portable. Now stop dawdling and get up here." Pif motioned for Luz.
Luz, complying, took a hold of Pif's hand who hauled her up on the board, which Luz felt wobble uncomfortably under her feet.
Pif giggled at the younger teen as she seemed to shift uncomfortably.
"Chill girl. The board mag-locks your feet onto the board so you're not going to fall off." Pif reassured.
Luz gulped. "o-okay…"
"Good, now hold on tight or else you're going to flapping like a flag in the wind!" And that was Pif's last warning before she leaned forward on the board, causing it to take off silently with the only noise being Luz's screams.
(∩•̀ω•́)⊃-*⋆