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Not all men are created equal. Luz Noceda learned that at a very young age. Because to be magicless in a magical world is to be a lamb left to the wolves.
Luz Noceda was a part of the 20% of the population that was still human, inherently magicless.
Four year old Luz stared at the blue sky that hung above her. Her skin burned and her hair was slightly charred.
“Give up now, Luzer.” The pink skinned, three eyed demon taunted, fire still burning in one hand. “You’ll never be a witch.”
“Yeah!” One of her lackeys, a witch with orange hair, laughed. “Humans don't have any magic!”
The other lackey, a demon with no mouth as far as Luz could tell, just let out a muffled laugh.
The three girls left Luz there without a second glance.
For the average witch and biped demon, magic manifested at age four. Those with high magic potential were praised and everyone wanted to join the Emperor’s Coven, a coven for the best of the best.
Luz didn't get the hype over joining the Emperor’s Coven at first, but she had loved magic. It was just so cool, so it was devastating when she was told she’d never have magic while all her friends were learning the light spell.
When she was seven, her papi died from some sickness. Mami refused to tell her what it was when she was young. Before he passed away, he gave her a book. The Good Witch Azura .
It was, supposedly, a historical fiction about a witch back when witches were first making contact with humans. Luz finished it in a week.
She loved it.
Azura used her magic to help people, to lift them up. Up until that point, Luz’s experience with magic was someone trying to put her down. She knew it could help people, but she didn't realize it could help people like her .
Azura helped anyone and everyone; human, witch, or demon.
Luz wanted to do that. She wanted to use magic to help others. Wanted to be like Azura.
Of course, the good witch wasn't exactly a prodigy. No, Azura had to study magic and train, so Luz would do the same.
A week after she finished the first book, she started the first of many ‘Magic Analysis for the Future’ notebooks.
A year later, she got her first look at the Golden Guard.
Luz was bent over, panting.
She was pretty sure she had lost Boscha and her lackeys. Running. She was good at running. Ok, not really, she wasn't faster than them, but she could run longer than they could. With a good head start, she could outrun them, out last Boscha and her goons.
There was a burst of light to her right. Luz couldn't help but look. There was a wall of televisions, each screen had a different thing playing. One TV had a kid’s cartoon, another was on some sports channel, but the one that caught her eye was a news report.
It was a ruined building, flames taking as much land as they could. In the center of it all was a person, tall and cloaked in white, their face hidden behind a simple golden mask. One arm was holding a child to their hip and the other was extended, waving a staff. It was made from a dark colored wood with a white and gold top and a red gem that glowed. Magic came from the staff, which pushed away rubble and flames.
Overall, it was a scene that filled her with awe, but her gaze was drawn to the little kid. She could only see half of their face but they had clearly been crying. Nothing odd there, but now the child was looking up at their savior, amazed with the beginnings of a smile.
Luz couldn’t hear if there was a reporter talking, either there was no audio or it was so low it didn't make it through the glass, but there was a headline at the bottom of the screen.
Golden Guard Saves Dozens From Collapsing Building
“Golden Guard…” Luz muttered to herself. She wanted to see more. See if people smiled every time the Golden Guard saved them. She had to-
“There she is!” Luz looked over her shoulder to see one of Boscha’s lackeys.
She had to run. The human yelped and took off once more. Although she made a mental note to look into the Golden Guard when she got home.
Whenever the Golden Guard entered the scene, he brought hope. Luz wanted to do that. Luz wanted to be a witch who helped everyone and brought them hope. For the first time, Luz wanted to join the Emperor’s Coven, because that was her best chance to reach her dream.
She studied every spell her classmates learned. She found books on potions, because those didn't require internal magic but her teachers didn't allow her to use the potion lab. Instead, she learned what she could, edited recipes and even tried to create her own.
Then, at ten years old, the Golden Guard died.
Every news station was covering his funeral. It seemed like the whole world stopped to mourn the Emperor’s right hand. It climaxed with Emperor Belos giving a speech.
It was the standard ‘these are difficult times but we must stay strong’ speech but Luz couldn't really focus on it. She was busy crying into her mother’s arms to process any of his words.
This should have discouraged her, and maybe in one world it did, but in this one, late at night, Luz promised to do what she had to. Anything to reach her goal.
At twelve, a new Golden Guard was given his staff. It was televised for all to see (like the funeral), the new guard already in full uniform. He was so small when compared to most in the video. From the reports following, he had the same effect as his predecessor.
At fourteen, she met him.
Luz wondered, not for the first time, if her teacher hated her. That had to be it, because why else would they broadcast that she was trying for Hexside in front of everyone? Hexside, one of the hardest schools to get into, but also had the largest Emperor’s Coven course ever known. It was the very school that taught three of ten Coven Heads. Telling everyone Luz was going to attempt the entrance exam might as well have painted a target on her back.
Boscha ended up cornering Luz after class and burnt her analysis notebook before she chucked it out the window. By a stroke of luck (Luz wasn't wasn't sure if it was good or bad), the notebook had landed in the school’s fish pond. The pages were burnt and soaked, and Luz wasn't sure it was salvageable.
Then there was what Boscha said before she left. “ Pray you’ll be born a witch in the next life and take a swan dive off the roof of the building. ”
That was a new low, even for Boscha. Luz did her best to ignore the demon’s taunts as she made her way home, but they swirled in her mind. Maybe if they didn't, she would have noticed the pink tentacles that rose from the sewer drain behind her.
One moment, she was walking home, the next, she was struggling in the air as something covered her mouth and nose.
She couldn't breathe. She couldn't breathe! She tried to kick her legs out, to hit her attacker, but nothing landed.
“This’ll be easier if you don't struggle.” Her attacker told her. “Wouldn't want to harm my new puppet!”
Her lungs burned and her eyes stung with tears. The person kept taunting her but, at some point, their words faded away and the world grew dark.
‘Sorry, Mami…’
The Golden Guard had saved her. Her! Some human. And he signed her notebook!
“Wait!” she called out as he prepared to leave. He lowered his staff, the red glow lessening. “Can I be a witch without magic?!”
“What…?” It was so soft, Luz thought she imagined it. But, on the off chance he really said that, she continued.
“I-I’m human. I have no bile sac to give me magic, but I want to be a witch! Like Azura and you!”
“Azura?” He repeated. “And me?”
Luz nodded. “I want to help everyone, I want to bring them hope!”
He was quiet, and Luz could feel her anxiety creeping in. He was going to tell her ‘no’, wasn't he? After all, he was a magic prodigy, the youngest Golden Guard.
“There’s a beach not far from here.” He said eventually. “Do you know it?”
“You mean Buho beach?” What did that have to do with anything?
“Meet me there at sunrise. Then, I’ll answer your question.”
With that, he was gone in a red flash and Luz fell to her knees.
She wasn't sure what to think, but he hadn't said no.
Maybe she still had a chance.